Chapter 9 opens with a brief break from the Prophetic Visions that filled Chapters 7 and 8. The Medo-Persian Empire has now taken over the region and Daniel is praying about the promised return of the Jews from their 70 years of exile. The prayer of Daniel provides multiple lessons about prayer. These lessons are covered in a two-part study.

The Chapter 8 visions of the unfolding human kingdoms affecting the Jewish people also reminds us that there is an invisible warfare lying behind all human events. This is true for human society at large and for each of us as individuals in the circumstances of our lives. As Ephesians 6 reveals, we fight not against merely “flesh and blood”, but against Satan and his fallen angels! And the backdrop to the prophecies throughout Daniel is an ongoing war between Satan and God that will be culminated by the return of Christ! We encounter today the Angel Gabriel, who we see also in Luke 1.

SUNDAY EXPOSITIONS” are extended weekly Bible teaching times in which I go through a Book of Bible verse by verse. My current exposition is taken from the Book of Galatians.  This week in honor of Easter I have taken a break from Galatians to look at I Cor. 15:1-20.

The Goat kingdom (the Greek Empire established by Alexander, the “Great Horm”) broke into 4 Kingdoms following Alexander’s death. These four Kingdoms (the 4 horns) each impacted upon the Jewish people in different ways. But one of the 4 Kingdoms, the Seleucid Kingdom, had the most impact on the Jewish homeland and its capital of Jerusalem. A ruler of the Seleucid’s, Antiochus Epiphanes (the little horn), would brutalize the Jews, destroy Jerusalem, and profane the Temple. Yet his defeat was also predicted and celebrated even to this day by the Jews in the Feast Of Hanukkah. While not the Chapter 7 “Little Horn” (the Anti-Christ), the Chapter 8 “Little Horn” reflects some of the characteristics of the eventual Anti-Christ.

“SUNDAY EXPOSITIONS” are extended weekly Bible teaching times in which I go through a Book of Bible verse by verse. We are currently in a brief break from my current exposition on the Book of Galatians. Today I am examining Luke 19:28-48 and the issues emerging during the Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem. 

The vision of the Ram and Goat kingdoms took place 3 years after the Chapter 7 dream. Babylon is still existing – the Chapter 5 downfall of the kingdom is still 7 years in the future at this point. The 8th Chapter vision focuses on the next two Kingdoms that would be impacting on God’s people, the Medo-Persian empire and the Greek empire created by Alexander the Great. The primary purpose is to focus on one of the rulers in the Greek empire, one called “the little horn” who would greatly harm the Jews. While not the Chapter 7 “Little Horn” (the Anti-Christ), the Chapter 8 “Little Horn” reflects some of the characteristics of the eventual Anti-Christ

“SUNDAY EXPOSITIONS” are extended weekly Bible teaching times in which I go through a Book of Bible verse by verse. My current exposition is taken from the Book of Galatians. The SUNDAY EXPOSITIONS are posted on Sunday each week.

The 7th Act in the Chapter 7 drama of history is the time of judgment on the “Little Horn” (the Anti-Christ) and the return of the “Son of Man” (the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ) and the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom. The Chapter 7 dream underscores that God is the true Lord of History, that history is unfolding according to a Divine plan, and that there is no solution to the problems of human sin, individually or in society at large, apart from the 1st and 2nd Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ!

“SUNDAY EXPOSITIONS” are extended weekly Bible teaching times in which I go through a Book of Bible verse by verse. My current exposition is taken from the Book of Galatians. The SUNDAY EXPOSITIONS are posted on Sunday each week.

The 6th “Beast” (another of the specific kingdoms God permits to rule in human affairs at various points in history) is the “Little Horn Bast”. This person and his empire emerge following the time of the “Ten Horn Beast”, i.e., the reemerged Roman Empire, in the form of a 10 nation-confederacy. This “Little Horn” is none other than the Anti-Christ spoken about in a number of other passages of the Bible. This ruler will be the dictator of the world just prior to the Lord’s return. The “Little Horn” will oppose God and make war on God’s people. Although seemingly successful for a time (7 years to be exact), he will be defeated when Christ returns.