The visions and prophecies of this chapter look
only and entirely at the events that were then shortly to come to
pass in the monarchies of Persia and Greece, and seem not to have
any further reference at all. Nothing is here said of the Chaldean
monarchy, for that was now just at its period; and therefore this
chapter is written not in Chaldee, as the six foregoing chapters
were, for the benefit of the Chaldeans, but in Hebrew, and so are
the rest of the chapters to the end of the book, for the service of
the Jews, that they might know what troubles were before them and
what the issue of them would be, and might provide accordingly. In
this chapter we have, I. The vision itself of the ram, and the
he-goat, and the little horn that should fight and prevail against
the people of God, for a certain limited time,
1 In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first. 2 And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai. 3 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. 4 I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great. 5 And as I was considering, behold, a he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. 6 And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. 7 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. 8 Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. 9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. 10 And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. 11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. 12 And a host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered. 13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? 14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
Here is, I. The date of this vision,
II. The scene of this vision. The place where that was laid was in Shushan the palace, one of the royal seats of the kings of Persia, situated on the banks of the river Ulai, which surrounded the city; it was in the province of Elam, that part of Persia which lay next to Babylon. Daniel was not there in person, for he was now in Babylon, a captive, in some employment under Belshazzar, and might not go to such a distant country, especially being now an enemy's country. But he was there in vision; as Ezekiel, when a captive in Babylon, was often brought, in the spirit, to the land of Israel. Note, The soul may be a liberty when the body is in captivity; for, when we are bound, the Spirit of the Lord is not bound. The vision related to that country, and therefore there he was made to fancy himself to be as strongly affected as if he had really been there.
III. The vision itself and the process of it.
1. He saw a ram with two
horns,
2. He saw this ram pushing all about
him with his horns (
3. He saw this ram overcome by a he-goat.
He was considering the ram (wondering that so weak an animal
should come to be so prevalent) and thinking what would be the
issue; and, behold, a he-goat came,
4. He saw the he-goat made hereby very
considerable; but the great horn, that had done all this
execution, was broken,
5. He saw this kingdom divided into four
parts, and that instead of that one great horn there came up
four notable ones, Alexander's four captains, to whom he
bequeathed his conquests; and he had so much that, when it was
divided among four, they had each of them enough for any one man.
These four notable horns were towards the four winds of
heaven, the same with the four heads of the leopard
(
6. He saw a little horn which became
a great persecutor of the church and people of God; and this was
the principal thing that was intended to be shown to him in this
vision, as afterwards,
7. He heard the time of this calamity
limited and determined, not the time when it should come
(that is not here fixed, because God would have his people always
prepared for it), but how long it should last, that, when
they had no more any prophets to tell them how long
(
(1.) The question asked concerning it,
(2.) The answer given to this question,
15 And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. 16 And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. 17 So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision. 18 Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright. 19 And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be. 20 The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. 21 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. 22 Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. 23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. 24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. 25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. 26 And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days. 27 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.
Here we have,
I. Daniel's earnest desire to have this
vision explained to him (
II. Orders given to the angel Gabriel to inform him concerning this vision. One in the appearance of a man (who, some think, was Christ himself, for who besides could command angels?) orders Gabriel to make Daniel understand this vision. Sometimes God is pleased to make use of the ministration of angels, not only to protect his children, but to instruct them, to serve the kind intentions, not only of his providence, but of his grace.
III. The consternation that Daniel was in
upon the approach of his instructor (
IV. The relief which the angel gave to
Daniel, with great encouragement to him to expect a satisfactory
discovery of the meaning of this vision. 1. He touched him,
and set him upon his feet,
V. The exposition which he gave him of the vision.
1. Concerning the two monarchies of Persia
and Greece,
2. Concerning Antiochus, and his oppression
of the Jews. This is said to be in the latter time of the
kingdom of the Greeks, when the transgressors are come to the
full (
3. As to the time fixed for the continuance
of the cessation of the daily sacrifice, it is not explained here,
but only confirmed (
VI. Here is the conclusion of this vision,
and here, 1. The charge given to Daniel to keep it private for the
present: Shut thou up the vision; let it not be publicly
know among the Chaldeans, lest the Persians, who were now shortly
to possess the kingdom, should be incensed against the Jews by it,
because the downfall of their kingdom was foretold by it, which
would be unseasonable now that the edict for their release was
expected from the king of Persia. Shut it up, for it shall be
for many days. It was about 300 years from the time of this
vision to the time of the accomplishment of it; therefore he must
shut it up for the present, even from the people of the
Jews, lest it should amaze and perplex them, but let it be kept
safely for the generations to come, that should live about the time
of the accomplishment of it, for to them it would be both most
intelligible and most serviceable. Note, What we know of the things
of God should be carefully laid up, that hereafter, when there is
occasion, it may be faithfully laid out; and what we have not now
any use for, yet we may have another time. Divine truths should be
sealed up among our treasures, that we may find them again after
many days. 2. The care he took to keep it private, having received
such a charge,