The Little Horn Magnifying Himself - Daniel 8:11

In the book of Daniel, Daniel said, “the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stomped upon them”, and in chapter eight and verse eleven of his book Daniel shared how the little horn, “magnified himself even to the prince of the host”  where we read,

Yes, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.

The verse reads, “Yes, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away,, …” Daniel began with the words, “yes, he magnified himself” or “even so and indeed he, the little horn, made important, increased and powerful his own self” “even to the prince of the host” which means “indeed toward the Commander and royal ruler belonging to the heavenly army of angels and envoys”, “and by him the daily sacrifice” or “and through him, the little horn, the offerings which were presented each day” “was taken away” which means “was removed and cancelled”. Daniel shared how this “little horn” will exalt himself indeed toward the Commander of the spiritual army and will eliminate the offerings that are presented each day.

The verse goes on to say, “… and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.” Daniel continued with the words, “and the place” or “and the fixed and established location” “of his sanctuary” which means “pertaining to his, the Commander of the host’s, sacred worship place and temple” “was cast down” or “was thrown in a descending direction”. Daniel shared how this “little horn” threw down the worship place or temple of the Commander of the heavenly hosts.

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel more about the power this “little horn” would execute while ruling in the world. We shall learn more about him in our later verses, but for now let us consider the role of the antichrist in the world. (See Revelation 13:5-7) Although he will show himself to be powerful in this world, he will in no way or manner be more powerful that God. God gives power and authority to people according to His Divine purpose and will, and because people live for a short amount of time, God may use them in any way He desires. God wants a personal intimate relationship with us through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the grave after three days. When we believe and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and teach us to revere and pray for authorities as they rule in the positions He gives them.

Next time Daniel says about the little horn, “an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".