Antiochus Epiphanes: Daniel 8:15-27
Even with the help of divine messengers who come from the throne of God, we can struggle to understand the breadth of God’s hand at work. Similarly, Daniel struggles to understand the vision once it is complete. The angel Gabriel makes a rare appearance and tries to help Daniel understand. Gabriel tells Daniel about the ram being the Persians and the goat being the Greeks. He speaks about the Greek kingdom splitting up into four weaker kingdoms. He then speaks about the little horn that grows significant.
Historically speaking, Alexander the Great’s kingdom was split into four parts upon his death. One of those parts was called the Seleucid Empire and was ruled first by Seleucus I. The Hebrew lands fell into the region controlled by the Seleucid Empire. About a century and a half passes until Antiochus IV, who named himself Antiochus Epiphanes, came into power over the region.
Antiochus Epiphanes came to the throne when his father died and then his brother died 12 years later. Instead of his brother’s son becoming king, Antiochus took advantage of his nephew’s captivity in Rome to seize the throne for himself. He assumed the thrown as a co-regent with a nephew who was an infant, although he became the true ruler when the infant nephew died under suspicious circumstances. When Antiochus allowed the Jewish office of the high priest to be earned by the highest bidder, the Jews revolted. Antiochus crushed the revolt.
Once the revolt was subdued – largely by not only killing the Jewish soldiers but also slaughtering the women and children who took refuge in their homes – Antiochus outlawed Jewish religious practices. Antiochus altered the temple in Jerusalem so that Zeus became the chief deity of worship. Antiochus then took a large herd of pigs and sacrificed them in the temple, sprinkling the altar of God with their blood. He then sprinkled the books of the temple with a broth made from pig’s flesh and forced the priests to consume the same broth.
Around the time of Antiochus Epiphanes’ death, the Temple in Jerusalem was recaptured by the Maccabean Revolt and rededicated to the worship of God. This is the act that Hanukkah commemorates. To this day, Antiochus Epiphanes is typically considered one of the biggest villains to oppose the Hebrew people throughout time. Antiochus Epiphanes became the template for anyone who would oppose God. He becomes the model for the anti-Messiah, or among Christians, more commonly known as the antichrist.
The story of Antiochus Epiphanes has a central theme of ego. Antiochus has no respect for God. Antiochus took political unrest personally. Antiochus had little respect for the culture and people over whom he ruled. All these details lead to the tragic events of his rule over the Hebrew lands.
In the end, the vision is too much for Daniel. He is physically ill and had to take several days to recover. Even though Gabriel explains the vision, Daniel still does not understand it. Even with the help of divine messengers who come from the throne of God, we can struggle to understand the breadth of God’s hand at work.
