Daniel 8 Bible Study and Commentary: Welcome to Bible Study Ministry website, today we going to study Daniel 8, and we hope you can join us and become edified in this study of God Word via the prophet Daniel. We’ll begin at verse one and you can read from your own bible or follow the scriptures below!
Daniel chapter 8 Bible study
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.
[In Daniel chapter 7, Daniel had a dream and that was in the first year of Belshazzar’s reign. Now in the third year Belshazzar, Daniel is having yet another dream similar to the one he had at 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.
[I am simply laying out things to remember as we go further down this chapter. Daniel, in this vision, saw a ram with two horns, one higher than the other, the higher one coming 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.
[The ram pushed west, north, and south. This means the ram started in the east pushing into those geographic areas in a move to conquer because it stated, no beasts might stand before, or deliver out of his hands, and he did according as he wished. This ram became great! Who is this ram? Keep reading!]
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.
[As Daniel is witnessing this ram take over the world, Daniel views a male goat coming from the west so swiftly it was flying. It had a notable horn between the eyes (horns representing kings), and the goat came to the ram and crushed 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.
[The same ram that was so powerful finally met a more powerful beast or kingdom that completely destroyed them to the ground. The goat broke his two horns, and stamped on him and no allies could help the ram out. They all had to fall in line with the goat or get trampled.]
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.
[When the goat became very strong, the great horn (horn representing king or ruler on a beast) was broken, and from this came up four remarkable horns that expanded towards the four winds of the earth (also called heaven). In plain, when the powerful king of the goat was broken, four kings took over and continued to expand the kingdom throughout the world.]
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.
[The four horns picked up where the great horn that was broken left off. One of the four horns, a little horn began to become great in all the earth, specifically waxing great towards the south, east, and pleasant land. In its’ greatness, it cast down the stars and host of heaven to the ground and stamped on them. Who are these? The saints on the earth.]
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 the sanctuary was cast down.
[The prince of the host, who became a great little horn among the four horns, magnified himself and by this prince the daily sacrifice was stopped and the sanctuary was taken over and cast down by the little horns working.]
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 practised, and prospered.
[This little horn had a host, an army, to help him stop the daily sacrifice and through this they brought anything that was truth to the ground. They practiced what they wanted, not what God wanted, and they prospered.]
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?
[Here Daniel listens in on the two ‘saints’ speaking to each other concerning this prophecy. Specifically, the question was, how long will the vision be concerning the daily sacrifice and the rule of the transgression of desolation (same as the abomination of desolation -see Matthew 24 v15) be given to this little horn?]
14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
Daniel 8 Bible Study and Commentary
[Two thousand and three hundred days (2,300 days); after this the sanctuary will be cleansed. What this means is from the time the daily sacrifice is set up, till the return of Jesus will be twenty-three hundred days!]
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.
[Just like we are reading today, what we read was very vague and left us unclear; Daniel felt the same way. Daniel heard a man’s voice call out to Gabriel, the spirit of truth, commanding Gabriel to make Daniel 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.
[The power of this being made Daniel powerless and afraid, he fell down asleep and the ‘man’ tells him the vision he saw and we just read is for the time of the end.]
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.
[Daniel was not just sleeping, he was in a deep sleep on his face toward the ground like one who has just been knocked out cold. Still Daniel could hear, subconscious learning, because he was taken up in the spirit. The man touched him and set him 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.
[Here comes the vision explanation. It deals with the end of the outrage of atrocities God has been witness of in this creation.]
20 The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
[The ram from the beginning of this chapter with the two horns were the Medes and Persians. How is that for clarity?]
21 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
[The rough goat that knocked and trampled down the ram was the king of Greece.]
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.
[History books support and bear that the Medo-Persian empires was conquered by the Greek Empire, by one Alexander the Great. This is essentially what we are reading here. Alexander the great was the great notable horn between the eyes of the goat. He is also the horn that was broken and four notable horns stood up in his stead. While these four horns took over and had four kingdoms, they did not have the power the king of Greece had when he took over the world.]
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.
[Verse twenty-three just jumped from ancient Greece, and the four generals who took over from the death of the king of Greece, all the way to the end time. Verse twenty-three went to the time period in which we are living and reading today!
At this time, a king of fierce physiognomy, meaning it is hard to break this guy, and he is also one who understands the most hidden mysteries of the world will rise to power! Are we ready for this king?]
Daniel 8 Bible Study and Commentary
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
[His power will be mighty with the aid of powerful evil spirits. And with this power, he will destroy many people, prosper in his practice, and hurt the church of God stamping down anyone bearing the truth of the gospel.]
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.
[In his administration he will cause many to be destroyed, and he will do a lot of witchcraft, and ‘black magic’ on a powerful level to deceive many; he will magnify himself insomuch, he stands up against Jesus Christ. This will be where his power ends!]
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.
[It is a true vision and from the time Daniel heard it, it will be many days in the making. Daniel was sick a few days after he rose up and he returned to work, astonished at what he saw. He saw what is taking place right now in western and eastern Europe, and he or no one in his generation fully understood it! This is Daniel chapter 8.]
Did you study Daniel Chapter 7?
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God bless.
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Peace and Blessings..I’ve done some studying on this book and so I just want to share a little more information with anyone who doesn’t read history or know it. First, dealing with the four notable ones that come out of Alexander the Greek whom by the way died in his thirties at the height of his power are four generals-Ptolemy of Egypt and Palestine, Lysimachus of Asia Minor, Antigonus of Macedonia and Greece and Seleucus of Babylonia and Syria. The next one I want to mention is the pleasant land who is no other than Israel whom is very important from Genesis to Revelations. Last but not lease in verse14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days;then shall the sanctuary be cleansed…Some say this has already taken place with Antiochus IV Epiphanes which may be true but he’s not the one we’re looking for cause two thing for sure we know about this guy is, he has not caused craft to prosper and he had childern..The one to come WILL cause craft to prosper and according to Daniel 11:37 he will have no desire for a women and truth be told this character is a Pope!….Thank you BSM for being in truth and getting the Word out!..Praise the Most High God for he is worthy to be Praised!!!! Peace in Jesus name!