God Told Daniel the Future

Colleen Tinker, Daniel and Revelation, Doctrine, Feature, Margie Littell

MARGIE LITTELL with COLLEEN TINKER

The people of Israel knew for a long time that God was going to bring in a new covenant for them with new words (commandments). During the time of Judah’s exile in Babylon, God sent this promise to them through Jeremiah:

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 31:31 ).

Why did God wait so long?

It is a good question to ask God. Perhaps it has to do with the words of Daniel’s prophecies?

Could it be God was waiting for these events in Daniel 8 to happen? 

Many of Daniel’s prophecies came true and occurred during the intertestamental period—the 400 years between Malachi and Matthew, between the Old and New Testaments.

Historical Recap

After their exile to Babylon, the Jews, aided by provisions from Cyrus, the Persian king, returned to their land in 536 BC. After a slow start, the Jews finally completed building their “second temple” with encouragement from Haggai and Zechariah. By 444 BC the city was rebuilt, and, under the oversight of Nehemiah, the wall around Jerusalem was built.  

They lived in relative peace during the remainder of the Persian Empire’s domination (remember the chest of silver on the image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream?). Then, in 336 BC, a force of nature suddenly appeared and changed the course of history. Alexander the Great conquered the world of the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Hellenization—the secularizing of all his conquered nations into Greek culture—began, including the speaking Greek. This Hellenization included Israel, and the Jews were made to speak Greek as their standard language instead of Hebrew.

Upon his death at the age of 32, Alexander’s empire was divided up by four of his generals. Israel was geographically caught between two of them: Seleucus to the north in Syria, and Ptolemy to the south in Egypt. Control of Israel was tossed back and forth between the two generals and their descendants, and the Jews were often caught in the middle of political power grabs between the two nations for many years. Finally, an illegitimate Seleucid rose to power—Antiochus Epiphanes—and the Jews became the object of his rage after the Ptolemy king stopped his advances and sent him back to his own land, defeated. 

Fuming with rage and thwarted ambition, Antiochus Epiphanes marched through Israel on his way back to Syria—and he poured out his hatred on them.

Rather than exterminate the Jews, Antiochus tried to force them to accept Greek culture even in their religion. He forbade the honoring of the Torah (the Jewish Scriptures), Shabbat (Sabbath), the Moed (Feasts of the Lord), circumcision, and all Jewish observances. 

Mothers were killed for circumcising their sons, and their infants were hanged. Jews were put to death for refusing to eat pork and other unclean animals under Mosaic Law.

The worst desecration was the defilement of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. A statue of Zeus was erected in the Kodesh Ha Kodeshim (Holy of Holies), and a pig was sacrificed on the holy altar! 

That was the coup de grace!

Yet, because of their Hellenization which had begun many years before, many Jews did nothing. They had become totally assimilated into the pagan culture around them and found it easier to adapt rather than to resist.

It’s In the Bible

You can read about Epiphanes and his emergence in Daniel 8.

Daniel’s vision of Daniel 8 begins with a two-horned ram, and Daniel 8:20 identifies this ram as Media and Persia. The two nations had collaborated to overthrow Babylon (you can read that story in Daniel 5), and after the invasion, Persia became the greater power of the two. The two horns represented the two nations, and the larger horn may represent Persia’s greater influence [Daniel 8:3]. The expansion of the Medo-Persian empire is illustrated by the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward as Daniel watched it in vision. 

In Daniel 8:4 the prophet suddenly saw a new animal: a one-horned male goat. Dan 8:21 identifies this goat as the kingdom of Greece; note that it came from the west of Palestine.

In Daniel 8:5 we see that this goat had a large horn representing its first king, Alexander the Great. The speed of the goat’s advances aptly reflects Alexander’s conquests (Daniel 8:5). History confirms that Alexander broke Persia’s power swiftly and decisively in three battles as the vision foretold (Daniel 8:6–8):

A broken horn and four horns that arose in its place.

  1. At Granicus (334 B.C.)
  2. At Issus (333 B.C.)
  3. At Gaugamela (331 B.C.)

We learn in Daniel 8:22: that Alexander died, and his empire was divided between his four generals, Daniel 8:8 foretold that these four generals would take over the empire after Alexander’s horn was broken. These four generals were:

  1. Ptolemy (Egypt)
  2. Seleucus I (Syria)
  3. Cassander (Macedonia and Greece)
  4. Lysimachus (Thrace and Asia Minor).

In Daniel 8:9–14 we read that a little horn grew out of one of the four horns. It grew exceedingly great, extending its power even to the Beautiful Land—Israel. Daniel 8:23-25 describes this horn as follows: 

“Sometime later a king shall arise:

  1. When transgressors have reached their fullness (when Israel has fallen back into sin)
  2. With mighty power, but not by his own
  3. Who shall destroy fearfully, prosper and thrive
  4. Who shall destroy the mighty and also the holy people
  5. Through cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper
  6. He shall magnify himself, and destroy many in their prosperity
  7. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes (i.e., God Himself).
  8. But he shall be broken without human hand (God shall destroy him).

This passage is, most likely, a reference to Antiochus Epiphanes, the ruler of Syria from 175-163 B.C. History confirms that this wicked ruler overran Israel and carried out the following atrocities:

  1. Imposed Greek culture and gods upon his subjects
  2. Conquered Jerusalem and set up an image in the Jewish temple
  3. Offered swine flesh upon the altar in the Temple
  4. Encouraged Greek soldiers to commit fornication in the temple
  5. Forbade circumcision, keeping the Sabbath, or possessing a copy of the Scriptures.

Daniel’s vision in chapter 8 accurately describes Alexander the Great, his four generals, and Antiochus Epiphanes. The goat became great, and when he became strong, the events of the vision came to pass. Let’s go back to Daniel 8:8–13 and see the sequence of events which the Lord showed Daniel:

  1. The large horn was broken
  2. In its place four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven
  3. He saw a little horn come out of the four with great power: Dan 8:9-12:
    1. Which grew exceedingly great
    2. Toward the south and east
    3. Toward the Glorious Land.
    4. Which grew up to the host of heaven
    5. Casting down and trampling to the ground some of the host
    6. Exalting himself as high as the Prince of host
  4. By this powerful horn:
    1. The daily sacrifices were taken away
    2. The place of His (God’s) sanctuary was cast down
    3. An army was given to him to oppose the daily sacrifices (because of transgression) 

He did all this and prospered.

Summary

This chapter 8 is a perfect, all-points-match for the Greek ruler, Antiochus Epiphanes, who persecuted the nation of Israel and against whom the people of Israel revolted, driving him out of Palestine.

As time passed, when the Greek domination had been removed by the people of Israel, a weakened Roman empire took over governing Palestine and ten other pieces of the Greek empire.

It was during that time of Roman occupation that Jesus brought His New Covenant with New Commandments. 

Jesus’s new covenant, though, was not only for the Jews. As a Gentile “who has not the law”(Romans 2:14), I am thankful that Jesus included all people (“whosever believeth” John 3:16) in His New Covenant which had New words (commandments).

As Daniel and Revelation teach us, God has full control over time. Just as God revealed to Daniel the events that would lead to the coming of Jesus and His institution of the new covenant, so He has revealed that He will come again and complete His work of judgment, restoration, and rule over this earth. We can know that the words of Solomon are still true for us:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up…..(Ecclesiastes 3:1–3).

Come soon again, Lord Jesus. †

Margie Littell
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