The Ram and the He Goat
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.
Daniel 8:26-27 KJV
Introduction
This vision occurs in the third year of Belshazzar, 2 years after the vision from Daniel 7. Like the previous vision, this one is complex with various symbols and interactions. It seems that each vision is building upon the previous. There are people who believe each of these visions represent diferent times and nations, but many believe Daniel 2, 7, and 8 are speaking of the same kingdoms.
Geography
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.
Daniel 8:2 KJV
Daniel tells us where he is when he sees this vision. Presumably the people of his time knew exactly where these landmarks were and if they held any significance, but when I read the passage I had no idea where any of them were. So I decided to look them up in case they reveal some valuable information.
Shushan
Shushan means "lily" and it was the winter residence of the Persian kings.[1] This finding struck me as odd since this vision was given in the third year of Belshazzar, which means Persia hasn't taken over Babylon yet. My first instinct is that the palace existed in Babylon before the Persians took the region and once they did, they made it their winter palace. A Jewish Encyclopedia confirms this theory.[3]
Elam
Daniel tells us that Elam is a providence, and as we would assume, this province is in Babylon. Research lead me to the information that it was located northeast of the Tigris River and in the eastern part of Babylon.[2]
The River of Ulai
Ulai is a river in Elam that isn't mentioned anywhere else in the Bible.[4] It was identified as Eulaeus by the Greeks and was near the palace.[5]
Symbols
Like in Daniel 7, we get a description of the vision with lots of symbols that are later explained by an angel. At least two concepts from Daniel 7 are repeated in this vision: beasts and horns as kings or kingdoms. We also see some overlap of description, such as a little horn, mentioning of the four winds of Heaven, and the number four.
Summary of Daniel's Vision
Daniel sees:
- A ram with 2 horns. One horn is higher (KJV) or longer (CSB) than the other—presumably this designation is saying one horn horn is more pronounced than the other. The more pronounced horn comes up last, which implies the horns grew or moved as opposed to simply being a part of the creature.
- The ram pushes North, West, and South (but not East) and no beast can stand against him.
- A goat comes from the West.
- This goat does not touch the ground
- He has a notable (KJV) or conspicious (CSB) horn between it's eyes
- The goat runs in to the ram, destroys the two horns, and casts the ram to the ground.
- The horn of the goat is broken and 4 new notable horns rise up.
- The 4 horns go toward the four winds of Heaven
- A little horn comes up out of one of the four horns; the little horn goes East, South and toward the pleasant land
- The little horn casts down some of the host of stars (see Revelation 1:20; 6:13; 12:4).
- The little horn is arrogant, even with the Prince of princes (Messiah).
- Someone causes the daily sacrifice to be taken away and the sanctuary of the Prince is cast down. (See Daniel 9:27)
- An army is given to the little horn against the sacrifice
- Truth is cast to the ground
- A holy one asks "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?" (see Daniel 9:24-27)
- The response is 2300 days until the sanctuary cleansed
Questions
As I read through the description, I had a couple questions:
- When Daniel describes the goat's horn he says it is notable (KJV) or conspicuous (CSB). Does that mean there are other horns that are not notable? What makes it notable?
- Daniel also says the goat doesn't touch the ground. Is this a metaphor for how fast the goat is moving? Is the goat flying?
- When the little horn comes out of the four horns that replace the original horn of the goat, it goes toward the "pleasant land", what is the pleasant land? Is this a reference to Jerusalem and Israel?
Parallels Between Daniel 2, Daniel 7, and Daniel 8
Proposed Nation | Daniel 2 | Daniel 7 | Daniel 8 |
---|---|---|---|
Babylon | Head of gold (Daniel 2:32) | Lion with eagles' wings (Daniel 7:4) | - |
Medo-Perisa | Arms and chest of silver (Daniel 2:32) | Bear raised up on one side (Daniel 7:5) | Ram with two horns where one is more prominent than the other (Daniel 8:3-5; 20) |
Greece | Belly and thighs of brass (Daniel 2:32) | Leopard with four heads (Daniel 7:6) | Goat with a prominent horn that gives way to four horns (Daniel 8:5-8; 21-22) |
Rome | Legs of iron (Daniel 2:33) | Beast with 10 horns and iron teeth; a little horn comes out of the 10 horns (Daniel 7:7-8) | The little horn? (Daniel 8:9-12; 23-25) |
Gabriel's Explanation
After Daniel tells us the vision, Gabriel explains the vision. For the first time in the series of visions we've seen (Daniel 2, 7, and now 8), we're actually told which kingdoms the kings being foretold will come from. There's still a few places where questions may arise, but there is definitely more detailed information in this interpration than in the other chapters. Below are the absolutes we get from Gabriel's explanation.
- The vision is of the time of the end
- The horns or the ram represent the kings of Media and Persia—presumably the ram itself is Medo-Persia as a whole
- The goat is Greece
- The four horns come out of the kingdom of Greece but don't have the same power)
- The little horn is a king of fierce countenance.
- He comes when the "transgressors are come to the full" per the KJV. Other translations translate this closer to when the wicked have done all they are going to do
- He understands dark sentences—the Hebrew word used here seems to mean riddles.[12]
- He is powerful, but not from his own power
- He will destroy he holy poeple.
- He destoys people by peace.
- He magnifies himself.
- He has some kind of policy that is enabling all of these things.
- He stands against the Prince of princes (Messiah) and is defeated
How Long is 2300 Days?
After Gabriel explains the interpretation, Daniel is commanded to "shut up the vision" because it is "not for many days." This reveals quite a bit about the message given. Number one, Gabriel doesn't want Daniel to spread the message to the people. This is a direct contrast to other prophets who are commanded to go tell the people what they have seen (like Jonah and Isaiah). John another prophey who is told to seal up the vision that is given to him. This is likely because the message is meant for people today, more than two millennia after they experienced these visions! The second thing to notice is the lack of urgency. Gabriel says the vision is not for many days. We are told that the Ram is Media-Persia. Belshazzar's reign is cut short by the Persians in his eleventh year,[7] which would be about 8 years from this vision. That means the beginning of the vision was not that far away. It was definitely closer to starting than the captivity of the Israelites in Egypt, which is foretold to Abraham in Genesis 15:13.
We are told that the vision spans 2300 days, which is about 6.39 years if you use the 360 day calendar of prophetic years[6] or 6.3 years using the modern 365 day calendar. If the conversation about the time is concerning the whole of the vision (from the ram to the very end), then the vision started 8 years after Daniel saw it and lasts for a little more than 6 years. This is just under 15 years. That's less time than the 70 years Jeremiah prophesies Israel will be in captivity under Bablyon. Again, this doesn't seem like much time. We can easily determine, however that way more than 6 years pass between time from Media-Persia (539 BC)[7] and the death of Alexandar the Great of Greece (323 BC)[8]. The vision continues beyond Alexandar the Great but just this time period is 216 years.
There are a couple possibilities here (and both could actually be true):
- The 2300 days follow the day for a year principle, meaning they represent 2300 years.
- The 2300 days don't cover the the whole vision. They only cover the time from the little horn to the cleansing of the Temple.
If scenario 1 is true and the prophecy represents 2300 years starting in 539 BC, the end of the prophecy would be roughly 1761 AD. If only scenario 2 is true, there are two moments in Jewish history when the sacrifices were stopped. The first was in 168 BC Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a Greek king, defiled the temple,[9] and the second was in 70 AD after the Romans destroyed the Temple. This would place the end of the vision in either 161 BC or 77 AD. After Antiochus IV Epiphanes defiles the Temple there are the Maccabean revolt (this era is discussed in the Apochrypha). The Maccabees reclaim Jerusalem for the Israelites in 164 BC and redicate the Temple. This is only 4 years after the Temple is defiled and the sacrifices are forced to end.[10] In contrast the Temple has never been rebuilt since its destruction in 70 AD.
So when do these 2300 days take place and how long are they?
Both explanations I've hear consider sceanrio 3 where the 2300 days only cover the time of the little horn. Remember, much of the prophecy of the little horn seems to parallel and overlap the final week of Daniel 9's 70 Week Prophecy. Futurists place this week and the little horn in the future, meaning these 2300 days have not occurred yet. Historicists, however, consider these events fulfilled. The Seventh Day Adventist Church teaches a doctrine called The Investigative Judgment, in which they explain the sanctuary being cleansed is not the earthly sanctuary but the Heavenly one. Their view is that the 2300 days start with the 70 Weeks Prophecy (something we'll discuss later) and end 2300 prophetic days—so 2300 years—later in 1844.
I don't full understand what SDAs teach in The Investigative Judgment, however I do think they're on to something about the fulfillment of the sanctuary being cleansed being something very different than what we expect. The fact is, the description of the little horn definitely mirrors verses in Daniel 9 and thus I am inclined to believe the end of the sacrifices occurs after Messiah appears which would place the little horn around the beginning of the first century AD. The New Testament tells us that we (the body) are the new Temple and that fits the description that Messiah would build a Temple made without hands. For this reason, I don't believe in a third Temple the way Futurists do. However, this means that the sanctuary needing cleansing is either the one in Heaven (scriptures like Matthew 6:10 and Matthew 18:18-20 remind us that there are things on Earth meant to mirror things in Heaven and Hebrews 9 informs us that there is in fact a Heavenly sanctuary) or the body itself. If you take the day for a year principle, whether you get to 1761 or 1844, you're in the pinnicle of Protestantism. It is during these eras that the Protestant Church was gaining freedom from the Catholic Church and persecution. This is when many of the pagan practices that had inflitrated the church started being purged as well. One might also argue the beginning of the the little horn starts before Messiah and the cleansing of the sanctuary is His death and resurrection. In this case we would need the little horn to appear about 6 years before Messiah's resurrection. One difficulty here is that no one can agree on exactly what year He was crucified. Estimates range from 31-33 AD, thus the little horn would have to have appeared between 25-27 AD.
Daniel's Conclusions
Daniel is very much overwhelmed by this vision (and who could blame him!). He faints and becomes ill. After he recovers, he goes on about his work, but he still doesn't understand the vision.
References & Footnotes
- "Strong's H7800. שׁוּשַׁן". Blue Letter Bible; visited September 21, 2024
- "Strong's H5867. ". עֵילָםBlue Letter Bible; visited September 21, 2024
- Emil G. Hirsch, Louis H. Gray, Wilhelm Bacher. "Shushan". Jewish Encyclopedia; visited September 21, 2024
- "Strong's H195. אוּלַי". Blue Letter Bible; visited September 21, 2024
- "Ulai". Wikipedia; visited September 21, 2024
- "Prophetic Year"". Wikipedia; visited September 21, 2024
- "Belshazzar". Encyclopedia Britannica; visited September 21, 2024
- Frank W. Walbank. "Alexander the Great". Encyclopedia Britannica. September 5, 2024; visited September 21, 2024
- "Hanukkah and the Desecration of the Temple. Chosen People Ministries; visited September 21, 2024
- "An Abomination in the Temple". Ligonier. October 7, 2016; visited September 21, 2024
- George Angus Fulton Knight. "Maccabees". Encyclopedia Britannica. August 7, 2024; visited September 21, 2024
- "Strong's H2420. חִידָה". Blue Letter Bible; visited September 21, 2024
Daniel, Daniel 8, Gabriel, Greece, History, Persia, Podcast, Prophecy, Season 6
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