John Calvin Commentary Daniel 8:12

"And the host was given over [to it] together with the continual [burnt-offering] through transgression; and it cast down truth to the ground, and it did [its pleasure] and prospered." — Daniel 8:12 (ASV)

The Prophet mitigates the severity which he now records. It seems absurd for God to allow such freedom to Antiochus, that His temple should be plundered and all sacrifices and all worship eradicated. It is difficult to reconcile this, because the thought might naturally arise that perhaps God is constrained and lacks the power to subdue His enemies.

The Prophet therefore clearly states here how the freedom for vexing and oppressing the Church would never have been granted to Antiochus without God’s permission. Time, therefore, shall be given him, he says. By the words, time shall be given, he refers to the will of God, meaning, the godly will have no reason for despairing while they see all things disturbed and confused everywhere, because God will govern all these perplexities by His secret judgment.

Time, then, shall be given, implying that Antiochus can do nothing by his unbridled and furious audacity unless divinely permitted and previously limited. צבא tzeba, signifies both “army” and “time,” but the latter meaning is more suitable here; because when it is translated “an army shall be given him,” the meaning seems forced.

I more readily embrace the meaning of time being allowed; that is, God will test the patience of His Church for a certain definite time, and will then bring their troubles to an end. We know it is impossible to sustain the spirits of the faithful, except by their expectation of a favorable end and by the hope of their emerging from the abyss of sorrow.

This, then, is the reason why God shows His prophet by a vision the temporary duration of the sway of Antiochus. A period, then, shall be appointed to him over the perpetual sacrifice; meaning, whatever he may intend, he will not abolish the worship of God. For, however he may exert himself, God will not permit the sacrifices to perish utterly and forever; He will restore them in His own time, as we will afterward see. When we come to the end, we will find the context flowing in accordance with this meaning: a time shall be given him over the continual sacrifice.

He afterward adds בפשע, beph-sheng, “in wickedness,” or “in sin.” I prefer the simple translation “in sin” to “by sin,” although different meanings are drawn according to the different views of interpreters. It is better to leave it to everyone’s free choice and thus simply to translate it as “in wickedness” or “sin.” Some refer it to Antiochus, because he wickedly polluted God’s temple and abolished the sacrifices.

This meaning is probable, but I will add others, and then say which of them I prefer. Some understand “in sin” as referring to the priests, because, through the treachery of Jason, Antiochus entered the city, plundered the temple, and introduced those abominations which eradicated all piety and divine worship . Since Jason desired to seize the priesthood from his brother Onias, he opened the gates to Antiochus. Then a great slaughter followed, in which all the adherents of Onias were cruelly slain.

Afterward, Menelaus expelled Jason again by similar treachery. Some translate it “by means of wickedness,” as these priests induced Antiochus to exercise cruelty in the holy city and to violate the temple itself. Others approach nearer the real meaning by supposing the sacrifices ceased through wickedness, because they were corrupted by the priests.

But this seems too restricted to me. In my judgment, I lean more toward the view of those who take “wickedness” as a cause and origin, thereby teaching the Jews how justly they were punished for their sins. I have already explained how the vision was appropriately limited in time and controlled by God’s permission and secret counsel.

The cause is here expressed. For it might still be objected, “How does it happen that God submits Himself and His sacred name to the ridicule of the impious, and even deserts His own people? What does He intend by this?” The Prophet, therefore, assigns this cause: the Jews must feel that the profanation of the temple, the sad devastation of the whole city, and their horrible slaughter are the reward due to their sins.

A time, therefore, shall be assigned over the perpetual sacrifice in sin; that is, on account of sin. We see here how God, on the one hand, moderates the weight of the evils that pressed upon the Jews and shows them some kindness, so that sorrow, anxiety, and despair should not consume the wretched people.

On the other hand, He humbles them and admonishes them to confess their sins, and then He urges them to apply their minds to repentance by stating that their own sins are the cause of their afflictions. He thus shows how the source of all their evils was in the Jews themselves, while God’s anger was provoked by their vices. It is necessary to stop here until tomorrow.

Prayer: Grant, Almighty God, as You have enlightened us by the teaching of Your Gospel, and set before our eyes Your only begotten Son as a Sun of righteousness to rule us, and have deigned to separate us from the whole world, and to make us Your peculiar people, and to prepare for us a certain seat in heaven: Grant, I pray You, that we may be heirs of eternal life. Grant us also, to be mindful of Your sacred calling, and to make our pilgrimage on earth with spirits looking upwards and tending towards You. May we meditate upon the righteousness of Your kingdom, and be entirely devoted to You. Protect us by Your hand even to the end, and may we march boldly under Your standard, until at length we arrive at that blessed rest, where the fruit of our victory is laid up for us in Jesus Christ our Lord. — Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

Daniel here mentions one among the many crimes of Antiochus, his casting down truth to the ground. This clause should be joined with the former; for Antiochus could not deprive God of His lawful worship without abolishing sound doctrine. The angel seems here to express the reason for the destruction of the sanctuary, because the worship of God depended upon the teaching of the law, which is here understood by the word truth. This passage then states that no religion is pleasing to God unless founded on truth; for God, according to the uniform teaching of the Scriptures, does not desire to be worshipped according to man’s caprice, but rather tests the obedience of men by prescribing what He demands and approves, so that men should not pass over these bounds. We must here note the union that Daniel now establishes between the overthrow and abolition of the worship of God, and the casting down of truth to the ground, when it neither obtains its proper rank nor subdues all mortals to itself.

It may be read, he will cast down truth in the earth; thus making a distinction between heaven and earth. And if we prefer to read it so, the meaning will be: truth still remains stable, although it perishes in the earth, because it has its place in heaven.

Thus the meaning would be: after the abolition of the worship of God and the cessation of the sacrifices, piety could no longer exist among mortals. At length he adds, he shall succeed and prosper. The first word here implies execution.

God wished on the whole to admonish His Church concerning the prosperous success of Antiochus, so that the faithful should not be dispirited at beholding the impious tyranny so petulantly and wantonly polluting God’s temple and utterly destroying His religion, as if he had provoked God Himself to the contest.

For this conduct was equivalent to a direct declaration of war against God. His success would trouble all the godly, as if the tyrant were superior to God Himself. Therefore, this prediction would warn the faithful against the novelty or suddenness of anything that might occur.