Were the Prophecies of Daniel 8 Fulfilled by Antiochus IV?

Introduction: Daniel chapter 8 is a key to prophetic understanding of events in the Last Days. The angel specifically states to Daniel in his vision recorded in this chapter that it is “for the time of the end” or for the “time when transgressors have come to a full” and specifically “for the letter end of the Indignation [Tribulation].” This suggests that these chapters have yet to find fulfillment, in agreement with Jesus words in Matthew 24:15. However, since the time of the Reformers, who followed a Rabbinical interpretation, it has been proposed that this chapter is exclusively about Antiochus IV, a Syrian king who desecrated the Temple around 170 BC. This view is promoted in many Bible Schools and leads to a wrong understanding of the chapter, and, ultimately, of the ethnicity of the Antichrist. This problem was raised in a recent Bible study.

Daniel 8 Background

Daniel 8 records a vision that Daniel had in the 3rd year King Belshazzar of Babylon. Belshazzar was made joint ruler with his father Nabonidus in 553 BC. Belshazzar’s 3rd year of co-regency was 551 BC. Daniel was 73 to 75 years old then.

In verses 3 & 4 we are told the vision was of a Ram with 2 horns, with the higher horn coming up last. The Ram pushed West, North, & South

In verse 20 the angel gives the interpretation and says the Ram is the kings of Media & Persia. Historically, the Medes started the empire, Persia came in later when Cyrus captured the capital of Media and at that point the Medo-Persian confederacy began in the year 550 BC. Persia became the greater of the two groups that ruled the empire. It conquered Babylon in 538 BC.

In verses 5 to 7 the vision continued with a male goat coming from the from West. It had a notable horn between eyes and moved very fast so it seemed to fly. It destroyed the Ram. The Goat grew very great at which point the horn was broken. Verse 8 records that in place of the notable horn, 4 horns came up.

In verses 21 and 22 the angel gives the interpretation: The Goat is the great King of Greece who quickly conquers and becomes powerful. Historically this was Alexander the Great, who quickly conquered the known world in 12 years. He dies 11th June 323 BC at the age of 33. His 4 generals take over his empire.

The 4 generals individually took (1) Macedonia in the West. This became the Antipatrid-Antigonid dynasty, colored brown on this map. (2) Parthia in the East, which became the Arsaced dynasty, colored green here.  (3) Egypt and North Africa in the South (blue) which was the kingdom from General Ptolemy and his family.   (4) Asia Minor & Babylonia in the North was taken by General Seleucus.  After some infighting, the Arsaced dynasty gained Babylonia from the Seleucid Kingdom and left them with what is now Turkey, Syria, and part of Iraq. Israel became the buffer state between the king of the North (Seleucids) and the king of the South (Ptolemies) and this is followed through in Daniel 11.

At this point something important should be noted from the text. In the vision, verse 8 of Daniel 8 marks the end of a section and verse 9 onwards is a new paragraph. In the vision it states that the events in this new section will occur “in the latter end of the Indignation, at the appointed time” (verse19). That is what we call the Tribulation. In a similar way, in the angelic interpretation, there is the end of a section in verse 22 and verse 23 begins a new paragraph. These divisions and statements hint that there is a time gap here. In fact, the angelic interpretation starts in verse 23 by saying “And in the latter days of their kingdom, when transgressors have come to a full…” So we conclude that this next section will occur significantly later than the preceding verses.

Verses 9 to 11 record that from one of these four generals of Alexander came a “little horn” which arose, exalted itself and challenged the host of heaven and God. Further details are given in the interpretation in verses 23 to 26. In verses 13 and 14, it is apparent that this “little horn” sets up the Abomination of Desolation. There is an equivalent passage in Daniel 11:31 which specifically states that it is the king of the North who is to perform these deeds. We conclude from a comparison of Daniel 8 & 11 that the ‘little horn’ of Daniel 8 is the king of the North from Daniel 11. This means that the individual in view here comes from the north-eastern Mediterranean area of Turkey, Iraq or Syria.

The focus of attention today is verses 13 and 14 where the Temple, the Sacrifices & the Abomination of Desolation is spoken about and some time details are given. Because of the implications for some theories about Antichrist, these verses are frequently applied to a king from the Seleucid Empire (stared by Alexander’s General Seleucus) called Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) who desecrated the Temple in 164 BC. We examine this option and compare it with the Biblical account. Antiochus IV had his base as Northern Syria & Southern Turkey with the capital at Antioch as shown here:

Daniel 8, the Temple and Sacrifices

Daniel 8:13-14

“Then I heard a holy one speaking and saying… “How long will the vision be, concerning the Daily Sacrifice, the transgression of Desolation, and the host to be trampled underfoot?”
And he said to me “For two thousand three hundred days, then the Sanctuary will be cleansed.”

Note that there are three things involved here. First, the Daily Sacrifice; second, the Abomination of Desolation, and third, the cleansing of the Sanctuary.

Note that the total length of time given includes the beginning of the sacrifices and extends all the way to the cleansing of the sanctuary when Antichrist’s covenant runs out. At that point he is thrown out of the Temple, the Temple is cleansed, & matters set in train for Armageddon which is 30 days later (see Daniel 12).

So the total length of time from the start of the sacrifices to the end of the covenant is 2300 days. Revelation states that Antichrist’s covenant lasts for 2520 days from its inception - when the Temple can start to be built -to its end when Antichrist is cast out.
Therefore, if the full period is 2520 days (made up of two periods of 1260 days), but the time from the beginning of the sacrifices to the end of the 2520 days is only 2300 days, then there is a gap of 220 days at the beginning.  This is time taken for the Temple to be rebuilt and consecrated and the sacrifices to commence.

Conclusion: The Temple is being built and consecrated for 220 days after the Covenant is signed. Then the Sacrifices commence. This also indicates that the Temple is built as part of Antichrist’s 7-year covenant.

Daniel 8 question on the 2300 days.

Question: “I looked at some commentaries and they suggest that this 2300 days refers to the time Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the temple from 171 B.C. until December 25th, 165 B.C.  Others thought this was just 1,150 days because there are 2,300 "evenings and mornings," that is, each day had two sacrifices so there were only a total of 1,150 days--either way, they saw this as a prophecy concerning Antiochus Epiphanes rather than a Tribulation prophecy.  I'm not pushing that viewpoint--just mentioning that this is how the Expositor's Bible Commentary and others explained it.”

Thanks for your comments. I am well aware that it is the standard interpretation of this passage to apply it to Antiochus IV (image at right). Indeed, I have presented at Bible colleges that had taught this interpretation to their students. It is therefore hardly surprising it is in the commentaries. It also ties in with their approach to Daniel 11 verses 21-35 where they refer that entire section of Scripture to Antiochus and his doings. Amazing amounts of ink have been used to try and justify applying all these verses to Antiochus. I have just three comments to make which indicate the reasons I think they are making a huge mistake.

Comment 1: It is important to note that the length of time that the Temple was devastated under Antiochus IV was NOT 2300 days. Neither was it half of that, namely 1150 days. In Josephus’ Antiquities, Book 12, Chapter 7 Section 6 verses 319-322, he states two things: first, the devastation began on 25 Kislev and ended on the same calendar day, 25th Kislev (which is why Hanukkah is celebrated on that date every year), and second, Josephus states that the devastation started in the 145th year and ended on 148th year. That is exactly 3 years on their existing calendar.

There were at least two calendars in use at that time – one with a 360 day year and one with a 365 day year. If the calendar used was 360 days that will be a total of 1080 days; if the calendar used was 365 days, that is 1095 days. Neither of these is the 1260 days that Daniel and Revelation give as the time the Abomination lasts. Further, if you want 2300 to refer to the number of sacrifices (one in the morning and one in the evening), then 1150 days is still significantly longer than the time for Antiochus IV allows. It was 3 years to the very day, according to Josephus, during which the Temple was desecrated at the time of Antiochus. This means that Antiochus is not the person in view in either Daniel 8 or Daniel 11.

Comment 2: There is also the account in 2 Maccabees 10:1-8. This reiterates what Josephus said, namely that the devastation ended on the same calendar day it began, that is 25th Kislev. However, there is a disagreement about the number of years. The 2 Maccabees account claims it was two years, not 3. That is a period of 720 or 730 days depending on the calendar used. This is a very short of the Biblical requirement and thus cannot refer to Antiochus. As an interesting side note, Josephus reiterates in Antiquities, Book 10 chapter 11 section 7 that the time was indeed just 3 years, not 2. If we make a comparison of two statements in 1 Maccabees 1:59 compared with 1 Maccabees 4:52-59, then it seems that the full 3 years is correct. Why then does the 2 Maccabees reference give just 2 years?  This suggests some degree of confusion. But neither 2 full years nor 3 full years adds up to the number of days given in Daniel 8, 9, or 11 for the Abomination under Antichrist, so these passages cannot refer to Antiochus, but rather a yet future event. It also suggests the Apocryphal Books may not be as trustworthy as canonical Scripture & should not be relied on for information.

Comment 3: Finally, there are the definite words of Jesus that these passages in Daniel refer exclusively to Antichrist, NOT Antiochus. In fact, Daniel 8:13, 9:27 and 11:31 all refer to the isolated, singular and exclusive event, the Abomination of desolation. Yet Jesus said that these verses on the Abomination were still future and had not happened yet in Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14. If Jesus claimed it had not happened before His time, then Antiochus is removed from contention. I believe we have the Reformers to thank for this present mix-up as they followed a Jewish tradition on this matter rather than the exact words of Christ.
I trust this assists your thinking.