Daniel Chapter 8

Bill Coble, M.Div. D.Min. CandidateMarch 10th, 2010

Structure and Content

• What is interesting to note here is that from here to the end of Daniel is written in Hebrew. This shows how the Babylonian Captivity of the previous chapters was lifted from the Medes and Persians taking over.

• The Structure of this book is pretty simple:– Daniel 8:1-14- The Vision of the Ram, He Goat and

Little Horn– Daniel 8:15-27- The Interpretation

Theology of Daniel Chapter 8

• Visions- Manifestations of the Holy Spirit• Eschatology– The End Times– The Antichrist– The Return of Jesus

• The Authority of God

Daniel 8:1-14

Daniel 8:1-2 (KJV) 1 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. 2 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 8:1-14

• Shushan (Susa) was a city about 200 miles southeast of Babylon and at that time wasn't too important to the Babylonians. Eventually it became the capital of the Persian Empire (Neh. 1:1; Es. 1:2). The River Ulai (Dan. 8:2, 16) was probably a canal that flowed through Susa.—Bible Exposition Commentary - Old Testament

Daniel 8:1-14

• Notice the passage and what it says:– Daniel says when he saw, I was at

• The Vision was given by the Spirit of the Lord!– Joel 2:28– Acts 2:17-18

• Daniel had a similar experience to that of John and Ezekiel. – Ezekiel 37:1-4– Revelation 17:3 and 21:10

Daniel 8:1-14

Daniel 8:3-4 (KJV) 3 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. 4 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.

Daniel 8:1-14

• "A ram which had two horns" will be identified later as Media-Persia (see v. 20).

• "The higher came up last." In other words, the horn representing Media came up first when Gobryas the Median general destroyed Babylon. Then later the Persian monarchs gained the ascendency over the Medes and took the great empire to its highest peak. This ram, then, with its two horns and one horn more prominent than the other, is the Medo-Persian Empire with the Persians being in the ascendancy.

Daniel 8:1-14

• Centuries before Cyrus appeared on the scene, the Prophet Isaiah called him by name and even called him God's "shepherd" (Isa. 41:2, 25; 44:28-45:4). It was Cyrus whom God chose to defeat the Babylonians and permit the Jews to return to their land. Just as Babylon was identified with the lion and eagle, Persia was identified with the ram.

Daniel 8:1-14

• Cyrus and his armies did indeed "push westward and northward and southward" and defeat their enemies, taking Libya, Egypt, all of Asia Minor and moving as far as India, creating the largest empire ever in the ancient east until the time of Alexander the Great. Once his conquests were consolidated, he attacked Babylon and took it in 539. Cyrus was kind to those he took captive and permitted the Jews to return to their land to rebuild the temple and restore the nation (Isa. 44:28; 2 Chron. 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-3; 6:2-5). He also allowed them to take with them the sacred vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple (Ezra 1:5-11).

Daniel 8:1-14

Daniel 8:5-8 (KJV) 5 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. 6 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. 7 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake 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. 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.

Daniel 8:1-14

• An he goat - The Grecian empire. • The whole earth - The whole Persian empire. • Touched not the ground - Went with

incredible swiftness. • A horn - This was Alexander the great. • —Wesley's Commentary

Daniel 8:1-14

• Walvoord in his commentary describes “the great horn to be broken” as to the death of Alexander the Great when he died in Babylon. Walvoord describes him as a man who could conquer the world but could not conquer himself.

Daniel 8:1-14

• four . . . toward . . . four winds -- Seleucus, in the east, obtained Syria, Babylonia, Media, &c.; Cassander, in the west, Macedon Thessaly, Greece; PTOLEMY, in the south, Egypt, Cyprus, &c.; Lysimachus, in the north, Thrace, Cappadocia, and the north parts of Asia Minor.

Daniel 8:1-14

• Daniel 8:9-12 (KJV) 9 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. 10 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. 11 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. 12

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.

Daniel 8:1-14

• The "little horn" of this chapter is not the same as described in the previous chapter. There the little horn arises out of the fourth kingdom; here the little horn comes out of the third kingdom. This little horn is historical, while the little horn of chapter 7 is to be revealed in the future. The little horn being presently considered came out of Syria from the Seleucid dynasty. He was Antiochus IV, or Epiphanes, the son of Antiochus the Great. He is sometimes called Epiphanes, "the madman" -- he was another demented ruler.

Daniel 8:1-14

• Antiochus came to the throne in 175 B.C. and he made an attack on Jerusalem. It was against him that the Maccabees were raised up in Judah. Anti-Semitic to the core, he tried to exterminate the Jews. He placed an image of Jupiter in the Holy Place in the temple in Jerusalem. This was the first "abomination of desolation." He also poured swine broth over all the holy vessels.

Daniel 8:1-14

Verse 10. great, even to . . . host of heaven -- explained in Da 8:24, "the mighty and holy people," that is, the Jews (Da 7:21) and their priests (compare Isa 24:21). The Levites' service is called "a warfare" (Nu 8:24, 25, Margin). Great civil and religious powers are symbolized by "stars" (Mt 24:29—Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Daniel 8:1-14

• Verses 11-12- When Antiochus stopped the daily sacrifices in the temple and substituted pagan worship, this was called "the abomination that makes desolate" ("the transgression of desolation," Dan. 8:13). This concept is found in 9:27; 11:31; and 12:11, and is used by Jesus in Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14. What Antiochus did was a foreshadowing of what the Antichrist will do when he puts his image in the temple and commands the world to worship him (2 Thes. 2; Rev. 13). Daniel 8:13 and 11:31 refer to Antiochus, and the other references to Antichrist, of whom Antiochus is a picture.

Daniel 8:1-14

Daniel 8:13-14 (KJV) 13 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? 14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

Daniel 8:1-14• Saint here in this text– Hebrew Strong's Number: 6918– Hebrew Word: ָק�דֹו�ׁש�– Transliteration: qādôsh– Usage Notes:

• English Words used in KJV:

holy 65 Holy One 39 saint 12 [Total Count: 116]

• or qadosh, kaw-doshe'; from <H6942> (qadash); sacred (ceremonial or moral); (as noun) God (by eminence), an angel, a saint, a sanctuary :- holy (One), saint. —Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary

Daniel 8:1-14• The two angels (8:13-14; "saints") spoke together about

this matter and from their conversation, Daniel learned the prophetic timetable. Between the desecration of the temple and its cleansing and restoration 2,300 days would pass. The Hebrew text reads "2,300 evenings and mornings," because burnt offerings were sacrificed at the temple each morning and each evening of every day. But does this mean 2,300 days or 1,150 days, 2,300 divided by two? And what date or event signals the beginning of the countdown? Some students opt for 2,300 days, that is, about six years, if you use 360 days for the year. Others prefer 1,150 days, which give us slightly over three years.

Daniel 8:1-14

• But what is the starting point for the countdown? The six-year advocates begin with 171 B.c, when Antiochus deposed the true high priest. Subtract six years and this takes you to 165 when Judas Maccabeus defeated the enemy and re-consecrated the temple. However, the three-year advocates begin with the establishment of the pagan altar in the temple on 25 Kislev, 168, and this takes us to 165. Either approach meets the requirements of the prophecy.

Daniel 8:15-27

Daniel 8:15-16 (KJV) 15 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 as the appearance of a man. 16 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 8:15-27

• Daniel was puzzled by the vision, and he desired to learn the meaning of it. There appeared to him the angel Gabriel. This is the first time Gabriel is introduced to us in the Bible.

• Angels– Not Female in Nature– Man’s Voice and Man’s Names

Daniel 8:15-27

• Daniel has a similar encounter as John in Revelation– Revelation 1:1 (KJV) The Revelation of Jesus

Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

Daniel 8:15-27

• Daniel 8:17-18 (KJV) 17 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. 18 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.

Daniel 8:15-17• Gabriel, in the explanation that follows, will make it clear that

Antiochus Epiphanes is but a picture in miniature of the coming Antichrist. "For at the time of the end shall be the vision." Notice that it is for "the time of the end," not the end of time. Nowhere in the Bible are we told about the end of time. "The time of the end" locates the complete fulfillment of this prophecy in the period which our Lord Jesus called the Great Tribulation. The man referred to is the Antichrist, also called the Man of Sin and the little horn of chapter 7. This prophecy goes beyond the immediate future and is projected into the distant future -- even in our day it is still future. Antiochus is merely an adumbration of the other "little horn" who will come at the end of the "times of the Gentiles," which is made abundantly clear by the use of these eschatological terms.

Daniel 8:15-27

• 19 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. 20 The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. 21 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. 22 Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. Dan 8:19-22 (KJV)

Daniel 8:15-27Daniel 8:23-27 (KJV) 23 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. 24 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. 25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft 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. 26 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. 27 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 8:15-27

• The angel awakened Daniel from his deep sleep and told him there was yet more prophetic truth for him to hear, and it related to the time of indignation.

• The Old Testament prophets called this period "the time of Jacob's trouble" and "the day of the Lord," the period when God's wrath would be poured out on an evil world (Jer. 30:7; Isa. 2:11-12; 13:6, 9; Joel 2:lff; Zeph. 1). In other words, what Daniel learns in Daniel 8:23-27 relates to the end times when Antichrist will oppose God and God's people.

Daniel 8:15-27• The "king of fierce countenance" is the Antichrist, not Antiochus

Epiphanes; but if you compare verses 23-27 with verses 9-14, you will see that the characteristics and career of Antiochus parallel those of Antichrist.– Both begin modestly but increase in power and influence – Both blaspheme God with mouths that speak great things – Both persecute the Jewish people – Both claim to be gods and put images in the temple – Both impose their own religion on the people – Both are opposed by a believing remnant that knows God – Both are energized by the devil and are great deceivers – Both appear to succeed marvelously and seem to be invincible – Both are finally defeated by the coming of a redeemer (Judas Maccabeus and

Jesus Christ)

Daniel 8:15-27

• Many other parallels exist which you will discover as you study the relevant Scriptures.

• The "Prince of princes" (v. 25) is Jesus Christ, who is also the "God of gods" (11:36) and the "King of Kings" (Rev. 19:16). Antichrist opposes Jesus Christ and seeks to replace Him, but ultimately Jesus Christ defeats Antichrist and consigns him, his false prophet, and Satan to the lake of fire (20:1-3).

Daniel 8:15-27

• Shut up the vision- Daniel• Revelation turn it loose!– Revelation 1:3 (KJV) Blessed is he that readeth, and

they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

– Revelation 22:10 (KJV) And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

Daniel 8:15-27

• Daniel fell sick after this vision because of the vision. I feel Daniel was disturbed on the Antichrist and the end. We should be disturbed as a church on the end as well to win the lost with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.– 1 John 4:3 (KJV) And every spirit that confesseth not that

Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Bibliography• Lahaye, Tim and Ice, Thomas: Charting the End Times, Harvest

House, 2001• Larkin, Clarence: Daniel, Clarence Larkin Estate, Glenside, 1929 • McGee, J. Vernon: THRU THE BIBLE COMMENTARY, Thomas

Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1981• Walvoord, John F.: Every Prophecy of the Bible, David C. Cook

Publishers, Colorado Springs, 1999• Wesley, John: John Wesley Commentary: Eleectronic Edition,

Wordsearch Corp, Austin, 2007• Wiersbe, Warren: THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

COMMENTARY/PROPHETS : Electronic Edition, Wordsearch Corp., Austin, 2002