Daniel 8:8-12 The goat is succeeded by four other leaders
The goat became very powerful. But at the height of his power, his large horn was broken off. In the large horn’s place grew four prominent horns pointing in the four directions of the earth. Then from one of the prominent horns came a small horn whose power grew very great. It extended toward the south and the east and toward the glorious land of Israel. Its power reached to the heavens, where it attacked the heavenly army, throwing some of the heavenly beings and some of the stars to the ground and trampling them. It even challenged the Commander of heaven’s army by canceling the daily sacrifices offered to him and by destroying his Temple. The army of heaven was restrained from responding to this rebellion. So the daily sacrifice was halted, and truth was overthrown. The horn succeeded in everything it did.
David Guzik’s Enduring Word Commentary gives this explanation:
4. (9-12) The strong horn that arises from the four horns of the male goat.
And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land. And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down. Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.
a. A little horn which grew exceedingly great: This was fulfilled in one of the four successors to Alexander the Great. Since the dominion of this horn was extended toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land, we can identify the historical fulfillment of this little horn in Antiochus IV Epiphanes who ruled over Syria and Israel’s land under the Seleucid dynasty.
i. Israel’s land was contested between the dynasties of Seleucid and Ptolemy, but the Seleucids gained power over the region in the days of Antiochus III (198 B.C.).
ii. Antiochus IV gained the throne of his father (Antiochus III) by murdering his brother, the former king Seleucus Philopator. The son of Philopator was the rightful heir to the throne, but Antiochus IV had him held hostage in Rome. Antiochus IV legitimized his rule mainly through flattery and bribery.
iii. Antiochus IV assumed the title Epiphanes meaning, “illustrious” and alluding to deity. The ancient Jews twisted his name into “Epimanes” meaning, “madman.”
b. The Glorious Land: In the Hebrew, the same term was used for the land of Israel in Ezekiel 20:6 (the glory of all lands), Ezekiel 25:9 (the glory of the country), and in Daniel 11:16 and 11:41. Similar wording is used in Psalm 48:2.
i. We can rightly see the Glorious Land as the center of the world:
· It is the nerve center of civilization since the days of Abraham.
· It is the truth center from which flowed God’s revelation to man.
· It is the storm center of warring nations since the days of Joshua.
· It will be the peace center of the earth during the millennial reign of Jesus.
· It will be the home center for the Jewish people forever more.
c. He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host: Antiochus Epiphanes was an accurate and dramatic fulfillment of this prophecy in history – so much so that critics insist that the Book of Daniel must have been written after his time.
i. Antiochus Epiphanes exerted his dominion toward the south, toward the east, and toward the land of Israel.
ii. Antiochus Epiphanes murdered other rulers and persecuted the people of Israel (cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them).
iii. Antiochus Epiphanes blasphemed God and commanded idolatrous worship directed towards himself (exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host).
iv. Antiochus Epiphanes put a stop to temple sacrifices in Jerusalem (by him the daily sacrifices were taken away).
v. Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the temple (the place of His sanctuary was cast down).
vi. Antiochus Epiphanes opposed God and seemed to prosper (he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered).
d. It cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground: The host and stars are symbols used in the Old Testament for angels, kings and leaders, or the people of God at large. This prediction was fulfilled in Antiochus Epiphanes and his attacks against rulers and against God’s people in general.
i. The terms stars of heaven (Genesis 15:5, 22:17, 26:4) and the hosts of the LORD (Exodus 12:41) are at times used of God’s people in general.
ii. “Undoubtedly it is the design here to describe the pride and ambition of [the ‘little horn’], and to show that he did not think anything too exalted for his aspiration.” (Barnes)
e. And trampled them: Antiochus was an infamous persecutor of the Jewish people. He wanted them to submit to Greek culture and customs and was more than willing to use murder and violence to compel them.
i. Antiochus’s suppression of the Jews came to a head in December of 168 B.C. when he returned in defeat from Alexandria. He ordered his generals to seize Jerusalem on a Sabbath. There he set up an idol of Zeus and desecrated the altar by an offering of swine and sprinkling the pig’s juices in the sanctuary. Sacrifice stopped because the temple was desecrated.”
Notice that any time God gives prophecy, there are always nay-sayers who try to claim that the texts were written at the time of the events and not centuries earlier. But Daniel is rightly numbered among the prophets because of these visions. Why can’t God reveal future events to believers if He chooses?
Tomorrow we will continue to describe the horrors committed by Antiochus Epiphanes, but for now we must remember that no matter how awful, how threatening a dominating world leader may seem, eventually God in His Wisdom will remove that man. May God help us to continue to trust His timing and His power so that we will not be paralyzed by fear when we see such men appearing to succeed.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, we praise You, that You are all-powerful and all-knowing and that tyrants only succeed temporarily because You allow them to do so. Help us to continue to trust You and to worship You, no matter what. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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