“A King of Fierce Countenance.” Daniel 8
WE have already pointed out that the little horn of this chapter is a totally different personage from the little horn of chapters 7. Here we have to do with the Grecian empire, and not the Roman, as in chapters 7.
After the death of Alexander the Great, the Grecian empire was divided into four parts, as we have seen, and “out of one of them came forth a little horn” (vs. 9). This little horn waxes exceeding great, and exerts its influence “toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.” In other words, it is the “king of the north” of chapter 11, and geographically occupies the position of Turkey in Asia. In the mind of God its importance is due to its connection with that land which is “the glory of all lands”; the land which Jehovah had espied for Israel whom He had chosen, and to whom He had made Himself known in the land of Egypt as their Redeemer and Deliverer (Ezek. 20). Palestine, in spite of all its desolations, was still to the prophet Daniel “the pleasant land.”
The little horn waxed great, even to “the host of heaven,” a term which doubtless applies to those in authority amongst the Jews. We cannot too frequently remind our readers that the circumstances to which these prophecies relate are Jewish and not Christian. Hence we must not expect to find here an allusion to Mohammedanism any more than to the Papacy in chapter 7.
We believe that there has already been a partial fulfillment of this prophecy. Antiochus Epiphanes, the notoriously wicked king of the Seleucid, is no doubt referred to as the little horn, yet he was but a type of another, a king of fierce countenance, who is still to come. In the study of the Old Testament prophets, it is of importance to bear in mind that the Spirit of God always has in view the glory of Christ and those events which are to take place at the end.
Indeed, we are told in this very chapter, when Daniel seeks for the meaning of the vision, that “at the time of the end shall be the vision”; and Gabriel explains to him what shall be “in the last end of the indignation” (vs. 19).
“The indignation” was a period in the history of Israel with which the mind of the prophet was familiar. Such a passage as Isaiah 10:5-255O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. 6I 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. 7Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few. 8For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings? 9Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus? 10As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria; 11Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols? 12Wherefore 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. 13For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man: 14And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped. 15Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood. 16Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire. 17And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day; 18And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth. 19And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them. 20And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. 22For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. 23For the Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land. 24Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. 25For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction. (Isaiah 10:5‑25) would no doubt rise to his thoughts as the angel speaks to him of “the last end of the indignation.” Was not this indignation the period of Jehovah’s anger against His people? Who was the instrument in His hand to execute it? Was it not this very king of the north? For the Assyrian and the king of the north are the same individual.
It is clear that this remarkable passage in Isaiah goes very much further in its application than to the circumstances existing at the time the prophecy was given; for the Assyrian of Isaiah’s day has long since passed away, and yet most certainly the Lord has not yet performed His whole work upon Mount Zion and in Jerusalem (vs. 12). But what are we told in this passage? Is it not that when that whole work has been performed, and not till then, the Assyrian will be punished? What is more clear than this, that some one is yet to arise in connection with Israel in the last days, of whom the Assyrian of the past was a type?
The worst part of the indignation against Israel is yet to come. The time of this great tribulation is yet before them. It will last for three years and a half, or 1,260 days, but “the indignation shall cease.” And how will it cease? By the destruction of this very Assyrian, whom Jehovah will use for the chastisement of His people (vs. 25).
The little horn then, has no doubt had a partial fulfillment historically in the notoriously wicked Antiochus Epiphanes, while at the same time it is evident that the explanation of the prophecy carries us on to the time of the end. But in verse II and the first half of verse 12. we find a parenthesis which refers, we believe, to that period which is yet to come. It will be observed that there is a remarkable change of the pronoun from “it” to “he.” The “it” of verse 10, and of the latter part of verse 12, refers to the little horn, and has been fulfilled in the history of Antiochus Epiphanes. He had a special antipathy to the Jewish people, and set himself against those in prominence amongst them. In this he succeeded, as history informs us, and as the prophecy was beforehand in announcing “it cast down some of the host and of the stars,” &c. (ver. 10).
But in verse 11. we read of one who will magnify himself “even to the prince of the host,”
the Lord Himself. It is no mere accident that the pronoun is changed from “it” to “he,” the Spirit of God would thereby draw our attention to the parenthesis, containing details of immense importance, which none understood (vs. 27) at the time the prophecy was given, but which doubtless the remnant will understand in a coming day.
At the close this one typified by Antiochus Epiphanes will set himself not merely against the leaders of the Jewish nation, for they will at that time be back in their own land, and once more recognized as the people of God, but he will “stand up against the Prince of princes.” This clearly means the Lord Himself, the Messiah of Israel. This is the one referred to in verse 11. as “the prince of the host.” Here it is important to observe that the marginal reading is the correct one. Not “by” him, but “from Him the daily sacrifice was taken away.” In other words, the “him” of this clause refers to Christ and not to the king of the north of the future. While it is true that during the period of the great tribulation the restored sacrifices shall be made to cease, nevertheless this will be brought about by the leader of the Roman empire, the little horn of chapter 7, and not by the king of the north, or little horn of chapter 8. This will come before us while studying the next chapter. We merely allude to it in passing as another instance of the absolute accuracy of Scripture.
No doubt even verse 11. has had a measure of fulfillment, for Antiochus Epiphanes entered the sanctuary and offered a sow on the altar in profane mockery, and while by no means dogmatizing on the point, we are inclined to think that the 2,300 clays of verse 14. refers to this past profanation of the temple rather than to the future. At any rate, it is well to remember that whether past or future it has exclusively to do with Jewish times. To see this will save us from the attempt to fit it in with any dates during the period of Christendom’s history.
There can be no doubt that the close of the chapter looks on to what is yet future. However improbable it may appear to those unacquainted with Scripture, that a mighty king shall yet stand up in the region once ruled over by Antiochus, this portion of the prophetic Word, along with many others that we may glance at later on, leaves no room for doubt on the point. Who this king will be, whether it will be the Sultan who now rules, or misrules, that territory, we do not attempt to predict. But it is clear that in “the latter time” when the transgressors are come to the full—for things are going from bad to worse there as everywhere else—a king of fierce countenance shall stand up. His policy will not only be one of war and conquest by the force of arms, though this he will do and that most effectually. But he will likewise “cause craft to prosper”; he will be a man of intellectual ability, “understanding dark sentences,” and all this power both mental and material will be directed towards the furtherance of his hostile designs against “the mighty and holy people,” that is, the Jews.
It may seem strange that God should speak in such terms of that nation, but we must remember that “they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes,” and that “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Rom. 11). God will never go back from His promises, whether these be in connection with earthly blessings or heavenly; and though they may seem to us all unworthy of such a title, nevertheless it is theirs on the ground of responsibility no less than of privilege.
A striking detail is added in verse 24. Mighty as this king will be, he will have one behind him of greater power still― “his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power.” We know which of the so-called Great Powers of the present day is busying itself especially in the affairs of the Sultan. It is impossible for any student of the Word of God not to look with thrilling interest upon all that is transpiring in the political world to-day. The awakening of the national spirit amongst the Jews, their active preparations for a return on a large scale to the land of Palestine, the state of unrest at Constantinople and throughout the lands generally where the Sultan exercises his sway, and the ever-increasing interference of Russia in those parts, are amongst the signs of the times which none but the utterly indifferent can fail to observe.
That there will be wars affecting all those countries which are contiguous to Palestine is unquestionable―wars in which this king of fierce countenance will take a prominent part; this will come before us later on, but we would again point out that there will be a policy of craft and intrigue as well; “by peace” as well as by war shall many be destroyed. But in the end he will “stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand” (vs. 25).
These days are nearing rapidly. The coming of the Lord to take His Church to heaven is nearer still. May all who know Him be on their watchtowers―
“Watching and ready may we be
As those who wait their Lord to see.”