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Thus Say The Prophets
Prophet Daniel

Book of Daniel: Chapter Eight

Commentary © By John of AllFaith*
8:1 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that had appeared to me earlier.
As before, Daniel does not explain the dream of another prophet but his own visionary realization. Interestingly, beginning with this eighth chapter, the remainder of the Book of Daniel is written in Hebrew. The first chapter and the first four verses of the second are also in Hebrew. Arguably, this is because that section references the Fall of Jerusalem and the Captivity of Israel. But from chapter 2:4 to the end of chapter seven, the language is Aramaic, the language of the Semitic Pagans. Perhaps signifying that that part of the Book relates to the Four Gentile World Powers Daniel reveals.

From 8:1 to the end of the Book is in Hebrew because it has direct reference to the future of the Jews, Jerusalem, and the Sanctuary (Temple), and the terrible 'Man more cruel than Haman' who will arise and desecrate the Third Temple as he seeks to genocide the Jews in the future.

The purpose was to show Daniel and us what would befall his People (the Jews) in the Latter Days or during the conclusion of Olam Hazeh. From here on, the emphasis of the Book changes markedly.

8:2 I [Daniel] saw in the vision—at the time I saw it, I was in the fortress of Shushan, in the province of Elam—I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai River.
Daniel was at the time in the Persian fortress that would one day be home to King Ahasuerus and Queen Hadassah (aka Esther), of whom we read during Purim, where Haman will seek our genocide in Daniel's future.
8:3 I looked and saw a ram standing between me and the river; he had two horns; the horns were high, with one higher than the other and the higher one sprouting last.

Rashi explains that these symbolize the joint kingdom of Persia and Media, which is harmonious with Daniel's presentation. The first-century historian Josephus discusses this vision in more detail here. Josephus explains in part:

He [Daniel] said that when he was in Susa [i.e., Shushan], the metropolis of Persia, and went out into the field with his companions, there was, all of a sudden, a motion and concussion of the Earth, and that he was left alone by himself, as his friends fled away from him, and that he [Daniel] was disturbed and fell on his face and his two hands [i.e., in prayer], and that a certain person [literally, a melech or messenger of Elohim] touched him, and, at the same time, bid him rise, and see what would occur to his compatriots after many generations.

Daniel continues:

8:4 I saw the ram butting westward, northward, and southward. No beast could withstand him, and there was none to deliver from his power. He did as he pleased and grew great.

8:5 As I looked on, a he-goat came from the west, passing over the entire Earth without touching the ground. The goat had a conspicuous horn on its forehead.

8:6 He [i.e., the entity] approached the two-horned ram I had seen standing between me and the river and charged at him with furious force.

8:7 I saw him reach the ram and rage at him; he struck the ram and broke its two horns, and the ram was powerless to withstand him. He threw him to the ground and trampled him, and there was none to deliver the ram from his power.

Sage Malbim clarifies:

—Here is the goat zephyr as the kingdom of Ion, and they called zephyr, which is a small goat that is nothing against the huge ram, coming from the west from Zion to the west of Persia, across the whole land that the doves entered in the country of Darius [i.e., Media] and all its borders, and no one touches the land that they did not stand anywhere except the direction of their faces to the place where the king was on his back, and the siren saw a horn between his eyes, he is Alexander the Macedonian who was a great hero and the horn was between his eyes, that the eyes denote intelligence and understanding, that all his actions were with wisdom and understanding.

Based on Sage Malbim's insights, we understand that, although Darius and Cyrus the Great seemed unstoppable, Alexander the Great, who came from the west and replaced Cyrus' second-world power, Medo-Persia, with his own, Greece by the Will of HaShem, in the manifestation of the melech entity of angel indicates.

"The kingdom of Ion" refers to Greece as taught in their mythology. Ion was the illegitimate child of Creüsa, the daughter of Erechtheus and wife of Xuthus. Ion was supposedly an incarnated son of the god Apollo, raised by the god Hermes. Greeks believed that Ion founded a primary tribe of Greece, the Ionians. Some biblical commentators identify Ion as Javan (Yavon), a son of Noah's son Japheth (see Genesis 10:2), listed as an ancestor of the Greek people, but this last point lacks biblical support. Many people share common names without indicating a connection. Just because a person is named "Aaron" does not establish a connection with the biblical Aaron or the Levites. In any event, biblical scholars generally accept the reference as foretelling the coming of Alexander the Great in complete harmony with Daniel's previous prophecies.

8:8 Then the he-goat [i.e., Alexander the Great] grew very great, but his big horn was broken off at the peak of his power [i.e., he died]. In its place, four conspicuous horns sprouted toward the four winds of heaven.

As Daniel foretold some 300 years in advance, HaShem cut Alexander's life short. After Alexander's divinely decreed death at the age of 32, God caused his Greek Empire to be divided among four successors, four generals, known in Latin as the Diadochi, from the Greek, Diadokhoi, meaning "successors." They were:

Alexander the Great died in Babylon in 323 BCE. His death at age 32 followed a 2-week unspecified febrile (or fever) illness. Theories abound about the cause of his death, including possible poisoning, assassination, and various infectious diseases. Again, the real cause of Alexander's death was the Will of HaShem. Alexander would have conquered the known world had HaShem not intervened, and Hellenism would have returned to the world to the days of Babel. Whatever the apparent cause of Alexander's death, it was the intervention of HaShem that stopped him.

The greatest of the Diadochi successor states to Alexander the Great's fallen empire was arguably the Seleucid state, created by Seleucus Nicator in 312 BCE. This regional empire reigned until 64 BCE— when the remains of the Seleucid state fell to the Romans. At its height, the Seleucid Empire was a significant power that included Syria, Eretz Y'israel, southern Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Iran, and much of central Asia. Its influence and control over these regions shaped the course of the ancient world into modern times. The infamous Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175–163 BCE), who defiled the Jewish Temple as commemorated during Chanukah, was of the lineage of Seleucus I Nicator.

8:9 From one of them [i.e., the Diadochi or four horns: Alexander's generals] emerged a little horn, which extended itself greatly toward the south [into Egypt], toward the east [in Babylon] and into the beautiful Land [Eretz Y'israel].

The Little Horn

Who is this mysterious future enemy of the Jews? Looking behind him for an answer, Sage Rashi — who lived from February 22, 1040, in Troyes, France, through July 13, 1105, until he died at 65 — identified the Little Horn as the Roman warlord and future emperor Titus. He understood Daniel 8:8 as referencing the Roman kingdom of Titus that destroyed Jerusalem and exiled the Jews in 70 CE.

Other scholars identify the Little Horn as Antiochus Epiphanes, including John Collins in his popular book Daniel: With an Introduction to Apocalyptic Literature (1984, Eerdmans).

However, neither of these despots did the degree of damage ascribed to this Little Horn. We understand that although Antiochus and Titus, and we might add Haman, Napoleon, Martin Luther, Hitler, and other historic Jew-haters, did great evils against us, the foretold "Little Horn" predicts the yet future 'man more cruel than Haman,' the Son of Perdition, called Rex Mundi ('World Despot') and other names, who is yet to come as described at Sanhedrin Folio 97a and b:

Sanhedrin Folio 97a: — Thus has Rabbi Yochanan said: in the generation when the son of David [i.e., Mashiach ben David] will come, [Torah-approved] scholars will be few, and as for the rest, their eyes will fail through sorrow and grief. Multitudes of trouble and evil decrees will be promulgated anew, each new evil coming with haste before the other has ended.'
Sanhedrin 97b: Rab affirmed: All the predestined dates [for the Redemption] have passed, and the matter [now] depends only on repentance and good deeds. [To which] Rabbi Eliezer replied, If Israel repents, they will be redeemed; if not, they will not redeemed.
Rabbi Yoshua replied, 'They will not be redeemed if they do not repent!' [i.e., not so]. Instead, the Holy One, blessed be He, will set up a king over them, whose decrees will be as cruel as Haman's, whereby Israel will most assuredly engage in repentance, and He will thus bring them back to the right path.

So, who is this despot? In The Jewish Study Bible (2nd edition, 2014), Lawrence M. Wills identifies the little horn as Antiochus Epiphanes. The Jewish Encyclopedia by Emil G. Hirsch and Eduard König says, 'The little horn described in Dan. viii. 9-12, 23-25 has the same general characteristics as the little horn in vii. 8, 20; hence the same ruler is designated in both passages.' Metzudat David (18th century) says that the little horn represents the Muslims. Ibn Ezra viewed the Little Horn as the symbol of Islamic power that would arise out of the Arabic Turkish Empire. Saadia Gaon says the same in his commentary. These seem to be the main ancient interpretations.

Other Jewish interpreters align the Little Harn prophecies with the War of Gog and Magog and its leader. Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) interpreted the little horn as the pope of the Roman Catholic Church in his Ma-Yene ha-Yeshuah published in 1496, written four years after the Spanish Expulsion. Many Protestant commentators hold this belief, but many don't. To me, it's evident that the Little Horn Despot must be Jewish if the Jews are going to be deceived for a time and accept him as HaMashiach. Jews would never accept a Gentile as Mashiach as certainly not a Roman Pope!

We note that the Christian doctrine concerning the 'Anti-Christ' was not their invention, as some critics charge. Hebrew prophets like Daniel, Micah, Jeremiah, and others, while encouraging Jews to make needed teshuva or repentance, sought to steer them away from the reign of this coming despot HaShem had revealed to them. However, by the end of the First Century, having witnessed the fall of Jerusalem under Titus in 70 CE, it became clear that universal Jewish repentance would not happen in time to save the Second Temple and the City, as Daniel makes clear in his next chapter.

During the transitional period from Biblical Judaism to Talmudic or Rabbinic Judaism—for Biblical Judaism can not be practiced without the Temple—the followers of Yeshua ben Miriam and his talmidim, known as Derech Yeshua or Yeshua's Jewish Way Sect, revealed deeper information through their writings concerning the reign of the Rex Mundi — interpretations in some cases not revealed through their Jewish predecessors and in other cases clarified, including the Matthew chapter 24, Yochanan's Revelation, Paul's Second Letter to the Thessalonians, etc. Some prophecy students would add the extra-Biblical Book of Enoch and others.

For their part, the rabbis established Talmudic or Rabbinic Judaism and shied away from prophecy study. Influenced by Hellenism, the Rabbinate devoted themselves to more philosophical and intellectual pursuits. Not all Jews agreed with the Rabbinic reworking of the ancient religion, including but not only Derech Yeshua, which emphasized the role of the Little Horn in prophecy and the need for personal and collective teshuvah.

8:10 It [i.e., the Little Horn of the Rex Mundi] grew as high as the host of the heavens, and it hurled some of the stars of the [heavenly] host to the ground and trampled them.

Rashi interprets: "They are Israel, who were compared to the stars."
Sage Malbim understands this more literally:

And you [i.e., they] will grow - Gabriel interpreted this as 'the army of heaven,' the commander of the army, who is Michael, whom you will not see until time immemorial [i.e., until the distant future when the prophecy is fulfilled], as it will be written, "And at that time" Michael will stand [emphasis mine].

Rashi, as usual, tends to be more pragmatic than Malbim; both are correct, as I see it. This imminent war, vividly described as a battle between celestial forces and human forces in Daniel 10, Ezekiel 38–39, the Book of Enoch, II Thessalonians chapter 2, Yochanan's Revelation chapter 12, etc., is not a distant possibility but a stark reality of what will be and that will directly involve everyone on Earth, with the Jews at the forefront of the Little Horn's genocidal intentions. As we are warned in Sanhedrin 97a and b, cited above, and as implied by Daniel and directly stated by the Way Sect authors and others, many of the Jews, including most of the Rabbinate, will willingly embrace this despot as HaMashiach!

The consequence of their unwise embrace of the One More Cruel Than Haman will be severe. Because of their assimilation into the Global Culture, few legitimate scholars will remain among our people, and the love of the many will wear thin, as written. All who are wise should heed this dire warning. Many of the 'stars of God' — many of the leaders of our people — will fall before the Rex Mundi as his power expands over the world.

As Rebbe Nachman of Breslov warned:
Great atheism is coming to the world as a test from on high. The world's many sins are causing a terrible lack of emunah (faith). People must stay firm in their faith during these times and understand the role of emunah in preparing for the trials ahead.
I predict this but can not prevent the increase of Godlessness and confusion. Daniel and others made it known that this would happen in the days before the Mashiach. He wrote, "Many will purify themselves and be refined, and make themselves shining white. But the wicked will do evil. and only the wise shall understand" (Daniel 12:10 ).
Since this was foretold, it should not be such a great trial for people to remain firm in their emunah. But the truth is that even though the prophets made this known long ago, it will still be a great trial. Many will fall by the wayside, which is why it is written: "The wicked will do evil."
I am revealing this for the sake of the few pure souls who will remain firm in their emunah [faith]. They will undoubtedly face great battles, even in their minds. But when they see that this was foretold, it should give them greater strength and encouragement—Sichot Haran #35.

As written, precious few Jews today are preparing for what is coming.
8:11 It [i.e., the Little Horn: Rex Mundi] vaunted itself against the very chief of the host [i.e., HaShem]. Because of it [i.e., the Little Horn: Rex Mundi], the regular offering was suspended, and the holy place was abandoned.

This boast could be said of the usurpation by Antiochus, Titus, and the coming Rex Mundi, with the caveat that the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Jerusalem Temple) is not currently standing. The prophets tell us about the building of the Third Temple. While the Scriptural dictum seems clear that the Third Temple is not to be built before the coming of HaMashiach, the Temple Institute and others want it built before his arrival. This possibility, which agrees with the latter Way sect prophets, may explain this verse well—that the Rex Mundi will enter the Third Temple, or perhaps a faux temple built by the Temple Institute, the UN, or others, and perform 'the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the Prophet.' This prophecy refers to a sacrilegious act that will desecrate the holy place, a significant event in eschatology. We've discussed elsewhere the suggestion that such a faux temple could be built in Jerusalem near the Dung Gate overlooking the City of David rather than on the traditional sacred site. His 'vaunting himself' above even HaShem would be in keeping with the paradigms of Babel, which are currently being revived under the Globalist Great Reset to Paganism. Everything seems to be lining up.

8:12 An evil army was arrayed against the regular offering; it hurled truth to the ground and prospered in what it did.

The forces of Rex Mundi's Globalists will successfully stop the religious observances of the Jews in the temple and throughout the world as they defile the temple halfway through his reign.

8:13 Next, I heard a holy being speaking, and another holy being said to whoever was speaking, "How long will [what was seen in] the vision last (i.e., the regular offering being forsaken due to transgression, and the sanctuary being surrendered, and the [heavenly] host be trampled)?"

8:14 He answered me, For twenty-three hundred evenings and mornings [i.e., 6.3 years]; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.

8:15 While I (Daniel) was seeing the vision and trying to understand it, one who looked like a man appeared before me.

8:16 I heard a human voice from the middle of the Ulai [i.e., a river near the city of Shushan where Daniel was receiving this vision] calling out, "Gabriel, make that man understand the vision."

Unlike Moshe, the other prophets often received their information through dreams, riddles, and similies they did not understand. As stated before, Daniel's prophecies are among the most vital despite his Rabbinic demotion. Here, the celestial revealers ensure that Daniel understands what they are showing him.

The 'time' is described as 2,300 'evenings and mornings.' Based on the wording, we interprete this as 2,300 literal days, not as semilie. So, this desolation will continue for 6.3 years (which is 2,300 days).

Elsewhere, we learn that the reign of the Rex Mundi will be seven literal years or 2,556.7 days. We see, therefore, that he will rule for just under a year before setting up his (probably faux) Jerusalem temple. He will commit the 'abomination' three and half years into his reign.

When does the counting of the 2,300 days begin? This question was prompted by the previous statement that the Little Horn would 'take away the Daily Sacrifice' and that the 'Place of [HaShem's] Sanctuary' (i.e., the Temple) would be cast down or desolated. These 2,300 days, therefore, will begin when the Rex Mundi desecrates the Temple—i.e., just before the midpoint in his seven-year (one 'week' or seven years) reign—as taught in Daniel 9:27. This supports the significant prophetic designation of the final 'time, times, and a half time,' or three and half years that will complete the 2,556.7 days or seven years of his infernal reign. He will appear to be the answer to the world's prayers for the first year or so of his reign. Most everyone will believe so. When his temple is built, most people will support him, including most of the Rabbinate. I assume this will be a faux temple, as discussed, and that the real Third Beit Hamikdash will be as described in Ezekiel 41:1-43:27. This is, however, an assumption based on piecing diverse texts together. Based on the texts, it could be the actual Beit HaMikdash. Time will tell.

8:17 He [i.e., the messenger of God from the middle of the Ulai] came near to where I was standing, and as he came, I was terrified and fell prostrate. He told me, "Understand, O mortal, that this vision refers to the time of the end."

So while, in a general sense, these events may be applied to Antiochus Epiphenes, Titus, or others, the greater significance must have to do with the 'time of the end' of the Olam Hazeh or present world system and not with their times as the entity tells Daniel in this verse. These things are yet to come.

8:18 When he spoke with me, I was overcome by a deep sleep as I lay prostrate on the ground. Then he touched me and made me stand up.

8:19 [He] said, "I will inform you of what will happen when His Wrath ends. [Again] this [vision] refers to the time appointed for the end.

To ensure that our understanding is correct, the entity now explains what we have discussed:

8:20 "The two-horned ram that you saw [signifies] the kings of Media and Persia [i.e., Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Persian];

8:21 and the buck, the he-goat—the king of Greece [i.e., Alexander the Great]; and the large horn on his forehead, that is the first king [i.e., Alexander's greatness under the Diadochi] when united in his service].

8:22 One [i.e., Alexander] was broken, and four [the Diadochi] came in its stead—that [means]: four kingdoms will arise out of the nation but without its power.

From history, we know these as the kingdoms of

The Rise of the Roman Empire

8:23 When their [four] kingdoms reach their end, when the measure of transgression has been filled, another king will arise, impudent and well-versed in intrigue.

8:24 He will have great strength, but not through his own strength. He will be extraordinarily destructive; he will prosper in what he does and will destroy the mighty and the people of holy ones [i.e., the Jews].

8:25 By his cunning, he will use deceit successfully. He will make great plans, destroy many, take them unawares, and rise against the Chief of chiefs, but he will be broken, yet not by [human] hands.

This prophecy is significant. As Daniel foretold, Medo-Persia destroyed Babylon. Alexander the Great and his Diadochi generals destroyed Medo-Persia. Greece (effectively ending with the Seleucid state of Antiochus IV Epiphenes) was destroyed by the Roman Empire, the fourth biblical super-power, during the Macabean period. But Rome was never destroyed by 'human hands.' The Roman Empire disintegrated from within and morphed into the still-ruling political powers of Europe. Once again, Daniel was correct.

8:26 "What was said in the vision about evenings and mornings is true. Now, you keep the vision a secret, for it pertains to far-off days."

The Watcher entity again stresses the literal nature of the vision. It is for 2,300 days and 2556.7 days or seven years, during which the 'man more cruel than Haman' will rule the planet as the final Roman despot. These are warnings for the distant future, much farther than the rise of the Roman Empire, reaching into the future when Rome, in another form, will again rise to rule the entire earth. There will be a long wait between the fall of Jerusalem to Titus the Roman and the reign of the Little Horn. How long is still being determined.

8:27 So I, Daniel, was stricken and languished many days. Then I arose and attended to the king's business, but I was dismayed by the vision, and no one could explain it.

Even with what now seems like a clear explanation of these things since we have witnessed them play out historically, to Daniel, who lived during the first two of the four Empires, the information needed to be clarified how his prophecies would work out in real-time. Therefore, HaShem sent another Watcher with the most debated section of prophetic writing the world has ever known, Daniel's chapter nine, as we continue.

Continue to Chapter Nine



* © This series is by John of AllFaith, © April 12, 1997 (last updated June 29,2024)



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