In this episode, we delve into the cryptic prophecies of Daniel, exploring how historical figures like Antiochus IV became emblematic of recurring themes in prophecy. The discussion unfolds the complexities of Daniel’s visions, shedding light on the cyclic nature of human behavior throughout history. We trace the patterns of power and betrayal, contemplating the spirit behind the infamous ‘little horn’, and how these narratives continue to echo in the present. By examining these prophecies, the episode challenges listeners to reflect on their implications for today’s world.
The CEM Network is pleased to present Ronald L. Dart and Born to Win.
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Early in the 2nd century B.C., a truly vile man comes on the scene in the Middle East. What is it about that part of the world that periodically brings forth such singular men, men of consummate evil? That they recur again and again is clear enough. What you may not realize is that the Old Testament prophets recognized that repetition. At least they predicted it would be so. How much they understood? Well, that’s less clear. It’s only from a later vantage point that we can look back over the prophecies and the history of the time and and see the importance of the theme. Now, if you’re computer-oriented, you know what an icon is. They are those little images around the margins of your computer screen, each one standing for some action you might want to take. There may be a little paint roller that allows you to roll color in on spaces of the screen. There may be a magnifying glass. You see that? You know, oh, I’ll bet I can make this text bigger and see it better. Sure. Even if you’re not into computers, you see icons all the time. You see them on signs around the airport. You see them as a sign on a men’s room door and a women’s room door. It doesn’t necessarily have to say men or women. It has a little icon there that tells you which it is. Now Daniel, like most of the prophets, is loaded with icons. These icons are verbal descriptions of things he saw. And the things he saw stood for events, for systems of government, for rulers, kingdoms, even certain people or certain kinds of people. If Daniel were on a computer screen with all his icons around the screen, there would be one singularly important icon. It would be a little horn. Now, this is not the shofar, that is, the ram’s horn of Jewish fame and use. This is the horn of the wild bull. It’s the same kind of horn found on the corners of the altar in the temple. In earlier chapters of Daniel, we found two separate images of kingdoms, both of which had a little horn. They are the third and the fourth of a sequence of four kingdoms. In the visions, they might be part of a great statue, or it might be four beasts that come up out of the sea. The first two are Babylon and Persia. The third was Alexander the Great. The fourth was Rome. Now, for some strange reason, Daniel gets three different visions, giving us three different looks at these four successive empires. In one of the visions, the fourth kingdom, it was said to have this little horn. Then, in a later vision, the third kingdom, the third beast, is said to have a little horn. Now, it becomes apparent when you read Daniel and look at the accompanying history that this little horn is not one man. The little horn could be said to represent a role played by a sequence of men over time, each of whom played the same role. It could be the same role in different times, different places. It could even be said to be the same spirit. The prophets sometimes see a power behind the human ruler of the kingdom. Shall we say a demonic power? It may turn out that the little horn, played out in different men, is the same spirit being in every case. But that may go beyond the evidence. I don’t want to yield to the temptation to over-interpret Daniel. That’s been done far too often. Suffice it to say that the first instance of the little horn is, in biblical terms, a type. It will be repeated. It is the first incidence of that little horn that all commentators see beginning in Daniel 11, verse 21. In Daniel’s vision, he is called a contemptible person. We know him in history as Antiochus IV, also known as Antiochus Epiphanes. He would be a figure… much deplored and hated if he was nothing but a historical figure. But we know from Daniel that he was going to be repeated in Rome. And we also know from the New Testament that he was a future figure. Worse still, we are going to see this vile person yet again. But I consider it a fundamental principle of understanding prophecy to understand the first fulfillment of any prophecy and to understand the history that surrounds it. It was Isaiah that gave me this clue. In Isaiah 41, verse 22, he says this, Let them bring forth and show us what will happen. Let them show the former things what they may be, that we may consider them and know the latter end of them, or declare to us things to come. Isaiah makes it clear. What he wants us to do is to show the first fulfillment what it was so we can think about it and come to understand the latter fulfillment of it. Now, this man’s name, Epiphanes, has found its way into our language as Epiphany, a word meaning manifestation, a word that is used for the advent of Christ. From his coins, we know that Antiochus linked his name to the Greek Theos, God, thus walking very close to the line of calling himself God Manifest. Reading from the New International Version, Daniel 11, verse 21. He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue. Now, we know from history that the technique of Antiochus was to make false promises and to cut deals with people to create a sense of security. which gave him time to repair, which weakened his opponent and made them more vulnerable to the betrayal that was sure to follow on the heels of it. Now, this same spirit lived again in Adolf Hitler. Adolf Hitler told the Austrians, for example, on a particular date, the document exists, where he told the Austrians, assured them he had no designs on their country, and he promised to do nothing to influence the Austrian Nazi party. Five days after the date on that document, he was sending secret instruction to the Austrian Nazis. Promises of peace, which are outright lies, were used as a tactic of war. This same spirit infected one Yasser Arafat during his days when he would talk of peace, make peace, cut peace deals, using them solely as a tactic of war to achieve his goals. He’s dead. I wonder where that spirit went. Then this one who invades the kingdom when his people feel secure says, An overwhelming army will be swept away before him. Both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed. Now, scholars see in these events the wars that were waged between Epiphanes and the Egyptians at the time. The prince of the covenant would then be the prince of Egypt with whom Epiphanes cut a deal only to betray him and stab him in the back. Other scholars see it as a reference to the Jewish high priest, that is, the prince of the covenant. Continuing to verse 23, after coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people, he will rise to power. Boy, that sounds like Adolf Hitler, who cut all kinds of agreement, made all kinds of promises, acted deceitfully, and managed to rise to power with relatively few people. Antiochus, when the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve something that neither his fathers nor his forefathers did. He will distribute plunder and loot and wealth among his followers. He’ll plot the overthrow of fortresses, but only for a time. With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the south. The king of the south will wage a war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to stand because of the plots devised against him. So much treachery that will undercut everything he tries to do. Those who eat from the king’s provisions will try to destroy him. His army will be swept away. Many will fall in battle. The two kings, both of them with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time. What an image this draws! of these two men sitting across the table from one another, with their hearts, both of them bent on evil, telling lies to one another, trying to gain an advantage. But, Daniel says, it all means nothing, because there is an appointed time that the end will come anyhow. We’ll continue with this right after this important message.
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The book of Daniel includes many complex prophecies. And to understand them, it is helpful to know the story from the beginning. The entire series of programs on Daniel is available in album form. For information, write to Born to Win, Post Office Box 560, White House, Texas 75791. Or call toll free 1-888-BIBLE-44. and tell us the call letters of this radio station.
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The King of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the Holy Covenant. He’ll take action against it and return to his own country. You have to kind of visualize these wars between the King of the North and the King of the South raging back and forth across poor Palestine with Jerusalem sitting right in the crossroads of it and all of her people suffering terribly from these wars. At the appointed time, he will invade the south again. But this time, the outcome will be different from what it was before. He was, in fact, on the verge of success. It says ships of the western coastlands will oppose him and he will lose heart. What happened was the Romans showed up and said, let’s knock this off or else we’re coming down here to settle it all for you. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the Holy Covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the Holy Covenant. What he’s talking about here is treacherous Jews who turned against their own covenant. We may even know the name of the man who led that faction, his name Menelaus. When Antiochus took the city this time, His men slaughtered 80,000 men, women, and children. His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. He put a stop to all worship at the temple, and he erected a statue of Zeus Olympus there, converting the temple effectively to to a temple of Zeus. This happened on December 16th, 168 BC. We know precisely when it happened. Three years later to the day, Judas Maccabeus would rededicate the temple to God. Apparently, Antiochus stopped the sacrifices 55 days before he set up the statue, giving us 1150 days total that the evening and the morning sacrifices were stopped. We talked about this earlier in Daniel. Now, this is a pivotal point in the prophecy, because it is at this point we begin to realize this is not solely about Antiochus Epiphanes, the little horn. We know it because of something Jesus said in the Olivet Prophecy. One day, he and his disciples were walking around the Temple Mount, and disciples, like the country bumpkins they were, were admiring the temple and all of the things that they saw there. They were pointing them out to Jesus, and he said to them, Do you see these things? I’ll tell you the truth. There’s not going to be left here one stone on top of another that shall not be thrown down. They went down across Kidron and up to the other side of the Mount of Olives, and he sat down there. And the disciples came to him privately and said, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? Because they realized, to them, the end of the temple meant the end of the world. And Jesus answered and said, Be careful about this, that no man will deceive you. For many will come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. You’ll hear wars and rumors of wars. Don’t be troubled. All these things have to come to pass. But the end is not yet. Nations shall arise against nation, kingdom against kingdom. There’ll be famines and pestilence and earthquakes in various places. All this stuff is just the beginning. Then they’ll deliver you up to be afflicted. They’ll kill you. You should be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. Then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and hate one another. Not only that, many false prophets will arise and deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. You know, when I read through this, I began to realize the comparison with the time when When Antiochus and the wars were raging back and forth across Jerusalem, that people were betraying one another. They were hating one another. People of the covenant were doing this. They were becoming offended. They were stumbling. And because of the actions of Antiochus, many of them, their love for God waxed cold. Jesus said, but he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations. Then shall the end come. When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place. Whoso reads, let him understand. Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains. Get away. Now, there are many interpreters of the Old Testament who believe that everything Daniel said had been fulfilled. It’s over. You don’t need to pay any attention to it anymore at all. Some Christian teachers basically say the entire Old Testament has been done away. It’s been superseded. It’s useless. You don’t even need to bother reading it. Yet here’s Jesus saying, somewhere along toward the middle of his ministry, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, Stand in the holy place. What Jesus is revealing to us here, that that pattern of events that took place under Antiochus is going to happen again. And when it happens, you had better get out of here. Because just like in Antiochus’ day, people are going to die in their thousands. Men, women, and children. But he that will endure to the end can be saved. He said, let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house. Just get out of there. Don’t let him that’s in the field go back to his house to get some clothes. No, just leave. Woe to them that are with child and them that give suck in those days. Pray that your flight be not on the winter, neither on the Sabbath day. But when this comes, there’s going to be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, nor will ever be again. The great tribulation, a singular time in history, and it is still future when Jesus is talking to his disciples. And it’s unique. It is one time, not a repeated event. There has never been a day like it before, and there will never be a day like it again. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved alive. But for the elect’s sake, those days shall be shortened. I can’t help but wonder what Jesus’ disciples thought when When was there ever a time when the weapons that were available, when the warfare that was available, the tragedies that could be happening, that no flesh would be saved alive? We’re getting to the place to where it seems more likely all the time. Then, if any man says to you, well, Christ is over here, don’t believe it. There’s going to arise false Christs, false prophets. They’ll show great signs and wonders in so much that if it were possible, they would deceive the very elect. But you see, of course, people who’ve read their Old Testament will know that the Scriptures tell us that a man may come along, though he calls down fire from heaven, though he performs great miracles, though he does all sorts of signs and wonders. If he tells you to go and serve another God, you’ll know. Behold, I’ve told you before. Now, it’s at this point you have to realize then that the stuff we are reading back in Daniel 11 is a pattern. It’s a pattern of human behavior. It’s a pattern of events going on in the spirit world that is going to be repeated again. Everybody knows that history repeats itself. It repeats itself for very clear reasons. Among them, human nature doesn’t change. Human beings do the same things over and over again. They follow the same course of action and reap the same kind of results. And God doesn’t change either. And so the outcome is the same. What the scriptures are telling us is you need to study carefully what happened in In Daniel’s prophecy and the history that fulfilled it. Because it’s coming again. We’ll continue in Daniel 11 after this short message.
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For a free copy of this radio program that you can share with friends and others, write or call this week only. And request the program titled, Daniel Number 7. Write to Born to Win, Post Office Box 560, White House, Texas 75791. Or call toll free 1-888-BIBLE-44. And tell us the call letters of this radio station.
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With flattery, he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant. This is interesting because the flattery and the corruption appears to come after the violation of the covenant. In other words, people who turn away from the covenant they’ve made with God. The deal, the obedience that they promised and didn’t deliver, become available for corruption. And it was Jesus who said it in that same Olivet prophecy. He said they’re going to come along and perform signs and wonders to such a level that they will, if possible, deceive the very elect. But, said Daniel’s prophecy, the people who know their God will firmly resist him. Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or plundered or captured. When they fall, they will receive a little help, but many who are not sincere will join them. You know, that’s really a tragedy. It basically says the people who are really trying to obey God are going to be persecuted and And they’re going to get a little help from here and there, but by and large, even the people who join to them and try to help them will not mean a word of it. And, of course, that’s what Jesus said in the Olivet Prophecy. He said people will betray one another. They’ll turn their backs on one another. They’ll come to hate one another. Some of the wise will stumble so that they can be refined and purified and made spotless until the time of the end. For it will still come at the appointed time. And oh, we want to know so bad when that is. If only we knew what he means by the appointed time. When is the appointed time? Daniel wanted to know, but he never found out. Now, some of the events before and after this prophecy may happen twice, but far too much of what happens in the verses following cannot possibly apply to Antiochus. And, of course, we know from Jesus that we’re not finished with the icon of the abomination of desolation or the icon of the little horn. The king, this is verse 36 of Daniel 11, the king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard of things against the god of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed. For what has been determined must take place. He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god but will exalt himself above them all. Make a note. This man cannot possibly be Islamic. The reason I say that is because some people believe the man of sin or the great evil Antichrist will be an Islamic power. No, this person can’t be because of his attitude toward gods. For Islam, there is only one God. Anyone who rejects him should be killed. Anybody who tries to exalt himself above him should be killed. Now, none of this was true of Antiochus, because he was imposing the religion of his father on the Jews. The one desired of women might be Tammuz, but it makes no sense, since he would have had no objection to the worship of Tammuz. The New American Standard Bible stays closer to the King James Version. It says, and he will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women. You know, Hitler, who has been a model already in this series, Hitler may serve as a model here because he was widely believed. I think it’s pretty well been proved that he was sexually perverted, not merely just homosexual. He was a true pervert. And it’s impossible, as you read this, to avoid the words of Paul. 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2. Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him, we ask you, brothers, not to be unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report, or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Oh, no, it’s not ahead of us. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come until the rebellion, the great apostasy occurs. And the man of lawlessness, the man of sin is revealed. The man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. Sets his throne right in the temple of God, claiming to be God, exactly like Antiochus Epiphanes did. Only this guy is not Antiochus. And now, Paul says, the lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. So, hey, this guy he’s talking about here will be on the scene at the time of the return of Christ. Some people are going to be led astray by this. The coming of this lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan, displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders, every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refuse to love the truth, and so to be saved. For this reason, God sends them a powerful delusion, so they will believe the lie, and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth. but have delighted in wickedness. You know, it’s a really serious warning, and it’s strange how closely it marches in step with the history of one Antiochus Epiphanes.
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who set up the abomination of desolation. The Born to Win radio program with Ronald L. Dart is sponsored by Christian Educational Ministries and made possible by donations from listeners like you. If you can help, please send your donation to You may call us at… 888-BIBLE-44 and visit us online at borntowin.net.
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