The king of Elam is identified as the conqueror of Sodom
and Gomorrah (Genesis 14:1-2,9-10) and it is Abraham who vanquishes him who was the captor of his nephew,
Lot (Genesis 14:14-17)
Shushan was the city where God worked behind the scenes
with Mordecai and Esther (Esther 2:5-9,15-17) to triumph over Haman, the Satanic adversary of the Jews (Esther 7)
Just as Saul's disobedience caused the spawning of a greater
oppressor than Agag, so will Israel's rejection of the One Who cast out their demonic oppressors (Matthew 12:43-45 cf. Matthew 12:22-24) cause her to receive a far greater oppressor (John 5:43 cf. Isaiah 28:18; Daniel 9:27)
The vision of the "ram which had two horns"
(Daniel 8:3) is identified as the "kings of Media and Persia" (Daniel 8:20)
A ram's power (strength) is in its horns (Genesis 22:13)
and so the figurative symbol of a horn is representative of power (strength), which is the prominent feature in
Daniel's vision of the fourth beast having ten horns (Daniel 7:7-8,23-24) - other descriptive examples include:
"to make the horn to bud", i.e. to bring forth
salvation and victory and so, Messiah is frequently referred to as the "budding horn" (Psalms 132:17; Ezekiel 29:21Luke 1:68-69)
The one horn that was "higher than the other"
and which "came up last" (Daniel 8:3;Daniel 8:20)
is a reference to Persia, which was the greater power that eclipsed the power of the Medes - "Darius the Median"
initially conquered Babylon (Daniel 5:30-31) and "Cyrus the Persian" succeeded him (Daniel 6:28)
Just as God had raised up Nebuchadnezzar to punish His
people (Jeremiah 25:8-11), so had He likewise raised up Cyrus to restore His people (Isaiah 44:24-28)
In both cases - NONE could resist the power of the one
whom the Lord had raised up for His purpose concerning His people, i.e. Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 27:5-8)
and Cyrus (Isaiah 45:1-5)
The path of the ram's conquest is said to be "westward,
and northward, and southward" (Daniel 8:4)
Cyrus is described as a "ravenous bird from the East,
the man that executeth my counsel from a far country" (Isaiah 46:11) and as such fulfilled the Lord's willing concerning His people (Isaiah 44:24-28; Isaiah 45:1-5)
As Daniel was considering the ram's path of conquest from
the east, he sees a he goat rapidly approaching from the west at such speed that his feet "touched not the
ground" (Daniel 8:5)
The he goat is identified as the "king of Grecia"
and Alexander the Great, the notable (great) horn between his eyes", is said to be its "first king"
(Daniel 8:21) and, of course, he was known particularly for the speed with which
he overcame his foes
The he goat is a figurative symbol used to represent arrogant
and domineering authority (Proverbs 30:31) and is described as going "before (heading) the flocks"
(Jeremiah 50:8)
The Greeks (Aegeans) were called "goat people"
Alexander named his son, Aegus (he goat)
The Aegean Sea which washes the Grecian shore is called
the "he goat sea"
The path of the he goat is said to cover "the face
of the whole earth" (Daniel 8:5) and, thus, correlates with "the third kingdom of brass"
in Nebuchadnezzar's vision "which shall bear rule over all the earth" (Daniel 2:39)
The he goat is said to be "moved with choler (bite)",
i.e. bite incurred by anger, against the ram and "broke his two horns" (his power) and "there was
no power in the ram" to withstand the fury of the he goat's power, so that "none could deliver the ram
out of his hand" (Daniel 8:6-7)
The same was said earlier concerning the power of the
ram - "no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand" (Daniel 8:4)
Concerning the conquest of Persia by the Greeks under
Alexander the Great (Daniel 8:5-7), the Roman Jewish historian, Titus Flavius Josephus, in his work entitled
"Jewish Antiquities" presents the following incident as having taken place in 332 B.C. (about 200 years
after Persia's conquest of Babylon):
"... he (Alexander the Great) gave his hand to the
high priest and, with the Jews running beside him, entered the city. They went up to the temple, where he sacrificed
to God under the direction of the high priest. And when the book of Daniel was shown to him, in which he declared
that one of the Greeks would destroy the empire of the Persians, he believed himself to be the one indicated; and
in his joy he dismissed the multitude for the time being, but on the following day he summoned them again and told
them to ask for any gifts which they might desire ..."
The showing of this prophecy to Alexander the Great by
the high priest Jaddua (Nehemiah 12:11,22) is an acknowledgment once again that NONE could resist the power of
the one whom the Lord had raised up for His purpose concerning His people, i.e. Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 27:5-8)
followed by Cyrus (Isaiah 45:1-5) and in turn by Alexander the Great (Daniel 8:5-7)
The he goat's power is short lived as when "he waxed
very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken" (Daniel 8:8) and, Alexander the Great, is a type of Antichrist who will briefly
rule the entire world (Revelation 13:5-7) and then be "broken without hand" (Daniel 8:25 cf. Isaiah 30:31)
In place of the broken great horn came up "four notable
ones toward the four winds of heaven" (Daniel 8:8 cf. Daniel 7:2) - a reference to the four generals under Alexander the Great who carved
up his empire according to the four points of the compass (Daniel 8:22):
North - Thracia and Asia Minor given to Lysimachus
East - Babylon and Syria and all lands to the bordering
of India given to Seleucus
South - Egypt, Libya, Arabia, Palestine given to Ptolemaeus
After the vision of the ram (Daniel 8:3-4) and the he goat (Daniel 8:5-8) - the arising of the "Little Horn" (Daniel 8:9),
who is identified as a "king of fierce countenance" (Daniel 8:23) - takes us to the "time of the end" (Daniel 8:17),
i.e. the "latter time" of the four kingdoms arising out of the Greek empire when the "transgressors
are come to the full" (Daniel 8:22-23)
The "Little Horn" comes out of the northern
division of the Greek empire and "waxes exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward
the Pleasant Land (Israel)" (Daniel 8:9)
The "Little Horn" (Daniel 8:9) is said to have "waxed great, even to the host of heaven"
and "stamped upon them" (Daniel 8:10)
The "host of heaven" is a reference to faithful
Israel (Abraham's seed), which was prophesied to be as numerous as the starry host of heaven (Genesis 15:3-5)
Faithful Israel is represented as the "woman clothed
with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars" (Revelation 12:1 cf. Genesis 37:9)
Faithless Israel is represented as a "woman"
that did "sit upon a scarlet coloured beast" (Revelation 17:3) and who was "drunken with the blood of the saints" (Revelation 17:6)
and also "in her was found the blood of the prophets" (Revelation 18:24 cf. Matthew 23:37)
This "Little Horn" (Daniel 8:9) is said to have "magnified himself even to the Prince of the
host" - taking away "the daily sacrifice" and casting down "the place of His sanctuary"
(Daniel 8:11)
The "Prince of the host" is a reference to "Messiah
the Prince" (Daniel 9:25)
The "Little Horn" (Daniel 8:9) is the "prince that shall come" who "shall destroy
the city and the sanctuary" (Daniel 9:26) and "shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease" (Daniel 9:27)
and replace it with the "abomination that maketh it desolate" (Daniel 11:31 cf. Daniel 9:27)
This "Little Horn" (Daniel 8:9) will be given a host "against the daily sacrifice" to "cast
down the truth to the ground" (Daniel 8:12)
This host will be composed of treacherous Jews who will
do "wickedly against the covenant" (Daniel 11:32) by joining forces with the covenant breaker (Daniel 9:27)
against the Lord's faithful brethren (Isaiah 66:5; IHebrews 2:10-13)
This host of rebellious Jews is described as the "arms"
which "shall stand on his (Antichrist's) part" and "pollute the sanctuary of strength" (Daniel 11:31)
Time and Duration of the Last End of the Indignation(Daniel 8:13-19)
After the vision of the rise and career of the "Little
Horn" (Daniel 8:9-12) there arises the question of how much time is alotted for his activities
(Daniel 8:13):
Daniel is provided an exact answer (2300 days) concerning
the length of time for this vision (Daniel 8:14 cf. Daniel 8:10-12) which is to be fulfilled at the "time of the end" (Daniel 8:17)
The Lord's parable of the fig tree (Matthew 24:32-33)
given to His disciples on the Temple Mount (Matthew 24:1-3) sheds light on Daniel's 2300 days prophecy (Daniel 8:14)
Israel in Scripture is represented three ways via the
figure (symbol) of a tree:
Nationally - a vine tree as pictured by her national birth
(Psalms 80:8)
Spiritually - an olive tree as pictured by David, a "man
after His (God's) own heart" (I Samuel 13:14) who is described as a "green olive tree in the House of God" (Psalms 52:8)
Religiously - a fig tree as pictured by Nathanael, an
"Israelite, in whom is NO guile" (fruit) - "sitting under the fig tree" (leaves) - covered
by religious ceremony (John 1:47-48)
Israel's religious center (the Temple) was destroyed for
her rejection of Messiah as foretold by Him (Matthew 23:38-39) and as pictured by the cursed fig tree (Matthew 21:15-19 cf. Luke 13:6-9)
Israel's "covenant with Death" and "agreement
with Hell" (Isaiah 28:18) to restore the Temple and its daily sacrifice will be broken by the "Prince that shall
come" in the "midst of the week", i.e. the final 70th week (Daniel 9:24,27)
This final 70th week period of 2520 (360 x 7) days covering
Israel's future religious restoration and perversion - divides thus as per the parable of the fig tree (Matthew 24:32-33):
220 days - rebuilding of the Temple
2300 days - daily sacrifice and removal
"THEN shall the sanctuary be cleansed" (Daniel 8:14)
Daniel having seen the vision of the "Little Horn"
and his activities (Daniel 8:9-12) "sought" its "meaning" from the Lord (Daniel 8:15)
as he did when seeking God's "secret" concerning Nebuchadnezzar's vision (Daniel 2:17-18)
Spiritual wisdom and understanding is a matter of Divine
revelation and NOT one of worldy education (I Corinthians 2:11-12) and so Daniel's appeal is to the God Who "revealeth secrets"
(Daniel 2:27-28)
Moses reminded Israel that the wisdom and understanding
which sets them apart from the other nations is contained in the "statutes" and "judgments"
which he taught them as commanded by the Lord (Deuteronomy 4:5-6)
In like manner, Paul expresses his "conflict"
(burden) for the Gentiles' "full assurance of understanding" concerning the "Mystery of God"
(Colossians 2:1-3) and "its glory" which is particularly "made known among
the Gentiles" (Colossians 1:25-27)
God is faithful in answering Daniel's inquiry and so the
"angel Gabriel" (Luke 1:19,26) is dispatched by the Lord to "make this man to understand the
vision" (Daniel 8:16)
Gabriel was also most probably the angelic instructor
sent by the Lord to the apostle John (Revelation 1:1; Revelation 22:8-9)
Angelic visitation in the "appearance of a man"
(Daniel 8:15) has been the experience of "some" OT saints who "have entertained angels unawares"
(Hebrews 13:1-2 cf. Genesis 19:1-10)
God has reversed these roles for the present "dispensation
of grace" (Ephesians 3:2) in that it is the Church which is to instruct the "principalities and powers in heavenly
places" in the "manifold wisdom of God" (Ephesians 3:10) concerning the "exceeding riches of His grace" (Ephesians 2:7)
The Church "purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28)
is redeemed from the fall of Adam "by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" having
appropriated it "through faith in His blood" and, thus, declared to have "His righteousness"
(Romans 3:24-26)
Christ "nailed the Law to His Cross" and, thus,
stripped the angels of their Law ministry (Colossians 2:14-15) and it is the Church having been saved "by grace" (Ephesians 2:8-9) that is NOW able to display a walk "by grace" and "abounding therein with thanksgiving"
(Colossians 2:6-7), i.e. ruled by the "love of Christ" (II Corinthians 5:14-15)
Daniel is given Divine understanding concerning the future
trouble and deliverance of his people while he was in a "deep sleep" (Daniel 8:18)
Abraham was also in a "deep sleep" (Genesis 15:12)
when given Divine understanding concerning the future bondage and deliverance of his people (Genesis 15:13-14)
for it is God ALONE that is the Deliverer (Genesis 15:9-10,17-18)
Daniel is given Divine knowledge of "what shall be
in the LAST indignation" (Daniel 8:19), i.e. the FINAL wrath of God as seen in the "desolations"
that are "determined" (Daniel 9:26-27) and from which some of his people shall "be hid" (Isaiah 26:20-21 cf. Revelation 12:1,14)
The angel Gabriel (Daniel 8:16)
now gives Daniel the explanation of the opening vision cocnerning the ram (Daniel 8:3-4)
The ram having the "two horns" is interpreted
as the kings of Media and Persia (Daniel 8:20) of which Darius "the Median" (Daniel 5:30-31)
conquers Babylon and is followed by Cyrus "the Persian" (Daniel 6:28)
The kings of Media and Persia are also represented by
the "chest and arms of silver" as pertaining to the second kingdom (Daniel 2:32,39)
depicted in Nebuchadnezzar's "great image" (Daniel 2:31)
The angel Gabriel (Daniel 8:16)
then gives Daniel the explanation of the next vision concerning the he goat (Daniel 8:5-8)
The he goat is interpreted as the kingdom of Greece (Daniel 8:20)
and the "great horn between his eyes" (Daniel 8:21) is interpreted as the first king of Greece, i.e. Alexander the Great,
who is also described as the "notable horn between his eyes" (Daniel 8:5)
The kingdom of Greece is also represented by the "belly
and thighs of brass" as pertaining to the third kingdom (Daniel 2:32,39)
depicted in Nebuchadnezzar's "great image" (Daniel 2:31)
The significant feature of this third kingdom is that
it "shall bear rule over the whole earth" (Daniel 2:39) and so the he goat (Grecian kingdom) is said to have "came from
the west on the face of the whole earth" (Daniel 8:5)
When the horn is broken the kingdom is divided into four
kingdoms, "BUT NOT in his (Alexander's) power" (Daniel 8:22),
i.e. NOT to the posterity of Alexander the Great for his kingdom was divided among Alexander's four generals -
"and for it (Alexander's kingdom) came up four notable ones (Alexander's four generals) toward the four winds
of heaven (the four points of the compass)"
(Daniel 8:8)
A "King of fierce countenance" will "stand
up" out of one of the four kingdoms, which arise out of the Grecian kingdom of Alexander the Great (Daniel 8:21-23)
- this "King of fierce countenance" is also described as the "Little Horn" having the SAME
ancestry (Daniel 8:8-9)
This "King of fierce countenance" is said to
arise in the "latter time ... when the transgressors are come to the full" (Daniel 8:23),
which corresponds to the time of the vision (Daniel 8:13) concerning the activities of the "Little Horn" (Daniel 8:9-12),
which is stated to be at "the time of the end" (Daniel 8:17,19)
This "King of fierce countenance" is said to
"undertstand dark sentences" (Daniel 8:23) and to be "wiser than Daniel" (Ezekiel 28:3)
This King's (Beast's) "power shall be mighty, but
NOT by his own power" (Daniel 8:24) for "the Dragon (Satan) gave him his power, and his seat, and
great authority" (Revelation 13:1-2 cf. II Thessalonians 2:8-9)
This King "shall make war with the saints and ...
overcome them" (Revelation 13:7)
This King shall through "his policy ... cause craft
(deceit) to prosper in his hand" (Daniel 8:25), i.e. he shall deceive many Jews through peace, "BUT war was in
his heart" (Daniel 11:21-24 cf.Isaiah 28:18; Daniel 9:27)
The false relationship of the Antichrist with Israel (Psalms 55:20-21)
parallels the false relationship of Judas with Christ (John 13:18 cf. Psalms 41:9)
This King shall "magnify himself in his heart"
and "stand up against the Prince of Princes" and he shall be "broken without hand" (Daniel 8:25)
Command and Burden Concerning the Vision(Daniel 8:26-27)
Daniel is commanded to "shut thou up the vision"
because its fulfillment was yet "for many days" (Daniel 8:26)
The command to John was the exact opposite, i.e. "seal
NOT ... for the time is at hand" (Revelation 22:10)
John was transported by the Spirit into the Lord's Day
(Revelation 1:10), i.e. "the Day of the Lord" and so he was their "companion
in tribulation" (Revelation 1:9)
Daniel "fainted, and was sick certain days",
BUT afterwards "rose up, and did the king's business" EVEN though he was "astonished at the vision"
and was ALONE in his understanding of it for "NONE understood it" (Daniel 8:27)
Daniel is associated with Noah and Job as righteous ones
faithfully standing ALONE for the Lord (Ezekiel 14:14,20)