Read Daniel 8:1-27.

Introduction⤒🔗

One day a Christian lady picked up her Bible and decided to venture beyond the well-known gospel narratives and the familiar Psalms. She determined to become better acquainted with God by gaining a broader knowledge of His Word. As she read through some of the judgments of God recorded in the Old Testament, and some of the words of God uttered through the prophets, she was aghast and exclaimed, “Is this my God? Does my God actually have such deep indignation against sin that He finally does enact such awful judgments against men?”

As she read through the books of the New Testament she began to discover passages she had not encountered before, and in other familiar passages she now saw elements she had overlooked before. For example, the message of John 3:16 is the good news that those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ shall not perish; but the implication of the verse is that those who are without Christ do, in fact, perish in their sins.

No doubt this Christian lady grew in her knowledge of God, she came to know Him in a deeper—and unexpected—way. Alongside her love for God perhaps she began to develop a healthy fear of God as well.

Someone once observed that many people view God as being “too descent to send nice people like themselves to hell.” Many people tend to view God as a great grandfather figure: a gracious and benevolent Spirit who indiscriminately bestows blessings upon people without getting too personal about their conduct.

Without doubt, the LORD does exhibit a great deal of patience and long-suffering forbearance towards men, and His heart’s desire is for our redemption. But the LORD God also has a very deep and righteous indignation against sin, and in His appointed time He reveals that indignation in the form of judgment.

There came a time when the Old Testament covenant people encountered that indignation against sin; it took the form of the seventy-year Babylonian Captivity. But the tragic message of Daniel eight is this: when the later generation of the covenant nation forgot the divine indignation that befell their forefathers, they themselves became liable to experience God’s indignation against sin.

Before beginning our study of this present passage of Scripture, it would be helpful to have before us a brief interpretation of the vision Daniel relates in verses 3-ff.,

The ram with the two horns represents the empire of the Medes and the Persians. The goat, coming from the west, represents the Greek Empire, and the conquest of the Persians by Alexander the Great. The fact that the goat crossed the surface of the whole earth without touching the ground, is alluding to the swiftness with which Alexander advanced eastward all the way to India. The large horn of the goat being broken and replaced by four less prominent horns, is referring to the breaking up of Alexander’s empire at the time of his death into four separate kingdoms. The two most significant of the four, with regard to Israel, were the Kingdom of Syria, (in Daniel 11 identified as “the Kingdom of the North”), and the Kingdom of Egypt, (in Daniel 11 identified as “the Kingdom of the South”). “The little horn” described in verses 9-11 represents the Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes, who would carry out a demonic assault against the covenant people, with the intention of destroying biblical religion.

Let us now consider this very important topic: God’s Indignation against Sin, and let us be careful that we do not forget His righteous indignation against sin.

Don’t Forget God’s Indignation against Sin, After He has Restored You←⤒🔗

In verse nineteen the angel informs Daniel that the vision he has just received concerns the events that will take place “at the end ( בְּאָחרְ יִַת ) of the indignation”.” That is to say, the events related in the vision will occur at some time after the Babylonian Captivity, when the Jews have once more returned to the land of Canaan.

For the Old Testament Jews, the Babylonian Captivity was the experience of God’s righteous indignation against sin:

Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, following all the abominable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the LORD, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem. ¹⁵The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. ¹⁶But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy. ¹⁷He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and spared neither young man nor young woman, old man or aged. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁸He carried to Babylon all the articles from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the LORD’s temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. ¹⁹They set fire to God’s temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there. ²⁰He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. 2 Chron. 36:14-20

The experience of that indignation, on the part of those who survived, was a terribly bitter ordeal:

By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. ²There on the poplars we hung our harps, ³for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, 'Sing for us one of the songs of Zion!' ⁴How can we sing the songs of the LORD while we are in a foreign land? Psl. 137:1-4

During that period of captivity there were times when the Jews despaired of ever being restored:

You, O LORD, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation. ²⁰Why do you continue to forget us? Why do you forsake us so long? ²¹Restore us to yourself, O LORD, so that we may return; renew our days as of old, ²²unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure. Lam. 5:19-22

But once the captivity was over and they were restored, there arose the temptation to forget that painful encounter with God’s righteous indignation. In his prayer, Ezra laments the fact that the people of Israel have turned back to their sinful ways and stand in danger of once again incurring God’s righteous indignation, perhaps even in a far more severe form than previously:

What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins have deserved and have given us a remnant like this. ¹⁴Shall we again break your commandments and join with the peoples who commit such abominable practices? Would you not be angry enough with us to destroy us, leaving us no remnant or survivor? Ezra 9:13-14

Consider this more contemporary example of someone forgetting God’s indignation against sin and the painful consequences: Bob was finishing a ten-year prison term for embezzlement. He described the horror of prison life; never again did he want to go through that experience! But, he confessed, as his prison days were coming to an end and freedom loomed before him, he was once again tempted to take the route of fast and easy money by resorting to his old practice of embezzlement.

Let us not forget God’s righteous indignation against sin, after He has restored us. Let us take to heart the counsel and warning the Lord Jesus gave to the man whom He healed at the Pool of Bethesda: “Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, 'Look, you are healed; stop sinning, or something worse will happen to you’” (Jn. 5:14).

Don’t Forget God’s Indignation against Sin, or Else You May Drift Back into Sin←⤒🔗

In verse twenty-three we are informed that the villain revealed to Daniel in this vision will do his evil work “when the transgressors have come to the full [extent of their sin].” In other words, the LORD will employ this villain and his destructive work against His people when Israel has drifted back into sin and has returned to a lifestyle of sin, disregarding the holy commandments of the LORD their God.

After the Jews returned from Babylon, more than ever before they would find themselves surrounded by a seductive and challenging environment. Little Palestine would become a pawn between her powerful neighbors, Egypt to the south and Syria to the north. Both of these neighboring nations, especially the rulers of Syria, were intent on spreading Greek culture and civilization, which was totally pagan and contrary to the law of the LORD. Judaism would find itself to be a minority alternative in the midst of a unified and pagan civilization.¹

It was Alexander the Great, the Greek conqueror represented by the he-goat with the prominent horn (vs. 5), who began this movement (known as Hellenization) in an effort to unify the world under his control by means of a common culture: a blending of the east and west into a melting pot civilization known as the Hellenistic culture. After his death, his successors in Egypt and Syria continued to pursue this ideal.

The Jews felt the impact of this Hellenistic culture on their way of life. According to A.C. Purdy, "the challenge to Judaism here was not that of a rival religion but of a rival culture...The religion of the Jews was yet to be directly attacked, but a definite and aggressive Hellenism had appeared among them.”²

What were some of the characteristics of this Hellenistic culture, and how was it propagated? There was the formation of gymnasiums, places where the Greek pre-occupation with the body and the cult of the body beautiful could be cultivated and displayed. There was the proliferation of the popular Olympic-type games; every city had a stadium where the populace went to cheer for their favorite athletic heroes. The theatre, too, played an important part in the spread of Hellenistic culture. It should be noted, too, that the religious rites and ceremonies, with which many of the games and performances were associated, would have an inevitable influence on the Jewish population and would tend to corrupt the minds of the youth, accompanied as they often were by a measure of immorality and vice.³

Furthermore, the theatre was not just a form of entertainment, it was also a means of communicating a world view and way of life radically different from that revealed in the Old Testament Scriptures.⁴ The entertainment media serves the same function in the modern world. Consider the candid statement of Sylvester Weaver, former NBC programming president, explaining the goal and purpose of TV programming, "Entertainment was used to get the people to watch the medium...but the end result would be that we would inform them, enrich them, enlighten them, to liberate them from tribal primitive belief patterns.”⁵

The influence of this Hellenistic culture was not limited to the social and cultural, by its very nature it created a very definite spiritual atmosphere. It presented a very wide spectrum of elements packaged together: astrology and occult mysticism from Babylon and Egypt, along with the humanistic philosophy and science of Greece.⁶

The Egyptian and Syrian rulers followed a policy of toleration by which Judaism and the Hellenistic culture were allowed to exist side by side. But these were years of great peril for the Jewish faith, for this policy aimed at Hellenization through a gradual infiltration of Greek influence and a gradual assimilation to the Greek way of life.⁷

Indeed, this strategy was having its nefarious effect. Many cities of Palestine were won over to the Greek way of life. Even in Jerusalem there were many who adopted the Greek way. A certain high priest changed his name from Joshua to Jason (the Greek equivalent of Joshua) and remodeled Jerusalem along Hellenistic lines.⁸ To quote the Old Testament commentator, C.F. Keil,

...by the wickedness of the profane and unpriestly conduct of this man [Jason], Greek customs and the adoption of pagan manners became so prevalent, that the priests no longer concerned themselves with the service of the altar, but, despising the temple and forgetting the sacrifice, they hurried off to witness the spectacles in the palaestra [i.e. the sports arena].⁹

Jason was eventually ousted from the priestly office by Menelaus, who obtained the office of high priest by offering a higher payment to the Syrian king. The followers of Menelaus all the more promoted the secular and pagan Greek way of life.¹⁰

There is a lesson to be learned from this period of Israel’s history: if we forget God’s indignation against sin we are very likely to drift back into sin and even apostasy. We would do well to seriously consider the findings of two Christian researchers, published in their 1984 book entitled, Vital Signs. Some of their findings and observations are as follows:

...numerous indicators suggest that rather than adhering to a Christian philosophy of life that is occasionally tarnished by lapses into infidelity, many Christians are profoundly secularized, and only occasionally do they respond to conditions and situations in a Christian manner. Recent research shows that many Christians are especially vulnerable to the worldly philosophies of materialism, humanism, and hedonism.¹¹

A recent national survey discovered that no fewer than seven out of ten Christians are prone to hedonistic attitudes about life. The study found, for example, strong support among Christians for the 1960’s notion that an individual is free to do whatever pleases him, as long as it does not hurt others. Two out of five Christians maintain that such thinking is proper, thus effectively rejecting the unconditional code of ethics and morality taught in the Bible. A similar proportion of "born-again" people deny the possibility that pain or suffering could be a means of becoming a better, more mature individual. That, of course, refutes the scriptural teaching that pain and suffering are a means to perfect our faith. As a final example, three out of ten Christians agree that “nothing in life is more important than having fun and being happy.” The Word of God clearly teaches that the highest values are those of praising God, obeying his commands, and seeking his Kingdom.¹²

Regarding materialism, the statistics are nearly identical. Two out of three Christians express such love for money, possessions, and other material objects that their Christianity cannot be said to rule their hearts. For instance, more than half of the Christian public believes that they “never have enough money to buy what they need,” not what the “want,” but what they “need.” One out of four believers claim that “the more things you have, the more successful you’ve been.” Not only are these beliefs counter to those expressed in Scripture, but the fact that the proportion of Christians who affirm these values is equivalent to the proportion of non-Christians who hold similar views indicates how meaningless Christianity has been in the lives of millions of professed believers.¹³

...seven out of ten Christians support at least some of the principles central to the humanist perspective. Attitudes about abortion provide such a clue. The fact that forty percent of the "born-again" public believes that there is no right or wrong position on this matter intimates their frivolous, clouded understanding of the sanctity of human life in the eyes of God, and the responsibility that we have to honor God through life. Similarly, forty-two percent of the Christians interviewed said that without the government’s laws, there would be no real guidelines for people to follow in daily life. When close to half of the Christian body overlook the Bible as an authoritative guideline for society, the restricted relevance of faith and spiritual commitment in peoples’ lives becomes clear.¹⁴

Let us not forget God’s righteous indignation against sin, to avoid drifting back into it: “I will listen to what God the LORD will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints; but let them not return to folly” (Psl. 85:8).

Don’t Forget God’s Indignation against Sin, or that Indignation Will be Directed against You←⤒🔗

Verse twelve indicates that the devastation and desecration perpetrated by this villain known as the “little horn” was the consequence of Israel’s transgression against the LORD and His covenant: “On account of [ בְּפּשָׁעַ ] transgression, the host [i.e. the community of the people of God] was given over to [the horn] along with the daily sacrifice.”

Who was this "little horn" and what did he do? His name was Antiochus Epiphanes, a king of Syria, one very committed to uniting his kingdom by means of Hellenistic culture. He is the king who replaced Jason the high priest with Menelaus when the latter offered the higher bid for the office. Upon learning that Jason was seeking to reclaim the office of high priest, and having just suffered a bitter and humiliating defeat in Egypt, Antiochus returned to Syria via Israel intent on taking vengeance on the Jews. He attacked Jerusalem, drove out Jason, and restored Menelaus. His soldiers were let loose and massacred many of the people. At this time the temple was desecrated and plundered.¹⁵

Even the secular Jews were shocked by this act of sacrilege and resisted Antiochus. Confronted by such resistance, Antiochus determined to wipe out the religion of Israel altogether. All Jewish sacrifices were forbidden. The sacrament of circumcision was prohibited. The Sabbath and feast days could no longer be observed. The Scriptures were confiscated and destroyed. Jews were forced to eat swine’s flesh and sacrifice to pagan gods at altars erected throughout the land. The crowning deed of infamy was the erecting of an altar to Zeus within the temple court, (this is what the Scripture refers to as “the abomination [that causes] desolation” [Mk. 13:14]). Agents of the Syrian government patrolled Palestine, enforcing the new laws.¹⁶

With this period of Jewish history in mind, (and viewing it as a type of the last days when the anti-Christ is permitted to carry out his demonic rule), Daniel 11:36 refers to it as the time when God expressed His indignation against the sins of those identified as His people:

The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the indignation has been accomplished, for what has been determined will take place.

If we as individual Christians, and as the church collectively, forget God’s righteous indignation against sin, and continue to drift into sin and apostasy, that indignation will be directed against us. If we neglect the worship and the ordinances of the LORD, there may come a day when that worship will be taken away from us. If we neglect the Scriptures, there may come a day when the Scriptures will be taken away from us. If we compromise or neglect a life of devotion to Christ, there may come a day when such a life will be forbidden.

The words of the hymn writer, Albert Midlane, provide a very appropriate prayer:

Revive Thy work, O Lord, Thy mighty arm make bare;
Speak with the voice that wakes the dead, and make Thy people hear.

Revive Thy work, O Lord, disturb this sleep of death;
Quicken the smoldering embers now by Thine almighty breath.

Revive Thy work, O Lord, create soul-thirst for Thee;
And hungering for the Bread of Life, O may our spirits be.

Revive Thy work, O Lord, exalt Thy precious Name;
And, by the Holy Spirit, our love for Thee and Thine inflame.

Revive Thy work, O Lord, give Pentecostal showers:
The glory shall be all Thine own, the blessing, Lord, be ours.

Discussion Questions←⤒🔗

1. In Daniel 8:9-11, Daniel describes the “little horn” that he saw in his vision; what was the “little horn” doing? See Dan. 8:10 What is said about the “horn” in Daniel 8:24? What is the significance of this; who is the spiritual power controlling the “little horn”? Note Rev. 12:3-4 As Christians, do we take seriously the spiritual warfare in which we are engaged, and the fact that demonic forces can, and at times do, operate in and through the governing powers of this present world? Note Eph. 6:12,

It grew great, even [reaching] the host of heaven. Some of the host and [some] of the stars it threw to the ground and trampled upon them. Dan. 8:10

He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastations and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men and the holy people. Dan. 8:24

³Then, another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. ⁴His tail swept a third of the stars out of heaven, and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she delivered her child he might devour [him]... ⁹The enormous dragon...the ancient serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world... Rev. 12:3-4, 9

Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to withstand the schemes of the devil; ¹²because our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the powers, against the authorities, against the world-rulers of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual hosts of evil in the heavenly realms. Eph. 6:11-12

2. What else are we told that the “little horn” did? See Dan. 8:11-12 Why does the LORD permit this demonically-inspired, God-defying tyrant to wreak havoc on His covenant people? See Dan. 8:12a Do we take seriously the fact that there are times when the LORD gives recalcitrant Christians into the hands of the devil in order to induce their repentance? Note 1 Cor. 5:3-5,

Indeed, it magnified itself, even against the Prince of the host; it took away the daily sacrifice from him, and the place of his sanctuary was thrown down. ¹²On account of transgression, the host was given over to [the horn] along with the daily sacrifice; it flung truth to the ground and it did as it pleased and succeeded. Dan. 8:11-12

What is described here is the devastating, demonically-inspired attack made against the covenant nation by the Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes, in circa 167 B.C.

³Though I am not present physically, yet being present by the Spirit, I have already judged him who has done this thing, just as though I were present [with you]. ⁴When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, [I exhort you], by the power of our Lord Jesus, ⁵to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord Jesus. 1 Cor. 5:3-5

The Apostle Paul is referring to a confessing Christian who was unrepentantly living a lifestyle of immorality.

3. According to Daniel 8:19, when will the events related in this vision, culminating in the devastating attack upon the covenant nation by Antiochus Epiphanes, occur? To what does “the indignation” refer? Note 2 Chron. 36:17, 20 Upon returning to the Promised Land of Canaan, in the course of time, to what would the covenant people succumb? Note Ezra 9:13-14 Upon being restored to fellowship with the LORD after having suffered the consequence of our sin, do we ever find ourselves drifting back into that same sinful lifestyle? What warning does the Lord Jesus give? See Jn. 5:14; also, Psl. 85:8,

Then he said, I am going to let you know what will occur at the end of the indignation, for [the vision] pertains to the appointed time of the end. Dan. 8:19

¹⁷[The LORD] brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and spared neither young man nor young woman, old man or aged. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar... ²⁰He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. 2 Chron. 36:17, 20

“The end of the indignation” is a reference to the end of the Babylonian Captivity, at which time Israel was restored to the land of Canaan.

¹³What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins have deserved and have given us a remnant like this. ¹⁴Shall we again break your commandments and join with the peoples who commit such abominable practices? Would you not be angry enough with us to destroy us, leaving us no remnant or survivor? Ezra 9:13-14

Ezra grieves over the fact that soon after their return from Babylon, Israel once again returned to the practice of sin and covenantal unfaithfulness.

Later, Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, Look, you are healed; stop sinning, or something worse will happen to you. Jn. 5:14

The reference is to the man Jesus healed; one whose malady appears to have been the direct consequence of and punishment for his sinful lifestyle.

I will hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, even to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly. Psl. 85:8

4. Describe the state of the covenant nation at the time Antiochus carried out his devastating attack. See Dan. 8:23 Compare this description with what the LORD informed Abram concerning the time He would carry out His judgment upon the pagan Amorites who had occupied the Promised Land of Canaan. See Gen. 15:16 For what purpose has Christ redeemed us? See Matt. 1:21; note, also, Tit. 2:13-14,

...when the transgressors have come to the full [extent of their sin], there shall arise a king with a cruel expression, one who is a master of intrigue. Dan. 8:23

Speaking to Abram, the LORD declares,

...in the fourth generation your descendants shall come back here again; because the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure. Gen. 15:16

And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name 'Jesus,' for he will save his people from their sins. Matt. 1:21

...our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ¹⁴who gave himself for us, so that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works. Tit. 2:13-14

5. As we consider the vision recorded in Daniel 8, what must we as Christians take to heart? Note 1 Pet. 1:14-16 What confidence is given us as we seek to live in accordance with our holy calling? See Phil. 2:12b-13; note, also, Phil. 1:6,

As obedient children, no longer conform to the passions you formerly had when you lived in ignorance. ¹⁵But just as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶because it is written, 'Be holy, because I am holy.' 1 Pet. 1:14-16

...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³for it is God who is working in you both to create the desire and to produce the work for the sake of his good purpose.Phil. 2:12-13

Of this I am sure, that he who began a good work in you will carry it out to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. Phil. 1:6