Daniel 8:1, “In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me (Vision 2300), even unto me, Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first” (the “times” vision, chapter 7).
Chapter 8 is the key to the rest of Daniel. Daniel has two more visions in chapter 8 that he needs help understanding. I labeled the vision in Daniel 8:1 as “Vision 2300” because English Holy Bibles translate two different Hebrew words for the two visions, both as “vision” as we advance, and we must keep them separate to understand them. That may help explain why so much interpretation “misses the mark.” You will see even with the labels; it is complicated.
I am jumping over Daniel 8:2-7 because the text explains them sufficiently in your read. Daniel chapters 1-6 are about the earthly people with our Abba Father, chapter 7 is a transition, and chapters 8-12 are about our Abba Father’s control of the battle between the enemy and heaven through the enemy controlled “other horn” element of the Roman Empire and Holy Roman Empire. Chapter 8 references only the Persia-Media and Greek kingdoms and the “other horn.” The Persia-Media conquest is coming soon.
Our Abba Father allows everything the enemy does, and people ask why. I answer that he is committed to working through his created families, both the spirit and the physical, because free will is an integral part of our “made in the image” of our Abba Father. We must understand that to reject ELB in our lives.
Jump into Daniel 8:8-9, “Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn (Alexander) was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven. “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.” That is the death of Alexander and the succession to his four generals referenced earlier, mainly Seleucid in the north (Syria and Turkey), and Ptolemy in the south (Egypt).
Vision 2300 refers to the Persia-Media and the Greek empires as a ram and a goat. Those are sacrificial animals, in contrast to the predatory beasts of chapter 7. Chapter 8 is about the sacrificial system and it adds new information about the “other horn,” now called the “little horn.” The language changes from Aramaic after verse 7:28; the rest is Hebrew.
We must get into the weeds here, but I believe you will get it. Verse 8:9 is what ELB relies on for Greek Antiochus IV to be the “little horn.” ELB wants to tell us the “little horn” came from one of the four generals, the “four notable ones” that succeeded Alexander. That was not possible in chapter 7 and is not possible in chapter 8, either.
We have to go into the details because ELB is so strong about Antiochus IV if you research it. Please read verse 8:8 again and only see “. . . the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came a little horn . . .”
The “little horn” is from one of the “four winds,” not a “notable one” from the Greek empire. Grammatically, the “them” should attach to the last option, “the four winds.” In the ancient language, as well as today, with gendered languages, the gender of the pronoun “them” must match the gender of its subject, and the Holy Spirit has perfect grammar. “Them” is the masculine form, and “notable ones” is the feminine form. “Winds” can be either. For many compelling reasons, the “little horn” cannot come from a Greek “notable one“; pronoun grammar is another reason. The “little horn” comes from the “four winds of heaven,” one of which is the Roman Empire.
Revisit, “a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land.” The “little horn” starts as the Roman Empire and grows into the church-state empire. The Roman Empire conquered northern Africa (south) in 146 BC, Greece in 148 (east), and added the Glorious Land with the Maccabee alliance around 135 AD. Antiochus IV accomplished nothing close to that. The church-state (the “little, other horn”) started to grow with Constantine in the Roman Empire and spread throughout the entire empire.
Daniel 8:10-11, “And it (the little horn) 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.” That is the spirit war of the “little horn” powered by the enemy. Remember, an attack on believers is an attack on heaven. The host and the stars cast down are the faithful people in the pre-Constantine era of persecution.
“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 “Prince of the host” is pre-incarnate Jesus in the Old Testament. S5M1 dives into pre-incarnate Jesus.
The “daily sacrifices” are the three offerings, the ceremonial bread, grain, and animal sacrifice administered in the temple. Jesus ended on the cross the sacrificial system for the atonement of sins, consistent with the two sacrificial animals referenced. The “little horn” orchestrated the crucifixion, which took the sacrifices away.
The Hebrew word for sanctuary is “qōḏeš” and appears 147 times in the Old Testament. Translators almost always say “holy place” or “most holy place,” related to the temple. The Hebrew word for “place” in the phrase “and the place of His” is “məḵōwn.” It is better translated as “foundation” in the context of the throne, meaning the “law” behind the throne judgment.
Here we see the earthly physical taken away from us with the cross and the heavenly taken away from us with Jesus as the Word, i.e., the law. The horizontal and vertical directions of the cross are often seen as the earth and heaven together.
Daniel 8:12, “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.“
Daniel 8:13-14, “Then I (Daniel) heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be (Vision 2300), concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?” And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”
Israel’s transgressions are the fruit of the enemy and cause ruin. The NASB says, “while the offense causes horror.” The “little horn,” the church-state transgression, continues the enemy’s work. The enemy does something to the holy place (the sanctuary) that needs cleansed. Restored is a better translation. It is also clear the reference to the “daily sacrifices” is important; the Scripture mentions it four times. Please fasten your seat belt again; after 2300 years of prophetic time, our Abba Father restores the Holy Place. Now keep in mind chapter 8 is about the heavenly temple. We need chapter 9 to understand it because Daniel is befuddled. Just hang in there.
Daniel 8:15-16, “Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision (Vision 2300) and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.” And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” I call this vision “Vision 490;” it is the second vision referred to above. You can see how we get lost in English without the vision labels.
Daniel 8:17-19, “. . . “Understand, son of man, that the vision (Vision 2300) refers to the time of the end. . . 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.” That is another example where interpretation goes astray. The “time of the end” is not the same as the “end time.”
Vision 490
Notice that Vision 2300 is the “latter time,” not just the time of the end itself. We must be careful with precisely what “time” Daniel is talking about. In general, we are too fixated on two separate lives, this life in ELB, and then poof, Jesus appears, and all hell breaks loose. That weak understanding (or weak interest) keeps us focused on this life in ELB. Daniel’s portrayal of modern history is a huge faith builder.
Remember that Daniel seals Vision 2300, but angel Gabriel explains Vision 490. We can only understand that if we know which visions we are discussing. The Hebrew word for Vision 2300 means “revelation” and is about the entire 2300 year period. The word for Vision 490 means “appearance” and is about a part of Vision 2300, the part where Jesus appears.
Also notice, in Daniel 8:15, “the appearance of a man.” Appearance is the same Hebrew word as Vision 490, that man is pre-incarnate Jesus. Daniel 8:16 tells Daniel to explain Vision 490, which is about that man. A “mighty man” in Hebrew. His name is Jesus.
Daniel 8:23-24 is about the goat, the Greek Empire. “And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, . . .” The Maccabee family mentioned previously revolted against the Greek rule (Antiochus IV, in fact) in 166 BC, and Judah Maccabee signed a protection treaty with Rome in 161 BC, giving up on our Abba Father to protect Israel. Daniel then describes the ram and goat metaphors which you will understand knowing what they are. That is the Hasmonaean period Jesus was born into and highlighted how devoid of faith Israel had become.
Then, a new thought, Daniel 8:23-24 cont., “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 do his pleasure; and he shall destroy the mighty ones and the holy people.” That is the Roman Empire’s conquest following the Hasmonaean period.
Read Deuteronomy 28 about Israel first entering the Promised Land. I will sample it with Deuteronomy 28:49-51, when our Abba Father told Israel what would happen if they were not obedient to him and his commandments (his trust), “Yahweh will bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; a nation of fierce countenance, that shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young, and shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy ground, until thou be destroyed; that also shall not leave thee grain, new wine, or oil, the increase of thy cattle, or the young of thy flock, until they have caused thee to perish.“
Daniel 8:25, “And through his policy he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and in their security shall he destroy many: he shall also stand up against the prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.“
That is the end of Vision 490. It appears to describe the “Pax Romana” period starting with Augustus Caesar in 31 B.C. Note, “he shall be broken without human means.” He dies of natural causes.
Daniel 8:26, “And the vision (Vision 490) of (part of) the evenings and mornings (Vision 2300) which hath been told is true: but shut thou up the vision; for it belongeth to many days to come.”For it refers to many days in the future.” Notice the “many days in the future,” not the end of times. Now we see why the visions need separated, Vision 490 was told to us and is part of Vision 2300, the rest of which is not yet revealed. Daniel 8:27, “And I, Daniel, fainted, and was sick certain days; then I rose up, and did the king’s business: and I wondered at the vision (Vision 490), but none understood it.” Daniel is still baffled, as are we.
