Scripture to Read: Daniel 8:1–12
We know Antiochus Epiphanes was a tyrant toward Israel, and in Daniel 8:11, we read, “It even magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down.” God shows how Antiochus exalted himself and made himself equal to God. Even his name, Antiochus Epiphanes, means “God revealed.” That is why he is looked at as a type of antichrist because the future antichrist will be like this as well; he will magnify himself as being God (2 Thessalonians 2:4). Daniel also wrote, “it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down.” We must know that the temple Solomon built was destroyed in Daniel’s lifetime by the Babylonians around 586 B.C. After Daniel died, the Jews who returned to Israel, who had been exiled, rebuilt the temple, as recorded in the Book of Ezra. So, when Greece came to power, Israel had their temple to offer sacrifices to the Lord. That is why we see in Daniel 8:11 that Antiochus Epiphanes would stop the sacrifices in the temple. Now read Daniel 8:12. What we know is that from 170 to 164 B.C., Antiochus persecuted the Jews, stopped the sacrifices, desecrated the temple, disregarded God’s Word and carried out his will, and prospered, but it was all short-lived. To live as if God doesn’t exist is futile, and God makes that clear in Psalm 73, where God had Asaph pen the words describing the wicked and the righteous.
Challenge & Application
• We know evil prevails in this world today, so, as followers of Christ, how should we pray for each other and for those who are still dead in their sin?
• What does God reveal to us about the evil prospering, and why should we not lose heart when the evil seem to get away with the evil they are committing?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!