Daniel 7 & 8, parallels

Study:

Does Daniel 8 parallel Daniel 2 & 7? Yes! Note the following parallels:

Daniel 7
Explanation of Detail
Daniel 8
"...another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it:..." vs. 5
 
 
 
 
The Medo-Persian or Achae-menid Empire is made of two peoples, the Medes and Persians, the Persians being the stronger but younger people. They conquor three empires/kingdoms: the Lydian, the Neo-Babylonian, and the Egyptian.
"...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 (1) westward, and (2) northward, and (3) southward;..." vss. 3,4
 
 
"...another [beast], like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads;..." vs. 6
 
 
 
 
Alexander the Great conquered with rapidity. On his death, his empire was divided up between his generals. A period of war followed and when the chaos ended four kingdoms remained.
 
"...an he goat came ... and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes." "...and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones [horns] toward the four winds of heaven." vss. 5,8
"...and behold a fourth beast ...; and it had ten horns. ... and, behold, there came up among them another little horn..." vss. 7,8
 
 
 We have a problem!
 
 
"And out of one of them [the four horns] came forth a little horn..." vs. 9
 
 

Notice the problem with the little horn? They parallel one another in description, i.e. "a little horn," but there is a problem with where they attach, namely what beast they attach to, historically.

Kingdom
Daniel 7
Daniel 8
Medo-Persia
bear
ram
Greece
leopard
he-goat
Rome, pagan
non-descript beast
 
"  ", papal
"a little horn"
"a little horn"

The "little horn" of Daniel 7 attaches to Rome while the "little horn" of Daniel 8 attaches to Greece. That is a problem. How can the "little horn"s be the same and yet different? Very easily!

Recall what we have seen in Daniel 2 & 7 and Daniel 8-10.

Detail
Daniel 2 & 7
Daniel 8-12
Numbers
4 metals/beasts
2 beasts
Imagery
an idol & unclean beasts
sanctuary & clean beasts

Lastly, recall our findings concerning the fourth non-descript beast of Daniel 7, the beast with "iron teeth" and "brass nails."

Daniel 2:
divided 4th Kingdom
feet of
clay: church
iron: state
Daniel 7:
united 4th Kingdom
brass: Greek religious elements
iron: Roman secular elements
Daniel 2:
3rd & 4th Kingdoms
brass: Greece
iron: Rome

Putting all of this together.

Daniel 2 & 7: A Political/Secular View of the World - A Deception!

  • Many sides but the metals are united in one statue and the beasts are not fighting amongst themselves. This imagery finds its ultimate culmination in Revelation 13's sea beast, an amalgam of Daniel 7's beasts.
  • The church is a mix of the true and false - iron mixed with miry clay & a little horn with eyes of a man and a mouth speaking against God
  • The Judgment is one part among many.

Daniel 8-12: A Religious/Spiritual View of the World - The Truth!

  • Only two sides at war with one another: Jesus Christ (the ram) and His saints vs. the devil (the he-goat) and the wicked... this Great Controversy between Christ and Satan, made visible to the universe at the Cross, is the central focus of the Judgment!
  • The little horn has NO eyes of a man NOR a mouth speaking! The church is no longer a union of the true and false. The deception is no more. The false have left... because of persecution?
  • The Judgment is everything! It is the overarching theme of life!

So what of the "little horn"?

Daniel 7 shows the "little horn"'s political/secular connection to Rome! (Politically it is Roman!)

Daniel 8 shows the "little horn"'s religious/spiritual connection to Greece! (Religiously it is Greek!)

Summarizing:

Kingdom
 
Daniel 7: A political/secular view
of history!
Daniel 8: A religious/spiritual view
of history!
Medo-Persia
bear
ram
Greece
leopard
he-goat
Rome, pagan
non-descript beast
 
"   ", papal
 
"a little horn"
...connected politically to Rome and religiously/spiritually to Greece!

Note: Daniel 8 uses the symbol of "a little horn" because it emphasizes and focuses on the papal, or religious phase, of Rome. This makes perfect sense because Daniel 8-12 is a religious/spiritual view of history. Christ's focus is on His church, a community that is open to all the world, thus he emphasizes papal Rome or the Church of Rome, but this does not mean the pagan phase is missing or ignored.

"And out of one of them [the four horns] came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven;..." Daniel 8:9,10

We see that the little horn has two phases: a political phase, where it moves horizontally (south, east, etc.), and a religious phase, where it moves vertically (heavenward).

Rome, pagan
"   ", papal
 
"a little horn"
...horizontal/political movement
...vertical/religious movement

So indeed Daniel 8 does parallel Daniel 2 & 7!

To be continued...

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