137 - "Epimanes” the “madman"

A Ram WithTwo Horns

In this vision, Daniel saw a ram ... having two horns, (we recall that the word, horn, can refer to a king or a kingdom) and the two horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.  They were two kingdoms fighting as one; the Medes and the Persians.  

It is also interesting to note that the symbol of Persia was a ram; as the beaver is the symbol of Canada.  The ram was the royal ensign of the Persians; whose kings used to wear for a diadem something made of gold, in the shape of a ram's head, set with little stones. Gill.

I saw the ram pushing westward and northward and southward; the Medes and Persians came from the East and "butted" in every other direction.  No beasts could stand before him, all kingdoms fell to this army.  Nor were there any that could deliver out of his hand. But he did according to his will, and became great. Daniel 8:3-4.

Alexander's Rise

a he-goat came from the west, (the Grecian army) over the face of all the earth, and did not touch the ground (he moved swiftly).  The he-goat had an outstanding horn between his eyes (Alexander the great).  he came to the ram that had two horns, the Medes and Persians, ... and struck the ram and shattered his two horns. And there was no power in the ram to stand before him. But he (Alexander's army) threw him down to the ground and stamped on him. And none could deliver the ram out of his hand. 

Then the he-goat became very great. And when he was strong, the great horn (Alexander) was broken. Alexander in B.C. 323, after a reign of twelve years and eight months, died as a fool dieth, of a fever brought on by fatigue, exposure, drunkenness, and debauchery. He was only thirty-two years old. Easton's Bible Dictionary.

In its place came up four outstanding ones towards the four winds of the heavens. When Alexander died his kingdom split into four lesser kingdoms.

Antiochus's Blasphemy

And out of one of them came forth a little horn, 

• Antiochus Epiphanes, who sprung from ... Seleucus king of Syria, one of the four horns ...: this is that sinful root said to come out from thence, in the Apocrypha: "And there came out of them a wicked root Antiochus surnamed Epiphanes, .'' (1 Maccabees 1:10) Gill.  
• The Jews turned it into “Epimanes” meaning, “madman.” Guzik.  
• By some estimates he is responsible for the murder of more than 100,000 Jews. Guzik

Antiochus became very great, toward the south (Egypt) and toward the east (the countries beyond the Euphrates) and toward the bountiful land (Israel). 8:5-9. 

It (the horn, Antiochus Epiphanes) became great, even to the host of heaven (angels). And it made fall some of the host (the Jews) and of the stars (their priests) to the ground, and trampled them. He made war on the holy army of God - the priests and worshippers of Jehovah. Barnes.  Yea, he magnified himself, even to the ruler of the host, Antiochus Epiphanes blasphemed God and commanded idolatrous worship directed towards himself. Guzik. 

The daily sacrifice was taken away by him, He destroyed the Jewish sacrificial system, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.  He offered swine flesh on a Jewish altar.  It (the horn) cast the truth to the ground. And it worked and succeeded.  We are still asking, "Why do the wicked prosper"?

While we were studying the Book of Isaiah we learned that sometimes when the prophet made a statement that referred to his own time, the New Testament writers took that phrase and applied it to a situation they were writing about.  For example, Isaiah prophesied the birth of his son; after all, his wife was already pregnant.  In the New Testament, that same prophecy is applied to the birth of Christ.  

It seems that we have a similar situation here.  Daniel was writing about Antiochus, but John, who made a very similar prophecy in The Revelation, was referring to the antichrist, because, by the time John wrote, the prophecy about Antiochus was no longer relevant; he was history.

Also through his understanding, (Antiochus was known as a deep thinker and a smooth talker),  he shall cause deceit to succeed in his hand, he was good at lying.  This reminds one of another ruler of a well-known English speaking country.  And he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by promising false peace shall destroy many. He also shall stand up against the Ruler of rulers (Jehovah). 

But he shall be broken without a hand.  8:10-13.  He did not die in war or at the hand of a traitor; But the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, smote him with an incurable and invisible plague: or as soon as he had spoken these words, a pain of the bowels that was remediless came upon him, and sore torments of the inner parts;'' (2 Maccabees 9:5). Gill.

136 - Jehovah Sits in Judgement

A Question of Prophecy

When studying the prophecies of the Bible it is vital to keep the time frame in mind.  Without going into anything technical here, it will suffice to say that Daniel had this vision In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar; Which some say was the last year of his reign; Gill.  This was about two years after Daniel had his vision of the four beasts.  

Even if common sense could have inspired Daniel to predict the fall of Babylon to Medo-Persia, what would have caused him to predict that Greece, a non-power, at that time, would overthrow Persia? 

Furthermore, how could he have foreseen that, when Alexander died, his kingdom would divide into four kingdoms, and that out of one of them a ruler would arise who would work havoc among the Jews.  

People who do not believe that Jehovah had anything to do with the writing of the Bible, have to work hard to explain away events that were foretold hundreds of years before they happened.  Failing that approach it is surmised that the prophecies were actually written after the history happened.  This approach does not always work because there are still unfilled prophesies in the Bible.

Another important fact to remember is that when Daniel, or any other prophet, speaks as though he saw something in the present tense he might still have been writing about something in the future tense.  Even though he was writing about the future history of the Jews till almost the time of Christ, many of his words were also prophetic to events which are still future for us.  This we can see because when Christ was preaching about the end times He quotes Daniel as seeing something even future to Christ's time on earth.

In the last two posts, we learned about four beasts.  The first three beasts could be compared to animals we know, but the fourth beast was so different that it could not be compared to any known animal.  The difference was that the first three were kingdoms that simply wished to extend their territory.  

Early in the history of the Christian church, the Roman government was still in the process of extending its borders.  However, ever since Constantine pretended to become a Christian, the fourth beast has used religion as a front, rather than war, to gain more subjects, by preaching condemnation and instilling fear; if that does not work, war is resorted to.  It is a totally different kind of a beast than the first three were.

For more intriguing Biblical facts about these beasts check out The Revelation ch.13+17.

After he had written about the four beasts he said, After this I looked in the night visions.  In his vision, Daniel watched until the thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days sat.  ... whose robe was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool. 7:7+9.  

Here Daniel gives us a description of Jehovah.   He says I saw God sitting; He was wearing a white robe and He has hair.   Daniel does not say, "I saw that God is only a spirit".  Contrary to what we have been taught, Daniel says that Jehovah is a physical being.  Interestingly, John, in The Revelation gives us almost the same description, behold, a throne was set in Heaven, and One sat upon the throne. Rev 4:2.  I saw a great white throne, and Him sitting on it. Rev. 20:11.   

If you are interested in reading more about what the Bible says about a physical, visible God, I suggest:  
http://spaceshiptheology.blogspot.com/2013/08/c-a-humanoid-god.html 
and http://spaceshiptheology.blogspot.com/2013/08/c-d-spiritual-non-physical-

In Daniel's vision, after the courtroom is prepared, Jehovah takes His place on the throne from where He will judge the fourth beast; I watched until the beast was slain, and his body was destroyed and given to the burning flame. 7:11.

It is worth noting that in many translations, I watched until the thrones were set in place, is translated as, I beheld till the thrones were cast down, in the KJV and some others.  If this translation is chosen, the thrones which were cast down would be where the kings of the preceding kingdoms had sat; as we see in these words, And the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away. 7:12.  

I saw ... One like the Son of man (who) came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they (probably the angels) brought Him (ushered Christ) near before Him (Jehovah).  A physical Christ is brought into the presence of a physical, supreme God whom Daniel could see with his eyes.  

And dominion and glory was given Him, (Christ) and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations and languages, should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. 7:13-14.  the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever. 7:18.

Christ will be the supreme king over a one kingdom world, and the ones whom Jehovah calls saints will become vice-regents with Him.

135 - The Fourth Beast

We now continue where we left off in the last post.

The Historical Beast 

• They were a lion with its strength and dignity; 
• a bear with its strength and desire to kill; 
• a leopard, known for its swiftness, as the Grecian army was. 

After this I looked in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast.  Daniel does not specify what kind of an animal this was, it was just too different to fit into the animal kingdom. 

It was frightening and terrifying, and very strong.  Most Bible commentaries agree that this was the Roman empire.  Where ever it went, with its masses of soldiers, it conquered; even the speed of the Grecian leopard was not sufficient to "out-war" Rome.

It is interesting to note that the Expositors Bible Commentary separates the Median and the Persian kingdom into two (the second and the third beast) and so the fourth kingdom is the Grecian kingdom and not the Roman kingdom.  It seems that this is done because they do not believe that Daniel could have seen far enough into the future to predict the coming of the Roman empire.  

it had great iron teeth; as we recall, in Nebuchadnezzar's dream (ch. 2), iron (in the feet) was also used as the symbol of strength.  It devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the rest with its feet.  The nations before this one, could be symbolised by normal mammals but this one was different (it was altogether different-Brenton) from all the beasts before it; and it had ten horns.  Some suggest that the ten horns were actually two five-pointed antlers, rather than ten separate horns. Guzik.  This might represent the Eastern and Western world powers.  The word horn is representative of power, kings or kingdoms; this beast was so pervasive it had ten horns.  

Others make this fourth beast to be the kingdom of Syria, ... which was very cruel and oppressive to the people of the Jews. ... And herein that empire was diverse from those which went before, that none of the preceding powers compelled the Jews to renounce their religion, but the kings of Syria did, and used them barbarously. Their armies and commanders were the great iron teeth with which they devoured and broke in pieces the people of God, and they trampled upon the residue of them. Matthew Henry.

Modern history might suggest another theory.  The Muslim religion has been and continues to be, the fastest-growing religion in the world.  To date, there are more Christians in the world than there are Muslims, however, it has been calculated that by 2050 there will be about twice as many Muslims as Christians.

I am not a prophet.  I sometimes change my viewpoint, but, for the time being, I'll paint the picture this way.  

The fourth beast is a mixture of Roman Catholicism and the Muslim religion (remember the two legs of Nebuchadnezzar's dream).  Like Christianity, the Muslim religion grew out of the Roman empire.  Throughout their history, they have both devoured and broke(n) in pieces many peoples and countries. 

The beast had ten horns.  According to Phillip Goodman, the ten kingdoms are:

In the West
Britain
France
Spain
Italy 
Germany, these five are offspring of the Roman hierarchy. 

In the East, Rome retained its identity ... through the Byzantine Empire. They are:
Greece
Turkey
Syria
Egypt
Iraq
Iran

The Little Horn

Even a casual look will show that this list has eleven kingdoms, not the ten that one would expect.  However, it is important to remember that another, the little horn, springs up later.  

That eleventh horn will be the Antichrist.  According to the newscasts, one hears these days, this man might refer to the leader of the final terrorist group!

For a lengthy, convoluted but good, interpretation of the ten horns, I suggest: http://focusonjerusalem.com/theidentityofthe7.html

Three of the ten horns were uprooted, possibly these could be Iraq, Syria and Turkey and behold, there came up among them another little horn.  Each of the terrorist groups started as a little, seemingly insignificant power.  

The little horn has eyes like the eyes of man (portraying intelligence, strategy), and a mouth speaking great things. 7:7-8.  They boast of their accomplishments; they are bent on killing Jews, Muslims and Christians.  Later on, the slaughter of Jews becomes a major point in the Book of Daniel.  

And he (the little horn) shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High. 7:25.  They (the terrorist groups) take pride in what they are doing in spite of the fact that Allah, whose teachings they claim to follow, has commanded the exact opposite.

They will plot to change times.  All religions have special times of celebration but those special times will be abrogated by the little horn.  It will become illegal to celebrate those religious holidays.  Where the terrorist groups have the power they have already made such changes.

They will plot to change laws.  Those laws that befit a democracy will not be tolerated anymore.   Perhaps this change is a lot closer than we think it is.   

A Christian university in Canada, who, true to their religious beliefs, does not support the LGBTQ movement, was fined for drawing a distinction between LGBTQ's and regular people. 

Or, consider what happened in North Carolina.  At the state level, they took a stand against the LGBTQ movement, and the business world boycotted the state's businesses.  Whatever happened to freedom of religion in North America?  

Can Christians not stand up for what they believe the Bible teaches and get the same national respect that the LGBTQ community demands.  No! the times and laws are changing and Christians and Jews are in for a very rough ride ahead. 

And they shall be given into his (the little horn) hand until a time and times and one-half time (this is usually interpreted to mean three and a half years).  Perhaps we should not be too attached to a precise period of time; maybe it refers to only half of the perfect number, seven.

We must be careful not to crowd the ten horns into only the early part of the modern era,  because, later when Daniel explains the dream, he says,  I watched, and that horn (the little horn) made war with the saints and overcame them until the Ancient of Days came. 7:21-22.

So we see that the fourth beast and the little horn (The Roman and/or a Muslim government in its religious guise) will be the dominating force, democracy is fading worldwide and will continue to fade until Jehovah sets up His kingdom on earth.

134 - Three of the Four Beasts

Daniel's Prophecy Starts

The last chapter ended with Darius the king of Babylon rejoicing that Daniel had not been eaten by the lions.  

This chapter takes us back to the reign of Belshazzar (from chapter five) who was the last king of Babylon before Darius' army defeated Babylon.  

Why this step backwards? Because the historical part of the Book of Daniel ended in chapter 6, with Daniel's dramatic deliverance from the lions, and the prophetic part begins in chapter 7 about Belshazzar (from Chapter 5) in a dream Daniel had.

Daniel had a dream and visions of his head on his bed. 7:1.  This is the introduction to chapters 7-12.

Daniel spoke and said, In my vision by night I was looking: and in my vision by night ... the four winds of the heavens were stirring up the Great Sea. 7:2.  In the Bible, the Mediterranean Sea is often referred to as the Great Sea. Here may be meant the whole world, and the kingdoms and nations of it, because of its largeness, inconstancy, instability, and disquietude. Gill.

Armies on the move or masses of agitated people are spoken of as large bodies of troubled waters.  

1. Note: therefore, behold, the Lord brings on them the waters of the River, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory (his army). Isaiah 8:7.  
2. The waters which you saw ... are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. Rev. 17:15.  
3. We can surely see that these days the people of the world are agitated, stirred up, ready to rebel at the smallest irritation. 
4. This is one of the predicted signs of the last days before the return of Christ.  Upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roar of the sea and rolling waves (hordes of people in distress). Luke 21:25.

A Repeat of a Dream

Even though the picture is different, there is a strong resemblance to Nebuchadnezzar's dream (ch. 2) and Daniels dream (chapter 7).  For a review of the king's dream in ch. 2 see: http://spaceshiptheology.blogspot.com/2016/07/130-kings-historic-dream.htm

The thought occurs to me that Daniel had this dream because a number of years earlier he had explained the meaning of the king's dream to the king, and it had such a strong influence on Daniel that he could not put it out of his mind.  So his mind replayed the dream.

In dreams anything is possible, and having a lion with wings is not at all unthinkable, especially considering that Shedu (a male lion with wings) in Sumerian, Akkadian, Persian, and Iranian tribes mythology was depicted as a winged lion. Wikipedia

Here is Daniels dream:

Four great beasts (four kingdoms) came up from the sea (a multitude of people), different from one another. 

1. Babylon - the golden head in chapter 2.   The first was like a lion and had eagle's wings. this is said to be like a "lion" for its strength and power, for its greatness, dignity, and majesty; the same with the head of gold in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Gill.

I watched until its wings were plucked, after Nebuchadnezzar's reign the kings became much less aggressive; the kingdom of Babylon quit expanding.  The lion could no longer fly like an eagle; its wings were plucked.  The Concordant Version of the Old Testament uses the word vulture in place of eagle.

and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on its feet like a man. And a man's heart was given to it.  Babylon's kings were no longer "the king of beasts" but much more human-like.  Notice, again, the humanness of Belshazzar in chapter five.

2. Medo-Persia - the chest and arms in chapter 2. behold another beast, a second, like a bear. The Medes and Persians are compared to a bear on account of their cruelty and thirst after blood, a bear being a most voracious and cruel animal. Clarke.  

And it raised itself up on one side.  This may refer to one side of the bear (the Median contingent), raising himself (namely Cyrus) up on one side. (He became the predominate army general). Gill.

and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth.  It is best ... to understand by them Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt; which countries were ground and oppressed by the Medes and Persians, as the ribs of any creature are ground in the mouth of a bear: Gill.

And they (perhaps Darius and his adviser's, rulers over Cyrus), said this to it (Cyrus - the bear): Arise, eat up much flesh (go and destroy many other nations).

3. The Grecian army - the belly and thighs in chapter 2.  After this I saw, and lo, another, like a leopard, (known for its swiftness) which had four wings of a bird on its back (even faster than the lion with two wings). Guzik. 

The beast also had four heads;  Signifying the empire after the death of Alexander, divided between his four generals. Cassander reigning over Macedon and Greece; Lysimachus, over Thrace and Bithynia; Ptolemy, over Egypt; and Seleucus, over Syria. Clarke.

and rulership was given to it (the leopard; the Grecian empire).

How could Daniel know that the next world empire would be like a leopard in its rise and prominence, and that it would be divided into four parts? This shows a plain principle: God knows the future, and reveals certain details of the future through His prophets. ... The proof of fulfilled prophecy is exceptionally persuasive; no wonder Peter says "we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" (2 Peter 1:19). Guzik.

Or, on the other hand, one can also surmise that the Book of Daniel was written after Rome had defeated Greece.

This post will be too long if I don't take a break now, but the plan is that we will continue with this dream in the next post.