And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.Daniel 8:15-17
When I embarked on this series through the book of Daniel, I had felt God drawing me to just this task. Each step of the way, I have prayed earnestly for His guidance to reveal His truth to me and to you my readers. “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him” (Proverbs 30:5). As we reach Chapter 8 in this series, at first glance it appeared the same vision of the future of the Jewish nation being shown with a few minor details being added to present parts of the vision with greater clarity. Yet, at closer examination and with a lot of prayer; I began to see the miraculous way in which God was reminding us not to lose hope even when everything around us appears hopeless.
The vision Daniel received in Chapter 8 we are told was in the 3rd year of the reign of Belshazzar (somewhere around 553 B.C) which would have been 15 years before the Persian/Mede armies overtook Babylon. Yet, the vision given to Daniel covered from that time until the end of the reign of Antiochus IV in 164 BC. The timing placed in these visions were proven to be so exact that it should hearten our own hearts to know that, no matter how tough today looks; God is in Control and we can trust Him. Daniel upon seeing the vision was greatly disturbed again. Yet, Gabriel was sent as a messenger from God to Daniel and Daniel was able to hear God’s voice clearly instruct Gabriel to give Daniel the interpretation.
This vision in chapter 8 presented a piece of history that would occur before the birth of Jesus and at the same time be a picture of the end times as well. Just as Gabriel announced “at the end of time shall be the vision.” Daniel’s vision foretold once more, as his previous dream, that the Mede/Persian armies would rise to power in the middle east with the Persian army becoming the greater. Cyrus, King of the Persian army did grow to be mighty and was the one who would help the Jewish nation return to and restore their temple in Jerusalem. Following that time Alexander, the Great overtook the entire region. That Grecian Empire became divided among his 4 generals after his death. And history tells us that Antiochus IV ruled over the region including Jerusalem. He desecrated the temple, sacrificed pigs to Zeus slinging the blood upon the Jewish altar, and declared that anyone who worshipped God would do so on penalty of death. Just as was seen in the vision of Daniel.
“Toward the end of their kingdoms, when they have become morally rotten, an angry king shall rise to power with great shrewdness and intelligence. His power shall be mighty, but it will be satanic strength and not his own. Prospering wherever he turns, he will destroy all who oppose him, though their armies be mighty, and he will devastate God’s people. “He will be a master of deception, defeating many by catching them off guard as they bask in false security. Without warning he will destroy them. So great will he fancy himself to be that he will even take on the Prince of Princes in battle; but in so doing he will seal his own doom, for he shall be broken by the hand of God, though no human means could overpower him. “And then in your vision you heard about the twenty-three hundred days to pass before the rights of worship are restored. This number is literal, and means just that. But none of these things will happen for a long time, so don’t tell anyone about them yet.” Daniel 8:23-26 TLB
As foretold in Daniels vision nearly 400 years before the occurrence, these events did occur and scholars have calculated the time from Antiochus desecrating the temple to the time that the temple was restored was 2300 days.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT TO US?
Antiochus IV was a portrait of the Antichrist which is yet to come. We are not given the exact time of Christ’s return, nor do we know the day when the Antichrist will appear on this earth. Yet, as certain as the prediction was of Antiochus’s reign and his ultimate demise, so is the certainty that Jesus Christ will return to gather His redeemed again unto Himself and establish His kingdom.
[tweetthis]No matter how dark the circumstances may appear, God is on His Throne![/tweetthis]
[bctt tweet=”In this world, we will face tribulation; but, we can still rejoice that Jesus won the victory!” username=”effiedarlene”]
[bctt tweet=”Yet, a little while all our sorrows will be over as we stand bathed in His Presence.” username=”effiedarlene”]
[tweetthis]This life is but a blink of an eye compared to eternity![/tweetthis]
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39
Living Bible (TLB) The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2016
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.