Kingdom Commentaries on Prophecies in Daniel,...
Tablet Eight
VISION OF THE RAM AND HE GOAT BY DANIEL
Chapter 8
"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)
<1>River symbolizes confusion in the consciousness (mind, water is the symbol for manifested consciousness). These things will happen in the confusion of the world.
"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." (Daniel 8:3)
<2>This ram is described to be the "kings of Media and Persia" (verse 20). This kingdom had two great kings (two horns, also two silver arms of the image in the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar), the second greater than the first ("...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 8:4)
<3>Just as the kings of Persia conquered southward, northward, and westward later on, this ram was pushing toward those directions. He was given to conquer all that he desired and no man could stand in front of him, and he "became great." <4>The kings of Persia became great because there was a purpose which should have been fulfilled through them. <5>That is how God uses humans, however, then the humans think that it is they who are doing the action. But in reality it is He who does all great things through man.
"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." (Daniel 8:5)
<6>This he goat is the kingdom of Grecia and the notable horn is its first great king (verse 21) which came from the west and conquered Persia and went even further to Tibet.
"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." (Daniel 8:6)
<7>So the king of Grecia would attack the Persian Kingdom, as did occur.
"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." (Daniel 8:7)
<8>The king of Grecia would destroy the Persian Empire, as he did.
"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 8:8)
<9>When this he goat (Grecian Empire) with its great king (Alexander the Great, "notable horn") conquered the whole earth as its kingdom, then the horn would be broken and the kingdom would be divided into four. That is exactly what happened. <10>After Alexander the Great conquered all the great empires and lands as far as Tibet, on his way back he died without any warning, "the great horn was broken." Then his empire was divided between his four great generals, "and for it came up four notable ones." All this has happened from the confusion on earth and earthly bonds, "toward the four winds of heaven."
"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." (Daniel 8:9)
<11>The intellectual philosophies and new ideas of the Greeks then appeared. This one little horn which later on also appeared in the head of the fourth beast (Roman Empire) symbolizes all the endeavors that have been done to explain that God does not exist (atheism, dialectic materialism, etc.), and also all those intellectualized religions that have created separation between man and man.
<12>This base of intellectualizing all things started from Athens, "...out of one of them...," which is in one of the four kingdoms in the west part of the Grecian Empire.
<13>It would conquer the south, west ("toward the pleasant land," America) and east. There has never been such a king as a person from the Grecian Empire. This little horn is a symbol for intellectual achievements of Athens through great philosophers and thinkers of Greece, and the beginning of the domination of the intellect.
"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." (Daniel 8:10)
<14>The superior power of this little horn is not over other kings or empires but is directed toward spirituality and the truth of the existence of the Lord, "even to the host of heaven." <15>It is intellectual arguments that try to explain all things, by putting God out of the discussion. <16>Through empirical studies, it is intellectual discussions which talk about dialectic materialism and try to explain that God does not exist. It is the intellectuals who try to bring laws from themselves and replace them for the Laws of God. So they try to wax great, "even to the host of heaven." They feel they are God themselves.
<17>It was this horn which created superstitions, differentiation between religions and men, and attempted to destroy the idea of God and His Laws, "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." (Daniel 8:11)
<18>It was this intellectual superiority which replaced the truth of religions. Man started arguing with the Laws and regulations of the Lord and tried to replace them (man always tries to replace His Laws) with what he believed was good, like the woman who thought the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil was good to eat (Genesis chapter 3), without having the deep feeling of seeing the spiritual consequences of her actions and beliefs ("eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil": to follow the sight or appearance instead of listening to God).
<19>A true seeker does not argue with God and His Revelations, but he contemplates His Sayings, and will find the truth of His Commands for purity, sacrifice (not being self-centered), obedience, and Daharma. <20>But it is intellectuals who try to intellectualize His Commands and do not understand the depth and effect of them on the well-being of humanity.
<21>That is why they magnify themselves "even to the prince of the host." They say there is no truth but their own reasoning. They do not even know what reasoning is itself! They intellectualize religions and make them dry and a burden on humanity (like the Pharisees and scribes), "and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away." <22>They also destroy the House of God which is within them by crudifying themselves with thinking about matter instead of the spirit behind it, "and the place of his sanctuary was cast down." <23>The destruction of the temple in Jerusalem is a symbol of this. It was destroyed by the Romans!
"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 practiced, and prospered." (Daniel 8:12)
<24>Because of the attraction of Maya ("an host was given him") and the dullness of the mind to grasp the reality, which follows when man becomes attached to this manifested world instead of understanding why and how it has been manifested, this little horn will use all its power to destroy the daily sacrifice (sacrifice for others, forgetting the self for the rest of the universe), and it will cast down the truth of the religion and reality behind this universe to the ground, and try to destroy it.
<25>With doing these things many believed in him and thought they could understand everything through intellect. They believed all religions are just an imaginary fancy thought of some too smart or crazy people, "...and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them" (verse 10). He practiced this teaching and prospered.