8. The ABCs of Prophecy (Daniel 8)
As God reveals to Daniel what will happen to his people in the future, he teaches him the “ABCs” of how to interpret Bible prophecy—especially the role of typology. A type is a historical thing or person that foreshadows a future thing or person. And so, in Daniel 8, we’re introduced to a figure known to history as Antiochus Epiphanes. A cruel pagan king who reigned between 175-164 BC and remembered today in connection with the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, Antiochus Epiphanes is a type of the Antichrist. Like the Antichrist, Antiochus was an arrogant blasphemer who desecrated the temple, oppressed the people of God—and eventually was defeated.
Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include Matthew 24:21, 29; Daniel 7:25, 28; 8; 12:1; Revelation 7:14; and Jeremiah 30:7.