Daniel 8:23-27

God is in control and He has the final say! 

He knows that man, given free will and without Him, would thirst for power and control. He also knows that fleshly power corrupts and total power corrupts everything in its wake.

When the sinful actions of man have reached the point where God cannot permit them to go any further without bringing punishment the end as we know it will come. 

A king refers to Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the king of Syria who made his capital at Antioch. Antiochus would be energized by Satan, as will the Antichrist. He died without human intervention. According to the apocryphal Book of 2 Maccabees, Antiochus died of a painful disease.

Daniel 8:23-27

²³ “And in the latter time of their kingdom,

When the transgressors have reached their fullness,

A king shall arise,

Having fierce features,

Who understands sinister schemes.

²⁴ His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power;

He shall destroy fearfully,

And shall prosper and thrive;

He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.

²⁵ “Through his cunning

He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule;

And he shall exalt himself in his heart.

He shall destroy many in their prosperity.

He shall even rise against the Prince of princes;

But he shall be broken without human means.

²⁶ “And the vision of the evenings and mornings

Which was told is true;

Therefore seal up the vision,

For it refers to many days in the future.”

²⁰ In a moment they die, in the middle of the night; The people are shaken and pass away; The mighty are taken away without a hand. 

Job 34:20

⁶ The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people Is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, Which was overthrown in a moment, With no hand to help her! 

Lamentations 4:6

¹⁰ And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. 

Revelation 22:10