This Too Shall Pass Away
And This, Too, Shall Pass Away
Daniel 8
On September 30, 1859, Abraham Lincoln stood before a group of farmers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and gave a long, tedious speech on free labor and agriculture. He was a rising Republican star, even though, up to this point, he had lost every political race of his career. Although the speech was forgettable, his concluding paragraph packed a tremendous nugget of wisdom. He said,
And by the successful, and the unsuccessful, let it be remembered, that while occasions like the present, bring their sober and durable benefits, the exultations and mortifictions of them, are but temporary; that the victor shall soon be the vanquished, if he relax in his exertion; and that the vanquished this year, may be victor the next, in spite of all competition.
It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away." How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! -- how consoling in the depths of affliction! "And this, too, shall pass away."
In the fall of 1859, Abraham Lincoln had no idea what he was going to face. He could not know that in the next six years more than 620,000 American soldiers would perish at each other’s hands. He could not know of the hatred between friends and brothers. He could not know of the severe economic depression that faced America. He could not know how many would hate him for wanting to keep this nation the United States of America. He could not know what was coming, but he could know, ‘And this, too, shall pass away.’
Those wise men charged by the eastern monarch gave a tremendous saying to their king. At the height of success and prosperity, it is a needed reminder to know that even though one is at the height of his power, it will not last forever. In the depths of affliction and intense persecution, it is a comfort to the soul that the pain will end. Daniel 8 captures this reality. God gives Daniel a vision of what His people will face in the coming days and offers a powerful reminder “And this, too, shall pass away.”
My prayer is that you apply that phrase to your heart in the appropriate way. I pray that some of you will find tremendous courage in the truth that life will not always be full of trials, and I pray that some of you will repent of ignoring the reality of God and future judgment. I believe both messages can be found in how you apply that one phrase, “And this, too, shall pass away.”
Earthly Kingdoms Shall Pass Away
In Daniel 7, God gave Daniel a vision of four kingdoms that would rise and fall and one kingdom that would never pass away, given to one like a Son of Man by the Ancient of Days. In Daniel 8, God highlights particular aspects of the previous vision with greater clarity on the second and third kingdoms before providing more details on what was going to come from the third kingdom.
In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first. Daniel 8:1
Daniel was still in exile from Jerusalem after being captured by Nebuchadnezzar as a teenager. Daniel served Nebuchadnezzar faithfully and saw him trust in Yahweh as the God above all gods and the one who holds the future in His hand. When Nebuchadnezzar died, Belshazzar took the throne and served as king for seventeen years. He was a wicked king and mocked Yahweh by taking the holy things from the temple and using them in drunken revelry. God gave Daniel perspective in the early years of this foolish king’s reign that this, too, shall pass, and Daniel would witness his end through the handwriting on the wall.
The vision of chapter 8 is an encouragement to Daniel to press on in faith because the earthly kingdoms set against God will one day perish.
And I saw in the vision; and when I saw, I was in Susa the citadel, which is in the province of Elam. And I saw in the vision, and I was at the Ulai canal. I raised my eyes and saw, and behold, a ram standing on the bank of the canal. It had two horns, and both horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward. No beast could stand before him, and there was no one who could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased and became great. Daniel 8:2–4
In Daniel 7 every beast represents a nation. The ram of chapter 8 is the bear of chapter 7. As the bear was raised up on one side, so the ram has two horns with one being raised up higher than the other. The ram is the kings of Media and Persia, as we will see in Daniel 8:20, “As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia.” Belshazzar would be the last of the Bablyonian kings. His reign would end, and another kingdom would rise up after and do whatever it pleased and become great.
Pay attention to how many times Daniel 8 focuses on the greatness of these kings and kingdoms. They will have their day of prosperity and greatness and will appear as if they will last, but their greatness will be short-lived. Those who stand against God will appear great and successful, but it will be short-lived.
Friends, this is the lie of sin. Sin promises pleasure and joy, but it will be short-lived. The momentary pleasures of sin will end, and judgment will remain. Do not be deceived; those who stand against God will perish. For the ram, the Medes and the Persians went westward and northward and southward, and no other beast could stand before him….until…another one did.
As I was considering, behold, a male goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes. He came to the ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, and he ran at him in his powerful wrath. I saw him come close to the ram, and he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke his two horns. And the ram had no power to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power.
The once powerful ram with its two horns could not stand against the goat. And then the goat becomes exceedingly great. Daniel 8:5-7, 21
The goat mentioned here is the king of Greece, and the great horn between his eyes is the first king, Alexander the Great.
Alexander the Great began his quest for world dominance against Persia in 334 B.C. As one historian notes,
With only thirty-five thousand men, Alexander’s forces plunged through the [Granicus] River attacking Darius’s one hundred thousand footmen and ten thousand horsemen, reportedly killing twenty thousand at a loss of only one hundred Greek troops. Complete victory was assured at the battles of Issus the following year and at Gaugamela in 331 B.C.
Alexander became king at the age of twenty and was at the height of his power until he became sick and died.
Then the goat became exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven. Daniel 8:8
Upon his death, Alexander’s kingdom was divided among his four generals. “And this, too, shall pass away.” Notice who is in charge of these kingdoms. In the middle of verse 8 we read, ‘the great horn was broken,’. This is written in the passive voice, implying that an agent broke the horn. God is the one who sets up kings and removes them. God broke the exceedingly great horn at the height of its power. God is in control.
God gives Daniel the vision to remind him, just as he has been teaching him throughout his life, that He is in control. Daniel sees two kingdoms become great and powerful and dominate the known world. Then he sees them fall. The greatness of the earthly kingdoms is nothing compared to the greatness of Almighty God. Any kingdom who stands against God will fall.
Evil Kings Shall Pass Away
The climax of the vision is the greatness of the evil of the little horn that will rise up out of the kingdom of Greece. The little horn in Daniel 8 is not the little horn from Daniel 7. The little horn in Daniel 7 will rise out of the fourth kingdom, while the little horn in Daniel 8 will come from the third kingdom. But even though they are different, they act very similarly.
Out of one of them came a little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the glorious land. It grew great, even to the host of heaven. And some of the host and some of the stars it threw down to the ground and trampled on them. It became great, even as great as the Prince of the host. And the regular burnt offering was taken away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. And a host will be given over to it together with the regular burnt offering because of transgression, and it will throw truth to the ground, and it will act and prosper. Daniel 8:9–12
The little horn that came from the kingdom of Greece was Antiochus IV (175-164 B.C.). Because he had bribed his way to the top and was not a legitimate heir to the throne, he was symbolized by the little horn. His kingdom stretched south and east and even to the “glorious land”, which was a reference to the Promised Land, the land of God’s covenant people. In verse 10, the text says Antiochus took “some of the host and some of the stars he threw down to the ground and tramped on them.” The host of heaven and the stars referenced here mean God’s people. Antiochus IV would make war on God’s people and persecute them. In the book of Maccabees, we learn about the intense persecution of this evil king, Antiochus
commanded his soldiers to cut down relentlessly everyone they met and to kill those who went into their houses. Then there was massacre of young and old, destruction of boys, women, and children, and slaughter of young girls and infants. Within the total of three days eighty thousand were destroyed, forty thousand in hand-to-hand fighting, and as many were sold into slavery as were killed. 2 macc 5:12-14
He was ruthless against God’s people, and his evil was not only set against God’s people but against God himself.
Antiochus did all he could to attack God by attacking the temple where His presence dwelled and in which he had commanded His people to worship Him. Antiochus set up a pagan altar for Zeus above the altar of burnt offerings in the temple. He made the temple a place unfit to worship; it became desolate or empty of God-worshippers, ‘an abomination of desolation.’As one scholar notes,
He “took the regular burnt offering away from him and overthrew the place of his sanctuary.” “In 167 B.C. Antiochus issued the order that the regular ceremonial observances to Yahweh were forbidden, and thus sacrifices ceased being offered to him (cf. 1 Macc 1:44–45).
Moreover, the book of Maccabees reports that “the king erected the abomination of desolation above the altar” (1 Macc 1:54)...The book of Maccabees reports that “he had the audacity to enter the holiest Temple in the entire world ….with his unclean hands he seized the sacred vessels” and took them away (2 Macc 5:15–16). Then then he “defiled the altar with the first pagan sacrifices (1 Macc 1:59), which probably included [unclean] pigs (1 Macc 1:47; cf. 2 Macc 6:4).” Thus Antiochus not only persecuted God’s people but also directly attacked the God of Israel
Why would God allow this persecution against His people and His dwelling place? The answer is a common one in Israel’s history. It was because of their sin. Verse 12, “And a host will be given over to it together with the regular burnt offerings because of transgression.” The sin of God’s people led to their persecution. The wicked king continued to prosper as he defiled and blasphemed the Holy One of Israel.
The vision shifts as Daniel asks the question that came to mind as he saw this desecration of God’s holy people and place,
Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, “For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?” Daniel 8:13
How long? Beloved, how many times have the people of God cried out those two words, “How long?”
David cries out in Psalm 13:1–2,
How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Asaph cries out in Psalm 79:5
How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealousy burn like fire?
And again in Psalm 80:4–6
O LORD God of hosts,
how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
You have fed them with the bread of tears
and given them tears to drink in full measure.
You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,
and our enemies laugh among themselves.
This same question was posed by Isaiah and Jeremiah, Habakkuk and Zechariah, and even by the martyrs of the Lord Jesus.
They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Revelation 6:10
The people of God have always asked this question, “How long, O Lord?” The holy ones in Daniel 8:13 were echoing the cry of Daniel’s heart, “How long will this king be allowed to be an abomination of desolation, trampling the sanctuary underfoot?”
Beloved, it is right to go to the Lord in your pain and heartbreak and ask, “How long, O Lord?” God can handle this question from saints who have cried out to Him for generations, “How long?” Trials and persecutions will come, but this, too, shall pass away. In Daniel 8:14, God concluded the vision by saying,
“.....For 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.”
This could be referring to 2,300 days (evening and mornings as in Genesis 1), which would be a little more than six years or about the time Antiochus IV ruled over the beautiful land. Alternatively, it could mean a shortened period of complete judgment. If Antiochus was allowed to persecute God’s people because of sin, complete judgment against them would have been seven years, so 2,300 days would have signified persecution for a limited time before they would have been restored. Judas Maccabeus would recapture Jerusalem in 164 B.C., and he would cleanse the temple and rebuild the altar. Jewish people still remember God’s restoration of the temple every December during the celebration of Hanukkah.
The Ethics of Kings and Kingdoms Passing Away
Ethics are moral principles that govern a person's behavior. What moral principles can we learn from this vision that may govern our behavior? Daniel saw the vision and wanted to understand its meaning. We want to understand this vision and apply it to our lives. God was gracious, through the Angel Gabriel, to give Daniel understanding, and I pray, by the Holy Spirit, that He will give us understanding as well.
When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, and it called, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” So he came near where I stood. And when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end.” Daniel 8:15–17
The phrase “time of the end” refers to the end of the future persecution that Daniel has just witnessed. The interpretation helps the reader understand the answer to the question, “How long, O Lord?”
And when he had spoken to me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But he touched me and made me stand up. He said, “Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of the indignation, for it refers to the appointed time of the end. As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia. And the goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king. As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his nation, but not with his power. And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise. His power shall be great—but not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction and shall succeed in what he does, and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall become great. Without warning he shall destroy many. And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but by no human hand. The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true, but seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now.”
And I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king’s business, but I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it. Daniel 8:18–27
Let me share four governing ethical implications we can derive from this vision and interpretation.
First, God will judge His people for sin for their sanctification
God gave Israel into Nebuchadnezzar’s hand. God gave Israel into the hands of Antiochus IV.. God will discipline His children. We read in verse 12 that the Lord allowed persecution because of sin so that His people would be purified. Beloved, if you are a child of God, you should not despise the Lord’s discipline.
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”
It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:3–14
God disciplines those He loves so we will be holy.
Second, God will destroy those who oppose Him.
No one who stands against the Lord will last. They may have partial prosperity; they may even become exceedingly great, but it will only be for a time. Everyone who stands against the Lord will perish. And this, too, shall pass away. If you stand against God in your sin, you will be destroyed. You will not be destroyed and cease to exist, but you will be continually destroyed in the lake of fire. Antiochus IV, the little horn of the third kingdom, is a type of the little horn of the fourth kingdom. He is a type of the Antichrist.
Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2:3–12
Antiochus set himself up against God. Daniel 8:24 says “His power shall be great—but not by his own power;”. He was given power by the activity of Satan, much like the Antichrist. He led the Israelites to abandon God’s words and find pleasure in unrighteousness. In the end, Antiochus was broken, but not by a human hand. (Daniel 8:25) He was broken by the hand of God, unlike the Antichrist, who will be destroyed by the breath of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Everyone is given a choice in life. You will choose to be with Christ or against Him. You will either be an antichrist, or you will be one with Christ. You may be experiencing pleasure in your sin now, but this too, shall pass and you will stand before God and be judged for your sin.
And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Revelation 20:9–10
If you are not with Christ, you are against Him, and you will spend eternity in the lake of fire, being tormented day and night forever and ever.
Third, God will preserve His people.
The reality is that every one of us at one time or another has been as antichrist. We were not living for Jesus Christ but against Him. We are all sinners who need a Savior. God sent the Messiah, Jesus Christ to save us. He lived a perfect life and died a sinner's death. He took our punishment on the cross and purchased our salvation with His resurrection from the dead. If you are not living for Jesus Christ, you are living against Him. But Jesus is a kind and patient Savior. He invites you to turn from your sin and deception and pursuit of empty pleasures and find rest in Him. Jesus delights to save. If you repent of your sins, you will no longer be against Christ but for Him. Then God will be for you, and the good work that He begins in you will be carried to completion until His return.
The teaching of Daniel 8 is very similar to the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 24 just before His crucifixion. He is warning of the coming persecution, and just like that of Daniel 8, He warns His disciples,
As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:3–14
The one who endures to the end will be saved. Jesus warns that persecution will come, but God will preserve His people. They will not turn away from Him. Their persecution will not last forever; it will last only for a time. The Lord shortens the persecution or tribulation to save His people. Jesus continues in Matthew 24,
“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Matthew 24:15–22
The days will be cut short. As they were in Daniel’s vision, they will be in the last days. God will preserve His people.
Fourth, God wants you to be about the king’s business.
Daniel did not understand everything about the vision, but after he heard it, he had a job to do.
And I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king’s business, but I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it. Daniel 8:27
Beloved, we know persecution is going to come to God’s people, but we have to be about the King’s business. Later in Matthew 24, Jesus continues teaching on the coming persecution and offers words of exhortation.
“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 24:36–51
Are you about the king’s business? Are you ready for the Master to return?
This world is mist, a vapor. This world will one day pass away, but the one who does the will of the Lord will live forever.
How do you feel when you hear the words, “And this, too, shall pass away?” Are you living in sin? Are you living against Christ? Be warned, one day, one day very soon, the fleeting pleasures of sin will pass away, and you will have to stand before God in judgment. Repent now while you still have time.
Beloved, are you encouraged to know that one day our suffering will end, and we will be ushered into the presence of Almighty God? Do not be overcome with discouragement, God is with you; He will carry you through. One day, beloved, all our trials, pain, sorrows, burdens, and cares, all this, too, shall pass away, and we will be welcomed finally and fully into God’s kingdom, which will never pass away. Until that day, let us live in light of eternity. This world will pass away, but those who do the will of the Lord will live forever.