Sunday, December 8, 2013

Daniel 8 - The “The Ram And The Goat”

This vision is in Hebrew, while the chapter 7 vision was in Aramaic. The events foretold in this vision were fulfilled within 200 years - making many critics say that this was actually written after the facts not before. However, a careful study will show that the prophecy is not yet completely fulfilled. There is indisputable evidence that the book of Daniel was written before the time of the events that it predicted. The Septuagint translation of the Old Testament (completed at the request of Ptolemy Philadelphus in the year 285 B.C.) antedates the historical period of the Maccabees by 120 years.

(1) During the *third year of King Belshazzar's reign, I, Daniel, **saw another vision, following the one that had already appeared to me.

  • *third year: 51 B.C. 2 years after chapter 7.
  • **saw: Daniel was there in spirit as when Ezekiel was transported to Jerusalem (Ezekiel 8:3) and John was carried into the wilderness (Revelation 17:3). But in Revelation 4:1, John appears to actually be transported there: Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me with the sound of a mighty trumpet blast. The voice said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after these things."

(2) This time I was at the fortress of *Susa, in the province of Elam, standing beside the Ulai River.

  • *Susa
    • One of the Persian royal cities, was located 230 miles east of Babylon; 150 miles north of head of Persian Gulf. Susa was the capital of Elamites in antiquity; later the main residence of Persian kings. This was the location of a famous palace begun by Darius I and later enlarged by Xerxes. It was the home of Esther (Esther 1:2,5; 2:3,5), the city of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1:1). Code of Hammurabi was found there in 1901.
    • Esther 1:1-3: This happened in the days of King Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia. At that time he ruled his empire from his throne at the fortress of Susa. In the third year of his reign, he gave a banquet for all his princes and officials. He invited all the military officers of Media and Persia, as well as the noblemen and provincial officials.

(3) As I *looked up, I saw in front of me a **ram with two long ***horns standing beside the river. One of the horns was longer than the other, even though it had begun to grow later than the shorter one.

  • *looked up: Reminds me of Joshua 5:13: As Joshua approached the city of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man facing him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you friend or foe?"
    • I suspect both Daniel and Joshua "look up" because they are in an attitude of prayer.
  • **ram: The Persian king, at the head of his army, wore the head of ram instead of the diadem and a ram was stamped on Persian coins.
  • ***horns: The ram’s two horns recalls the bear raised up on one side (Daniel 7:5).
  • The conquest of Persia was swift. Alexander's force was composed of 30,000 mobile cavalry. Alexander the Great had three special campaigns against the Medo-Persian Empire. The first was in Phrygia -- "the ram standing by the river" in 334 B.C. That river was the Granicus. The second in Cilicia at the Straits of Issus -- 333 B.C., and the third was Gaugemela or Arbela in 331 B.C. Alexander and the Greeks were furious with Persia for all the damage inflicted on Greece, including the burning of the city of Athens. Then Alexander pursued Darius. Finally he advanced NE through Afghanistan into India. He had designs for the subjugation of the whole continent of Asia, but the refusal of his soldiers to proceed, stopped him at the Sutlej, and forced him homeward.

(4) The ram butted everything out of its way to the west, to the north, and to the south, and no one could stand against it or help its victims. It did as it pleased and became very great.

(5) While I was watching, suddenly a *male goat appeared from the west, crossing the land so **swiftly that it didn't even touch the ground. This goat, which had one very large horn between its eyes,

  • *male goat: Alexander the Great: At the age of 20 he assumed the mantle of his father, Philip of Macedon. Six years later he had conquered the mighty Persian Empire and by the age of 30 his empire stretched from the Mediterranean to India. He died at the age of 32 in Babylon. Notice the goat comes from the west (Greece).
  • **swiftly: The description of this goat is parallel to the third beast in Daniel 7:6, the leopard with wings. Both were rapid, and the leopard had four heads whereas the goat had four horns. The picture stands for the amazing speed of Alexander’s conquest, which foreshadowed the “blitz” of Adolph Hitler’s army during the Second World War.
  • Xerxes was the last great ruler of Persia (he was king during the days of Esther). He made a foray against Europe, against Greece. But the Greeks were smart - they didn’t go out to meet him. Instead, they waited until he got to Thermopylae, a narrow pass into which he could not fit a big army. Since one Greek soldier was equal to at least ten of the Medo-Persian who were not a trained and disciplined army as the Greeks were, the Greeks decimated them at Thermopylae, but were eventually defeated due to a traitor who revealed a path that would lead to the rear of the Greek army. When word was brought to Xerxes that his fleet had been destroyed, he went down to the sea, took off his belt, and beat the waves with it - they had destroyed his fleet! In the book of Esther, this battle and the Persian war against the Greeks, takes place between chapters 1 and 2 of the book.

(6) headed toward the two-horned ram that I had seen standing beside the river.

(7) The goat charged furiously at the ram and struck it, breaking off both its horns. Now the ram was helpless, and the goat knocked it down and trampled it. There was no one who could rescue the ram from the goat's power.

  • The goat quickly conquered Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt and Mesopotamia in a few years, beginning in 334 B.C. The greatness that had characterized the ram now belonged to the goat.

(8) The goat became very powerful. But at the height of its power, its *large horn was broken off. In the large horn's place grew **four prominent horns pointing in the four directions of the earth.

  • *large horn was broken off: Alexander died at 32 at Babylon, 11 years after leaving home country. As soon as the goat was elevated to great power, his large single horn was broken off, and its place was taken by four “prominent ones” in verse 9.
  • **four: The empire was divided:
    1. Cassander (who was married to Alexander’s sister): Macedonia and Greece.
    2. Lysimacus (1 of 2 boyhood tutors): Thrace, Bithynia, most of Asia Minor.
    3. Seleucus (one of Philip’s generals): Syria, lands to the east, to India
    4. Ptolemy (Macedonian noble, boyhood friend and schoolmate): Egypt, Cyrene, Arabia Petraea, parts of Asia Minor. The last Ptolemy was Cleopatra.

(9) From one of the prominent horns came a small horn whose power grew very great. It extended toward the south and the east and toward the glorious land of Israel.

(10) His power reached to the heavens where it attacked the heavenly armies, throwing some of the heavenly beings and *stars to the ground and trampling them.

  • Although Antiochus Epiphanes instituted a reign of terror in Israel, forbidding circumcision and defiling the temple by sacrificing swine on the altar, he does not completely measure up to the little horn that in Daniel’s prophecy reached the host of the heavens and throws down to the earth “some of the starry host” and tramples on them. This, obviously, points to a cosmic event that involves more than any acts by humans could account for.
  •  *stars: Revelation 6:13: Then the stars of the sky fell to the earth like green figs falling from trees shaken by mighty winds.
    • The fig tree symbolizes the house of Israel. The "host of heaven"or "heavenly armies" could be speaking of Israel. The "stars" could be speaking of their leaders. This particular Scripture could have two messages. One would be to the time very near to when Daniel lived, and the other could reach to the end of time.

(11) He even challenged the Commander of heaven's armies by canceling the daily sacrifices offered to him and by destroying his Temple.

  • Antiochus IV:
    • Came to power 175 B.C.
    • Invaded Egypt, defeated Ptolemy.
    • Recalled from Egypt by Rome, he made Jerusalem a buffer state; he plundered & desecrated the Temple.
    • He called himself Epiphanes, “the Illustrious One”; the Jews called him Epimanes, “the Madman”.
    • At one time, he slew 100,000 Jews - a foreshadow of Hitler and Antichrist.
    • The wording in verses 10-12 show that this is a double prophecy - one of Antiochus Epiphanes and the other of Antichrist. Luther also believed so as did the Jews of Jerome's time.
  • Antiochus Epiphanes succeeded to the throne of Syria about one hundred and twenty years after the death of Alexander. The Spirit of God, looking down the ages, saw in Antiochus a type of the Antichrist; that is why He recorded the portrait of that man of long ago, in order that he might be a foreshadowing of that other one who is to come. All that is written of Antiochus—and more—could be said of the coming “man of sin.” He, too, will exalt himself as God, sitting “in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” He, too, will claim honors due only to Israel's Messiah. He, too, will take away the daily sacrifice, persecuting God's ancient people—Daniel's people—in the “Great Tribulation” that is to come upon the earth.
  • If successful at making the Israelites follow Greek ways, Antiochus would have changed world history. Starting around 170 BCE, the king thought he could put an end to Jewish rebellions if he wiped out their religion, a common practice of the time. Destroy everything which makes a people think of themselves as distinct and they’re more pliant to assimilation into a larger culture. More than enough Jews were eager to jump on the Hellenization bandwagon. The plan almost succeeded, if not for a Jewish family that became legends of their own. The Hasmoneans rebelled against Antiochus, led by the youngest son of a zealous rabbi named Mattathias: Judas Maccabeus, the “Hammer of God,” a title given to the freedom fighters – the Maccabees – that defeated several of Antiochus’s armies and restored the Temple in Jerusalem. Their story has become part of written history, celebrated in the Hanukkah holiday. Faced by superior numbers and military equipment, Judas led a rag-tag bunch of Israeli guerrilla warriors to victory over the Syrian Greeks, culminating with the retaking of the Temple. With only enough consecrated oil to burn for one day, the Hasmoneans restored the Temple anyway, and one day’s worth of oil burned for eight days, until more oil could be consecrated.
  • He called himself “Antiochus Epiphanes,” which means Antiochus the Magnificent” or “Antiochus the Glorious.” Coins from that era have been found bearing his likeness and the Greek phrase Theos Epiphanes—God Manifest. The Jews called him Antiochus Epimanes, a play on words meaning Antiochus the Madman.
  • Daniel 11:31: His army will take over the Temple fortress, polluting the sanctuary, putting a stop to the daily sacrifices, and setting up the sacrilegious object that causes desecration.
  • Daniel 12:11: "From the time the daily sacrifice is taken away and the sacrilegious object that causes desecration is set up to be worshiped, there will be 1,290 days.
    • Daniel 11:31 & 12:11 have to do with the time of the antichrist.

(12) But the army of heaven was restrained from destroying him for this sin. As a result, *sacrilege was committed against the Temple ceremonies, and truth was overthrown. The horn succeeded in everything it did.

  • *sacrilege: the “Abomination of Desolation.” Stopped morning and evening sacrifices.
  • 1 Maccabees 1:44-49: “And the king sent letters by messengers to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah; he directed them: to follow customs strange to the land, to forbid burnt offerings and sacrifices and drink offerings in the sanctuary, to profane Sabbaths and feasts, to defile the sanctuary and the priests, to build altars in sacred precincts and shrines for idols, to sacrifice swine and unclean animals, and to leave their sons uncircumcised. They were to make themselves abominable by everything unclean and profane, so that they should forget the law and change all the ordinances. And whoever does not obey the command of the king shall die.”
  • This tribulation through which the Jews passed was a type and foreshadowing of the coming GREAT TRIBULATION as Antiochus Epiphanes was a type of the Antichrist.
  • As Abel, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and Melchizedek were types of Christ, so Antiochus Epiphanes was a type of the Antichrist and hence Daniel 8 is to have a future and fuller fulfillment. 

(13) Then I heard *two of the holy ones talking to each other. One of them said, "How long will the events of this vision last? How long will the rebellion that causes desecration stop the daily sacrifices? How long will the Temple and heaven's armies be trampled on?"

  • Here, a revelation of a certain future prophetic event was made to Daniel, by a certain saint or holy one, i.e., a holy angel; and ‘another’ angel asked a question concerning numbers—‘How long,’ etc.? The name of ‘that certain saint’ is given in the Hebrew, and is placed in the margin, with its meaning. His name is ‘PALMONI,’ and it means ‘the numberer of secrets, or the wonderful numberer.’”
  • *two: Daniel does not give the names of these two just as John fails to give the names of the two witnesses of the Book of Revelation. Daniel saw that one was speaking and that the other was addressing the numberer of secrets or the wonderful numberer which would lead to the conclusion that one special angel has charge of numbers, as well as TIMES AND SEASONS which have to do with the Israel of God.
  • Mark 13:14: "The time will come when you will see the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing where it should not be" -- reader, pay attention! "Then those in Judea must flee to the hills.

(14) The other replied, "It will take *twenty-three hundred **evenings and mornings; then the Temple will be restored."

  • *twenty-three hundred:
    • Dr. Wilbur M. Smith said, "This period of 2,300 days is the length of time during which the sanctuary was desecrated by the army of Antiocus Epiphanes, 171 B.C. to December 25, 165 B.C." Judas Maccabeus drove out the Syrian army in 165 B.C., at which time the Temple was cleansed and rededicated after its pollution.
  • **evening and mornings: (‘erev boker): = 1150 days. 110 days short of 3½ year.
  • The fulfillment of this prophecy may be read in Jewish history between the close of the Old Testament by Malachi and the opening of the New Testament by Matthew. It was prophecy. It is now history.

(15) As I, Daniel, was trying to understand the meaning of this vision, someone who looked like a man suddenly stood in front of me.

(16) And I heard a human voice calling out from the Ulai River, "*Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of his vision."

  • *Gabriel: First mention in the Bible of an angel by name. There is a slight play-on-words in the Hebrew that is lost in our translations. The Hebrew word rendered “man” is geber and the name Gabriel is a combination of the Hebrew geber and el – “man of God.” He appears again to Daniel in chapter 9 verse 21 and centuries later to Zacharias and Mary (Luke 1:19,26 - Then the angel said, "I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! ... In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee,).

(17) As Gabriel approached the place where I was standing, I became so terrified that I fell to the ground. "Son of man," he said, "you must understand that the events you have seen in your vision relate to the time of the end."

(18) While he was speaking, I fainted and lay there with my face to the ground. But Gabriel roused me with a touch and helped me to my feet.

(19) Then he said, "I am here to tell you what will happen later in the time of *wrath. What you have seen pertains to the very **end of time.

  • *wrath: The Hebrew word rendered “wrath,” or “indignation” is za`am, which literally means “to foam at the mouth,” or “to be furious.” In most instances it refers to the wrath of God, but that is not necessarily the case in this instance. It could refer to the state of mind that inspired Antiochus Epiphanes to commit his dastardly acts and to the spirit of the Antichrist.
  • **end of time: This prophecy goes beyond the immediate future and is projected into the distant future.
    • The end of time takes in the whole period from the close of the Old Testament Scripture to the reign of Christ over the Earth. The Church period under which we now live and which has already been running its course for over 2000 years was not revealed by Daniel. When Christ was born, he was born the King of the Jews. He was God’s king and the Messiah of Israel. Rejected as King (which of course was all foreseen and foretold by God) He became, through death, the Savior of the World.
  • It seems most likely that Gabriel issues a warning about the upcoming persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes in the immediate future and that at the same time he makes reference to the ultimate Great Tribulation instigated by the Antichrist in the last chapter of world history. The references to the empires of Media-Persia and Greece are clear enough. The description of “a fierce king, a master of intrigue,” who will “take on the Prince of princes,” in verses 23-25, may refer to both Antiochus Epiphanes and his antitype, the Antichrist.

(20) The two-horned ram represents the kings of Media and Persia.

(21) The shaggy male goat represents the king of *Greece, and the large horn between its eyes represents the first king of the Greek Empire.

  • *Greece: In Daniel's time, Greece was a group of loosely allied city-states with no leader, hardly a world power capable of defeating the Persian Empire.
  • Again, Gabriel moves from the local fulfillment in Antiochus to the end of the Times of the Gentiles. The ram definitely represents the kings of Media and Persia. So the “rough goat” is likewise labeled the king of Greece, and the “great horn” is the first king, Alexander the Great.
  • The word AEGEAN (sea) actually means Goat Sea. The son of Alexander was named AGUS which means “Son of the Goat.”

(22) The four prominent horns that replaced the one large horn show that the Greek Empire will break into four sections with four kings, none of them as great as the first.

(23) "At the end of their rule, when their sin is at its height, a fierce king, a master of intrigue, will rise to power.

  • Historically speaking, these words applied to Antiochus Epiphanes whom GOD, in His permissive will, allowed to make their sanctuary desolate because they themselves had sinned against the Lord. Prophetically speaking, they look forward to the end-time (to the latter time of their kingdom) when the transgressors shall have come to the full, at which time another king of fierce countenance and understanding dark sentences will stand up against them.

(24) He will become very strong, but *not by his own power. He will cause a shocking amount of destruction and succeed in everything he does. He will destroy powerful leaders and devastate the holy people.

  • Revelation 13:2-7: This beast looked like a leopard, but it had bear's feet and a lion's mouth! And the dragon gave him his own power and throne and great authority. I saw that one of the heads of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery -- but the fatal wound was healed! All the world marveled at this miracle and followed the beast in awe. They worshiped the dragon for giving the beast such power, and they worshiped the beast. "Is there anyone as great as the beast?" they exclaimed. "Who is able to fight against him?" Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do what he wanted for forty-two months. And he spoke terrible words of blasphemy against God, slandering his name and all who live in heaven, who are his temple. And the beast was allowed to wage war against God's holy people and to overcome them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation.
  • *not by his own power: From these words, we can discern that this coming wicked person will be none other than the coming Antichrist. This is confirmed in the 25th verse where he takes on the Prince of princes. Only a few centuries separated Daniel from “the fullness of time” when God would send His Son into the world. Satan, who knew the prophecies, must have realized the importance of corrupting the Jewish religion before that moment arrived. Antiochus Epiphanes was his man. In the same way, the Antichrist will receive his power directly from Satan.

(25) He will be a master of deception, defeating many by catching them off guard. Without warning he will destroy them. He will even take on the *Prince of princes in battle, but he will be broken, though **not by human power.

  • A Type of the Antichrist:
    1. No man will be able to buy or sell except the one who has the mark of the beast (Revelation 13:17).
    2. He is given a mouth speaking blasphemies, with power to continue 42 months (Revelation 13:5).
    3.The rider on the white horse; then comes the red horse of war - thus, a false peace (Revelation 6).
    4. The 1st beast of Revelation 13 is against Christ.
  • Summary:
    • He will achieve great power by subduing others (v.24);
    • He will rise to power by promising false security (v.25);
    • He will be intelligent and persuasive (v.23);
    • He will be controlled by another, Satan (v.24);
    • He will be an adversary of Israel and subjugate Israel to his authority (vv.24-25);
    • He will rise up in opposition to the Prince of princes, the Lord Jesus Christ (v.25);
    • His rule will be terminated by divine judgment (v.25);
  • Revelation 17:14: Together they will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord over all lords and King over all kings, and his people are the called and chosen and faithful ones."
  • *Prince of princes: These words look beyond the Jewish High Priest, who at the time gained that office by murder and bribery, to the High Priest who is now on High and who is earth’s rightful Prince, King and Lord. Christ is the Prince of princes, King of kings and Lord of lords.
  • **not by human power: 2 Thessalonians 2:8: Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will consume with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.
  • It is hard not to think of Adolf Hitler as a type. Hitler was heavily into the occult and mastered in deception. When Hitler looked threatening in 1938, England’s Prime Minister Chamberlin met with Hitler and an Anglo-German peace accord was signed. Hitler loved to say one thing and do another. As Chamberlin left that meeting, Hitler is reported to have said ‘there goes a worm of a man.’ Chamberlin returned from that meeting jubilant declaring to all the now famous and naive line ‘there will be peace in our time.’ Hitler was awarded the 1938 Time Magazine ‘Man of the Year’. (Which is nearly, but not quite, on the same level of stupidity as giving Yasser Arafat the Nobel Peace prize!) One year later, Hitler’s true intentions are shown and WWII begins. Thank goodness for Britain and the world that Chamberlin was replaced by Churchill! How did Antiochus die? Of a horrible, painful and foul intestinal disease. No man did this - it was the judgment of God.
    We do see evil in the world. We do see the wicked prosper. But they are not allowed to continue past their appointed time.

(26) "This vision about the twenty-three hundred evenings and mornings is true. But none of these things will happen for a long time, so *do not tell anyone about them yet."

  • *do not tell: Regarding Gabriel’s closing remarks about the sealing up of the vision, The Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary observes: “In Revelation 22:10 it is said, ‘Then he instructed me, "Do not seal up the prophetic words you have written, for the time is near.’ What in Daniel’s time was hidden, was more fully explained in Revelation, and as the time draws nearer it will be clearer still.” Although it is true that the vision would be partially fulfilled during the period of Antiochus’ reign of terror, the ultimate fulfillment will be at the end of times, when the Antichrist will appear.
  • The defiling of the temple occurred in 171BC. Counting 2,300 days into the future brings us to December 25th, 165BC, the exact day that the temple was cleansed and rededicated. This holiday is celebrated by the Jews each year - its most familiar name is Hannukah. The Bible refers to it as the "Feast of Dedication."

(27) Then I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for several days. Afterward I got up and performed my duties for the king, but I was greatly troubled by the vision and could not understand it.

NOTES:

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