Regarding the "little horn" of Daniel 7 and 8
William Diehl
In Matthew 24, Our Lord refers to the "little horn", the desolator who sets up the "desolating abomination", as clearly being pagan Rome who destroys Jerusalem in A.D.70 and sacks the city and the Temple. Christ urges us to "read Daniel and understand" that ROME is the Abomination of Desolation, the "little horn". Paul later further applies the "little horn" to the desolator of the Christian Church, the "man of sin" who comes into the Church claiming to be God and speak for God and causes a great "falling away" from the true Gospel.
The Bible must interpret itself and we must not look to secular history and try to just push events to fit into these sacred symbols. Antiochus Epiphanes was certainly no world power who was in any way near to the world dominating power of Babylon, Media-Persian, Greece, or Rome.
Daniel clearly identifies the "little horn" as the Antichrist who make war with the Prince of the Covenant and even causes Him to be "cut off" in the midst of the 70th week. The Antichrist then desecrates the Temple, first the literal temple in Jerusalem and then the figurative temple, the church of Jesus Christ. Did Antiochus crucify Christ? NO! Do we as Christians believe that the "Messiah" of whom Daniel 9:24 speaks is the Lord Jesus Christ? YES! Then Antiochus Epiphanes must be rejected as the "little horn" of Dan 8. Clearly Pagan Rome fits the description that Christ describes as fulfilling the prophecy of the "abomination of desolation". Secondly, Papal Rome fulfills the use of the term when Paul speaks of the "man of sin" and "the son of perdition" "who exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."
There are some who are getting into some deep muddied waters and who have slipped away from sound principles of Biblical interpretation. These individuals are dead wrong regarding their views that Daniel was speaking of Antiochus Epiphanes as the "little horn" and that the Maccabee brothers were the "restorers of the sanctuary" spoken of in Dan 8:14. A little false leaven will leaven the whole loaf.
In Daniel 8, the origin of the "little horn" is rather vague, however we can go to Daniel 7 and there there is no such vagueness. The "little horn" arises out of the fourth beast with the 10 horns. Antiochus Epiphanes hardly answers the description of the account of Daniel 7. Those who seek to advocate Antiochus as the "little horn" always ignore Daniel 7 and always focus on the vagueness of Daniel 8. The clear portions of scriptures must always explain the less clear portions.
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