Matthew Henry Commentary Daniel 8
Matthew Henry Commentary
Daniel 8
Matthew Henry Commentary
Daniel 8
"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. And I saw in the vision; now it was so, that when I saw, I was in Shushan the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai. 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. I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; and no beasts could stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and magnified himself. And as I was considering, behold, a he-goat came from the west over the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had the two horns, which I saw standing before the river, and ran upon him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with anger 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 trampled upon him; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. And the he-goat magnified himself exceedingly: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and instead of it there came up four notable [horns] toward the four winds of heaven. 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 glorious [land]. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground, and trampled upon them. Yea, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the host; and it took away from him the continual [burnt-offering], and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And the host was given over [to it] together with the continual [burnt-offering] through transgression; and it cast down truth to the ground, and it did [its pleasure] and prospered. Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said unto that certain one who spake, How long shall be the vision [concerning] the continual [burnt-offering], and the transgression that maketh desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred evenings [and] mornings; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." — Daniel 8:1-14 (ASV)
God gives Daniel a foresight of the destruction of other kingdoms, which in their day were as powerful as that of Babylon. If we could foresee the changes that will be when we are gone, we would be less affected by changes in our own day. The ram with two horns was the second empire, that of Media and Persia.
He saw this ram overcome by a he-goat. This was Alexander the Great. Alexander, when about thirty-three years of age and in his full strength, died, showing the vanity of worldly pomp and power, and that they cannot make a person happy. While people dispute, as in the case of Alexander, regarding the death of some prosperous warrior, it is plain that the great First Cause of all had no more of his plan for him to execute, and therefore cut him off.
Instead of that one great horn, four notable ones came up: Alexander's four chief captains. A little horn became a great persecutor of the church and people of God. It seems that the Islamic delusion is pointed out here. It prospered and at one time nearly destroyed the holy religion God's right hand had planted.
It is just of God to deprive those of the privileges of his house who despise and profane them; and to make those know the worth of ordinances by the lack of them, who would not know it by the enjoyment of them. Daniel heard the duration of this calamity limited and determined, but not the time when it would come. If we wish to know the mind of God, we must turn to Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; not hid from us, but hid for us.
There is much difficulty regarding the precise time stated here, but its end cannot be very distant. God will, for his own glory, see to the cleansing of the church in due time. Christ died to cleanse his church; and he will so cleanse it as to present it blameless to himself.
"And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought to understand it; and, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man`s voice between [the banks of] the Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was affrighted, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man; for the vision belongeth to the time of the end. Now as he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face toward the ground; but he touched me, and set me upright. And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the latter time of the indignation; for it belongeth to the appointed time of the end. The ram which thou sawest, that had the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough he-goat is the king of Greece: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. And as for that which was broken, in the place whereof four stood up, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not with his power. 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. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and do [his pleasure]; and he shall destroy the mighty ones and the holy people. And through his policy he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and in [their] security shall he destroy many: he shall also stand up against the prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. And the vision of the evenings and mornings which hath been told is true: but shut thou up the vision; for it belongeth to many days [to come]. And I, Daniel, fainted, and was sick certain days; then I rose up, and did the king`s business: and I wondered at the vision, but none understood it." — Daniel 8:15-27 (ASV)
The eternal Son of God stood before the prophet in the appearance of a man, and directed the angel Gabriel to explain the vision. Daniel's fainting and astonishment at the prospect of the evils he saw coming upon his people and the church confirm the view that long-continued calamities were foretold. When the vision ended, Daniel was instructed to keep it private for the time being.
He kept it to himself and continued to perform the duties of his position. As long as we live in this world, we must have work to do in it; and even those whom God has most honoured must not consider themselves above their responsibilities. Nor must the pleasure of communion with God lead us away from the duties of our callings, but in performing them, we must remain with God.
All who are entrusted with public responsibilities must carry out their duties with integrity; and, amidst all doubts and discouragements, they may, if they are true believers, look forward to a positive outcome. Thus, we should endeavour to prepare our minds to attend to the duties to which each of us is appointed, in the church and in the world.
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