THE THIRD VISION even unto me Daniel (Dan. 8) In chapter eight Daniel presents a prophecy regarding two of the world s great powers. One of those nations, - the Medo-Persians, - took control of the empire from the Babylonians and increased their borders. Daniel, however, would not be alive when the second of the two nations in the chapter would arise. The second of the two nations would be Greece. He then presented three major progressions that he described by using the term horn(s) 5 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. 8 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. 9 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. In Scripture, a horn has a very specific symbolic meaning that was well-known to every Jew, for example, I Sam. 2:10 The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed II Sam. 22:3 The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence Zech. 1:18 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. 19 And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. 20 And the LORD shewed me four carpenters. 21 Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it. Now, as you know, we are trying to keep as much to the literal interpretation as the text permits, but where the text is clearly symbolical, - as it is here in relation to the horn, - we must interpret the symbolical in keeping with how it is used in other parts of Scripture. The horn, therefore, relates to power, authority, dominion, might, and strength and these three horns in Daniel 8 indicate compelling forces that hold a dynamic capacity to direct all things in accordance with its evil and God-defying agenda. Another important and relevant factor is the position of this vision within the prophecy of Daniel. From 1:1-2:3, the language is Hebrew, - the language of the Jews, - so obviously since the Babylonians, - by and large, - would not have understood it, Daniel 1:1-2:3 is specifically for the Jews. Then, in 2:4-7:28, the language changes to Chaldean/Babylonian. That means not only the Jews could read and understand this prophecy, but also the Babylonians So, the Babylonians were being given an insight into God s plan relating to the times of the Gentiles. Now, as far as the Israelites were concerned, the prophecies were showing them that even though they were in the midst of their captivity in Babylon, God continued to have plans for their future Granted, the world would be ruled by the Gentile nations, - the Babylonians, Medo-Persians, Greeks and Romans one after the other but their time would come to an end.
2 This was the period in Lk 21:24 Jesus described as the times of the Gentiles, Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. The times of the Gentiles will be replaced, - as Daniel prophesied in chapter seven, - by the reign of the Messiah. Let s keep to the Jewish way Daniel would have been thinking These promises of God were built upon commitments He had given as early, for example, as Dt. 28 1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: 2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. 3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. 6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. 7 The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. 8 The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 9 The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways. 10 And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee. 11 And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. 13 And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: 14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. Great promises, but, - as we know, and as they know, - Israel failed in living up to their part of the covenant, and therefore, God judged them, as He warned He would 15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: 16 Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field 20 The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me There then follows a whole litany of judgments that would befall the disobedient generations, 47 Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; 48 Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. 49 The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; 50 A nation of fierce countenance [cf. Dan. 8:23] 52 And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee 62 And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God. 63 And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to
3 nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. 64 And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other. The great Diaspora (Dispersion) of the Jews! However, that wasn t the end of it! While God promised to judge the rebellious people during their period of scattering, He did not reject them as a nation, for He went on to promise He would return them to their own land (Aliyah), and Daniel would have known such great assurances, Dt. 30:1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, 2 And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; 3 That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee. These promises of judgment and deliverance were specifically repeated by Jeremiah, relating to the exact times in which Daniel and the Jewish people would be exiled in Babylon, Jer. 25:8 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words, 9 Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. 10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. 11 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. 13 And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it 29:10 For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. So, God had a definite plan in it all, and everything that would take place was included within His will! Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians did not catch Him off-guard. Neither were any of the nations too powerful for Him. In fact, on the contrary, they were actually doing His bidding and they didn t realise it (cf. Hab. 1:5 Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you. 6 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs). It was all in His purpose for the chastisement of His people, the Israelites (cf. Dt. 28). And that is what Daniel believed and rested upon, 9:1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; 2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD
4 came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. Therefore, Daniel was trusting in God s word! Why is that important? It is so important because when we see the world increasing in evil, and when we see God s people apparently incapable of stopping it, God declares, Ps. 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. 11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. So, Daniel is saying, we are in captivity, but we have the promise our God will ultimately rule over the heathen and the whole earth! He will bring us home to our beloved city, Ps. 126:1 When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. 2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. 3 The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad 5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. I know we haven t got very far in this chapter, but we need to recognise what is going on in the mind of God concerning His beloved and chosen children at the outset of this chapter relating to the ram and the he-goat. The Jews have been in captivity for almost seventy years, - just as long as the Lord said they would be and He promised that after seventy years they would be going home. Now, how He was going to do it was beyond anyone s imagination but God always keeps His promises. Indeed, the history of Israel is full of how He kept them. Sometimes it followed His people being chastised, and sometimes it meant great joy. And here is Daniel, 1 In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar [c.551 BC] a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first. And he can t get over how good the Lord was being to him Daniel was shocked, - even unto me Daniel. Why would the Lord be so good to someone like me?! Why am I so privileged, - I m just an ordinary person. And as Daniel looked out over the dark scene in Babylon through the darkness He could make out the hand of God at work through the old covenant promises. And that is why we are studying such passages of Scripture as these We are looking to see how God is working out His plans among the nations, as He promised in His Word We are looking to see what He has already achieved how He has brought His people back to their own land, and settled them there and we hear rumblings of war among the surrounding nations and we are watching the signs that Jesus promised would take place in preparation for His return And Daniel was also looking and watching for he believed the Lord would bring His people back after the seventy years!
5 That is where our hope also lies, - in the Lord. I trust that is what we are seeing here as we study these visions of Daniel. God is showing us what lies ahead. He is giving us sufficient knowledge for us to know that He is in charge and He is working His plan out for His glory and for the good of His people. Just like Daniel and the Jews in Babylon, He knows the thoughts of peace and not of evil He thinks towards us for He promised them, Jer. 29:12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 14 And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. As we watch and see what God has done and is doing for the Daniel s nation it is all working according to His plan. Yes, we are only at the commencement of this chapter eight and it will give us some insights to yet more of Satan s treachery and deceit but how good it is to be assured we know how the story will end and we win, for we are told we are more that conquerors through Him that loved us (Rom. 8:37)! The God in which Daniel trusted is the God in which we trust, so the end has never been in doubt. To God be the glory, Amen!