30 The Book of Daniel, Chapter 8

November 2, 2020

1 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar (circa 550 BC) a vision appeared to me- to me, Daniel- after the one that appeared to me the first time.

2 I saw in the vision, and it so happened while I was looking, that I was in Shushan, the citadel, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision that I was by the River Ulai. (In Biblical prophecy, Persia would overtake Babylon which came true in 539 BC when Cyrus the Great of Persia took the city of Babylon. Shushan was where one of the palaces of the Persian Empire would be located. If you quarter present- day Iran, the southwestern portion would be Elam adjacent the Persian Gulf and present day Iraq. Esther 1:2)

3 Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there standing beside the river was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. (Cyrus united two tribes with his father being a Persian and his mother a Mede. Initially, it was the Medo-Persian Empire, but it became the Persian Empire.)

4 I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no animal could withstand him; nor was there any that could deliver from his hand, but he did according to his will and became great. (The symbol of the Persian Empire was a ram with the king wearing a ram’s head in battle. The Empire did not go towards India, but westward and then northward and southward.)

5 And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. (A goat was a symbol for Greece. The Aegean Sea meant the “goat sea.” A one-horned goat was the symbol for Macedonia, which conquered Greece. Its prince was Alexander the Great, represented by the one-horned goat. The defeat of the massive Persian Empire would be rapid as the goat did not touch the ground. It was effected circa 333 to 330 BC,)

6 Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power.

7 And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand. (Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Ram circa 330 BC)

8 Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven. (Alexander died young at the age of 32 in 323 BC. In time, his empire was divided among four of his generals.)

9 And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land. (The little horn, ruler of one of the original four horns after Alexander died, was Antiochus IV Epiphanes, king of the Seleucid Empire from 175 to 164 BC, called Epimanes [the mad] by the Jews. Antiochus was thwarted by an elderly Roman emissary from taking Egypt. Then he was told that the High Priest in Jerusalem, whom he had installed, had been forcibly removed by the former High Priest. He took Jerusalem and put his High Priest back in power. He slaughtered eighty thousand Jews and sent an additional forty thousand into slavery. He tried to destroy Judaism by burning the sacred texts and outlawing the Mosaic feasts, replacing them with Greek. Circumcision on baby boys was punishable by death for mother and child. The anti-Christ will take Egypt in the south, rebuild Babylon in the east per Zechariah 5:5-12 and take over the Glorious Land of Israel.)

10 And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. (The host of heaven, or stars, refers to the people of God per Daniel 12:3, Gen 15:5;22:17. Antiochus would oppress God’s people in their land. The appearance of the anti-Christ would lead to war in heaven per Revelation 12:7-9.)

11 He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down. (The sanctuary was defiled. He offered a pig for sacrifice on the God’s altar of the temple, and then he splattered the pig’s blood throughout the temple. He placed an idol of Zeus with his face on it in the holy of holies. The temple no longer sacrificed to YHWH but to Greek gods. There were temple prostitutes. The anti-Christ will also desecrate the newly rebuilt Temple of Israel.)

12 Because of transgressions, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground (He burned the Torah.). He did all this and prospered.

13 Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?;

14 And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.’ (The established date for the restoring and cleansing of the Temple under Judas Maccabeus was Dec 14, 164 BC. If we count back 2300 days we arrive at the fall of 170 BC- when Antiochus began to oppress the Jews.)

15 Then it happened, when I , Daniel had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.

16 And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.”

17 So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.”

18 “Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me, and stood me upright.

19 And he said, “look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be.”

20 The ram which you saw having the two horns- they are the kings of Media and Persia.

21 “And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king.

22 “As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.

23 “And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise, Having fierce features, Who understands sinister schemes.

24 ‘His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; He shall destroy fearfully, And shall prosper and thrive; He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.

25 “Through his cunning He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; And he shall exalt himself in his heart, He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes, But he shall be broken without human means.

26 “And the vision of the evenings and mornings Which was told is true; Therefore seal up the vision, For it refers to many days in the future.”

27 And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king’s business. I was astonished by the vision, but no one understood it.

I had thought that this chapter was all about Antiochus Epiphanes, who believed himself to be a god, but I have recently realized that it also refers to the anti-Christ. At present, Iran is trying to re-establish the Persian Empire. It is the major Shia Muslim nation. Islam is divided into two major sects with Shia being about 13% and Sunni over 80%. Each sect regards the other as apostate. Each would destroy the other if they could. Iraq is another Shia state, but the people are Arab and not Persian. Iran has spread its tentacles into Iraq, Syria, Lebanon through the Hezbollah, and the Gaza Strip, the latter being Sunni, but Sunni and Shia both agree on killing the Jews. Hence, Iran has gone westward, northward (They have a treaty with Russia also.), and southward into Yemen.

The original Medo- Persian Empire included the Medes, the modern-day Kurds. The Kurds are one of the largest group of people in the world without a state. They live in northern Iraq, southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, and eastern Syria. They are landlocked. They practice a moderate Islam and have been America’s friend. However, they are hated by the Turks, who are attacking them and may well drive them into the arms of Iran.

Iran through proxies control Syria, Lebanon (Hezbollah), and they are bankrolling Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Ezekiel 25 states clearly that Ammon and Moab, modern day Jordan, will be given to the men of the east in verses 4 & 10. I believe Iran will take over Jordan. God goes on in Ezekiel 25 to ferociously judge Edom, southern Jordan, and the Philistines, the Gaza Strip. In effect, Israel will be surrounded save their land border with Egypt, where there are elements of ISIS who would gladly participate in an assault on Israel as they are presently attacking the troops of Egypt. One day in a coordinated manner, they will assault Israel per Amos 1 & 2. I suspect the Palestinians within Israel will participate as well. Israel will be heavily damaged; their adversaries in this attack, for the most part, will cease to exist. Per Ezekiel 38:11 Russia and the Muslim remnant will attack a nation of unwalled villages. Presently, Israel has walls at their borders and throughout the nation to protect themselves from their neighbors and the Palestinians. The walls, at least within Israel, will go down with the destruction of her enemies.

America, who I believe to be the Anglo-Saxon nations of England and America, will also have massive problems, per Amos 6- 16. The $ will likely fall. America will cease to be the world’s premier nation, and the lost tribes including the Anglo-Saxons, will return to Israel. They will be made known by the two witnesses of Revelation 11:3-12, Elijah and most likely Moses.

The final week of Daniel is seven Biblical years of 360 days each for a total of 2,520 days. We know that the final event of Daniel 9:24 is to anoint the Most Holy which is the Temple, according to experts. We also know the Great Tribulation will last 1260 days per Revelation 13:5, but we are told in Daniel 12:12 “Blessed is he who waits and comes to the 1335 days”, or 75 days beyond the 1260. Why? Christ fulfilled the feast of Passover as the Lamb. He was in the tomb, but His body did not decay as He had no sin, fulfilling Unleavened Bread (Feast #2) as leaven is a symbol of sin. He was the Firstfruit of the grave, and along with the saints resurrected with Him fulfilled Firstfruits (Feast #3). His church was born on Feast #4 -Weeks or Shavuot. Feast #5 is Trumpets, perhaps the rapture, or one of the trumpet judgements in Revelation or both. I suspect He will return to destroy His enemies on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the holiest feast in Judaism, the sixth Mosaic Feast. The seventh feast is Tabernacles , the Feast of His millennium. However, Hanukkah, a non-Mosaic Feast, which celebrated the rededication of the Temple in 164 BC after the first abomination of desolation in 167 or 168 BC will likely also celebrate the Rededication of the Temple after the second abomination of desolation. It is always 74 to 75 days after Yom Kippur. It is an eight day feast. Hanukkah will conclude the final week of Daniel, beginning 1,335 days after the Great Tribulation.

We also know the answer to the question in Daniel 8:13 How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot? Answer in verse 14- 2300 days, and then the sanctuary will be cleansed.

Let us assume that the final week of Daniel ends on the 8th day of Hanukkah, though admittedly it could be the first, or even an in-between day of the feast. 82 days after Yom Kippur, Hanukkah ends, the third piece of Daniel’s final week. The middle piece is 2300 days beginning when the sanctuary and the host are trampled underfoot. In the first piece of the final week of Daniel, the first 138 days, Israel is attacked and destroys her surrounding enemies, but is heavily damaged, and there are many Muslim nations still out there. America, as the premier nation, is gone. Israel will make a treaty with the anti-Christ, giving him control in some manner over Jerusalem and the Temple, perhaps the nation. However, the treaty that kicks off the final week of Daniel 9:27 will be earlier, precisely 138 days earlier. I had thought the anti-Christ would be revealed when he signed the treaty initiating the final week. Perhaps not, but he will certainly be known when he begins the 2300 day period giving him control over the Temple and the host.

Can we subdivide the 2300? We know that the last 1260 days are the Great Tribulation ending with Christ’s return. We also know from Revelation 11:2 that the court outside the Temple has been given to the Gentiles and they will tread the Holy City of Jerusalem underfoot for 42 months. This would initiate the 2300. The Great Tribulation of 1260 days and the control of Jerusalem for 1260 days overlap, meaning on the 1041st day the abomination of desolation will go up, and the Great Tribulation will begin.

What about the first 1040 days of the 2300 before the Great Tribulation begins? We know from Ezekiel 39:12 and 14 that for seven months, the house of Israel will be burying the Russo-Muslim assault from Ezekiel 38 & 39. Seven months equals 210 days, so there is much to occur in the first 830 days of the 1040 before the Great Tribulation begins.

Israel has been chastened, but her neighbors save Egypt have ceased to exist. She makes her treaty with the anti-Christ, but the Sunni nations are still frightened. Iran is still developing atomic weapons that only Sunni Pakistan has at present, and Iran will use those weapons on their enemies if she gets them.

Jeremiah 49:35 “Thus says the LORD of hosts:

‘Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, The foremost of their might. 36 Against Elam I will bring the four winds From the four quarters of heaven and scatter them toward all those winds; There shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go. 37 For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies And before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, My fierce anger,’ says the LORD; Until I have consumed them.

For the Persian Empire of modern- day Iran to be destroyed before they go nuclear, there must be a great horn. As I wrote earlier, the Iranians wish to re-establish the Persian Empire, but the Turks wish to re-establish the Turkish Empire. The Persians came into conflict with the Greeks when they captured the Greek cities on the western coast of Turkey. Greece was a maritime empire. Hence, the great horn will be Turkey, that will subsequently divide into four horns. I suspect there will be a Muslim confederation to take out Iran. This would include already nuclear Sunni Pakistan, facing their great enemy of India, and now potentially getting nuclear Iran at their back. It would also include the great Sunni state of the Muslim world- Egypt. But we are missing the fourth horn. Who could that be? The anti-Christ is referred to as the Assyrian, but there is no Assyrian nation. ISIS reconstituted? Saudi Arabia with all their American weaponry? The little horn of Daniel 8:8 must be of the original confederation. I believe he will be the anti-Christ of Europe. All of these four nations will destroy the nuclear capability of Iran, though the destruction of Iran will be ongoing for it is the number one nation under Russia for the Russo-Muslim invasion of Ezekiel 38 & 39.

I suspect Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey will be the great horn. He will put this coalition together, but then be killed or, more likely, decide to destroy the coalition and end Israel as a nation and then be killed. It appears that Daniel 11:31-39 refer to the anti-Christ, overlapping with a description of the acts of Antiochus Epiphanes. Daniel 11:40 “At the time of the end the king of the south (Egypt) shall attack him (the anti-Christ in Israel); and the king of the North (Turkey) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he (the anti-Christ) shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. 41 “He shall also enter the Glorious Land (Israel, in force), and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. (Jordan will be a place for Israel to flee to, guarded by God.) 42 “He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 “He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans (North African Muslims) and Ethiopians (black African Muslims) shall follow at his heels. 44 But news from the east (China, India, Japan, etc per Revelation 16:12) and the north (Russo-Muslim invasion of Ezekiel 38 & 39) shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many.

So in the first 830 days of the 1040, the Iranian nuclear potential will be ended by the Sunni confederation, followed by the collapse of the confederation and an unsuccessful attack on Israel in which Turkey is defeated and Egypt is invaded and looted by forces of the anti-Christ. The Egyptians rebel, and the anti-Christ nukes the Aswan Dam ending Egypt as a nation for forty years per Ezekiel 29. Then the Russo-Muslim invasion of Ezekiel 38 & 39 ending with God’s intervention, followed by 210 days of burying the dead, and on day 1041- the beginning of the Great Tribulation.

-Gentry