Good morning,
Daniel 8 offers a testament to God’s absolute control over history, even when evil seems momentarily victorious. The chapter prompts us to understand God’s sovereignty and trust in His plans, regardless of how insurmountable challenges may appear. In the end, God’s righteousness prevails. (Bible Hub Chapter Summaries-Daniel 8)
Daniel 8
Daniel’s vision of the ram and the he-goat
Rise and Fall of the Little Horn (v. 9-14)
9 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.10 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.11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of the sanctuary was cast down.12 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 practiced, and prospered. 13 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?14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
From the goat’s horn, a smaller horn grows and extends towards the south, east, and the Beautiful Land (Israel) . This horn becomes a symbol of blasphemy, challenging the heavenly host and the daily sacrifice’s order. An angelic conversation reveals this situation will last for 2,300 evenings and mornings. (Bible Hub Chapter Summaries-Daniel 8)
The little horn is not the same as the one in v.3; rather, it prophesied of Antiochus Epiphanes, 175 B.C. he took over and defiled the Temple by sacrificing a sow (an unclean animal) upon its altar. This man appears to have been a type of the Antichrist, “Who opposes and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thes. 2:4; cf. vv. 10-12). (The Rice Reference Bible,1981, pg.923)
Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com
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