Daniel 8, Part 2

Dream Interpretation

Daniel 8:15–27 ESV

15 When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. 16 And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, and it called, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” 17 So he came near where I stood. And when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end.” 18 And when he had spoken to me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But he touched me and made me stand up. 19 He said, “Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of the indignation, for it refers to the appointed time of the end. 20 As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia. 21 And the goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king. 22 As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his nation, but not with his power. 23 And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise. 24 His power shall be great—but not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction and shall succeed in what he does, and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. 25 By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall become great. Without warning he shall destroy many. And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but by no human hand. 26 The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true, but seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now.” 27 And I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king’s business, but I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it.

Last week we looked at the vision of the Ram and the Goat, and the conflict between the two. The male goat’s horn is broken and four more take its place. Now, the angel Gabriel interprets this ram as the Persian empire and the goat Greece, and the four divisions of Alexander the Great’s empire.

8:15–17a Gabriel Appears

As the vision continues, Daniel is perplexed. He seems fully awake, yet in the vision he is still near the Ulai canal! The focus of the vision is on Jerusalem, the faithful people, and the temple. There appears a manlike figure, “a vigorous young man.” Then by the Ulai, or between the leaves of the Ulai gate, Daniel hears a human voice. It is from a celestial being speaking human language, coming from one who had “the appearance of a man”. In other places, we see similar word choices used to describe Jesus. The voice says, Gabriel, help this man understand the vision.

Canonically, this is the first place in Scripture that an angel is mentioned by name. In the OT, only in Daniel are angels named. The name Gabriel means “mighty man of God” or “God is my strength.” The archangel Gabriel appears in the vision as a man, setting the stage for the next chapter calling him the man Gabriel (9:21). In the book of Daniel, Gabriel is primarily a revealer. In Luke, p 192 Gabriel announces the birth of John (1:11–20) and the birth of Jesus to Mary (1:26–38). He stands in the presence of God (1:19). Thus he can say to Zechariah, “Do not be afraid; … your prayer has been heard” (Luke 1:13). To Mary he says, “Do not be afraid; … you have found favor with God” (1:30). Gabriel is both a messenger and a revealer of God’s purpose.

Gabriel comes near to Daniel to help him understand the vision. In Hebrew thinking, when a messenger of God is present, God is also fully present (Gen. 16:7–13; Exod. 23:20). Confronted by the divine presence, Daniel is filled with fear and falls prostrate, face to the ground. This parallels the experience of Ezekiel (1:28). To fall on one’s face is an extreme form of reverence.

8:17b–22 The Time of the End

Gabriel speaks, Understand, O mortal, that the vision is for the time of the end. This is the third time the root for understand (bin) in the sense of “discern” appears: Daniel seeks to understand (8:15); a voice instructs Gabriel to help Daniel understand (8:16); and Gabriel begins the interpretation of the vision by calling Daniel to understand that the vision is for the time of the end.

The question arises, End of what? Is it the end of time? Likely not. Gabriel’s terminology must be seen in the context. The holy one asks, For how long is … the sanctuary and host to be trampled? (8:13). Gabriel refers to the end of the period of wrath (8:19) and concludes that it refers to many days from now (8:26). Perhaps the period of wrath refers to God’s judgments upon his people because of their sins. Sometimes God uses unbelieving kings as his servants to execute that wrath (8:19; 9:16; 11:36; cf. 1 Macc. 1:64; 3:8; 2 Macc. 5:17, 20; 6:12–16; 7:38; 8:5; Jer. 25:9; 27:6; Rom. 1:18; 13:4). The time of the end is the end of the little horn’s rebellion against God, when God intervenes in judgment against Antiochus IV Epiphanes. For Daniel, the time is far ahead. A reader in the second century wants it now!

After Gabriel’s introductory remark, Daniel falls into a trance. This is a comalike state that accompanies the heaven-sent visionary experience. In the final vision, Daniel will experience this again (10:9–10; cf. Gen. 15:12, Abraham’s deep sleep; 2 Cor. 12:2–4). Both times Gabriel touches Daniel and sets him upon his feet (cf. Ezek. 1:28–2:2). The touch is to awaken and to strengthen him.

Gabriel continues the interpretation. Much of the information has p 193 already been examined in connection with verses 3–8. Additional bits of information are supplied. Concerning the division of Alexander’s empire, Gabriel observes that the succeeding kingdoms lack the strength and sovereignty of Alexander’s (8:22). Gabriel sees the succession of kings between Alexander and Antiochus Epiphanes as heaping evil upon evil.

8:23–26 A Dreadful King

When the transgressions have reached their full measure, then a king will arise whose evil will outdo all that has gone before. Similarly, Paul writes that those who hindered him from proclaiming the gospel to Gentiles “have constantly been filling up the measure of their sins; but God’s wrath has overtaken them at last” (1 Thess. 2:16).

Gabriel lists the characteristics of this dreadful king:

1. A king of bold countenance (8:23). It is reported that Antiochus IV Epiphanes thought he had the facial features of Zeus, and that in the shrine for Zeus erected in the Jerusalem temple, the image had the body of Zeus with the face of Antiochus. This was matched by his adoption of the name Epiphanes (“god manifest”).

2. One who understands riddles (8:23, RSV). Skilled in intrigue (NRSV) as a rendering of the Hebrew idot (“riddles”) is possible, but it puts a negative cast to the description. For the most part, idah is used in the OT simply as “riddle” or “enigmatic question” (as in 1 Kings 10:1). Solomon was able to solve difficult situations (1 Kings 3:16–28). Further characterization shows that this despot is malicious and deceptive (8:25). But the translation one who understands riddles is here preferred with the sense that this person is clever and even shrewd in untangling hard cases (cf. Dan. 5:12). [Riddles, p. 294.] Perhaps this king tried to enhance his superior ability by contact with “other powers,” such as the occult.

3. One strong in power, causing fearful destruction, who shall succeed in what he does and destroy the powerful and the people of the holy ones (8:24). This is a picture of outward prosperity but at horrible cost. He destroys both property and people that stand in his way. The picture is one of ruthless tyranny not unlike that of Nebuchadnezzar’s (cf. 5:19).

4. By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper (8:25). Antiochus was notorious for his cunning, which involved flattery, shameless insolence, plots, misrepresentation, double-crossing, surprise attacks, and ruthlessness (11:21, 23, 24, 27, 32). The books of Maccabees p 194 record his treachery in saying one thing and doing another (1 Macc. 1:29–32), and his manipulation of the high priests (2 Macc. 4:7–29).

5. In his own mind he shall be great (8:25). Like the ram that became strong and magnified himself (8:4, NRSV/RSV), and like the male goat (8:8), the little horn magnifies itself (8:11). Gabriel repeats this charge of arrogance-without-accountability. Antiochus especially targeted the Jews for violence. Those to be destroyed are many, a term usually applied to the Jews (see notes on 12:2).

6. He shall even rise up against the Prince of princes (8:25). This refers to the supreme leader, God himself. Antiochus in arrogance, rebellion, and violence, deifies himself and defies the God of Israel. He expresses his contempt by desecrating the temple, by destroying the books of the Torah, by banning worship of the God of Israel, by polluting the Jerusalem temple with the worship of Zeus, and by oppressing and slaying the faithful. This rebellion climaxes his grasp for power. But his power will be no match for the greater power. Gabriel announces the end of the rebellion. The point has come for God to intervene. The major space in the interpretation has been taken with a description of the little horn that becomes great. The interpreter does not lay stress on the kings of the Medes and the Persians, but on what follows after the territorial thrust of the male goat, the Grecian empire. From the succession of rulers, the spotlight is put on one ruler specifically. [Antiochus IV Epiphanes, p. 279.]

Two things should be observed. First, in his own time and in his own way, God will act. How God will break Antiochus is not said. As the horn of Alexander the Great is broken (8:8), so Antiochus will be broken. Though not made explicit, the description of God’s action recalls the stone in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (2:34, 45). The stone cut from a mountain not by human hands breaks in pieces the mighty kingdoms.

Second, not by human hands underscores again the nonresistant theme of Daniel. Gabriel’s message suggests that the violent, militaristic resistance of the Maccabeans to Antiochus is not an appropriate expression of faithfulness. [Maccabees, p. 290.] God will act on behalf of his people.

Gabriel concludes his interpretation by affirming its reliability. The vision of the evenings and mornings is true (8:14). The time of the indignation will be short-lived (8:19). Here there is no interpretation, only confirmation. The angel’s words are not primarily concerned with calendaring. The vision has stressed the fearsome actions of the crafty despot and that, quite apart from human hands, his p 195 power will be snapped. Daniel is to seal up the vision. This means that Daniel is to keep the vision a secret because it refers to the distant future. It has no relevance to the time of Daniel or his contemporaries. There is no immediate application.

Postscript: Daniel’s Response 8:27

The vision of the little horn coming to power and challenging the worship of God so overwhelms Daniel that he is in bed and sick for several days. Later Daniel returns to work for Belshazzar’s regime, thus showing that he has not left Babylon. He is in Susa only in his vision. Even with Gabriel’s explanation, Daniel still does not understand the vision (8:15–17, 27). It is to become clear centuries later. The vision will be unsealed in the days when Antiochus comes to power, when he desecrates the temple and oppresses the saints. [Antiochus IV Epiphanes, p. 279.]

The vision in chapter 8 concludes the set of three visions which lean heavily on symbolism (cf. Dan. 2, 7). Subsequent visions will have angelic figures and interpretations, but they will not depend on symbols such as metals (chap. 2) or animals (chaps. 7–8). The pattern of interpretation followed in this commentary holds that these visions are, so to speak, nested inside each other with respect to interpretation. The vision of the statue spans the period from the Babylonian empire till the Greek empire, followed by the universal reign of God (chap. 2). The vision of Daniel 7, generally thought to accord with Daniel 2, begins with the Babylonian empire, pictured as a lion, but concentrates on the fourth, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong beast, likely intended to describe Antiochus IV Epiphanes. This will so be charted, with the understanding that the arrogance of the last beast (and of the other beasts) erupts in other empires, too.

The third vision (chap. 8) describes in greater detail the first vision’s kingdoms of Medo-Persia and Greece, with major attention given to the arrogant antagonist who as Antiochus Epiphanes may well be representative of tyrants everywhere, and ultimately of any antichrist figure.

The diagram gives empire identities to the metal and animal symbols. To do so is simplistic but perhaps initially helpful. The symbols point to more than a straightforward identification. The first two visions elaborate on the nature of God’s intervention (chap. 2) or his adjudication in judgment (chap. 7). The third vision is silent on the manner of terminating the human kingdom except for the comment, p 196 he shall be broken, and not by human hands (8:25). The first two visions end with the establishment of God’s kingdom; not so the third.