The Key to the Interpretation - Part One
Found in the back of my Cambridge reference Bible is this note about the Book of Daniel:
'The prophetic visions present a succession of world-monarchies, the last of which will severely persecute the saints, but will be brought to an end by the Judgment of God and the advent of his kingdom. Ch. 8 gives the key to the interpretation of the rest; (1) the ram with two horns is the medo-persian dynasty, Cyrus being the greater horn which comes up last; (2) a he-goat with a great horn = Alexander the Great. eventually replaced by four others (i.e. his four Generals); (3) out of one of them (Syro-Greek or Seleucid dynasty) arose a 'little horn' (= Antiochus Epiphanes) which persecuted the saints. ' (emphasis is mine)
Careful readers may note that this prophetic 'key' is less than forthcoming about what this actually means in terms of how the Book of Daniel applies to our current age.
Note carefully how it is said that the 'last' in succession of world kingdoms as presented by Daniel is the one which will 'severely persecute the saints'. Then note how this 'last' kingdom is said to be the 'little horn' which is taken to be the Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes.
Then among the conclusions one must draw from this supposed prophetic 'key' are:
1) That the last empire explained by Daniel's visions is that of the Seluecid dynasty which ended in 187 B.C. The Roman empire would no where be discussed in these prophecies.
2) That the saints mentioned in these prophecies have no application whatsoever to saints living in the gospel age, but are in fact second century B.C. Jews.
3) That these prophecies predict nothing concerning our day, or the close of this current age.
These are simple unavoidable conclusions that we must deal with - IF in fact the above interpretation is correct.
The fact is that the prophecies of Daniel ch. 8 have posed a problem for Christian interpreters. The above interpretation certainly looks correct doesn't it? Don't the facts of history support those conclusions? After all, this Seleucid king, Antiochus Epiphanes, did arise out of one of the four divisions of the Grecian empire and severely persecute the Jews.
Because of the ramifications listed above, commentators in our day generally deal with these facts in one of two ways:
1) Some commentators admit that while the prophecy applies to Antiochus Epiphanes it also has a further and greater fulfillment at the end of our current age. Therefore Anitochus is made a 'type' of an 'antichrist' still to come. In this way these prophecies are given a greater and more far-reaching fulfillment.
2) Some commentators deny that the prophecy has any application to Antiochus at all and insert a massive gap of time between the break-up of the Grecian empire and the rise of the 'little horn' or 'antichrist' at the end of time just prior to the return of Christ.
Now all of this is very interesting, but forgive me for suggesting that all these theories are utterly useless.
Why? Because the proper interpretation of a difficult passage such as Daniel 8 should never be sought among the theories of men when our Lord Jesus has already given us the correct interpretation.
Notice carefully in Dan 8:11 what this 'little horn' was to do; By it the daily sacrifice would be taken away and the place of the sanctuary would be CAST DOWN.
All of the theories above are already in trouble. While it's correct to say that Antiochus Epiphanes profaned the Jewish temple, he never CAST IT DOWN. Similarly, while futurist authors believe that a future antichrist will defile a newly rebuilt temple at the end of this age, I have never read that any believe the antichrist will CAST DOWN that temple either.
Now, if our Lord has something to say about this then all speculation must cease and we had better be about the business of aligning our thinking to his rather than seeking to justify our own pet theories. So what did our Lord say:
And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. (Mat 24:1-2)
The facts are these:
1) Antoiochus Epiphanes never cast down the Jewish temple.
2) No where is it taught that any future antichrist is going to cast down any future temple.
2) In this age Christians themselves are God's temple and never once is there any hint of that temple being 'cast down'.
4) Jesus said that the very temple then standing in the first century, the one his disciples were pointing at, would in fact be the one that would be CAST DOWN.
Here, my friends, lies the REAL KEY to properly interpreting Daniel 8 and with it all of Daniels visions. All you need to do is identify which power CAST DOWN that temple in the first century and you will have identified the 'little horn' of Daniel 8. It really is that simple.
Without doubt the power in question is that of the Romans, which destroyed the Jewish temple in 70 A.D. and then went on to severely persecute the Christian church. Afterwards it would corrupt the true Christian worship and under the papal system and the 'Holy Roman Empire' would 'magnify itself even to the prince of the host'
This power continues to this day under the nations of Western Christendom.
In part two we will examine how it could be said that the Roman power arose from one of the four divisions of the Grecian Empire.
'The prophetic visions present a succession of world-monarchies, the last of which will severely persecute the saints, but will be brought to an end by the Judgment of God and the advent of his kingdom. Ch. 8 gives the key to the interpretation of the rest; (1) the ram with two horns is the medo-persian dynasty, Cyrus being the greater horn which comes up last; (2) a he-goat with a great horn = Alexander the Great. eventually replaced by four others (i.e. his four Generals); (3) out of one of them (Syro-Greek or Seleucid dynasty) arose a 'little horn' (= Antiochus Epiphanes) which persecuted the saints. ' (emphasis is mine)
Careful readers may note that this prophetic 'key' is less than forthcoming about what this actually means in terms of how the Book of Daniel applies to our current age.
Note carefully how it is said that the 'last' in succession of world kingdoms as presented by Daniel is the one which will 'severely persecute the saints'. Then note how this 'last' kingdom is said to be the 'little horn' which is taken to be the Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes.
Then among the conclusions one must draw from this supposed prophetic 'key' are:
1) That the last empire explained by Daniel's visions is that of the Seluecid dynasty which ended in 187 B.C. The Roman empire would no where be discussed in these prophecies.
2) That the saints mentioned in these prophecies have no application whatsoever to saints living in the gospel age, but are in fact second century B.C. Jews.
3) That these prophecies predict nothing concerning our day, or the close of this current age.
These are simple unavoidable conclusions that we must deal with - IF in fact the above interpretation is correct.
The fact is that the prophecies of Daniel ch. 8 have posed a problem for Christian interpreters. The above interpretation certainly looks correct doesn't it? Don't the facts of history support those conclusions? After all, this Seleucid king, Antiochus Epiphanes, did arise out of one of the four divisions of the Grecian empire and severely persecute the Jews.
Because of the ramifications listed above, commentators in our day generally deal with these facts in one of two ways:
1) Some commentators admit that while the prophecy applies to Antiochus Epiphanes it also has a further and greater fulfillment at the end of our current age. Therefore Anitochus is made a 'type' of an 'antichrist' still to come. In this way these prophecies are given a greater and more far-reaching fulfillment.
2) Some commentators deny that the prophecy has any application to Antiochus at all and insert a massive gap of time between the break-up of the Grecian empire and the rise of the 'little horn' or 'antichrist' at the end of time just prior to the return of Christ.
Now all of this is very interesting, but forgive me for suggesting that all these theories are utterly useless.
Why? Because the proper interpretation of a difficult passage such as Daniel 8 should never be sought among the theories of men when our Lord Jesus has already given us the correct interpretation.
Notice carefully in Dan 8:11 what this 'little horn' was to do; By it the daily sacrifice would be taken away and the place of the sanctuary would be CAST DOWN.
All of the theories above are already in trouble. While it's correct to say that Antiochus Epiphanes profaned the Jewish temple, he never CAST IT DOWN. Similarly, while futurist authors believe that a future antichrist will defile a newly rebuilt temple at the end of this age, I have never read that any believe the antichrist will CAST DOWN that temple either.
Now, if our Lord has something to say about this then all speculation must cease and we had better be about the business of aligning our thinking to his rather than seeking to justify our own pet theories. So what did our Lord say:
And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. (Mat 24:1-2)
The facts are these:
1) Antoiochus Epiphanes never cast down the Jewish temple.
2) No where is it taught that any future antichrist is going to cast down any future temple.
2) In this age Christians themselves are God's temple and never once is there any hint of that temple being 'cast down'.
4) Jesus said that the very temple then standing in the first century, the one his disciples were pointing at, would in fact be the one that would be CAST DOWN.
Here, my friends, lies the REAL KEY to properly interpreting Daniel 8 and with it all of Daniels visions. All you need to do is identify which power CAST DOWN that temple in the first century and you will have identified the 'little horn' of Daniel 8. It really is that simple.
Without doubt the power in question is that of the Romans, which destroyed the Jewish temple in 70 A.D. and then went on to severely persecute the Christian church. Afterwards it would corrupt the true Christian worship and under the papal system and the 'Holy Roman Empire' would 'magnify itself even to the prince of the host'
This power continues to this day under the nations of Western Christendom.
In part two we will examine how it could be said that the Roman power arose from one of the four divisions of the Grecian Empire.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home