"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 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." Daniel 8:1, 2.

God has revealed His will to man through visions and dreams. Through the writer Moses, God said: "Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream." Numbers 12:6.

Lest we accept every vision and dream, God also gave warnings about the false ones. He said: "If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him." Deuteronomy 13:1-4.

So not every prophet is one sent from God; rather, we are to test the prophets by His law. If a prophet gives signs and wonders but teaches us to disobey the law of God, we can be assured that that person is not sent from God. He is a false prophet—no matter how many people he may attract.

The next verse goes on to say that that person should be put to death so that he does not lead the children of Israel astray. In our day, it is not in God’s plan for His church to hold the civil power in their hands; therefore, we are not to put that person to death. But there is some protective measure that we can do: "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them." Romans 16:17. Rather than inflicting upon our ears and minds their poisonous seeds of death, we need to avoid them as much as possible and spend our time wisely contemplating the truths of the word of God.

As we study the prophecies of the book of Daniel, we find that he was a true prophet of God since he urges us, both by his teaching and his example, to obey the law of God.

So we now come to his second vision, given when he was about 76 years old, in the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar—550-549 B.C.

"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. Daniel 8:3, 4.

Many prophecies in the Bible are given in symbols. Rather than trying to invent some interpretation to these symbols convenient to our theology, let us search the Scriptures for understanding. In this case, we don’t have to go far. "The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. Daniel 8:20. This is very plain. The ram represents the Medo-Persian kingdom; and the two horns show that it was to be composed of two nationalities, the Medes and the Persians.

The verse also stated that the higher horn would come up last. As we search the pages of history, we find that the first nationality to control that empire were the Medes (see Daniel chapter 6—Darius was a Mede). After Darius died, Cyrus became king—he was a Persian. From that time on, while the empire existed, the Persians ruled and held preeminence.

Verse 4 mentions the directions that the Medo-Persians were to conquer. Their victories were so decisive that no beast, or nation, could stand before it. As a result of these military victories, they were to become great. In Esther 1:1 we read: "Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces." By the time this great king ruled, the Medo-Persian realm was so great that it was composed of 127 provinces.

 The Very Great He Goat

"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. 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. 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." Daniel 8:5-8.

Here is revealed another kingdom, conquering so fast that it "touched not the ground." Verse 21 states: "The rough goat is the king of Grecia; and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king." If you look on a map, Greece is directly west from Persia, therefore the prophecy says: "an he goat came from the west."

"The contests between the Greeks and Persians are said to have been exceedingly furious; and some of the scenes as recorded in history are vividly brought to mind by the figure used in prophecy—a ram standing before the river, and the goat running unto him in the fury of his power. Alexander," the first king of the Grecian empire and represented by that notable horn between the goats eyes, "first vanquished the generals of Darius at the River Granicus in Phrygia; he next attacked and totally routed Darius at the passes of Issus in Cilicia, and afterward on the plains of Arbela in Syria. This last battle occurred B.C. 331, and marked the conclusion of the Persian empire, for by this Alexander became complete master of the whole country.

"The language of verse 7 sets forth the completeness of the subjection of Medo-Persia to Alexander. The two horns were broken, and the ram was cast to the ground and stamped upon. Persia was subdued, the country ravaged, its armies cut to pieces and scattered, its cities plundered, and the royal city of Persepolis, the capital of the Persian empire, and even in its ruins one of the wonders of the world, . . was sacked and burned. Thus the ram had no power to stand before the goat, and there was none that could deliver him out of his hand." Daniel and Revelation, pp. 148, 149.

According to this prophecy, the Medo-Persian kingdom was considered great when it ruled 127 provinces. Greece, because to its own territory added all of Medo-Persia with other acquisitions, is even greater. Therefore it is called "very great." This comparison is very important as we continue the study of this prophecy.

Human foresight would say: "Now that Alexander is at the pinnacle of the empires of this world in its full strength, he may now relax and enjoy the fruit of his labors for the rest of his life. He is to have many years of prosperity." But that is not what prophecy says. It writes quite the contrary: "And when he is strong, the great horn was broken."

History records it as follows: "When Darius fell, Alexander saw the field cleared of his last formidable foe. Thenceforward he could spend his time in his own manner, now in the enjoyment of rest and pleasure, and again in the prosecution of some minor conquest. He entered upon a pompous campaign into India, because, according to Grecian fable, Bacchus and Hercules, two sons of Jupiter, whose son he also claimed to be, had done the same. With contemptible arrogance, he claimed for himself divine honors. He gave up conquered cities, freely and unprovoked, to the absolute mercy of his blood-thirsty and licentious soldiery. He himself often murdered his own friends and favorites in his drunken frenzies. He sought out the vilest persons for the gratification of his lust. At the instigation of a dissolute and drunken woman, he with a company of his courtiers, all in a state of frenzied intoxication, sallied out, torch in hand, and fired the city and palace of Persepolis, one of the then finest palaces in the world. He encouraged such excessive drinking among his followers that on one occasion twenty of them together died as the result of their carousal. At length, having sat through one long drinking spree, he was immediately invited to an other, when, after drinking to each of the twenty guests present, he twice drank full, says history, incredible as it may seem, the Herculean cup containing" six quarts. "He thereupon fell down, seized with a violent fever, of which he died eleven days later," on June 13, 323 B.C "while yet he stood only at the threshold of mature life, in the thirty-second year of his age." Daniel and Revelation, pp. 55-56.

Within 22 years after Alexander’s death, his family was destroyed and his generals divided the kingdom into four parts, each toward the four winds of heaven—just as prophecy said it would. Cassander took the western part which included Greece and its neighboring countries; Lysimachus took the northern part which included Asia Minor; Seleucus took the eastern part which included Syria and Babylon; and Ptolemy took the southern part which mainly included Egypt.

Verse 22 sheds a bit more light on the subject: "Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." It definitely was not from Alexander’s family as they were all destroyed.

"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. 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. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of the transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered." Daniel 8:9-12.

As the prophet Daniel was observing the vision, he saw that out of one portion of the Grecian empire, a little horn emerged which became exceeding great. If Medo-Persia, with 127 provinces, was considered only great, and the united Grecian empire under Alexander’s leadership was considered very great, then this kingdom, represented by the little horn, must be even greater than any of these previous ones as it is called "exceeding great."

The southern part of Alexander’s kingdom was Egypt; the east was Syria together with Babylon; and, of course, the pleasant land can be none other than Palestine. Therefore, this kingdom, represented by the little horn must conquer all this territory.

As we study history deeper, we find that within a short period of time, Alexander’s great kingdom was reduced to just two rulers. "Cassander was very soon conquered by Lysimachus, and his kingdom, Greece and Macedon, annexed to Thrace. And Lysimachus was in turn conquered by Seleucus, and Macedon and Thrace annexed to Syria." Daniel and Revelation, p. 225. So in reality, all of Alexander’s empire was controlled by Syria and Egypt. Therefore, whoever this little horn may be, must conquer all of Alexander’s original empire.

And who can this be? None other than Rome. They first conquered Greece in 161 B.C. and maintained control of it for nearly a century before they went on to conquer Syria (east) in 65 B.C., Judea (pleasant land) in 63 B.C., and Egypt (south) in 30 B.C. Therefore the prophet was right. This little horn (little at first as it became exceeding great later) came out of one of the other horns, namely Greece.

It came out of it (Greece) because when it conquered Greece it remained in it for nearly a century before its greatness was manifested. Then, after conquering Syria, it moved rapidly to conquer Palestine and Egypt.

According to verse 10, Rome was to become great, "even to the host of heaven." And not only so, it also "cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them."

First of all, what is meant by the host of heaven in the Bible? In Joshua 5:13, 14 we read: "And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jerico, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship. . ." Joshua recognized this Messenger as the true leader of Israel. Therefore, the host of heaven must be God’s people on earth.

The stars are often used to refer to leaders among God’s people. Notice this example: "And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying." Genesis 37:9-11. The eleven stars in this case symbolized the eleven patriarchs (leaders of the people).

So the picture of the Roman empire, as recorded in Daniel 8:10, is not a very pleasant one. It was to greatly persecute the people of God and their leaders. So great a persecution that it even "stamped upon them."

Verse 11 states clearly that he is to magnify himself "against the prince of the host (mgn)." Who is this "prince of the host"? Verse 25 identifies Him as "the Prince of princes." John the Revelator saw one called "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." Revelation 19:16. Revelation 17:14 further identifies this Prince of princes: "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful." As we compare these verses, we clearly see that the "prince of the host" is the Lamb. And who is the Lamb? "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29.

This clearly identifies the Roman power as the little horn because, without question, they were the ones who held the arm of power when Jesus was crucified.

As Jesus was about to depart from this earth, He said: "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:1-3. These verses show that the complete work for the salvation for man was not accomplished on the cross of Calvary. The full price was paid there, yes; but the whole work for our salvation was not accomplished.

This was well understood by the apostle Paul in Romans 5:8-11: "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement."

Back to those verses in John 14. Jesus said he was going to prepare a place for us. Many times we have read these verses and thought He was going to prepare mansions, but that’s not what we read. Jesus said that in His Father’s house there already were mansions. Therefore, there is some other work of preparation.

Just to understand this better, let’s answer another question. What is the Father’s house? Where does God live? Solomon’s prayer gives us some idea: "And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive." 1 Kings 8:30.

And where in heaven? "The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven." Psalm 11:4. The temple is the same as His sanctuary.

Therefore, as we look upon these verses, we see that when Jesus left this earth, He went to the sanctuary in heaven, the Lord’s dwelling place, to prepare a place for us.

This is why, in Hebrews 4:14, He is called our great High Priest: "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession." As the High Priest, He needs a sanctuary to minister in: "Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." Hebrews 8:1, 2.

Therefore the preparation [in John 14] being made is in the sanctuary in heaven. Jesus didn’t leave this earth to go and sit on the right hand of the Father to do nothing. He is there ministering in our behalf.

According to the prophecy of Daniel, this very ministration of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary is to be marred: "And from him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down." Daniel 8:11 [mgn].

"The word ‘sacrifice’ is not in the original Hebrew. The Hebrew word ‘tamid’ which is here translated as ‘daily’ has the meaning of continual, ever, perpetual or daily.

"The following are the ways in which ‘tamid’ is translated in the King James Bible: alway: 4 times; always: 6 times; continual: 25 times; continually: 53 times; daily: 7 times; ever: 3 times; evermore: 1 time; perpetual: 3 times." Thiele on Daniel p. 89.

This gives us the idea of something that is continuing. Since the earthly sanctuary service ceased at the cross, it could not refer to that. It must be an assault against the heavenly service of Christ; therefore, even the "place of his sanctuary was cast down."

Verse 12 gives us some idea on how this work is to be done: "And an host was given him against the daily by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered." The power of Rome is to receive a large host of people to mar this work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary by reason of transgression, or as the Hebrew word "pesha" means—rebellion, sin, or revolt.

In order to understand the meaning of a revolt against Christ, we need to look at the original revolt that took place in heaven with Lucifer or Satan: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." Isaiah 14:12-14. This is the true nature of any rebellion against Christ.

In doing so, it has to "cast down the truth to the ground." Rather than this being a hindrance to its cause, "it practiced, and prospered."

Pagan Rome lasted only about 443 years after they crucified the Redeemer. It is true that they persecuted many faithful followers of Christ, but they never truly fulfilled all of what we have learned in the previous verses. We need to look to another power that also occupies the seat of pagan Rome—papal Rome, which still exists today.

We find a similar description to that rebellion in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4: "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." These verses show that this rebellious power that calls itself God comes from Christianity and not paganism as it is to fall away. In order to fall away, it must first be a part.

Is this true of the papacy? "Look at a few of the pope’s self-accepted titles: ‘Vicegerent of the Son of God,’ ‘Our Lord God, the Pope,’ ‘Another God upon earth,’ ‘King of the world,’ ‘King of kings and Lord of lords.’ Said Pope Nicholas to Emperor Michael, ‘The pope, who is called God by Constantine, can never be bound or released by man; for God cannot be judged by man.’ Is there need of bolder blasphemy than this? Listen also to the adulation the popes have received from their followers without rebuke. A venetian prelate in the fourth session of the Lateran, addressed the pope as follows: ‘Thou are our Shepherd, our Physician, in short, a second God upon earth.’ Another bishop called him ‘the lion of the tribe of Judah, the promised Saviour.’ Lord Anthony Pucci, in the fifth Lateran, said to the pope, ‘The sight of thy divine majesty does not a little terrify me; for I am not ignorant that all power both in heaven and in earth is given unto you; that the prophetic saying is fulfilled in you, ‘All the kings of the earth shall worship him, and nations shall serve him.’’" [See Oswald’s Kingdom Which Shall Not be Destroyed, pp. 97-99] Daniel and the Revelation, pp. 136. This is definitely a rebellion against Christ, therefore, the anti-Christ.

Two more statements will suffice us in showing that the Roman Catholic Church has indeed become that little horn that has taken away the sanctuary service from Christ in heaven and has replaced it with its own rites and ceremonies:

"Q. Is the sacrifice of the Mass a true, propitiatory sacrifice?

A. Yes; both for the living and the dead. . .

Q. Is there then more than one sacrifice propitiatory or expiatory? --has not the sacrifice of the cross alone expiated all sin?

A. The sacrifice of the cross and the sacrifice of the altar, are one and the same.

A. The merits and virtue of the sacrifice of the cross are infinite; but that virtue and these merits must be applied, and this can only be done by certain means.

Q. What are these means by which the merits of the sacrifice of the cross are applied to our souls?

A. They are the sacraments, the sacrifice of the Mass, prayer, and good works.

Q. Amongst these means, in what light are we to regard the sacrifice of the mass?

A. We are to regard it as a means employed by the Almighty, for applying the sacred merits of the sacrifice of the cross to our souls."—Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism, 127 - 129.

"In compliance with the command of our Lord, the adorable Sacrifice of the Altar has been daily renewed in the Church, from the death of our Saviour till the present time, and will be perpetuated till time shall be no more. . . . If we consult the General Councils, at which were assembled the venerable hierarchy of Christendom, they will all tell us, with one voice, that the Sacrifice of the Mass is the center of their religion." Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers, 357-359.

These, their own writings, show that the Roman Catholic church has in reality substituted the work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary with its own rites and ceremonies. As a result, in these last days, God wants to turn the attention of His faithful followers to the heavenly sanctuary and the work going on there.

1. Daniel 8:5-8.

1. Daniel 8:9-12.

b. How this work is to be done? Daniel 8:12.

2. There is a similar description of that rebellion in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4.