When did Daniel have the vision of Daniel 8? Daniel 8:1, 2
In the
NOTE: This vision is given near the end of the
Babylonian realm. Interestingly, we will see that it does not begin
with Babylon, but with Medo-Persia.
What did Daniel see charging to the West, the
North and the South? Daniel 8:3, 4 Who does this ram represent? Daniel 8:20 What animal charged from the West without
touching the ground? Daniel 8:5 Who does the goat represent, and what does
the great horn symbolize? Daniel 8:21
The goat: The horn: The
NOTE: Notice how the prophecy follows the same
sequence as Daniel 2 and 7. After Medo-Persia comes Greece. The notable
horn represents the first king of Greece, Alexander the Great [click here] .
What did the goat do to the ram? Daniel 8:6, 7 What happened at the height of his power?
What took it's place? Daniel 8:8 What are the four horns? Daniel 8:22
They represent four
NOTE: In just a few short years, Alexander the
Great conquered the world. But, He suddenly died at Babylon at the age
of 32. His two heirs were assassinated and four of his generals grabbed
what they could. Ptolemy took Egypt, Lysimachus took Thrace (Bulgaria),
Cassander took Macedonia (Greece), and Seleucus took Syria (including
Turkey, Iraq and Iran).
What comes out of one of the four winds of
heaven? Daniel 8:9 Does the little horn stay a little horn? Daniel 8:10, 24 As the little horn became very strong, what
five things did it do? Daniel 8:11, 12
It set itself up to be as It took away the The place of his sanctuary was brought It was
thrown to the ground.
NOTE: We are not dealing with just the pagan
Roman Empire. In the later days of the Roman Empire, the little horn
changed form. It became a Christian/pagan power that cast down the
truth of God to the ground, practice and prospered and destroyed the
truth of God's Sanctuary.
In Daniel 7 the papal horn grew out of the
pagan Rome Beast. In Daniel 8 the same symbol represents both powers,
showing the close connection between pagan Rome and papal Rome. Thus
the little horn of Daniel 8 represents Rome in it two stages or phases.
In Daniel 2 Rome is represented by two iron legs, one for each phase of
Roman power.
What question does Daniel overhear? Daniel 8:13
How long will it take for the
NOTE: Daniel hears two holy beings talking in
heaven and one ask the question: How long will this vision be that
begins with Medo-Persia and ends with papal Rome?
How long would it be till the Sanctuary is
reconsecrated? Daniel 8:14
days.
NOTE: 2300 literal days is a little more than
six years. According to Daniel 8, the 2300 days would encompass the
Medo-Persian, Grecian, pagan and papal Roman powers. Obviously we are
not dealing with 2300 literal days, but 2300 figurative or symbolic
'days'.
Is it typical for a day to represent a year
in Biblical prophecy? Ezekiel 4:6
A day for each
NOTE: In Bible time prophecy, one day is
symbolic of one year. We will see later in this lesson just how
accurate this principal of prophecy is.
What is Daniel told to do with the vision of
the evenings and the mornings? Daniel 8:26
up
the vision.
NOTE: All other aspects of this vision were
clearly interpreted for Daniel. But, when we come to where the
interpretation should be given for the reconsecrating of the Sanctuary,
we are told that the vision is sealed up, for it concerns the distant
future (see also Daniel 8:17 ).
What happened to Daniel? Daniel 8:27
I, Daniel was
NOTE: Daniel was appalled by the vision and
couldn't understand it. When he saw everything done by the little horn
power he fell exhausted and was sick. The King James Version of the
Bible says that Daniel fainted.
CONTINUED IN
CHAPTER 9 What was Daniel doing 14 years later when
Chapter 9 opens? Daniel 9:1-3
I pleaded with Him in
NOTE: That the vision was beyond understanding
no doubt really bothered Daniel since 14 years later he is still trying
to decipher it's meaning. He is studying Jeremiah's prophecy of seventy
years of captivity hoping, perhaps, to find a clue to the
interpretation of the 2300 days. In Daniels earnest prayer for
understanding, he confesses his sins and the sins of his people, hoping
that somehow God would see fit to give him the interpretation of the
2300 days.
Who appeared to Daniel in answer to his
prayer? Daniel 9:20, 21
,
the man I had seen in the earlier
NOTE: The same angel who gave Daniel the
original vision of Chapter 8 now comes and appears to him again. Daniel
had not received any other vision in the 14 years since the vision of
the 2300 days.
What is the purpose of Gabriel's visit this
time? Daniel 9:22, 23
I have now come to give you insight and
NOTE: Gabriel calls Daniel's attention to the
2300 days vision. He came to give Daniel an understanding of that
vision and tells him to consider and understand it. We can then expect
something more about the 2300 days in the next few verses.
THE SEVENTY
WEEKS How much time was decreed for the Jewish
people? Daniel 9:24
weeks.
NOTE: Seventy weeks are decreed for the Jewish
people out of the 2300 days. Seventy weeks time seven days per week is
490 days. Which, by prophetic symbol, becomes 490 years. Remember,
God's people were in captivity in Babylon at this time, because of
their spiritual rebellion against God. Now God is telling them that
they have 490 years to get it right.
When are the seventy-week and 2300 day
prophecies to begin? Daniel 9:25
From the issuing of the
NOTE: The commandment to restore and build
Jerusalem was given by Artaxerxes in 457 B.C. ( Ezra 7:13-26 ). Of the three decrees
found in Ezra, only the third includes the command to form a government
along with the building of the Temple. Jerusalem was once again both
the Spiritual and governmental center for the Jews.
What would happen at the end of the first 69
weeks? Daniel 9:25
The
NOTE: From the commandment to restore and
rebuild Jerusalem in 457 B.C. until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes
there would be seven weeks, plus three score and two weeks.
7 wks + (3 x 20) + 2 wks = 69 wks.
If we add 483 years to 457 B.C. we get the
calendar year A.D. 27 as the time for the appearance of the Anointed
One.
Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit for His
ministry at His baptism ( Luke 3:21, 22 ; Acts 10:37, 38 ). He was baptized in
A.D. 27, during the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar ( Luke 3:1 ).
What is the first message that Jesus
proclaimed following His baptism? Mark 1:14, 15
The
NOTE: God's prophetic time clock had struck,
and Jesus appeared at the very time the bible foretold! The Bible
accurately predicted the very year of the baptism of Jesus.
What is to happen to the Messiah? Daniel 9:26
The Anointed One will be cut
NOTE: The Bible not only predicted the baptism
of Jesus, but it also predicted that Jesus would die. And notice that
it says 'but not for himself' (margin). We all should die as the result
of our own sin. Jesus died even though He never sinned. His was a
substitutionary death for the entire human race.
How long does the Anointed One confirm the
covenant with the Jews? Daniel 9:27
week.
NOTE: One week is seven prophetic days which
actually means seven years. Adding seven years to A.D. 27 bring us to
A.D. 34. During this final seven year period of the 490 year prophecy
the gospel is to be confirmed (fulfilled and explained) to the Jewish
people.
What does the Anointed One do in the middle
of this last week? Daniel 9:27
He will put an
NOTE: In the middle of this final week, three
and a half years after Jesus began His ministry, He is to cause the
sacrifice to cease. Jesus accomplished this by His death upon the cross
in the spring of A.D. 31. Jesus, the Lamb of God, died; no longer was
there any need for animal sacrifices. Only one person could ever stop
animal sacrifices, and that was the One who became a sacrifice Himself.
As Jesus hung upon the cross, the temple curtain was torn in two
indicating the end of the sacrificial system.
For three and a half years after the death of
Jesus (the rest of the confirmation week), the disciples labored mainly
for the Jewish people. However, in A.D. 34 the Jewish nation sealed its
rejection of the gospel by the stoning of Stephen ( Acts 7:54-59 ). The persecution
begun at that time caused the Christians to scatter across the globe
and preach the gospel to the gentiles ( Acts 8:4 ).
When does the 2300-day prophecy end? Daniel 8:14
NOTE: Remember, 70 weeks (490 years) had been
part of the longer period of 2300 years. (see diagram below.)
If we subtract 490 years from 2300 years, we
get 1810 years. Add 1810 years to A.D. 34, and we arrive at the year
1844 as the conclusion of the 2300 year prophecy.
What was to happen at the end of the 2300
days (in 1844)? Daniel 8:14
Then the sanctuary will be
NOTE: We have examined the longest time
prophecy in the Bible, from Daniel's day to ours, from 457 B.C. to A.D.
1844. But what happened in the middle of the nineteenth century? In
order to understand what took place in 1844, we need to study what the
Bible says about the Sanctuary. Daniel 8:14 tells us that at this time
the sanctuary will be reconsecrated (or cleansed). The next two lessons
will give the details of what happened in 1844.
Isn't it amazing how the bible predicted so
clearly and accurately the baptism and crucifixion of Jesus nearly 500
years in advance?
