Daniel 8

Daniel 8 is where we move from the Aramaic language that began in 2:4 back to the Hebrew language, which will be used for the remainder of the book.

Chapter 7 gave a vision of the four great kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Chapter 8 provides a vision that narrows the focus to Medo-Persia and Greece. It will particularly detail personalities and events related to Greece and what will transpire during its rise to power

In the previous chapter God had given a preview of world history with emphasis on the end times, particularly the evil activities of the Antichrist. God’s people also needed to be warned of another crisis that would come in less than four hundred years after Daniel’s lifetime—the persecutions of a madman named Antiochus IV Epiphanes

1. God Gave Daniel a Vision Daniel 8:1-14

v.1

Note the repetition of the words “vision” and “saw” throughout the chapter. Daniel is not reading a book. He is watching a sci-fi motion picture. He is seeing and breathing in the fast-moving action.

v.2

The phrase “in the citadel of Susa” may mean either that Daniel saw himself in Susa merely in vision or that he was present physically in that city when he received the vision. We should not think that Daniel had physically moved 220 miles east of Babylon and 150 miles north of the Persian Gulf to what is modern-day Iran.

Elam, later called Susiana, was northeast of the Lower Tigris area in what is now Iran. The Ulai Canal, known classically as the Eulaeus, was about nine hundred feet wide and passed close to Susa on the northeast.13 Today the canal is dry.

v.3

What does the ram symbolize in the vision, and what empire does it represent?

In v. 20 the angel Gabriel interpreted this ram with the two horns as the Medo-Persian Empire. A ram was a fitting symbol of the empire, for according to Ammianus Marcellinus (10.1; fourth century A.D.), the Persian ruler carried the gold head of a ram when he marched before his army.

v.4

To the west it subdued Babylonia, Syria, Asia Minor, and made raids upon Greece; to the north—Armenia, Scythia, and the Caspian Sea region; to the south—Egypt and Ethiopia.

No one could stop the ram. No one could “rescue from his power. He did whatever he wanted and became great.” For quite a while, it appears indestructible and unbeatable. And it is, until God raises up and sends a male goat unlike anything the world has ever seen!

v.5

Gabriel again interpreted the vision for Daniel. In v. 21 the goat is specifically identified as a symbol of the Greek Empire, and the “prominent” horn is stated to represent its first king, who, of course, was Alexander the Great.

Daniel (2) The Goat (8:5–8)

Alexander was one of the great military strategists of history. He was born in 356 B.C., the son of a great conqueror in his own right, Philip of Macedon. Philip had united Greece with Macedonia and was planning to attack Persia when he was murdered. Alexander, educated under the famed Aristotle, was only twenty in 336 B.C. when he succeeded his father as king. A year and a half later (334 B.C.), he launched his attack against the Persians. In that same year Alexander won the Battle of Granicus in Asia Minor, thereby bringing to an end the dominance of the Medo-Persian Empire. With his subsequent victories at Issus (333 B.C.) and Arbela (331 B.C.) the conquest of Medo-Persia was complete. Incredibly within only three years Alexander had conquered the entire Near East.

v.5-8

Alexander spread the Greek language and culture all over the world, an act that prepared the world for the gospel by giving it a common speech, Koine Greek, the language of the New Testament

However, at the pinnacle of power, Alexander dies (“the large horn was broken”). Four kings will divide up his kingdom and continue in various forms until mighty Rome comes on the scene.

v.9

Scholars agree that this little horn represents the eighth ruler of the Seleucid Greek Empire, Antiochus IV Epiphanes

He would reign from 175 to 163 BC and severely persecute God’s people.

He made notable conquests in “the south” (Egypt), “the east” (Persia, Parthia, Armenia), and “the Beautiful Land” (Palestine). Palestine is called “Beautiful” (ṣebî, “place of beauty or honor”; cf. 11:16, 41; Jeremiah 3:19 “I thought, “How I long to make you my sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of all the nations.” I thought, “You will call me ‘My Father’ and never turn away from me.”” ) not because of its scenery but because of its spiritual significance. It was a place of beauty and honor because Yahweh God had chosen it as the center of his operations on the earth and because his people lived there.

v.10

This king (the little horn) will become so arrogant that he is willing to assert himself against the saints of God and even against God himself.

1 Maccabees 1:20–24 “And after that Antiochus had smitten Egypt, he returned again in the hundred forty and third year, and went up against Israel and Jerusalem with a great multitude, and entered proudly into the sanctuary, and took away the golden altar, and the candlestick of light, and all the vessels thereof, and the table of the shewbread, and the pouring vessels, and the vials, and the censers of gold, and the vail, and the crowns, and the golden ornaments that were before the temple, all which he pulled off. He took also the silver and the gold, and the precious vessels: also he took the hidden treasures which he found. And when he had taken all away, he went into his own land, having made a great massacre, and spoken very proudly.”

The core issue is that the Maccabees appear in ancient Greek biblical manuscripts that early Christians used, but not in the Hebrew scriptures

v.11

The “daily sacrifice” (Heb tāmîd, “continuity,” offerings made continually) refers to those morning and evening sacrifices the priests offered each day on behalf of the nation

Antiochus issued the order that the regular ceremonial observances to Yahweh were forbidden, and thus sacrifices ceased being offered to him

1 Maccabees 1:44–45 “For the king had sent letters by messengers unto Jerusalem and the cities of Juda, 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:”

“Brought low” does not mean that the temple was destroyed but that it would be desecrated

v.12-13

According to 1 Macc 1:56–57: “The books of the law which they found they tore to pieces and burned with fire. Where the book of the covenant was found in the possession of any one, or if any one adhered to the law, the decree of the king condemned him to death.”

v.14

Daniel was told that the desolation would last “2,300 evenings and mornings.” Most scholars believe that 2,300 evenings and mornings involve only a total of 1,150 days, since the 1,150 evening and 1,150 morning sacrifices (which would not be offered) equal a total of 2,300. This method of calculation results in a period that was a little more than three years.

In 168 BC the temple was desecrated. In 164 BC it was cleansed and restored. That fits well with the three and a half years understanding.

Just over three years after the altar to Zeus was set up, Judas Maccabeus cleansed and rededicated the temple on December 14, 164 B.C. (cf. 1 Macc 4:52). Today the Jews celebrate the Feast of Hanukkah (“dedication”) to commemorate this momentous event

The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith Twisted Scripture: Danial 8:14

Daniel’s prophetic 2,300 days have interested many throughout history who have sought to predict the date of the Lord’s return. By interpreting each day as a year, William Miller, a Baptist pastor from New York, calculated that Christ’s second advent would take place between March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844. As the date approached, a wave of excitement and expectation swept across America. Thousands of Christians from mainline churches, convinced of the accuracy of Miller’s prognostication, joined with the new adventist movement. Many of these “Millerites” sold their property to wait anxiously for the arrival of God’s kingdom. When the date passed without any cataclysmic event, Miller set October 22, 1844, as the new date for the parousia, or return of Christ. A second failure, known as the “Great Disappointment,” led Miller to repent of his errors. Several of his followers, however, said that Miller’s latest date was correct but that his explanation was wrong. According to them, on October 22, 1844, Jesus moved from His seat at God’s right hand into the holy place to begin an “investigative judgment” of all professing believers, many of whom will be blotted out of the book of Llfe. This remnant of Millerites eventually founded the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

How can understanding the historical context of Daniel’s visions influence your perception of current world events?

2. God Sent Gabriel with an Interpretation Daniel 8:15-27

v.15-16

Only in Daniel in the Old Testament are angels named (Gabriel in 8:16; 9:21 [cf. Luke 1:19, 26]; Michael in 10:13, 21; 12 [cf. Jude 9; Rev 12:7]). (“Daniel,” 152)

If God had not revealed himself in Scripture, what could we know about him? How do you know?

What divine assistance is there for the Christian as he or she reads and interprets Scripture?

v.17-18

Gabriel referred to Daniel as “son of man,” which is the Hebrew ben-ʾādām. This phrase emphasizes Daniel’s weakness and mortality, ʾādām connoting that which is from the ground, earthly (“a mere ‘mortal’ ”). In Ezekiel the term is used ninety-three times with this same meaning.43

Gabriel tells Daniel he has come to help him “understand that the vision refers to the time of the end.” We hear that phrase and think of the end of the age, the second coming of Christ, and the millennial kingdom. However, in context it is more likely a reference to the particular persons and events prophesied in this chapter. In particular, it likely refers to Antiochus IV and his persecution of the Jewish people.

v.19-22

Gabriel tells Daniel he has come to help him “understand that the vision refers to the time of the end.” We hear that phrase and think of the end of the age, the second coming of Christ, and the millennial kingdom. However, in context it is more likely a reference to the particular persons and events prophesied in this chapter. In particular, it likely refers to Antiochus IV and his persecution of the Jewish people.

The two-horned ram refers to Media and Persia. The shaggy goat refers to Greece. The large horn between the eyes of the goat refers to the first king (Alexander the Great). The four horns that replaced the broken horn refer to the four kingdoms (belonging to the four generals Cassander, Lysimachus, Selucus, and Ptolemy). Gabriel says, “They will rise from that nation” (Greece and Alexander), “but without its power.” They will be mini-empires, not major ones on the scale of Medo-Persia and Greece.

v.23-26

The words “he” and “his” are prominent in verses 24–25, enabling us to outline the activities of the “ruthless king” who “will come to the throne” (v. 23).

• “His power will be great, but it will not be his own” (v. 24). He is a satanically empowered puppet.

• “He will cause outrageous destruction and succeed in whatever he does” (v. 24; cf. v. 12). He will be victorious in battle, achieve power, and amass wealth.

• “He will destroy the powerful along with the holy people” (v. 24). He will defeat many opponents in war and will war successfully against God’s people for right at seven years.

• “He will cause deceit to prosper through his cunning and by his influence” (v. 25). Antiochus Epiphanes will be shrewd and deceptive, stopping at nothing to further his agenda and prosper his hand. Double-faced agreements and duplicitous dealings are his calling cards.

• He will “in his own mind … exalt himself” (v. 25; cf. v. 11). Arrogance, pride, and self-deification are his unholy trinity.

• “He will destroy many in a time of peace” (v. 25). He is a ruthless and unconscionable murderer.

• “He will even stand against the Prince of princes” (v. 25). He stands in opposition to God himself because he thinks he is a god (Zeus manifest).

• “Yet he will be broken—not by human hands” (v. 25). His reign will be short and his downfall devastating, all at the hands of the God he mocks and opposes.

2 Maccabees 9:5–7 “But the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, smote him with an incurable and invisible plague: for 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; and that most justly: for he had tormented other men’s bowels with many and strange torments. Howbeit he nothing at all ceased from his bragging, but still was filled with pride, breathing out fire in his rage against the Jews, and commanding to haste the journey: but it came to pass that he fell down from his chariot, carried violently; so that having a sore fall, all the members of his body were much pained.”

v.27

Daniel had been “deeply distressed,” even “terrified” by the vision of chapter 7. He is completely undone by the vision of chapter 8

Have you ever been overpowered or overwhelmed by the truths of Scripture, as Daniel was in this text? What were you reading, and why was it so powerful?

Daniel’s attitude illustrates an important biblical principle: In view of what the future holds, we must live holy lives now. He caught a glimpse of realities that would take place centuries later. Those events were shadows of the last conflict between the kingdom of Christ and the kingdoms of the world.

Exalting Jesus in Daniel Understanding God’s Word Can Be Personally Overpowering (8:27)

John Wesley was stopped by a stranger who asked him what he would do if he knew that Christ was going to return at noon the next day. Wesley reached into his saddlebag, retrieved his diary, read out his engagements for the rest of the day and for the morning of the next day, and said, “That, dear sir, is what I would do.” His knowledge of the Lord’s future kingdom allowed him to live already for that kingdom. That was the spirit of Daniel. Is it so surprising that his life made such a lasting impression?

Why is it wrong to be complacent in this life, knowing that ultimate victory belongs to Christ?