Daniel 8

[ Intro ]

Last time we went over Daniel 7 and discussed the vision Daniel had of different beasts that came out of a great sea. The beasts represented kingdoms that would rise and fall.

We’ll be going through Daniel 8 today, which is about another vision Daniel had. There will be a lot of similarities as it is also focused on the rise and fall of different powers.

[ Prayer ]

[ Body ]

Daniel 8:1–4 NLT

1 During the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, I, Daniel, saw another vision, following the one that had already appeared to me. 2 In this vision I was at the fortress of Susa, in the province of Elam, standing beside the Ulai River. 3 As I looked up, I saw a ram with two long horns standing beside the river. One of the horns was longer than the other, even though it had grown later than the other one. 4 The ram butted everything out of his way to the west, to the north, and to the south, and no one could stand against him or help his victims. He did as he pleased and became very great.

Alright so we can see here we are still in the time frame of Babylon being the ruling power as King Belshazzar is still in command. But soon the Medo-Persians will take over. In terms of the vision, we see a different start compared to the other visions and dreams we’ve seen in Daniel in regards to ruling powers. The other’s started with Babylon being represented, here in this vision we see a ram with 2 horns, and it represents Medo-Persia. This is confirmed later on this chapter as the angel Gabriel explains it to Daniel. For Daniel, this is prophecy because as mentioned a second ago, Babylon is still in power at the time of this vision.

Let’s examine the details. We see 2 horns, and horns are a representation of power, which makes sense here since Medo-Persia is a combination of 2 powers. And one horn is larger than the other. This would be a reference to Persia being greater than Media. And if you remember from what we discussed last time with the beasts, the large Bear was representing the Medo-Persian empire and it was reared up on one side, signifying one side being larger. So we see the same detail given here.

The ram butted everything out of the way, no one could stop it, signifying their dominance in the world.

Alright let’s move on to the next section.

Daniel 8:5–8 NLT

5 While I was watching, suddenly a male goat appeared from the west, crossing the land so swiftly that he didn’t even touch the ground. This goat, which had one very large horn between its eyes, 6 headed toward the two-horned ram that I had seen standing beside the river, rushing at him in a rage. 7 The goat charged furiously at the ram and struck him, breaking off both his horns. Now the ram was helpless, and the goat knocked him down and trampled him. No one could rescue the ram from the goat’s power. 8 The goat became very powerful. But at the height of his power, his large horn was broken off. In the large horn’s place grew four prominent horns pointing in the four directions of the earth.

Next we see a male goat. Moving so fast that he didn’t even touch the ground. That’s quite a picture. Very fast moving goat. The male goat represents the Greeks lead by Alexander the great, who is the large horn. When Alexander the Great died his power was transferred to four of his generals and the nation was split into 4 kingdoms. This vision here makes it so clear about 1 nation being divided into four regions under different rulers. We see one large horn, and at the height of it’s power, it breaks. That’s exactly what happened to Alexander the Great. He conquered the world and was even demanding that people should worship him like a god. But at the peak of his dominance, he died at an early age of 32. And then we see four horns come up, representing the 4 kingdoms that the 4 generals took over.

One other note here. While Alexander the Great was in power and conquered the world, he wanted everyone to take on the Greek language and culture. So, much of the world began to use a common language, known as Koine Greek. It’s really convenient speak with people when you know the same language. God used this. This foundation of a common language helped to spread the gospel later on when Christ came. It’s interesting how God uses situations caused by not so good people, for good.

Now in the previous vision, there wasn’t further detail about what else happens while the Greeks are in power. But in this next section of scripture, we do get more details. We are given a prophecy about one of the four horns. Let’s read on.

Alright let’s move on:

Daniel 8:9–12 (NLT)

9 Then from one of the prominent horns came a small horn whose power grew very great. It extended toward the south and the east and toward the glorious land of Israel. 10 Its power reached to the heavens, where it attacked the heavenly army, throwing some of the heavenly beings and some of the stars to the ground and trampling them. 11 It even challenged the Commander of heaven’s army by canceling the daily sacrifices offered to him and by destroying his Temple. 12 The army of heaven was restrained from responding to this rebellion. So the daily sacrifice was halted, and truth was overthrown. The horn succeeded in everything it did.

So of the four horns, which were the four generals, one of them grew in power. And from that region that was under his control, Israel was a part of it. This man is known as Antiochus IV or Antiochus Epiphanes. He was a very cruel and wicked man. Epiphanes means the glorious one, and glorious is referring to a divine being. Epiphanes was the title he gave to himself. So you can imagine the ego this guy had. The Jews had a name for him as well, they called him Epimanes. Sounds only slightly different from Epiphanes, but it means something very different. It’s meaning is “the mad one”. There was a reason they gave him this name. Antiochus wanted to destroy the Jews, their culture, and everything they believed in. In verse 10, where it reads that some of the stars were thrown to the ground and trampled. That speaks of the great persecution that the Jews would face by him.

Antiochus went into temple of God in Jerusalem and setup an alter to the Greek god Zeus. And he sacrificed a pig on the alter in the temple. And remember, a pig would defile you. So he was completely defiling the temple of God while also setting up a false god to worship in the temple. And the normal animal sacrifices were canceled because of this. And that is exactly what was laid out in prophecy in Verse 11:

Daniel 8:11 NLT

11 It even challenged the Commander of heaven’s army by canceling the daily sacrifices offered to him and by destroying his Temple.

There was also a time when Antiochus thought that there was a revolt going on in Judea, so he had his army go and slaughter many of the Jews, woman and children included. There were 40,000 killed and another 40,000 put into slavery, within a three day span.

Such a wicked man, setting up an alter for a false god in the temple. Defiling the temple with the sacrifice of a pig. And constantly persecuting the Jews in a very cruel and violent manner. Yet, for a time, he succeeded in everything he did. Does this man from the past, remind you of someone that is to come? This prophecy here is an interesting one. This is known in scripture as a double reference. This prophecy is not only what was to come when Antiochus was put in power, but it is also the foreshadowing of the anti-christ. For Daniel all of this was yet to come. But for us we can look back at history and read about all the terrible things Antiochus did, and use that as a reference for an example of what is to come with the anti-christ.

Let’s read verses 13-14

Daniel 8:13–14 NLT

13 Then I heard two holy ones talking to each other. One of them asked, “How long will the events of this vision last? How long will the rebellion that causes desecration stop the daily sacrifices? How long will the Temple and heaven’s army be trampled on?” 14 The other replied, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the Temple will be made right again.”

When the temple was restored from the desecration of Antiochus, there was a celebration put in place. This is what we know today as Hanukkah.

Now some people debate whether 2,300 evenings and mornings is referring to 2,300 days or if it’s counting evening as 1 and morning as 1, meaning we’d have to divide 2,300 in half. Leaving us with 1,150 days.

What’s really incredible is from the time that Antiochus began persecuting the Jews to the time the temple was restored, was a 2,300 day period. But also, from the time that the temple was desecrated by Antiochus to the time that the temple was restored, was 1,150 days. So however you look at it, it works.

This chapter is one of those passages that drive people nuts that don’t believe the Bible is the word of God. Because it is a prophecy that is so detailed and doesn’t have a flaw. Scholars who study the Bible and don’t believe that it’s the word of God look at this passage and just say it could not have been written by Daniel because it had to of been written after these events occurred. That’s how precise this is. Everything perfectly lines up, from the events that occured to even the time between them. This is another one of those prophecies where there is no explanation as to how these ancient documents could be so accurate outside of knowing that these were in fact God-breathed and are the Holy Scriptures.

We’ve gone through the whole vision at this point. We’re going to read the rest of the chapter, which is the angel Gabriel explaining the vision to Daniel.

Daniel 8:15–27 NLT

15 As I, Daniel, was trying to understand the meaning of this vision, someone who looked like a man stood in front of me. 16 And I heard a human voice calling out from the Ulai River, “Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of his vision.” 17 As Gabriel approached the place where I was standing, I became so terrified that I fell with my face to the ground. “Son of man,” he said, “you must understand that the events you have seen in your vision relate to the time of the end.” 18 While he was speaking, I fainted and lay there with my face to the ground. But Gabriel roused me with a touch and helped me to my feet. 19 Then he said, “I am here to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath. What you have seen pertains to the very end of time. 20 The two-horned ram represents the kings of Media and Persia. 21 The shaggy male goat represents the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes represents the first king of the Greek Empire. 22 The four prominent horns that replaced the one large horn show that the Greek Empire will break into four kingdoms, but none as great as the first. 23 “At the end of their rule, when their sin is at its height, a fierce king, a master of intrigue, will rise to power. 24 He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause a shocking amount of destruction and succeed in everything he does. He will destroy powerful leaders and devastate the holy people. 25 He will be a master of deception and will become arrogant; he will destroy many without warning. He will even take on the Prince of princes in battle, but he will be broken, though not by human power. 26 “This vision about the 2,300 evenings and mornings is true. But none of these things will happen for a long time, so keep this vision a secret.” 27 Then I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for several days. Afterward I got up and performed my duties for the king, but I was greatly troubled by the vision and could not understand it.

Thinking about the end times, can be a mixture of feelings, on one hand it’s very exciting to think about the return of Christ and on the other hand, there’s going to be a great tribulation. And many are going to suffer. That’s likely what made Daniel feel so sick. He knew the great persecution that was going to happen. And as mentioned earlier, we get a small picture of what it will look like through how Antiochus persecuted the Jews.

The anti-christ will come by the power of satan, he will be very successful in what he does, he will deliver persecution like no one has seen before to all believers, but this will only be allowed by God for a season. God will end Satan and deliver believers.

The persecution believers will face is a big topic when discussing end times, but even besides end times, there will be many times in our daily lives where we have to endure some form of persecution. And just because God allows it, don’t distance yourself from Him, you must rely on Him. You will feel trampled at times and thoughts may come into your mind that God has forgotten about you or does not care about you. That is deception from Satan. I can’t imagine what the Jews must have been thinking when Antiochus was in power. The devastation they experienced was huge, and they dealt with it for years.

When facing challenges, I think Christians often think of 1 Corinthians 10:13. Which talks about God only giving us what we can handle.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)

13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

Keep in mind that scripture does not say we will endure by your own power. It says “He will show you a way out so that you can endure.” God is your source of strength to endure.