Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Daniel 8:26
Another title for this vision is "the vision of the evenings and mornings" (cf. Daniel 8:14). The phrase describes the particular period when this prediction would find fulfillment, perhaps 167-164 B.C. Daniel needed to seal up the vision (NIV) in the sense of recording, finishing, and preserving it, not in the sense of making it secret (NASB, cf. Daniel 7:28; Daniel 12:9). It pertained to many days in the future, namely, four centuries later as well as beyond then. The NIV translation "distant... read more
Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Daniel 8:23-25
Almost all scholars recognize that Antiochus Epiphanes fulfilled what Gabriel predicted in these verses (cf. 1 Maccabees 1:10). [Note: Pentecost, "Daniel," p. 1359.] He arose in the latter period of the Diacochi, the four kingdoms that came into existence after Alexander’s death, following many transgressors of God’s will. Antiochus Epiphanes was bold and deceptive. He was powerful because God allowed him to be so. He did much damage, especially to Jerusalem and the temple. He became prosperous... read more