Daniel 8:1-27
“In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.” (Daniel 8:1)
About two years after the prior vision, around 552 BC, Daniel had a second vision. Once again is shared in his own words.
“And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.
Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.
And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.
Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.
And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered.
Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.
So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision. Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.” (Daniel 8:2-18)
In the vision, Daniel was by the river Ulai in Elam, the region of the border between present day Iraq and Iran. As in his previous vision, he asked the meanings of what he was seeing, and was answered by other characters within the vision. In this case, Gabriel, one of the archangels was assigned to explain the meaning. In the vision. Daniel was aware he was dreaming, but Gabriel set him up and explained it.
“And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.” (Daniel 8:19-20)
The vision came just about six years before the city was taken by the joint forces of the Medes and Persians. Initially it would be ruled by Darius the Mede, but about ten years later would be taken over by the much stronger and longer lasting Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great, the bigger horn, in 539 BC.
“And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.” (Daniel 8:21-22)
Philip of Macedon had organized the Greek city states, and in 331 BC. His son Alexander the Great conquered the Persian empire. Later he made Babylon his capital and invaded India, but his generals were concerned about the overextension of his supply lines and persuaded him to withdraw. When he died of a fever shortly after his return to Babylon, the kingdom was split between four of his generals, becoming four separate small empires including the Phoenicians . The vision then fast forwards more than two thousand years to the time of the end, to events which have not yet occurred in 2014 AD.
“And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.” (Daniel 8:23-25)
The little horn is to come out of the old Greek Empire, leaving many to speculate that since he also came from the Roman Empire, the antichrist would be from the Mediterranean area. Unfortunately, most western Historians have focused almost exclusively on western civilization and ignored other areas. As we saw in the prophecy in Daniel 2, Rome would split into an eastern Empire, the Byzantine Empire, and the western or Roman Empire eventually becoming known as the Holy Roman Empire.
The Byzantine Empire would encompass nearly all of the ancient Greek Empire and stretching into Eastern Europe, including Russia. For a time Constantinople would be the capital of the entire Roman Empire but after splitting it, Rome was restored as capital of the western empire and Constantinople continued as the Eastern capital. It is now known as Istanbul, in present day Turkey.
Understanding the Byzantine Empire’s relationship to the Roman Empire gives us a perspective of the prophecy in Ezekiel 38. In Ezekiel 38:2-4, God says, “Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:”
Today the people of Magog are known as the Magyar of southern Russia and Hungary. Meshech is an ancient name for Moscow, and Tobolsk is derived from Tubal. Other verses list some of the allies who will accompany this leader in his attack on Israel, and Daniel 11 gives more detail which implies the Antichrist may well come from this region. In any case, Russia will be deeply involved in the end time events.
Interestingly, the old Byzantine Empire, originally controlled and held together by the Greek or Eastern Orthodox Church has largely been taken over by Islamic groups which are now beginning to gain power in Europe. Many of those groups are violently anti Christian and anti Israel. Ezekiel 38:16 promises, “And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.”
Daniel 8:13-14 is very specific that the time period of the transgression of desolation or judgment on Israel will last two thousand three hundred days, or almost seven years. Later prophecies will give additional time frames.
“And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.” (Daniel 8:26)
While the vision would surelly come to pass, it would not happen until far into the future, and was to be shut up for the time them present. Many details are still not clear to us, as they have not happened yet, but those that we do understand give additional reassurance of the power and foreknowledge of God. We have reason for our hope. Daniel was overcome by what he had seen, but even with the explanation, the meaning was still a mystery.
“And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.” (Daniel 8:27)
“In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.” (Daniel 8:1)
About two years after the prior vision, around 552 BC, Daniel had a second vision. Once again is shared in his own words.
“And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.
Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.
And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.
Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.
And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered.
Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.
So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision. Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.” (Daniel 8:2-18)
In the vision, Daniel was by the river Ulai in Elam, the region of the border between present day Iraq and Iran. As in his previous vision, he asked the meanings of what he was seeing, and was answered by other characters within the vision. In this case, Gabriel, one of the archangels was assigned to explain the meaning. In the vision. Daniel was aware he was dreaming, but Gabriel set him up and explained it.
“And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.” (Daniel 8:19-20)
The vision came just about six years before the city was taken by the joint forces of the Medes and Persians. Initially it would be ruled by Darius the Mede, but about ten years later would be taken over by the much stronger and longer lasting Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great, the bigger horn, in 539 BC.
“And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.” (Daniel 8:21-22)
Philip of Macedon had organized the Greek city states, and in 331 BC. His son Alexander the Great conquered the Persian empire. Later he made Babylon his capital and invaded India, but his generals were concerned about the overextension of his supply lines and persuaded him to withdraw. When he died of a fever shortly after his return to Babylon, the kingdom was split between four of his generals, becoming four separate small empires including the Phoenicians . The vision then fast forwards more than two thousand years to the time of the end, to events which have not yet occurred in 2014 AD.
“And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.” (Daniel 8:23-25)
The little horn is to come out of the old Greek Empire, leaving many to speculate that since he also came from the Roman Empire, the antichrist would be from the Mediterranean area. Unfortunately, most western Historians have focused almost exclusively on western civilization and ignored other areas. As we saw in the prophecy in Daniel 2, Rome would split into an eastern Empire, the Byzantine Empire, and the western or Roman Empire eventually becoming known as the Holy Roman Empire.
The Byzantine Empire would encompass nearly all of the ancient Greek Empire and stretching into Eastern Europe, including Russia. For a time Constantinople would be the capital of the entire Roman Empire but after splitting it, Rome was restored as capital of the western empire and Constantinople continued as the Eastern capital. It is now known as Istanbul, in present day Turkey.
Understanding the Byzantine Empire’s relationship to the Roman Empire gives us a perspective of the prophecy in Ezekiel 38. In Ezekiel 38:2-4, God says, “Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:”
Today the people of Magog are known as the Magyar of southern Russia and Hungary. Meshech is an ancient name for Moscow, and Tobolsk is derived from Tubal. Other verses list some of the allies who will accompany this leader in his attack on Israel, and Daniel 11 gives more detail which implies the Antichrist may well come from this region. In any case, Russia will be deeply involved in the end time events.
Interestingly, the old Byzantine Empire, originally controlled and held together by the Greek or Eastern Orthodox Church has largely been taken over by Islamic groups which are now beginning to gain power in Europe. Many of those groups are violently anti Christian and anti Israel. Ezekiel 38:16 promises, “And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.”
Daniel 8:13-14 is very specific that the time period of the transgression of desolation or judgment on Israel will last two thousand three hundred days, or almost seven years. Later prophecies will give additional time frames.
“And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.” (Daniel 8:26)
While the vision would surelly come to pass, it would not happen until far into the future, and was to be shut up for the time them present. Many details are still not clear to us, as they have not happened yet, but those that we do understand give additional reassurance of the power and foreknowledge of God. We have reason for our hope. Daniel was overcome by what he had seen, but even with the explanation, the meaning was still a mystery.
“And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.” (Daniel 8:27)
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