CHAPTER 8 THE RISE OF THE GREEK EMPIRE AND THE RESULTING EVIL KING WHOSE PERSECUTION BROUGHT ABOUT SUCH A TRANSFORMATION OF THE TRUE REMNANT IN ISRAEL THAT THE TIME OF GOD'S WRATH AGAINST ISRAEL CAME TO AN END (UNTIL ISRAEL REJECTED THE MESSIAH). This chapter, which moves from the Aramaic of the pr... [ Continue Reading ]
COMMENCEMENT OF DANIEL'S VISION. ‘In the third year of the king Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me, even to me Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first.' Daniel draws our attention to the fact that this, his second great vision, occurred two years after the first. But this was not sta... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And I saw in the vision, - now it was so that when I was seeing I was in Shushan the fortress, which is in the province of Elam - and I saw in the vision, and I was by the River Ulai.' Daniel repeats that he saw things in vision, and informs us of his whereabouts at the time. He was in Shushan (Su... [ Continue Reading ]
THE MIGHTY RAM - THE MEDO PERSIAN EMPIRE. ‘Then I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, there stood before the river one ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high, but one was higher that the other, and the higher came up last.' ‘I lifted up my eyes.' We might paraphrase as ‘my eyes we... [ Continue Reading ]
‘I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward, and no beasts could stand before him, nor was there any who could deliver out of his hand, but he did according to his will and magnified himself.' The vision was of a successful empire builder, conquering in all directions, all-powerfu... [ Continue Reading ]
THE MIGHTY HE-GOAT - THE GREEK EMPIRE. ‘And as I was considering, behold a he-goat came from the west over the face of the whole earth and did not touch the ground. And the goat had a notable horn between its eyes.' As we are specifically told later (Daniel 8:21) this he-goat represents Greece, to... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he came to the ram which had two horns, which I saw standing before the river, and ran on him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close to the ram, and he was full of rage against him, and smote the ram and broke his two horns. And there was no power in the ram to stand before him. But... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the he-goat magnified himself exceedingly, and when he was strong the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up conspicuously four towards the four winds of heaven.' Following the death of Alexander his empire eventually divided into four. But the reason for his death is emphasise... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And out of one of them came a horn from smallness which grew exceedingly great towards the south, and towards the east and towards the beauty (the desirable). And it grew great even to the host of heaven, and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground and trampled on them.' This... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Yes it magnified itself, even to the prince of the host, and it took away from him what is done continually (religious worship including the offerings and sacrifices), and the place of his sanctuary was cast down, and the host was given up together with the continual (rites) because of transgressio... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that certain one who spoke, “How long will be the vision about the continual things (worship rites) and the transgression that appals (or makes desolate), to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden underfoot?” And he said to... [ Continue Reading ]
THE ANGEL GABRIEL APPEARS TO INTERPRET THE VISION. ‘And so it was that when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought to understand it, and behold there stood before me the appearance of a man, and I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai which called and said, “Gabriel, make... [ Continue Reading ]
‘So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was filled with awe, and fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand O son of man, for the vision belongs to the time of the end.” The approach of Gabriel filled Daniel with awe and he fell on his face. The presence of Gabriel and the voice fro... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Now as he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep (swooned) with my face towards the ground, but he touched me and set me upright, and he said, “Behold I will make you know what shall be in the latter time of the indignation, for it belongs to the appointed time of the end.” ' The effect of... [ Continue Reading ]
THE INTERPRETATION OF THE VISION. ‘The ram which you saw, which had the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough he-goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. And as for that which was broken, in the place whereof four stood up... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors (or, repointed, this could be ‘transgressions') are come to the full, a king of strong countenance, and understanding riddles, will stand up. And his power will be mighty, but not by his own power. And he will destroy wonderfully, and... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And by his understanding he will cause deceit to prosper by his hand, and he will magnify himself in his heart and he will destroy many in security. He will also stand up against the prince of princes. But he will be broken without hand.' His ‘understanding' means his understanding of cunning. He... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the vision of the evenings and mornings which has been told is true. But shut up the vision for it belongs to many days.' Compare Daniel 8:14. The spoken vision of the evenings and the mornings was of the period when the temple was desecrated, whether by a the ministrations of a false High Pri... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And I Daniel was totally exhausted, and was sick certain days. Then I rose up and did the business of the king, and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it (or ‘I did not understand it').' The reception of the vision was exhausting and demanding, so much so that Daniel was ill and u... [ Continue Reading ]