Daniel 8: The Second Vision of Daniel

Daniel 8: The Second Vision of Daniel

• Setting
• This vision occurs 2 years after Daniel’s vision in Chapter 7 with Daniel being between 60 and 70 years old.   It was written in the 3rd year of reign of King Belshazzar of Babylon.   Daniel was in Susa during this vision, which is in modern day Iran.   
• Susa (or Shushan) is located 200 miles southeast of Babylon.   Susa was the eventual capital of the Persian Empire during Cyrus’s reign.   It is also mentioned in the Books of Esther and Nehemiah.   (Esther 1:2, Nehemiah 1:1).

• The River Ulai was probably a canal that flowed through the city.
• King Xerxes reigned in Susa with Queen Esther.
• This vision was given 14 years before it occurred and takes place between Chapters 4 and 5 of Daniel.
• This chapter returns to being written in Hebrew as it concerns the future of the Nation of Israel.
• A Horn is used frequently in the Bible to symbolize strength.
• The Goat was the official symbol of Greece.
• Aegean translates to ‘Goat’.
• The Ram was the official symbol and emblem of the Medo-Persians.
• Overview
• The Ram with 2 Horns represents the coalition formed by the Medes and Persian Empires.   The larger horn or 2nd horn represents the Persian Empire, which was more dominating the Medes.
• The Goat from the West represents the nation of Greece.
• The first Greek colony was said to be established by an Oracle that sent a Goat for a guide to build a city.   This city was called Aegea, which means ‘Goat City’.   It was on the shores of what became known as the Aegean Sea.
• ORACLE:   a person (as a priestess of ancient Greece) through whom a deity is believed to speak
• The Large Horn that first appears and then was broken off represents Alexander the Great, who at the height of his career dies at around 33 years old.
• Alexander the Great was tutored by Aristotle and considered to be a bookworm.  His father was Philip the Macedonian, who was a great military leader during his time.   His mother convinced Alexander that he was a ‘god’ after his father died, the son of Achilles and Hercules.   
• Greece had conquered the whole world in 12 years without losing a battle.
• Even though Alexander considered himself to be great, he was a ‘tool’ used by God to fulfill prophecy.
• Alexander had died from drunkenness and depression.
• The 4 horns that grow up in place of the broken horn represent the 4 Generals who served under Alexander the Great.  They each received a part of the Grecian Empire after Alexander’s death.
• The small horn that grows from one of the 4 horns represents Antiochus IV Epiphanies, who was from the lineage of Seleucus (8th in line).  This horn started small but grew to great power in the South, East, and in Israel.   This smaller horn sets itself up as the ‘Prince of Host’ (or God).  The daily sacrifices are stopped and ‘Truth’ is thrown to the ground.  He also desecrates the alar in the Temple and attempts to destroy all of the Jews.
• Epiphanies translates to ‘God manifest’ or ‘Little God’.
• The Maccabean army rebels against Antiochus and recaptures the Temple Mount.   Judas Maccabeus cleanses and rededicates the Sanctuary in the Temple.
• The 2300 evenings and mornings corresponds to the time period from 168 BC until 165 BC.   The beginning of this period begins when Antiochus IV Epiphanies desecrates the altar by sacrificing a pig on it until the time when the Temple is rededicated Judas Maccabeus.
• There were 2 daily sacrifices in the Temple, with only 1 sacrifice being offered on the Sabbath.
• Breakdown of the Verses.
• This Chapter introduces 5 people who move across the stage of History.
• Daniel the Prophet      (verses 8:1-2, 15-19, 26-27).
• Daniel had to ask an Angel for the interpretation of the meaning of the Ram and Goat he saw in his vision.   This angel was Gabriel.

• Gabriel means “Man of God”
• Michael is another Angel that is mentioned in the Bible.  His name means ‘Who is like God’.  Michael was used to announce the births of John the Baptist and Jesus.
• When Gabriel approached Daniel, he became afraid, he also fell faint, and then he went into a deep sleep   Gabriel refers to Daniel as ‘son of man’ to symbolize his weakness and human nature.
• The Angel Gabriel gives Daniel an explanation of the vision he sees which refer to the later days of Jewish history.
• Verse 19 mentions the events seen concern the appointed time of the end.
• Verse 26 refers to the events of the distant future, the vision of the morning and evenings.
• ‘Indignation’ refers to God’s displeasure with his people Israel and the times of suffering for Israel would endure before the coming of the end and the establishment of a new Kingdom.
• Daniel becomes ill after this vision.   He was troubled because he did not understand ‘the King of Countenance’ and ‘the Little Horn’ and how they fit into the prophetic scheme of Israel.
• Daniel was instructed to seal up the vision by the Angel Gabriel.
• Cyrus the King of Persia      (verses 8:3-4, 20)
• Cyrus was chosen by God and he conquered Babylon centuries afterwards the prophecy of Isaiah.   (Isaiah 41:2 and 25, Isaiah 44:28-45:4).
• Cyrus moved westward to first conquer Libya, Egypt, Asia Minor, and then parts of India.   He then attacked and defeated Babylon.
• Cyrus was noted for being kind to his captives.
• Cyrus permitted the Jews to return back to their homeland.   (Isaiah 44:28, 2 Chronicles 36:22-23, Ezra 1:1-3).
• Cyrus also permitted the Jews to take back the Sacred Vessels back to Israel.   
• Cyrus was also called righteous by Isaiah.   (Isaiah 41:2, Isaiah 41:25)
• Isaiah called him the ‘LORD’s anointed’.   (Isaiah 45:1).
• His conquests were portrayed as a man walking on mortar or soft clay to represent others could not resist him.
• Alexander the Great      (verses 8:5-8, 21-22).
• In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, Greece was depicted as the thighs of brass.   In Daniel’s vision of Chapter 7, he is seen as the swift leopard with 4 heads.  In this vision in Chapter 8 he is seen as an angry goat that runs so swiftly that his feet do not touch the grass.
• Alexander’s Empire extended far beyond the boundaries of Cyrus.
• God had a purpose in Alexander the Great and it was accomplished.   Alexander the Great stopped the Oriental Influence that had threatened the Western World.   The Greek culture and language helped to bring peoples together and Greek also became the official language of the New Testament.
• Alexander was also noted for being kind to his captives.   100,000 of his soldiers married Eastern woman in one mass wedding.
• The Roman Empire completed what the Greek Empire started, and the Romans prepared the world for the coming of Jesus Christ.
• The Roman Empire built roads for the world to travel upon.   The Roman Empire also ruled the world with an iron fist.   The Roman Empire also offered peace and an opportunity to experience security.   This contributed to the Christian message being spread throughout the Roman Empire.
• Antiochus IV Epiphanes     (verses 8:9-14)
• He was the ruler of Syria from 175 BC until 163 BC.   He is known as one of the cruelest tyrants in history.   He claimed to be a ‘Revelation of the gods’ (Epiphanes).   Coins were minted with his image and contained the word ‘Theos’ (or God).
• His desire was to turn the Jews into good Greeks.   He replaced the Jewish High priest Onias with Jason, a patron of the Greeks.   He pronounced and edict in Jerusalem that there would only be 1 religion and it would not be a Jewish religion.   He prohibited them from celebrating the Sabbath, circumcision, and the Levitical dietary laws.   The Jewish altar was replaced with the altar of Zeus and a pig was sacrificed upon it.   Any Jew possessing the Law of Moses was slain and the Torah was burned.   This brought forth the rise of the Maccabeus who purified the Altar in 165 BC.   Antiochus died in 163 BC.
• Judas Maccabeus, also known as Judas the Hammer cleanses the Temple in 8 days with one cruse of oil for all the Temple Lights.  This cruse of oil should have been insufficient to keep the lamps lit as required.   The lights were required to burn for 8 days for the Temple purification.  This resulted in the Jewish Holiday of Hanukkah.
• Antiochus killed 800,000 Jews and sold 400,00 into slavery.   (Read page 165 from ‘The Handwriting on the Wall’.
• Antiochus started out small but he gradually accumulated great power during his reign.   He is to be a fore shadow to what the AntiChrist will do in the end of times.
• The AntiChrist      (verses 8:23-27)
• The End Times is referred to as the Tribulation Period in the Book of Revelation.  The Old Testament also refers to this time as ‘the time of Jacob’s trouble’ and ‘the day of the LORD’.
• There are many parallels between the AntiChrist and Antiochus.
• Both begin modestly and increase in power.
• Both blaspheme God with the words they speak.
• Both persecute the Jewish people.
• Both claim to be a god and they both desecrate the Jewish Temple.
• Both impose their own religion upon the people.
• Both are opposed by a remnant of people who believe in the LORD.
• Both are influenced by Satan and both are great deceivers.
• Both appear to succeed and both seem to be invincible.
• Both will be defeated.
• Jesus is referred to as the ‘Prince of Peace’, ‘God of Gods’, and ‘the King of Kings’.
• The AntiChrist opposes Jesus and seeks to replace him.
• Jesus throws the AntiChrist into the Lake of Fire at the End of Times.
• The AntiChrist will appear when corruption is at an all-time high, all restraints of the world will be lifted, evil will appear to be rampant, society will be disintegrated, and nothing will be sacred.   This person will appear to have all the right answers to the world’s problems.   The world will be willing to do anything to prosper.   (2 Thessalonians 2:4)
• Conclusion
• We are in a spiritual battle.   (Ephesians 6:12).
• A New Testament Prophecy by the Apostle Paul.   (2 Thessalonians 2:4)
• How do we respond to the future events of the World?   Are we as troubled as Daniel?   Do we take comfort instead in the fact that God shall triumph and Good shall prevail over Evil?   God has given a glimpse of the future and he also has given us a hope as well.   We should be motivated to see a lost world which is falling into the lap of Satan.    What can we do to change this picture?