Daniel: Does God Reign? Does God Care? - Reading PlanSample

Start with prayer, then watch the video and read Daniel 8.

In chapter 8 our focus zooms in on two key periods of history. As we saw in the film, the events predicted here are easily identifiable – a quick Google can reveal everything in just a few clicks. They are mainly about the conquests of Alexander the Great and the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes of Syria.

That can make us think this chapter is meant to be a history lesson – but it’s not. Its point is primarily theological – it tells us something about God and about us.

The last vision finished with our focus on God’s kingdom, which is “an everlasting dominion which will never pass away” (7v14). By contrast the empires of this vision are strikingly temporary, as first Persia and then Alexander the Great rise and fall.

Its main focus though “concerns the time of the end” (v17). This book uses the term ‘the end’ in various different ways, which can be confusing! Here it’s not talking about ‘the End’ of time, but ‘the end’ of the vision itself – which is about the career of Antiochus IV of Syria (reigned 175-164 BC), one of Alexander the Great’s lesser successors. He is important mainly because he tried to stop the worship of God. As trailered in v13, he persecuted the Jews and desecrated the Temple, stopping the daily sacrifices and instead sacrificing a pig to Zeus.

In the midst of persecution, it would have been easy for people to assume that Antiochus was greater than God. He certainly thought so – his epithet ‘epiphanes’ comes from a claim he made to be a god made manifest! But he was wrong.

And that is the main point of this passage. God not only knew it all in advance, he had determined exactly what would happen. He allowed Antiochus to reign, but also determined exactly how long for. When the time came, Antiochus too fell to the ground (note the “2,300 evenings and mornings” of v14).

And that is a lesson we also need to hear today. There are many ‘Antiochuses’ in this world, whether on a grand and international level, or on a personal level. Powerful people who stand against God and his ways. So often they seem to be in control – but they are not. When you see wicked people and ways triumph – remember forgotten Antiochus.