Explore the gripping narrative of Antiochus Epiphanes within the context of Daniel’s prophetic vision. Unfold the historical echoes of desecration and rebellion, as we trace the events that lead to the establishment of Hanukkah. This episode delves into the deeper meanings of prophecy, a profound blueprint that suggests much more beyond its apparent historical setting. Through this exploration, discover the enduring power of ancient prophecy and its implications for future revelations.
Epiphanies means a glorious manifestation. This man tried to play God. He rededicated the temple of Israel to Zeus. He built a pagan altar over the altar of God. He changed the sacrificial system and decided that they wouldn’t sacrifice lambs and rams and goats anymore, but instead only pigs. By the way, he minted coinage also, and on those coins it says, Antiochus Theos Epiphanes, the God who has made himself manifest. Oh yes, we’re talking about the man of this chapter, Antiochus Epiphanes, a terrible man in history.
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This is Hope for Today with Bible teacher and author David Hawking. And on today’s broadcast, we’re back in Daniel chapter 8 for day two of The Vision of the Ram and the Goat. What started as a strange, symbolic dream now turns deadly serious. A new power rises, small, deceptive, and full of arrogance. He’s slick, merciless, and he doesn’t just oppose God. He goes after his people, twisting the truth and daring to stand in the holy place. And you know something? This isn’t just ancient history. It’s a blueprint for something much bigger still to come. Stay with us. This powerful study in Daniel chapter 8 continues in just a moment. First, well, Matt, we cannot understate the importance of folks that pray for hope for today. We count on that. And if you’re praying for us or if you have a comment for us, maybe share how you’re growing in faith as you study God’s word with us. Let us know. We’re going to tell you just a bit later in our program how to get in touch. And you have a note there from Dan. What does Dan have to say?
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That’s right. It says, Dear David Hawking, it was a joy to listen to one of your sermons recently. Thank you for your wonderful ministry. Love from your friend, Dan.
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I love that. Boy, thank you, Dan, so much for that simple note, but very encouraging. And as I mentioned a bit ago, we’ll tell you later in the program how to get in touch. Well, now here’s David with today’s lesson as we go back to Daniel chapter eight.
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Take your Bibles and turn to Daniel chapter 8, please. Daniel chapter 8, the vision of the ram and goat. Daniel chapter 8. In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me, to me, Daniel, after the one that appeared to me the first time. I saw in the vision, and it so happened while I was looking, that I was in Shushan, the citadel, which is in the province of Elam. And I saw in the vision that I was by the river Uli. Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there standing beside the river was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no beast could withstand him, nor was there any that could deliver from his hand. But he did according to his will and became great.” And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth without touching the ground, and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. Verse 2. Verse 3. Therefore the male goat grew very great, but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it, four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven. 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. 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. Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, How long will the vision be concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation? the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot. And he said to me, For 2,300 days. Then the sanctuary shall be cleansed. Now it happened when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Uli who called and said, Gabriel, make this man understand the vision. So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face. But he said to me, Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end. Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground, but he touched me and stood me upright. And he said, Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation, for at the appointed time the end shall be.” The ram which you saw having the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia. And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king. As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation but not with its power.” And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise having fierce features who understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power. He shall destroy fearfully and shall prosper and thrive. He shall destroy the mighty and also the holy people. Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his hand, and he shall magnify himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the prince of princes, but he shall be broken without human hand. And the vision of the evenings and mornings, which was told, is true. Therefore seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in the future. And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days. Afterward I arose and went about the king’s business. I was astonished by the vision, but no one understood it. Now, I’d like you to notice five things about this chapter if you like to keep your thoughts organized, and hopefully you do. In the opening two verses, we have the importance of the place and the time of the vision. Now, secondly, we want to look at the identity of this conflict in verses 3 to 8. And I want you to see just a few things here. One, in verses 3 to 4, the prominence of the ram is brought to our attention. There’s no doubt about Persia being the ram and Greece being the goat. Now let’s look at the power of the goat in verse 5 to 7, which represents Greece. The male goat represented the Grecian Empire. Philip of Macedon really didn’t do those kind of conquests, but his son Alexander the Great sure did. And we believe that that horn on the male goat refers to Alexander the Great. It wasn’t a matter of getting the victory and negotiating the win. He just literally destroyed, he devastated them until there was no hope. So again, the scripture is very pointed and very powerful and quite interesting. The punishment of the goat, verse 8. Therefore the male goat grew very great, but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it, four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven. Alexander the Great died in 323 B.C. History records that he died of alcoholism. but it was God’s prophetic plan because four generals took over, four notable ones. His empire was divided into four divisions. If you’d like to know about it, Cassander, who was one of his generals, took over all of Macedonia and Greece. Lysimachus took over all of Asia Minor and Thrace. Seleucus took over all of Syria and Babylonia, and the Seleucan Empire became the king of the north that you’ll read about in Daniel 11. That is north of Israel, Syria, the ancient archenemy of Israel. Verse 9, in verse 9 to 14, we have the introduction of a little horn. Is this the same little horn of Daniel chapter 7? Do you know how many people believe it is? that the little horn of Daniel 8 is exactly the same as the little horn of Daniel 7, that he’s the Antichrist. Well, let’s take a look at it. First of all, his arising to power is mentioned in verse 9. Out of one of them, one of what? Whoops. So much for the prophecy views about it being the Antichrist. It says, out of one of them, out of one of what? Out of the four horns of the Grecian empire. Out of one of them comes a little horn. And he grows exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the glorious land, namely the land of Israel. Well, who is this person? It grows up to the host of heaven. Cast down some of the hosts, some of the stars to the ground. You say, are those angels? Some think so. But remember, the children of Israel are also called the host of heaven. And the children of Israel are also called stars. You can check that out even in the book of Daniel in chapter 12. They’ll shine like the brightness of the stars. He exalted himself as high as the prince of hosts and took away the daily sacrifices in the place of the sanctuary he cast down. And we’re told, verse 12, he cast truth to the ground. And he did all this and prospered. Who is this? I suggest to you that the person that we’re talking about here is a man named Antiochus IV or Antiochus Epiphanes. He is the eighth king in the Seleucid or Syrian dynasty. He ruled from 175 to 164 B.C. He’s in the Seleucid Empire in the breakup of Alexander the Great. Out of one of them came a little horn. Antiochus Epiphanes. Let’s look at his attacks. In verse 10, against Israel. Angelic hosts who are their protectors is also a clear description in the Bible. Genesis 15, 5. Genesis 22, 17. Also, I mentioned Daniel 12, 2-3. His attacks are against Israel and the people of God. He’s also attacking God. Verse 11. He exalted himself as high as the prince of the host. Well, let me tell you about Antiochus Epiphanes. Epiphanes means, a glorious manifestation. This man tried to play God. He rededicated the temple of Israel to Zeus. He built a pagan altar over the altar of God. He changed the sacrificial system and decided that they wouldn’t sacrifice lambs and rams and goats anymore, but instead only pigs. By the way, he minted coinage also, and on those coins it says, Antiochus Theos Epiphanes, the God who has made himself manifest. Oh yes, we’re talking about the man of this chapter, Antiochus Epiphanes, a terrible man in history. He was against Israel, he was against God, he was against Mosaic law. It says in verse 12, he cast truth down to the ground. Well, that’s exactly what he did. As a matter of fact… The whole story is recorded in the Apocrypha. No, I don’t believe the Apocrypha is the word of God, but 1 and 2 Maccabees are some of the best history of this period of time you’ve ever read in your life. I open up to chapter 1 of the first book of Maccabees. Please listen. there sprang from them a sinful shoot named Antiochus Epiphanes, the son of King Antiochus. He had been a hostage in Rome, and he became king in the 137th year of the Greek kingdom, which means about 175 AD in our calendar. In those days there arose out of Israel lawless men who persuaded many, saying, Let us go and make a treaty with the heathen around us. For ever since the time we became separated from them, many misfortunes have overtaken us. The plan seemed good in their eyes, and some of the people went eagerly to the king, and he authorized them to introduce practices of the heathen in Judea.” They built a gymnasium in Jerusalem in the heathen fashion and submitted to uncircumcision and disowned the holy agreement. They allied themselves with the heathen and became the slaves of wrongdoing. When his rule appeared to Antiochus to be established, he conceived the idea of becoming king of all, including the land of Egypt, that he might reign over everything. He entered Egypt with a strong force, with chariots and elephants and cavalry and a great fleet. He made war on Ptolemy, king of Egypt. Ptolemy turned and fled before him, and many fell wounded. They captured the walled cities in the land of Egypt and plundered the land of Egypt. After subduing Egypt in the 143rd year, Antiochus turned back and came up against Israel and entered Jerusalem with a strong force. In his arrogance, he went into the sanctuary, took the gold altar and the lampstand for the light, and all its furniture in the temple for the presentation bread, and the cups and the bowls and the gold censers and the curtain and the crowns and the gold ornamentation on the front of the temple, and stripped it all off. He took the silver and the gold, the choice dishes. He took the secret treasures which he found. He took them all, went back to his own country, and he massacred the people and spoke with great arrogance.” And there was great mourning everywhere throughout Israel. Rulers and elders groaned. Girls and young men fainted away. The beauty of women was altered. Every bridegroom began to lament, and she that sat in the bridal chamber grieved. The very earth was shaken over its inhabitants, and the whole household of Jacob was covered with shame. After two years, the king sent an officer to collect tribute to the towns of Judah. He entered Jerusalem with a strong force. He spoke to them craftily.” That’s in our text. in peaceful terms, and they trusted him. Then he suddenly fell upon a city and struck it with a great blow and destroyed many of the people of Israel. He plundered the city and burned it down and tore down the houses in it and the walls around it. They took the women and children captive and possessed themselves of the cattle. They fortified the city of David with a great strong wall with strong towers, and it became their citadel. He says, and she became a place where strangers lived. She became strange to her own offspring, and her children forsook her. Her sanctuary became desolate like a wilderness. Her feasts were turned into grief. Her Sabbaths became a reproach. Her honor became contempt. Her dishonor was as great as her glory had been, and her exultation was turned into grief. The king wrote to the whole kingdom that they should all become one people. They give up their own particular practices, and all the heathen assented to the command of the king.” and many in Israel agreed to his kind of worship and offered sacrifices to idols and broke the Sabbath. And the king sent word by messengers to Jerusalem and the towns of Judah to follow practices foreign to the country, to put a stop to burnt offerings and sacrifices and drink offerings at the sanctuary, which is what Daniel says will happen. He broke the Sabbath, he profaned the feasts, polluted the sanctuary and sanctified… to build altars and sacred precincts and idol temples and sacrificed hogs instead of the prescribed forms of worship. Just want you to get the end of this. Many of the people and everyone who was ready to forsake the law joined with them and they did wrong in the land and forced Israel to hide in every hiding place they had. On the 15th day of Kislev, in the 145th year, he erected a dreadful desecration upon the altar. And in the towns of Judah round about they built altars. The doors of their houses and in the squares they burned incense. And wherever they found the book of the law, they tore them up, burned them, And if anyone was found to possess a book of that agreement or respected the law, the king’s decree condemned him to death. The Bible says he cast it down to the ground. The Israelites who appeared from month to month in the towns were treated with force. On the 25th of the month, they offered sacrifice upon the altar, which was set up on the altar a burnt offering. The women who had circumcised their children, they put to death under the decree, hanging the babies around their necks and destroying their families and the men who had circumcised them. Yet many in Israel stood firm and resolved in their hearts not to eat what was unclean. They preferred death to being polluted with food or profaning the sacred agreement, and so they died, and Israel suffered intensely. It goes on to describe the victory under Mattathias, who was one of the Maccabean leaders. A tremendous revolt took place. The whole festival of Hanukkah today, Jesus went to a Hanukkah in John chapter 7, the children of Israel celebrate Hanukkah in honor of the victory over Antiochus Epiphanes, which is recorded in the book of Maccabees and is prophesied in the book of Daniel. And all God’s people said, this is the word of the living God. and was prophesying an event that we know from history actually occurred. Antiochus Epiphany. But his abomination is limited. Turn to Daniel chapter 8, please, verse 14. Verse 13, the question was, So, how do you figure the 2,300 days? Antiochus died, folks, in a campaign in media in 164 BC. The 2300 days began in 171 BC. They last about six years, a little more than that. Onias III, who was the legitimate high priest of Israel, was murdered in 171 BC, and a pseudo line of priests was established by Antiochus Epiphanes. The temple, the desecration of it, actually occurred on December 25th in 167 B.C., and a Greek altar was erected. But the abomination, the desecration of Israel’s worship services had begun long before the 2300 days referred to the entire time of that desolation and desecration. And right on the nose… From the day it began with the murdering of the high priest of Israel, the legitimate one in the line, and setting up a pseudo line of priests that were involved with paganism, from that moment to the exact day, 2300 days, would be on December 25th in 165 BC. And that’s the day that the Maccabeans restored the temple and cleansed it. That’s the exact day restored on December 25th, 165 BC. And once again, I say hallelujah. This is the word of the living God. And the details are quite remarkable.
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Well, that’s David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. David will be back in just a moment or so to close out our time in God’s Word, some additional teaching. So do stay with us. First of all, Matt’s here, and we’re going to share a wonderful Bible study resource with you. Matt?
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I enjoy a good drama, a story about real life faith. And Daniel is just such a book. It also gives prophetic insight to history and the future. It does indeed.
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And Matt, it makes the case that God is at work. He keeps his word and he will preserve and protect his saints all the way to the wonders of eternity with him.
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Amen. Well, our featured resource for April is the complete set of 17 messages in our Daniel radio series, covering several weeks on the radio for just $30 on MP3 and $50 on audio CDs.
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We also want to mention your dad’s book on Daniel. It’s titled Daniel Prophecies of the Last Days. Matt, this book of the Bible is so clearly predictive and accurate. absolutely accurate in its prophecies.
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Well, time and again, many of Daniel’s prophetic visions have been fulfilled in stunning and complete detail. Absolutely. This gives us confidence for his God-given vision still to be fulfilled, perhaps in our lifetime.
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Yeah. Well, get your copy of Daniel, Prophecies of the Last Days by David Hawking from Hope for Today. Dynamite Pages, an engaging read, and the cost is just $20. And your purchase will help us continue the radio and online ministry of Hope for Today. A purchase or a donation makes you a vital member of this ministry team. Please prayerfully consider joining the team. Well, by the way, if you’d like the notes for this series, these are David’s original sermon outlines and notes, and they’re just $20 for the notes for every message in the series. And by the way, you can download them immediately at davidhawking.org. Now, as the end of the month approaches, can you believe we’re coming to the end of April? Wow. Well, we’d sure love to hear from you with a gift of support. Would you consider partnering with us in ministry by sending in a gift today? You can do that by mail, writing to Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. or in Canada at Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO7OAKS, Abbotsford, B.C., V2S 8P1. Or you can call us. We’d love to talk to you. 875-BIBLE in the U.S., 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. Or again, you can give online at davidhawking.org. And thank you for praying for us, first of all. And as God might direct, sending in a gift as well. Let’s keep getting God’s Word out to a world that’s starving for it. Amen. Once again, here’s David.
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Thanks for listening to Hope for Today, and I hope you’re enjoying our study. In verses 5 to 7, you have the power of the goat, and it looks like it’s going to be a victory that’s really going to hit fast. It says, “…without touching the ground.” And they conquered Media, Persia, in three years. The strength of the goat against the ram is really an important issue. But the punishment of the goat, Alexander’s empire came down. And he died, by the way, in 323 B.C. He was only 32 years old and nothing more to conquer. But he divided his kingdom into four of his generals, Cassander, who took Macedonia and Greece, Lysimachus took Asia Minor, that’s Turkey of today. Seleucus took Syria and Babylonia, and then Ptolemy was Egypt and Israel, Cyprus, Palestine, so forth. Well, all of this introduces us to a little horn. And so you want to be a part of our study because this is where a lot of people get confused, and it is the most important thing that we’re studying right now, the little horn. So plan to be with us for our next broadcast. God bless you.
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And friend, if you missed any part of today’s broadcast, or if you just want to hear something again, remember you can go to davidhawking.org to catch up. We post our most recent broadcast for a limited time, so our listening friends can review David’s teaching at their convenience. You’ll find them on the radio tab at davidhawking.org. Well, next time we wrap up our study of the vision of the ram and the goat with a final look at one of the most disturbing and prophetic scenes in the book of Daniel. The deception runs deep. The arrogance reaches heaven. But you know something? God is going to have the final word. Amen. God’s going to have the final word. Well, don’t miss this compelling conclusion to our study in Daniel chapter 8 and invite a friend to listen along with you right here on Hope for Today.
