[SIZE=12pt]Dan 8:3 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. 4 I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great. 5 And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. 6 And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. 7 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. 8 Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. 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 his 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 practised, 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.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]If you will notice, the word great was applied to each of the kingdoms represented in the above scriptures. The ram, that is Medo-Persia, became great. The he goat, that is Grecia, became very great. Lastly, the little horn became exceeding great. Each of these powers is said to be greater than the one before them. Does the rule of Antiochus fit properly into this scenario? It does not.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]His kingdom was not as great as either of the powers mentioned before him. There were none that could stand before the ram's ( Medo-Persian ) empire. The ram itself had know power to stand up against the he goat. It seems odd to me, to suggest that the third and greatest power of this biblical scenario should be weaker than those before it. Especially when the scriptures clearly reveal an establishment of greater power by each succeeding kingdom. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Not only was Antiochus not as great as these previous kingdoms, but he himself was subject to the rule of another kingdom who was superior to him. This kingdom was the Roman Empire. Antiochus’ father lost a war to them. It was the Romans also, that forced him to end his war against the Egyptians, whom he would have defeated otherwise. Antiochus could not do anything that the Romans did not want him to do. I suppose that having been himself a hostage to them, he knew better than to try to fight them. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Antiochus IV ( Epiphanes ). Antiochus IV, who reigned 175-163 B.C., had been given as a hostage to the Romans in 188. Through the intervention of Eumenes, he succeeded his brother Seleucus IV to the throne in 175. From 171 to 168 he fought a successful war against the Egyptians, who had sought to regain Palestine and Coele-Syria. He subsequently laid siege to Alexandria and would have taken over complete control of Egypt, but the Romans, fearing any such expansion of another empire, forced him to relinquish his ambitions. Antiochus Epiphanes acquired a reputation for cruelty by his efforts to Hellenize the Jews. The persecutions which they suffered brought about the Maccabaean revolt, led by Mattathias and his sons, and marked the rebirth of active Judaism. Antiochus died during an abortive campaign into Persia in 163 B.C. Caleb W. Davis [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The little horn of the above prophecy is not Antiochus Epiphanes, it is the Roman Empire. The previous visions of Daniel concerning the four metals of the great image of Dan. 2, and the four beasts of Dan.7, represented the four kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome consecutively. This vision goes through the same sequence, only starting at Medo-Persia, because the Babylonian Empire had already passed at the time it was given. The fourth metal of Dan.2, the fourth beast of Dan.7, and the little horn of Dan.8, all come to their end by the judgment of God. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]In Dan.2 it is the stone that is cut out without hands that ends it, when the stone which smote the image fills the whole earth. That stone is Christ. In Dan.7, it is the judgment of God that ends it, destroying it by the burning flame. In Dan.8, it is broken without hand, that is by the stone which was cut out without hand, which is Christ.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Dan 2:34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Dan 7:11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Dan 7:25 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. 26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Dan 8:23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. 24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. 25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Antiochus may have defiled the temple, but the result was that the Jews rallied together, defeated his army, and kicked them out of their temple. They became more devout worshippers at the temple afterwards. On the other hand, the Romans completely destroyed the temple, and stopped the daily sacrifice altogether. Without question, the Roman Empire fulfills the details of the prophecy in question far better than Antiochus. There is a spiritual application though, of the same prophecy, which points more directly to Papal Rome as the destroyer of the temple, and the sacrifices of the same, than pagan Rome. [/SIZE]
