The Beasts in Daniel 7

Upvote:0

We do not need to look so far into the future to discover whom Daniel spoke of as the "little horn" (8:9) or the one who brings the "abomination of desolation." (11:31) Many commentators hold that the Book of Daniel was written in support of the Maccabean Revolt in the 2nd century c.e. and that it goes no further in its historiography than the time of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. For example the Expositor' Bible Commentary says that the book is:

well adapted to inspire the hopes and arouse the heroic courage of the persecuted Jews in the terrible days of Antiochus Epiphanes... The interests of every other Hebrew prophet are always mainly absorbed, so far as earthly things are concerned, in the immediate or not-far-distant future. That is true also of the author of Daniel, if, as we have had reason to see, he wrote under the rule of the persecuting and blaspheming horn.

If this is true, then the idea that the "anti-Christ" - a term not used in the book - is "Islamic" must be ruled out. The evil "horn" is most likely Antiochus himself, who literally carried out the "abomination" mentioned in 11:31.

Raging like a wild animal, he set out from Egypt and took Jerusalem by storm. He ordered his soldiers to cut down without mercy those whom they met and to slay those who took refuge in their houses. There was a massacre of young and old, a killing of women and children, a slaughter of virgins and infants. In the space of three days, eighty thousand were lost, forty thousand meeting a violent death, and the same number being sold into slavery. (2 Maccabees 5:11–14)

Using Antiochus IV as our historical marker and working back:

  • The first great beast is Nebuchadrezzar and the Babylonian Empire.
  • The bear is the Median Empire
  • The leopard or panther represents the Persian kingdom.
  • The terrible fourth beast with four heads represents Alexander the Great and his successors, including ultimately Antiochus IV.

Attempting to find explanations in a distant future long after the time when the Book was written is not necessary. We need look no further than Antiochus Epiphanes.

More post

Search Posts

Related post