By Stephen J Bach DANIEL 8-9 Daniel 8:1-3 In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign. I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had already appeared to me. In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa in the province of Elam; in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal. I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later. The Medo-Persian Empire is represented by the two horns. The Persian Empire coming up later, but was more powerful than the Medians. Daniel 8:4-5 I watched the ram as he charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against him, and none could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased and became great. As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. The goat from the west is Greece, and the prominent horn between his eyes is Alexander the Great. If you read about the conquests of Alexander the Great, you will see that he conquered so rapidly, it was as if his feet never touched the ground. Daniel 8:6-8 He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at him in great rage. I saw him attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him; the goat knocked him to the ground and trampled on him, and none could rescue the ram from his power. The goat became very great, but at the height of his power his large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven. What an interesting prophecy! How could Daniel know this except by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit? The great horn, Alexander the Great, being broken off. Alexander was thirty-two years old when he died. The Grecian Empire was then passed on to his four generals. Daniel 8:9 Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land. The horn that “started small” is Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who during the last few years of his reign (168-164 BC) made a determined effort to destroy the Jewish faith. He in turn served as a type of the even more ruthless beast of the last days (the anti-Christ), who is also referred to in (Daniel 7:8) as a “little horn.” Antiochus was to extend his power over Israel, “the Beautiful Land,” and defeat the godly believers there. Then he set himself up to be the equal of God and ordered the daily sacrifices to end. Eventually the army of Judas Maccabeus recaptured Jerusalem and rededicated the temple to the Lord in December 165 BC. This is the origin of the Feast of Hanukkah that is still celebrated by Jews today. Daniel 8:10-14 It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them. It set itself up to be as great as the Prince of the host; it took away the daily sacrifice from him, and the place of his sanctuary was brought low. Because of rebellion, the host of the saints and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground. Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled – the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, and the surrender of the sanctuary and of the host that will be trampled underfoot?” He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.” This, of course, is a prophecy concerning Antiochus IV Epiphanes, but it does has a duel aspect of prophecy concerning the anti-Christ. Antiochus went to Jerusalem, and to show his utter disdain for God and for the Jewish people, he sacrificed a pig on the Holy alter, in the temple. He tried to turn the temple into a pagan house of worship. This upset the Jewish Zealots so much, that Judas Maccabeus gathered together a group of men, and against incredible odds, they defeated the Syrian army that was there. It is interesting that this happened exactly 2,300 days after Antiochus had profaned the temple. These men wanted to re-establish the true worship of God. They found that they had only enough Holy Oil to last for one day for the candlesticks. It took a period of about seven or eight days to prepare this oil. By a divine miracle, this one day supply of oil, lasted for seven or eight days until the new supply of oil could be ready. This is the Feast of Hanukkah, and the lighting of the candles, celebrating the lasting of the oil during this time, until the new oil was ready. There was a guy named Miller, who was a minister in the United States, back in the 1800’s. He believed that the 2,300 days was actually 2,300 years. So, he took the day that the temple was profaned, and added 2,300 years, and he determined that Jesus was returning exactly 2,300 years to the day, from the profaning of the temple. He picked a day in 1844, that he had determined that Christ was coming, and he and his congregation all put on white robes, went out to the hills of Illinois, and waited for Jesus to come. His congregation, had sold their farms and everything they own because they believed that Jesus was returning on that day. When Jesus didn’t come, the group, who was known as the “Millerites” disbanded. But then, a woman named Ellen G. White, came along and said that Jesus cleansed the sanctuary in the heavens on that day that Miller had determined, and went on the develop the Seventh Day Adventist doctrine. These people now follow her writings, which coincidentally aren’t really her writings. She was a plagiarist and has copied from many other books. Some of her own followers discovered her plagiarism, and they were immediately kicked out of the Seventh Day Adventist church. There is no reasonable basis for interpreting the 2,300 days as years. It just leads to all kinds of trouble. Now, we will see the Lord interpret the whole vision for Daniel. Daniel 8:15-22 While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man. And I heard a man’s voice from the Ulai calling, “Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision.” As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.” While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me and raised me to my feet. He said: “I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end. The two horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king. The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power. Here, we see Gabriel interpret Daniel’s vision, the two horns, Media and Persia, and the goat, Greece, and the large horn, Alexander the Great. The four horns that replace Alexander are the four generals who take power after Alexander dies. These four generals did not have the same power that Alexander had, and that is prophesied here. Daniel 8:23-24 In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men and the holy people. This man, the anti-Christ, will not be strong by his own power. It will be satan’s power that will be vested in him, and he will make war with Israel, God’s holy people. Daniel 8:25 He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power. So we see, he will come forward with a program of peace, and be hailed as the savior of the world, but he will be broken by the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ! By the word that comes out of the mouth of our Lord, the anti-Christ will be broken and destroyed! Daniel 8:26-27 “The vision of the evenings and morning that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.” I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding. Daniel didn’t understand what he was writing, he just wrote it. Of course, we can look at it now and say, “It’s so clear!” But from where Daniel was at that time, Greece was really nothing. How could that little country destroy the Medo-Persian Empire? Now, as we look at Daniel 9, we will see that this chapter has the key to understanding prophecy. If you understand Daniel 9, then the whole subject of prophecy will become very clear to you. If you are confused on Daniel 9, your whole prophetic picture will be confused. Because Daniel was a man of the Word of God, and studied the Scriptures, he realized and understood that the time of their captivity was almost over. Daniel 9:1-2 In the first year of Darius’ son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom – in the first year of his reign, I Daniel, understood the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. Daniel was reading the prophecy of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was one of the last prophets in Judah, prior to the Babylonian captivity. In fact, he was still prophesying when Nebuchadnezzar came. Jeremiah was prophesying that God was going to hand them over to the king of Babylon, and the reason was because they had forsaken God and the laws of God. Therefore, they were going to be captive for seventy years. Jeremiah 25:11-12 “This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate forever.” Daniel 9:3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with Him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. The prayer of Daniel is remarkable! We can see that he has a clear understanding of the ways and purposes of God, and he doesn’t try to condemn God for the trouble and calamities that have come upon his people. Daniel instead, acknowledges that his people were guilty, and they had turned away from God’s ways, and had forsaken Him. So many times, people want to blame God for the judgments that come upon them for their own wickedness. God has given us warnings that if we do certain things that He has told us not to do, there will be consequences. Why do we blame God for our own rebelliousness in doing things we were told not to do? If you want to continue to defy God, and just do what you want to do, then don’t blame God when the consequences come along. Daniel 9:4-6 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with all who love Him and obey His commands, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants and prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.” Notice here, that Daniel isn’t acting ‘holier than thou,’ saying, “they sinned against you,” but is putting himself right in there as being guilty. Daniel had been reading Jeremiah, and he read how that when Jeremiah came and prophesied to them, they through him into the dungeon. Daniel recognizes that they had totally failed in listening to the warnings of God. Daniel 9:7-11 “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame – the men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. O Lord, we and our kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against Him; we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws He gave us through His servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law, and turned away, refusing to obey you. Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you.” Daniel was familiar with the books of Moses and the laws of God because he had been reading it. Daniel 9:12-14 “You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bring upon us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything He does; yet we have not obeyed Him.” God is a God of judgment, and in His judgment, he is so right! In the midst of the Tribulation when God is pouring out the judgments upon the earth, there are voices in heaven declaring, “Holy and Righteous and True are His judgments!” There are a lot of people that are concerned about God not being fair. They say, “What about the poor people who have never heard of Jesus Christ? Will God condemn them as well?” I don’t know! All I know is that God is fair and righteous in His judgments! Daniel 9:15;17 “Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your Holy Hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our fathers have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us. Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary.” Daniel here saying, “not for anything we’ve done Lord, but for your sake and for the sake of your Righteous Name.” Daniel 9:18-19 “Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people hear your Name.” This prayer of Daniel gives us a look into the spiritual depth of this man. No wonder God called him, “greatly beloved of God.” Daniel 9:20-21 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of the people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for His Holy Hill – while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. Gabriel is one of the chief angels of God. Not only is he named in Daniel, but also in Luke when he appeared to Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, and then later he appeared to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Daniel 9:22-24 He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision. Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.” This is a prophecy that relates to God’s dealing with the nation of Israel. It will be accomplished in seventy, ‘seven year cycles.’ Daniel 9:25 “Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.” Daniel wrote this in the first year of Darius, 538 BC. About 93 years later, on March 14, 445 BC, the command was finally given by Artexerxes to Nehemiah, to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. This is an important prophecy because from the time this command was given, there would be sixty-nine ‘seven’ year cycles, or 483 years (173,880 days) until the time of the Messiah. If you work it out on the Jewish calendar, and then transfer it to our calendar, you find that it comes to April 6, 32 AD. What happened on this date? ON April 6, 32 AD, Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem, and the people shouted, “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.” Psalm 118:26 Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you.” Psalm 118 is a Messianic Psalm. Let’s read what it says just before this verse. Psalm 118:22-24 The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. We have all awakened to a beautiful morning and quoted verse 24 here, but this verse was not written for ANY beautiful day! This verse was written for one beautiful day in particular! The day that God’s salvation would come to the world, our Messiah, Jesus Christ! Luke 19:41-44 As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming for you.” Daniel 9:26 “After sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. We know that Jesus was crucified that very week. As Isaiah predicted, Jesus was despised and rejected by men. Daniel predicts that the Messiah would be cut off, and another nation would come and destroy the city of Jerusalem. If you read history, you will see that this is exactly what happened. The Romans came in and destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD, and the Jews were dispersed, and were not gathered together again until 1948. Now, we have one ‘seven’ year cycle that has not yet come to pass. Seventy ‘sevens’ were determined on the nation of Israel. Sixty-nine of those ‘sevens’ were to come until the Messiah, but then the Messiah would be cut off. At that point, God’s prophetic time clock for Israel had stopped, and has remained stopped. But now, we have a signal as to when this last seven will start. Verse 27 begins with “he.” Who is “he?” Look at verse 26. “…the ruler who will come…” So if this ruler comes from the people who destroyed Israel in 70 AD, which we know was the Roman Empire, then this ruler has to come out of the revived Roman Empire – or the federation of ten nations that were once a part of the Roman Empire – of the last days. Daniel 9:27 “He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. It is so important that we understand these last two verses. I have talked to some, who read these two verses and miss the part where it says, “…of the ruler who will come…” and they believe that Jesus is going to set up the abomination of desolation. The rest of their belief of prophecy is so warped and mangled, it’s just impossible to try to untangle, because they misinterpret these two verses. It’s actually extremely frustrating to try to talk to them about any other part of prophecy. They move on to believe that we are already in the time of Tribulation, and have been since Jesus died on the cross, and that there is no such thing as a Rapture, and that God’s church will have to go through the judgment of the Tribulation, even though Jesus completely contradicts that in Revelation 3:10. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus, Paul, Peter and Jude speak of false teachings that will infiltrate the church in the last days! Please, do not be one of those that are fooled into believing something that is not Biblical! Matthew 7:15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” Keep your eyes on Jesus, my friends!
Posted on: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 18:52:43 +0000
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