Daniel 8
In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first. (Daniel 8:1 KJV)
The events of chapter eight follow two years after chapter seven (the first year of Belshazzar opens chapter seven). These visions parallel chapter 7, but with differences if studied carefully as chapters two, seven and eight all contain visions of kingdoms with similar information, but described differently. The following chart will assist in keeping things straight.
| Kingdom | Chapter 2 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babylon | Gold | Lion | |
| Medo-Persia | Silver | Bear | Ram |
| Greece | Bronze | Leopard | Goat |
| Rome | Iron | Beast | |
| Anti-Christ |
And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai. (Daniel 8:2 KJV)
This vision details kingdoms 2 & 3 — the Persians and Greeks only.
Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns; and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. (Daniel 8:3 KJV)
The Ram represents the Medo-Persian empire (the bear from chapter 7, and the chest of silver from Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in chapter two). The Persians dominated over the Medes as shown by this vision with one horn higher, and the bear had one side higher in the previous chapter. But it’s the same kingdom in both visions.
I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great. And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. (Daniel 8:4-5 KJV)
The Persians (the bronze of chapter two, and the leopard of chapter seven) conquered the world, but fell to Alexander the great of Greece, who became known for noted for his rapid conquest (conquering the world in just a few years).
And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and smote the ram, and broke his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. (Daniel 8:6-7 KJV)
Alexander conquered the known world with incredible speed spreading the Greek language everywhere. Thus when Jesus arrives the world knows one language; the precision of Greek makes it perfect for New Testament writers. The conquests of Alexander worked for God’s larger plan — Paul reminds us in Romans 8:28 all things work together for good, even if we don’t understand it.
Therefore the he goat grew 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. (Daniel 8:8 KJV)
Alexander the Great dies after a drunken night, and the kingdom divides among his four generals. But notice the phrase when he became strong, he fell; pride and arrogance leads to his end. It’s interesting you don’t stumble in your weak areas, but the strong. For example, Peter’s greatest characteristic was boldness — always action. Yet how did he have the problem in denying the Lord? His boldness failed; his strongest characteristic.
This usually occurs because if you’re weak in one area you’re leaning on the Lord for help. But in an area you think you’ve mastered, you attempt to handle it on your own. That’s prideful, and what results in the fall. Be careful in the areas you think you don’t have a problem in, they can spring up and trip you.
As a side note, Alexander died young due to his lifestyle. For people who think they’re not hurting anyone by their actions (drug use, etc), Paul says in Romans no one lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. Your actions (good or bad) impact others; Simon and Garfunkel were wrong — no one is an island.
I’ve built walls, A fortress deep and mighty, That none may penetrate. I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain. It’s laughter and it’s loving I disdain. I am a rock, I am an island.[1]
All three of these empires (Babylonian, the Persian, and the Greek) go down in drunken parties. For those who desire to legalize drugs, have they not learned the lessons from the past? It appears not; the only thing man learns from history is man learns nothing from history — it repeats itself as the same mistakes are made over and over.
The great empire of Alexander the Great went down because he was an alcoholic. He conquered the world, but he could not conquer Alexander the Great. There is a grave danger in Washington DC today, which is that many decisions are made during cocktail parties. Why do we think we are something special? Why are there people who think that the United States happens to be God’s little pet nation? [2]
But is it acceptable for a Christian to drink? Can you have a glass of wine with your spaghetti, or a beer with your pizza during Monday night football? We’re talking about light drinking obviously; drunkeness is a problem and is referenced throughout the Bible — see Proverbs 20:1, Isaiah 5:11, Isaiah 28:7-8, 1 Peter 4:3 and 1 Corinthians 5:11.
It’s not the alcohol causing problems, but drunkenness and allowing something to become a master over you. Alcohol is not evil by itself; Jesus Himself created wine (and Paul told Timothy to have a little wine for his stomach), so Christians are not required to be tea-totalers, but drunkenness leads to many bad things as is clearly excluded.
As always, balance. It’s acceptable to have wine, but excess is bad — if you can’t control your consumption, don’t do it at all.
And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which grew exceedingly great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. (Daniel 8:9 KJV)
He sounds like the guy from the last chapter, but read the text carefully — this guy comes from the third kingdom (Greece), while the guy in chapter seven comes from the fourth kingdom (Rome) — they’re not the same, although they are similar. This little horn comes before the anti-Christ and foreshadows him.
And it grew 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 his sanctuary was cast down. (Daniel 8:10-11 KJV)
Antiochus Epiphanes ruled from 175 to 164 BC. His desire was to eliminate the Jews (not a new idea, and one which persists today), or at the very least, harass them a lot. 1 Maccabees records the historical account — not inspired, but useful for historical reasons.
Moreover king Antiochus wrote to his whole kingdom, that all should be one people, and every one should leave his laws, so all the heathen agreed according to the commandment of the king. Yea, many also of the Israelites consented to his religion, and sacrificed unto idols, and profaned the sabbath. For the king had sent letters by messengers unto Jerusalem and the cities of Judea that they should follow the strange laws of the land, and forbid burnt offerings, and sacrifice, and drink offerings, in the temple; and that they should profane the Sabbaths and festival days, and pollute the sanctuary and holy people, set up altars, and groves, and chapels of idols, and sacrifice swine’s flesh, and unclean beasts. That they should also leave their children uncircumcised, and make their souls abominable with all manner of uncleanness and profanation, to the end they might forget the law, and change all the ordinances. And whosoever would not do according to the commandment of the king, he said, he should die. (1 Maccabees 1:44-50)
Antiochus finally performed the ultimate atrocity to the Jews by sacrificing a pig on the altar; not only did a gentile enter the temple, but he sacrificed an unclean animal and desecrates the temple. This event yields the technical term “abomination of desolation” you’ll see referred to elsewhere in the Bible. It’s a specific event of desecration of the temple.
The Jews finally have enough of it and revolt, cleansing and rededicating the temple (celebrated at Hanukkah).
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 continued, and prospered. (Daniel 8:12 KJV)
Truth is always the first casualty. Remember the armor of God — the foundation comes from the belt of truth. And what characterizes today? Lack of truth. As good becomes bad and definitions shift to make whatever point someone requires, we’ve lost the absolute reference needed to maintain a steady course. What’s shocking isn’t that it’s happening, but rather it’s the end result of a specific plan to eliminate God from society.
Why does evil prosper? That’s the question many people want to ask. Why does God allow evil? Daniel answers the question in the next verse.
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 trampled under foot? (Daniel 8:13 KJV)
Why do bad things happen? How can a loving God allow such evil in the world and innocent people to suffer? The question is always how long will God allow evil? Until the appointed time. It’s God’s plan, and since He knows more than we do, we’ve got to understand some things we just don’t know. But God’s plan is perfect.
And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. (Daniel 8:14 KJV)
Several different theories exist on what exactly these days represent, none of which are completely satisfactory, so we’ll move on.
And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. (Daniel 8:15-16 KJV)
Who is this? Who orders angels?
So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face; but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man; for at the time of the end shall be the vision. Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground; but he touched me, and set me upright. And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation; for at the time appointed the end shall be. (Daniel 8:17-19 KJV)
The appointed time has already been determined — the Bible says a lot about the time we rapidly approach. If you’re left behind after the rapture don’t believe all the lies which will follow; get your Bible and you’ll know what events will transpire, as it’s all been foretold in prophecy.
We don’t have to worry about why this or that happens — God has a plan and a reason. Sometimes he lets us in on the secret, sometimes not. All you know for sure is whatever God has planned goes beyond what you could dream for or hope, but remember God thinks eternally while we think earthly, and sometimes eternal goals don’t make earthly sense.
All of us have an appointed time allotted to us; you must make the most of what you’ve been given as when your number is up (as Daniel would say), that’s it. Consider the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 as each servant received something before the master departs on a trip. Upon his return, he demands an account of how each handled what he’d been given.
The servant wasting his talent receives the only scolding from the master. It’s important to note each grading was independent of the others — the master didn’t demand each produce the same results. No, the measure was what did you do with what you’ve been given.
We’ve all been given gifts and time to use them. What are you doing with it?
The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Greece, and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. (Daniel 8:20-21 KJV)
In case any doubt remained about who these animals represent, the Bible interprets itself. Don’t fall for pseudo-scholarship which just covers a failure to read the text. For example, pseudo-scholarship claims Moses didn’t write the first five books, Daniel didn’t really write Daniel, two Isaiahs wrote the book bearing his name, and so on.
But Jesus quotes from the the first books, and attributes them to Moses. In John 12:38-40 both halves of Isaiah are quoted, and both are attributed to Isaiah (so much for Deutero-Isaiah “scholarship”). And we’ve already dealt with the authorship of Daniel and that pseudo-scholarship.
Don’t be deceived by false claims of “scholarship”, no matter how many PhD’s appear behind the name. You can spend weeks destroying their scholarship, or just read the Bible and see what it says. Many times the so-called scholars contradict what God said, so will you believe God or man?
Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. (Daniel 8:22 KJV)
Alexander split the kingdom to four generals, but none controlled all. After that one guy will come, and now we get some details of him.
And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. (Daniel 8:23-24 KJV)
He’s smart and filled with satanic power.
And through his policy also he shall cause deceit to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many; he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. (Daniel 8:25 KJV)
Pride and arrogance — Antiochus’ life ended by God. Pride is perhaps the greatest sin, as it caused satan’s downfall (and the fall of many others), and we are particularly suseptible to it.
But by peace he will destroy many. World peace is an admirable goal, but it’s just not going to happen. In this case it produces a counter-result.
About that time came Antiochus with dishonor out of the country of Persia. Then swelling with anger he thought to avenge upon the Jews the disgrace done unto him by those that made him flee. Therefore commanded he his chariotman to drive without ceasing, and to dispatch the journey, the judgment of God now following him. For he had spoken proudly in this sort, that he would come to Jerusalem and make it a common burying place of the Jews. But the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, smote him with an incurable and invisible plague; or as soon as he had spoken these words, a pain of the bowels that was remediless came upon him, and sore torments of the inner parts; Here therefore, being plagued, he began to leave off his great pride, and to come to the knowledge of himself by the scourge of God, his pain increasing every moment. And when he himself could not abide his own smell, he said these words, It is meet to be subject unto God, and that a man that is mortal should not proudly think of himself if he were God. (2 Maccabees 9:1,4-5,11-12)
Antiochus’ ultimate defeat, as is the ultimate fate of any who would oppose God. They might think they’re getting by with it for a while, but ultimately the result is destruction (Antiochus is a type of Anti-Christ). See Revelation 20 as satan is cast into lake of fire with the beast and false prophet (don’t be afraid to peek at the end — the answers are in the back of the book).
We may not like the timing, but God’s plan is perfect, and the timing is right. Don’t confuse worldly goals with eternal goals, as many times they are opposite.
And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true; wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days. (Daniel 8:26 KJV)
Many believe in a dual fulfillment for this passage — Antiochus fulfilled it as a type of the coming Anti-Christ, and much of the vision applies to both.
And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it. (Daniel 8:27 KJV)
The physical manifestation of spiritual into the earthly realm. Don’t make the mistake this four-dimensional world we inhabit is the “real” world; Peter tells us this world will be destroyed by fire, while the spiritual world remains. In a few places in the Bible we’re given a glimpse into the spiritual dimension, and it’s important to realize the spiritual world isn’t “out there” somewhere, it’s all around us in dimensions we can’t directly experience (see 2 Kings 6 with Elisha and his servant).
[1] Simon and Garfunkel “I am a Rock”
[2] Mcgee, J Vernon “Thru the Bible”, page 579