Ancient Prophesies, Modern Problems

In Daniel 8, he is explaining a vision he had, and an angel was commanded to explain the vision. The ram with two horns represents Media and Persia. Persia was the larger of the two horns, and the ram stamped out everyone everywhere. All of this was also prophesied about in Isaiah 44, yet Cyrus, King of Persia, is called out by name long before he was born and is used by God to send His people back to the Promised Land that they had been taken out of by Babylon. Persia became arrogant and was wiped out by Greece, the goat in the dream. Alexander the Great represents one of the horns on the goat. The horns represented kings. When he died, the horn fell off, and four more took its place. This represents the four kingdoms his generals created when his kingdom was divided among them. Two of the major ones were the Seleucids and the Ptolemies. As they fought each other for power, Israel became a political football.

As the dream goes on, a baby horn emerges from one of the horns. It grew exceedingly great. This horn is Antiochus IV of the Seleucid Empire. He’s tricky, deceitful, and wild. He named himself “the appearance of glory,” but some used a play on words and called him “the appearance of a madman.” And he was. He took over the Ptolemies and, therefore, took over Judah. The leader in Israel at the time was the High Priest, Onias. His brother, Jason, paid off Antiochus so he could depose his brother and become the high priest, promising to make Israel more Greek-like. Jason’s servant, Menelaus, took tribute to the king and offered more money so he could be the high priest. Antiochus agrees. So, the priesthood that had been in the line of Aaron since the beginning comes to an end. A dramatic shift happens to the worship in the Temple. There is a major push to Helenize the Jewish people by ending their worship of Yahweh and replacing it with Zeus.

The Ptolemies and Seleucids continue to battle, but when Antiochus travels down to them to show up to fight, he finds a line drawn in the sand by Rome. He had to call off the battle and return home humiliated while Jason was trying to get his position back from Menelaus and the Jewish people pushing back on worshiping Zeus. He takes all of his wrath out on the people of Israel. He plundered the Temple and killed over 40,000 men, women, and children in three days. He displaced another 40,000 and tried to stamp out anything having to do with Yahweh.

This little horn, Antiochus, threw down the stars and the saints and trampled on them. He took away the burnt offering and threw truth to the ground. He didn’t just plunder the Temple, he set up an altar to Zeus and sacrificed a pig on it that he had spread throughout. He then had his soldiers sleep with prostitutes in every room to defile it further. This is known as the Abomination of Desolation.

After Daniel saw this, he asked the angel how long does this go on. He replied it would be 2,300 evenings until the Temple was restored to its rightful state. History tells us that Antiochus leaves Israel but keeps soldiers there to force worship of Zeus. Mattathias, an old priest, refused to sacrifice to Zeus, but a scared younger priest did. This caused Mattathias to take the sword and kill the priest and the soldiers. He then fled with his 5 sons. There continued to be skirmishes, but the tiny group of God’s people kept winning, and it drove Antiochus mad. Eventually, Mattathias died of old age, but his son, Judah the Maccabee, hammered the soldiers down. When Antiochus heard this, he died either of depression or a seizure. Regardless, God took him out. Judah returned to the Temple, found the candles, and restored it. This is celebrated as Hanukkah, the feast of lights.

What can we learn from all of this?

First, Heaven rules.

That’s the theme of this book. God sets up kings and deposes them; He uses them for His good. Over all these conquerings, we see God’s work: synagogues were created during the exile in Babylon; they returned under Persian rule; Greece brought one common language that could be spoken in all the synagogues; and Rome had a road system that facilitated the spread of the Gospel.

Second, be humble.

As soon as an empire becomes proud, God removes them. Serve your kingdom by embodying God’s kingdom values. We want kingdoms to flourish. We pray for our leaders. Heaven rules over all kingdoms, so take up the power He has given you, but do it with humility.

Lastly, be hopeful.

This world is crazy, and sin abounds, but in the midst of it, God will bring His people back, establish His name, accomplish His purposes, send His Son as an offering for sin, and redeem all who repent. Heaven rules and that’s good news for all who acknowledge Him. You can acknowledge that life is tough, but we don’t lose hope.