In this our final study, I want us to particularly consider chapter 8, verses 10 to 27.
I will be seeking to bring together other prophecies from different parts of Holy Scripture, which are parallel to that recorded by Daniel, and I hope to be able to do that with some degree of clarity and cohesion.
At the close of our last study we noted what chapter 8, verse 9 says. “And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.”
I suggested that these geographical directions indicated that the “little horn”, the Antichrist, will approach the land of Israel from the north west. I further suggested that to travel from the land of Turkey to Israel would require just such a direction to be taken.
I. THE ANTICHRIST WILL BE AN INTELLIGENT MAN, SPEAKING GREAT THINGS!
This we are told in chapter 7, verse 8. “In this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” The eyes and the mouth suggest human intelligence.
We are further told in 8:10-11. “And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, . . .”
This is explained for us, leaving us without cause to guess and theorise as to what is meant.
“And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end,” verses 25-26.
The phrase “a time and times and the dividing of time” is explained in out last study and is that three and half year period of the ‘great tribulation’ for the Jewish people that will only end when Christ returns.
1. A chief feature of the Antichrist is his blaspheming of the Lord. The “great things” he will speak are great blasphemies against God! This will take place during the ‘great tribulation’.
There have been very few kings or kingdoms that have truly honoured the Lord. Rather, the ‘spirit’ referred to in Psalm 2:2-3, is the common feature of earthly regimes.
“The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.”
But no king will ever come near to the open defiance and blasphemy that Antichrist will engage in.
Paul tells us that the Antichrist is he “who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God,” 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.
That is the ultimate in blasphemy!
2. His defiance of God embodies an attempt to destroy God! “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb,” Revelation 17:12-14. The “ten kings” are those who rule over the ten divisions of Antichrist’s dominion and they are confederate with him. They shall ‘fight’ against the Lamb of God. His response to their defiance is that spoken by the Lord to Israel of old! “Prepare to meet thy God,” Amos 4:12.
His response is revealed to us in Zechariah 12, when the armies of Antichrist are arrayed in battle formation outside the city of Jerusalem and their “making war with the Lamb” assumes the form of them intending the utter destruction of the ancient nation chosen of God!
“And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah,” Zechariah 12:3-4.
That confrontation is set forth again in Revelation 6:12-17.
“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, (the ten kings of Antichrist’s ‘earth’) and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”
Mercy
But the day of the Lord destroying the armies of Antichrist in judgment is also the day in which the Lord will look in mercy upon erring rebellious Israel. It was foreshadowed in the “look” of Christ upon Peter in the hour that he denied the Lord.
“And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly,” Luke 22:61-62.
As that ‘Look’ prompted Peter to remember the words of warning issued by Christ and in turn, bring broken hearted repentance, even so there is a day coming when the same will be the experience of Israel.
“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn,” Zechariah 12:10.
Remember, the Lord will use the Antichrist as “the rod” (Isaiah 10:5) of His anger and indignation.
How foolish are those who believe that they can thwart the purpose of God. In truth, the Lord is but using their defiance of Him to further His eternal and merciful purpose toward His own!
3. What a day it will be when the Lord Jesus returns. “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, ” Zechariah 14:1-4.
“In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land,” Zechariah 13:1-2.
What changes will take place!
4. What Daniel saw will become real. “But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever,” Daniel 7:18.
“I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them. Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom,” Daniel 7:21-22.
“And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him,” Daniel 7:27.
II. WE ARE GIVEN FURTHER DETAILS IN CHAPTER 8, OF THE EVENTS THAT BRING ABOUT THE END OF ANTICHRIST’S KINGDOM.
“And it waxed great, (the little horn) even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered. Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed,” Daniel 8:10-14.
I believe that this period is the total number of days that the Antichrist will be in power, the first half of which he will show favour to the Jews, but midway through his seven year covenant of ‘peace’ to the Jews, he will do a somersault and become the greatest enemy the Jews have ever faced! The latter half is the time of the ‘great tribulation’.
1. The ‘the host of heaven’, that is cast down, are the redeemed. It will be during the period of the ‘great tribulation’. Consider the description given the saints of God in chapter 12, verse 3. “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”
I believe this “casting down” is a reference to the attack of the Antichrist upon the redeemed ‘elect’ Jews living in Israel during the time of the “Great tribulation.”
That there will be converted Jews in Israel during the “great tribulation” is clearly implied by the Saviour in Matthew 24:16. “Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains.” None but a believer in the Lord Jesus will take heed to these words spoken by the Saviour! That a believing remnant will be in the land of Israel at the time of Antichrist’s zenith is hereby indicated.
Further evidence of this is given us in the Book of the Revelation.
“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days,” Revelation 12:1-6.
There is much symbolism in these verses but two statements are but a repeat of what we have in Daniel 8 and also in the Saviour’s words in Matthew 24.
There is the fact that Antichrist will have “magnified himself even to the prince of the host,” Daniel 8:11 and will accomplish that by attacking the elect of God.
Revelation 12:6, “The dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.” But this attack is thwarted by the Lord by providing a refuge in “the wilderness” for a period of “a thousand two hundred and threescore days”, Revelation 12:6, to which refuge the Saviour directs believers in His warning of those days of tribulation: “Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains,” Matthew 24:16.
The “wilderness” places in Israel are barren, rocky mountainous regions. 1 Samuel 12:2 and verse 20 confirm that the ‘wilderness’ was a place of ‘mountains’!
2. The taking away of the ‘daily sacrifice’, mentioned by the Saviour, will mark the beginning of the “great tribulation”. “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:),” Matthew 24:15.
The Saviour is referring to the vision we are studying: “Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered,” Daniel 8:11-12. And also Daniel 12:11. “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”
The Jews have begun to return to their land but in ‘unbelief’. They are, however, planning to build a temple in the near further on the ancient temple mount, presently occupied by structures housing Islamic worship.
But the words of Daniel’s vision refer to “the sanctuary” cast down and the “the daily sacrifice shall be taken away”. These events will occur about one thousand and ninety days before the Saviour’s return and the overthrowing of Antichrist and the conversion of the surviving Jews.
‘Secret Rapture’
There are many believers who expect the saints of God to be ‘secretly raptured’ away before the ‘great tribulation’ takes place, and they will therefore not pass through it.
That is a notion quite contrary to what the Bible states and thankfully is believed by fewer and fewer Christians.
The cause of the decline in the number believing this falsehood is twofold. It is so because of the setting forth of what the Bible says on this subject by more and more preachers.
It is also because that what events secret rapturists were told would announce the nearness of the ‘rapture’ taking place, have long since past!
Many believed that the persecution of the Jews under Hitler was a clear sign that the ‘secret rapture’ would take place very soon. This didn’t happen!
But there was a recalculating of ‘dates’ and the establishing of a state of Israel in 1948, was again seen as evidence that the ‘secret rapture’ was near.
But that was some 77 years ago and the saints of God are still on the earth!
No Bible Basis
In truth, there is no ‘secret rapture’ mentioned in the Bible.
Consider just two references.
“Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn,” Matthew 13:24-30.
The Saviour here teaches two truths very clearly!
1. Both the tares (the unsaved) and the wheat (the saved) “grow together until the harvest.” They are together until the end of this age!
2. It is the tares that are gathered first, not the wheat! “Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”
Where is the ‘secret rapture’ in these words?
Then a second portion from God’s Word.
“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years,” Revelation 20:1-4.
Here again is evidence that there will be no ‘secret rapture’ but rather the saints of God will live through the period of the ‘great tribulation’ under Antichrist.
Note these words.
1. These verses reveal the time of the millennial reign of Christ after His return in power and great glory. His resurrected saints will reign with him.
2. Some of those saints that ‘reign with Him’ are those who “were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands.”
For that to be said of them they MUST have lived during the reign of Antichrist and particularly the period of the ‘great tribulation’!
There is absolutely no basis in the Bible for the false doctrine, sadly believed by many Christians, of a ‘secret rapture’!
In times like these, we must not look to men and embrace their views but be like the Bereans of old, those who “received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so,” Acts 17:11.
The ‘things’ they sought a basis for in the Bible, were the teachings of Paul and Silas, verse 10.
If seeking proof of the truth of the teaching of these two great servants of God is deemed, in Scripture, as ‘more noble’, then how much more incumbent it is for us to carefully, ‘daily’, consider and scrutinise the words of much lesser men in the light of Holy Scripture.
Dear Christian, as the Saviour exhorted: “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me,” John 5:39.
Rev Ivan Foster (Rtd)
A helpful book on Daniel’s prophecies is that written by S P Tregelles.
‘Remarks on the prophetic Visions in the Book of Daniel’.
It is available from the ‘Sovereign Grace Advent Testimony’ website book store.