Page 5

The four beasts in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar is like the vision of Daniel in chapter eight except for the little horn. In chapter eight, the little horn comes out of one of the four generals of Alexander of Rome. The ram in chapter eight is the Media-Persian Empire. The two horns of the ram represents the two nations in the confederated empire. The higher horn signified the dominant status of Persia even though, originally it had been the weaker kingdom. The goat represented the Greek Empire. The goat's notable horn represented Alexander the Great. The goat moved so rapidly that it did not touch the ground which refers to the breakneck speed in the conquest of the entire Near East in only three years. (Daniel 8: 5-7). The Greek Empire conquered the Media-Persian Empire in 331BC. In Daniel 8:8 we learn that at the height of the goat's power the great horn was broken which refers to the death of Alexander at the peak of his greatness in 323BC. His kingdom was then divided between Alexander's four generals: Cassander over Macedon and Greece, Lysimachus over Thrace and Asia Minor, Seleucus over Syria and Babylon, Ptolemy over Egypt.

A little horn emerged out of one of the four generals, it was Antiochus IV, 175BC to 163BC; the foreshadow of the coming Son of Perdition.   He was the ruler of the Seleucid dynasty who conquered the surrounding areas to the south and to the east, but, in particular, he dominated the pleasant land, Israel. He brutally stamped upon and persecuted the Jews from 170BC to 164BC. Antiochus IV's blasphemy presented himself as the prince of the host, God Himself is called the Lord of Hosts and Prince of Princes. Antiochus IV stopped the daily sacrifice and defiled the holy temple in Jerusalem in 167BC. He temporarily prospered.

In Daniel 8:13-14, the angel, Gabriel, announced to Daniel that Antiochus's defilement of Israel would last only 2,300 days, until the temple would be rededicated by Judas Maccabeus in 164BC. This event is known as the Feast of Hanukkah which means dedication. (See John 10:22-23).

The angel Gabriel also gave Daniel the message of the seventy weeks and announced the birth of John the Baptist and the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, to Mary. (See Daniel 9:24-27 and Luke 1:26)