Daniel 8 Commentary

Daniel 8 KJV	Commentary
¹In 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. ²And 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.	8:1-2 Daniel received this vision twelve years before the fall of Babylon. Since Babylon was about to be overthrown, the vision of this chapter begins with Medo-Persia. This chapter is also a repeat of chapter 7 with more emphasis on the judgment scene.
³Then 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. ⁴I 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.	8:3-4 Verse 20 identifies this “ram” as Medo-Persia. The “two horns” represent the two parts of the empire with the Persians, the younger of the two nations, becoming dominant over the Medes. See also noes on Daniel 7:5.
⁵And 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. ⁶And 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. ⁷And 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. ⁸Therefore 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.	8:5-8 Verses 21 and 22 identify the “goat” as Greece the “notable horn between his eyes” was Alexander the Great, who came from the west and defeated the armies of Persia. Alexander died without an heir at the height of his power. His generals fought each other until there were only four left, represented by the “four horns.” See also notes on Daniel 7:6. The two animals used to represent Medo-Persia and Greece is not wild animals of prey, but clean animals used in the sanctuary service. The next power to come into view is represented by a horn. The focus of this vision is how this power affects God’s Sanctuary, His people and His work of saving souls from sin.
⁹And 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. ¹⁰And 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. ¹¹Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of the sanctuary was cast down. ¹²And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.	8:9-12 We know from Daniel 2 and 7 and from history that the power which followed Greece was Rome. In chapters 2 and 7 it was shown in two phases: Pagan Rome and Divided Rome. We saw in Chapter 7 that the religious power of Papal Rome rose to dominate the divided empire. This vision represents power. The physical actions of Pagan Rome against God’s people are symbolic of Papal persecution of God’s people and their true worship.
¹³Then 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? ¹⁴And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.	8:13-14 A day in Bible prophecy equals one literal year, so the 2300 days allotted for the events in this vision are 2300 years. See Ezekiel 4:6; Numbers 14:34. This time period cannot be 2300 literal days—a little over 6 years—because this vision encompasses the Persian, Grecian, Roman, and Papal powers, and because verses 17 and 19 state that the vision extends to the end of time. The angel does not give the starting date in this chapter but we know that is sometime during the reign of Medo-Persia (539-331 BC), which was the first kingdom in this prophecy. The exact starting date will be given in chapter 9.
¹⁵And 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. ¹⁶And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. ¹⁷So 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. ¹⁸Now 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. ¹⁹And 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. ²⁰The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. ²¹And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. ²²Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.	8:15-22 The angel Gabriel is given a divine command to instruct Daniel so he will “understand the vision.” However, Daniel faints before Gabriel can give him the starting date of the 2300 days/years. Daniel later states that no one understood the vision, vs. 27.
²³And 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. ²⁴And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. ²⁵And 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.	8:23-25 This power is broken “without hand” (vs. 25), an expression alluding to the rock cut out without hand that destroys the image of Daniel 2. By a quick comparison of the “fourth Beast” and its “little horn” from chapter seven with the “little horn” of chapter eight, we see that they both represent the same power: Daniel 7: 21 “make war with the saints” 8 “mouth speaking great things” 19 “exceeding dreadful” 11 “beast was slain… given to the burning” Daniel 8: 24 “destroy the mighty and the holy people” 11 “magnified himself” 23 “king of fierce countenance” 25 “broken without hand” This power, represented here in Daniel 8 as a blending of Pagan and Papal Rome, has throughout the course of its history fulfilled the prophecies in this chapter.
²⁶And 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. ²⁷And 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.	8:26-27 The angel explained all parts of the vision except the 2300 days (evenings and mornings) and the cleansing of the sanctuary. Where the interpretation for these parts of the vision would be expected, Daniel instead told to close up the vision.

Daniel 8 KJV

Commentary

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