The American Wisdom Series

Presents
Pamphlet #4395

My Hi-lite:The vision of the ram and he-goat
Daniel 8:1  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.
2  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.
3  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.
4  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.
5  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.
6  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.
7  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.
8  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.
The little horn
9  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.
10  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.
11  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.
12  And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.
13  Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?
14  And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
The interpretation of the vision
15  ķAnd it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.
16  And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.
17  So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.
18  Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.
19  And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.
The identity of the ram
20  The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
The he-goat and his successors
21  And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
22  Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.
The king of fierse countenance
23  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.
24  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.
25  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.
26  And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.
27  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.

Remember "beasts" are also symbolic of kingdoms or nations.
So the question is today,
"Who can stand against the greatest superpower of all time?"
By the way, the two horns of the ram have been
doing a little "pushing" of the nations lately, haven't they?

These are exciting times in which we live, are they not?

The events that are transpiring right before our very eyes were written of long ago in our Father's Word, many of them right here in this Book of Daniel that was specifically written for the last days.

We noted numerous times that in Daniel chapter 12 the angel told Daniel to close the book, to seal up the words until the time of the end and then the wise would understand.

We also noted many times that Jesus Christ told us if we wanted to understand that which concerns the abomination of desolation then we need to go read what the prophet Daniel has to say.

So certainly this is a timely book concerning the events that are happening even this very day as we go to war with Iraq to oust that little dictator who lives in the land of Babylon.

What a time in which to live!

In our last study we finished the seventh chapter where Daniel saw a vision, which was a summation, an overview of the One World System giving us the characteristics and makeup of the beast right up to the time when the fourth beast takes over and tramples down the others.

He then continued with the vision all the way to the conclusion of the matter when the saints of the most High take the kingdom and possess it for ever and ever.

We talked about how many scholars refer to that fourth beast as the non-descript beast because it is not likened unto a beastly creature like the other dominions who are likened unto a lion, a bear, and a leopard.

Of course the reason for that is this beast has seven heads and ten horns and there just isn't any creature on God's earth who fits that description.

We learned that this multi-headed one world system with 10 earthly kings is eventually headed by Satan and his 10 supernatural kings, who are his angels who are cast out of heaven with him as per Rev. 12:7-9.

Keep in mind that it was the summation of the matter, the overview of the beast system, that we were given to know and understand from Daniel's vision in chapter seven which occurred during the first year of the reign of king Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon.

Now, two years later we are given some more details concerning the events leading up to the entrance of the little horn and so we move to the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar.

He's the one who held that great idolatrous feast with his lords and his wives and his concubines and brought the golden and silver vessels from the house of God and drank wine in them and exalted himself against the God of heaven.

He was then slain and his kingdom was taken and given to the Medes and Persians.

We also now return from the language of the Chaldeans to pure Hebrew as we learn how the captivity specifically affects the house of Israel, the true house of Israel, the so called lost tribes of the house of Israel.

The wise in this final generation know that those tribes are not really lost at all, except to themselves because they have forsaken the knowledge of their Father's Word.

Secular history itself confirms that following the captivity of Israel those tribes went up over the Caucasus Mountains and became know as Caucasians and migrated by way of greater Scythia becoming known as Celts and Saxxons (I-Saac's sons), etc.

They settled in Western Europe, in the Isles of the West, and many later migrated to the Americas.

You "see", it was a promise from our Heavenly Father to our father Abraham, which He confirmed in Isaac and in Jacob, that his seed would become as numerous as sand of the sea and stars of the sky... and so they have!

The point is that if you do not know who America and Great Britain are in God's Word, then you cannot possibly even begin to understand the prophecies spoken of pertaining to these last days.

One other item we should make note of before we begin this 8th chapter, is that just like the dream and visions Daniel saw in chapter 7 were later made known and interpreted by an angel, so also shall the vision Daniel sees in this 8th chapter be made known later by an angel.

As a reminder, we are now in the 3rd year of the reign of king Belshazzar, the final year of his reign, and we have returned to pure Hebrew.

Daniel 8:1
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.
"After that which appeared unto me at the first" refers to after the vision of chapter 7, not the first vision concerning Nebuchadnezzar's dream.

This is important in that this vision is both subsequent and related to that first vision, seeing that we are going to be given knowledge of some specific events leading up to the entering in of the little horn, who is antichrist, the false messiah, who comes and takes control of the New World Order both politically and religiously.

[2] 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.
The wise know that we are given the specific names and location of where this vision takes place because they give us essential knowledge to the understanding of who and what the vision concerns.

You see, Daniel will later have a vision by another river, the river Hiddekel, which is the Tigris River, a river very much in the news these days!

So let's look at the definitions of the locations found in this verse (see below).

You will find that Shushan means "whiteness" which comes from the beautiful and plenteous lilies that grew there.

Elam means "distant and hidden" which is another way of expressing "eternity", and Ulai means "rivcr of pure water".

This river ran by Shushan and flowed into the combined rivers of the Tigris and Euphrates.

The water from the river Ulai was so pure that it was the only water that the kings of Persia would drink and so they carried it with them wherever they went.

Shushan, Shuwshan, shoo-shan', Hebrew 7800; the same as Hebrew 7799 (shuwshan); Shushan, a place in Persia :- Shushan.
shuwshan, shoo-shan', Hebrew 7799; or showshan, sho-shawn'; or shoshan, sho-shawn'; and (feminine) showshannah, sho-shan-naw'; from Hebrew 7797 (suws); a lily (from its whiteness), as a flower or architectural ornament; also a (straight) trumpet (from the tubular shape) :- lily, Shoshannim.
Elam, `Eylam, ay-lawm', Hebrew 5867; or Owlam, o-lawm'; (Ezra 10:2; Jer. 49:366), probably from Hebrew 5956 (`alam); hidden, i.e. distant; Elam, a son of Shem, and his descendant, with their country; also of six Israelites :- Elam.

Ulai, 'Uwlay, oo-lah'ee, Hebrew 195; of Persian derivative; the Ulai (or Eul'us), a river of Persia :- Ulai.

We also discover later in the 27th verse of this same chapter the reason Daniel was in Shushan, which was the capital and chief city of all of Persia.

He was there because he "employed" in Shushan (the white palace) where he was busy being about the king's business.

Now let's re-read verse 2 substituting the translations of the names of these locations.

[2] And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at (the White Palace), which is in the (distant) province of (Eternity); and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of (Pure Living Waters).
That kind of lets us know about the Divine revelation that Daniel is going to see here and what it concerns, the living waters!

Again, Daniel is no longer in Babylon but rather has come out of her, and now he lifts up his eyes.

[3] 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.
It is now time for us all to "lift up our eyes" because we are seeing many of the events Christ foretold us of coming to pass right before our eyes!

Here is what Jesus told his disciples who would be present during the final generation of the fig tree, the time when the events foretold of in Daniel would come to pass.

Luke 21:28
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
It is time to put our trust and faith in Him who has all power and be strong in His Word.

All "these things" Christ foretold us of shall come to pass exactly as they are written.

All we need to do is take the time to study His Word and let Him reveal that which is written to us!

Here is the verse recently quoted by one of the horns spoken of in verse 3:

Isaiah 40:26
Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power; not one faileth.
Let's repeat Daniel 8:3.
[3] 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.
Lift up your eyes, open up your eyes to see, and notice where the ram was standing... before the river of Ulai, the river of pure living water!

Now remember that the angel is going to come and show us what and who these symbols are.

Of course if you remember back in chapter seven we learned what "horns" symbolized there in that the ten horns we saw represented ten kings!

Let's zoom ahead here in this 8th chapter to verse 20 and find see if the two "horns" mentioned here represent the same things, i.e. kings!

Daniel 8:20
The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
Yep, these horns also represent kings who in this case are the kings of Media and Persia.

Understand that much of the prophecy in our Father's Word begins with an historical type so that we can get a picture in our mind's eye of an ensample of how it will be in the future.

There is a proverbial saying that says "history repeats itself" and that certainly is true especially of the precise and accurate history that is recorded in our Father's Word.

It is interesting that many people get all excited about prophecy but are bored to death with the historical types that actually show us by ensample how the future events shall unfold and come to pass!

Here we are given to know what and who the historical type is concerning the ram with the two horns.

They are the kings of Media and Persia.

You can study the secular history of these types on your own, so we are going to talk about these horns as they relate to what is happening right now, because one thing we are going to discover is that these two horns are present just before the four winds are released, perhaps beginning with that east wind, that desert storm.

If we look ahead to verse 8 we will see that "the great horn was broken and for it (in its place) came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.

We may have some modern day types of these two horns that were taken down but it seems apparent that we have yet to see the final ones, though perhaps it won't be too long until we do.

What do we then look for?

Well, since we are looking for a "ram" with two horns, the ram being a male "sheep" symbolic of God's people, we had better look at the world's dominant superpower today, the "highest one" of the ram, the U.S.A. of course (the greater horn), along with his brother Great Britain (the lesser horn).

If you know who and where the 10 tribes of the house of Israel are today then you know that this speaks of the ram who stood by the living water, God's people, whose horns are of Ephraim and Manasseh.

This symbology is not new for God speaks of His glory in these last days as being the horns of Ephraim and Manasseh who shall push (butt with horns, ram) the people together to the ends of the earth.

Deut. 33:17
His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns (a ray of light): with them He shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

And so it is that the ram has pushed and become great, greater than any nation on the face of the earth.

Daniel 8:4
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.
Remember "beasts" are also symbolic of kingdoms or nations.

So the question is today, "Who can stand against the greatest superpower of all time?"

By the way, the two horns of the ram have been doing a little "pushing" of the nations lately, haven't they?

[5] 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.
What is between your eyes?

Your forehead!

That should let you know who has the he goat "marked" for service!

Nevertheless, goats are different from sheep and are used in a negative manner in the same sense as at the judgment, when the "goats are separated from the sheep", the goats go on the left and the sheep go on the right.

Historically this he goat was Alexander the Great, who moved swiftly against the Medes and the Persian and quickly subdued the world.

Today however, since the next world power is the beast, the ten toed kingdom, this he goat would be a representative of the New World Order.

The phrase "touched not the ground" means he passed over or "overflowed" the whole earth and came up swiftly.

Let's see what he does here in verse 6.

[6] 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.
Some translations read he (the he goat) "rushed at it with impetuous force".
[7] 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.
To moved with "choler" means with bile or bitterness.

Notice that the two horns are "broken" by the power of the he goat who gets real close to the ram, buddy, buddy, and then moves against him with choler!

Here is a speculative question: Who claims to have a real close relationship with the higher horn right now?

[8] Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable onestoward the four winds of heaven.
This documents the timeframe in that we are not only seeing events occurring in the last days but we are seeing them occur just before the sound of the 6th Trump.

Therefore this is yet future but the closer we get the more obvious this will become.

So we will be patient and wait and see what happens, for instance if the ram tries to push the "road map" to peace in the Middle East with the same forcefulness he has risen up against the security council of the UN and gone after the vile dictator whose palace was on the river Hiddekel.

Stay awake watchmen!

One thing we know for sure and that is it will be the generation of fig tree which began on May 15, 1948, that will see all these events come to pass and the return of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Now the entrance of the little horn.

[9] 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.
Geographically speaking, toward the east was Babylonia and Persia where Iran and Iraq are today and toward the south was Egypt.

However, we shall see that the little horn, who is antichrist, the false messiah, waxes great in all directions meaning over the whole land, toward all four corners of the earth, even specifically in the "pleasant land" mentioned here which is the land of Judea, the place where the abomination of desolation (the little horn) comes and stands where he ought not (Mark 13:14) and spreads forth his desolations throughout all the earth!

As it is written, he will show forth great signs and wonders and perform miracles in the sight of men to deceive the whole world (Rev. 13:14) and those signs and wonders and miracles of Satan and his angels will be of such magnitude that if it were possible, he could deceive even the very elect (Mat. 24:24).

Unfortunately it is commonly taught (albeit in error) in most of the Christian churches in this nation that antichrist will cause much havoc and physical destruction when he arrives.

Of course most of the preachers and evangelists and ministers only guess and speculate who the antichrist is for they do not study and rightly divide the Word of Truth to know that he is a most beautiful cherub (Ezek. 28) who appears as an angel of light, though spiritually speaking he brings with him nothing but utter darkness!

The majority believe antichrist must be a human being who is alive on earth now and living who-knows-where just waiting to be revealed.

Once again, the popularity of Biblical illiteracy has allowed the blind to mislead the blind for Rev. 12:7-9 lets us know where Satan is at this time, and it is not here on earth... at least not yet!

His evil spirit is here just as the Holy Spirit is here, but soon he will be cast out of heaven to this earth with his host of angels and will take the world by storm!

See that you are not quick and ready to fly to the first supernatural entity that comes to this earth!

In our next study we will learn just how it is that the "little horn" shall spiritually destroy many when he enters into this dimension defacto.

Hopefully that will not come as a surprise to you for you should already know that the abomination of desolation's (Satan's) weapons of mass destruction (spiritual desolation) in these last days are spiritual in nature.

That is why they are hidden from the view of most people, even most Christians, who look for physical famines and nuclear holocausts to consummate the end of this age.

No, Satan's weapons are peace and prosperity through the Four Hidden Dynasties of Politics, Education, Economics and Religion.

That is why we are to "be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might" and "put on the whole armor of God", His Word, and be ready to "take a stand against the fiery darts of the Wicked One (Eph. 6:10-17)".

Are you prepared and ready?

We conclude today's study with the words we opened with.

These are exciting times in which we live and the events that are happening in our day were written of long ago in our Father's Word!

So stay focused in His Word and you will always be in know!

Tell it to the Children! Tell it to their Children! and to your great-grandchildren!

The great tribulation of these last days is not physical warfare,
but rather a spiritual battle,
a battle for the minds and souls of men and women alike.

That is why Christians are to put on the whole armour of God, the gospel armor Paul speaks of in Ephesians chapter six.

Does it not make sense that if one needs to put on and become trained in the use of protective armor and offensive weaponry to wage war against flesh and blood, that in order to wage a war of words and ideologies against principalities, against powers, against darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places, one needs to put on and become trained and equipped in the use of spiritual armor and offensive weaponry?

Of course, the analogy is to the point and for that reason the apostle Paul uses physical armor and the offensive weapon of the sword to illustrate how one should array and prepare himself or herself to be able to take a stand against the spiritually fiery darts of the wicked one, Satan himself.

So the question is: "How spiritually dressed are you with the whole armor of God and how well trained in the use of His Sword, Word of God, are you?

Are you mentally and spiritually ready and prepared to take a stand against antichrist and his flood of lies and deceit?

Ephes. 6:12-13
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
[13] Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

[14] Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

[15] And your feet shod with the preparation of the gos-pel of peace;

[16] Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

[17] And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Tell it to the Children! Tell it to their Children! and to your great-grandchildren!

Though Satan has already deceived the majority of Christians into believing he shall cause much physical death and bloodshed when he comes, the fact of the matter is that the mass desolation he causes is spiritual desolation, not physical.

It is real easy to document from 2 Thes. 2:1-12 that antichrist, which means "instead of Christ (see definitions below)", comes and sits in the temple of God claiming to be God BEFORE Jesus Christ, the true bridegroom, returns at the sound of the 7th Trump.

anti, an-tee', Greek 473; a primary particle; opposite, i.e. instead or because of (rarely in addition to) :- for, in the room of. Often used in composition to denote contrast, requital, substitution, correspondence, etc.

christos, khris-tos', Greek 5547; from Greek 5548 (chrio); anointed, i.e. the Messiah, an epithet of Jesus :- Christ.

Amazing, isn't it?

When you check it out in Strong's Concordance (which you should have in your library if you are a serious student) it is easy to see that anti-christos means "instead of - Christ", the "substitute - Christ", i.e. an impostor!

He is coming to play the role of Jesus Christ and most Christians will believe that he is simply because of the great wonders and miracles he performs in the sight of men.

Remember once again that Jesus told us in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 that if we want to understand the coming of this one whom He calls the "abomination of desolation", the abominable one who comes and stands in the holy place and makes desolate the sanctuary and the host, that he is spoken of by the prophet Daniel.

Therefore, we are to be wise enough to take the hint and go read what Daniel has to say, which is exactly what we are doing.

And in our next study we are going to be given the MO (Method of Operation) of just how it is this abominable one, also called the little horn, the vile person, Satan, the Devil, causes such massive spiritual desolation.

In other words, by coming here to the Book of Daniel and reading it with understanding, we are going to be privileged to see what the little horn's spiritual weapons of mass destruction are... because they are hidden from the view of the unwise who do not study the Word of Truth.

The whole world will love this "deceiver"
because they will think he is Jesus Christ.

So let us return to the 8th chapter of Daniel where he just told us about the vision he saw of a ram with two horns that stood by the river Ulai (pure water, i.e. stood by the living water, the Word God), when an he goat, which is a leaper of goats, came close unto the ram and then was moved with choler against him and smote him and broke the ram's two horns.

We were also told that just following the fulfillment of this vision that "the four notable ones come up toward the four winds of heaven" letting us know that this vision is for the time of the end when the final beast system that will be headed by the spurious messiah, the "little horn" Daniel is now going to tell us about, shall come forth.

This will be documented in today's study when the angel Gabriel comes and "makes Daniel to understand the vision" and explains that it is "for the time of the end (vs. 17)".

Daniel 8:9
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.
The little horn is none other than antichrist who waxes exceeding great toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land which is the land of Judea wherein Jerusalem lies and where the little horn comes and stands claiming to be God.

In fact, this slickmeister waxes great throughout the whole world and prospers, as in is successful in deceiving the whole world into believing he is the King of king and Lord of lords rather than the little tiny horn (king) he really is.

God's elect know that he is the king of Tyre, which means rock with a little "r", and not the King of kings who is our Rock with a capital "R" (Deut. 32:31).

In other words, to those who do not have the seal of God in their foreheads the little horn will not appear little at all, but will appear unto them as a magnificent one, even God himself.

However, to those who are familiar with their Father's Word he will always remain "little" in their eyes and nothing more than a disgusting vile little horn who thinks himself to be great and magnifies himself to great height.

[10] And it (he, the little horn) waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it (he) cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.
The host of heaven means the "starry host".

We read in Rev. 12:4 where Satan drew a third part of the stars of heaven (God's children) away from His truth and justice in the first earth age.

Well, "there is nothing new under the sun" for he likewise has no regard whatsoever for God's children in this flesh age and will spiritually stamp on whomsoever he may... though he may not hurt those who have the seal of God in their foreheads (Rev. 9:4)!

Remember too that we read back in chapter seven where he stamps upon the other beasts, those dominions that are present when the great and dreadful fourth beast (Satan and his host of angels) assumes his power and dominion.

The scope of the little horn's waxing great is also confirmed by that which is written in Rev. 12:9, and that is that he comes with his host and deceives the whole world.

"And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."

How is it possible that he "deceives the whole world", which by the way includes the majority of Christianity?

Because he magnifies himself in their flesh eyes by performing great wonders and miracles to where they think that he is God.

Dan 8:11 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.
The whole world will love this "deceiver" because they will think he is Jesus Christ, the Prince of the host!

Tell it to the Children! Tell it to their Children! and to your great-grandchildren!

Again, he will magnify and exalt himself to appear as Jesus Christ, even the Creator and Ruler of the starry host, by showing great signs and wonders and performing miracles in the sight of men that will be so awesome people will flock to him and worship him!

Rev. 13:13-14
And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, [14] And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast..."
You can read about the morning and evening oblation, which was the daily sacrifice, in Numbers 28:3-4.

Of course that daily sacrifice was only a shadow (Col. 2:17), a type, of the real daily sacrifice who is Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who was slain once and for all time.

Historically those shadow sacrifices were taken away when the "little horn" brought about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ who became our sacrifice as explained by Paul in Hebrews 10.

Hebrews 10:10-14
By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

[11] And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:

[12] But this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

[13] From henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool.

[14] For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

Prophetically then, since this vision of the "taking away" is for the last days, if you understand what the "daily sacrifice" now is in Daniel 8:11-12, i.e. that it is Jesus Christ and the oblation is our communion with Him, then the "taking away" is really easy to understand.

Think for a moment!

We just read that the little horn is going to magnify himself to appear as the Prince of the Host, even Jesus Christ, by "sitting in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God (2 Thes. 2:4)", and cause the whole world through his deception, through his transgression of desolation (vs. 12), i.e. of making spiritually desolate the sanctuary and the host, to believe that he is God.

Thus this abominable one who makes desolate will literally "take away" the communion Christians have with the true Christ, and cause them to "commune" with him, the instead-of-Christ.

Woe!

That is spiritual desolation of the worst kind!

Tell it to the Children! Tell it to their Children! and to your great-grandchildren!

Paul calls this great seduction by the son of perdition who comes and stands in the holy place (Mat. 24:15) a great "falling away", a great apostasy!

2 Thes. 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;
"That day" is the day we gather back to Christ.

That gathering back to Him shall not come until the little horn, the son of perdition, comes and spiritually desolates the temple, the children of God, i.e. the whole Christian community except for those who are sealed with the knowledge and wisdom of His Word (Rev. 9:4).

[4] 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.

apostasia, ap-os-tas-ee'-ah, Greek 646; feminine of the same as Greek 647 (apostasion); defection from truth (properly the state) ["apostasy"] :- falling away, forsake.

Sadly enough, Satan's deception is made easy for him by the fact that so many preachers and ministers teach our people that Jesus Christ is going to the return at any moment and rapture His church on out of here.

They are actually being "set up" to accept the first supernatural entity who comes to this earth... and that would be the desolator posing as Jesus Christ and causing mass spiritual desolation through his flood of lies and deceits.

So, how successful do you think this "little horn" will be, this one who will always be little in the sight of God and His wise and knowledgeable children?

Here's your answer:

Daniel 8:12
And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.
The Hebrew word "host" as it us used here is "tsaba" which means a military host, as in an army, and the phrase "was given against him" means "to raise war against" (see notes in the Companion Bible, pg. 1195).

In other words, the little horn is given an army to fight against the daily sacrifice.

Yes, the little horn shall have a mighty host, even an angelic host who we know are those ten kings, the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar's image, who come and reign one hour with the beast and make war with the Lamb of God, the Lamb who is our sacrifice.

Rev. 17:12-14
And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

[13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

[14] 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.

Therefore the answer to the question of how successful the little horn will be in spreading his abominations to make desolate the souls of men, is that he will be so successful (prosper) and effective (practised) that just about the whole world falls into his hands as he and his angelic host cast the truth to the ground causing the great defection (apostasy) to take place.

So now that you know what the taking away of the daily sacrifice is and what the transgression of desolation is, the next question is how long will that go on until Jesus Christ returns and puts a stop to it?

[13] Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?
The question that is being asked is "How long, i.e. what will be the duration of time concerning the daily sacrifice and (the setting up of) the desolation, which is when the little horn who comes and exalts himself as God and stands in the holy place desolating the sanctuary and causing the true daily sacrifice, the communion with the Lord Jesus Christ, to be taken away and given unto him.
[14] And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
In other words, after 2300 days the sanctuary will be cleansed, which is when the 7th Trump sounds and Jesus Christ returns and cleans out the filth.

We will see later when we get to chapter twelve how these 2300 days fit together with the other "times" given in Daniel and elsewhere regarding the abomination of desolation and the taking away of the daily sacrifice.

[15] And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.
Do you seek and ask for understanding and wisdom from the Word of God concerning the things you see come to pass, or do you rely on the four windbags, CNN, ABC, CBS, & NBC, to explain what in the world is going on?
[16] And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.
Remember what Ulai means, the river of Pure Water?

That should let you know who called to Gabriel (whose name means "Man of God") to go make known unto Daniel the interpretation of the vision.

Gabriel's very appearance lets us know that we are talking about the time just before the second advent.

Historically speaking, Gabriel appeared during the Course of Abia about the time of the summer solstice when he told Zacharias that Elizabeth would conceive John the Baptist who would go before the Lord to prepare the way.

That was 6 months before the conception of Christ which is the last time he appeared, and that was to tell Mary about the conception of Jesus.

[17] So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.
Zacharias was also afraid when he encountered the archangel Gabriel: Luke 1:12 "And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him."

We should get the picture from this that facing the supernatural is an awesome experience!

Nevertheless, the first thing Daniel is told about the vision is that it is for the "time of the end".

That means that even though we can point to historical types, that's just what they are, historical types, for the fulfillment is at "the time of the end", the time that the vision is for.

Surely that is not hard to understand for even the English makes it very clear.

There is another phrase in verse 17 that those with eyes to see and ears to hear might "see", and that is the phrase "O son of man".

Besides Messiah, only Ezekiel and Daniel were called "son of man".

Ezekiel is the book of the watchmen who take the teaching of His Truth along with the warning of the 6th Trump to their brothers and sisters of the house of Israel, even as does the Church of Philadelphia.

The Book of Daniel concerns the time of the great tribulation (Smyrna) when the "abomination of desolation" is present and some of God's elect are delivered up, even to the king of Babylon, to give witness and declare that judgment is coming at the sound of the 7th Trump when the King of kings returns.

That is the "gospel of the kingdom" that shall be proclaimed (heralded) throughout the world, i.e. the good news that the King and His dominion are coming to rule for 1,000 years!

[18] Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.
Time for the "wise" in these last days to wake up out of their sleep!

Time to get your head out of the sand and "Lift up your eyes unto heaven" and see what is happening all around us and to our people who have forsaken His Word!

Much spiritual desolation has already taken place!

[19] And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.
The end does not happen any old time, but rather at the exact time our Father has appointed.

God's indignation and the cup of His wrath containing His perfect judgment is poured out when it is filled up at the end of this flesh age.

Next, Gabriel gives both the interpretation of the vision of the ram having the two horns and the he goat and then what happens after the he goat runs into the ram with choler and brakes the horn.

Here is how it comes down...

[20] The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
Remember also that this vision was given in the 3rd year of the reign of Belshazzar, his last year of reign, the year he had his idolatrous feast and God's judgment came upon him.

We discussed the ram who "stood by the pure water" as being God's people and these two horns, the one coming up higher than the other, as the two horns of Ephraim and Manasseh, Great Britain and the United States of America.

(By the way, have you noticed how often President Bush is accused of standing by the Living Water, even for quoting so many times from the Word of Truth.)

[21] And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
The rough goat also has his eyes focused upon the first king, the great horn, which he breaks.

To wit, in recent times we had an ensample of this when both President Nixon and Prime Minister Harold Wilson of Great Britain were discredited and taken down by the only surviving (non-implicated and unscathed) member of the Nixon cabinet, the one who would later be known for his shuttle diplomacy.

However, we know that this vision of Daniel is for the time of the end, the latter part of the generation of the fig tree when globalization has taken place, i.e. when the ethnic nations and the kingdoms (royal nations of the house of Israel) would rise alongside each other in the marketplace.

When Nixon and Wilson were in office, the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain both still stood and would continue to do so for years to come.

The point is, we have not seen two horns of the ram come and push the very fabric of the world order such as we have seen President Bush and Tony Blair do in the resent past.

Could it be that we will see an he-goat come up before long?

We can only speculate and wait and see.

However, the world stage is certainly set for trouble for these two, especially if they push as nonnegotiable the "road map" to peace in the Middle East with the same resolve they did their stand on the Iraq issue at the UN.

One thing we do know from the next verse though, is that when the great horn is broken, the New World Order comes into full swing, but not in his (earthly) power...

[22] Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it (i.e. in its place), four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.
... for the power it shall be in is that of the hands of a king of fierce countenance.
[23] 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.
Here we have yet another name for the "little horn"... "a king of fierce countenance" who understands dark sentences, meaning he is able to take the light of truth and twist it and turn it into lies and deception which is spiritual darkness.

In other words, the New World Order will not just be controlled by the kenites who have used the four hidden dynasties to bring it about, but rather it shall be "powered" by antichrist, that religious abomination who comes and stands in the holy place and causes all that spiritual desolation by taking away the daily sacrifice as he gathers the people to worship him as God.

[24] 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.
If you remember who it was that gave the king of Babylon all his power, the One who sets up kings and removes kings, the One who has all power and uses whomsoever He will, then you will have no problem with this verse.

It is written that our Father sends the king of Babylon, the king of fierce countenance, even the nation of fierce countenance, to chastise His children.

Deut. 28:49-50
The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;

[50] A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:

In fact, our Father even calls Satan's locust army in the Book of Joel, His army (Joel 2:11)!

But notice how it is that the king of fierce countenance "destroys".

First, he destroys (spiritually deceives) "wonderfully", meaning he does it with "wonders" and "miracles" which make him prosper, i.e. become very successful!

The next verse gives us even more insight as to how this spurious messiah destroys many.

[25] 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.
Craft means deceit, which he shall cause to prosper in his hand and many will lend their hands in helping him to prosper, which is what having the "mark in their right hand" means... doing the work of Satan, being his right hand man.

However, notice that he shall destroy many by PEACE!
Tell it to the Children! Tell it to their Children! and to your great-grandchildren!

The "little horn", the "king of fierce countenance", the "king of Babylon", the "Antichrist" (all the same entity, Satan), enters in PEACEFULLY and PROSPEROUSLY.

He is not going to go around killing people for he's far too smart for that.
Tell it to the Children! Tell it to their Children! and to your great-grandchildren!

He's simply going to spread his flood of lies and deception by miraculous wonders to convince the world he's Jesus.

Remember, the war that we are to prepare for by putting on the gospel armor (Eph. 6) is a spiritual war, not a war against flesh and blood!

[26] And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.
The vision may have been for many days to Daniel, but it will not be for you and me because we can count on it happening in the generation of the fig tree (which we are to learn about) as per Jesus Christ's own words in Mark 13 and Matthew 24!
Matthew 24:34
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
We are not going to take the time to document it here, but the final generation began on May 15, 1948, when both the good and bad figs were set out in the land of Judea as the United Nations gave sanction to the State of Israel.

So get ready!

We are in for some exciting events just ahead.

Note: You can learn about the Parable of the Fig Tree at FigTreetoc.html

Daniel 8:27
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.
Daniel went back to work and went about the king's business, but "none became aware of the vision" for no one could have understood it back then anyway.

Gabriel clearly stated that the vision was for the end time, our time, not Daniel's.

And you know, common sense tells us that if all these things shall come to pass in the final generation, and this is truly the final generation (which it is), then the wise will see them come to pass... and they are!

What a time to live!

We just thank our Father for the privilege of having His Word to comfort us by giving us understanding to know the truth of what is happening in the world, what is yet to happen, and why it is all these things must come to pass!
Tell it to the Children! Tell it to their Children! and to your great-grandchildren!

To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you accomplish both.


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