Daniel 8. We move into the second part of Daniel s book. They would be conquered and oppressed by Gentiles

Transcription

1 Daniel 8 We mve int the secnd part f Daniel s bk Chapters 2-7 were written in Aramaic, and therefre they were directed at bth the Jew and Gentile In thse chapters, we fllwed a chiasm that traced the Lrd s wrking t bring wrld empires int and ut f pwer The chiastic structure served t emphasize that the Lrd was in cntrl and that all things were accrding t His purpses fr Israel They wuld be cnquered and ppressed by Gentiles But they were als under Gd s hand thrugh it all Nw Daniel returns t writing exclusively in Hebrew, indicating he s speaking nly t the Jewish audience in Israel And the events that he describes are sme f the mst fascinating and imprtant prphecy in the whle f scripture In chapters 8-12, Daniel receives visins that address each f the remaining Gentile natins in the Age f Gentiles Beginning tday, Daniel will explain hw the Med-Persians will transitin t the Greek Empire And then in later chapters we learn hw the Greek Empire will prceed And then hw the furth kingdm will prceed Finally, we learn details f hw that furth kingdm will cme t its end But bviusly, Daniel desn t ffer us a cmplete accunting f everything these empires d during the hundreds f years they will rule Instead, his prphecies fcus n hw these kingdms impact Israel In particular, hw each kingdm will accmplish the central purpse f the Age f the Gentiles That is hw they trample Jerusalem and the temple 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Daniel 8 2 f 24 Tnight in chapter 8, the fcus is n the secnd and third kingdms Hw will these kingdms deal with Israel and the city f Jerusalem and the temple? The visins cme t Daniel during the final years Babylnian empire S fr Daniel and Israel they were truly prphecy But f curse, the events in this chapter are just histry nw, and therefre we might ask why it matters t us tday? The answer is that this chapter serves t authenticate later chapters prphecies When we see hw accurately Daniel described the events f the Med-Persian and Greek Empires, we have greater cnfidence in his later prphecies Because just as it was with the statue and beasts prphecies, the fcus in these fur chapters is squarely n the final days f the final kingdm S let s start with the first part f chapter 8 In this chapter we learn abut an unexpectedly pwerful wrld leader wh cmes frm ut f nwhere t dethrne a suppsedly undefeatable ppnent... Dan. 8:1 In the third year f the reign f Belshazzar the king a visin appeared t me, Daniel, subsequent t the ne which appeared t me previusly. Dan. 8:2 I lked in the visin, and while I was lking I was in the citadel f Susa, which is in the prvince f Elam; and I lked in the visin and I myself was beside the Ulai Canal. Dan. 8:3 Then I lifted my eyes and lked, and behld, a ram which had tw hrns was standing in frnt f the canal. Nw the tw hrns were lng, but ne was lnger than the ther, with the lnger ne cming up last. Dan. 8:4 I saw the ram butting westward, nrthward, and suthward, and n ther beasts culd stand befre him nr was there anyne t rescue frm his pwer, but he did as he pleased and magnified himself. Daniel dates this prphecy t the third year f Belshazzar 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Daniel 8 3 f 24 Remember, chapter 7 was dated t the first year f Belshazzar, while chapter 5 was set 12 years earlier in the final hurs f the king s rule S we re jumping arund in time, but clearly chrnlgy is nt Daniel s first pririty His bk is rganized t cnvey the significance f these events Daniel s visin begins with the citadel at Susa Susa was a an imprtant city in the Babylnian Empire It was lcated abut 200 miles east f Babyln and 150 miles nrth f the Persian Gulf The Cde f Hammurabi, a series f 7ft tall stne belisks and tablets fund there in 1901 The cde was the law f the Babylnian king Hammurabi and it described varius rules fr justice and civil cntracts Susa was in Elam, a prvince f Babyln in mdern-day Iran It sat n the edge f the Babylnian Empire But the city later became the capital f the Med-Persian empire after it defeated Babyln S the city has dual meaning It represents Babyln s pwer giving way t the next empire In Daniel s visin, he s been transprted t the city standing next t the Ulai canal, an artificial waterway that cnnected tw rivers near Susa Daniel s persnal invlvement in the visin may explain why he mves t talking abut himself in the first persn Previusly, he s been talking in the third persn Nw s he telling f his persnal experiences When we remember he is nw writing in Hebrew, this change suggests Daniel was speaking as an eyewitness directly t the Jewish peple cncerning their shared future Then we re tld f a ram with tw hrns standing in Susa The ram had tw hrns, but ne hrn was larger than the ther 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Daniel 8 4 f 24 As we try t understand the meaning f the symbl f a ram, we ntice that the lpsided nature f the hrns reminds us the bear in chapter 7 The bear std lpsided t represented the unequal unin f the Med-Persian Empire The Persians were far mre pwerful and in shrt rder, they tk cntrl f the unin S immediately we begin t think that the ram with unequal hrns may be anther representatin f the Med-Persian Empire And when we lk mre clsely at the symbl f the ram itself, we find cnfirmatin The ram was an imprtant symbl fr the Persians In their pagan religin, the Persians represented their primary gd as a ram A ram s head was carried by the cmmander f the army when ging int battle Even in the ancient zdiac f the night sky, Persia was assciated with Aries, the ram cnstellatin S the hrns represent the tw parts f the Empire, the Medes and Persians A lpsided ram standing in the future capital city f Persian is a uniquely apprpriate symbl fr the rise f the Med-Persian empire The Persians were the mre pwerful, thus the lnger hrn And the hrn cmes up last because the Persians tk cntrl away frm the Medes wh held it early Finally, the hrns sit n a ram reflecting the way the Med- Persian empire becmes a Persian empire by the end And the ram s behavir als reflects that natin s ascent t pwer ver Babyln The ram in the visin did as rams are wnt t d It butted everything within its reach nrth, suth and west It desn t g east thugh 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Daniel 8 5 f 24 The natin f Persia was the pwer f the east, s it cnquered in the ther directins These three directins were pictured in the three ribs f the bear s muth The pwer f this ram was unchallenged, ding what it wanted we re tld in v.4, because it is the wrld pwer Next we hear f anther pwer cming t challenge this supreme ram Dan. 8:5 While I was bserving, behld, a male gat was cming frm the west ver the surface f the whle earth withut tuching the grund; and the gat had a cnspicuus hrn between his eyes. Dan. 8:6 He came up t the ram that had the tw hrns, which I had seen standing in frnt f the canal, and rushed at him in his mighty wrath. Dan. 8:7 I saw him cme beside the ram, and he was enraged at him; and he struck the ram and shattered his tw hrns, and the ram had n strength t withstand him. S he hurled him t the grund and trampled n him, and there was nne t rescue the ram frm his pwer. Dan. 8:8 Then the male gat magnified himself exceedingly. But as sn as he was mighty, the large hrn was brken; and in its place there came up fur cnspicuus hrns tward the fur winds f heaven. Nw a gat arrives n the scene and cntends with the ram Rams are male sheep, which are bviusly a different animal than a gat S this change in type f animals wuld seem t indicate a change in kingdm That cnclusin is based n what we saw happening in chapter 7 Each beast represented a different kingdm We ve already seen that the ram is the Med-Persia empire, s we re lking at a kingdm with the capacity t challenge the Persians Clearly, that leads us t assume that the gat represents the Greek Empire N ther empire challenged the Persian Empire until the Greeks destryed them 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Daniel 8 6 f 24 As we lk back t the Alexandrian Empire, we find that the gat was a ancient symbl fr Greece The cnstellatin Capricrn, which is latin fr gat hrn, std fr Greece in the ancient zdiac And the features f this gat match ther aspects f the Greek empire First, this gat had a single cnspicuus hrn Nrmally, gats have tw hrns s pssessing nly ne hrn suggests a single pwerful ruler f this kingdm That certainly fits with the histry f Alexander the Great He ruled alne and single-handedly cnquered the vast territry that wuld becme the Greek Empire Next, the way this gat tk cntrl away frm the ram fits histry In v.6 it says the gat rushed at the ram Certainly speed was an essential element in Alexander s strategy fr victry He reached wrld dminatin in nly 10 years frm the beginning f his military career He defeated the near east and middle east in barely three years And he defeated the Persians in a series f decisive battles that resulted in the end f their reign ver the wrld The Persians greatly utnumbered the Greeks in battle, as was the Persians style f warfare But Alexander was a brilliant military tactician wh defeated Persia with mvement and disciplined trps S in v.7 we re tld the gat cmpletely ends the strength f the ram S far all the details match with what we knw f these tw Empires The cnfirming detail, as if we needed ne, is fund in v.8 Daniel predicts the early death f the leader f this kingdm 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Daniel 8 7 f 24 He says that the ne hrn n the gat will magnify himself, yet at the mment he becmes mighty, the hrn is brken In ther wrds, this leader desn t stay in pwer after he has cnquered the ram Sure enugh, this is a perfect descriptin f Alexander After cnquering Persia, he went further east int India befre turning back because his trps were hmesick He eventually returned t Babyln determined t make the massive city his capital city But befre he culd even plan the next steps f his gvernment, Alexander died suddenly This detail is a stunning cnfirmatin f the accuracy f Daniel s prphecy Years befre the Med-Persia Empire rse t pwer, and centuries befre the birth f Alexander, Daniel predicted his early death Or we shuld say the Lrd predicted it, because the Lrd desired it Alexander was said t pint t the bk f Daniel t say he had a divine appintment with destiny as a wrld ruler He must have cnveniently verlked hw the hrn came t its end After Alexander s death, there was a struggle fr cntrl ver his kingdm Eventually, civil wars resulted in the kingdm being divided fur ways under the cntrl f fur f Alexander s generals The divisins f the empire ran alng cmpass directins There was an east, west, nrth and suth divisin f his kingdm That result is als mirrred in this uncanny predictin In v.8 we re tld that in place f the large hrn were fur cnspicuus hrns And these were pinting tward the fur winds f heaven 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Daniel 8 8 f 24 Ntice it s the fur winds (r in Hebrew is says the furs spirits) f heaven That is these matters are appinted by Gd, as they must since it s all being described in perfect detail hundreds f years in advance Up t this pint the prphecy is treading ver ld grund, albeit with new imagery We re still waiting fr the new infrmatin And s nw it cmes Dan. 8:9 Out f ne f them came frth a rather small hrn which grew exceedingly great tward the suth, tward the east, and tward the Beautiful Land. Dan. 8:10 It grew up t the hst f heaven and caused sme f the hst and sme f the stars t fall t the earth, and it trampled them dwn. Dan. 8:11 It even magnified itself t be equal with the Cmmander f the hst; and it remved the regular sacrifice frm Him, and the place f His sanctuary was thrwn dwn. Dan. 8:12 And n accunt f transgressin the hst will be given ver t the hrn alng with the regular sacrifice; and it will fling truth t the grund and perfrm its will and prsper. Dan. 8:13 Then I heard a hly ne speaking, and anther hly ne said t that particular ne wh was speaking, Hw lng will the visin abut the regular sacrifice apply, while the transgressin causes hrrr, s as t allw bth the hly place and the hst t be trampled? Dan. 8:14 He said t me, Fr 2,300 evenings and mrnings; then the hly place will be prperly restred. We re still lking at the gat and it s fur new hrns that replaced Alexander By lgical cnclusin, we see the fur new hrns as representing the rulers f the fur divisins f Alexander s kingdm And if s, then the new, smaller hrn that grws up amng them must be yet anther ruler It als draws ur attentin t the earlier mentin f a little hrn in chapter 7 In that chapter, the little hrn described a man wh arrives in the furth kingdm at the very end 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Daniel 8 9 f 24 We identified him as the antichrist wh will cme 3.5 years befre the Lrd s return Yet this little hrn is part f the third kingdm and he cmes sn after Alexander s death S clearly this little hrn is different than the ne described in chapter 7 And the events surrunding his appearance are different than thse f at the end f the age Nevertheless, the fact that this symbl is being used fr the secnd time is nt a cincidence The Lrd is purpsely reusing the little hrn symbl t draw ur attentin t similarities between these tw men Thugh they lived in very different times and circumstances, they are cnnected in spirit and in actins T understand the cnnectin, let s lk at what this little hrn des He grws great in three directins He ges suth, east and tward the Beautiful Land The beautiful land is always a reference in scripture t Israel r Palestine generally Jer. 3:19 Then I said, Hw I wuld set yu amng My sns And give yu a pleasant land, The mst beautiful inheritance f the natins! And I said, Yu shall call Me, My Father, And nt turn away frm fllwing Me. Daniel als uses this term several mre times in the same way These details help us identify a man wh fits this descriptin Antichus IV, wh was the eighth king f the Seleucid empire The Seleucid empire was lcated in present-day Syria And it was ne f the fur divisins f the Greek Empire after Alexander s death 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Daniel 8 10 f 24 He fught against the ther Greek divisins seeking t gain pwer ver them He fught t gain territry in the east, suth And mst famusly, he invaded Palestine and cnquered the land f Israel S far, Antichus IV fits the descriptin f the little hrn in this chapter Then in v.10 we get t the pint The little hrn kept grwing until it reached heavens where caused stars in the sky t fall t the earth and be trampled Remember, Daniel is describing the things he saw in a visin And these things are symblic, nt literal Just as the hrns std fr kings, s d stars falling in the night sky stand fr smething else What d stars represent in scripture? Here we get a chance t exercise tw imprtant principles f symblic interpretatin First, we lk t see hw the Bible interprets this symbl If we did that hmewrk, we find that when stars are used symblically, they represent angels S we might be tempted t stp there and declare that these falling stars are fallen angels, that is demns But befre we can cme t that cnclusin, we must apply anther majr rule f interpretatin We must check t see if ur interpretatin fits the cntext f this passage Fr example, des it make sense that a man, Antichus IV, can reach up int the heavenly realm and cause angels t fall And can that man trample (i.e., destry) these beings? Suddenly, ur interpretatin desn t make much sense, since we can t expect that a man wuld have the pwer t bring angels dwn frm heaven 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Daniel 8 11 f 24 S what d stars mean then? In this case, we g back lking fr ther uses f stars as a symbl And we find this in Genesis 37 Gen. 37:9 Nw he had still anther dream, and related it t his brthers, and said, L, I have had still anther dream; and behld, the sun and the mn and eleven stars were bwing dwn t me. Gen. 37:10 He related it t his father and t his brthers; and his father rebuked him and said t him, What is this dream that yu have had? Shall I and yur mther and yur brthers actually cme t bw urselves dwn befre yu t the grund? Jseph had a dream in which the sun, mn and stars are used symblically Jacb gives the interpretatin f the dream He declares that the stars represent the sns f Israel Nw we have an alternate way in which the Lrd has used stars symblically If we return t Daniel 8 and use the symbl again in that alternate way, the cntext fits perfectly Antichus IV cmes int the Beautiful land, which is Israel And when he arrives, he defeats the sns f Israel and brings them t destructin Nt nly des the symbl nw fit the cntext, but it als fit s Daniel s purpse in writing He is explaining hw each f these kingdms will impact the peple f Israel Histry recrds that when Antichus arrived in Palestine, he came with a particular vengeance against the Jewish peple In just ne campaign against Israel, he killed 40,000 Jews and tk anther 10,000 int slavery Having cnquered the land, he cntinued mving suth t defeat the Rmans in Egypt 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 Daniel 8 12 f 24 Instead, he lst t the Rman cmmander Ppilius Laenas S he was frced t retreat back nrth int Palestine, angry and seeking t take his anger ut n Jews In December 168 he seized Jerusalem n a Sabbath and began t d everything he culd t ffend the Jews He placed a statue f the pagan gd Zeus in the temple He rdered that a pig be sacrificed in the temple and the animal s bld pured ut n the altar This act was the mst hrrifying thing Israel had seen in the temple s histry It was s bad that the Jews gave the event a special title that stuck in their cllective memry They tk t calling it the abminatin f deslatin We see a veiled reference t this event in v.11 The little hrn will magnify himself t being equal t the Cmmander f the hst The hst is a reference t the stars cllectively And the wrd fr Cmmander culd mean the High Priest r even Gd Himself Putting this tgether, the little hrn magnifies himself as the greatest in Israel, stps sacrifices and desecrates the temple Antichus did all these things First, he added the term Epiphanes t his name, which means the manifestatin f Gd, cmparing himself t Gd Later the Jews changes the wrd slightly t Epimanes which means madman Furthermre, in 171 BC he remved the legitimate high priest f Israel and appinted a wicked man t serve him in that rle This prevented the legitimate daily sacrifice in the temple Since his man was nt truly the high priest, there culd be n daily sacrifice in the temple 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 Daniel 8 13 f 24 His actins against Israel culminated with the deslatin in 168 BC In v.12 Daniel is tld these things cme t pass because f Israel s transgressin This is a reference t Israel s failure t keep the Old Cvenant It was Israel s failure t keep their cvenant with Gd that brught abut the Age f the Gentiles And this passage is cnfirmatin that these terrible events are rdained by Gd in keeping with the prmised penalties f the Old Cvenant The hst f Israel will be given int the hand f this man fr a time And he will als fling truth t the grund Israel and the temple were intended t be a testimny t the truth t the wrld But it has been (temprarily) flung t the grund Then in vs Daniel verhears a cnversatin between tw angels, r s it wuld seem One angel turns t anther and asks hw lng will Israel be subjected t these things? The angels are having this cnversatin fr Daniel s benefit f curse It seems that Daniel didn t even knw what questins t ask The answer t the questin is 2,300 evenings and mrnings The phrase evening and mrning is a clear reference t the Jewish way f reckning a 24-hur day S all these things will last 6 years, 4 mnths and 20 days Once again, histry bears ut the truth f this prphecy Beginning n September 9, 171 BC the regular authrized sacrifices were nt pssible withut a legitimate high priest But the Maccabean revlt ending with the rededicatin f the temple n December 25, 165 BC allwed Israel t reinstate the sacrifices 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 Daniel 8 14 f 24 There are 2,300 days n the Jewish calendar between thse tw dates Here again the accuracy f Daniel s predictin is uncanny We shuld expect nthing less frm Gd f curse But that s the pint, that these prphecies are clearly frm Gd And He s nt merely predicting the future, He s cntrlling it as He chses Nw at this pint, I have been wrking thrugh the visin and its interpretatin based n an analysis f the symbls and a cmparisn t histry But f curse, Daniel didn t have the benefit f hindsight as he received this message the first time S he s thrughly cnfused abut it s meaning And s the Lrd prvides Daniel with an interpretatin f the visin in the secnd half f the chapter Having this interpretatin will serve as cnfirmatin t us that we have prperly understd the prphecy But the interpretatin intrduces a new understanding as well, ne built upn that cnnectin t the little hrn symbl f chapter 7 Dan. 8:15 When I, Daniel, had seen the visin, I sught t understand it; and behld, standing befre me was ne wh lked like a man. Dan. 8:16 And I heard the vice f a man between the banks f Ulai, and he called ut and said, Gabriel, give this man an understanding f the visin. Dan. 8:17 S he came near t where I was standing, and when he came I was frightened and fell n my face; but he said t me, Sn f man, understand that the visin pertains t the time f the end. First, ntice that Daniel is assisted by ne in his visin wh lks like a man In v.16 we discver that this man was n man at all but was actually the angel Gabriel The name Gabriel means the man f El, r the man f Gd He is an archangel, the leader f the angels 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

15 Daniel 8 15 f 24 The angelic realm is divided in scripture int cherubs, seraphim and angels Gabriel and Michael are the nly angels named in scripture And bth are archangels, which suggests they have high psitins f authrity The vice f a man between the banks f the channel calls ut t Gabriel telling him t give Daniel the interpretatin We will hear mre abut this mysterius man between the banks later Meanwhile Gabriel carries ut these instructins His first cmment t Daniel is that this visins pertain t the time f the end This is ur first clue that the thing in this dream lk frward t smething beynd even the Persian and Greek empires In fact, the visin has a secnd player f meaning that draws ur attentin nce mre t the end f the furth kingdm Dan. 8:18 Nw while he was talking with me, I sank int a deep sleep with my face t the grund; but he tuched me and made me stand upright. Dan. 8:19 He said, Behld, I am ging t let yu knw what will ccur at the final perid f the indignatin, fr it pertains t the appinted time f the end. Dan. 8:20 The ram which yu saw with the tw hrns represents the kings f Media and Persia. Dan. 8:21 The shaggy gat represents the kingdm f Greece, and the large hrn that is between his eyes is the first king. Dan. 8:22 The brken hrn and the fur hrns that arse in its place represent fur kingdms which will arise frm his natin, althugh nt with his pwer. Daniel s faint int a cma-like sleep in v.18 is significant It reflects a new stage t his visin, mving t a new phase f revelatin That gives us sme license t understand these visins in anther way And in v.19 Gabriel says these things relate in sme way t the final perid, the indignatin at the appinted time f the end 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

16 Daniel 8 16 f 24 And then Gabriel mves t explaining the ram and gat and hrns And his explanatin tracks exactly with ur earlier interpretatin These things describe events in these tw perids f the age f the Gentiles But then the archangel mves t explain hw these symbls als allude t ther events in a later day Dan. 8:23 In the latter perid f their rule, When the transgressrs have run their curse, A king will arise, Inslent and skilled in intrigue. Dan. 8:24 His pwer will be mighty, but nt by his wn pwer, And he will destry t an extrardinary degree And prsper and perfrm his will; He will destry mighty men and the hly peple. Dan. 8:25 And thrugh his shrewdness He will cause deceit t succeed by his influence; And he will magnify himself in his heart, And he will destry many while they are at ease. He will even ppse the Prince f princes, But he will be brken withut human agency. Dan. 8:26 The visin f the evenings and mrnings Which has been tld is true; But keep the visin secret, Fr it pertains t many days in the future. As we cnsider the archangels tells Daniel, dn t frget that we knw the little hrn is a symbl f Antichus IV Everything we saw in the prphecy matched his actins The places and dates were a perfect match And he is a part f the third kingdm, f Greece Nevertheless, we re starting t hear new things in this descriptin What Gabriel tells Daniel fits Antichus t a degree But sme f the details g beynd what Antichus des 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

17 Daniel 8 17 f 24 S we need t understand hw these tw truths are wrking tgether Hw these visins can certainly describe Antichus And als hw they can describe smene else in the end f the age First, Gabriel says in v.23 that these events are set in the latter part f their rule Their rule must refer t the rule f the Persians and particularly the Greeks S here again this must refer t Antichus But the Gabriel ges frward in time He says that when the transgressins have run their curse, a king will arise The plural transgressins is a reference t all the events described in the earlier visin T all the sins Antichus cmmits against Israel and the temple After this a king arises S nw we mve int new territry, t smething we didn t detect the first time in the visin The visin tld a stry f nt nly what Antichus wuld d in his day but als f what anther king wuld d in anther day at the end f the age These tw are cnnected such that the same visin can tell bth their stries And yet they are different kings living in different times Therefre, we must cnclude that the first king, Antichus, is a type f the secnd king A type in scripture is the use f ne set f circumstances t prefigure a later set f circumstances The earlier set f circumstances is a type f the later circumstances 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

18 Daniel 8 18 f 24 And in that way, a type is always a lessr in relatinship t the fulfillment f the type Fr example, the Bible says Abraham s sacrifice f Isaac n the tp f Mt Mriah is a type It pictures the Father sacrificing Christ n the very same muntain in a future day Clearly Abraham s attempt t sacrifice his sn was nt nearly as significant as Jesus actual sacrifice S the type is a lessr t the greater fulfillment that came later In this case, the life and circumstances f Antichus is a lessr t the circumstances that surrund this later king Gabriel is describing In v.23 Gabriel says this cming king is inslent and skilled in intrigue The Hebrew wrd translated inslent means t be strng in a rugh r utrageus way And skilled in intrigue means having understanding f puzzles and enigmas This is a man wh is very strng but als a man with special insight t understand his place in histry Thse are a very effective and ptentially dangerus cmbinatin f traits in any aspiring wrld leader Next in v.24 we learn this man is pwerful but nt by his wn pwer He gets his pwer frm smewhere else, smewhere utside himself And with that great pwer he is able t destry t an extrardinary degree He will destry like n ne befre him It s details like this that tell us we re lking at smene beynd Antichus First Antichus relied very much n his wn pwer And it wasn t verwhelming 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

19 Daniel 8 19 f 24 He culdn t even cnquer Egypt, thugh he did cntrl Israel fr a time And that s ne thing these tw men share: they bth prsper and are successful t at least partially destry the hly peple, the peple f Israel Remember, these last fur chapters deal with hw these cming Gentile natins will impact the peple f Israel And s that s the recurring theme we see here again Bth Antichus and the future king will have a measure f success against Israel and the temple The heart f the message is in v.25 Because f this cming king s shrewdness he will cause deceit t succeed by his influence This statement is a little enigmatic And we wuldn t have much luck understanding it except fr what we studied last week in chapter 7 Remember we learned that the little hrn f the furth beast will be a ruler in the last days f this age He will gain pwer 3.5 years befre Jesus Secnd Cming He rules the entire wrld, calling hisself Gd and directing the whle wrld t wrship him He is able t cnvince the wrld t accept this lie because he has been resurrected frm death The resurrectin happened by the pwer f Satan, wh gave his pwer t this king wh Revelatin calls the beast S nw Gabriel says that this king, nce again prtrayed as a little hrn f chapter 8, will cause deceit t succeed by his influence The deceit that this cming king will cause t succeed is the lie that he is Gd, the resurrected Messiah And he will cause this deceit t succeed because f his influence, that is his pwer given t him by Satan 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

20 Daniel 8 20 f 24 Speaking f this cming deceptin, Paul says 2Th. 2:7 Fr the mystery f lawlessness is already at wrk; nly he wh nw restrains will d s until he is taken ut f the way. 2Th. 2:8 Then that lawless ne will be revealed whm the Lrd will slay with the breath f His muth and bring t an end by the appearance f His cming; 2Th. 2:9 that is, the ne whse cming is in accrd with the activity f Satan, with all pwer and signs and false wnders, 2Th. 2:10 and with all the deceptin f wickedness fr thse wh perish, because they did nt receive the lve f the truth s as t be saved. 2Th. 2:11 Fr this reasn Gd will send upn them a deluding influence s that they will believe what is false, 2Th. 2:12 in rder that they all may be judged wh did nt believe the truth, but tk pleasure in wickedness. The man f lawlessness is a reference t this same man, the antichrist as we called him last week Paul says he will cme accrding t the activity f Satan He cmes with Satan s pwer and with false wnders And he cmes with deceptin f wickedness This is the deluding influence that the Lrd sends upn the wrld It s the false testimny that the resurrected antichrist is the Messiah Then having received Satan s pwer and having been resurrected, the antichrist will magnify himself in his heart Gabriel said Of curse we knw that Antichus did this, but s will the antichrist Again, Paul tell us this t 2Th. 2:3 Let n ne in any way deceive yu, fr it will nt cme unless the apstasy cmes first, and the man f lawlessness is revealed, the sn f destructin, 2Th. 2:4 wh ppses and exalts himself abve every s-called gd r bject f wrship, s that he takes his seat in the temple f Gd, displaying himself as being Gd. Here again, these tw men align in their activities 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

21 Daniel 8 21 f 24 Antichus did it in his day, and the antichrist will d it in his day t cme Next Gabriel says this man will destry man while at ease The antichrist will cme int pwer prmising peace But destructin cmes upn thse with him Jesus cnfirms this as well Matt. 24:36 But f that day and hur n ne knws, nt even the angels f heaven, nr the Sn, but the Father alne. Matt. 24:37 Fr the cming f the Sn f Man will be just like the days f Nah. Matt. 24:38 Fr as in thse days befre the fld they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Nah entered the ark, Matt. 24:39 and they did nt understand until the fld came and tk them all away; s will the cming f the Sn f Man be. The time f destructin that accmpanies the rise f this man will lead many t think that they have entered a perid f great peace and tranquility Instead, they are experiencing a calm befre the strm They will be destryed while at ease Finally, we re tld that this cming king will ppse Jesus Himself Here again Antichus ppsed Gd t But he didn t ppse Jesus persnally But Christ is ppsed by the antichrist That is the meaning f antichrist...it means ne wh ppses Christ The Bible says this ppsitin culminates with the Lrd s secnd cming t destry him As we read a mment earlier in 2Thess 2:8 2Th. 2:8 Then that lawless ne will be revealed whm the Lrd will slay with the breath f His muth and bring t an end by the appearance f His cming; 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

22 Daniel 8 22 f 24 Ntice at the end f v.25 Gabriel says this king will be destryed withut human agency Clearly that s a reference t Jesus defeating the antichrist at His secnd cming And by the same tken, it precludes us frm cncluding that these verses are describing Antichus Finally, ntice that Gabriel ends saying this visin pertains t many days in the future in v.26 That ftnte cnfirms that we re lking at smething beynd what Antichus alne did Yes, Antichus mirrrs these things in many cases But we re learning he is a type f the antichrist Gd brught him t Israel in the time f the third kingdm t give a preview f what was cming in the last days in a greater way The antichrist is Antichus n sterids He will d similar things but in greater and mre terrible ways In particular, the abminatin f deslatin will be repeated in a day t cme But it will be much mre severe than Antichus pig sacrifice Jesus refers t this cming abminatin as the breaking pint in Tribulatin when all hell breaks lse (literally) Matt. 24:15 Therefre when yu see the abminatin f deslatin which was spken f thrugh Daniel the prphet, standing in the hly place (let the reader understand), Matt. 24:16 then thse wh are in Judea must flee t the muntains. Ntice Jesus says there will be anther abminatin f deslatin in the temple in that day t cme And He adds the reader shuld have understanding f what He s talking abut Jesus is expecting His reader t g back t Daniel t understand what this abminatin invlves 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

23 Daniel 8 23 f 24 It invlves smene eliminating sacrifice frm the temple And in the prcess desecrating it, by seating himself in the temple declaring himself t be Gd as we read earlier S the little hrn f chapter 7 was a visin f the cming antichrist, and the little hrn f chapter 8 is als a reference t the same man In the case f chapter 8, the little hrn als stands fr Antichus IV But that assciatin is merely fr the purpse f creating a picture f the antichrist By that picture, we can cme t understand even better what the antichrist will d Why d we need this prphecy? In a sense, we dn t since we are destined t never see the antichrist while we are n earth Paul says in 2Thess 2:7 that the spirit f the antichrist, that is Satan, is being restrained by the Hly Spirit fr nw Only when the Hly Spirit is remved will Satan have freedm t act in raising up the antichrist And the remval f that restraining influence happens when the church is remved frm the earth S wh des need this prphecy? Again, it was written t help Israel understand hw the age f Gentiles wuld impact Israel In Antichus day, the peple f Israel culd take cmfrt knwing frm Daniel that they wuldn t be ppressed by Antichus frever Once the Maccabees succeeded in killing Antichus, they culd see the faithfulness f Gd tward Israel even in the midst f this age Nw again in a future day, Israel will have this wrd t explain hw the antichrist s terrible reign isn t intended t destry the natin He will gain a measure f success 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

24 Daniel 8 24 f 24 But in the end he will be destryed And even mre imprtant, the peple f Israel can see that Jesus their appinted Messiah sent t rescue them frm this ppressin Next week we lk at the timing f the age f Gentiles, particularly hw lng Israel will have t wait fr all these things t cmplete 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.