End Time Insights

Next, Daniel received a vision of a “ Ram ” and a “ Goat ” with a prominent horn. The Ram represented the “ Kingdom of the Medes and Persians ,” the Goat symbolized the kingdom of Greece, and its large horn represented its first great king who overthrew the “ Ram .” The vision is followed by an interpretation provided by an angelic figure. The Goat’s single horn was broken and replaced by four smaller horns.

The image of the “ Little Horn ” is a key component of Daniel’s visions. It represents a king from one of the four Hellenic kingdoms that evolved from Alexander the Great’s short-lived empire. Passages in the  Book of Daniel  concerning this figure also provide Paul with the model for his “ Man of Lawlessness ” described in his second letter to the Thessalonians.

Beginning with the division of the Greek empire, the angel outlines the coming conflicts between two of the subsequent realms that will culminate in the rise of a “ contemptible ” ruler. Previously, the rise and division of the Greek empire were portrayed in the vision of the “Ram” and of the “ Goat ,” representing the realms of the “ Medes and Persians ” and “ Greece ,” respectively.

The climax of the ‘Seventy Weeks’ prophecy is the appearance of the “ abomination that desolates .” But what is it? The reference to it in chapter 9 is neither the first nor the last word on the matter. Interpreting the “ abomination ” in isolation from the larger literary context produces incomplete and even false answers to the question.

The period of “ seventy weeks ” concludes with several unanswered questions, but the prophecy is not the end of the matter. Clear verbal links connect it to the visions of chapters 7 and 8, and to the subsequent vision in chapter 11. It is one part of a larger whole. The complete picture becomes clear only when all the visions of Daniel are considered.

The final “ week ” culminates in the desecration of the Temple and the cessation of the daily burnt offerings. In  Daniel , the focus is on the sanctuary and its ritual pollution. The described events occurred in Jerusalem, most pivotally, the “ abomination that desolates .” The latter was installed by the figure who “ corrupts ” many of the “ people .”

In his ‘Olivet Discourse,’ Jesus describes key events that will occur in the future, especially the destruction of the Temple and the “ coming of the Son of Man .” In doing so, he provides geographic details related to each event that alternate between the local and the universal, depending on which event he is under discussion.

According to Jesus, the “ Abomination of Desolation ” will appear in Jerusalem - It will be a local, not a global event. And his admonition for disciples to flee is applicable to Jerusalem and the immediate vicinity. Disciples must flee to the hills to escape the imminent calamity signaled by this abominable thing or person.

Synopsis :  An analysis of the final week of the “Seventy Weeks” prophecy – Daniel 9:26-27. We now reach the end of the “Seventy Weeks” prophecy, its final or so-called seventieth “ week ” ( Daniel 9:26-27 ). This passage describes a set of events for which the preceding sixty-nine “weeks” have prepared. The text says nothing about the destruction  of the city or the Temple. Instead, in this final “ week ,” the people of the city are “ corrupted ,” and the Sanctuary is defiled by the “ abomination that desolates .

In the second half of Chapter 8, Daniel receives the interpretation of his vision of the “ Ram and the Goat .” In Chapter 7, only the first “ Beast from the Sea ,” the lion-like creature, could be identified with certainty, namely, the Neo-Babylonian Empire. In contrast, in the interpretation in Chapter 8, two of the four kingdoms are identified by name, the “ Kingdom of the Medes and Persians ” and “ Greece .”