Daniel 8:3-4 Then I lifted up my eyes and looked. And, behold, a ram was standing before the canal, having two horns. And the two horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. I saw the ram pushing westward and northward and southward, so that no beasts could stand before him, nor any who could deliver out of his hand. But he did according to his will, and became great.
The ram represents the Aryan Empire, and the horns are the kingships of Media and Persia. The kingship of Persia is the horn that sits up higher because even though it came up after the kingship of Media, it became the more powerful of the two with Cyrus the Great.
Daniel 8:20 The ram which you saw with two horns is the kings of Media and Persia.
The Aryan Empire spread throughout the Middle East from Iran to Egypt, and Arabia to Asia Minor becoming the largest empire known to the world up until that time.
For more information on the Aryan Empire please see our studies: The Aryan Kings List, The Kingdoms of the Ancient World and The Four Great Beasts.
Daniel 8:5-7 And I was considering, and, behold, a he-goat came from the west, over the face of all the earth, and did not touch the ground. And the goat had an outstanding horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram with two horns, which I had seen standing before the canal. And he ran to it in the fury of his power. And I saw him touched beside the ram. And he was moved with anger against him and struck the ram and shattered his two horns. And there was no power in the ram to stand before him. But he threw him down to the ground, and trampled him. And no one could deliver the ram from his hand.
The he-goat adorned with a solitary horn symbolizes Europe (Javan), while the lone horn positioned between the goat’s eyes represents Alexander the Great, the formidable leader of the Hellenic (Greek) Empire. Leading his army through the Middle East, Alexander achieved conquests across territories governed by the Aryan Empire. At that juncture, Darius III, who had inherited the kingships of both Media and Persia from his forebears, engaged in numerous battles against the Greeks. In a pivotal turn of events in 330 BC, Darius met his demise, paving the way for Alexander the Great to seize control of the entire Aryan Empire.
Learn more about the Hellenic Empire in our studies: The Kingdoms of the Ancient World, King of the North: Part One, King of the North: Part Two, and The Four Great Beasts.
Daniel 8:21 And the shaggy goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
Daniel 8:8 Then the he-goat became very great. And when he was mighty, the great horn was broken. And in its place came up four outstanding ones toward the four winds of the heavens.
Alexander’s triumph over the Aryan Empire lasted only a brief seven-year period, as he succumbed to a suspected poisoning in Babylon in 323 BC. Upon his demise, his vast empire underwent division among his generals, commonly known as the Diadochi. The following centuries witnessed the emergence of four prominent European empires: the Hellenic Empire, the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of France, and the British Empire. Symbolically, these four entities are represented by the four horns that succeeded the single horn atop the he-goat.
Daniel 8:22 And as for that which was broken, and four stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in its power.
Daniel 8:9-10 And out of one of them came a little horn, which became very great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the bountiful land. And it became great, even to the host of the heavens. And it made fall some of the host, and of the stars, to the ground, and trampled them.
The little horn came up from the horn representing the British Empire, and is the State of Israel which has controlled the Holy Land since 1948 after the British Mandate ended.
This is the same Little Horn that comes up from among the ten horns of the fourth beast (Islam) in Daniel 7. Those ten horns are the ten nations listed in Psalm 83, which are all Islamic today, and the State of Israel literally came up in the center of them. Daniel 7 also says that the Little Horn will pluck up by the roots three of the original ten horns. We see this in progress today.
Daniel says that the Little Horn will make war with the saints and overcome them, until Yeshua Messiah returns and establishes His millennial kingdom.
Daniel 8:11-12 Yea, he magnified himself even to the leader of the host. And the daily sacrifice was taken away by him, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And a host was given with the daily sacrifice because of transgression. And it threw the truth down to the ground; and it worked and prospered.
The Moshiach is the Jewish Messiah. We find this description of him at Chabad.org:
The Messianic Redemption will be ushered in by a person, a human leader, a descendant of Kings David and Solomon, who will reinstate the Davidic royal dynasty. According to tradition, Moshiach will be wiser than Solomon, and a prophet around the level of Moses.
Ever since the destruction of the Holy Temple, in every generation there is an individual, a scion of the House of David, who has the potential to be the Moshiach. If at any moment the Jews are worthy of redemption, this person would be directed from Above to assume the role of the redeemer.
During the Messianic Era, the Moshiach will serve a dual role. He will be a monarch, ruling over all of humanity with kindness and justice, and upholding the law of the Torah—613 commandments for the Jews, and seven for the non-Jews. He will also be the ultimate teacher, the conduit for the deepest and most profound dimensions of the Torah which will then be revealed by G‑d.
How are we to identify the Moshiach?
Moshiach is not identified by his ability to perform earth-shattering miracles. In fact, he isn’t required to perform any miracles at all (although the performance of miracles doesn’t disqualify him either).
The following are the criteria for identifying the Moshiach, as written by Maimonides:
If we see a Jewish leader who (a) toils in the study of Torah and is meticulous about the observance of the mitzvot, (b) influences the Jews to follow the ways of the Torah and (c) wages the “battles of G‑d”—such a person is the “presumptive Moshiach.”
If the person succeeded in all these endeavors, and then rebuilds the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and facilitates the ingathering of the Jews to the Land of Israel—then we are certain that he is the Moshiach.
Daniel 8:23-25 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have come to the full, a king strong of face, and skilled at intrigues, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty but not by his own power. And he shall destroy marvelously; and he shall prosper, and work, and destroy the mighty, and the holy people. And also through his skill he will make deceit succeed in his hand. And he will lift himself up in his heart, and be at ease; he shall destroy many. He shall also stand up against the Ruler of rulers, but he shall be broken without a hand.
Daniel 8:13-14 Then I heard a certain holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that one who spoke, Until when is the vision, the regular sacrificeh8548, and the desolating transgression, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled? And he said to me, For two thousand, three hundred evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be vindicated.
The verse says ‘evenings and mornings’ instead of ‘days’ for two reasons. First: prophecies often use the word ‘day’ to mean any number of periods of time, most often a day is a year. YHWH wanted us to know that He meant a literal 24-hour period. And, second, YHWH was referring to the regular sacrifices He commanded of the Israelites through Moses. These were twice daily lamb sacrifices, one in the evening and one in the morning.
Exodus 29:38-42 And this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs daily, sons of a year; the one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the second lamb you shall offer between the evenings. And a tenth of fine flour anointed with beaten oil, a fourth of a hin, and a drink offering, a fourth of a hin of wine, for the one lamb. And you shall offer the second lamb between the evenings; you shall do to it like the morning food offering and its drink offering for a soothing fragrance, a fire offering to YHWH. This shall be a continualh8548 burnt offeringh5930 to your generations, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the face of YHWH; there where I meet you to speak to you there.
We are told that there will be 2300 literal days from the time the twice daily lamb sacrifices are started again (which have not happened since the destruction of the temple in AD 70) until the sanctuary (City of Jerusalem) will be vindicated by Yeshua.
Daniel 8:15-19 And it happened when I, Daniel, had seen the vision, then I sought meaning. And, behold, the form of a man stood before me. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, and he called and said, Gabriel, make this one understand the vision. And he came beside my place. And when he came, I feared and fell on my face. But he said to me, O son of man, understand; for the vision is for the time of the end. And while he was speaking with me, I was stunned, on my face toward the ground. But he touched me and made me stand. And he said, Behold, I will make you know what shall happen in the last end of the indignation. For it is for the time appointed for the end.
Gabriel assures Daniel that the twenty-three hundred evenings and mornings in the prophecy will occur at the time appointed for the end. Then he goes on to explain the whole vision to Daniel in verses 20-25.
Daniel 8:26-27 And the morning and evening vison that was told it true. But you shall shut up the vision; for it shall be for many days. And I, Daniel, was faint. And I was sick for days. Afterwards I got up and did the king’s business. And I was amazed at the vision. But there was no understanding.
May you be blessed by this study. Shalom.