Page 318 - Daniel
P. 318
The expositor has no convenient compromise between the two diverse
views. Either this is genuine prophecy or it is not. The fact that it
corresponds so closely to history should be, instead of a basis for
criticism, a marvelous confirmation that prophecy properly understood
is just as accurate as history. As has been previously pointed out, attacks
on the prophecies of Daniel always fall short. The fulfillment of the
complete revelation anticipates a situation yet future, and could not be
considered history even from the point of view of an alleged second-
century Daniel.
In attempting the difficult exegesis of this portion, the general
principle should be observed that prophecy, as far as it goes, is accurate,
but that prophecy is selective. The revelation does not contain all the
history of the period or name all the rulers. It is not always possible to
determine why some facts are included and others excluded. But the
total picture of struggle and turmoil that characterized the period of the
third empire is portrayed by special reference to Antiochus Epiphanes,
who is given more space than any other ruler in this chapter because of
the relevance of his activities to the people of Israel and the similarities
between his actions and those of the future Antichrist.
