Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

Daniel 8

Vision of a Ram and a Goat

Daniel 8:¹ In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar (Immediately prior to Belshazzar’s party and demise) a vision appeared to me—to me, Daniel—after the one that appeared to me the first time.

Daniel 8:² I saw in the vision, and it so happened while I was looking, that I was in Shushan (Or Susa), the citadel (Or fortified palace), which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision that I was by the River Ulai.

Daniel 8:⁵ And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.

Daniel 8:⁶ Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power.

Daniel 8:⁷ And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him,

The goat attacked (Lit. struck) the ram (Darius III), and broke his two horns (powers of the Medes and the Persians). There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand.

Daniel 8:⁸ Therefore the male goat (Alexander the Great) grew very great; but when he became strong, the (one) large horn was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven.

The Last Kingdom Before Jesus Returns: The Kingdom of the Antichrist

Daniel 8:⁹ And out of one of them (the four notable horns) came a little horn (A “power” from Seleucus’ Syria), which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land.

Daniel 8:¹⁰ And it (the “little horn” Antichrist indwelt by Satan) grew up (in power) to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them.

Daniel 8:¹¹ He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary (temple) was cast down.

Daniel 8:¹² Because of transgression (sin), an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.

Alexander the Great

Daniel 8:²² As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.

Daniel 8:²³ “And in the latter time (end of days): of their kingdom (the seven year tribulation),
When the transgressors have reached their fullness,
A king shall arise (The Antichrist, the type Antiochus IV),
Having fierce features (Lit. Countenance),
Who understands sinister schemes.

Daniel 8:²⁴ His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power (indwelt by Satan);

He shall destroy fearfully (Or extraordinarily),
And shall prosper and thrive;
He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people (the Jews).

Daniel 8:²⁵ “Through his cunning
He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule (Lit. hand);
And he shall exalt himself in his heart.
He shall destroy many in their prosperity.
He shall even rise against the Prince of princes (Jesus who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords);
But he shall be broken without human means (Lit. hand).

Daniel 8:²⁶ “And the vision of the evenings and mornings
Which was told is true;

Therefore seal up the vision,
For it refers to many days in the future.”

Daniel 8:²⁷ And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king’s business. I was astonished (amazed) by the vision, but no one understood.

• We are living in perhaps the greatest days of men on the earth when all things are to be understood and consummated.

• Prophecies are being fulfilled at an alarming rate: like popcorn in a microwave. The kernels start slow, a pop here and a pop there. Then they become faster and faster until the popping crescendos.

1. Prophecy One: The biggest prophecy concerning the end of time is the reestablishment of the Jewish nation: Fulfilled May 15, 1948.
   • ►Signs of the Times:
   • Matthew 24:³² “Now learn this parable from the fig tree (Israel): When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. The fig tree is symbolic of the nation Israel. Its roots are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The tender leaves are the Jews returning to their homeland.
   • Hosea 9:10a I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first fruits on the fig tree in its first season.
   • Jeremiah 24:2-3 One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten, they were so bad. Then the LORD said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.”
   • Good Figs: Jeremiah 24:4b-7 ‘Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.
   • Bad Figs: Jeremiah 24:8-9 And as the bad figs which cannot be eaten, they are so bad’—surely thus says the LORD—‘so will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt. ⁹ I will deliver them to trouble into all the kingdoms of the earth, for their harm, to be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them.
   • Matthew 24:33-34 ³³ So you also, when you see all these things, know that it (Or: He) is near—at the doors! ³⁴ Assuredly, I say to you, this generation (race: the Jews) will by no means pass away till all these things take place.

• The Fig Tree: Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? Isaiah 66:8a NKJV

• But Jerusalem will give birth to her children just as soon as she feels the birth pains. Isaiah 66:8b NCV

• ►The confirmation by the Gospel of Peter:
  • According to the Apocalypse of Peter (Ethiopic edition) (a non-canonical manuscript from approximately 120 AD) The writing is an early Christian commentary on Jesus’ famous prophecy given to His disciples on the Mount of Olives regarding the signs of His return in the last days… It documents the understanding of the early post-apostolic Church that the fig tree was understood by the Jewish Christians to be a clear prophecy of the rebirth of the nation Israel in the last days prior to Christ’s return.
    In this edition, the disciple Peter is being quoted “Hast thou not grasped that the fig-tree is the house of Israel?”
    http://www.grantjeffrey.com/article/ancient_manuscript.htm

• ►The Valley of Dry Bones:
  • Ezekiel 37:11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’”

• Prior to the Balfour Declaration 1917 and Israel becoming a nation on May 15, 1948, Israel had been under Gentile domination since God prophesied to Jeremiah that the Hebrew Children would be dispersed among the nations and that Israel would become a desolate area. That was 586 BC when Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon captured Jerusalem.

• That means the nation of Israel had been “dead” for 2,534 years. Yes indeed. The bones were very dry!

• Miraculously, the land itself was empty and desolate because of earthquakes, mosquitoes, bad land management by the Turks, and God.
  • “And I shall make the land desolate and your enemies that dwell in it shall dwell in desolation.” (Vayikra 26:32)
  • “In this Torah passage, warning the People of Israel about the exile from Eretz Yisrael if they turn away from observance of the Torah, there is a note of comfort, say our sages. Our land will never accept our enemies. This is an extraordinary promise, because you will not find anywhere in the world a land so good and bountiful which was once so developed and is so in ruins. For ever since we left it the land has accepted no other nation, although so many have unsuccessfully tried to settle it. `Ramban, Commentary on the Torah”
    http://ohr.edu/tw/weinbach/loveland/lland036.htm

• Can these bones live? Not under any circumstances except divine circumstances! Today, in 2020 AD, you will not find Hittites, Edomites, Philistines, Jebusites, or any other nation that has passed from the annuals of history, except the Israelites! Even their language was resurrected from the dead! Hebrew is the ONLY dead language that has been resurrected, and in fact, a Hebrew speaking Jew today would be able to converse with a Jew from 586 BC just as though they were peers and they would understand each other completely.

                The Israelites should have disappeared 2,000 years ago!

• If a believer were to be asked “Why do you believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God” the answer is easy: The Jews! They should have disappeared thousands of years ago.

• The byword became “A land with no people is for a people with no land”.

• Prophecy Two: The Desert Will Blossom:

• The land, prior to the Balfour Declaration had no national identity. The subject of inhabitants is currently hotly debated over ownership of the land. During the Great Awakening, Jews bought land at exorbitant prices from absentee Moslem landowners. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absentee_landlord

Lunapark Tel-Aviv – Once more fields will be bought in this land of which you say, ‘It is a desolate waste, without people or animals…’ Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, because I will restore their fortunes, declares the LORD.” Jer. 32:43,44 NIV

The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose…For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. Isaiah 35:1, 6b NKJV

• Prophecy Three: The Drying Up of the Euphrates River. When Egypt built the Answan Dam the Euphrates began drying up. Now, it is a mud bed.
  

• Prophecy Four: The Eastern Gate will remain closed until the Messiah returns. At Christ’s Second Coming, He will enter Jerusalem through the now sealed Eastern Gate (Ezekiel 44:1-3). Today, as prophesied, the Eastern Gate remains sealed.
• Prophecy Five: The Hebrew language will be restored (Zephaniah 3:9). At the end of the 19th century the Zionist movement brought about the revival of Hebrew as a spoken language. In 1948, Hebrew became the official tongue of the state of Israel. Remarkable! Never before in human history has a dead language been brought back to life after thousands of years.
• Prophecy Six: Speed and Knowledge will Increase: Man is in outer space (speed). Man is in hyper space (the Internet). Daniel 12
• Prophecy Seven:The Good News Being Preached to All the Earth: The gospel is being preached to every corner of the world by satellite, to cell phones, televisions, radios, and computers. An illustration of what this means was the picture of a hay wagon made with large, round, solid wood wheels being pulled by a horse. A Chinese peasant sits on it holding the reins of the horse in one hand and with the other hand is talking on a cell phone.
• Prophecy Eight: Natural Disasters:  “It is no secret that the frequency and impact of natural disasters are on the rise worldwide. Earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, forest fires, tornadoes, ice storms, and severe rainstorms are happening more often than ever before, and costing us more dearly.” These are not the words of a religious fanatic; these are the words of an insurance agency. See http://www.ibc.ca/en/Natural_Disasters/
• Prophecy Nine: Jerusalem will be a burdensome stone to all nations (Zechariah 12:3): Almost daily the world reports news on the conflict over Jerusalem. The United Nations, the Vatican, and many world leaders want to make it an international city. God says, however, that the city is His and He has given it to the Jews. (Genesis 15:18; Leviticus 25:23; 2 Chronicles 6:6). All who burden themselves with it will be cut in pieces.
• Prophecy Ten: Israel will be invincible (Zechariah 12:6-9). Since 1948, tiny Israel has been attacked in three major wars and six lesser wars, yet despite being vastly outnumbered, they have defeated all attacking foes. Even when it looks like Israel will be destroyed during the final battle, the Lord shall deliver her. (Jeremiah 30:3-7; Zechariah 14; Mark 13:14-20). An invincible Israel makes no sense unless you believe God’s Word.
• Prophecy Eleven: Israel will be partitioned by all nations (Joel 3:2; Daniel 11:39). This is another unimaginable prophecy! In 1947, United Nations Resolution 181 planned the partitioning of Israel. Currently, the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and Gaza, have been divided into Jewish and Palestinian settlements.
• Prophecy Twelve: The enemies of Jerusalem! All surrounding nations will be united against Israel (Psalm 83:4-8; Zechariah 12:2). This has never happened in history. Yet today, Israel is surrounded by Muslim nations sworn to her destruction. Muhammad said: The Hour (last day) will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say ‘O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.’” (Sahih Al-Bukhari, vol. 4, b. 52, Hadith # 177).

“If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel”-Benjamin Netanyahu

• Prophecy Thirteen: The Jewish People. DNA tests have demonstrated substantially less inter-marriage in most of the various Jewish ethnic divisions over the last 3,000 years than in other populations. The findings lend support to traditional Jewish accounts accrediting their founding to exiled Israelite populations. There is still a separate “Jewish People”.
• Prophecy Fourteen: Birds of prey will eat the dead flesh of the enemy armies that fall in battle against Israel (Ezekiel 39:4, 17; Revelation 19:17-21). It is a little known fact that Israel is the bird migration capital of the world. During the spring and fall migrations, billions of birds fly over Israel. Many of these migratory birds are raptors, carrion (dead flesh) eating birds of prey. In fact, 34 species of raptors migrate over Israel. Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God: That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. (Revelation 19:17-18)
• Prophecy Fifteen:The Image of the Beast: British scientists have concluded that in about 30 years, “it will be possible to capture data presenting all of a human being’s sensory experiences on a single tiny chip implanted in the brain.” This data would be collected by biological probes receiving electrical impulses and would enable a user to recreate experiences, or even to transplant memory chips from one brain to another. Combined with cloning technologies and given the possibility of continually recording and editing our lives, novel meanings of the self would be generated. http://www.lahey.org/NewsPubs/Publications/Ethics/JournalWinter2001/Journal_Winter2001_Feature.asp
  • The Beast is the Antichrist of the seven year tribulation.
  • See Topic: The Antichrist

• Prophecy Sixteen: A New Heaven and a New Earth Scientists are concerned physicists might accidentally generate black holes or “rips” in the space-time continuum that could destroy Earth …  are the potential benefits of the experiment worth risking the worst-case outcome, namely the annihilation of Earth and the entire universe?
  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/04/14/MN255128.DTL&type=science
• Prophecy Seventeen:Fresh Water for the Dead Sea
  • There are currently two water projects which would turn the Dead Sea into a Fresh water sea; The Med Dead and the Red Dead.
  • See Topic: The Med Dead and the Red Dead water projects.
• Prophecy Eighteen:The Third Temple
  • The Third Temple has been prepared and is ready to go up at a moment’s notice: Sign up for updates and see the gallery: http://www.TempleInstitute.org https://templeinstitute.org/gallery/
  • The Ark of the Covenant:
    

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Daniel 8 {1 of 5} Daniel 8-History
Daniel 8 {2 of 5} Daniel 8-Antiochus IV and the Antichrist
Daniel 8 {3 of 5} Daniel 8-Mystery of Daniel’s 1,335 Days
Daniel 8 {4 of 5} Daniel 8-Symbolism
Daniel 8 {5 of 5} Daniel 8-End Time Prophecies

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