Daniel 8:15-27 - Gabriel Gives Angelic Help And Interprets The Vision

¹⁵ When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it; then behold, standing before me was one who looked like a man. ¹⁶ And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of the Ulai, which called out and said, “Gabriel, give this man (Daniel) an understanding of the vision.”

¹⁷ So he came near where I was standing, and when he came I was frightened and fell face downward; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the [fulfillment of the] vision pertains to [events that will occur in] the time of the end.” ¹⁸ Now as he (Gabriel) was speaking with me, I drifted into a deep sleep (unconsciousness) with my face to the ground; but he touched me and made me stand [where I had stood before]. ¹⁹ He said, “Behold, I am going to let you know what will happen during the final time of the indignation and wrath [of God upon the ungodly], for it concerns the appointed time of the end. ²⁰ The ram which you saw with the two horns represents the kings of Media and Persia. ²¹ The shaggy (rough-coated) male goat represents the kingdom of Greece, and the great horn between his eyes is the first king. ²² Regarding the shattered horn and the four others that arose in its place, four kingdoms will rise from his (Alexander’s) nation, although not with his power and heritage.

²³
“At the latter period of their reign,
When the transgressors have finished,
A king will arise
Insolent and skilled in intrigue and cunning.
²⁴
“His power will be mighty, but not by his own power;
And he will corrupt and destroy in an astonishing manner
And [he will] prosper and do exactly as he wills;
He shall corrupt and destroy mighty men and the holy people.
²⁵
“And through his shrewdness
He will cause deceit to succeed by his hand (influence);
He will magnify himself in his mind,
He will corrupt and destroy many who enjoy a false sense of security.
He will also stand up and oppose the Prince of princes,
But he will be broken, and that by no human hand [but by the hand of God].
²⁶
“The vision of the evenings and the mornings
Which has been told [to you] is true.
But keep the vision a secret,
For it has to do with many days in the now distant future.”

²⁷ And I, Daniel, was exhausted and was sick for [several] days. Afterward I got up and continued with the king’s business; but I was astounded at the vision, and there was no one who could explain it.