Daniel 8:23 and Daniel 11:4 ARE NOT Descriptive of The Eschatological Time of the End, Only The End of the Grecian Progeny
by Dr Paul MacDonald RN MA Dipl
Not The Eschatological End
Contrary to popular beleif, Daniel 8 does not concern itself with the End Time as so many teach, preach and would have us falsley believe.
In the Latter/Last Part of their Reign
Significantly, Daniel 8:23 has: “in the latter part of their reign [aharît malkûtam]” while Daniel 11:4, explains how Alexander’s kingdom will be divided up when it comes to its finish:
“And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven [8:8], but not among his posterity [aharît] nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these”.
Notice in Daniel 11:4 how "aharît" has the very narrow meaning of “posterity, descendants” and its certainly not “the end”.
During the Posterity: "The Period of the Descendants" of Greece
Coming back to Daniel 8:23 and 11:4, since both passages are "thematically related" and "parallel", it seems then that the best translation of "aharît" in Daniel 8:23 should be “posterity, descendants” as it does in Daniel 11:4, instead of “latter part”; thus we’d have in Daniel 8:23:
“And during the posterity [the end period of the descendants] of these [Greek] kingdoms (when the transgressions have reached their full measure), *then* a King of bold countenance shall arise, skilled in intrigue.”
Greece Continued Through The Posterity/Descendants of the 4 Greek Generals
When Alexander’s generals died, their kingdoms were in turn passed down to their descendants (aharît), called by historians as the “epigonoi” (a term commonly used for the offspring of mythological heroes).
Thus aharît in Daniel 8:23 seems to point to the "descendants" of the four Greek kingdoms out of which the “little horn” arises, which will be AFTER the coming War with Iran as described in Daniel 8.
Conclusion
The expression “time of the end” in Daniel 8:23, and 11:4 applies to the fulfilment of the events described in the vision:
1) Involving The Grecian Breakup
2) The Grecian Kingdom and their “posterity”, or "descendants", and
3) The aggressions of a Greek “little horn” against that of the Jews.
Only once does “Time of the End” refer to the Eschatological Time of the End, and this is in the book of Daniel (Daniel 12:13).
We are still under the Rule of Greece. The Iron Legged Kingdom is a Middle Eastern Kingdom Ruled by Assyria (King of the North) and Egypt (King of the South) which according to Prophecy will be a divided kingdom.
Dr Paul MacDonald RN MA Dipl ©
Israel Institute of Biblical Studies
