I. Video. Will Christians be able to identify the Anti-Christ before the rapture?
II Video Data. John Ankerberg Show. Drs. John Ankerberg (M. Div., D. Min.), Ron Rhodes (Th. M., Th. D.), Ed Hindson (Th. M., Th. D., D. Min. Ph. D.), Mark Hitchcock (Th. M., J. D., Ph. D.).
III. Daniel Chapter 8. Verses pasted from Bible Gateway, NASB 1995. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=daniel+8&version=NASB1995
A. Date, 553 B.C. (Scofield Study Bible, 1909).
B. Notes, from Ryrie Study Bible, 1986. (Dr. Charles C. Ryrie, Th. M., Th. D., Ph. D., Litt. D., 1925-2016)
C. The Vision.
1. Verses. Daniel 8 1-14.
2. Verses examined.
a. 8:1. “third year.”551. B.C., two years after the vision of chap. 7, and before the fall of Babylon in 539. “a vision” concerning the second third world empires — Medo-Persia (vv. 3-4, 20) and Greece (vv. 5-7, 21).
b. 8:2. About 250 mi (400 km) E of Babylon.
c. 8:3. “ram.. Medo-Persia (v. 20). “the longer one coming up last. Though Persia was the younger kingdom, under Cyrus it became the dominant one in 550 B.C.
d. 8:5. “goat.” Greece. “a conspicuous horn. Alexander the Great, whose army swept through Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and Mesopotamia from 334-331 B.C.
e. 8:8. “the large horn was broken.” The death of Alexander at age 32, after which his kingdom was divided among his four generals. Cassander took Macedonia; Thrace and much of Asia Minor went to Lysimachus; Seleucus took Syria; and Ptolemy claimed Egypt.
f. 8:9. “small horn.” Not the same as the horn of 7:8, which will arise out of the restored Roman Empire. This little horn came out of Greece and refers to Antiochus Epiphanes, who came to the throne in 175 B.C., and plundered the Temple in Jerusalem, desecrating it by offering pig’s flesh on the altar. “the Beautiful Land.” I.e., Israel.
g. 8:10-11. “the host of heaven.” God’s people, the Jews, who were terribly persecuted by Antiochus. The “Commander” is God.
h. 8:14. Antiochus’s persecution of the Jews would last for 2300 days, the period from 171 B.C.(when peaceful relations between Antiochus and the Jews came to an end) to Dec 25. 165 B.C. (when Judas Maccabeus restored the Temple for its proper worship).
D. The interpretation, 8:15-27.
1. The ram, 8:15-20.
2. 8:16. “Gabriel.” An angel, whose name means “hero of God” and who often brought important messages to various individuals (9:21; Luke 1:19, 26). The only other good angel mentioned by name in the Bible is Michael (see 10:13; Jude 9).
E. The goat. 8:21-22. The kingdom of Greece.
F. The small horn, 8:23-25. These verses give added details concerning Antiochus and his persecution of the Jews.
IV. References.
A. My Page, “About My References,” shows the references, of people and documents, that I use when I write my articles. Please check my Pages and click on “About My References.”
B. My reference for this article. Dr. Charles C. Ryrie. Check his credentials on my Page, “About My References.”
C. Selections of references. Everybody reads something that someone else has written. Therefore, it is important to choose a reference who is highly regarded among other theologians. Whenever I write an article, I avoid “reinventing the wheel.” I don’t draw conclusions, other than those of which have already been drawn, by people with the reliability of Dr. Charles C. Ryrie. I always show proper credit for any material that I have gained from my references. In this article, Dr. Ryrie has done all of the “legwork” that is needed to compose and post this discussion on Daniel Chapter 8; I can gain nothing by adding to his work. I encourage you to check out Dr. Ryrie’s education and accomplishments.
Eternity 