Courage in the Midst of Captivity (6)

Daniel 8

Last week, we started on Daniel’s group of visions concerning future prophesies. We learned about the four beasts and what the meaning was. This week we have another vision, but instead of four kingdoms like last week, we will only concentrate on two kingdoms-Medo-Persia and Greece. If you remember last week, Daniel’s first vision was in the first year of King Belshazzar’s reign. This vision takes place two years later, in the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar. In this vision, D aniel is physically in Babylon, but is supernaturally transported to Susa, a place that is just a fork in the road, a no name town some 250 miles east of Babylon and 120 miles north of the Persian Gulf. In his vision, he first sees a ram with two horns, one being longer than the other. The longer horn is obviously Persia, with the shorter horn being Media. We saw a similar comparison last week with the vision of the beast that looked like a bear that was raised up on one side. He sees the ram coming from the east (Persia), victoriously pushing to the west (to conquer Syria), to the north (to conquer Armenia), and to the south (to conquer Egypt). An interesting piece of history-4th century historian Marcellinus states that the Persian ruler Darius bore the head of a ram as he led his army.

The other creature Daniel sees in this vision is the one-horned goat, which represents Greece. I want you to pay close attention to verse 5. it says he was coming from the west over the surface of the whole earth without touching the ground. Do you remember last week, the beast that represented Greece was the leopard that moved swiftly? Greece and Alexander the Great conquered the whole earth more quickly than anyone in human history, therefore moving so fast across the surface of the whole earth, his feet never touched the ground. I remember as a child, me and my brothers used to see who could skips rocks across the water the furthest, and who could do the most skips. Has anyone done this? I’m sure you have. The rock is moving so fast across the top of the water, that it skips and never touches the water until gravity comes into play.

The goat rushes the ram which is before him. He breaks its horns, smashes and stamps it to pieces. This prophesy of the ram and goat places a microscope on the second and third world empires-Medo-Persia and Greece. Historical drawings have been discovered which depict a one-horned goat as the symbol for the ancient Greek armies. Verse 6 says that the goat rushed at the ram in his mighty wrath. Alexander was moved with anger because the Persians had tried to invade and take over Greece. Josephus tells us that Alexander was met outside Jerusalem by Juddua, Israel’s high priest, dressed in all his magnificient apparel. Juddua showed Alexander how Daniel had predicted his defeat of the Persians some 225 years earlier. The high priest then proceeded to read Daniel chapter 8, when Alexander fell down, worshipped, and spared Jerusalem. But everyone eventually has a downfall, no matter how mighty you are, because we are only human. Daniel sees this powerful horn suddenly broken and its might divided fourfold. In 323 B.C., Alexander died at the age of 32. His kingdom then was divided among his four generals. Ptolemy took the southern part, Egypt. Seleucus took the eastern section, Syria. Cassander took the western division, Greece. Lysimachus took the northern area, Asia Minor. These powers, especially the Ptolemies and Seleucids, battled each other for domination of the Middle East until the rise of the Roman Empire.

The historical little horn-Antiochus Ephiphanes ruled in Syria from 175-164 B.C. This little horn rose out of the four horns (4 generals) which arose from the broken horn of the Greek goat (Alexander the Great). Antiochus was the 8th king in the Seleucid dynasty. In 170 B.C., Ptolemy VI tried to recover territory ruled by Antiochus. Antiochus was victorious and proclaimed himself King of Egypt. As he returned, trouble broke out in Jerusalem, which he violently and brutally subdued. Antiochus returned to Egypt in 168 B.C., but was humiliated and forced to leave Egypt by Rome to whom Egypt had appealed to for help. In a rage, Antiochus returned through Jerusalem and took his wrath out on the city. He slaughtered over 40,000 in just three days and sold an equal number as slaves. He instituted forced worship of the Greek god Jupiter/Zeus. He forbade the observation of the Mosiac law, the Sabbath, the Feast Days, Sacrifices, Circumcision, and laws concerning ceremonial cleanliness.

On December 15, 168 B.C., Antiochus sacrificed a giant sow on an idolatrous altar he made in the Temple. He forced the priests to eat its flesh, sprinkled its blood throughout the Temple, carried off the sacred vessels and destroyed the sacred books. He then placed the “abomination of desolation” , an image of Jupiter, in the Holy of Holies[foreshadowing what the Antichrist will one day do]. The Temple was desecrated for 2,300 days. Antiochus eventually died in Babylon in 164 B.C. completely insane.

The prophetic little horn is the Antichrist. Antiochus IV Ephianes was the forerunner of what this coming evil ruler of the last days will do:

-Both would conquer much.

-Both would magnify themselves.

-Both would be masters of deceit.

-Both would offer a false peace plan.

-Both would hate and persecute Israel.

-Both would profane the temple.

-Both would be energized by Satan.

-Both would defile the Temple for 3.5 years and be active in the Middle East for about 7 years.

-Both would speak against the Lord God.

-Both would be utterly destroyed by God.

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