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EARNESTLY CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH:
CLARENCE LARKIN:
THE BOOK OF DANIEL:
CHAPTER 8: THE RAM AND THE HE-GOAT
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THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH. THAT IS WHY HE IS GOD.

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CHAPTER EIGHT The Ram and the He-Goat THE TIME AND PLACE OF THE VISION “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.” Verses 1-2. It is worthy of note that, beginning with this eighth chapter, the remainder of the Book of Daniel is written in Hebrew. The first chapter. and the first four verses of the second, are also in Hebrew, because this section gives the account of the Fall of Jerusalem and the Captivity of Israel. But from chapter 2:4 to the end of chapter seven, the language is Aramaic, because that part of the Book relates to the Gentile World Powers. From chapter 8:1 to the end of the Book is in Hebrew because it has direct reference to the Jews, Jerusalem, and the Sanctuary (Temple), and the terrible Roman Emperor (Antichrist) who will desecrate the Sanctuary and persecute the Jews. The purpose was to show Daniel what shall befall his People (the Jews) in the “Latter Days.” This Vision of the “RAM” and “HE-GOAT” occurred in the “Third Year” of the reign of Belshazzar, B. C. 538, or two years after the previous Vision of the Four Wild Beasts. It occurred in the same year as the “Fall of Babylon,” and probably before its “Fall,” and its purpose was to inform Daniel what Empires were to succeed the Babylonian. and to further trace the Little Horn, for it is worth v of note that while the prophecies of Isaiah relate mainly to the “Christ,” the Visions of Daniel are for the purpose of unveiling the ANTICHRIST. The Prophet was in Babylon when he received the Vision, but was transported in spirit to Shushan, the Capital of Persia, in the Province of Elam, where as he stood by the side of the river Ulai, he saw a wonderful sight. THE VISION THE RAM “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.” THE HE-GOAT “And as I was considering, behold, a 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 (rage) 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 on him: and there was none that could deliver the RAM out of his hand.” THE FOUR HORNS “Therefore the HE-GOAT waxed very great: and when he was strong, the ‘GREAT HORN’ (the ‘Notable Horn: verse 5) was broken; and for it came up FOUR NOTABLE ONES (Horns) toward the ‘Four Winds of Heaven.’ ” THE LITTLE HORN “And out of one of them came forth a LITTLE HORN, which waxed exceeding great, toward the South (Egypt), and toward the East (Babylonia), and toward the Pleasant Land (Palestine) [Note From The Editor: We do not refer to Canaan-land, or Israel, as Palestine] . 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’ (Christ), and by him (the Little Horn) the ‘Daily Sacrifice’ was taken away, and the Place of His (Christ’s) Sanctuary was cast down. And a Host was given him against the ‘Daily Sacrifice’ by reason of transgression, and it (the Little Horn) cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced and prospered.” Verses 3-12. AN ANGELIC CONVERSATION While Daniel was pondering over the meaning of the “Vision” of the “Ram and He-Goat,” he overheard a conversation between two “Saints” or “Holy Ones”– “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? And he (the first Saint) said unto me (Daniel), unto TWO THOUSAND AND THREE HUNDRED DAYS; then shall the Sanctuary be cleansed.” Verses 13-14. Before we proceed any further let us try to clear up the meaning of the “Two Thousand and Three Hundred Days.” The Hebrew expression is not “days,” but “evening-mornings,” that is 2300 evening- morning sacrifices, which proves that actual days of twenty-four hours are intended. The question the second saint asked of the first was, “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?” This question was prompted by the previous statement, that the “Little Horn” would take away the “Daily Sacrifice,” and that the “Place of His Sanctuary” (the Temple) would be cast down, or desolated. The answer to the question was – “Unto two thousand and three hundred days.” Now as these days are literal days, and date from the time when the “Daily Sacrifice” shall be taken away by the “Little Horn” (the Antichrist), which is in the “Middle” of Daniel’s “Seventieth Week” (Dan. 9:27), then these 2300 days begin in the “Middle of the Week,” and as the “Week” is seven years long, half the “Week” would be three and one-half years, or forty-two months of thirty days each, or 1260 days. This would make the 2300 days overrun the last half of the Week 1040 days, or two years, ten months, and twenty days. And as the “Sanctuary” is not to be cleansed, or the “Daily Sacrifice” renewed until then, it would appear as if the Temple services are not to be re-established until Ezekiel’s Temple has been built. Ezek. 41:1-43:27. While Daniel was pondering on the meaning of his Vision, he was startled by an apparition that had the appearance of a man. THE INTERPRETER “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. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai (probably from a cloud over the river), which called and said, GABRIEL, make this man to UNDERSTAND THE ‘VISION.’ ” Verses 15-16. Everything was done to make Daniel UNDERSTAND the Vision. The “Interpreter” was no earthly being but the Angel Gabriel. What he told Daniel must have been perfectly clear to him, and will be to us if we put ourselves in Daniel’s place. What had troubled Daniel in his Vision of the “Four Wild Beasts” was the “Little Horn,” and now in this Vision of the “Ram and He-Goat” is another “Little Horn.” Are they one and the same or are they different? Or was this Vision given to throw additional light upon the “Little Horn” as to the place of his origin? We must not forget that God led Daniel step by step. Each succeeding Vision was to throw additional light upon the Visions that went before. “So he (Gabriel) came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face (as every sinful man will in the presence of a Holy being): but he said unto me, UNDERSTAND, O son of man: for at the ‘TIME OF THE END’ shall be the Vision. Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground (Daniel swooned) : but he touched me, and set me upright. And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be ‘IN THE LAST END OF THE INDIGNATION’ (The Great Tribulation): for at the time appointed ‘THE END’ shall be.” Verses 17-19. Now notice, and this is the “KEY” to the Vision, that the Vision has to do with the “TIME OF THE END.” The “TIME OF THE END” is a definite statement of Scripture, and has reference to the “END” of the “Times of the Gentiles.”· The Vision then had no bearing upon the times in which Daniel lived, and so, after it had been explained to him, he was told to “shut it up,” for it would not be fulfilled for “many days” (verse 26), that is, until the “TIME OF THE END.” So the “END TIME” of this Vision is the same as the “END TIME” of all the “Dreams” and “Visions” in the Book. THE INTERPRETATION “The RAM which thou sawest having ‘Two Horns’ are the Kings (Kingdoms) of Media and Persia. And the ROUGH GOAT is the King (Kingdom) of Grecia: and the ‘Great Horn’ that is between his eyes is the First King. Now that (the Great Horn) being broken, whereas FOUR (Horns) stood up for it (in the place of it), FOUR KINGDOMS shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his (the Great Horn) power. And in the LATTER TIME of their Kingdom (the Four Kingdoms into which the Grecian Empire was divided at Alexander the Great’s death), 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 (by Satanic power) : and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and Holy People (the Jews). 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’ (Christ) ; but he shall be BROKEN WITHOUT HAND.” Verses 20-25. While Daniel knew from the “Dream Image” of Nebuchadnezzar (E. C. 603) that there were to be “Four World-wide Empires” that were to succeed each other, symbolized by the Gold, Silver, Brass, and Iron, of the Image (Dan. 2:36-40), he was not told their names, except the first, Babylon. Neither in his “Vision” of the “Four Wild Beasts” (chapter 7), given sixty-two years later (B. C. 541), were the names of the Kingdoms that were to succeed the Babylon given. But in this Vision of the “Ram and He-Goat” there were revealed the names of the Kingdoms represented by the “Silver” and “Brass” of the “Image,” and their corresponding Beasts, the “Bear” and “Leopard.” This information had been withheld until the time had come for the “Fall of the Babylonian Empire,” and was given to Daniel at this time that he might know that the Medes and Persians, that were then besieging the city, represented the “Arms and Breast” of the Image, and therefore that the Fall of Babylon was at hand. This knowledge doubtless helped Daniel to interpret the “Handwriting on the Wall.” In Daniel’s Vision of the “Four Wild Beasts,” Medo-Persia and Greece are represented by a “Bear” and a “Leopard;” in this Vision they are also represented by Beasts, a “Ram” and a “He-Goat.” The change in the Beasts is to further identify the Empires by their “Heraldic Devices.” The Emblem of Persia was a “RAM.” Coins have been discovered which display “Ram’s Head” on one side, and a Ram recumbent on the other. We also read of a Persian king riding in front of his army wearing “a Golden Figure of a ‘Ram’s Head’ set with gems, instead of a diadem.” In the Zendavesta, Ized Behram, the guardian spirit of Persia, appears like a Ram, with cloven feet, and sharp-pointed horns. The national Emblem of Macedonia (Greece) was a “GOAT,” and is found on the coins of that country, the ancient capital of which was called Aegae, or the “GOAT CITY,” while the adjacent waters were called the Aegean, or “GOAT-SEA.” Hence the son of Alexander the Great by Roxana was called Aegus, the “Son of a goat.” To Daniel the “Ram” and the “He-Goat” corresponded to the “Bear” and the “Leopard” of the “Four Wild Beasts” Vision, and the “Arms and Breast of Silver,” and the “Abdomen of Brass” of the “Image,” he saw that the Empires that these represented were Medo-Persia and Greece. This correspondence was further confirmed as Daniel more closely compared the Beasts of his two Visions. The higher “Shoulder” of the “Bear” corresponded to the higher “Horn” of the “Ram” (Persia). And the “Three Ribs” in the mouth of the “Bear,” which stood, as we have seen, for the three Kingdoms of Lydia, Babylon, and Egypt, that formed a “Triple Alliance” to check the Medo- Persian power, but were destroyed by it, corresponded to the action of the “Ram” that pushed “Westward” toward Lydia; “Northward” toward Babylon; and “Southward” toward Egypt. When Daniel compared the “Leopard”’and the “He- Goat” he saw that the “Four Heads” of the “Leopard” corresponded to the “Four Horns” that came up in the place of the “Great Horn” on the head of the “He- Goat.” So far all was clear to Daniel. But what was meant by the “LITTLE HORN” that came up on one of the “Four Horns” of the “He-Goat” was to him a mystery. He had seen nothing to correspond to it on the “Leopard,” and there was no Beast in this Vision to compare with the “Fourth Wild Beast” of the previous Vision, on whose head were “Ten Horns,” amid which a LITTLE HORN sprang up. What relation did these “Little Horns” have to each other, if any ? Now as to this “Little Horn” we can do no guessing. We must take the interpretation of the Angel Gabriel. We are told by Gabriel that the “Great Horn” that was between the eyes of the “He-Goat” represented the “First King” (of Greece). Now this King, as all historians know, was ALEXANDER THE GREAT (B. C. 356-323, the son of Philip of Macedon), who became King of Greece when but twenty years of age, B. C. 336. Two years later (B. C. 334), in goat-like fashion, he leaped the Hellespont, and with an army of 30,000 infantry and 5000 cavalry he defeated a Persian force on the banks of the Granicus. By a swift advance eastward he, in the following year, B. C. 333, defeated at Issus a Persian army of 600,000 men, commanded by the Persian King, Darius. After minor conquests in Phoenicia and Egypt he returned to Syria, where on the banks of the Tigris River he defeated an enormous army led by Darius. This is known as the Battle of Arbela, B. C. 331. From B. C. 330 to 327, Alexander was engaged in subjugating the outlying provinces of the Persian Empire. Later he returned to Babylon, where, at the climax of his glory, he died of marsh fever and intemperance in June, B. C. 323, in his thirty-third year. After the death of Alexander there was dissension as to who should be his successor, which ended, as the prophecy foretold, in four of his Generals dividing the territory of the Empire among themselves. CASSANDER took Macedonia and the Western part. LYSIMACHUS took Thrace and the Northern part. SELEUCUS took Syria and the Eastern part. PTOLEMY took Egypt and the Southern part. The “Four Horns” may therefore be named “Macedonia,” “Thrace,” “Syria,” and “Egypt.” These “Four Kingdoms” were in time absorbed by the “Fourth World Wide Empire,” the Roman. The last to lose its identity was Egypt in B. C. 30. Thus we see that while there were to be but FOUR “World Wide Empires,” the “Babylonian,” “Medo-Persian,” “Grecian,” and “Roman,” during the “Times of the Gentiles,” yet they were not to succeed each other without a break. This was not shown on the “Image,” nor in the Vision of the “Four Wild Beasts,” but is first revealed in the Vision of the “He-Goat.” The “break” or “GAP” between the “Grecian” and “Roman” Empires is covered by the “Four Minor Kingdoms” of “Macedonia,” “Thrace,’ “Syria,” and “Egypt.” Here is history proving prophecy. Having explained the meaning of the “Ram” and the “He-Goat,” and of the “Four Horns” that came up in the place of the “Great Horn,” the Angel Gabriel proceeds to an explanation of the “LITTLE HORN” that came up out of one of the “Four Horns.” If the Vision had been given to us without an interpretation, we naturally would have supposed that the “Little Horn” indicated some “Monarch” that arose out of one of the “Four Kingdoms” soon after their establishment, such as Antiochus Epiphanes, who in some respects answers the description in verses 9-12. But Gabriel tells us in verse 23, that he is not to rise “until the LATTER TIME of their Kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full.” Here is a distinction between the “FORMER” and “LATTER” time of the “Four Kingdoms” into which Alexander’s Empire was divided, which prophetically declares that those “Four Kingdoms” are to be resuscitated and become “Four” of the “Ten Kingdoms” into which the Revived Roman Empire shall be divided, for God is able to revive dead nations as well as dead men. As proof of this Greece is a sovereign State today, and Egypt is again coming into power, and in the upheaval of nations no one can foretell how soon Thrace and Syria shall again appear as independent Kingdoms. It will not do to say that by the “Latter Time of their Kingdom” is meant the “Latter Time” of the “Four Kingdoms” before they were swallowed up by the Roman Empire, for they were not all swallowed up at the same time. Egypt was the last in B. C. 30. Neither will it do to say that by the “Little Horn” Antiochus Epiphanes is meant. Antiochus did not live in the “Latter Time” of those Kingdoms. He was the eighth out of twenty-six kings that ruled over Syria, and he died in B. C. 164, or 134 years before the last of the “Four Kingdoms” disappeared. As Antiochus was one of the twenty-six kings who constituted the “Syrian Horn,” he could not be that “Horn” and also the “LITTLE HORN” that sprang out of it. The “Little Horn” waxed exceedingly great, but Antiochus never did. It is true that he desecrated the Temple at Jerusalem, but the Maccabees rebelled, and in B. C. 165 restored its worship. When Jesus spoke of the “Abomination of Desolation” spoken of by Daniel the Prophet (Matt. 24:15), He did not refer to it as a thing of the past, but as something still future, therefore it was not something connected with the career of Antiochus, for he had been dead nearly 200 years. Antiochus never stood up against the “Prince of Princes” (Christ), for he died 160 years before Christ was born. Neither was he “broken without hand,” for he died a natural death at Tabae (Persia) in B. C. 164. It will not do to say that verses 9-12 refer to Antiochus, and verses 23-25 to the Antichrist, for verses 23-25 are the interpretation of verses 9-12, and therefore the same person must be meant. Therefore if verses 23-25 refer to some future person, verses 9-12 cannot refer to Antiochus. From this we see that there is a “GAP” that takes in the space between the “Former” and “Latter Time” of the “Four Kingdoms” into which Alexander’s Empire was divided, and which corresponds with the “GAP” between Daniel’s Sixty-ninth and Seventieth Week as revealed to Daniel in the next chapter. THE LITTLE HORN In comparing the descriptions of the “Little Horn” the mistake is made of supposing that they should agree as to details, etc., whereas they are progressive, each successive description adding new details to the preceding one. Thus the picture is filled out until the “Portrait” of the “Little Horn” (Antichrist) is complete. In chapter seven Daniel describes the “Little Horn” as plucking up three of the “Ten Horns,” and having eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things. The “Bystander” (a Holy One) who interprets the Vision repeats that the “Little Horn” will subdue “Three Kings,” and adds-“He shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the Saints of the Most High, and think to change Times and Laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a Time and Times and the Dividing of Time.” Daniel describes the “Little Horn” of chapter eight as, “Waxing exceedingly great, toward the South, and toward the East, and toward the Pleasant Land (Palestine) [Note From The Editor: We do not refer to Canaan-land, or Israel, as Palestine] . 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 (Christ’s) Sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the Daily Sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it (the Little Horn) cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered.” Verses 9-12. The Angel Gabriel in interpreting this “Little Horn” says-“A King of ‘Fierce Countenance,’ and understanding ‘dark sentences,’ shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power (it shall be superhuman): and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the Holy People (the Jews). And through his policy also he shall cause craft (all kinds of business) 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’ (Christ): but he shall be BROKEN WITHOUT HAND.” Verses 23-25. But these two descriptions from chapters seven and eight do not complete the picture of the “Little Horn.” So we will anticipate and turn to the description of THE WILFUL KING in chapter 11:36-39, which fills out the picture-“And the KING (of the North) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the ‘God of Gods,’ and shall prosper till the ‘INDIGNATION’ (The Great Tribulation) be accomplished, for that that is determined, shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honor the ‘God of Forces;’ and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.” This completes the picture of the “Little Horn” as far as it was revealed to Daniel. From what has thus far been revealed it is clear that the “Little Horn” is to rise amid the “Ten Horns” of the “Fourth Wild Beast” or in the Roman Empire, and that of those “Ten Horns” or Kingdoms, four shall be the “Four Kingdoms” into which Alexander’s Empire was divided, or Macedonia (Greece), Thrace (Asia Minor), Syria (Assyria), and Egypt, and that out of one of these four the “Little Horn” (Antichrist) shall rise. Which one will be revealed to us later as Syria. See “The “Wilful King,” chapter II :36-45. We are told that this King of “Fierce Countenance” shall understand “dark sentences,” that is, he will be a Revealer of Secret Things, which will add to the mystery of his power. He will also stand up against the “PRINCE OF PRINCES” (Christ). That will bring his transgression to the full, and he shall be BROKEN WITHOUT HAND. The meaning of this is disclosed in 2 Thess. 2:8, where we are told that the Antichrist (that Wicked) shall be consumed with the Spirit of the Lord’s mouth, and shall be destroyed by the brightness of His Second Coming. See the Battle of Armageddon. Rev. 19:11-20. Having received the Vision, Daniel was told to “shut it up,” for its fulfilment would not be for many days. Not until the “Latter Time” of the “Four Kingdoms,” which is still future. Then Daniel fainted and was sick certain days. The revelation of what was to befall his people in the “Latter Days” was too much for him, and made his heart sick. He says, “I was astonished at the Vision, but none understood (it).” What Daniel meant was, that no one understood why he was sick, for he had “shut up the Vision,” that is, he had told no one about it, and therefore they did not know the cause of his illness. But Daniel’s disturbed state of mind did not prevent his attending to the affairs of State. for he says – “I rose up, and did the King’s business.” Verse 27.