DANIEL SIMPLIFIED
CHAPTER 8.9
Gleanings
from the Book of Daniel:
A
Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series
DANIEL
Chapter
Eight
The Little Horn
Review
Apart from Nebuchadnezzar’s prophetic
statue dream (cf. Daniel 2) of Gentile world empires, Daniel had two different
visions of Gentile world powers (cf. Daniel 7-8). Whereas the first dream of
Daniel spanned the same time frame in history as Nebuchadnezzar’s dream,
diverse animals are employed to depict these empires.
In Daniel’s second dream (cf. Daniel
8), however, only two world powers are at play with the focus on their leaders,
co-regents Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Great of Persia, and the Grecian,
Alexander the Great.
Dramatic and intriguing events followed
the death of Alexander, and with no remaining heirs to the throne, the Greek
Empire was divided into four major regions to his generals, the four notable ones [horns] (cf. Daniel 8:8):
1. To the North – Cassander
2. To the West – Lysimachus
3. To the East - Seleucus
4. To the South - Ptolemy
Outline (continued)
1. The Revelation of the Vision (Vv. 1-2)
2. The Presentation of the Vision (Vv.
3-14)
a. A Ram (Vv. 3-4)
b. A He-goat (Vv. 5-8)
c. A Little Horn (Vv. 9-12)
(Verse 9)
And out of one of them came forth a little
horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and
toward the pleasant land.
Out of one of the four
notable horns from the preceding verse (8:8) arose a little horn and it grew
into greatness. The phrase waxed
exceedingly great is rendered: He came out of littleness or relative
insignificance and became very powerful. The prophecy itself takes on a duel realization:
A. Historically, this was
fulfilled in the person of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. He was the eighth ruler of
the Seleucid Dynasty and reigned from 175 to 164 B.C.
B. Prophetically, this
will be fulfilled in the person of the Antichrist who will appear on the scene
at Mid-Tribulation. And, he will rule during the last days of the Great Tribulation,
before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (read Daniel 8:23-25).
Comparison
A. The historic
antichrist is detailed in Chapter 8
B. The future Antichrist
is referenced in Chapter 7
A. The historical
antichrist comes out of the Greek Empire
B. The future Antichrist
emerges from the Roman Empire
A. The historical antichrist is only a prototype
of the Antichrist of Revelation
B. The future Antichrist is the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by
Christ in the Olivet Discourse (cf.
Matthew 24:15; Mark 13::14)
The Historical
Antichrist
Antiochus Epiphanes
Son of Antiochus III, Greek
king Antiochus IV Epiphanes ascended to the throne by bribery and fraud (cf. Daniel
11:21). Following the murder of young Demetrius, the rightful heir, Antiochus
proclaimed himself to be the ruler of an empire he did not deserve.
Originally named Mithradates, he took on the name of Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus (one who is
opposed to possessing something) and Epiphanes (the glorious or illustrious
one) are the true meaning of his name. Once he was crowned king, the people
nicknamed him Epimanes (the madman or
maniac).
Antiochus was one of
the earliest persons in history to exhibit extreme hatred for the Hebrew
people. The Seleucids were at constant war with the Ptolemies. No doubt Antiochus
acquired his anti-Semitism from the Egyptians since their racial bias predated
the Exodus.
A little horn…waxed exceeding great, toward the
south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land
Antiochus’ power grew
exceedingly in three regions of the divided Greek Empire:
1. Toward the South
a. Against Ptolemy VI Philometor
of Egypt (171 B.C.)
2. Toward the East
a. Against Mesopotamia
and Armenia
3. Toward the Pleasant (Beautiful,
Glorious) Land, i.e. Israel
a. Against Israel, at the
time dominated by Egypt
(Verse 10)
And it [the little horn] waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the
stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.
Antiochus gained prominence throughout
the empire, even to the host of heaven.
The host of heaven must have meant to
Daniel the very nation on earth to be properly considered heaven’s earthly
host, his people, the Israelites. Of
course, the word host refers to a
mass of armies (cf. Isaiah 13:4), angels (cf. Job 38:7), or stars (cf. Jeremiah
33:22).
In this case, however, Daniel is
metaphorically describing the spiritual leaders and the children of Israel (cf.
Exodus 7:4; Numbers 2:4). The little horn cast down God’s faithful people and
trampled upon them to the ground (cf. Genesis 22:17; compare Revelation
12:13-17).
So, after subduing Egypt, Antiochus
invaded Israel and came up against Jerusalem. Much of the historical accounts
are chronicled in the apocryphal books of 1 and 2 Maccabees. His reign was
characterized by much cruelty, especially with his desecration of the Temple.
Some of his anti-Semitic atrocities include:
1. He first slew 100,000 Jews
2. He murdered 40,000 Jews in three days
3. He sold an equal number of Jews into
slavery
4. He spread hate propaganda against the
Jews, causing extreme anti-Semitism
(Verse 11)
Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the
daily sacrifice was
taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.
In 175 A.D. Antiochus
expelled and imprisoned the official high priest Onias III and
replaced him with his Hellenistic brother, Jaso, then later with Menelaus. At this point, thinking
himself to be an incarnation of the Greek god Jupiter, Antiochus then assumed
the title of Theos Epiphanes, meaning
god manifest, thus setting himself greater than the Prince of the Host, i.e.,
commander of the army of the Lord, Jehovah (cf. Joshua 5:14).
And by him the daily sacrifice was taken away
Once in control,
Antiochus abolished the continual daily morning and evening sacrifices (cf.
Exodus 29-38; Leviticus 6:13; Numbers 28:1-8). He suspended all Temple
services. And, Yahweh was forbidden to be worshipped.
And the place of His sanctuary was cast down
Even though he did not
destroy the sanctuary, Antiochus Epiphanes forged a destructive campaign to
profane the Temple in Jerusalem. He began by constructing a Greek Olympian
stadium northwest of the Temple in view of the Holy of Holies. To participate
in any games, athletes were required to compete naked, thus causing painful uncircumcision
to be promulgated.
On December 25th,
167 B, C., Antiochus Epiphanes officially changed God’s ordained sacrificial
system. He accomplished this in several ways:
1. By sacrificing a giant
adult female pig atop the brazen altar
2. By forcing the Temple
priests to swallow its meat (pork)
3. By spraying a blood
broth throughout the sanctuary
4. By rededicating the
Temple of the God to Zeus
5. By erecting a statue
of Zeus in the Holy of Holies
6. By establishing harlotry
as a form of worship in the Temple
7. By confiscating the
Temple treasures:
a. The golden candlestick
b. The table of showbread
c. The altar of incense
d. The veil of the Temple
e. The gold and silver
vessels
(Verse 12)
And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of
transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and
prospered.
An understanding of
the verse indicates that authority was given to Antiochus by God’s divine
permission. A host or an army of Jewish believers was given into his hands and surrendered
to such idolatrous rites.
Understand, that when
the remnant returned to the land from Babylonian captivity, many did not return
to the Lord. And, because of persecution, no doubt, they willingly
participated.
It cast down the truth to the ground
Books of the Law and
the Torah were shredded to pieces and burned. Additionally, Jewish customs and
observances were completely prohibited. Anyone caught in violation was
immediately put to death. Therefore, apostasy was temporarily successful in its
undertaking.
1. The Revelation of the Vision (Vv. 1-2)
2. The Presentation of the Vision (Vv. 3-14)
a. A Ram (Vv. 3-4)
b. A He-goat (Vv. 5-8)
c. A Little Horn (Vv. 9-12)
3. The Investigation of the Vision (Vv. 13-14)
(Verse 13)
Then I heard one saint speaking, and another
saint said unto that certain saint which
spake, How long shall be the
vision concerning the
daily sacrifice, and the transgression
of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under
foot?
The Inquires
Daniel heard two
saints discussing or inquiring about the time element in his vision. The saint, i.e., holy one (cf. Daniel 4:17),
or angel is God’s messenger of prophetic illumination.
Several questions were
asked by the holy ones:
Question #1: How long
shall the vision concerning the daily sacrifice be fulfilled?
Question #2: How long
shall the vision concerning the rebellion or revolt of desolation (Antiochus) be
fulfilled?
Question #3: How long
shall the surrender of the earthly sanctuary be fulfilled?
Question #4: How long
shall the host of God’s people being trampled underfoot be fulfilled?
(Verse
14)
And he said to me, “For two thousand three
hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”
The Reply
A holy messenger of
God responded to the other saint by saying:
1. The disruption period
of the daily sacrifices
2. The destruction period
of Antiochus Epiphanes
3. The desecration period
of the Temple sanctuary
4. The domination period
of God-fearing Jews
All these atrocities continued
for 2,300 days (i.e., 6 years, 4
months, and 20 days), exactly as Daniel had predicted.
Timeline
A. On December 25, 173
B.C. Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the Temple
B. On September 6, 171
B.C. the reckoning of Antiochus Epiphanes’ crusade of the destruction of
Jerusalem and hatred against the Jews ensued
C. On December 25, 165
B.C. Antiochus Epiphanes was defeated by Judah Maccabee who led a rebellion.
The results:
a. The restoration of the
Temple
b. The restoration of
observances
c. The restoration of
Jewish worship
D. In November/December 164
B.C. Antiochus Epiphanes died in Persia from defeat, depression, and failure
The Aftermath
What began as a long
series of anti-Semitic transgressions, culminated in a celebration of Dedication.
Hanukah, an extra-biblical feast, was instituted in commemoration of the
restoration of Jerusalem and its Temple. It was on this Feast, that Jesus set
in motion the plot for Him to be crucified by proclaiming to be One with the
Father (cf. John 10:23-30).
Forthcoming, the angel
Gabriel will explain away any doubts Daniel had regarding the meaning of his
vision.
QUESTIONS:
1. Who were the four notable horns?
2. Who does the prophetic historic little horn depict?
3. Who does the prophetic future little horn depict?
4. Who is the little horn of Chapter 7?
5. How did the little horn obtain its power?
6. How long was it until the sanctuary was
cleansed?
7. What feast emerged from the restoration
of the Temple?
If this study was a blessing to you, make it a blessing to others.
SAVE AND FORWARD
THIS LINK
No comments:
Post a Comment