Seleucus IV Philopator
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(2 Macc. 3:3; 4:7; 5:18)—son and successor of Antiochus the Great, king of Syria. Needing money to pay tribute to Rome and hearing of the great treasure in the Jerusalem Temple, he sent Heliodorus to seize it. According to 2 Maccabees 3, God miraculously defended the treasury. A fearsome horse and rider struck Heliodorus, and two young men scourged him until he lay near death. He was saved through the prayer of Onias the high priest. On returning, Heliodorus told the king that God’s power truly dwelt there and that He who inhabits heaven guards the place and strikes down those who approach it with an evil purpose.