Daniel Lesson 17 - Fairhaven Baptist Church

Daniel Lesson 17

Daniel 8:1-14

Intro: tonight in ch.8 we will look at another vision of Daniel, but we will see a lot of what we have already looked at, so we will go through this pretty quick.

Daniels Second Vision,
1. When and Where, Vs.1&2
  1. The third year of Belshazzar,
    1. this puts it about 551 B.C.
      - It wont be until about 539 B.C. When the Med-Persian attack. (12 years)
      - this is also taking place about 50 years after Babylon first went into Jerusalem,
        
        so if Daniel was a young man, say 20ish, some put him as old as 30’s, he would be pushing 70’s.
      - But also the 70 year captivity of Israel, would come to an end in the next 20 years,
        
        338 B.C. Cyrus will allow the Jews to go back to Jerusalem if they want, but it would still take until 515 B.C. Until the temple would be restored.
  2. Shushan of Elam,
    1. about 200 miles southeast of Babylon,
      - this wasn’t an important city for the Babylonians, however it would eventually become the capitol of the Persian empire.
      - Just above the Persian gulf.
    2. What was Daniel doing there,
      - Some commentaries that I like, actual state that he may have been transported by God as Ezekiel,
      - however, there is a more likely reason, he was there for work.
        
        He was still a valuable member of Belshazzar’s wise men.
        
        And there could have been countless reasons he was there.
        
        Teach, govern, etc.
    3. The river Ulai, was probably a tributary of the Tigris river that flowed through Shushan.
2. The Ram, vs.3&4
  1. Two Horns of the ram,
    1. what made the second empire? The Mede, and the Persian,
      - two powers,
    2. were they equal?
      - For instance how much do we know of the Mede Empire compared to the Persian empire.
      - The Persian was the stronger and dominate empire eventually taking control over all the empire.
  2. On the Move,
    1. the idea here of the ram going each direction is an indication of the movement and expansion of the empire.
    2. And there was none that could stand before them,
      - this is a reoccurring theme, each empire was stronger than had been known thus far.
    3. I ask myself why would it be referred to as “Ram”
      - and this is just a thought, Nebuchadnezzar, and other Babylon rulers were a little unstable in their actions.
      - A ram, is a picture of stability, the name it’s self written in Hebrew, Alef, Yood, Lamed,
        
        and if you remember the pictures represented here are: power/ strength, at work, in control.
3. The Goat, vs.5-9
  1. Defeat of the Persian empire,
    1. this second is a picture of the Grecian empire.
      - Who was the leader of it? Alexander the Great, the single horn that was powerful.
        
        A couple of things that is noted about the Grecian army was the fact they were swift, it ran as if it wasn’t touching the ground.
    2. About 331 B.C.
      - Alexander had already had conflict with Darius the 3^rd.
        
        Was defeated and pushed back at the battle of Issus two years earlier.
      - But this time he drew Darius III into battle in the planes of Gaugamela,
        
        the land lent perfectly to Alexanders army and tactics,
        
        it was flat and smooth, perfect for the chariots Alexander used, and with lightening speed he brought the Persian empire to it’s knees.
    3. Incidentally where is Greece in comparison to the Babylon empire? West, vs.5
  2. The Great horn broken, and the 4 other horns,
    1. Alexander the great died when he was only 32 years old.
    2. When on his death bed he was asked who does the kingdom belong, he replied, to the strongest.
    3. vs. also mentioned the four other horns,
      - under Alexander he had 4 generals: Antigonus, Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Potlemy,
      - the kingdom was divided between these four;
      - to Antigonus, was given Macedonia,
      - to Lysimachus, Asia Minor (including Turkey)
      - to Seleucus, Syria,
      - and to Potlemey, Egypt.
4. The Little Horn, vs.9-14
  1. Rome,
    1. as opposed to the little horn we saw in ch.7 the Antichrist,
    2. this is a different little horn,
    3. it is making reference to the Roman empire,
      - this was Antiochus IV about 170 B.C.
      - He rose out of the Seleucid empire, (the third of Alexanders generals, Syria)
      - and he waged war on everyone.
      - He seemed to have a particular dislike for the Jews,
      - even exhaling himself to “Prince of Host”
        
        and then taking the privilege of making sacrificial in the temple.
      - He would prosper but only for a short time,
  2. The Desolation of the Temple,
    1. as Daniel asked vs.13 how long will this go on, remember he was sadden by what he saw,
    2. Gabriel the angel answered 2,300 days, roughly 6 ½ years.
    3. And this is when the Maccabeus wars would take place.
      - Restoring the temple in 164 B.C. This is still celebrated by Jews today (Hanukkah)
    4. Judas Maccabeus (the sledge hammer)