Daniel 8
From Babylon to Greece to anti-Christ

Daniel 8 is essentially the same vision as recorded in Daniel 7 but with a renewed urgency and more focus on the rise of the Antichrist from the geographical area of ancient Greece. The vision of Daniel 7 came in the first year of Belshazzar, the king of Babylon, and the vision in Daniel 8 came two years later in the third year of his reign. In verse 1 in the scriptures below, Daniel asserts that this second vision is after the same manner as the first. In this vision, Babylon is not mentioned, but the destruction of the empire is very imminent as Daniel stands in a province of the empire that borders the encroaching Persian Empire. From where he was standing, Daniel would only have had to lift up his eyes to see the oncoming Persian ram of verse 3. The Medo-Persian Empire was displayed as a bear, or the second beast in the first vision. It had three ribs in its mouth, which were Babylon, Egypt and Lydia (Turkey). The two horns in verse 3 are Media and Persia. The taller horn is King Cyrus who united the two kingdoms into one and continued to expand the borders to the north, south and west. Coming out of the land that is now called Iran, the Medo-Persians pushed to the north to conquer Turkey, west to conquer Babylon and south to conquer Egypt. The whole Middle East and Israel fell under the control of Persia with the exception of the Saudi Arabian Peninsula. In Daniel 5, we read about the death of Belshazzar and the fall of Babylon on the same night the handwriting appeared on the wall of the palace. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom and finished it. TEKEL: You are weighed in the balances and found wanting. PERES: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

Daniel 8:1-4

1 In 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.

2 And 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.

3 Then 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.

4 I 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.

As in the first vision, the Medo-Persian Empire will only stand for a short time. Afterwards the Greeks, under the leadership of Alexander the Great, will move in and topple their kingdom. The hegoat in the following verses are the same as the leopard in Daniel 7. The notable horn between the eyes of this goat represents Alexander the Great, but rather than having four heads like the leopard, in this vision the notable horn is broken and turned into four horns. Those four horns represent the four generals of Alexander and the division of the kingdom into four parts.

Daniel 8:5-8

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.

6 And 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.

7 And 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.

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.

The division of the Greek Empire obviously has a very important tie to the latter-day makeup of the kingdom of the beast. In the vision of Daniel 7, we see four heads on the leopard, but we are not given any further insight concerning them. Here, we are told that out of one of the four heads of Daniel 7:6, or four horns of Daniel 8:8-9, there will arise a little horn. This is the same little horn that crushes the earth into pieces and stamps the residue in Daniel 7. In verse 24, he is shown using his power to “destroy wonderfully.” It’s quite humorous to see God repeatedly refer to the Antichrist as the little horn, and then see the “little horn” persistently magnify himself. Clues in the Bible suggest that Satan is actually small in stature. This reference to a “little horn” may be, at least in part, a reference to his height. But, back to the point. In both chapters of Daniel, there is a time lapse of several thousand years. After seeing the break-up of the Greek Empire into four parts, the visions jump all the way to the endtimes when the little horn will spring up on the earth to cause great tribulation.

Daniel 2 shows us the same exact thing but without making mention of the four generals of Alexander. Verse 39 of that chapter illustrates that a second kingdom will arise after Nebuchadnezzar when it says “after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee.” Even though the Medo-Persians were inferior to Nebuchadnezzar, they still overthrew Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom after he was gone. In the second half of the verse it states “and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.” The Greek Empire blanketed the Middle East, but it did not literally rule over all the earth. Europe, Asia and Africa may not have been as densely populated as the Middle East, but they were populated nonetheless, and yet they did not fall under the control of the Greek Empire. This is an important consideration when studying the end-times. Just like when Caesar Agustus made an official decree before the birth of Christ that all the world should be taxed, it only applied to those who were citizens of the Roman Empire. When the end-times prophecies speak of the reach of the Antichrist to all the world, they are speaking first of the ten-nation empire of the beast, then those nations that surround the ten nations and finally the rest of the world will feel the effects of his actions, like ripples in a pond. The further away you are, the less the ripple effect, unless the Antichrist is able to send out tsunamis to those he hates.Unfortunately for Israel, they will be right there on the front line.

After verse 39 of Daniel 2, there is a continual reference to the fourth kingdom—not many kingdoms or one kingdom of iron and one of clay; not a leg kingdom and then a foot kingdom—but one and only one kingdom. That fourth kingdom is the Antichrist’s kingdom. Here, as with Daniel’s other depictions of the Antichrist kingdom, the description is of that final empire and not something that stretches through the ages. It is described as a divided kingdom with the strength of iron and the weakness of clay. The clay could represent the fact that the Antichrist has to subdue three of the ten kingdoms mentioned in Daniel 7:8 and 20. In effect, the three kings and their kingdoms have feet of clay when it comes to following the Antichrist, and they try to resist. The iron part, which reflects the iron will of destruction of the Antichrist, will bring them in line with his will. To a lesser extent, the mix of iron and clay could represent some other aspects of the beast kingdom. For instance, he could have a well-equipped military manned by the weak-minded, disenfranchised, and poverty-stricken subjects of his kingdom. Or he could have a strong economy fueled by the world trading ports that will be located at the future location of the city of Babylon, while having a weak, poorly-equipped military empowered from the spirit realm. The whole iron/clay contrast could just be the fact that human beings as vessels of clay are being empowered by Satan and his demonic work force from the spirit realm.

As we read about the little horn that springs up in the end-times from one of the four quarters of the ancient Greek Empire, notice that it reads like Revelation 12 where Satan as a great red dragon casts a third of the stars to the ground. There is, however, nothing about this next passage to suggest that Satan, or anyone other than the Antichrist, is being spoken of. In Revelation 12, Satan cast a third of the angels of God down to the earth to do his will after gaining their allegiance. However, in Daniel 8, the stars and the host of heaven that the Antichrist is casting to the ground are none other than the saints of God. Daniel 12:3 tells us that those who are wise and turn many to righteousness will shine as the stars and “the brightness of the firmament” forever and ever. God considers His people as a part of the host of heaven before they ever depart the earth.Verse 11 declares that the Antichrist will exalt himself not only to be like the Prince of this persecuted host, which is Jesus Christ, but to take on the Prince of the host. First, he will seat himself in the temple and claim all deity and make war against those who refuse to bow to him, and then he will take on Jesus, the Prince of the host, when He returns with His embattled host to rule the earth from Jerusalem. Just to be clear about it, it does not say that the Antichrist casts a third of anybody down to the ground. Verse 10 only says some of them are cast to the ground. From what we have learned already, it appears that the Antichrist will have much control over one third of the earth, but that in itself does not mean he will eliminate all saints in his part of the world.

Daniel 8:9-12

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.

10 And 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.

11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.

12 And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered.

There is a second host that is given over to the Antichrist in his conquests over the host of God, which is the people of his ten-nation kingdom that actively serve him. This is the same multitude of people that are described as many waters where the whore resides in verses 1 and 15 of Revelation 17. The host that the Antichrist leads is the one that provides him with the manpower for causing tribulation. It provides him the military might for moving into Jerusalem to bring an end to the daily sacrifice and into other countries for dominance and destruction.Verse 12 describes the host of the Antichrist as transgressors. The very fact that they follow the Antichrist reveals their transgression and rejection of the God of heaven. The same verse declares that the people who follow the Antichrist cast truth to the ground. They don’t just reject truth; they work overtime to make sure that God’s truth is abolished in their kingdom. This is already happening in the Middle East region of the old Greek Empire where the Antichrist religion of Islam rejects everything about the covenant of God.

The next two verses give us one of the most important numbers concerning the end-times as far as our overall understanding of the sequence of events is concerned.We are told that the Antichrist will eliminate the daily sacrifice for 2300 days. Because of the connection between the Greek Empire of the past and the Antichrist kingdom of the future, some have tried to partition the number between the past and the future.

After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 b.c., his empire was split into four parts between his four generals just as God had revealed to Daniel. Years later in 167 b.c., Antiochus Epiphanes, as ruler of the Syrian division of the Greek Empire, conquered Israel and dedicated the Jewish temple to Zeus Olympus. For two days short of three full years, the temple was used in pagan worship. Antiochus was, at the very least, a type of the Antichrist. The liberation and cleansing of the temple at that time is what the Jews celebrate during Hanukah.

Using thirty-day months, three years minus two days is 1078 days, which falls way short—less than half—of the 2300 mentioned above. The Antichrist of the end-times will take away the daily sacrifice for a full 2300 days. The numbers from Daniel 8 and 12 prove that the 2300 days is not split between the past and the future. In them we see that from the time the daily sacrifice ceases to the Rapture of the Church there will be 1335 days. Subtracting 1335 from 2300 leaves us with 965 days, or 32 months and 5 days. Because Antiochus was able to stop the sacrifice for 1078 days, or 35 months and 28 days, we end up with an extra 113 days when we add the 1335 days from Daniel 12 and the 1078 days of Antiochus. Those extra days prove that the time that Antiochus stopped the sacrifice, and anything else from the past, has nothing to do with the 2300 days. God has already declared that it would be 1335 days from the stoppage of the daily sacrifice to the removal of the Church from the earth. However, He did not say that the sanctuary would be cleansed at the Rapture. Quite the contrary. The Antichrist and his Gentile followers will remain after the Rapture and have free access to the temple as God begins His punishment. The temple will not be cleansed until the 965 remaining days of the 2300- day stoppage have elapsed and the two witnesses drive the Antichrist from the temple during the Wrath of God. This will be made clearer when we get to the chapter called The Length of the Wrath of God.

The remainder of this chapter reinforces in five different places that the whole purpose of this chapter and vision is to give insight into what is going to happen at the end of time. Also, if you read the declaration concerning how long the daily sacrifice will be removed, in context, exactly as it is written and without trying to manipulate it around to fit a favorite doctrine, it is clear that the 2300 days is consecutive and comes about as a direct action from the end-times Antichrist.

Daniel 8:13-19

13 Then 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?

14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

15 And 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.

16 And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.

17 So 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.

18 Now 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.

19 And 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.

Some have attempted to explain away the enormous leap from the Greek Empire to the Antichrist empire by suggesting that the world was a smaller place back then, and they would not have had any knowledge of anything to do with Rome. However, when Greece was first identified to Daniel as the nation that would overthrow the Persians, it existed only as a group of island nations that was forming settlements throughout the Mediterranean. The Greeks were a little over two hundred years away from conquering the Persians when Daniel received his vision, and the Romans were another hundred years down the road from that. Each of these future world empires had to have growing populations, thriving industries and governmental oversight for them to pull together the resources and mount the attacks that made them dominant over the most notable part of the world at that time.

Sea trade was prevalent throughout the Mediterranean, and news of all the different developments taking place would have spread fast. China, India, Africa, Europe and even the Americas have plentiful signs of civilization that date back to 3000 b.c. and even earlier. Daniel’s second and third visions (Daniel 7 and 8) took place right around 550 b.c., allowing for much population and cultural growth in all of these regions. Trade grew with population growth, and as anyone knows, true salesmen love to talk. The world was small, but the world was big. God did manage to convey that Rome was a part of the dragon/beast conspiracy against Israel and the plan of God, but not as the final empire.He made it clear that the land holdings of Greece would be reunited once more as the end-times empire of the beast. The real destroyer of the small world theory is that Jesus and all of the authors of the New Testament lived right in the Roman Empire and never attempted to correct Daniel’s quantum leap from Greece to beast, and they never gave any indication that the empire of the Antichrist would be anything other than a future version of the old Greek Empire.

In verse 19 in the previous scriptures, Gabriel tells Daniel that he is going to explain the vision to him, but in so doing, he points out that the vision is concerning “the last end of the indignation,” and “at the time appointed the end shall be.”What end is he talking about? In verse 17, it is clear he is talking about the end—not the end of the Greek Empire, but the end of the world. The vision was not fulfilled back then, but it will be fulfilled when the ten nations of the Antichrist kingdom join together and look astonishingly like the early Greek Empire. Gabriel is telling us that the vision is for the appointed time of the end of this world system in which God continues to tolerate the corruption of sin. God has appointed a time for the end.When Jesus appeared in Acts 1:6-7, the disciples asked Him if He would restore the kingdom of Israel. He told them that God had put the timing of all things in His own power, and they were not privy to that information. The vision Daniel is witnessing is of the final days and central events of this world before God judges it and restores all things. It’s all in His timing and according to His purposes.

In the following verses, Gabriel is identifying the various images in the vision. In verse 20, the ram is identified as the Medo-Persian government, and then in verse 21 the Greeks are mentioned by name in connection with the rough goat. Notice that there are two kings mentioned in verse 21. The rough goat is called the king of Grecia, and his horn is called the first king. The goat itself represents the kingdom and the spirit king that rules it from the principalities of wickedness. The first king mentioned is, of course, Alexander the Great, the man responsible for bringing the empire into existence in our own natural world.

In the next verse, the kingdom is divided into four separate kingdoms, all of which share the same heart and soul and spiritual king as the Greek Empire. Then, in verse 23, we see that quantum leap that skips over thousands of years of world and Middle East history and takes us right into the end of time. In verse 9 in the previous scriptures, we are told that the Antichrist will rise out of one of four subkingdoms of the divided Greek Empire. As Gabriel gives the interpretation of the dream, however, he broadens it again to include the whole region of Greek influence when he says “in the latter days of their kingdom.” The reason for this discrepancy is not to confuse us, and it is not because Gabriel was confused; it is so that we might know where the ten nations of the Antichrist kingdom are located— the former Greek Empire, stretching all the way to the borders of India and China, and where the Antichrist will rise from—the Syrian portion of the divided Greek Empire where Antiochus once polluted the temple of God with idol worship.

Verse 24 points out that the Antichrist will not come in his own power, but he shall be mighty through the power that is bestowed upon him from Satan. Revelation 13:2 informs us that the dragon, who was identified as Satan, is the one who gives power unto the Antichrist. We see in these verses that his purpose is not to rule the world but to destroy his enemies. Those enemies are the holy ones who trust in the true God of heaven.Verse 25 mentions in passing the peace covenant he will use to set Israel up for an eventual overthrow. That same peace covenant will lull many all over the world into a sense of false security. Those who ignore and despise the Scriptures are the ones that sudden destruction comes upon, even as they are crying peace and security. Many high-level authorities from all over the world have already publicly stated that if a man called Antichrist were to arrive with solutions to world problems, they would gladly follow him. That does not mean that he will rule the world. It simply means that those who love lies will lend their support to him, and after it is too late, they will learn that they were simply pawns in his devious plans for destruction.

Daniel 8:20-25

20 The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.

21 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.

22 Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.

23 And 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.

24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.

25 And 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.

All of these things up to the end of verse 25 take place before the Church is raptured. In verse 25, we are told that he will “stand up against the Prince of princes.” That is a figurative statement relating to the time that he spends treading down the earth while targeting Christians and Jews in particular for destruction. It is also a literal statement relating to the final episode of God’s wrath when Jesus returns with His saints to destroy the Antichrist and his followers. The term “broken without hand” refers to what we will read later in Revelation about the Antichrist being taken by the angels of God an cast into the Lake of Fire.

World War II is the closest thing we have to compare with the Great Tribulation. Hitler’s arrogance, his ability to make war and his single-minded addiction towards killing Jews is a foreshadowing of what the Antichrist will be like.While the war was progressing, Russia signed a non-aggression treaty with Hitler only for the self-serving purpose of dividing the nation of Poland between themselves as they attacked from different fronts. At the same time, the Japanese used Hitler’s war as a diversion as they simultaneous waged war in Southeast Asia in an attempt to rule that part of the globe. The rest of the world was slowly drawn into the war to help bring the unparalleled aggressions to an end. The world is a much more dangerous and volatile place now, and even without an Antichrist another world war would be devastating.World War II is just a small taste of what the final Tribulation period will be like. Throughout history it seems as though Satan, having a knowledge of the prophecies, has attempted to fulfill them on his own terms in an effort to get the upper hand and outsmart God.However, he has never succeeded and never will. Not during World War II and not at any time. God contained Satan during World War II and turned the Japanese and German people around, at least for a time. The end that is fast approaching will happen on God’s terms and in His timing, and there’s nothing that Satan can do to change the outcome.

Verse 23 contains an important clue as to what God is doing during this whole time of Tribulation.We are told that the sinfulness of the people in this part of the world will come to fullness. Sin will be thriving all over the world, but the kingdom of the beast will be full of people who are hell bent on destruction, both self-destruction and the destruction of others—particularly God’s people—and the Antichrist will be there to lead them on that path of destruction. The world will be able to see firsthand what the kingdom of darkness is like where the gospel is forbidden and truth is cast to the ground, and contrast it to the kingdom of light, which will be on display through the Church. Most of the world will be wrapped up in their own personal sins. James addresses the sinners of the world when he asks, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?” (4:4). A self-willed, self-serving, fleshly, carnival-type attitude that lacks commitment to God and rejects righteous behavior already permeates many free and prosperous societies. But in the kingdom of the beast, things will be different.

There will be no lack of commitment to a god who turns the people against God’s chosen, both Israel and born-again Christians, and against God’s Holy Word. The kingdom of the beast will be filled with hatred and murder for anyone who does not conform to their way of doing things. They will hate the God of heaven, and Jesus will have to appear and rescue His followers from off the earth before the followers of the beast destroy all flesh off the face of the earth. God is going to cut His work short in righteousness. Before the gross darkness of the beast kingdom is able to snuff out the light, God will bring an end to things. Satan will bring the Tribulation with all its worldly horrors, but God will use it to turn many to righteousness as they finally see the unmasked face of evil and the very depths of sin. After He cuts the Tribulation short, He will pour forth His own righteous judgment of wrath on those who have actively opposed Him and His ways, and preserve many lesser sinners to be ruled over by the saints in the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

In the final two verses, we see first of all that the vision was for a time in the future. Earlier Daniel was told that it is for the end of time; here he is told to seal it up just as he was told to seal the vision in chapters 11 and 12. Only through the enlightenment that we receive from the Book of Revelation and other New Testament writings will the vision come alive with understanding. As that day draws ever closer and we are able to see developments in that area of the world—which will become the kingdom of the beast, our understanding grows. The second thing we see in these verses is the effect the vision had on Daniel.He has a psychosomatic episode as his body becomes physically disabled because of the mental anguish he suffers from seeing the vision. This is similar to what Jesus said in Luke 21:26 about men’s hearts failing them as they see these things coming to pass on the earth. Daniel got just a small glimpse of those things to come, and it put him out of commission for a time. God is giving His people ample warning concerning the Tribulation so that we will not faint but be gallant and strong, doing the Lord’s business of reaching out to sinners. As people come to understand that God’s wrath will be worse by multiple magnitudes, and that the god of this earth is filled with nothing but hatred for them and all mankind, it may be the final nudge they need to forsake their own ways and get saved.

Daniel 8:26-27

26 And 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.

27 And 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.

Think about it!

­What time in history does this vision point to?

­Have you ever heard an acceptable and verifiable explanation for the 2300 days of no sacrifice?

­How do you cast truth to the ground?

~Selah~Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee. Psalms 83:1-5

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