8:1 In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that had appeared to me previously.
This vision was prophecy when it was written, but it has since been fulfilled. Since many skeptics do not believe in prophecy, they attempt to late-date this book and claim that it was written after the fact. The argument of the liberal is that prophecies concerning the future are supernatural and the liberal does not believe in the supernatural. Therefore, they claim that this prophecy could not have been written at the time of Daniel but must have been written afterward as history. This is an argument of bias. God knows the end from the beginning. He has revealed future events to His prophets to prove that the Bible is the Word of God.
Chapters 2-7 were written in Aramaic, because they were written to all of the Jews and Gentiles living in the Babylonian and Medo-Persian empires. Chapters 8-12 were written in Hebrew, because God was informing the Jews of what they were to face in the future during the Times of the Gentiles. This prophecy took place near the end of the Babylonian Empire.
8:2 In this vision I saw myself in Susa the citadel, which is located in the province of Elam. In the vision I saw myself at the Ulai Canal.
Daniel found himself in Susa, which was the capital of Medo-Persia. Susa was 200 miles east of Babylon, which is modern Persia. The citadel is a military fortress. Ulai is the Kerkhah River, which flows through Susa. At this time in 551 B.C., Susa was a very small town. The palace of Susa was not even built yet. The palace would not be built until about 522-486 B.C. Daniel is looking 200 years into the future. This is why skeptics like to late-date this book. They are too biased to believe in supernatural prophecy.
8:3 I looked up and saw a ram with two horns standing at the canal. Its two horns were both long, but one was longer than the other. The longer one was coming up after the shorter one.
Verse 20 identifies this ram as Media-Persia. The first horn was Media, who defeated Babylon. The second horn was Persia, who took control over the Babylonian territory. Media was more powerful at first because they helped the Babylonians conquer the Assyrian Empire. Later, Persia will become more powerful than Media.
8:4 I saw that the ram was butting westward, northward, and southward. No animal was able to stand before it, and there was none who could deliver from its power. It did as it pleased and acted arrogantly.
This prophecy was extremely accurate. Daniel was looking 200 years into the future. Persia expanded west, north, and south, but not east. They conquered Babylon, Syria, and Asia Minor (Turkey) and in the west. They conquered Armenia and Scythia in the north. They conquered Egypt and Ethiopia in the south. They did not conquer China in the east.
8:5 While I was contemplating all this, a male goat was coming from the west over the surface of all the land without touching the ground. This goat had a conspicuous horn between its eyes.
Verse 21 identifies the male goat as Greece. The horn is Alexander the Great. Alexander’s army moved swiftly with the speed of a four winged leopard. Persia wanted to move west, but Alexander moved fast and stopped them.
Alexander the Great was Macedonian. He was trained in Greek philosophy by Aristotle. Aristotle was a student of Plato. Plato was a student of Socrates. Alexander had a great desire to spread the Greek culture which he learned from Aristotle.
Alexander's father was King Philip of Macedonia. Philip was a great military commander who united Macedonia and Greece. Phillip taught the Macedonian military skills to Alexander the Great. Most of the Macedonian military skills came from the Spartans. The Spartans were known as the greatest warriors of their time.
Philip was preparing for war against Persia, but he was murdered. Alexander took over Greece at the age of 20 years old.
8:6 It came to the two-horned ram that I had seen standing beside the canal and rushed against it with raging strength.
The two-horned ram was Persia. The goat was Greece. Persia came against Greece with tremendous power. Xerxes was the leader of Persia. He came to Greece with a 300,000 man army.
8:7 I saw it approaching the ram. It went into a fit of rage against the ram and struck it and broke off its two horns. The ram had no ability to resist it. The goat hurled the ram to the ground and trampled it. No one could deliver the ram from its power.
The Greeks hated the Persians. The Greeks met them with a small army at a narrow pass at Thermopylae. The large army could not fit through the pass. They had to fight the Greeks in small groups. One Greek soldier was equal to ten Persian soldiers. The Greeks lost the battle, but they won the war. Later, the Persian navy was destroyed by a storm. The Persian King Xerxes was so angry, that he took off his belt and gave the sea a spanking. Greece became the new world power.
This was the last time that the East moved against the West. Mohammed and the Moors came through Spain, but Charles “the Hammer” Martel stopped them at the Battle of Tours.
8:8 The male goat acted even more arrogantly. But no sooner had the large horn become strong than it was broken, and there arose four conspicuous horns in its place, extending toward the four winds of the sky.
The male goat who acted arrogantly was Alexander the Great. He died in a drunken orgy in Babylon at the age of 32. He conquered the world, but he could not conquer alcohol. Greece was the third nation who fell due to alcohol.
When Alexander died, he had no heirs. Therefore, his kingdom was left to the four horns. The four horns were his four generals. Cassander was married to Alexander’s sister, so he took Europe (Macedonia and Greece). Lysimachus took the great part of Asia Minor (Turkey). Seleueus took most of Asia. Ptolemy took Egypt and North Africa.
Alexander was just as arrogant as Nebuchadnezzar. He boasted of his exploits and complained that there were no more worlds to conquer.
8:9 From one of them came a small horn. But it grew to be very big, toward the south and the east and toward the beautiful land.
The “small horn” came out of the third kingdom, which is Greece. The small horn was Antiochus Epiphanes. The “beautiful land” was Israel.
Antiochus Epiphanes was often called Epimanes, meaning “the madman.” According to secular history, Antiochus came to the throne in 175 B.C. and attacked Jerusalem. He attempted to exterminate the Jews. He set up an idol of Jupiter in the Jewish Temple. He forced the Jews to eat pork. He sacrificed a pig in the temple. He poured swine broth over the holy utensils of the temple. He forbid the studying of the Torah. He was the first “abomination of desolation” in Jewish history. He was a type of the Antichrist to come. The Maccabees were raised up in Judah to stop him.
8:10 It grew so big it reached the army of heaven, and it brought about the fall of some of the army and some of the stars to the ground, where it trampled them.
This is a tough verse to interpret. The rebellion of Antiochus Epiphanes became so great, that the angelic war was intensified. Some of the feats attributed to Antiochus seem to be demonically influenced.
8:11 It also acted arrogantly against the Prince of the army, from whom the daily sacrifice was removed and whose sanctuary was thrown down.
Antiochus stopped the daily sacrifice and offered pigs to Jupiter. He called himself Theos Epiphanes, meaning “God manifest.”
8:12 The army was given over, along with the daily sacrifice, in the course of his sinful rebellion. It hurled truth to the ground and enjoyed success.
The permissive will of God allowed Antiochus this short-lived success.
8:13 Then I heard a holy one speaking. Another holy one said to the one who was speaking, “To what period of time does the vision pertain—this vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the destructive act of rebellion and the giving over of both the sanctuary and army to be trampled?”
The holy one is one of God’s created intelligences other than man. This created intelligence wanted to know the time period of this prophecy.
8:14 He said to me, “To 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be put right again.”
Cults and isms like to misinterpret this verse. Seventh-Day Adventists spiritualize this passage and turn the days into years. William Miller and his student Ellen G. White used this allegorical method of interoperation and falsely predicted the Second Coming of Christ in the year of 1843.
If taken as literal 24-hour days, this would be about six or seven years. Judas Maccabeus (“the hammer”) drove out the Syrian army about this time. This cleansing of the temple is celebrated during the Feast of Lights. Jesus participated in this feast in John 10:22.
8:15 While I, Daniel, was watching the vision, I sought to understand it. Now one who appeared to be a man was standing before me.
Daniel did not understand this vision. The angel Gabriel appeared to him. This is the first appearance of Gabriel in the Bible.
8:16 Then I heard a human voice coming from between the banks of the Ulai. It called out, “Gabriel, enable this person to understand the vision.”
Gabriel means “hero of God.” He was sent by God to explain the vision to Daniel.
8:17 So he approached the place where I was standing. As he came, I felt terrified and fell flat on the ground. Then he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision pertains to the time of the end.”
Gabriel wanted Daniel to understand that Antiochus Epiphanes was just a future type of Antichrist who will come in the future.
8:18 As he spoke with me, I fell into a trance with my face to the ground. But he touched me and stood me upright.
The appearance of an angel can knock a man physically to the ground.
8:19 Then he said, “I am going to inform you about what will happen in the latter time of wrath, for the vision pertains to the appointed time of the end.
Gabriel moves from the local fulfillment of Antiochus to the future fulfillment of the Antichrist.
8:20 The ram that you saw with the two horns stands for the kings of Media and Persia.
There is no reason to speculate on the meanings of the symbols in this chapter. Gabriel will reveal the meanings of these symbols. The ram is Media-Persia.
8:21 The male goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king.
The male goat is Greece. The large horn is Alexander the Great.
8:22 The horn that was broken and in whose place there arose four others stands for four kingdoms that will arise from his nation, though they will not have his strength.
The four horns were the four Greek generals who inherited Alexander’s kingdom.
8:23 Toward the end of their rule, when rebellious acts are complete, a rash and deceitful king will arise.
The “rash and deceitful king” is Antiochus Epiphanes. He spoke in dark sentences, meaning that he learned and applied the occult.
8:24 His power will be great, but it will not be by his strength alone. He will cause terrible destruction. He will be successful in what he undertakes. He will destroy powerful people and the people of the holy ones.
The power of Antiochus Epiphanes was demonic. The holy people were those who were set apart for a special purpose of God (Israel). Just as Hitler attempted to exterminate the Jews, Antiochus Epiphanes attempted to do the same.
8:25 By his treachery he will succeed through deceit. He will have an arrogant attitude, and he will destroy many who are unaware of his schemes. He will rise up against the Prince of princes, yet he will be broken apart—but not by human agency.
Antiochus Epiphanes will succeed for a little while. However, his demonic power will be so strong, that he will be defeated supernaturally.
8:26 The vision of the evenings and mornings that was told to you is correct. But you should seal up the vision, for it refers to a time many days from now.”
Antiochus Epiphanes will reign for 2300 days (seven years), but he will be overthrown supernaturally. The purpose of this prophecy was to warn the future Jews of what was to come. Daniel was to seal up the vision in the sense of concluding it, not in the sense of keeping it secret. The reason is that this prophecy needed to be preserved for the future.
8:27 I, Daniel, was exhausted and sick for days. Then I got up and again carried out the king’s business. But I was astonished at the vision, and there was no one to explain it.
At this time, God was beginning to mesh the times of the Gentiles with the history of Israel. The physical and psychological effect of this vision was devastating to Daniel. He was attempting to understand how the Jewish kingdom could be merged with the Gentile kingdom.