Verses 1-16 are about Gog/Magog taking place right before the 7 years. Gog/Magog precedes the arrival of the Antichrist, as the Antichrist in Daniel 8 comes from the EU, staging his army in Greece, with the intention of staving off Gog/Magog. He arrives in Israel, as the prince who shall come, Daniel 9.
The so-called "antichrist" in Daniel 8 was, in fact, Antiochus IV, a descendant of one of Alexander the Great's captains. Everyone knew this history until some unknown (or some unknown group) took the books of the Maccabees out of the King James Version (conveniently for some, I might add). The Apocrypha, which included the Maccabees, was part of the King James Version for over 250 years until the 1880's. Between the Maccabees and the Works of Josephus, there is a rather detailed narrative of Antiochus IV's exploits.
This is how Daniel 8 was fulfilled, beginning in vs.8.
"Therefore 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." --Dan 8:8
The he goat was Alexander the Great, and the four notable ones were four of his friends (captains) who ultimately gained control of his kingdom. Josephus mentions this in Antiquities XI.8.7.
This is the reference to Alexander's death in the Maccabees:
"And it happened, after that Alexander son of Philip, the Macedonian, who came out of the land of Chettiim, had smitten Darius king of the Persians and Medes, that he reigned in his stead, the first over Greece, And made many wars, and won many strong holds, and slew the kings of the earth, And went through to the ends of the earth, and took spoils of many nations, insomuch that the earth was quiet before him; whereupon he was exalted and his heart was lifted up. And he gathered a mighty strong host and ruled over countries, and nations, and kings, who became tributaries unto him. And after these things he fell sick, and perceived that he should die. Wherefore he called his servants, such as were honourable, and had been brought up with him from his youth, and parted his kingdom among them, while he was yet alive." -- 1 Mac 1:1-6 LXX
There were initially five "kingdoms", but after "continual wars" (Antiquities XII.1.1), there were four: Lysimachus, Cassander, Seleucus, and Ptolemy.
"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." -- Dan 8:9
That little horn was one of the descendants of Seleucus, named Antiochus IV, also called Epiphanes (Antiquities XII.4.11). The Maccabees is more matter of fact:
"And there came out of them a wicked root Antiochus surnamed Epiphanes, son of Antiochus the king, who had been an hostage at Rome, and he reigned in the hundred and thirty and seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks." -- 1 Mac 1:10 LXX
This is the remainder of the context in Daniel:
"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 stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of the sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered. Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?" -- Dan 8:10-13
Daniel 8:24 identified the "stars" as the holy people:
"And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people." -- Dan 8:24
The "hosts" were the children of Israel, generally:
"And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt." -- Exo 12:41
Antiquities XII.5.4 begins:
"4. Now it came to pass, after two years, in the hundred forty and fifth year, on the twentyfifth day of that month which is by us called Chasleu, and by the Macedonians Apelleus, in the hundred and fifty-third olympiad, that the king came up to Jerusalem, and, pretending peace, he got possession of the city by treachery;" [Antiquities XII.5.4]
That was mentioned in Daniel 11:21, where he comes "peaceably", but obtains the kingdom "by flatteries". The first chapter of Josephus' Wars of the Jews states that Antiochus spoiled the temple and stopped the daily sacrifice, which fits Dan 8:11-12:
"The king [Antiochus] being thereto disposed beforehand, complied with them, and came upon the Jews with a great army, and took their city by force, and slew a great multitude of those that favored Ptolemy, and sent out his soldiers to plunder them without mercy. He also spoiled the temple, and put a stop to the constant practice of offering a daily sacrifice of expiation for three years and six months." [Wars of the Jews I.1.1]
In contrast, the daily sacrifice in 1st century Jerusalem ceased to be offered because they ran out of men to offer it, not because anyone forbade it:
"1. AND now Titus gave orders to his soldiers that were with him to dig up the foundations of the tower of Antonia, and make him a ready passage for his army to come up; while he himself had Josephus brought to him, (for he had been informed that on that very day, which was the seventeenth day of Panemus, [Tamuz,] the sacrifice called "the Daily Sacrifice" had failed, and had not been offered to God, for want of men to offer it," [Wars of the Jews VI.2.1]
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Everything fits Antiochus IV. This is how the Maccabees refers to Antiochus in his death:
"And the man, that thought a little afore he could reach to the stars of heaven (Dan 11:37), no man could endure to carry for his intolerable stink." -- 2 Mac 9:10 LXX
Even the 1290 and 1335 days of Daniel 12:11-12 have a simple explanation. This is from a famous commentary:
"As to this epoch, which probably is prophetically germinant and manifold; the profanation of the temple by Antiochus: (in the month Ijar of the year 145 B. C., till the restoration of the worship by Judas Maccabeus on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month (Chisleu) of 148 B. C., according to the Seleucid era, 1290 days; forty-five days more elapsed before Antiochus death in the month Shebat of 148 B. C., so ending the Jews calamities [Maurer]);" [Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, "A Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible." S. S. Scranton Co., 1873, p.649]
And another with different details:
"The event fixed from which the time of the trouble is to be dated, from the taking away of the daily sacrifice by Antiochus, and the setting up of the image of Jupiter upon the altar, which was the abomination of desolation. They must reckon their troubles to begin indeed when they were deprived of the benefit of public ordinances; that was to them the beginning of sorrows; that was what they laid most to heart. [2.] The continuance of their trouble; it shall last 1290 days, three years and seven months, or (as some reckon) three years, six months, and fifteen days; and then, it is probable, the daily sacrifice was restored, and the abomination of desolation taken away, in remembrance of which the feast of dedication was observed even to our Saviour's time, John x. 22." [Matthew Henry, "Henry Commentary Vol IV (Isa to Mal)." Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 1712, p.1595]
As explained by Matthew Henry, the Jews created a new celebration called the feast of dedication after Antiochus was defeated by Judas Maccabees. The feast of dedication, also known as Hanukkah, was mentioned in the Gospel of John:
"And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter." -- John 10:22
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Virtually all the older commentators tell the same story. This is Keil & Delitzsch:
"According to 1 Mace, i. 10 ff., the violent assaults of Antiochus against the temple and the Jews who remained faithful to the law began in the 143d year of the era of the Seleucidae, but the abomination that maketh desolate, i.e. the idol-altar, was first erected on Jehovah's altar of burnt-offering, according to 1 Mace. i. 54, in the 145th year of the Seleucidae, and the purification of the temple from this abomination, and its re-consecration, took place on the 25th day of Kisleu (9th month) of the year of the Seleucidae 148. According to this, from the beginning of the desecration of the temple by the plundering of its vessels and its golden ornaments (1 Mace. i. 20 ff.) to its restoration to its right condition, more than five years passed." [Keil & Delitzsch, "Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: the Book of Daniel." T & T Clark, 1872, p.303]
And some modern commentaries present the same history:
"Verse 8 recounts how the he-goat magnified himself, but at the very height of his power his horn was broken. This reference is to the sudden death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. Instead of "the great horn" there arose four horns in its stead. Historically, after a period of struggle, the empire of Alexander was divided by four generals. Cassander held power in Greece, Lysimachus ruled over Anatolia, Syro-Mesopotamia was under the rule of Seleucus, and Egypt was controlled by Ptolemy. These are the "four conspicuous horns" which shared the heritage of Alexander's expansive domain and power." [Carl G Howie, "The Laymans Bible Commentary Vol 13: Ezekiel & Daniel." John Knox Press, 1961, Dan. 8:8, p.125]
"The "little horn" magnified itself against "the Prince of the host," stopped burnt offerings, and overthrew the sanctuary. Antiochus did overthrow the high priest and replace normal worship with a Grecianized abomination. He took control of the Temple, which he apparently looted in 168 B.C., and for more than three years no proper offering was made there. The Temple was occupied and controlled by the heathen ruler." [Carl G Howie, "The Laymans Bible Commentary Vol 13: Ezekiel & Daniel." John Knox Press, 1961, Dan. 8:11, p.125]
"To strike and to destroy without warning is typical of this kind of tyrant (vs. 25). Yet it is probable that this reference had a specific incident in view. In 168 B.C. the Syrian general, Appolonius, came in peace to the turbulent city of Jerusalem; but when all was quiet, he fell upon the helpless people and carried out a bloody massacre for the king (see I Mace. 1:29-32). The Temple was sacked and afterward Zeus instead of the Lord was worshiped there. This treachery was an unforgettable moment in the tragedy of Jewish history." [Carl G Howie, "The Laymans Bible Commentary Vol 13: Ezekiel & Daniel." John Knox Press, 1961, Dan. 8:25-27, p.127]
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Regarding Daniel 9, the prince who was to come was Titus, whose armies (people) destroyed Jerusalem in AD70.
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