The Prophetic Vision Of Daniel- part II
DANIEL VIII
"This chapter contains further predictions about the second and third world empires spoken of in chapters 2 and 7, that is the Persian and Greek empires." Halley's Bible Handbook, p. 438
What was the first image Daniel saw in his vision?
Answer:
"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; 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." Dan 8:3, 4
What was the second image?
Answer:
"And as I was considering, behold, an 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." Dan. 8:5,6
What did the "he-goat" do to the ram?
Answer:
"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. 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." Dan 8:7,8
What do the ram and "he-goat" represent?
Answer:
"The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king." Dan 8:20, 21
What happened to the "he-goat"?
Answer:
"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.' Dan. 8:8
Note: "Alexander died 323 b.c.; Antipater succeeded Perdiccas, 321 b.c.; Ptolemy Lagus the same year took possession of Egypt; Cassander assumed the government of Macedon, 317 B.C.; Seleucus Nicator took possession of Syria, 311 b.c.; in 305 b.c. the successors of Alexander took the title of kings,.." (Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible)
What was the third image?
Answer:
"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. 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." Dan 8:9,10
Note: This little horn must be the same Empire of Rome as shown in Daniel chapters 2 and 7 because, compared to the former two beasts mentioned, its power shows more than its predecessors, "waxed exceeding great." No kingdom could stand against this great Empire in its prime. Among those was Antiochus the Great, who lost his war with the Romans. His son Antiochus Epiphanes which many mistakenly believed to be the little horn, became tributary to Rome, and obeyed at once in the dictate of Rome to leave Jerusalem after he devastated that territory.
"'...out of one of them' The little horn from the conquered Macedonian horn of the goat, it is going forth to new conquests in other directions. It therefore appeared to the prophet, or may be properly spoken of in this prophecy, as coming forth from one of the horns of the goat." DAR1909, p.175 (click here and read note #6 for more information.)
What were the kingdoms that existed on the directions given in verse 9?
Answer:
Toward the South (Egypt, was made province of Rome 30 B.C.), toward the East (Syria, conquered by Rome and made a province), and toward the Pleasant Land (Judea, the land of then God's chosen people).
What are the characteristics of the little horn?
Answer:
"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 practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. 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." Dan 8:23 -25
Note: For a more detailed explanation regarding the little horn, click here and read note #7.
"Yea, he magnified (himself) even to the prince of the host.." Is the little horn going to stand against God?
Answer:
He shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;
Note: First, Rome, in her pagan phase, the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified under her jurisdiction, and in her change to the papacy, continued the war against the Lord in the person of His saints. She changed her policy against the people of God to a peaceful solution by a compromise of truth and declared the bishop of Rome to be the head of the Church, thus "magnified" or "stand up against the Prince," Jesus Christ (Isa 9:6; Dan. 9:25; 12:1; Acts 3:15; 5:31; Rev. 1:5).
What is the meaning of "and by him the daily ("sacrifice" is not in the original verse) was taken away."?
Answer:
What was taken was the pagan phase (the daily) and replaced with a papal phase.
Note: Rome has two phases, the pagan and papal phases. The first direction of its wars was made against the earthly kingdoms, then came the change and pointed its war against the people of God.
"In the early fourth century, the Roman Emperor Constantine favored Christianity and protected it from persecution. He endowed the church with money, perhaps with the land in central Italy that would become the papal state, and certainly with buildings in the city of Rome." (101 Q&A on Popes and Papacy, p.16)
"When the Roman Empire collapsed, the bishop of Rome was in the position to take charge because Christianity was now protected and playing a leading role in religious and political matters." (ibid, p.17)
".., when Rome fell, church and state were merged into one-- just as paganism and Roman Empire had naturally gone together." (ibid, p.23) (Click here and read note #8 for more information)
What does "and the place of his sanctuary was cast down" mean?
Answer:
Constantine the Great, as Pontifex Maximus, abandoned his old sanctuary, the central capital of his power, and moved to the new capital at Constantinople. "Roman Empire collapses, bishop of Rome steps into power vacuum" (101 Q&A on Popes and the Papacy, Timeline xix). Rome, his sanctuary or the place of worship, was remodelled into a papal religion. So is the phrase, "...the place of his sanctuary was cast down".
"Shortly after tolerating and then beginning to favor Christianity in the early fourth century, Constantine built a new capital that he named after himself: Constantinople, now Istanbul in Turkey. The Empire was just to large to administer from Rome at this point, so he established a second court in Constantinople. This arrangement allowed the bishop of Rome to grow in power,.. Back in Rome the bishops stepped into the power vacuum left by the western emperor and empire. They adopted much of the imperial machinery: the Latin language, the system of administrative dioceses (a Roman imperial word), architecture (a basilica is a Roman receiving hall), the way of handling correspondence, the formulas for writing laws (called decretal), and some of the court ritual, as well. Although the western empire was fading, the the power of the bishop of Rome did not because of the series of strong popes who asserted the power of Peter within church affairs and who exercised leadership in temporal matters because no one else was around to do so." (101 Q&A on Popes and the Papacy, p.19).`
What is the meaning of "And an host was given him against the daily... by reason of transgression"
Answer:
The "host" was the Barbarian tribes who ravaged the abandoned empire and were responsible for its changes. Politically, they conquered Rome, but spiritually, they were converted to the papal religion. "The Western Empire, under the control of warlike, non- Christian tribes, began to convert these peoples to Christianity, and one by one their kingdom in the West collapsed (Burgundians in AD 532; Vandals in AD 533; Ostrogoths in AD 553). Meanwhile, Clovis, king of Franks, was converted to Christianity in AD 496 and became a great support to the Church" (the Compact History of the Catholic Church, p.35)
They became the instrument for the growth of the power of the new phase of the little horn, the papal Rome. And it is all "by reason of transgression" meaning the cunning of the papacy did all.
Notice the consistency of the prophecy of Daniel in chapters 2, 7, and 8; all have the same players from the four great empires to the divided kingdoms and to the little horn, which is the papacy.
What is "...it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered."?
Answer:
The following are some of the truths they changed, practised and prospered:
a) The sacrifice of Christ changed to the Eucharist
b) Christ as the High Priest is being replaced by the pope
c) The change of God's Law
d) Changed the Holy Day of Rest from Saturday to Sunday.
e) Portions of the Bible considered as "myth".
f) and more... (please click here for all its supporting documents.)
Did Daniel understand the entire vision of Chapter 8 given to him?
Answer:
"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." -Dan 8:27
Note: Concerning the Ram, he-goat, and the little horn and their activities, all were explained to Daniel in verses 15 to 25. But the question is, what portion of the vision did Daniel not understand, which had caused him to be sick for days? The next topic will discuss the answer, "The 2,300 days/years Prophecy."
Click here for the comments on Daniel 8:13.