SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/12/2013 12:38 PM
My Worship Time Focus:
Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Daniel
8:9-14
Message of the verses: “9 Out of one of them came forth a rather small horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land. 10 It grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down. 11 It even magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down. 12 And on account of transgression the host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper. 13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, "How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, while the transgression causes horror, so as to allow both the holy place and the host to be trampled?" 14 He said to me, "For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be properly restored.’”
“His name is pronounced ‘An-TY-i-cus
E-PIPH-uh-ness.’” (From the end Note
from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on the book of Daniel.”)
There is no way that I can do justice to this passage
like Warren Wiersbe has done and so I will quote what he writes in his
commentary on this important subject.
“Antiochus gave himself the name ‘Epiphanes,’ which means
‘illustrious, manifestation,’ for he claimed to be a revelation (epiphany) of
the gods. He even had the word theos (god) put on the coins minted with
his features on it, and his features on the coins came to look more and more
like the Greek god Zeus. He had a
passionate desire to turn the Jews into good Greeks. One of his first acts was to drive out the high
priest Onias, an ardent Jew, and replace him with Jason, a patron of the
Greeks. But Jason was replaced by
Menelaus, who actually purchased the priesthood. Believing a rumor that the king was dead,
Jason attacked Jerusalem only to learn that Antiochus was very much alive. The angry king attacked Jerusalem and plundered
the temple. In 168 he sent an army of
20,000 men under Apollonius to level Jerusalem.
They entered the city on the Sabbath, murdered most of the men, and took
the women and children as slaves. The
remaining men fled to the army of the Jewish leader Judas Maccabeus.
“But the king wasn’t satisfied, so he issued an edict that
there would be one religion in his realm and it wouldn’t be the Jewish
religion. He prohibited the Jews from
honoring the Sabbath, practicing circumcision, and obeying the levitical
dietary laws, and he climaxed his campaign on December 24, 268, by replacing
the Jewish altar with an altar to Zeus—and sacrificing a pig on it! Any Jew found possessing a copy of the Law of
Moses was slain. Jerusalem was
eventually delivered by the courageous exploits of Judas Maccabeus and his
followers, and on December 14, 165, the temple was purified, the altar of burnt
offering restored, and Jewish worship once again restored. It is this event that the Jewish people
celebrate as ‘The Feast of Lights’ or Hanukkah (see John 10:22). Antiochus went mad while in Persia, where he
died in 163.
“Knowing these facts about Antiochus helps us better
understand the text of Daniel’s prophecy.
Antiochus started in a small way but gradually accumulated power as he
magnified himself and dealt ruthlessly with the Jewish people. He attacked the Jews in their ‘pleasant
[beautiful]’ land and put a stop to their religious practices. He even claimed that he was a god. In verse 10, the Jews are described as ‘the
host of heaven’ (i.e., ‘godly people’) and ‘stars’ (Gen. 15:5; 22:17). When Antiochus stopped the daily sacrifices
in the temple and substituted pagan worship, this was called ‘the abomination
that makes desolate’ (‘the transgression of desolation,’ Dan. 8:13. This concept is found in 9:27; 11:31; and
12:11, and is used by Jesus in Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14. What Antiochus did was a foreshadowing of
what the Antichrist will do when he puts his image in the temple and commands
the world to worship him (2 Thes. 2; Rev 13).
Daniel 8:13 and 11:31 refer to Antiochus, and the other references to
Antichrist, of whom Antiochus is a picture.
“The two angels (8:13-14; ‘saints’) spoke together about
this matter and from their conversation, Daniel learned the prophetic
timetable. Between the desecration of
the temple and its cleansing and restoration 2,300 days would pass. The Hebrew text reads ‘2,300 evenings and
mornings,’ because burnt offerings were sacrificed at the temple each morning
and each evening of every day. But does
this mean 2,300 days or 1,150 days, 2,300 divided by two? And what date or
event signals the beginning of the countdown?
Some students opt for 2,300 days, that is, about six years, if you use
360 days for the year. Others prefer
1,500 days, which give us slightly over three years.
“But what is the starting point for the countdown? The six-year advocates begin with 171 B.C.,
when Antiochus deposed the true high priest.
Subtract six years and this takes you to 1 65 when Judas Maccabeus
defeated the enemy and reconsecrated the temple. However, the three-year advocates begin with
the establishment of the pagan altar in the temple on 25 Kislev, 168, and this
takes us to 165. Either approach meets
the requirements of the prophecy.
“We’ll meet Antiochus Epiphanes again before we completed
our study of the Book of Daniel.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: The Apostle John
speaks of the “Antichrist” and then he also speaks of antichrists that will
come into the world. He also speaks of
people who can have the spirit of antichrist.
I for one am not looking for the Antichrist, but am looking for the Lord
Jesus Christ to come and take His bride to be with Him in heaven.
My Steps of Faith for Today: To be ready to tell others of the hope that I
have, that is the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to take His bride to heaven
to be with Him forever.
Memory verses for the
week: 2 Peter 1:1-7
1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus
Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the
righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the
knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has
granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true
knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His
precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of
the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by
lust. 5 For this very reason also,
applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your
moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge self-control, and in your
self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your
godliness brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
Answer to our last Bible
Question: “Sara” (Genesis 21:10).
Today’s Bible
Question: “Where was Peter when
Cornelius sent for him?”
Answer in our next SD.
10/12/2013 1:38 PM
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