We have already made an argument that Daniel 2, 7, and 8 predicts the four world empires (Babylonia, Media-Persia, Greece, Rome). Also, we argued earlier that the “little horn” of chapter 7 is the Antichrist. However, in chapter 8, we run into a similar figure called the “small horn.” Who is this person? Should we think the little horn is the same figure as the small horn?

Is Daniel’s “little horn” the same as the “small horn”?

There are many similarities between the little horn (Dan. 7) and the small horn (Dan. 8), which we should consider:

SIMILARITIES between the Little Horn (Dan. 7) and the Small Horn (Dan. 8)?
Opposes God	(Dan. 7:25) He will speak out against the Most High…	(Dan. 8:11) It even magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down.
Persecutes Believers	(Dan. 7:25) He will… wear down the saints of the Highest One (c.f. 7:21; Rev 13:7).	(Dan. 8:24) He will destroy mighty men and the holy people.
Deceiver	The Antichrist is pictured as a deceiver (2 Thess. 2:9; Rev. 13:4, 14; 19:20).	(Dan. 8:25) And through his shrewdness He will cause deceit to succeed by his influence.
Proud	The Antichrist is pictured as insanely proud, narcissistic, and self-absorbed—even claiming to be God! (Dan. 7:8, 11, 20, 25; 2 Thess. 2:4; Rev. 13:5)	(Dan. 8:25) He will magnify himself in his heart, and he will destroy many while they are at ease. He will even oppose the Prince of princes, but he will be broken without human agency.
Associated with the End Times	(Dan. 7:26) The court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever.	(Dan. 8:19) He said, “Behold, I am going to let you know what will occur at the final period of the indignation, for it pertains to the appointed time of the end.
Cruel and Harsh	(Dan. 7:20 NIV) The horn that looked more imposing than the others.	(Dan. 8:23 NIV) When rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced king.
Master of Intrigue	(Dan. 7:8, 20) The little horns eyes speak of his brilliance. Also his ability to fix global problems has this connotation.	(Dan. 8:23) Insolent and skilled in intrigue.
Powerful	The Antichrist is spoken of as incredibly powerful (2 Thess. 2:9; Rev. 13:7-8).	(Dan. 8:24) His power will be mighty, but not by his own power, and he will destroy to an extraordinary degree and prosper and perform his will; he will destroy mighty men and the holy people.
Called the “Little Horn”	(Dan. 7:8) While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it.	(Dan. 8:9) Out of one of them came forth a rather small horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land.

However, there are also many crucial differences between these two figures, leading us to the conclusion that these are two separate individuals: one is the Antichrist (Dan. 7) and the other is Antiochus Epiphanes IV:

DIFFERENCES between the Little Horn (Dan. 7) and the Small Horn (Dan. 8)?
Daniel 7	Daniel 8
Comes from the Roman Empire (the fourth beast).	Comes from the Grecian Empire (“out of one of them” 8:9).
Tied to a Ten Nation Confederacy (Dan. 7:24).	Tied to Four Divisions of the Greek Empire (“out of one of them” 8:9).
Given “time, times, and half a time” (3.5 years)	Given 2,300 evenings and mornings.
Future antichrist	Antiochus Epiphanes IV: Eighth ruler in the Selucid dynasty. The 2,300 days was the time between his killing of Onias in 170 BC and his death in 164 BC. He took the throne “not by his own power,” but through intrigue. He is associated with the end of history (Dan. 8:17, 19) because he committed the abomination of desolation.

Because of these stark differences, we hold that these two figures a separate people. The little horn of Daniel 7 refers to the Antichrist, and the small horn of Daniel 8 refers to Antiochus Epiphanes.

The small horn: Antiochus Epiphanes IV

The description of the “small horn” in Daniel 8 lines up closely with Antiochus Epiphanes IV:

(Dan. 8:10) It grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down.

Antiochus Epiphanes IV began to persecute the Jews in 170 BC by killing the Jewish high priest Onias III. He then killed thousands of Jews, plundering the Temple, and killing 80,000 men, women, children, and even infants (1 Macc. 1:20–24; 2 Macc. 5:1ff). He also forbade the circumcision of baby boys on the 8th day and the celebration of any of the Jewish feasts. A few brave women and men defied him. Josephus tells us about two women who had their newborn sons circumcised on 8th day according to Jewish law. When Antiochus found out about it, he had each baby killed, tied each baby to a rope, and tied each rope around neck of each baby’s mother. Then he forced these poor women to parade their dead babies around the streets of Jerusalem while crowds of people scorned them and laughed at them. Then the women were pushed off the city walls, falling to their deaths with their babies hanging from their necks (2 Macc. 6:10-11).

Josephus tells another story of a woman who defied Antiochus by reading Scripture to her seven sons and observing Jewish feasts with them. Antiochus’ men heated a flat iron red hot and burned each of her sons alive in front of her. Then they killed her. Miller writes, “In December 167 B.C. Antiochus committed his crowning act of sacrilege against the Jewish religion by erecting an altar to Zeus in the temple precincts and offering swine on it (cf. 1 Macc 1:37, 39, 44–47, 54, 59; 2 Macc 6:2–5).”[1]

(Dan. 8:11) It even magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down.

Antiochus decreed laws that banned Jewish religious practice, including dietary laws, circumcision, Sabbaths, and feasts. He also demanded that the Jews worship him, rather than God (1 Macc. 1:41–50).

(Dan. 8:14) He said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be properly restored.”

What are the 2,300 evenings and mornings mentioned here?

There are two ways of interpreting the 2,300 evenings and mornings:

Option #1: This refers to 1,150 days. If we hold that the evenings and mornings are referring to the same day, then this would cut the total amount of days from 2,300 to 1,150 (or a little over three years). If we take this view, then we would begin this period from Antiochus’ altar to Zeus in the Temple (1 Macc. 1:54) and end it in December of 164 BC when Judas Maccabeus rededicated the temple (1 Macc. 4:52). However, as Miller notes, the 1,150 would actually end in September/October of 164 BC—not December. He writes, “Either the date is to be taken as a close approximation or, as Archer suggests, the daily sacrifice may have been abolished even before the altar was erected, a suggestion that is plausible.”[2]

Option #2: This refers to 2,300 actual days. Keil notes that the expression here is literally “until evening morning, 2,300.” This is used of a full day in Genesis 1—not two halves of a day. He also shows that when the Jews were trying to distinguish two parts of a day, then used the phrase “days and night,” rather than “evenings and mornings” (c.f. Gen 7:4, 12). Moreover, Daniel 7:25, 9:27, and 12:11-12 do not refer to Antiochus; they refer to the Antichrist. So these passages cannot be used to correlate a three and a half year period from this number (2,300). If this option is used (which this author prefers), then we would begin the period in 170 B.C. at the murder of Onias III and end it with the rededication of the temple under Judas Maccabeus.

(Dan. 8:25) And through his shrewdness he will cause deceit to succeed by his influence; and he will magnify himself in his heart, and he will destroy many while they are at ease. He will even oppose the Prince of princes, but he will be broken without human agency.

Antiochus died in 163 B.C. (1 Macc. 6:1–16) after he was defeated at Elymais in fulfillment of this prophecy (“he will be broken without human agency”). Because of these close predictions, we hold that the small horn of Daniel 8 must be referring to Antiochus Epiphanes IV, rather than the Antichrist.

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