Daniel: Far From Homeنموونە

So far, in this vision, we have read of the ram and the goat. The power of the ram was replaced by the goat in verses 5 to 8. But at the end of verse 8 the power of the goat was being replaced, too. Its power, represented by its horn, was replaced by four prominent horns. It is out of one of them that another horn comes.

As we read verses 9 to 14 we are meant to spot some differences to the descriptions of verses 1 to 8. In verses 9 to 14 the descriptions of the horn become more impressionistic. Further, the language of war now takes on a hostility towards God as well as other nations.

In verse 9 the horn grows in power towards ‘the Beautiful Land’. The phrase has been used by Ezekiel (20:6,15) where it is clearly Israel. But the attack from this ‘horn’ is more than just a physical conflict. In verse 10 we are told that it grew until ‘it reached the host of the heavens’. Taken with what we will read in chapter 10, it indicates that there is a supernatural aspect to the conflict. A more sinister power is at work than merely a human ruler.

In verse 11 this ruler sets himself up ‘to be as great as the Prince of the host’. His attack is against God Himself. And, as is usual in the Bible, an attack against God is seen in an attack on His people. So this horn will take away the daily sacrifice of God’s people and the ‘place of [God’s] sanctuary was brought low’. This horn will attack at the heart of Israel, the Temple in Jerusalem.

This attack is described in verse 12 as ‘rebellion’. This horn is in rebellion against God, and so attacks the host (or saints) and sets itself up as the object of worship. It prospers, appearing all-powerful, even seeming to throw truth to the ground. This attack is as bad as the exile attack by Nebuchadnezzar.

What is happening is awful. And it leads one of the holy ones, probably angels, to ask, ‘How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled…?’ (v. 13). The cry echoes the psalmist (see Ps. 74:10 as one example), wondering for how long the Lord will allow such rebellion against Him and His people. The question is answered in verse 14: ‘It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings’. 

What can we deduce from what Daniel sees? When we come to the interpretation, the exact identity of this horn is not given (unlike the goat, v. 21). We can guess at a first fulfilment in the awful attack on Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes IV in 167 BC. He attacked Jerusalem, forbade Jewish worship, and built a pagan altar in the Temple. But the lack of specific identification and the time period mentioned (close to three and a half years) suggests we should read this with a wider horizon. In Revelation 12, John sees God’s people attacked by the dragon, or devil, for the same period. We are probably meant to understand that God will always be rebelled against, and therefore God’s people will also always be opposed. However notice the time is limited (v. 14). There will be an end to this. The martyrs in heaven utter the same cry (Rev. 6:10). They too are similarly reassured.

Reflection

All around us we see people living in rebellion against God. All Christians know something of that in their experience of rejection and opposition. Ponder the realism of this vision, and yet also the hope. It will come to an end!