By Carlos Enrique Espinosa
A Commentary on the Sabbath School Lesson for November 20–26, 2004
On September 11, 2001, I was dean of the seminary (graduate studies) at the Seventh-Day Adventist University in Argentina. I was attending a meeting of the Academic Board when terrorist hijackers flew airplanes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. The president of the university came into the meeting and reported that one of the landmarks of American power, at the very heart of the nation, had been attacked. Our meeting stopped. Apocalyptic images and eschatological interpretations flooded our minds as we left the administration building and headed toward places where we could watch the news on television.
Many people throughout the world experienced anxiety, but the feelings of the American people differed. Only a U.S. citizen could understand them. Those feelings combined anger, deep sadness, perplexity, and others impossible to express. The feelings of Daniel (8:27) were similar when he heard that an enemy would persecute his people (8:11–12) and again attack the heart of his nation, Yahweh’s sanctuary in Jerusalem, the symbol of the power that had given rise to it. Even today, those who do not belong to Daniel’s people cannot understand what he and the Israelites felt at that time—and later, when the temple was attacked again.
The feelings of the American people deserve respect, as do those of every nation or person who suffers. This is a Christian attitude. Likewise, it is egocentric and disrespectful for us to ignore the meaning that Daniel 8 had—and still has—for the elected people of Yahweh, and instead find meaning that applies only to Christians.
On December 14, 164 B.C., after almost three and one-half years of desecration and interruption of the "daily" services at the hand of King Antiochus Epiphanes, the Jews purified and reestablished the sanctuary (Dan. 8:14). Led by Judas Maccabeus (1 Macc. 4:52–59), they started a religious celebration called the Feast of Dedication, or the Feast of Lights, in perpetual commemoration. The feast starts on the twenty-fifth of Kisleu, lasts one week, and falls in December or January. Jesus celebrated it (John 10:22), as do Jewish people to this day, who call it Hanukkah.
An attack may be an attempt to destroy the enemy or to protect oneself. Either way, it is violent. The editors of the Sabbath School Bible Study Guide did well to title the lesson that deals with Daniel 8 "The Sanctuary Attacked." The prophecy says that an enemy of God’s people would attack the Temple. We have traditionally seen this chapter differently: as a prophecy about the relationship between God and the sins of the saints, and about the "restoration" of the Sanctuary (8:14) with either the Second Coming or erasure of the sins of the redeemed.1
What is the sanctuary and what does it represent? In the Bible, the words sanctuary or temple have at least five meanings, all closely related. First, it is both the tabernacle in the desert and the temple in Jerusalem. In addition, it is the physical body of Jesus (John 2:19–21) and his mystical body, namely the church (1 Cor. 3:16-17). Fourth, the Bible refers to the human body as a "temple" (1 Cor. 6:19). And finally, there is the sanctuary in heaven (Heb. 8:1-2).
In all five cases, the temple represents God’s dwelling place (Exod. 15:17). Furthermore, it is the place where God meets humans to solve the problem of our sin (in theological terms, to "make atonement"). Think about all five meanings and notice that in every case it is a dwelling place for God, a meeting place where he encounters us to redeem us from sin.
Thus, an attack against the sanctuary of Yahweh is aggression against God and his people. It is an attempt to destroy God’s kingdom. It implies injury or distortion of God’s plan to save humans, that is, to cleanse us from sin. For this reason, to "reconsecrate" the sanctuary (Dan. 8:14) means to allow God to continue his saving work, or to "pronounce judgment in favor of the saints" (Dan. 7:22).
In the second century B.C., Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes attacked the sanctuary in Jerusalem. He "took away the daily sacrifice from him [the Prince of the host], and the place of his sanctuary was brought low" (8:11). Almost all biblical commentators identify Antiochus Epiphanes as the "little horn" of Daniel 8. In this chapter, explicitly and without ambiguity, the small horn—the enemy who oppresses the covenant people—tramples the sanctuary. The sanctuary was attacked, not simply defiled by the blood of the anointing sacrifice.
The prophecy says that the rising of the "little horn" is, in the first place, earthly, political, localized, geographical (Dan. 8:9). According to the interpretation given by the angel, the attack against "the starry host" (8:10), or "the host of the saints" (8:12), means that "he [the little horn] will destroy the mighty men and the holy people" (8:24). Second, the growth of the little horn would last "until [he] reached the host of the heavens" (8:10). It is an attack of a religious nature, one against "the sanctuary and…the host" (8:13), namely against both the religion and people of Daniel. According to the explanation given by Gabriel, the little horn would "destroy many" (8:25) others in addition to the Jewish people and would "cause astounding devastation" (8:24). This obviously alludes to military struggle.
The prophecy has had other fulfillments. Jesus Christ applied the prophecy of Daniel to the devastation of Jerusalem and its sanctuary by the Roman armies in 70 A.D. (Mark 13:14; Matt. 24:15). Later, Roman Christianity would persecute dissenters after it became established as the official religion in the fourth century. The Roman Church attacked the good news about the grace of God and the work of Christ as the Only High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary. It did not consider his blood sufficient to save us from sin, but taught that works of obedience were required for entry into the Book of Life. Thus, medieval Christianity imitated the work of the little horn in Daniel. According to the book of Revelation, other Christian movements would imitate this work, thus "set[ting] up an image in honor of the [first] beast" (Rev. 13:14).
Today, any political or religious system or power that suppresses liberty of thought and persecutes or excludes dissenters embodies a new fulfillment of the work of the little horn. The same applies to any attack on the temple of God or on the person of Jesus, the unity of his people, the dignity of the human being, or the work of grace in the Holy Places of the heavenly sanctuary. However, the attacks will not succeed. The power of the attackers will decline and finally fade. Those who "cause deceit to prosper,…will be destroyed, but not by human power" (Dan. 8:25).
The book of Daniel teaches that all human "kingdoms"—political or religious—will perish, to be replaced by God’s sovereignty. We would be wise to put aside arrogant attitudes. We need humiliation in the presence of God and before his Word, for the Most High is able to "humble those who walk in pride" (Dan. 4:37). In spite of the attack of evil powers, "[God’s] kingdom will not be destroyed." In every part of God’s creation, "people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel" (6:26).
1. All biblical quotations are taken from the New International Version.
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