TSome scholars believe the ‘little horn’ represents King Antiochus Epiphanes, who forced everyone in the Greek Seleucid empire to sacrifice to the Greek gods. When Antiochus came into Jerusalem, he ended the sacrificial system, he forced the Jews to stop obeying Torah, circumcising their sons, and observing the Sabbath. He forced them to eat unclean animals and sacrifice to foreign gods. Ultimately he desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem with pig’s blood and set an idol of Zeus in the Holy of Holies.
Chapter 7 – The Four Beasts
When studying Biblical dreams and visions, it is important to use Scripture to interpret Scripture or define Scripture. It is also important to remember that all Biblical prophecy revolves around Israel, the Jewish people, and Jerusalem. Daniel studied the prophets, especially the major prophets like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, so digging deeper into the Torah and Prophets will reveal Scriptures that define elements in the dreams and visions. The Scriptures given are only ‘spring boards’ to further depths of understanding.
Chapter 6 – The Roaring Lions
Darius the Mede is also known as Cyrus the Great of Persia. This king plays a significant role in allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem, rebuild the walls, and restore the Temple. It is speculated that Daniel died about 530 BCE as he was still alive when Cyrus the Great conquered Persia in 538 BCE. This means that Daniel would have witnessed the first wave of Jews returning to Jerusalem as prophesied by Jeremiah, but would have died about age 93 before the Temple was restored.
Chapter 5 – The Hand Writes on the Wall
The Babylonian kingdom is divided at this time between the Medes and the Persians. Esther was crowned Queen of Persia; however, she did not come to royal stature until sometime after 486 BCE. The Temple had been restored by that time and the first wave of Jews had been freed from captivity to live in Jerusalem. Many Jews were comfortable with their lives in Babylon and remained there until after the events in Esther when there was a second exodus from Persia back to Jerusalem.