Daniel 8:11-15

Daniel 8:11

Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.

 

After Satan had caused a war in Heaven and took one third of the angels with him in his rebellion, the scene in the vision now shifts back to the earth.  Antiochus Epiphanes was a man of extreme arrogance and hatred all triggered by Satan.  He magnified himself to the point he was calling himself God.  The name “Epiphanes” means “God manifest” which means he thought of himself as God on earth.  Since he thought this way, he had taken over the Temple in Jerusalem and this would have been an atrocious deed which would have caused Daniel to become sick as he states in a future verse.  The Temple was the center of worship since the time of Moses and there was to be a continual burnt offering in the Temple.

 

Exodus 29:41-42 (KJV)   And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.  {42} This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.

 

Now because of his hatred for God and the people of God, he forbids them from making the continual burnt offering as commanded by God.  We are told that the place of his sanctuary was cast down.  In Heaven Satan had a throne which guarded the throne of God.  Now his sanctuary was no longer in Heaven but was cast down to the earth and now he continually persecutes the children of God. 

 

Revelation 12:9 (KJV)   And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

 

Daniel 8:12

And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.

 

There was a rebellion by some of the Jews, not against Antiochus but against God.  So God handed them over to Antiochus and these apostate Jews had given him the idea that the daily continual sacrifice should be stopped.  The host was probably these apostate Jews.  Since they had rebelled against God, God had allowed Antiochus to prosper in whatever he did at the moment.  Little did these Jews know was that Antiochus was the judgment of God upon this apostasy.  He substituted Greek worship for the worship of the true God.  He set up an idol to Zeus in the temple.  It was like the time of Jeremiah all over again with the idolatry.

 

Daniel 8:13

Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?

 

Then Daniel had the privilege of hearing a heavenly conversation between two angels.  Normally the term saint would apply to the believers in Christ but here they refer to the holy angels, the ones who did not rebel with Satan.  One had asked another one how long the vision of this temple desecration would last?  They wanted to know how long the physical desecration of the Temple would last and when it would finally come to an end.  Remember Daniel is seeing an event which will happen about 380 years into the future.

 

Daniel 8:14

And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

 

The number 2300 is a symbolic number which teaches us that there will be a set number of days for this desecration to occur and that the time is also set for the ending of this desecration.  What is being taught here is that all times of persecution have an appointed end.  Revelation 2:10 (KJV)   Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.  Just like in Revelation 2:10, the length of days is given as ten which is symbolic. 

 

Daniel 8:15

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.

 

Then after Daniel sees this vision, he is perplexed as to what the true meaning of it was.  So he looked for a man to tell him what the meaning was and the angel Gabriel came to Daniel to give him the meaning.  Gabriel means “strong man of God.”  So Daniel got the man to tell him the vision.

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