Daniel Chapter 8 part 3 – The Antichrist
Basic and General Study of the Book of Daniel
In this final part of our study of Daniel chapter 8, more characteristics of this man of sin, the Antichrist, are explained by the angel Gabriel.
THE VISION:
DAN.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.
DAN.8:12 And a 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.
DAN.8:13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spoke, 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?
DAN.8:14 And he said unto me, unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
THE INTERPRETATION:
DAN.8:23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. (See 2Tim.3:1-5)
DAN.8:24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. (See Rev.13:2-4)
DAN.8:25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
(Verses 11, 12, 23, 25) The Antichrist is a cunning devil; in fact, he is possessed by the Devil himself. Deceit prospers under his rule, no doubt referring to a lot of political and other chicanery that he and his cohorts engage in.
This king then claims to be as high as the “Prince of the host.” Who is the Prince of Heaven’s host? That has to be Jesus.
"He magnified himself even to the Prince of the Host"
That literally means against the Prince of the Host. --What Host? The Saints! He boasts of being equal to Jesus and worthy of the worship of all people. And this is confirmed by the apostle Paul when he wrote of the Antichrist’s self-exaltation:
**2 Thes.2:3–4 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day (The day of His Coming at the Rapture) shall not come, except there comes a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped so that he as God sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
In Daniel’s time the Jewish temple had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and Jerusalem was a wasteland. But during that future era described in this vision, the daily Jewish sacrifice has resumed, apparently. Several verses predict that the Antichrist will make a covenant to permit a daily sacrifice of religious worship. (Daniel 9:27, 11:28,30-32)
(V. 11) "...and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away and the place of his sanctuary was cast down." In other words, the Antichrist is going to destroy the altar on which the sacrifice is made, but he is not going to destroy the Temple because, according to 2Thessalonians 2:4, he's going to occupy it himself:
“…he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”
And of course, he has to stop all worship of any other gods, so he stops the sacrificial worship literally desecrated by sending in the Abomination of Desolation.
This reminds us of certain Scriptures:
**DAN.9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
**DAN.11:31 and arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that makes desolate.
(V.12) "And a host (army) was given him against the daily sacrifice."
Again, who's working against the daily sacrifice? The Antichrist. Who's his host? Who does his dirty work for him? --His soldiers, his armies, his World government police, etc., his followers.
(V.12b) "And it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced and prospered."
Doesn't that sound exactly like what is happening today? Truth cast down to the ground on almost every television show, TV series, almost every movie, the newspapers, the internet and the works, casting it all down. They’re practicing it—their lies--and prospering! That's your picture of the antichrist world of today.
(V.13, 14) Then Daniel overhears two saints speaking, and one asks the other how long it will be until the sanctuary is cleansed, which we can understand as being cleaned from something that is defiling it, the transgression of desolation or the abomination of desolation. And the other tells him that it is going to be 2,300 days.
Notice he's not talking about angels, he's talking about saints; Daniel didn't ask the question, one Saint is asking the other saint. Apparently, the people that were standing around listening to all this, hearing all this and seeing this vision, all the spirits, the good spirits, were also curious about what was going on! Scholars differ in the interpretation of those 2300 days but keep that number in mind because, in our study of Daniel chapter 9, we are going to see how it may fit into our End time timeline.
(V.25) "By peace shall he destroy many!"
When the Antichrist takes over the World and establishes his worldwide kingdom, his Worldwide Antichrist World government, he says, "Peace and safety! Everything's going to be peaceful and safe now.--No more wars, everything's going to be secure, prosperity on Earth, everybody's going to have plenty and my kingdom's going to be the new utopian paradise, peace and safety!"
**1TH.5:3 for when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
He confirms the Covenant as a World Peace Treaty and everything is going fine, he's going to make everybody happy and have World peace until he's finally got everything firmly in his grip.
(V.25) “but he shall be broken without hand”
But as the Antichrist rises against the Prince of princes, Jesus, he is broken. At the Battle of Armageddon, he and his forces are utterly trounced and destroyed, not by human armies, but by a heavenly force that is superhuman. That is the happy ending, or should we say, the beginning of the happy ending that we all have to look forward to.
This reminds us of DAN.2:45 Forasmuch as thou saw that the stone (Jesus) was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter...
**REV.19:20 and the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
DAN.8:26 and the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.
DAN.8:27 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.
In this chapter the Lord first gives you the basis, the foundation, the overall picture. Where did this Antichrist guy come from? Parts of this chapter and the next chapters are about him. He's building up to the revelation of this particular man, giving a description of him and what he does, in great detail! He spends much of the chapter describing him, his rule and reign, which is very short. And because this final era is so important, the prophetic message jumps over 2,500 years of history.
So much of the Book of Daniel dwells on the historical background of the Antichrist! Think of that! He considered it so important! In the 2nd Chapter about the Image, that historical background is featured in the feet and 10 toes.
Again, in the 7th Chapter about the beasts, it is featured in the fourth and final beast who is symbolic of both ancient Rome and the modern empire with its ten kings, under the leadership of the Antichrist horn. And now in this chapter 8, many more details about this little horn (that became great) are given.
Dear Daniel was so worn out getting this revelation that he fainted again and was sick for days. It was so difficult for him to understand. Apparently, he must have conferred with a few other people, “but none understood it.” (V.27). Because it was not for them to understand! In fact, God told him to shut up the book for it would be many years later before anybody would understand. And hardly anyone has tried to understand this book for centuries, until just about the last 100 to 200 years. But that future is now here and God wants us to understand and be prepared.
**Isaiah 46:9-11 Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, 'My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure'... Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.
You can receive Jesus at this very moment. It is a free gift of God.
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Eph.2:8-9)
If you haven’t done it yet, please pray this simple prayer:
"Dear Jesus, I want to know You personally. Please forgive all my faults. I accept that You are the Son of God and that You died for me. I invite You into my heart and life. Thank you for your gift of eternal life and please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Help me to read and understand Your Word. Amen"
Compiled and edited by Gaetan from multiple sources.