Throwing the Truth to the Ground
Daniel 8:1-27
Truth: What is truth? Truth is in the eye of the beholder. My truth is my truth and your truth is your truth. Your truth is alright with me as long as I do not have to believe that your truth is the truth. Much of this forms the rhetoric of our society as we embrace pluralism and do our best not to judge what others think. Abdu Murray in “Saving Truth” points out that when postmodernism emerged as the new philosophy of society in the 1970s it did so with its defining goal as the rejection of objective truth. Murray goes on to point out that this philosophy has become outdated because it is ultimately incoherent. This is due to the fact that any denial of an objective truth must be an objective truth if it is to be meaningful. So, we have emerged into a post-truth society. This society does not deny objective truth, but declares that objective truth is subordinate to personal preferences.[1]
Having this as a dominant motif within our society has made it difficult to claim and proclaim the truth of Scripture. In many ways, our society has thrown the truth declared in Scripture on the ground. Society claims that it is acceptable for an individual to embrace Scripture as truth, but if another individual does not prefer this truth they can ignore it, following their own preference. We cannot force another to embrace the truth of the Gospel, but at least it used to be acceptable to proclaim it. This shift has made it so that the truth of the Gospel does not even matter. It is irrelevant.
Daniel 8 is not about the 21st century and our post-truth milieu, but the struggle depicted in Daniel 8 echoes down through the centuries. The vision seen in Daniel 8, along with its interpretation, helps us understand God’s work even as God’s truth is thrown on the ground in disrespect. Even though society claims the Gospel as irrelevant, today it remains more relevant than ever.
In Daniel 8, Daniel relays to us a vision. This vision, similar to the dream in chapter 7 depicts various animals, which we discover, along with Daniel, each represent various kings and earthly powers. What makes this vision different than the previous dream, other than that Daniel labels it a vision, are three significant facts. First, in the vision, Daniel is taken to Susa, which, from Daniel’s standpoint, is a minor city located outside of the Babylonian Empire. This places Daniel in a foreign context and near the center of a future power. This prepares Daniel and those of us made privy to his vision to understand that this vision does not concern Babylon, but future political entities.[2] Second, the vision is interpreted by Gabriel, the messenger angel of God. This is the first place in canonical Scripture when an angel’s name is revealed. God uses this intermediary to deliver truth. Third, Gabriel’s interpretation is very specific regarding the identities of the animals. From this specific interpretation, the identities of the horns which emerge from the beasts can easily be extrapolated.
Gabriel identifies the two-horned ram as the kings of Media and Persia. The shaggy goat represents the kings of Greece. The first horn on the goat is a mighty king, presumably Alexander the Great. The four horns that replace the single horn are four lesser kings, likely representing Alexander’s powerful generals, the Diadochi. The final horn emerges out of one of those four horns. This horn represents the 2nd century BC ruler, Antiochus IV Epiphanes.[3]
There are two primary ways of understanding how this vision could be so specific. The first believes that this vision did indeed come to the prophet Daniel in the 6th century BC, very specifically foretelling that which happens on the world stage between the time of Daniel up until and including the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The other presents an opinion in which God does not so specifically lay out the future in visions. Instead, this view holds that the writer of Daniel created a fictional account, writing of events that occur in his lifetime and attaching them to a vision given to a 6th century prophet. This view has an understanding of prophecy and apocalyptic that speaks directly to the audience to whom it is written. Neither view discounts the validity of the Biblical message. They just have different ways of understanding how truth is revealed.
That said, both views regarding this prophetic vision believe that the final horn emerging from the head of the goat is Antiochus IV Epiphanes. This Greek ruler established himself as completely wicked.[4] During his reign in Palestine he ordered the cessation of temple sacrifices and placed an idol of Zeus within the temple.[5] Under his rule the law of God was taken from Israel. The practice of circumcision, the reading of the law, the ownership of documents containing the law, and the observance of sacrifices and festivals were all forbidden.[6] There is no specific incident where Antiochus IV Epiphanes threw the truth on the ground, but such an action is certainly symbolized in his policies. The truth of God’s word was not respected and in fact was denied.
Yet, the words of Gabriel declare the theme of the book of Daniel once again. God is sovereign, ultimately protecting and delivering the righteous. The horn, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who takes action against the Prince of princes will be destroyed, but not by human power. This is not a prophecy about the end of all things, but about the end of the tyranny brought on by this specific corrupt human power. God promises victory even as his people suffer. Prophecy attests to this. History attests to this. This prophecy does not have to be about us. In fact, the prophecy is not about us. Yet the message it declares does apply to us.
God’s truth remains! Kings, like Antiochus IV Epiphanes, may seek to destroy it. Moral relativism and claims that the truth of the Gospel is not absolute may try to belittle it. Personal preference may try to declare truth as irrelevant. But God’s truth remains. God remains sovereign! God remains the keeper of promises! God remains the rescuer! God remains the restorer of righteousness! God remains as the giver of grace! God remains love!
Prayer: Sovereign Lord, your truth remains forever! Thanks you! We pray that our world might acknowledge this truth and come to understand that those who stand in your truth experience deliverance and the fullness of love. We pray that those who believe your truth might stand strong, proclaiming your truth even as the world throws it down, claiming it as irrelevant. Bless us in your grace! In Christ’s name we pray, Amen!
[1]
Abdu Murray, Saving Truth. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2018), 14.
[2] Tremper
Longman III., The NIV Application Commentary: Daniel. (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 203.
[3]
Ibid., 206.
[4]
Ibid.
[5]
Ibid., 206-207.
[6] D.
S. Russell, Daniel. (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1981), 146.
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