Daniel 8

CHAPTER 8

Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and a Goat (8:1–14)

1–4 Daniel’s vision of the ram and the goat occurred two years after his dream of the four beasts described in the previous chapter. In this vision, Daniel saw just two “beasts”; the first was a ram with two horns, against which no other animal could stand (verses 3–4). The ram symbolized the kings of Media and Persia (verse 20), the longer horn representing the Persian king, who was more powerful. For two centuries the Persian Empire dominated the Middle East; no other nation could stand against it.

5–8 Then, in his vision, Daniel saw the second animal; this was a goat with one prominent horn (verse 5). The goat came from the west (Greece), and its horn represented Alexander the Great, the first king of Greece (verse 21). The goat attacked the ram and trampled on it; after that, the goat became very great (verses 7–8). But then its horn was broken off, and four . . . horns grew up in its place. The breaking of the one horn represented the sudden death of Alexander at the age of thirty-three; after that, his kingdom was divided into four parts, the four “horns” of Daniel’s vision. The four horns correspond to the four heads of the leopard in Daniel’s earlier dream (see Daniel 7:6).

We should remind ourselves at this point that the rise of the Greek Empire was still two centuries in the future when Daniel wrote his book. Thus the dreams and visions recorded by Daniel predict with remarkable accuracy not only the future rise of the Greek Empire but also, in Daniel Chapters 2 and 7, the rise of the Roman Empire as well, which was yet further in the future. And, as we shall see in verses 9–12, Daniel saw something else in the future: the rise of another horn, which can readily be identified as Antiochus Epiphanes, who rose to power in Syria, one of the four parts of the Greek Empire.

9–12 This new “horn,” Antiochus, arose out of one of the “four horns” of the Greek Empire in about 175 B.C. After extending his power toward the Beautiful Land (Israel), Antiochus attempted to destroy the Jewish religion (verse 9). He threw some of the starry host down²¹ (verse 10)—that is, the people of God—and tried to be as great as the Prince of the host, that is, God Himself. In about 168 B.C., Antiochus ended the daily sacrifice in the temple²² and brought low the place of God’s sanctuary in Jerusalem²³ (verse 11). In verses 23–25, the evil activities of Antiochus are described further.

13–14 Daniel then overheard one angel asking another how long it would take for this vision to be fulfilled. The answer:it would take 2,300 evenings and mornings²⁴ (verse 14); after that, the sanctuary would be reconsecrated by ending all idol worship and reinstating the proper worship of God.

The Interpretation of the Vision (8:15–27)

15–18 As Daniel was trying to understand what he had seen, the angel Gabriel was told to explain it to him (see Luke 1:1819). Daniel was overwhelmed by the angel’s presence. Gabriel told him that the vision he had seen concerned the time of the end²⁵ (verse 17).

19–25 Here the angel Gabriel explains the meaning of Daniel’s vision; this has already been commented on above. The stern–faced king is Antiochus (verse 23). He will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes, that is, God (verse 25). Yet in the end he will be destroyed, but not by human power. Antiochus’ death was caused by accident or disease; thus he was “destroyed” by God’s power.

26–27 Because Daniel’s vision concerned future events, Gabriel told him to seal up the vision; that is, Daniel was to keep his vision confidential. This may be one reason why he wrote this and the remaining chapters in Hebrew and not in Aramaic; fewer people would be able to understand what he had written.²⁶

There is a final point to make about Daniel’s visions. We have seen that his visions concerning the Greek and Roman Empires have come true—even though there was no such thing as a Greek or Roman Empire in Daniel’s day! Yet there are still aspects of Daniel’s vision that have not yet come true—those aspects that concern the end of the world. What we should learn from Daniel is this: if his prophecies of past history have come true, we can expect his prophecies of “future history” to come true also. These visions of Daniel are not simply poetic fancies or flights of imagination: they are visions given by the living God of history to one of his servants—and through that servant, to us. What Daniel has said about our own future will come to pass; we need to be ready for it.²⁷ “What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” (Mark 13:37).