The Prophet Daniel

By Arno Clement Gaebelein

Chapter 8

The Vision of the Ram and He-Goat

We remind the reader once more of the fact that beginning with the seventh chapter to the end of the Book of Daniel the language employed is Hebrew. The reason for this change has been stated before. From now on we are led in prophecy mostly upon Jewish ground and events are revealed, which will take place at the close of the times of the Gentiles. These events will be enacted in the holy land and in the city of Jerusalem. The phrases "the latter time"— "the time of the end"— "in the last end of the indignation " appear several times in these chapters. They describe the same period of time we found in the seventh chapter, " a time and times and dividing of time " that is three years and a half, the prophetic 1260 days or 42 months in the Book of Revelation. It is the great tribulation, with which the times of the Gentiles close. This great tribulation is the time of Jacob's trouble (Jerem. xxx, 4). Our Lord in Matthew xxiv in that part of the Olivet discourse, which describes the end of the age, calls attention to the Prophet Daniel and immediately after He said " for then shall be great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." Jerusalem will be the great storm center of that predicted tribulation.

The prophecies of the eighth and ninth chapters have found a partial fulfillment in the past. But they also relate to the time of the end, in which the final fulfillment will be accomplished. The awful invasion of the land of Israel and wickedness of Antiochus Epiphanes 168 B. C. is a prophetic type of another invasion during the last end of the indignation. Then once more another King of the North will invade the land and lay siege to Jerusalem.

The great prophecy contained in the ix chapter is likewise in greater part fulfilled. Only the last week remains unfulfilled. This last week of seven years includes " the time of the end." It will help the reader to link chapters vii and ix together and chapters viii and xi. In chapters vii and ix the West, that is the Roman Empire, is prominently in the foreground. The little horn in chapter vii corresponds to " the prince that shall come " in chapter ix. In chapters viii and xi we are in the East, and the little horn of chapter viii and the " King of the North " who enters the glorious land as predicted in chapter xi are the same person. If the reader holds this clearly in mind, it will prove helpful in understanding this part of the book.

Daniel viii-xii should be divided into three parts, for it contains three great visions. First, the vision of the Ram and the He-goat. Chapter viii. Second, the vision of the Seventy weeks. Chapter ix. Third, the great final vision. Chapters x-xii.

The Time of the Vision of the Ram and He-Goat. The vision of the viii chapter was given to the Prophet in the third year of the reign of the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar. It was the year when the feast of blasphemy was held and Babylon fell. Then God took His faithful servant aside and revealed to him new things concerning the future. The Prophet was in Babylon when he received this vision. But in spirit, in the vision he was transported to Shushan, the chief city of Elam, which became one of the capitals of the Medo-Persian empire. This city is also mentioned as the home of faithful Nehemiah and the entire story of the Book of Esther happened there. In spirit he finds himself " near the fortress " (not in the palace) by the river of Ulai.

The Vision Itself. The vision concerns the second and third empires. These were represented in Nebuchadnezzar's dream image by the chest of silver and the thighs of brass and in Daniel's vision by the bear with the three ribs and the leopard with the four wings and four heads. The Medo-Persian empire and the Grecian are before us in the vision. The Medo-Persian appears as the ram with two horns, one higher than the other and the higher one came last (verse 3). The second empire was composed of two powers the Medes and the Persian, the latter arose to superiority and became the domineering element. This is indicated by the one horn higher than the other and corresponds to the bear in Daniel's vision with one side lifted up. Here indeed is history prewritten for all was revealed when the Babylonian empire was still flourishing. No wonder higher critics and kindred infidels have tried their very best to break down the authenticity of this book and have invented their clever schemes by which they try to show that all was written after the Medo-Persian empire had come into existence. Then Daniel beheld the rapid conquest made by the second empire. It pushed itself in three directions, westward, northward, and southward. In Daniel's vision the bear had three ribs in its mouth. Thus all corresponds.

All at once a he-goat came rushing from the west. Its speed was so great that it did not touch the ground and the he-goat had a notable horn. This he-goat in its swift advance is the leopard empire with the four wings as Daniel saw it, the Grecian world power. The notable horn is none other than its King, Alexander the Great. Then follows a deadly conflict. The he-goat rushes into the ram. The result was disastrous for the ram, the Medo-Persian empire.

And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake 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 (verse 7).

334 B. C. the notable horn, Alexander, in goatlike fashion, leaped across the Hellespont and fought successful battles, then pushed on to the banks of the Indus and the Nile and from there to Shushan. The great battles of the Granicus (334 B. C), Issus (333 B. C), and Arbella (331 B. C.) were fought and with irresistible force he stamped the power of Persia and its King, Darius Codomannus, to the ground. He conquered rapidly Syria, Phoenicia, Cyprus, Pyre, Gaza, Egypt, Babylonia, Persia. In 329 he conquered Bactria, crossed the Oxus and Jaxaitis and defeated the Scythians. And thus he stamped upon the ram after having broken its horns. But when the he-goat had waxed very great, the great horn was broken. This predicted the early and sudden death of Alexander the Great. He died after a reign of 12 years and eight months, after a career of drunkenness and debauchery in 323 B. C. He died when he was but 32 years old. Then four notable ones sprung up in the place of the broken horn. This too has been fulfilled, for the empire of Alexander was divided into four parts. Four of the great generals of Alexander made the division namely, Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus and Ptolemy. The four great divisions were, Syria, Egypt, Macedonia, and Asia Minor.

The Little Horn. Out of one of these divisions Daniel beheld a little horn coming up. It sprung out of Syria. This little horn which now comes into prominence pressed down upon " the pleasant land," which is Palestine and its fearful action there and in Jerusalem are described. Let us see what it says.

And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward 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. 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. And an 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 (verses 9-12).

History does not leave us in doubt about the identity of this wicked king. He is the eighth king of the Seleucid dynasty, who took the Syrian throne and is known by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes and bore also the name of Epimanes, i. e., " the Madman." He was the tyrant and oppressor of the Jews. His wicked deeds of oppression, blasphemy and sacrilege are fully described in the book of the Maccabees. Long before he ever appeared Daniel saw him and his wicked work in his vision. The host of heaven towards whom this little horn waxed great and the stars which he cast to the ground and stamped upon them, are symbols of the people Israel and those who held positions of authority and responsibility among the Jews such as the princes, the priests, and rabbis.

But he was to do more than that. His action against the sanctuary of the Lord is also prophetically pictured. A mistranslation must here be corrected. He magnified himself to, or rather against the prince of the host that of course is the Lord, but not " by him," that is Antiochus, the daily sacrifice was taken away, but " from him," that is from the prince of the host, the daily sacrifice was taken away and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And it, the little horn, cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised and prospered.

And all this has been fulfilled in Antiochus Epiphanes. When he had conquered Jerusalem he sacrificed a sow upon the altar of burnt offerings and sprinkled its broth over the entire building. He corrupted the youths of Jerusalem by introducing lewd practices ; the feast of tabernacles he changed into the feast of Bacchus. He auctioned off the highpriesthood. All kinds of infamies were perpetrated by him and the most awful obscenity permitted and encouraged. All true worship was forbidden and idol worship introduced especially that of Jupiter Olympus. The whole city and land was devastated and some 100,000 pious Jews massacred. Such has been the remarkable fulfillment of this prophecy. In chapter xi his doings are once more revealed.

An Angelic Conversation

Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that 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 under foot? And he said unto me. Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed (verses 13-14).

The word " Saint " means " a Holy One." We have here an angelic conversation. The certain Holy One or angel is called " Palmoni " which means " the wonderful numberer."¹ We are given another glimpse of the occupation of angels. The book of Daniel tells us much of these great and wonderful beings and their service. In the fourth chapter we found them to be the holy watchers, the sleepless sentinels of heaven, as one has called them, who take a deep interest in all the affairs of the earth. Here we hear them conversing about the awful horrors committed by the little horn. The rationalistic critics have charged the writer of the book of Daniel of having derived his belief in angels from Zoroastrianism. Such an assertion is too weak for any refutation. Daniel overhears their conversation, 2300 days (lit: evenings mornings) shall the affliction last and then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. These 2300 days cover about the period of time during which Antiochus Epiphanes did his wicked deeds. The chronology of these 2300 days is interesting. Judas Maccabaeus cleansed (lit. justified) the sanctuary from the abomination about December 25th, 165 B. C. Antiochus died a miserable death two years later. Going back 2300 days from the time Judas the Maccabee cleansed the defiled temple brings us to 171 B. C. when we find the record of Antiochus* interference with the Jews. Menelaus had bribed Antiochus to make him high-priest, robbed the temple and instituted the murder of the high-priest Onias HI. The most wicked deeds in the defilement of the temple were perpetrated by the leading general of Antiochus, Apollonius, in the year 168 B. C. We believe these 2300 days are therefore literal days and have found their literal fulfillment in the dreadful days of this wicked king from the North. There is no other meaning attached to these days and the foolish speculations that these days are years, etc., lacks scriptural foundation altogether. Such views and fanciful interpretations bring the study of Prophecy in disrepute. We have special reference to the Seventh Day Adventist delusion. They teach the abominable untruth that the Lord Jesus Christ did not enter into the Holiest till the year 1844 had been reached, because this is according to their reckoning 2300 years after Cyrus had issued the command to build the temple. That this is a denial of the Gospel itself and satanic is self evident.

The Two Horns not Identical. Before we follo-w^ the divinely given interpretation, given in answer to Daniel's request, we call attention once more to the fact that the two little horns in chapters vii and viii are not identical. Even some good expositors and Bible teachers have made the mistake in teaching that they are one and the same person. How can they be? The little horn in chapter vii springs from the Roman Empire when it is in existence in its final form. As we have seen this horn represents the great head of the revived

Roman Empire, who will assume the role of an emperor over the nation and who will work in conjunction with the personal Antichrist, the false king and false Messiah. The little horn in chapter viii springs not from the western empire at all, but from a division of the eastern, the Grecian Empire. The little horn in chapter vii is the political leader of the nations and hater of the Jews, but the little horn in chapter viii comes exclusively from the North against the pleasant land. His chief work is the invasion of Israel's land as oppressor of the Jews. Whom the little horn represents in our chapter we shall now learn from the interpretation.

The Interpretation Sent Through Gabriel

And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me one as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. So he came near where I stood ; and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face; but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man; for at the time of the end shall be the vision. Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground ; but he touched me, and set me upright. And he said. Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation : for at the time appointed the end shall be. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia ; and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation. but not in his power. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 (verses 15-27).

Gabriel is seen here for the first time in this Book. He appeared in the form of a man and a man's voice commands Gabriel to " make this man to understand the vision." We pass over the interpretation of the vision of the ram and he-goat, which has been already given and devote our attention to the five last verses of this chapter.

Gabriel told Daniel that the vision has a special meaning for the time of the end. Four different expressions are used to denote the time of the final fulfillment of the vision. (1) "The time of the end " viii, 17. (2) " The last end of the indignation " viii, 19. (3) " The latter time of their kingdom " viii, 23. (4) " When the transgressors are come to the full." Verse 23.

From these terms we learn then definitely that when the period of time comes, elsewhere called " the great tribulation," the time of the end, the last end of the indignation, a king of fierce countenance will stand up once more and do the wicked deeds mentioned here and he shall be broken without hand.

First of all we desire to emphasize that all that is written here concerns the Jewish people and their land. To read the church into all this, as it is so often done, produces confusion. The church was not revealed to Daniel. Nor did he behold in these visions the present Christian age nor does he know anything of the great purpose, which God carries out since the rejection of the Messiah by His own people. All this is unrevealed in this book.

Daniel beheld first in his great visions in the seventh chapter the political history of the times of the Gentiles, how they will end in judgment, followed by the establishment of the Kingdom of the Son of Man on this earth. Then in our present chapter, after the history of the Persian and Grecian empires and their fate were historically predicted, the great hater and persecutor of the Jews, Antiochus Epiphanes is announced. He came, as already stated, several hundred years later and acted his part. After this we are carried at once to the last stage of the history of the Jewish people, a time, which it is hardly necessary to say, has not yet been reached.

Significant are two phrases used to describe that time.

The Last End of the Indignation. The first is contained in verse 19. " Behold I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation; for at the time appointed the end shall be." The last sentence is better rendered by "it belongeth to the appointed time of the end." The indignation, which is here mentioned in its final form, is repeatedly spoken of in the Old Testament. It will help us much if we consider some of the passages in which this indignation is predicted. It is God's indignation against His earthly people and their land on account of their disobedience and apostasy. We turn first to the tenth chapter in the Book of Isaiah. The great Assyrian invasion under Sennacherib is the subject of this chapter. The Assyrian enemy was permitted to come into the land because His people had sinned and departed from God. In the 5th verse this Assyrian is addressed. " O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in whose hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil and take the prey and to tread them down like the mire of the street." God used the Assyrian as an instrument to carry out His indignation. Then elsewhere in the same chapter the promise is given to the faithful people in Israel who were terrified by that invasion " for yet a very little while and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction " (verse 25). We shall ask the attention of the reader to this passage again in the course of the exposition. In chapter xiii, 5 invading forces are again called " the weapons of His indignation to destroy the whole land."

In Isaiah xxvi, 20 there is a significant exhortation. Isaiah xxiv-xxvii have rightly been called " Isaiah's little Apocalypse." These chapters predict the great judgments and upheavals of the day of Jehovah. The pious in Israel are addressed in the above passage " Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee ; hide thyself as if it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast." According to this there is to be an indignation to come for that land. The indignation is also mentioned in Isaiah xxx, 30-31 ; here too in connection with the Assyrian. The judgment which came upon Israel through Babylon is termed " the indignation " (Jeremiah 1, 25). And in Zechariah i, 12 we hear the interceding angel of Jehovah using the same word about the Babylonian captivity. " O Lord of hosts, how long wilt Thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which Thou hast had indignation, these three score and ten years." God announces indignation upon His people through Ezekiel likewise. " And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee" (Ezek. xxi, 31).

We find it used in the Ixix Psalm. This Psalm is a messianic Psalm and we read in the first part of it the sufferings of Christ. The nation rejected Him whom God sent in their midst and He had to say " I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found judgment which was to come upon the nation. " Let their table become a snare before them and a trap. Let their eyes be darkened that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake." Romans xi. quotes these words in teaching the setting aside of the nation and the judgment which rests upon them during the present age. Then follows this word in the Sixty-ninth Psalm, " Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them" (verse 24). After they rejected Christ indignation was to be poured out upon them. Even so it has been. They have been scattered over the face of the earth; their history has been one of sorrow and tears. The Jewish people are in the days of the indignation on account of their disobedience. But this indignation will end. There will be according to our chapter " the last end of the indignation." And that last end will bring great calamities upon the people and the land and one person, the king of fierce countenance, will be the chief actor in it. Who he is we shall discover later.

When the Transgressors are Come to the Full. "When the transgressors are come to the full " (verse 23) is another significant term used to denote the time when this prophecy is to be fulfilled. It has been applied to the time when there is universal apostasy in the earth. That the Scriptures predict the complete apostasy for the end of the age is very true. However this is not in view here. The transgressors are the apostates among the Jewish people. This people, according to the prophetic Word, are getting further away from God and their transgressions become full. Their latter end will be worse than their former state. The Lord predicted this. (Matthew xii. 43-45.) He also said " I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive Me not ; if another shall come in His name, him ye will receive." (John v. 43.) A false Christ, the false King will appear some day in their midst and the great mass of the people will receive the devil's counterfeit. When this great end apostasy of the Jewish people is reached, when they are once more back in their land by their own scheming, their money and political influence, then the time before us will have come. That the Jewish people are approaching such a time ** when the transgressors are come to the full " is very evident at this time. The great majority are casting the faith of their fathers to the winds and in arrogant pride they lift themselves up. What other evils are found among them needs not to be mentioned here.

Who is the King with the Fierce Countenance? And now we must look at the personality of this king as described in verses 23-25. He is to arise out of their kingdom, that is the kingdoms into which the Grecian empire divided and the deeds of this king with the fierce countenance are described. The last act reported of him is, that he shall stand up against the Prince of princes and when he has reached this climax in his career, then " he shall be broken without hands."

This King is not identical with the Antichrist as it is so often taught, nor can Antiochus Epiphanes be meant, for this King with the fierce countenance is to appear during " the last end of the indignation." Antiochus is the type in some measure of this coming King, the destroyer of the people. Those who identify this King with the fierce countenance with the Antichrist lay much stress on the fact that Antiochus defiled the temple and that Antichrist will do this very thing. But they overlook the fact that while Antiochus defiled the temple as predicted in the verses 9-12, no such statement is made concerning the King who is described in verses 23-25.

The King who is to appear as the great oppressor of the Jewish people is the same person, who is designated in other parts of the prophetic Word as " the Assyrian " the King of the North. We find this wicked persecutor and his work described in the books of Isaiah, Micah, Joel and in the Psalms. God used the Assyrian invader in the past to punish His disobedient people. But another Assyrian is to appear in " the time of the end " and do the pernicious work of destroying the people, taking Jerusalem and practice all the vile things written of him. He will come like a whirlwind from his northern dominion into Israel's land, just as Antiochus Epiphanes entered the pleasant land. This invasion will take place after the Jewish people have gained once more a foothold in their land and the hopes of present day Zionism have been realized. Their restoration and reoccupation of the land will be effected by the power of the little horn of Daniel vii. That coming prince will make z covenant with them, as we shall learn from the ninth chapter of Daniel, and the restored Jews will trust themselves in his hands for protection. When this is accomplished then this King with the fierce countenance, the Assyrian, King of the North, makes his appearance and rushes against the people and their cities. He is the enemy of the Head of the restored Roman Empire and as the hater of Judah, he persecutes the nation, while the beast, the little horn of Daniel vii. persecutes the Saints. The head of the revived Roman Empire and the Antichrist (the first and the second beast of Rev. xiii.) are in league together, but the Assyrian, this King pictured in the closing verses of Daniel viii., opposes their plans. We may gain further light by briefly pointing to a few other prophecies which speak of this same person and his destructive work as well as his end.

The Assyrian in Isaiah. In the prophet Isaiah we read much about the Assyrian the enemy whom Isaiah predicted was to come into the land in the immediate future, and who is there likewise described as the great foe of the Jews in the last days. He is announced in chapter viii. 7-8.

Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory; and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks. And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over; he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.

This is one of the first predictions that this powerful enemy was to come into Immanuel's land, but a great deal more is said of him in Isaiah x. 5-34. We would suggest to the reader a very close reading and prayerful study of this very interesting chapter. That this prophecy goes beyond the days of Isaiah and predicts more than the coming of Sennacherib against Jerusalem is easily discovered. Notice especially what has been mentioned before, the statement made that the indignation is to cease, when this Assyrian lifts up his staff against His people after the manner of Egypt (verses 24-25). Now the indignation is God's displeasure with His earthly people. His judgment which rests upon them. Up to now the indignation has not yet ceased and there is yet to be, as we learned from verse 19 in Daniel viii., " the last end of the indignation." That end of the indignation will mean the deliverance of the Jews and complete overthrow of the last Assyrian. This is even more clearly taught in verse 12 of Isaiah x.

Wherefore, it shall come to pass, that, when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.

The whole work which the Lord performs Is His punitive work upon Jerusalem. When that is completed, the King of Assyria will be punished. But that necessitates that such a powerful enemy like the Assyrian must trouble the Jews then. This portion in the Prophet Isaiah begins with a statement which defines the purpose of the invasion of the Assyrian, both the first Assyrian and the final one at the time of the end.

O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in whose hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets (verses 5-6).

God uses him to execute His indignation against His people. He comes into Israel's land as the great external enemy because the greater part of the nation follow the beast. But God also deals with him in judgment because he lifts himself up. All this is seen in the tenth chapter of Isaiah. Notice the six divisions of Isaiah x. 5-34.

1. A description of the Assyrian. He is the instrument which God uses to punish Israel. God sends him against a hypocritical nation, yerses 5-11.

2. The punishment of the Assyrian is announced. That time will be when the Lord has performed His whole work upon Jerusalem. It is therefore future. Verses 12-15.

3. The punishment itself. It shall be suddenly and complete. Verses 16-19.

4. The return of the remnant of Israel is promised. Verses 20-23.

5. The Word of Comfort to the troubled remnant. Verses 24-27.

6. A vivid description of the advance of the Assyriari against Jerusalem and the intervention from above. Verses 28-34.

The great final fulfillment of all this will come, iwhen the King with the fierce countenance appears and devastates the land and stands up against the Prince of princes, the Lord Jesus Christ. The reader will also notice that Isaiah xi. has much to say of the coming King, our Lord, and His Kingdom, which comes immediately after the power of the Assyrian has been broken.

Isaiah xiv. speaks first of the King of Babylon and the judgment which will fall upon him and upon " the golden city " (verse 4).

The King of Babylon is prophetically the last great king, who holds the power over the Roman Empire (that is the little horn of Daniel vii.). But in the same chapter the Assyrian of the end is likewise mentioned.

The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand. That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot; then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders (verses 24-25).

It is significant that in this chapter Babylon with" its King and judgment meted out to him stands first and the Assyrian is mentioned after Babylon. This is the prophetic order. Historically the Assyrian came first and Babylon second. When the age closes and the time comes revealed to Daniel by Gabriel's interpretation, the Roman Empire will rise first with its King and the Assyrian comes after. In chapter xxx, the miserable end of the Assyrian is revealed, corresponding to what is said in Daniel of his sudden judgment.

For through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod. And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the Lord shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps; and in battles of shaking will he fight with it. For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king also it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large; the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone doth kindle it (Is. xxx; 31-33).

Tophet is the name for the place of punishment, the lake of fire. The Assyrian will be cast in there, where he will find his two enemies, the Emperor of the Roman Empire, called the beast, and the Antichrist. The true rendering is " for the King also " showing that not alone is the Assyrian cast there but also the false King.

Micah v., 1-7. A careful study of the first seven verses of the v chapter of Micah reveals the same personage.

Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land : and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof : thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders. And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men"

The second verse predicts the birth of our Lord. The third verse reveals the fact that His own to .whom He came and who received Him not, were to be given up. Even so it has come to pass. But the giving up of the nation is not to be forever ; it is " until " the travailing time i. e., when the nation passes through the birth pangs during the great tribulation, when the remnant of His people will be born and the national deliverance achieved. The fourth verse shows the Lord Jesus Christ through whom at His second coming the national restoration and blessing will be brought about. In the verses which follow we hear that the Assyrian will then be in the land and the Lord will be their peace in that day ; " thus shall He deliver us from the Assyrian when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders." This is future. It is the same invader and desolator revealed to Daniel.

Joel's Prophecy. The second chapter in Joel gives a vivid description of the invasion of a great army, which comes from the North, called " the Northern army." The desolation which this northern army works is compared to the devastation of locusts. The nation is called to repentance on account of this final indignation and they call upon Jehovah, who appears and overthrows the invading forces and delivers His land and His people. The blessings, including a great outpouring of His Spirit, which follow these events are described in the closing verses of this chapter. The northern army is the Assyrian. We refer the reader to our exposition of the book of Joel.²

Some Prophetic Psalms. In the Psalms likewise this Assyrian enemy of the end time and his dreadful work is mentioned. Zechariah contains a description of the last siege of Jerusalem and how the Lord comes and fights against the Assyrian (chapter xiv.). In the Psalms we have some details of the desolations .which the Assyrian works when he is in the land and is conquering Jerusalem.

In Psalm lxxiv. we find such a prophetic description of what is yet to be. It is the outpouring of the heart of the pious Jews in that day, those who do not side with the two beasts.

O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever ? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt. Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations, even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary. Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs. A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees. But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers. They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground. They said in their hearts let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land. We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long. O God how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? (Psalm lxxiv: 1-10).

Still greater is the sad complaint in Psalm lxxix. which also describes that enemy in the midst of the city.

O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps. The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth. Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them. We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us. How long. Lord? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy bum like fire?

These are Asaph's Psalms and Asaph the holy singer in Israel is a prophetic type of the pious remnant of the Jews during the time of the end.

Without quoting other Scriptures we have had sufficient evidence that in the period of time specified in Daniel's prophecies as " the time of the end " ; " the last end of the indignation," that is the few years which precede the visible and glorious appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ, a powerful enemy will invade Israel's land. He will come against the people who have gathered back to the country. He comes from the North as Antiochus Epiphanes came from the North. In chapter xi. he goes by the name of the King of the North. He is identical with the Assyrian in Isaiah and Micah.

The personal Antichrist and the northern invader, that other Antiochus Epiphanes, are therefore not the same being. The personal Antichrist, the man of sin, will be a Jew. He takes his seat in the temple when the first beast breaks his covenant with the Jews; he works lying miracles. He is the false Messiah, claiming to be the King over the Jewish people, a very incarnation of Satan. He demands divine worship. But the one described in Daniel viii. 23-26 is an external foe.

And who will he be? From where will he rise? One must guard against making predictions in expounding prophecy. Many have erred in this respect and have done harm by predicting certain persons as being Antichrist or this King from the North. The prophecy in the chapter before us makes it plain that this desolator will arise from one of the divisions of the Grecian empire. That territory is held now by Turkey. When the time of the end comes the greatest upheavals will take place both in Asia Minor and in the surrounding countries. What changes will then take place, whether a great Russian Czar or some other one will accomplish the great eastern confederacy remains as a secret with God. But it seems clear that the King with the fierce countenance will act under the instructions of a superior for we read " his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power." As we shall find more of him in Daniel's final prophecy we leave this chapter .with this.

 

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1. For several years a set of books has been advertised in England written by a Captain Crossley. They are called "a great revelation " and reference is made to the passage before us, as if he had discovered the secret of numbering. These books are confusion worse confounded. Much of it instead of being revelation is hallucination of the worst kind. Beware of such foolish attempts to solve divine mysteries.

2. The Prophet Joel. An exposition. Seventy-five cents postpaid. Publ. office "Our Hope," 80 Second Street, New York City.