hotcoffee
New Member
Daniel 8:19 He said: “I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end.[c] 20 The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. 21 The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king. 22 The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power
c.Daniel 8:19 Or because the end will be at the appointed time
After reading these verses and reading all the commentaries that I normally read for Daniel. I can vaguely see what I think Gabriel is saying. I am not sure I can explain it but I'll give it a try.
In studying verse 17 and the "the time of the end" phrasing, it seemed to me that the vision that Daniel had was not the vision of the anti-Christ but a vision of something that was yet to come in Daniel's time but historically accurate in our time. His vision was a small model of what will come.
The majority of the Jews had given up on God. Let's be brutally honest here.... Daniel had seen with his own eyes how those around him had decided that they were more capable of running their lives. The had cut God out.
Now God, observing earth and what His chosen people were doing, said "OK, you think you can do it.... let's see just how you deal with running your life when I take away my protection and let you survive on your own."
He allowed Nebuchadnezzar to take over. He allowed the kings of Media and Persia to follow. He allowed Alexander the Great to follow. He allowed Antiochus IV Epiphanes to follow. Each of these was sicker than the one before them. Antiochus IV Epiphanes slaughtered 100,000 Jews.
Daniel knew the sickness of Nebuchadnezzar, because Nebuchadnezzar gave the order to castrate him, physically! Imagine how ruthless Antiochus IV Epiphanes would be.
Daniel was having this vision while Nebuchadnezzar's son was in power. The kings of Media and Persia hadn't conquered Babylon yet. The bigger bully on the block, in other words, hadn't emerged. In this vision Daniel saw just how mean and cruel the rulers to come were going to be. Daniel was terrified!
Gabriel told Daniel that God was angry with the Jews. God was allowing these things to happen. Just as He had allowed Nebuchadnezzar to conquer Jerusalem, He was going to allow these next three conquests, each worse than the one before it.
Gabriel was saying "Before this is over with, it's going to get a whole lot worse. But it's going to be over with. God won't let these terrifying events go on forever."
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