Daniel Chapter 8

_{New King James Version}
¹ In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me—to me, Daniel—after the one that appeared to me the first time.

_{Berean Study Bible}
¹ In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me, Daniel,
subsequent to the one that had appeared to me earlier.

King Belshazzar (556 – 539 BC) He was the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. He was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar II on his mothers side.
This vision of Daniels came to him 2 years after the vision he had in chapter 7.

• NOTE: the following commentary and notes on my study are my own thoughts and ideas….I try hard to be careful about my opinions that I share because I know I can be completely wrong…I have been before and I don’t want anyone to be led astray…so if anyone reads this, do it prayerfully and with the understanding that I am just sharing my personal Bible study….which at times…as more light is given to me, changes and fine tunes. This is the first time I deep dive into Daniel….so, read prayerfully and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth… also, if you see error in what I say or want to share your own thoughts, please share it with me and include scripture and resource matterial so we can all grow in truth together.

_{New King James Version}
² I saw in the vision, and it so happened while I was looking, that I was in Shushan, the citadel, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision that I was by the River Ulai.

_{Berean Study Bible}
² And in the vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa, in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal.

Shushan (link to information about this historical place) In Daniels vision he was in this place by the Ulai Canal.

_{New King James Version}
³ Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the river, was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last.

Normally horns represent strength, victory, power, protection, and salvation…. but in this instance, it also represents kingdoms.

_{Berean Study Bible}
³ Then I lifted up my eyes and saw a ram with two horns standing beside the canal. The horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one grew up later.
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_{New King James Version}
⁴ I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no animal could withstand him; nor was there any that could deliver from his hand, but he did according to his will and became great.

I noticed that the ram was not pushing eastward and wonder if this means the ram is positioned in the east. This ram was so powerful it could not be overcome by any other animal. According to verse 20 these two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.

I overlaid the old maps of Media and Persia to give an idea of the empires that the ram represented. My overlay is a bit wonky, but it gives the idea. The white letters are from the current map (google maps) and this shows that the ram represented the area that we know today as Iran. The overlay map is from Modern Day Persia (clickable link)

_{Berean Study Bible}
⁴ I saw the ram charging toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against him, and there was no deliverance from his power. He did as he
pleased and became great.
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_{New King James Version}
⁵ And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.

I was kind of mystified by the idea of the goat crossing the earth and never touching the ground… and I wondered what it could mean. Talking to my husband about it we got the impression that it was like a fog creeping….this didn’t feel quite right though… so I googled it and found the explaination that fits…. this is an indication of a fast moving invasion…so fast it seemed to never touch the ground. My husband said, kind of like a fast horse in a run… their legs move so fast they look like their floating. The next thing that comes to mind is the wave of a certain religion that hates Jews and Christians that is flooding into countries all over the world. It seems like this is moving swiftly.

_{Berean Study Bible}
⁵ As I was contemplating all this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came out of the west, crossing the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground.
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_{New King James Version}
⁶ Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power.

This seems to indicate a war. The goat went to war with the ram and subdued it.

_{Berean Study Bible}
6 He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and rushed at him with furious power.
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_{New King James Version}
⁷ And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand.

The horns are symbolic of victory, strength, power, and royal dignity….it’s their nation or kingdom. The goat overcame the ram completely.

_{Berean Study Bible}
⁷ I saw him approach the ram in a rage against him, and he struck the ram and shattered his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him, and the goat threw him to the ground and trampled him, and no one could deliver the ram from his power.
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_{New King James Version}
⁸ Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven.

The goat grew and became powerful and when he hit the peak of his power his horn was broken and replaced with 4 horns. This seems like the nation the horn represents became too large, then for whatever reason it broke into 4 nations that covered the earth. I say it covered the earth because of the reference to the 4 winds of heaven.
The 4 winds of heaven…. the 4 corners of the earth etc are symbolic of all directions. I know there are some people who believe that the earth is flat because of these kinds of verses….and they struggle to prove their idea of the flat earth. What they fail to understand was God gave men visions they could articulate with things that were common to them at the time and because of this he didn’t show them things their minds couldn’t understand…for example, if God had shown John a large computer in Revelation…. John would not have been able to tell us about it because he didn’t understand what a computer was…. and for all the generation of Bible reading believers that came after the word was written and before computers were commonplace… the description would have caused confusion for them… So instead God gave men like Daniel and John visions they could articulate even if they didn’t understand what it all meant …. but not visions that would cause people to be confused. The Bible is brilliant in this way.

_{Berean Study Bible
8} Thus the goat became very great, but at the height of his power, his large horn was broken off, and four prominent horns came up in its place, pointing toward the four winds of heaven.
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_{New King James Version}
⁹ And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land.

A little horn rose up from one of the other horns and became great. This kingdom grew toward the south, east and I’m thinking the glorious land is Israel.

The goat represented a large fast moving kingdom. I see this as a country with a nationalism based on their religious beliefs that move to conquer other nations through their religion by force. This is how these 4 new nations are formed on this goats head…the 4 nations are all nationalist based on their religion which is the same for all four nations. They are independant, but unified by their religion. From one of these horns comes a little horn…. and this little horn is not a new nation, but a ruler… aka the antichrist. This ruler becomes great and grows towards the south, east and Israel.

_{Berean Study Bible}
⁹ From one of these horns a little horn emerged and grew extensively toward the south and the east and toward the Beautiful Land.
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_{New King James Version}
¹⁰ And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them.

The war waged by the little horn is really with God.

_{Berean Study Bible}
¹⁰ It grew as high as the host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the earth and trampled them.
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_{New King James Version}
¹¹ He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.

The antichrist will take authority and will stop the daily sacrifices. All of this has happened in the past with Antiochus who waged war against God. It was a shadow of these end time events. Like the feast are all shadows of things to come, these events are shadows of things that are going to happen in the end time.

_{Berean Study Bible}
¹¹ It magnified itself, even to the Prince of the host; it removed His daily sacrifice
and overthrew the place of His sanctuary.
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_{New King James Version}
¹² Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.

BEACAUSE OF TRANSGRESSION…. when I read that it seems to say because the people were walking in transgression and not following God, an army rose up and were under the command of the antichrist to stop the daily sacrifices and attack truth….and he was successful doing it. We may or may not be in the end times but what I’ve seen in this age is deception being guarded and protected as truth and truth being called a lie. Things like gender where a woman and her role in this world are redefined so that a biological male is recognised as female simply because he says so. That’s a small example… but it’s everywhere. People believe truth is subjective… and it’s not. Truth is foundational and unchanging…. truth never changes and doesn’t bend to society and their ideas. The move has been to make “truth” be whatever you say it is… so it has no strong footing or foundation. This is why the world is destablised. Jesus is the only truth…when we are founded upon the truth of Jesus… the Gospel, we have stability. When we chase our own sinful nature we are destablised…. and vulnerable to being destroyed. The conquerer destablises then destroys. We know who this is… he’s the horseman from Revelation 6:1-2 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” ² And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

_{Berean Study Bible}
¹² And in the rebellion, the host and the daily sacrifice were given over to the horn, and it flung truth to the ground and prospered in whatever it did.
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_{New King James Version}
¹³ Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?”

_{Berean Study Bible}
¹³ Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long until the fulfillment of the vision of the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, and the surrender of the sanctuary and of the host to be trampled?”
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_{New King James Version}
¹⁴ And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”

7 years.

_{Berean Study Bible}
¹⁴ He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be properly restored.”
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—
_{New King James Version}
¹⁵ Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.

_{Berean Study Bible}
¹⁵ While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.
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_{New King James Version}
¹⁶ And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.”

Gabriel went to Daniel to explain the vision to him. The voice between the banks of the Ulai was God’s. There are things in the word that are not yet understood because the time has not come to understand them. It isn’t until God gives his word to open our understanding that we will understand. When God is ready, he’ll show us. Daniel was told to write certain things down, but the understanding of those things would not be opened up until the right time. Trying to “unlock” the mystery of Daniel before God is ready is not only foolish, it’s futile. In this verse God instructed Gabriel to explain this vision.

_{Berean Study Bible}
¹⁶ And I heard the voice of a man calling from between the banks of the Ulai: “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”
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_{New King James Version}
¹⁷ So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.”

What Daniel saw shook him hard. Daniel lived through the time when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were tossed into a furnace….he lived in a time when people and their families were fed to the lions… so the time of Daniel was rough, especially for a Jewish person living in the Neo-Babylonian Empire. This vision trouble him… and here was a heavenly creature, the angel Gabriel standing before him about to give him understanding….and Daniel was terrified. I think you would have to be very dedicated to the Lord God to even be in the position that Daniel is is here….someone who doesn’t know the Lord or who has a corrupt idea of who God is would not be able to endure the vision, the visit from Gabriel and the understanding of what it all meant and then documenting it the way God intended it to be documented.
Gabriel opens with the fact that this vision pertains to the end times.

_{Berean Study Bible}
¹⁷ As he came near to where I stood, I was terrified and fell facedown. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”
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_{New King James Version}
¹⁸ Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me, and stood me upright.

_{Berean Study Bible}
¹⁸ While he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me, helped me to my feet,
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_{New King James Version}
¹⁹ And he said, “Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be.

The tribulation from Revelation.

_{Berean Study Bible}
¹⁹ and said, “Behold, I will make known to you what will happen in the latter time of wrath, because it concerns the appointed time of the end.
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_{New King James Version}
²⁰ The ram which you saw, having the two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia.

The Bible explains its symbols to us, so we don’t need to “figure it out” ourselves. When the Word doesn’t explain it, we need to leave it alone.

_{Berean Study Bible}
²⁰ The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia.
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_{New King James Version}
²¹ And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king.

Alexander the Great (click for article)

_{Berean Study Bible}
²¹ The shaggy goat represents the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king.
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_{New King James Version}
²² As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.

_{Berean Study Bible}
²² The four horns that replaced the broken one represent four kingdoms that will rise from that nation but will not have the same power.
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_{New King James Version}
²³ “And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise, Having fierce features, Who understands sinister schemes.

In Matthew 24:15 Jesus quotes these verses in Daniel. ¹⁵ When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) In the same chapter Jesus warns us about being deceived… not just once, but a couple times…even giving examples like in this verse ²⁴ For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Pride and confidence in our own abilities would have us say “There is no way I would ever believe the lies of the antichrist!” But here Jesus is warning us about a deception that is extremely cunning….Jesus isn’t exaggerating… the antichrist will have the deceptive skills of Satan. When a nation has rejected God, they fall into insanity and deception. When a person has rejected truth and righteousness….. they reject Jesus and God… and they fall into deception and wickeness, they no longer tolerate truth… it offends them.

_{Berean Study Bible}
²³ In the latter part of their reign, when the rebellion has reached its full measure, an insolent king, skilled in intrigue, will come to the throne.
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_{New King James Version}
²⁴ His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; He shall destroy fearfully,
And shall prosper and thrive; He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.

The deception coming is no ordinary deception…. Jesus warned us… Christians need to wake up and realize you will not “win” by determination and will…. you will need to know the truth… the word of God…and know it well… you need to know the nature of God and the way the Holy Spirit moves.

_{Berean Study Bible}
²⁴ His power will be great, but it will not be his own. He will cause terrible destruction and succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men along with the holy people.
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_{New King James Version}
²⁵ “Through his cunning He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; And he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; But he shall be broken without human means.

Three times the deception is mentioned in these verses in Daniel and again 2 times in Matthew. These warnings are not for the unbeliever… this is for the believer. Your will…your determination are not going to be enough…. you need that supernatural connection to God that is only obtained by knowing Jesus… knowing the word of God and being filled with the Holy Spirit.

_{Berean Study Bible}
²⁵ Through his craft and by his hand, he will cause deceit to prosper, and in his own mind he will make himself great. In a time of peace he will destroy many, and he will even stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be broken off, but not by human hands.
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_{New King James Version}
²⁶ “And the vision of the evenings and mornings Which was told is true; Therefore seal up the vision, For it refers to many days in the future.”

_{Berean Study Bible}
²⁶ The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been spoken is true. Now you must seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”
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_{New King James Version}
²⁷ And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king’s business. I was astonished by the vision, but no one understood it.

_{Berean Study Bible}
²⁷ I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was confounded by the vision; it was beyond understanding.