Daniel 8

Last week, we looked at a vision Daniel had involving political entities. This one comes to Daniel during the third year of Belshazzar’s reign. The themes of the two visions we have experienced so far are closely related. Really these themes encompass chapters 7-12.

Six important themes in

- The horror of human evil, represented by the governments

- The announcement of a specific time to deliver God’s people

- Repentance that leads to the deliverance

- There is a spiritual war behind the human conflict

- Judgement is certain for the one who oppose God and oppress his people

- God will rescue and bless his people

Remember the major theme of Daniel. Despite present appearances, God is in control of all things.

1. The vision of a ram and a goat ()

A. This is the second vision Daniel received. ()

Daniel 8:1 CSB

1 In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that had appeared to me earlier.

B. The vision takes place near the city of Susa on the Ulai Canal. ()

Daniel 8:2 CSB

2 I saw the vision, and as I watched, I was in the fortress city of Susa, in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal.

It is likely that Daniel did not physically travel to Susa, but rather he was transported there in his vision. This corresponds with another passage of Scripture found in .

Ezekiel 1:1 CSB

1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, while I was among the exiles by the Chebar Canal, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.

C. A ram with two horns, one longer than the other, appears on the bank of the canal. ()

Daniel 8:3 CSB

3 I looked up, and there was a ram standing beside the canal. He had two horns. The two horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one came up last.

D. The ram charged to the west, south, and north. ()

Daniel 8:4 CSB

4 I saw the ram charging to the west, the north, and the south. No animal could stand against him, and there was no rescue from his power. He did whatever he wanted and became great.

Notice that the ram doesn’t go east.

E. The ram was completely dominate. ()

Daniel 8:4 CSB

4 I saw the ram charging to the west, the north, and the south. No animal could stand against him, and there was no rescue from his power. He did whatever he wanted and became great.

F. A goat, coming from the west, appeared with a “conspicuous” horn between his eyes. ()

Daniel 8:5 CSB

5 As I was observing, a male goat appeared, coming from the west across the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground. The goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes.

Conspicuous means that it stood out. You couldn’t miss it. He had a single large horn. The goat had great speed. He moved so fast it was like he wasn’t touching the ground.

G. The goat crushes the ram. ()

Daniel 8:6–7 CSB

6 He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and rushed at him with savage fury. 7 I saw him approaching the ram, and infuriated with him, he struck the ram, breaking his two horns, and the ram was not strong enough to stand against him. The goat threw him to the ground and trampled him, and there was no one to rescue the ram from his power.

H. The goat behaves arrogantly, the large horn was broken off, and four other horns grow in its place. ()

Daniel 8:9 CSB

9 From one of them a little horn emerged and grew extensively toward the south and the east and toward the beautiful land.

We already know from the previous chapter that the symbol of a horn points toward a king or a kingdom.

2. The Little Horn ()

A. From one of the four horns, a little horn appears and grows fast. ()

Daniel 8:9 CSB

9 From one of them a little horn emerged and grew extensively toward the south and the east and toward the beautiful land.

B. The little horn grows beyond human capacity. ()

Daniel 8:10 CSB

10 It grew as high as the heavenly army, made some of the army and some of the stars fall to the earth, and trampled them.

C. The little horn acts arrogantly and blasphemously. ()

Daniel 8:11–12 CSB

11 It acted arrogantly even against the Prince of the heavenly army; it revoked his regular sacrifice and overthrew the place of his sanctuary. 12 In the rebellion, the army was given up, together with the regular sacrifice. The horn threw truth to the ground and was successful in what it did.

It is interesting to me that the Bible says that “truth was thrown to the ground”. Are we not seeing that today? Truth is being thrown to the ground. Scientific facts are being thrown to the ground. If you say that a man is a man and a woman is a woman, you are being controversial. If you say that marriage is between one man and one woman, you are being bigoted. If you say that there is right and there is wrong, you are being intolerant. I never thought I would see the day when children, in our school system, are being taught that sexual deviance is just another lifestyle. They are tearing down the gender norms, sexual norms, family norms, and societal norms. We are truly living in a day where truth is being thrown to the ground.

D. A holy one inquired as to how long this will be allowed to go on. ()

Daniel 8:13 CSB

13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the speaker, “How long will the events of this vision last—the regular sacrifice, the rebellion that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and of the army to be trampled?”

E. The answer: 2,300 evenings and mornings. ()

Daniel 8:14 CSB

14 He said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be restored.”

What does this mean? Let’s turn our attention to the interpretation of the vision.

3. The Interpretation of the Vision ()

The vision has come to an end, but it is hard to understand the imagery of what is taking place.

A. A humanlike figure appears with Daniel ()

Daniel 8:15 CSB

15 While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there stood before me someone who appeared to be a man.

B. A voice commands the angel Gabriel to explain the vision to Daniel. ()

Daniel 8:16 CSB

16 I heard a human voice calling from the middle of the Ulai: “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”

Gabriel means “God’s hero”.

He is the first angel to be named in the Bible. He appears again in .

C. Daniel is overwhelmed. ()

Daniel 8:17 CSB

17 So he approached where I was standing; when he came near, I was terrified and fell facedown. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision refers to the time of the end.”

D. Gabriel states the purpose of the vision. ()

Daniel 8:18–19 CSB

18 While he was speaking to me, I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me, made me stand up, 19 and said, “I am here to tell you what will happen at the conclusion of the time of wrath, because it refers to the appointed time of the end.

The vision is about the end times. This vision, unlike the first vision, has a different starting point.

E. The two-horned ram is the Medes and the Persian kingdom. ()

Daniel 8:20 CSB

20 The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia.

F. The goat represents the kingdom of Greece and the large horn, the first king of Greece. ()

Daniel 8:21 CSB

21 The shaggy goat represents the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes represents the first king.

Obviously, this is speaking of Alexander the Great.

G. The four horns are four kingdoms that grow out of the Greek kingdom ()

Daniel 8:22 CSB

22 The four horns that took the place of the broken horn represent four kingdoms. They will rise from that nation, but without its power.

If you know your history, then you know that Alexander the Great suddenly died when he was 33 years old. His two sons were murdered and the Greek Empire was divided up between the four generals of the Greek Empire. The vision skips about two centuries of history, which will be detailed in another vision in chapter 11.

H. The little horn that grew is Antiochus Epiphanes. ()

Daniel 8:23–26 CSB

23 Near the end of their kingdoms, when the rebels have reached the full measure of their sin, a ruthless king, skilled in intrigue, will come to the throne. 24 His power will be great, but it will not be his own. He will cause outrageous destruction and succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the powerful along with the holy people. 25 He will cause deceit to prosper through his cunning and by his influence, and in his own mind he will exalt himself. He will destroy many in a time of peace; he will even stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be broken—not by human hands. 26 The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true. Now you are to seal up the vision because it refers to many days in the future.”

Antiochus Epiphanes was a Seleucid ruler in the second century. The Apocrypha book of Maccabees records much about him and this part of history. He gained power by usurping the throne from his nephew. Verse 23 alludes to this. He experienced much military success and dominated the region of Palestine. Antiochus was an extraordinarily wicked man. he wanted to bring Greek culture and influence to everywhere he conquered, but the Jewish people would have none of it. He ordered the stoppage of Jewish temple sacrifice in 167 B.C. He introduced idol worship in the temple and sacrificed a pig, defiling and desecrating the Temple. This became known as the abomination of desolation. Antiochus did much more than just insult God’s people. By his actions, he directly challenged God’s authority and power. His destruction will not come by human means, but by God himself as verse 25 points out. The power behind the Maccabean revolt was God, not the freedom fighters. Antiochus Epiphanes is a foreshadow of the antichrist of Revelation.

I. Gabriel tells Daniel to seal up the vision. ()

Daniel 8:26 CSB

26 The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true. Now you are to seal up the vision because it refers to many days in the future.”

Many have wondered about the numbers, the 2,300 evenings and mornings, but it is not clear what they are referring two. It is written in the form of a Jewish day which begins at sundown. However you interpret the numbers, the meaning is clear, the days of evil are numbered and God will restore his rightful place no matter how dark the days.

J. Daniel was troubled by the vision. ()

Daniel 8:27 CSB

27 I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was greatly disturbed by the vision and could not understand it.

This vision wore Daniel out. He couldn’t understand it because it wasn’t time for him to understand it yet. God reveals what we need to know when we need to know it. Not before. God calls us to live in the present while waiting with hope for the future.