Shalom, my dear brothers and sisters. I would like you please to turn your Bibles and open it into Daniel chapter 8 and we are going to continue with the Lord's help to look into this amazing prophetic book which was given to this man by the name of Daniel by the Spirit of God to put this for us in the canon of Scripture which really helps us to understand the way in which God deals with His people Israel during the times of the Gentiles. To remind you that Daniel was in the land of Babel, he was taken by the Babylonians in 605 B.C. And then him, Hananiah, Azariah, Mishael and others have been carried away in these three periods of time in Jewish history.

Ultimately, in 586 B.C., the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jewish people were by the rivers of Babylon and there God had given to Daniel this amazing revelation concerning the times of the Gentiles in which the Jewish people will be away from the land and the Gentile rulers will rule over the affairs of this world allowed by God. For a temporary time which is right now very, very, very long time called the times of the Gentiles. And so we have arrived in Daniel chapter 8. In this interesting chapter, Daniel chapter 8, we have arrived to the time in which now Daniel continues to see visions and dreams which God had revealed unto him.

To remind you in Daniel chapter 7, Daniel has seen the vision of the four beasts and now in this Daniel chapter 8, Daniel sees a vision of the ram and the goat in connection with the Jewish history, which is very important to understand if we wish to understand the word of God. So I'm reading in Daniel chapter 8, Daniel chapter 8, Daniel sees a vision of the ram and the goat in the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar. A vision appeared unto me, even unto Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first. And I saw in the vision and it came to pass when I saw that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam.

A vision and I saw in the river of Ulai. Then I lifted up my knives and saw and behold there stood before the river a ram which had two horns. And the two horns were high, but one was higher than the other and the higher came up last. I saw the ram pushing westward and northward and southward, so that no beast might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand, but he did according to his will and became great. And as I was considering, behold, an he-goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth and touched not the ground, and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.

And he came to the ram and had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with anger against him and smote the ram and break his two horns. And there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground and stamped upon him, and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. Therefore the he-goat waxed very great. And when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and for it came up four notable ones towards the four winds of heaven.

And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great towards the south and towards the east and towards the pleasant land. And it waxed great even to the host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground and stamped upon them. And 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. And then host was given him against the daily sacrifice, by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground, and it practiced and prospered.

And I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto the certain saint which spake, 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 underfoot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. And I will stop here, beloved brothers and sisters, with the reading of Daniel chapter 8, verses 1 to 14. So as we are studying, beloved brothers and sisters, this interesting chapter 8, we find ourselves once again in the period of time in which Babylon was still in power. To remind you, beloved brothers and sisters, that the book of Daniel does not present itself in a chronological order, but rather there is a subject, there is a theme, there is a lesson in every chapter in the book of Daniel.

So when we arrive to chapter 8, you notice how verse 1 began. To remind you, beloved brothers and dear friends, that in that 8th chapter we learn of King Belshazzar, who was the grandson of King Nebuchadnezzar, who was the son of Nabonidus, who was the son-in-law of Nebuchadnezzar. Belshazzar co-reigned with his father over Babylon. He reigned from 552 to 539 B.C. And in 539 B.C., Belshazzar died. And he died when the Medo-Persians came against the city of Babylon and took that city. And as if you remember, we have read concerning the slaying of Belshazzar. We have already read it in chapter 5 and verse 31. In that night was Belshazzar, the king of the Chaladins, the king of Babylon, slain.

And Darius, the Medes, received the kingdom, being about 62 years of age. So, what we really learn here, that we are, in a sense, going back now to the period of time in which the Babylonian reigns. And it is really only the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar. And as I mentioned earlier, he reigned from 552 B.C. And so, that would be the year of 551 B.C. Because in chapter 7 and verse 1 of this very same book of Daniel, there it was the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon. This is chapter 7 and verse 1. That, chapter 7, was in 553 B.C. And now, we have arrived to 551 B.C.

And Daniel sees another vision. And so, you notice in verses 1 and 2 of Daniel chapter 8, that we read of the date and the occasion when the vision took place. And Daniel had received that vision from the God of heaven, from the God of Israel. And so, let me read the first two verses of Daniel chapter 8. In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared unto me, even unto me, Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first. And I saw in a vision, and it came to pass, when I saw that I was at Shushan the palace, which is in the province of Elam.

And I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai. What we really learn here from these two verses, that the date is 551 B.C., that Belshazzar was reigning over Babylon, that the vision appeared unto Daniel, and the word for vision in Hebrew is chazon, and chazon is much more than just a dream. A dream is where one sleeps, and he sees a dream. A vision is when one sees literally a vision that God revealed this unto his servant. And so, Daniel, we learn from this verse, that Daniel received a chazon, a vision that appeared unto him, and then it was after the one that he had already saw at the first.

In other words, the previous vision which he saw was the vision of chapter 7, the vision of the four beasts. And we have learned that the vision of the four beasts represented, once again, the way in which God looks at the times of the Gentiles. And the times of the Gentiles are these four period of times, we might say it's divided into four sections in which the Babylonian, the Middle Persian, the Grecians, and the Romans will rule over the affairs of this world called the times of the Gentiles where our Jewish people are scattered around the world, not yet restored to God since the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 B.C.

And so, the times of the Gentiles will continue all the way to the second coming of our Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, at the end of the tribulation. And we live during the church age now, which began at about 30 A.D. when the Holy Spirit of God came and formed the body of Christ, the body of Mashiach, in the city of Jerusalem. And now we are living for a long time since the church was born, but we are still part of the times of the Gentiles. And the times of the Gentiles is an expression that our Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, mentioned this to His disciples in the land of Israel while He was still with them, ministering to them.

He warned them and He told them that they shall fall, namely the people of Israel shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive unto all nations and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Luke chapter 21 and verse 24. And so Daniel is in Babylon. Daniel received now a second vision and this time is in more detail in addition to what you have seen in chapter 7. In chapter 7 you have seen events that occur that God look at the four beasts representing the four Gentile empires, the Babylonians, the Middle Persians, the Grecians and the Romans and ultimately a fifth kingdom which is the Messianic kingdom when the Messiah will come and rule and reign over Israel and all the nations of the world as king of kings and lord of lords.

But here we see some of the events that will happen to the Jewish people doing certain portion of the times of the Gentiles specifically beloved brothers and sisters during the time of the Medo-Persians and the Grecian Empire. So even though Daniel is living during the times times in which Babylon was still empowered and Belshazzar was the king ruling, co-reigning under his father along with his father Nabonidus. Here we find now that Daniel sees this chazon, this vision. Now notice what we find out in the next verse 2 that Daniel was carried away supernaturally in that vision to the city of Shushan which was the capital city of Persia.

Now notice this what's so interesting to see and to read. It says in verse 2 When I saw in a vision and it came to pass when I saw that I was at Shushan in the palace which is in the province of Elam and I saw in a vision and I was by the river of Ulai. In other words, Daniel just the same like Yechezkel Ezekiel and just the same like Yohanan John both of them were carried by the Spirit to see an amazing vision from the hands of the God of Israel. Let me remind you what we read in Ezekiel chapter 37 when Yechezkel was also carried by the Spirit to see this unique vision concerning the valley of the dry bones concerning the future restoration of our people of Israel.

We read in Ezekiel 37 1 The hand of the Lord was upon me and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bone and caused me to pass by them round about and behold there was very many in the open valley. In other words Yechezkel was carried by the Spirit of God and was placed there by the valley of the dry bones in which God wanted to show him what will happen to the nation of Israel when God will restore his own people back to himself in a future day.

Very similar in the book of Revelation in chapter 1 when Yohanan John the apostle he also in verse 10 wrote he said I was in the Spirit of the Lord's day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet saying I am Alpha and Omega the first and the last and what thou seest write in a book and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia unto Ephesus and unto Smyrna and unto Pergamus and unto Tyatira and unto Sardis and unto Philadelphia and unto Laodosia Yohanan John the apostle also was carried by God and the Lord Jesus the Messiah gave him by the Spirit of God to write in a book

called Chazon Revelation and to give us the events that will occur during the church age chapter 2 and chapter 3 of Revelation and then the rapture of the church chapter 4 and chapter 5 to see the Messiah the Lamb in heaven and then from chapter 6 to chapter 19 to see the tribulation days in which the persecution of our people the Jewish people and the world and ultimately the second coming of the Messiah and the end of chapter 19 the Messianic kingdom in Revelation chapter 20 and the eternal order in Revelation chapter 21 and chapter 22 both of them Yechezkel and John Yohanan and Daniel all of them have been carried by the Spirit of

God to see that amazing vision that God had given unto them and here Daniel's vision of the ram and the goat so what we find out in Daniel 8 and verse 2 I saw in a vision and it came to pass when I saw that I was at Shushan the palace Shushan the palace is far away from where the city of Babylon where Daniel was Shushan the palace the name the name is really Shushan Habira in Hebrew the capital city of the Middle Persian and you will find it in Nehemiah chapter 1 and verse 1 in Esther chapter 1 as well and verses 1 and 2 and so on and you will find that Shushan

the palace is the place where the Jewish people were during the time of the Middle Persian empire as well and so Daniel was carried by the Spirit of God to see that vision and notice when he was placed in that vision it was in Shushan the palace which is in the province of Elam and of course Elam it's actually mentioned more than once in the early books of the Bible in Genesis it mentioned and I saw in a vision and I was by the river of Ulai so Ulai is in Persia it is present day Iran today and Daniel was carried by the Spirit to see that vision very beautiful to see how the Lord

is presenting before his servants of all who gave us the word of God the prophets of all the prophets of Israel who gave us these scriptures that you and I read the book of Daniel and other books of the scriptures and the prophets and the apostles how the Spirit of God guided them to give us the information that we have in the complete canon of the word of God both the Tanakh the Hebrew scriptures and the Brit HaChadasha the New Covenant the whole canon of scripture is being given to us by divine inspiration well as we move along beloved brothers and sisters we learn about the details that Daniel have seen in that vision notice

in verses 3 and 4 he sees the vision of the ram and in verses 5 to 8 he sees the vision of the he-goat so notice the ram and the he-goat both of them representing nations and it is interesting to see it again to remember that just like Daniel chapter 2 in the dream that Nebuchad Netzer had seen of that great image where Daniel by the Spirit of God gave Nebuchad Netzer the interpretation and he said Nebuchad Netzer this image head was of fine gold his breast and his arms of silver his belly and his thighs of brass his legs of iron his feet part of iron and part of clay thou sawest till the

stone was cast without hand which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay and break them to pieces so Daniel gave to Nebuchad Netzer the information concerning the image dream which he saw and he said to Nebuchad Netzer that he was that head of gold and then beloved brothers and sisters we can see in the study of the book of Daniel that we see kingdom after kingdom rising or empire rising an empire coming to an end the Babylonian empire rose and would come to an end in 539 BC the middle Persian will rise to power but will come to an end the Greeks will come to a power and then they

will come to an end the Roman empire will rise and it will come to an end and ultimately the Messiah will come and he will reign under him Israel restored nation will reign and rule and a kingdom will never have an end as we read this in the book of Daniel it's amazing to learn these lessons beloved brothers and sisters and so we read now here that the vision of the ram representing really the middle Persian empire which began at 539 BC and ended in 331 BC notice what we read here in verse 3 and I lifted up mine eyes and I saw and behold there stood before the river a ram which had two

horns and the two horns were high but one was higher than the other and the higher came up less you notice what does we see now we have additional details about the middle Persian again to remind you that the middle Persian is really the second empire that will rise beginning as we have mentioned in 539 BC and it will begin notice this ram very interestingly beloved brothers and sisters that this ram had two horns these two horns representing the Medes and the Persian in fact if you go down to verse 20 when the interpretation would come to Daniel we read the ram which thou sowest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia

in other words the Bible interprets itself and so here we can see that the ram had two horns the two horns one was higher than the other the higher one came last or later in other words the Medes and the Persians while they both were powerful nations united nations but the Persians became more powerful stronger and that's how we also read that when Darius received the kingdom he received it from Cyrus the king of Persia so Darius the Medes received the kingdom after Babylon was destroyed and the king of Persia which was Cyrus gave these to the Medes and then Darius became the king over the Babylonian province which was under the empire of the

Medo Persian and so we read that he saw the ram in verse 3 and now when he read what we read about the ram it had two horns one of them was higher than the other this is the Persian was more powerful than the Medes and I saw the ram rushing westward and northward and southward it says in verse out of his hand and he did according to his will and became great in other words we find out that the Persian the Medo Persian empire this represented by the ram pushed to the west Babylon pushed to the north Armenia pushed to the south this is Egypt and they became very great no one could stand

against the Medes and the Persian empire you notice this is so interesting to see how the rise of the Middle Persians but now beloved brothers and sisters we learn some more of the information that Daniel sees here in this eighth chapter to remind you also as we are moving along in this eighth chapter that now we are no longer reading text in the Aramaic language Daniel chapter 8 and verse 1 to Daniel chapter 12 verse 13 to the end of the chapter in the Hebrew tongue in other word the whole book of Daniel written in two languages very similar very similar Aramaic and Hebrew chapter 1 verse 1 to chapter 2 verse 3 was written

in Aramit was written in Hebrew and chapter 2 verse 4 to chapter 7 verse 28 was written in Aramit and chapter 8 verse 1 to chapter 12 verse 13 we are back to the Hebrew so Hebrew Aramit and Hebrew and the reason for that because now Daniel is going to back to the Hebrew language because he is speaking in details concerning the events that will occur here in this world when the Jewish people will be the one that will be affected by all that which will happen during these terrible events in the history of the people of Israel and so we continue now after Daniel has seen the vision of the ram in Hebrew and

now in verses 5 to 8 Daniel sees a vision of the he goat in Hebrew it's called it's a goat it's a male goat and notice what we read in verse 5 6 7 and 8 in verse 5 Daniel next is the he goat which came from the west from Macedonia from Greece and I was considering behold the he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth and touched not the ground and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes now interesting because that goat representing now the Grecian empire and in a sense beloved brothers and sisters it represents Alexander the great the one that represented here by that notable

horn it says between his eyes so Daniel sees the he goat that come from the west this is Greece and he is coming without to touch the ground speaks of the speed and he is conquering representing of course Alexander the great who was in the Grecian armies when they warred against other nations they swiftly and in a speedy way conquered and conquered and conquered and there was one notable horn keren in Hebrew between his eyes the eyes of the goat and that is a representation of Alexander the great we read in verses 6 and 7 that Daniel sees now that he goat running against the ram notice the ram in verses 3 and 4 is

the Medo Persian as we have already mentioned them now in verses 6 and 7 Daniel sees that he goat going and running against the ram and we can say that the Grecians headed up by Alexander the great are now coming against the Medo Persians and ultimately defeating them and we'll read verses 6 and 7 and he this is the goat came to the ram that had two horns Medo Persia which I had seen standing before the river and ran unto him in the fury of his power and I saw him coming close unto the ram and he was moved with anger with anger against him and smote the ram and break his two horns and

there was no power in the ram to stand before him but he cast him down to the ground and stamped upon him and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand now it is again beloved brothers and sisters it is important to understand that as God have showed Nebuchad Netzer in chapter two in the dream of the great image that there will be an end to every empire it will begin with the empire of the Babylon and it will continue with the Medo-Persian empire represented by the breast and arms in the image of the dream that Nebuchad Netzer saw but then after it will come a third one which will have

a belly in his thighs and that represented the Grecian you can see that there will be an end designed by the Lord by God himself that there will be an end to every kingdom every empire and so just like there was an end to the Babylonian empire in 539 BC there will also be an end to the Middle Persian empire which will end at 331 BC when the Grecians headed up by Alexander the Great who is represented here in verse 5 as the he goat with the notable horn between his eye who ran against the ram in his fury in his speed and fury and as Daniel see what does he see according to verse

7 he said that he come close to the ram and he was moved with anger against that ram which is the Middle Persian it says here in verse 7 and no power was in the ram now anymore to stand before the goat namely Alexander the grey and we read three things that the Grecians did against Middle Persians which represented by the he goat smiting the ram three things in verse 7 he smote the ram number two he cast him down and number three he stamped upon him and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his this is the goat's hand and so beloved brothers and sisters in these verses verses 5 6

and 7 we see how the Grecians defeated the Middle Persian and you notice beloved brothers and sisters that these representing before us this Alexander the Great who really died when he was very young apparently from fever alcohol and of him we read now more details in verse 8 of Daniel chapter 8 therefore the goat waxed very great and when he was strong he the great horn was broken and for it came up four notable ones towards the four winds of heaven so what happened eventually when the he got representing of course Alexander the Great represented by this notable horn between the eyes of the goat that ran against the ram defeated the ram but eventually

beloved brothers and sisters Alexander the Great died from history we learn that he died very young at the age of 32 apparently he was drunk and he died and as it says here that the horn was broken verse 8 and then instead of him there were these four generals that took over the Grecian empire Ptolemy in Egypt Salukas in Syria and then we see Makus in Bithynia and ultimately Cassander in another location that we have here in the west which is Macedonia so we have the four generals Salusis took Egypt Cassander west Macedonia Ptolemy South Egypt and Lysimachus the north Cappadocia and all these four generals replaced now Alexander the Great who died at a

very young age and so beloved brothers and sisters to see how now there is an end to the Middle Persian empire in other words during the times of the Gentiles God who is sovereign he knows every situation that occur here in this world every nation he raising up a king and he putting down a king everything is in the hands of the Lord he is controlling all the events that are going on beloved brothers here in this world nothing is hid from God he is in control of all the events that are going on here in this world and so how wonderful to see that what God had presented before us in the scripture would

surely come to pass including beloved brothers and sisters these empires that will come to their end one after another as the scripture described this before King Solomon said to the people of Israel in Proverbs chapter 21 and verse 1 that the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water he turneth it whithersoever he will in other way God is in charge over all the affairs of this world and we can trust him as we learn here from this interesting book the book of Daniel in the very same book of Daniel we read in chapter 4 and verse 17 the testimony of Nebuchad Netzer once he have returned to his

proper mental capacity after the seven years that God have judged him Nebuchad Netzer proclaimed this very important lesson for all men to learn this matter is by the decree of the watcher and the demand by the word of the holy one to the intent that the living may know that the most high ruleth in the kingdom of man and giveth it to whomsoever he will and setteth up over it the basis of men this dream I and Nebuchad Netzer have seen and so amazing to learn that here we learn of the end of the middle Persian empire and the rise of the Grecian empire in 331 B.C.

but even Alexander the Great even that notable horn eventually was broken down and now the Grecians continue to rule over the affairs of this world when those four notable ones the four generals that took over the Grecian empire after Alexander the Great have done so he died Alexander died but the Grecian empire continues on and so now we see here as we study Daniel chapter 8 that Daniel received now additional details that will happen in the history of the Grecian empire and of course in relationship to our people of Israel to the Jewish people who are now under the Grecian empire we learn what the Grecian empire and one of the kings called Antiochus Epiphanes

who from Syria Grecian Syrian ruler king what did he do to the Jewish people and to the temple in the city of Jerusalem so we get more details in Daniel chapter 8 and really beloved brothers and sisters the event that we read about from Daniel 8 verse 9 to verse 14 are events that occurred during the time in which Israel were under the control of the Grecians when the king Antiochus Epiphanes Antiochus IV was a Syrian a descendant of the Syrian kings that ruled over Israel and look this wicked sinful king what he had done to the Jewish people during the time of the Hellenistic reign over the whole world and particularly the land of

Israel and so notice what we read dear brothers and sisters in verses 9 and 10 we do read about the rise of another little horn but this time this little horn rose out of the four horns of which we read in verse 8 these four notable ones in other words there is now another you know it's interesting because the word horn the word keren in Hebrew horn speaks of strength and sometimes it speaks of the strength of God which is holy and powerful and just and sometimes those horns representing the power of man which he received from God which he uses often in a wicked way in a sinful way to abuse the power that

he has in order to turn against God and God's people well in the context of our chapter now verses 9 on to verse 14 we first of all see the rise in verses 9 and 10 of this little horn that came out of the four notable one the four kings of the Hellenistic Empire and notice it specifically zero in on one of these rulers that came out of the Grecian Syrian part of the Hellenistic Empire we read in verse 9 and 10 and out of one of them out of one of those four that ruled the four kings that ruled after Alexander the Great came forth a little horn that expression of course in Hebrew

it simply means keren achat zeira in other words a little horn that came out of one of the four which wax exceeding great towards the south and towards the east and towards the pleasant land notice what it says in verse 9 this little horn which we know from history is Antiochus Epiphanes he is this Hellenistic king ruled from 175 to 164 BC in other words time had passed by he was the eighth king of the Syrian dynasty name is Antiochus Epiphanes and he rose now but notice what we read about him in verse 9 he waxed exceeding great in other words he was empowered he was he had power and authority and he also went

towards the south he fought against Egypt and towards the east towards the middle Persia there but also known as towards the pleasant land that expression the pleasant land in Hebrew it's called el hat zvi the pleasant land is an expression that speaks about the nation the land of Israel and this expression here the pleasant land represent before us the fact that he came also against the people of Israel in other translation is called eretz chemda nachalat zvi it is a land that is called the pleasant land a verse that is found in Jeremiah chapter 3 in verses 17 to 19 we read in verse 17 we read at that time they shall call Jerusalem the

throne of the Lord speak about the future day when Jerusalem will be restored and the Jewish people back in the land and then we read and all the nations shall be gathered unto it to the name of the Lord to Jerusalem neither shall they walk anymore or after the imagination of their evil heart verse 18 in those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for their inheritance unto your fathers notice verse 19 but I said how shall I put thee among the children and give thee a pleasant land a goodly heritage

of the hosts of nation and I said thou shall call me my father and shall not turn away from me in other words God the name pleasant land applies to the land of Israel the promised land that God had given to the people of Israel Ezekiel in chapter 20 and verse 6 also calls it a pleasant land so this little horn that came out from that one of these four parts of the Grecian empire he was that eight king of the dynasty of the Syrian Grecian Syrian he now came and notice he fought against Egypt he fought against the east middle Persia and he also came to the land of Israel called the pleasant land

we read in verse 10 and look what we read about him this man this little horn is none else but wicked Antiochus epiphany who ruled from 175 to 164 BC during these years in which he ruled he caused havoc among the Jewish people we read in verse 10 it this this is again the little horn it waxed great even to the host of heaven and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground and trampled upon them notice what we read here beloved brothers and sisters that the rise of this little horn representing really Antiochus Epiphany when he rose and he fought against Egypt against Middle Persia and against the

pleasant land namely the Jewish people what does he do he came against notice the host of heaven that host of heaven is really representing the heaven is God the host of God in the context here are the people of Israel to whom he came against in the land of Israel and we read also he cast down some of the host and not really killed some of the people of Israel of the Jewish people and of the stars to the ground and stamped upon them this is very interesting because whatever the events that we read here in Daniel chapter 8 and verses 9 to 14 are events that occurred in Jewish history during those years when

Antiochus Epiphanies reigned if you ever read the book of Maccabees the first book and the second book which is not Bible it's just Jewish history you will notice of the rise of this man by name of Antiochus who have been solely against God against the Jewish people against the Torah the law against the word of God against the sanctuary and he caused a desecration what is known the abomination of desolation that he caused there in the land of Israel I would like to read to you just a few verses that are found in the first book of the Maccabees again remember the Maccabees first Maccabees and second Maccabees is Jewish history it's not part of

the word of God but it gives us the history of the Jewish people let me read you what we read in just the first chapter of the first book of Maccabees it says in verse 1 of chapter 1 and it happened after that Alexander son of Philip the Macedonian who came out of the land of Shittim had smitten Darius king of the Persian and Medes that he reign in his stead the first over Greece and made many wars and won many strongholds and slew the kings of the earth and went through to the ends of the earth and took spoils of many nations in as much that the earth was quiet before him whereupon he

was exalted and his heart was lifted up and he gathered a mighty strong host and ruled over centuries and nations he ruled over countries and nations and kings who became tributaries unto him and after these things he fell sick and perceived that he should die wherefore he called his servants such as were honorable and had been brought up with him from his youth and parted his kingdom among them while he was yet alive so Alexander reigned twelve years and then he died in verse eight nine and ten of this first chapter of the first book of Maccabees we read and his servants bear rule everyone in his place and after his death they all put

crowns upon themselves so did the sons after them for many years and evils were multiplied in the earth and there came out of them a wicked root Antiochus surname Epiphanes son of Antiochus the king and here we arrive to that history about this Antiochus the Grecian Syrian king I just read a few more just from Jewish history concerning this Antiochus and his activity in verse 20 of this first book of Maccabees verse 20 to 25 we read and after that Antiochus had sweetened Egypt he returned again in the hundred and forty and third year and went up against Israel and Jerusalem with great multitude and entered proudly into the sanctuary and took away the golden

altar and the candlestick of light and all the vessels thereof and the table of the showbread and the pouring vessels and the vials and the sensors of gold and the veil and the crown and the golden ornaments that were before the temple all which he pulled off he took also the silver and the gold and the precious vessels also he took the hidden treasures which he found and when he had taken all away he went into his own land having made a great massacre and spoken very proudly therefore there was a great mourning in Israel in every place where they were imagine what this wicked man by the name of Antiochus has done just a

few more verses to read in this historical book of the Maccabees the first Maccabees chapter 1 we read in verse 39 of the things that Antiochus epiphanies have done which we read in Daniel chapter 8 from verse 9 to verse 14 in verse 39 of Maccabees 1 we read her sanctuary was laid waste like a wilderness and then we read that they were turned into mourning her Shabbat into reproach her honors into contempt as had been her glory this is Israel this is the Jewish people so was her dishonor increased and her excellency was turned into mourning moreover King Antiochus wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people and everyone should leave

his laws so all the heathen agreed according to the commandments of the king yet many also of the Israelis consented to his religion and sacrifice unto idols and profane the Shabbat for the king had sent letters by messengers unto Jerusalem and the cities of Judah that they should follow the strange laws of the land and forbid burnt offerings and sacrifices and drink offerings in the temple and that they should profane the Shabbat and festival days and pollute the sanctuary and holy people set up altars and groves and chapels of idols and sacrifice swine's flesh and unclean beasts that they should also leave their children uncircumcised and make their souls abominable with all manner of uncleanness

and profaning to the end that they might forget the law and change all the ordinances and whosoever would not do according to the commandments of the king he said he should die finally beloved brothers and sisters and dear friends i just want to read the last verses of the first chapter of the book of maccabees which is a historical book that it's good to see to learn what happened in Jewish history during these days of the grecian empire we read in verse 59 of first maccabees one now the five and twentieth days of the month they did sacrifice upon the idol altar which was upon the altar of God at which time according to the

commandments they put to death certain women that had caused their children to be circumcised and they hanged the infants about their necks and rifled their houses and slew them that had circumcised them how bit many in Israel were fully resolved and confirmed in themselves not to eat any unclean thing wherefore they rather to die that they might not be defiled with meats and that they might not profane the holy covenant so then they died and there was very great wrath upon Israel in those days arose Matathias the son of John the son of Simon a priest of the sons of Yorib from Jeruz and that's how Matathias rose and he fought against the Grecian Syrian

king and these armies and ultimately he cleansed with the help of God the temple in Jerusalem and that's how we arrive to the feast of Hanukkah the feast of dedication which we and the Jewish people celebrate every year but I just wanted to read to you beloved brothers and sisters and dear friends portions of the historical book of Maccabees in the first Maccabees chapter 1 some of the things that this wicked man which Daniel chapter 8 and verse 9 call him little horn that walks great towards the south Egypt towards middle Persia east and towards a pleasant land and that it walks so great to the host of heaven to the people of God the

host of heaven representing the people of God and as it says here and he cast some down some of the host some of the people he killed as we have read in the first chapter of the first book of Maccabees and of the stars to the ground and if you notice that also the word for stars often time representing the people that belong to God if you remember in the book of Genesis in chapter 15 God said to Abraham in that vision that he saw he brought him forth abroad and he said look now towards the heaven and tell the stars if thou be able to number them and he said unto him so shall

thy seed be Genesis 15 and verse 5 and so it is representing the Jewish people that Antiochus epiphanies have caused havoc among the people of Israel in Genesis chapter 22 we do also read beloved brothers and sisters in verse 7 and Isaac speak unto Abraham his father and he said my father and he said here am I my son and if you remember is where Abraham was going to offer Isaac and when Isaac was eventually was spared you remember what God said to Abraham that in blessing I will bless thee and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is upon the seashore and thy seed

shall possess the gates of his enemies so here this is in Genesis 22 and verse 17 here beloved brothers and sisters we see how God have allowed this wicked Antiochus epiphanies to do what he did and he gave this vision to Daniel when he was away from the land of Israel in the time when the Jewish people were away and so I would like you now beloved brothers and sisters to continue with me just to look at the next verses what the little horn has done the desecration of the sanctuary the desecration of the temple of God in the city of Jerusalem during the time when Antiochus epiphanies reigned from 175 to 164 BC again

to remind you Daniel when he received this vision it was 551 BC when the events occur when Antiochus epiphanies have done what he has done is much later hundreds of years have passed by at least over three four hundred years have passed by and here we see the events that happened between the new testaments in this four hundred years between the end of the Tanakh the old Hebrew scripture the old testament and the beginning the coming of the messiah in what is known in Matthew chapter 1 in the beginning of the new testament the new covenant and these events occur during the 400 450 years of silence which things have happened in the Jewish history

so notice now from verse 11 to verse 14 we receive things that Antiochus epiphanies did to the Jewish people and to the temple in Jerusalem in verse 11 this little horn magnified himself even to the prince of the host and you notice what he did in verse 11 we read and he this is the little horn this is Antiochus he magnified himself to the prince of the host the prince is really the high priest and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away and the place of his sanctuary was cast down in other words Antiochus epiphanies this wicked man this little horn what did he do he went against the high priest and against the

people of Israel and then what did do he stopped he took away the daily sacrifice now the daily sacrifice here in the Hebrew text it simply speaks about the hatamid in Hebrew the one that is always continuing on this is the sacrificial system that was to be offered day by day this is the offering that were rising to God every day morning and evening and morning and evening it is called in Hebrew hatamid the always the continual sacrifice it was taken away and then it says that the sanctuary was cast down in other words what happened here in this he really desecrated the temple in Jerusalem we did read of him offering pigs and asking

the Jewish people to set up altars in various places and he put the image of Zeus upon the altar in the temple and he demanded from people from the Jewish people to worship him and to worship the images that he had set in the temple in Jerusalem he desecrated the temple what is called the abomination of desolation and he Antiochus became a type and a picture of what the events that will take place during the tribulation period when the times of Jacob's trouble will occur in the future days in the last days in Israel's history so the little horn he have caused image he took away the daily sacrifice he desecrated the sanctuary in Hebrew

it says the place where God's holy name is placed in the sanctuary verses 12 and 13 and 14 we can see we continue in verse 12 as we read and the host was given unto him against the daily sacrifice now notice apparently some of the host some of the Jewish people became Hellenistic they were influenced by the Grecian pagan ways of living so some and host was given unto him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression because of sin and disobedience some of the Jewish people were influenced become Hellenized and then we read that continue in verse 12 and it cast down the truth that truth simply has to do with the law with

the word of God with God's ways the Torah and God's instruction he cast it down to the ground and he practiced and he prospered so that little horn was allowed to cast down the truth the Hebrew word the truth is representing really that which is the word of God the truth way of worship the truth of God is being cast down and also as it says here he practiced and he even prospered now beloved brothers and sisters in the final two verses in verses 13 and 14 Daniel now heard one saint one angel one kadosh one holy one speaking to another holy one another kadosh and he asked him this question notice this and I

heard verse 13 one saint speaking and another saint said unto that certain saint which speak how long in Hebrew ad matai how long will you allow this to continue on and then we read how long will shall the vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the transgression of desolation to give both the sanctuary and the horse to be trodden under foot how long will it take place how long will it take place he wanted to know how long time will the sanctuary be desolated will the sacrifices cease from being offered how long will the war against the Jewish people will continue how long how long he asked and so beloved brothers and sisters we do read

the length of time here in verse 14 and he said unto two thousand and three hundred days two thousand three hundred days then shall the sanctuary be cleansed so it will take two thousand and three hundred days in Hebrew it says evening morning in other words there are sacrifices that are offered in the evening that sacrifice offer in the morning but an evening and a morning together become one day as we do read it in scripture right from the beginning of creation beloved brothers and sisters when God created this earth this world we do read that it was evening and morning the first day Genesis 1 verse 5 and God called the light day and

the darkness he called night and the evening and the morning were the first day evening morning evening morning become one day so it will be 2300 days it will take until the temple will be cleansed and indeed beloved brothers and sisters on the 25th day of the month of Kislev in 165 BC it was the Hashmonaim this Matathias and his sons who were of the priesthood of Israel who sought to honor God who have began to campaign against the Grecian Syrian armies and the Grecian Syrian who were headed up by Antiochus Epiphanes and his armies and they fought against them and after 2300 days on the 25 days of the month of Kislev 165 BC

the temple was cleansed and the Jewish people restored the worship to the God of Israel that reminds us of course of what we read in the Gospel of John in John chapter 10 of the feast of dedication the feast of Hanukkah if you remember even our Lord Yeshua the Messiah came to this very dedicated the re-dedicated temple which the Matathias and his son the Jewish people re-dedicated back to God we read in John chapter 10 and verse 22 and it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication Hanukkah the feast of Hanukkah and it was winter and Yeshua walked in the temple in Solomon's porch John 10 verse 22 and 23 and so beloved brothers

and sisters how wonderful to know that God is giving Daniel now in chapter 8 this second vision concerning the events that will occur during the Medo-Persian empire and the Grecian empire and more centering focusing on events that will happen to the Jewish people in the city of Yerushalayim to the temple that will be desecrated but ultimately cleansed by the Maccabees by Matathias and his sons and the Jewish people the godly Jewish people who restore the temple to worship the true and living god of Israel wonderful truths we learn but sad events that happened in Jewish history and from the next verses we will have the interpretation of the dream which the angel will give unto

Daniel and so until the next time beloved friend and dear brothers and sisters may God bless you and may God encourage us all to follow our Lord Yeshua Jesus the Messiah God bless you Shalom Shalom