The Justice Warrior—Daniel 8

We live in a time period when people want justice. We’ve had Black Lives Matter. We’ve had anti-ICE demonstrations. We’ve had climate warriors. We’ve had Blue Lives Matter. We’ve had volunteer border patrol agents. We’ve had anti-climate change demonstrations.

Whatever the issue is, you can turn on the news or go on Facebook and see people demanding justice.

Unfortunately, they have no idea what they are asking. Most people really do not know what justice actually is. Because we are confined by our own sinful, selfish, proud perspective and understanding. We take justice and remove it from the source of justice: the righteous God who judges the living and the dead.

Today, as we jump into Daniel, we are going to see that the Sovereign God brings justice. We will look at Daniel’s dream and our situation.

Before we dive in, will you pray with me?

1. Daniel’s Dream

Two years after Daniel had his first dream about the future, Daniel has another dream.

A. Israel’s Situation

Now, several weeks ago, we had talked about the language that Daniel was written in. The first chapters was written in Hebrew, the language of the Isrealites. Chapters 2-7 were written in Aramaic, the language of the Babylonians. Now, we are back to Hebrew. Chapter 7, being written in Aramaic, was directed more towards the Babylonians, showing the succession of kingdoms until the Messiah brings in his kingdom.

Now, we are diving into Daniel 8, which is written in Hebrew again. 8-12 have prophesies focused on important events for Israel, so it is written in a language that the Israelites can readily understand.

Whenever God gives prophecy, he is accomplishing something more than just providing information about the future. Predictive prophecy teaches that God is true and that the Bible is true.

Chapter 8 definitely does that. There are specifics in this chapter that cause some to believe that it was written hundreds of years after Daniel, because how could Daniel know these things. Well, God told him.

Let’s read part of chapter 8.

Daniel 8:1–14 NIV

In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had already appeared to me. In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa in the province of Elam; in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal. I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later. I watched the ram as it charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against it, and none could rescue from its power. It did as it pleased and became great. As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between its eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. It came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at it in great rage. I saw it attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering its two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against it; the goat knocked it to the ground and trampled on it, and none could rescue the ram from its power. The goat became very great, but at the height of its power the large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven. Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land. It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them. It set itself up to be as great as the commander of the army of the Lord; it took away the daily sacrifice from the Lord, and his sanctuary was thrown down. Because of rebellion, the Lord’s people and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground. Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled—the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, the surrender of the sanctuary and the trampling underfoot of the Lord’s people?” He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.”

After the whole vision is done, Daniel becomes very unsettled.

Daniel 8:27 NIV

I, Daniel, was worn out. I lay exhausted for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding.

And we can understand.

When he was a kid, he was taken from Israel. The temple was raided. Later, Nebuchadnezzer destroyed the temple.

2 Kings 25:8–15 NIV

On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, an official of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He set fire to the temple of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. The whole Babylonian army under the commander of the imperial guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile the people who remained in the city, along with the rest of the populace and those who had deserted to the king of Babylon. But the commander left behind some of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields. The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the movable stands and the bronze Sea that were at the temple of the Lord and they carried the bronze to Babylon. They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service. The commander of the imperial guard took away the censers and sprinkling bowls—all that were made of pure gold or silver.

Daniel’s hope, along with all devout Israelites is that God would restore the temple and the sacrifices. And here, in this vision, God tells Daniel that the temple is going to be destroyed again and the people killed, again.

Talk about a nightmare.

B. Dream’s Interpretation

Well let’s keep reading to see the interpretation.

Daniel 8:15–26 NIV

While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man. And I heard a man’s voice from the Ulai calling, “Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision.” As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.” While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me and raised me to my feet. He said: “I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end. The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king. The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power. “In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people. He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power. “The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”

We can take this vision and put it alongside a history book and see history play out exactly as this vision says.

Tremper Longman, theologian and historian writes about this passage:

“The goat with the single horn that speedily devastated the ram is “Greece,” the single horn being its first king—Alexander the Great. He achieved an unprecedented domination from Italy to India in unbelievable time; but he died suddenly at age 33 in 323 b.c., leaving behind two young sons, Alexander and Herakles. These boys were ultimately murdered, and the world was carved up between Alexander’s powerful generals, the Diadochi. The Diadochi are the “four prominent horns” (v. 8; cf. v. 22).

The vision then skips over about two centuries of history (later detailed in the vision of ch. 11). For now the focus goes immediately to one particular horn. Scholars almost universally agree that the horn that grew out of one of the four is the second century b.c. Seleucid ruler, Antiochus IV Epiphanes. We know much about this king from intertestamental writings like the Maccabees. He started out small and grew large. He was not actually the first in line to succeed his older brother Seleucus IV, but through the political manipulation for which he became famous (he was a “master of intrigue” [v. 23]), he managed to push his nephew out of the way and gain the throne. He grew large through military success, pushing his influence into Egypt as well as east into Persian, Parthia, and Armenia, not to speak of his domination of Palestine.

Antiochus IV, however, established himself as a “completely wicked” and “stern-faced king” (v. 23) through his incredible intrusion and disruption of the Jewish ritual. Jewish religion and practice stood in the way of his policy of Hellenization, and among other atrocities, he ordered the cessation of temple sacrifice in 167 b.c. and profaned the temple by introducing a holy object sacred to the god Zeus, to which he sacrificed a pig, abhorrent to Jewish religion.”

Well, we’ve seen Israel’s situation, the dream’s interpretation.

C. The Angel’s Point

But, what is the point of the dream? Why was the angel sent to tell Daniel about it.

The chapter is split into two sections. The dream and the interpretation within the dream. At the end of each section we have a unified theme.

Daniel 8:14 NIV

He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.”

Daniel 8:25 NIV

He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.

God is pretty amazing. The number 2300 is not referring to days, but sacrifices. Antiochus stopped the morning and evening sacrifices. 2300 morning and evening sacrifices that should have been happening, will be skipped, and then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated. And from the time of the prohibition of the sacrifice in 167 BC to the reconsecration of the high priesthood in 164 is approximately 1150 days, or 2300 sacrifices. About 3 and a half years. Just as God promised.

And then, about a year later, Antiochus died. A man who was so bloodthirsty and violent, you would think that he would die in battle or by an assassin.

But, he dies of natural causes. Sickness. Just as God says, he is destroyed, but not by human power. God brings his justice.

Daniel, even though your nation is going to endure a troubling time, when people will hide in caves and the wilderness, when the symbol of God will be desecrated, God is in charge and he will bring ultimate justice.

That perverter of good will be cut off and then he will stand before the judgment seat of the righteous God and will be judged for eternity. Have confidence in your God.

The sovereign God brings justice.

2. Our Reality

All that is great facts. But facts do nothing if we do not apply them to our lives. Reading Scripture was not meant to increase our knowledge, but to affect our soul.

A. Our Situation

Looking at history, we can be confident that this chapter is talking about Antiochus IVI against the Jewish people in the second century BC. But, the description of what is going on tells us that more is going on behind the scenes.

Daniel 8:10 NIV

It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them.

Daniel 8:25 NIV

He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.

The description of this horn reminds us a lot of the horn in chapter 7. However, it isn’t the same horn. This one comes out of Greece and the other one comes after Rome. Both are historical figures that point to something bigger happening.

Behind both conflicts stands a spiritual one.

“It is not Antiochus versus the Maccabees alone, but it is a little horn who presumes to be a god who fights against the Prince of princes and his starry hosts. A cosmic battle is ultimately at issue here.”

We are in the middle of that cosmic battle.

We can look throughout history, and we can see leaders who have set themselves up against God. We can think about Adolf Hitler, Stalin, Mao Tse Tung, Fidel Castro, and so many others. People whom others have labeled as possibly the anti-Christ because of how evil they actually were. But they were merely human.

Paul says that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly realms. The Cosmic battle that Daniel is referring to.

We can look at other religions and false theologies, and see each one of them as a part of that cosmic battle. They are horns that set themselves up against Christ, calling people away from the worship of the Prince of Princes. Even coming into the house of God and subtly pulling people away from the true worship of God into a facade.

Definitely a result of the cosmic battle that we are in.

B. Our Response

What should our response be? Well, let’s first say what our response shouldn’t be.

a. It’s the End

Don’t get caught up in the hype and insist beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is the end. Yes, we are supposed to understand the times. We are supposed to see the beginning of the birth pains and the progression to the birth of eternity.

But the end started when Jesus rose again. Because of that, we have seen antichrists come and go. We have see wars and natural disasters. And as Jesus says: these are merely the beginnings of the birth pains. More are coming, as we will see later in Daniel.

But that is not the point of this prophecy.

The point is that God is going to judge.

b. Don’t Create Enemies

Others will look around and see godliness, maybe within the opposite political party. Or in groups that just appear to be the epitome of… I normally don’t like using this word, but just know I am quoting both sides: groups that appear to be the epitome of stupid.

And we set ourselves up against them and declare that they are the enemy. But, they are not. The spiritual forces are the enemy. The humans are people we need to pray for and have compassion on. Because, God is going to judge.

So what should our response be?

C. Be Prepared

As I said, the signs of the time are not so that we can say that we are living in the shadow of Christ’s return. They are to remind us that we are living in the last days, between the first and second coming of Christ.

“When we hear of an earthquake, we are not to say, “The time is nigh.” Rather, we are to remind ourselves that we are still on this side of the consummation. We are to remind ourselves to be prepared, because Christ will appear “like a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:2).”

We need to be prepared for Christ to come at any time. That affects so much, our lives, our friends, our conversations, our desires, our passions. It’s all wrapped up in the fact that Christ can come back in the blink of an eye. And he is coming to judge.

d. Check Our Soul

If that is the case, we should check our soul. Because when Christ comes back, there will be no second chance. He will come quickly. There will be no time to repent, to say that we were wrong about the religion or ideology we were following, to even say: whoops. He will come and we will be ushered into judgment, as enemies of the sovereign God who will judge.

Before he comes, we must repent. We must turn to Jesus in faith and accept his gift on the cross as payment for our sins. We must believe in the name of God’s only son. Before he comes. Because he is coming to judge.

e. Speak the Truth

Those of us who are followers of Jesus, must remember that the sovereign God is coming to judge. That should comfort us, because we don’t have to judge. He will make all things that are wrong right.

But, that should compel us to not let an idle moment go by. But, to seize every opportunity to plead with those around us to turn to Jesus before it is too late. Plead with our family members. Plead with our friends. Plead with our supposed enemies. Tearing down the barriers that we have put up, and as Daniel pleaded with Nebuchadnezzar to repent, the man who killed his family and destroyed the temple in Jerusalem, so we plead with those around us.

We speak the truth, until the end comes. Whenever that is.

The sovereign God will bring justice.