Daniel 8

Wow, y'all! The words of Daniel are such a treasure! Maybe one, like me, you have never truly studied and discovered until now. (I have discovered so much about this book through Beth Moore's study and would recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity to participate in it.) There is so much in chapter 8 but ultimately it all points to God's glorious power and control He exerts throughout the events of the universe He created.

Chapter 8 expands on prophesy that was also presented in chapters 2 and 7 of Daniel but focuses on only two of the kingdoms represented by the statue in Chapter 2, the Medo-Persian Empire and the Grecian Empire. Chronologically, chapter 8 comes before chapter 5, before King Darius attacked and Medes took control of the Babylonian kingdom. The ram introduced in verse 3 represents this kingdom, one horn representing the Medes and the other representing the Persians. (This kingdom is also represented by the silver part of the statue in chapter 2.) The goat represents the Greeks who would conquer the Medo-Persians, eventually taking over almost the entire populated world through Alexander the Great (the very large horn in verse 5). Later, this horn would be broken off at the height of it's power and replaced with four prominent horns that would point in the four directions of the earth (v. 8). This represents the four generals who would take over the Grecian Empire after the death of Alexander the Great. Finally, a small horn would come out of one of the prominent horns (v. 9) and be a great evil power that would attack God's chosen people and halt their daily sacrifices. This last small horn is a dual reference to the Greek ruler Antiochus and to the antichrist.


What does all of this prophesy mean to us in our day-to-day lives? Well, really more than I can cover here, but here are some highlights. First, isn't it amazing that Daniel had this vision from the Lord about things he couldn't comprehend and most of which wouldn't even come to pass in his lifetime? Not only did the vision show him that the Babylonian empire would be overthrown by the Medes and Persians, it went on to say that the Medo-Persian empire would be overthrown by the Greeks and went into detail about several Greek rulers. This is amazing because Greece wasn't even considered a world power when this prophesy was given. All these events would come to pass over about the next 500 years! Today, it would be like one of us having a vision of some nation like Mexico taking over the entire world. Daniel must have not known what to think! Obviously it is a testament to his faith that the Lord gave him this vision and that he knew it was from the Lord. I pray that we would be so attuned to the Lord's voice that we would have the confidence Daniel had when the Lord spoke to him. Because of Daniel's faithfulness, our faith is built by seeing the fulfillment of this prophesy in history. What might have been considered catastrophic and random events at the time, show us God's hand in everything that happens. What will future generations learn because of your faithfulness to the Lord now? (2 Timothy 2:22-26)


Also, this chapter points to God's ultimate control and use of all things. Alexander the Great was put into the position of power by the Lord (Daniel 2:21). He thought it was because of his own greatness and even ordered his provinces to worship him. This pride consumed him. It is what pride always does. We even have to be careful of this in serving the Lord. We must remember that the things the Lord allows us to accomplish for His kingdom are because of His greatness, not because of anything we did or could control. In the words of Beth Moore, "no human being is wise or powerful enough to attain the swift feats of Alexander the Great." God used him to accomplish his tasks. He can use anyone, even a pagan king, because he has ultimate control over everything. One thing that God accomplished through the rule of Alexander the Great was to spread the Greek language and culture throughout the world which prepared the world for the gospel which was presented in the Greek language of the New Testament. Isn't it cool that God used this pagan king to spread the Scripture to the nations? And when God was through with him, He deposed him. God is sovereign. Anything we accomplish in our lives is because God allowed it. Praise God that we can be part of His plan!

Finally, let's discuss the dual reference of the small horn in the last part of the vision. It referred first to Antiochus, who became the ruler of the Grecian Empire. History tells us that he did many evil things during his reign and perhaps the foremost being the persecution of the Jews. He executed tens of thousands of Jews during his reign and in 170 B.C. took over the temple with his Greek gods and prevented the Jews from making their daily sacrifices. The practice of the daily sacrifices resumed in 163 B.C. (the 2,300 mornings and evenings referred to in verse 14) when Antiochus died. This was all a foreshadowing, or dress rehearsal as Beth Moore describes it, to the other one that the small horn refers to, the antichrist. Everything we have talked about up to now has already come to pass. Obviously this part has not. However, we can be sure it will. God never changes and always keeps His promises. Just seeing the fulfilled prophesy thus far should make us more confident in this fact.


We don't know all the details surrounding the fulfillment of this part of the prophesy. We don't know exactly when or from where the antichrist will come. We do know that many will be deceived by him. (1 John 2:18-19, 2 John 7) However, as children of God we must stay alert and not be found sleeping so that we won't be deceived. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-8) Whatever is happening now around us in our world or what will happen in the future, we know that is was known by God long before He created this world and He is allowing it to happen for His purposes which we may never fully understand this side of heaven. But we can place our confidence in the Lord, knowing everything is in His control and will be fulfilled according to His purpose. We want to be on His side in the end. Don't drift away thinking you are fighting a losing battle, because the only loser here is satan who is fooling some here in this world. But, dear brothers and sisters, don't you be fooled.



"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." Galatians 6:7-10


--Kim Newton, Media Manager