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Revelation - Detour

Daniel 8:1-14

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Recap

Daniel & friends in exile - refused to defile themselves with king’s food

Found better than other wise men

Nebuchadnezzar has dream that God reveals through Daniel

5 kingdoms starting with Babylon -> God’s eternal kingdom

Nebuchadnezzar builds golden image & Daniel’s friends refuse to bow down

God saves them from being burned in fiery furnace

Nebuchadnezzar has vision of a tree being cut down to its stump

Nebuchadnezzar prideful and made to live like an animal for 7 times

7. Daniel sees visions of 4 beasts and God on His Throne

God judges beast and everlasting kingdom given Son of Man & saints

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Reading

Daniel 8:1-8

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Timeline of Babylonian Kings

Nebuchadnezzar II - 605-562 BC - Daniel 1-4
Evilmerodach (Amel-Marduk) - 562-560 BC - 2 Kings 25, Jeremiah 52
Neriglissar - 560-556 BC
Labashi-Marduk - 556 BC
Nabonidus - 556-539 BC
Belshazzar - 553-539 BC - Daniel 7-8, 5

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Just a recap of the timeline here. We’re probably roughly around 550 BC (maybe a bit later, depending on how things are dated).

“The third year of the reign of King Belshazzar would be 550/549 BC, a significant year in which Cyrus broke free from his allegiance to Astyages the Mede and established the joint state of the Medes and Persians. The one whose right hand the Lord had grasped (Isa. 45:1) was already unwittingly fulfilling his God-appointed role in history and some of the exiles in Babylon no doubt recognized the fact. After that which appeared to me at the first is not a redundant statement, but points out that the content of this vision is dependent on that of chapter 7.” - Joyce G. Baldwin, Daniel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 23, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1978), 173.

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Location (Susa, Elam, Ulai Canal)

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Location (Susa, Elam, Ulai Canal)

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Susa

in those days, when the King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Susa the palace, - Esther 1:2 (WEB)

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the palace, - Nehemiah 1:1 (WEB)

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Elam

Now this is the history of the generations of the sons of Noah and of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood…The sons of Shem were: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. - Genesis 10:1-22 (WEB)

In the days of Amraphel, king of Shinar; Arioch, king of Ellasar; Chedorlaomer, king of Elam; and Tidal, king of Goiim, they made war with Bera, king of Sodom; Birsha, king of Gomorrah; Shinab, king of Admah; Shemeber, king of Zeboiim; and the king of Bela (also called Zoar). - Genesis 14:1-2 (WEB)

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Fill Out the Table…Questions (Daniel 8:1-8)

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	Ram	Goat
Location
Physical Actions
Personality
# of Horns

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The Ram & Goat (Daniel 8:1-8)

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	Ram	Goat
Location	East?	West
Physical Actions	“Conquering”	Attacks ram
Personality	Magnified self	Anger, Magnified self
# of Horns	2 -> 0	1 -> 4*

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Reading

Daniel 8:9-14

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Symbolism of Horns

As for the ten horns, ten kings will arise out of this kingdom. Another will arise after them; and he will be different from the former, and he will put down three kings. - Daniel 7:24 (WEB)

The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. - Revelation 17:12 (WEB)

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“Horns” in the Bible (and in general life/some other cultures) are used in a variety of ways (https://biblehub.com/hebrew/7161.htm, https://biblehub.com/hebrew/7162.htm, https://biblehub.com/greek/2768.htm, https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=horn&resultspp=250&version=WEB). They may just be regular horns on animals, they may be musical instruments (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horn_(instrument)#History), there are horns on altars (possibly signifying sacrifices, possibly just for practical purposes like tying animals down, possibly somewhat resembling points on a crown), and horns may symbolically stand for something like pride, strength, power, or kings. That latter meaning incorporating strength/power ideas likely comes from the fact that animals often use horns for strength in attacks/defense. The horns here seem to represent the idea of kingship, as also done in the other verses on this slide.

Zechariah 1:18-21 (WEB) is a fairly explicit passage talking about similar concepts:

I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns. I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” He answered me, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” Yahweh showed me four craftsmen. Then I asked, “What are these coming to do?” He said, “These are the horns which scattered Judah, so that no man lifted up his head; but these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations that lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”

Some other similar verses that may point to these strength/power/attack/kingship idea:

Majesty belongs to the firstborn of his herd. His horns are the horns of the wild ox. With them he will push all the peoples to the ends of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim. They are the thousands of Manasseh.” - Deuteronomy 33:17 (WEB)
Those who strive with Yahweh shall be broken to pieces. He will thunder against them in the sky. “Yahweh will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.” - 1 Samuel 2:10 (WEB)
Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made himself horns of iron, and said, “Yahweh says, ‘With these you will push the Syrians, until they are consumed.’” - 1 Kings 22:11 (WEB)
Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made himself horns of iron and said, “Yahweh says, ‘With these you shall push the Syrians, until they are consumed.’” - 2 Chronicles 18:10 (WEB)
I said to the arrogant, “Don’t boast!” I said to the wicked, “Don’t lift up the horn. Don’t lift up your horn on high. Don’t speak with a stiff neck.” - Psalm 75:4-5 (WEB)
I will cut off all the horns of the wicked, but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up. - Psalm 75:10 (WEB)
For you are the glory of their strength. In your favor, our horn will be exalted. - Psalm 89:17 (WEB)
But my faithfulness and my loving kindness will be with him. In my name, his horn will be exalted. - Psalm 89:24 (WEB)
The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken,” says Yahweh. - Jeremiah 48:25 (WEB)
He has cut off all the horn of Israel in fierce anger. He has drawn back his right hand from before the enemy. He has burned up Jacob like a flaming fire, which devours all around. - Lamentations 2:3 (WEB)
Yahweh has done that which he planned. He has fulfilled his word that he commanded in the days of old. He has thrown down, and has not pitied. He has caused the enemy to rejoice over you. He has exalted the horn of your adversaries. - Lamentations 2:17 (WEB)
you who rejoice in a thing of nothing, who say, ‘Haven’t we taken for ourselves horns by our own strength?’ - Amos 6:13 (WEB)
Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs bronze. You will beat in pieces many peoples. I will devote their gain to Yahweh, and their substance to the Lord of the whole earth. - Micah 4:13 (WEB)

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Questions (Daniel 8:9-14)

What does the little horn do here?

Does this seem like the same little horn from Daniel 7?

(Daniel 7:8-11, 20-26)

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We’ll come back to the “little horn” later (as we need a bit more historical context for interpretation), but for now, I want to just ask what does the the little horn seem to do here? And does this seem like same little horn from Daniel 7 or not?

“Such an understanding of the last two periods demands that the little horn of 8:9, which grew out of one of the four horns of the he-goat, be distinguished from the little horn of 7:8, which came up among the ten horns of the indescribable beast. Though they have a superficial similarity, there are many differences between them and they do not belong to the same era. This fact is an indication that we are being introduced to a recurring historical phenomenon: the clever but ruthless world dictator, who stops at nothing in order to achieve his ambitions. The book proclaims that such rulers cannot ultimately succeed. Though they talk and act big, and though they cause great suffering to many, their end is sure.” - Joyce G. Baldwin, Daniel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 23, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1978), 180.

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Glorious/Beautiful/Pleasant Land (Daniel 8:9)

Out of one of them came out a little horn which grew exceedingly great—toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land. - Daniel 8:9 (WEB)

tsbiy - beauty, glory, splendor, delight

“But I said, ‘How I desire to put you among the children, and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the armies of the nations!’ and I said, ‘You shall call me “My Father”, and shall not turn away from following me.’ - Jeremiah 3:19 (WEB)

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Host of Heaven (Daniel 8:10)

It grew great, even to the host of heaven. And some of the host and some of the stars it threw down to the ground and trampled on them. - Daniel 8:10 (ESV)

tsaba - host, army, service, warfare

shamayim - heaven, sky

kokab - star

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. - Genesis 2:1 (ESV)

and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have forbidden, - Deuteronomy 17:3 (ESV)

And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; - 1 Kings 22:19 (ESV)

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I want to briefly touch on the “host of heaven” here and what that can mean. “Heaven” can mean either something like a “heavenly [spiritual] realm” or just the “sky” (or “skies” perhaps in the sense of what we currently understand to be “outer space”). “Host” often refers to “army”, though it also can refer to what might be considered “inhabitants” of something (notably if thinking about a larger group).

We’ve previously covered the potential for “angels” to be symbolically represented with “stars”, and then “host” can also seem to refer to either angelic armies or physical “heavenly bodies”. See the following previous slide decks for more:

It’s also possible that the “host of heaven” here could be symbolic for the nation of Israel, who acted as a “host” of God physically here on earth. That might seem a little strange at first, though if you remember that we’re in the middle of “imagery” from a vision, such symbolic meanings could make sense.

https://biblehub.com/interlinear/daniel/8-10.htm

https://biblehub.com/hebrew/6635.htm - tsaba - host

https://biblehub.com/hebrew/8064.htm - shamayim - heaven

https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3556.htm - kokab - star

Some verses from https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=host+of+heaven&resultspp=250&version=ESV that combine both “host” and “heaven” (see link for more):

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. - Genesis 2:1 (ESV)
And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. - Deuteronomy 4:19 (WEB)
and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have forbidden, - Deuteronomy 17:3 (ESV)
And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; - 1 Kings 22:19 (ESV)
And they abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made for themselves metal images of two calves; and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. - 2 Kings 17:16 (ESV)
“You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. - Nehemiah 9:6 (ESV)
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. - Psalm 33:6 (ESV)
Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the Lord of hosts in the day of his fierce anger. - Isaiah 13:13 (ESV)
On that day the Lord will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth. - Isaiah 24:21 (ESV)
All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree. - Isaiah 34:4 (ESV)
“O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. - Isaiah 37:16 (ESV)
I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host. - Isaiah 45:12 (ESV)
As the host of heaven cannot be numbered and the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the offspring of David my servant, and the Levitical priests who minister to me.” - Jeremiah 33:22 (ESV)
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, - Luke 2:13 (ESV)

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Prince/Commander (Daniel 8:11)

Yes, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the army; and it took away from him the continual burnt offering, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. - Daniel 8:11 (WEB)

sar - prince, ruler, leader, chief, captain, official, general, governor, keeper, lord, master, commander

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Regular Offering

Yes, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the army; and it took away from him the continual burnt offering, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. - Daniel 8:11 (WEB)

It set itself up to be as great as the commander of the army of the LORD; it took away the daily sacrifice from the LORD, and his sanctuary was thrown down. - Daniel 8:11 (NIV)

tamid - continually, perpetually, always, regularly, daily

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“Tamid” Usage in the OT Tabernacle/Temple

You shall set bread of the presence on the table before me always. - Exodus 25:30 (WEB)

“You shall command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually. - Exodus 27:20 (WEB)

Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment on his heart, when he goes in to the holy place, for a memorial before Yahweh continually. You shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before Yahweh. Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel on his heart before Yahweh continually. - Exodus 28:29-30 (WEB)

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“Tamid” Usage in the OT Tabernacle/Temple

It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall make holy in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always on his forehead, that they may be accepted before Yahweh. - Exodus 28:28 (WEB)

“Now this is that which you shall offer on the altar: two lambs a year old day by day continually. The one lamb you shall offer in the morning; and the other lamb you shall offer at evening…It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the Tent of Meeting before Yahweh, where I will meet with you, to speak there to you. - Exodus 29:38-42 (WEB)

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“Tamid” Usage in the OT Tabernacle/Temple

When Aaron lights the lamps at evening, he shall burn it, a perpetual incense before Yahweh throughout your generations. - Exodus 30:8 (WEB)

“Command Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the burnt offering: the burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning…The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it, it shall not go out; and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning. He shall lay the burnt offering in order upon it, and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out. - Leviticus 6:9-13 (WEB)

“This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer to Yahweh in the day when he is anointed: one tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering perpetually, half of it in the morning, and half of it in the evening. - Leviticus 6:20 (WEB)

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“Tamid” Usage in the OT Tabernacle/Temple

“Command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually. Outside of the veil of the Testimony, in the Tent of Meeting, Aaron shall keep it in order from evening to morning before Yahweh continually. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. He shall keep in order the lamps on the pure gold lamp stand before Yahweh continually.

“You shall take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes of it: two tenths of an ephah shall be in one cake. You shall set them in two rows, six on a row, on the pure gold table before Yahweh. You shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be to the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire to Yahweh. Every Sabbath day he shall set it in order before Yahweh continually. It is an everlasting covenant on the behalf of the children of Israel. - Leviticus 24:2-8 (WEB)

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These verses aren’t all the verses where that word is used (even in the context of sacrificial offerings), but I hope it gives you some idea of what is going on here. Even if the usage in Daniel doesn’t specifically refer to some kind of “offering” or “sacrifice”, it does seem like there’s plenty of regular worship practices in the tabernacle/temple that could be in view here that would result in similar meanings.

Some other verses:

“On the table of show bread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the spoons, the bowls, and the cups with which to pour out; and the continual bread shall be on it. - Numbers 4:7 (WEB)
“The duty of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the continual meal offering, and the anointing oil, the requirements of all the tabernacle, and of all that is in it, the sanctuary, and its furnishings.” - Numbers 4:16 (WEB)
Numbers 28-29 reiterates things similar to what was covered on previous slides.
to offer burnt offerings to Yahweh on the altar of burnt offering continually morning and evening, even according to all that is written in Yahweh’s law, which he commanded to Israel; - 1 Chronicles 16:40 (WEB)
ou shall prepare a meal offering with it morning by morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour; a meal offering to Yahweh continually by a perpetual ordinance. Thus they shall prepare the lamb, the meal offering, and the oil, morning by morning, for a continual burnt offering.” - Ezekiel 46:14-15 (WEB)

“‘the continual’ is a technical term referring to the daily sacrifices, morning and evening, prescribed in Exodus 29:38–42. By the one word the whole sacrificial system is implied.” - Joyce G. Baldwin, Daniel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 23, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1978), 175.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamid for more on how this word is applied for some other Jewish writings with this subject.

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Sanctuary

Yes, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the army; and it took away from him the continual burnt offering, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. - Daniel 8:11 (WEB)

miqdash or miqqedash - sanctuary, holy place, consecrated place, sacred place, hallowed place, chapel

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Duration (Daniel 8:13-14)

Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who spoke, “How long will the vision about the continual burnt offering, and the disobedience that makes desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the army to be trodden under foot be?” He said to me, “To two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary will be cleansed.” - Daniel 8:13-14 (WEB)

Main part of Maccabean Revolt (167-164 BC)?

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It’s worth commenting a bit on the “duration” of this vision. We’re given a duration of 2,300 (some translations translate “evenings and mornings” as days, though both words are involved in the original language - https://biblehub.com/interlinear/daniel/8-14.htm). That would mean 1,150 full “days”.

We previously looked at various “numbers” in Revelation/Daniel (typically some variation of “3.5” - “a time, times, and half a time” - which could go to 42 months of 1,260 days). The numbers here don’t really correspond that, which make it harder to identify exactly what is meant by this duration.

Luke 21:24 mentions Jerusalem being trampled by Gentiles: They will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (WEB). Though there are also a few OT references that may mention trampling of the land in relation to different punishments (https://biblehub.com/hebrew/4823.htm).

Another possibility is this referring to what might be considered the “main part” of the Maccabean Revolt (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maccabean_Revolt), roughly from 167-164 BC, which could be roughly this 3-year time period. We’ll discuss this more later tonight.

“In his vision the seer overheard the dialogue of two holy ones (see note on 4:10) asking not why this should be, which calls in question God’s moral ordering of events, but how long (cf. Ps. 6:3; Isa. 6:11; Zech. 1:12), which presupposes that God is limiting the triumph of evil” - Joyce G. Baldwin, Daniel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 23, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1978), 176.

“The number 2,300 describes the total number of evening and morning sacrifices that would be missed (compare to Dan 7:25 and note). In total, 2,300 sacrifices—one in the evening and one in the morning—would take 1,150 days to complete.” - John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Da 8:14.