Bible Readings — Bible Questions Answered

Gabriel Explains the Vision

What command was given to an angel who stood by? BR-ASI9 152.1

“I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.” Daniel 8:16. BR-ASI9 152.2

What were the first words that the angel then uttered before the prophet? BR-ASI9 152.3

“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.” Daniel 8:17. BR-ASI9 152.4

Note.—A long time period is included in this important prophecy, and the angel informed the prophet that the events of the vision, including those to occur during and at the end of the great time period, would reach far beyond Daniel’s time, even into the time of the end; that is, into an epoch which would find its climax in the second coming of Christ. BR-ASI9 152.5

Some there are who would have us believe that the prophecies of the book of Daniel cannot be understood, and therefore it is a waste of time to study them. But while Daniel himself says he was astonished at the vision, we find the angel saying to him at a later time that the sealing of these prophecies was only “till the time of the end.” BR-ASI9 152.6

“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” “And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Daniel 12:4, 9, 10. BR-ASI9 152.7

The book of Daniel, then, can be understood, and it was written for our special benefit. We may find comfort and hope in its marvelous predictions, so accurately fulfilled, knowing that the sublime events yet future will surely come to pass, as the prophecy has foretold. BR-ASI9 152.8

In a few words Daniel’s prophecy speaks volumes. Into a few short chapters is compressed the history, written in advance, which, as we look back upon it, spans more than twenty-three long centuries. Not having before him the pageant of the centuries which history now brings to view, it was not to be expected that the aged prophet would be able to comprehend all that God through visions and the words of the heavenly messenger revealed to him. BR-ASI9 152.9

But the angel had been commanded, “Make this man to understand the vision,” and he therefore proceeded to explain the meaning of the symbols which the prophet had seen. And looking back upon the prophecy from our time, we can see how accurately the divine mind guided the prophet’s hand in depicting the startling world events which have taken place from that day to this. BR-ASI9 152.10

How did the angel then proceed to explain the prophecy to Daniel? BR-ASI9 153.1

“The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia.” Daniel 8:20, 21. BR-ASI9 153.2

Note.—“The ‘goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth.’ That is, Greece lay west of Persia and attacked from that direction. The Greek army swept everything on the face of the earth before it. . . . BR-ASI9 153.3

“Alexander the ‘Notable Horn.’—The notable horn between his eyes is explained in verse 21 to be the first king of the Macedonian Empire. This king was Alexander the Great. BR-ASI9 153.4

“A concise account of the overthrow of the Persian Empire by Alexander is given in verses 6 and 7. The battles between the Greeks and the Persians are said to have been exceedingly fierce. Some of the scenes recorded in history vividly bring to mind the figure used in the prophecy—a ram standing before the river, and the goat running toward him in ‘the fury of his power.’ Alexander first vanquished the generals of Darius at the River Granicus in Phrygia. He next attacked and routed Darius at the passes of Issus in Cilicia, and afterward defeated him on the plains of Arbela in Syria. This latter battle occurred in 331 B.C. and marked the fall of the Persian Empire. By this event Alexander became master of the whole country. Concerning verse 6—‘He [the goat] 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’—Thomas Newton says: ‘One can hardly read these words without having some image of Darius’s army standing and guarding the River Granicus, and of Alexander on the other side with his forces plunging in, swimming across the stream, and rushing on the enemy with all the fire and fury that can be imagined.’ ”—Uriah Smith, The Prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation, pp. 152, 153. BR-ASI9 153.5

What is represented by the four horns standing up in the place of the one broken? BR-ASI9 153.6

“Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.” Daniel 8:22. BR-ASI9 153.7

Note.—The ram was said to represent the Persian Empire, the he goat the Greek or Macedonian Empire, and the great horn that was broken symbolized the first king, Alexander the Great. Alexander died in the prime of life and at the height of his conquests, being only about thirty-three years old at the time of his decease. BR-ASI9 153.8

It is said that as a result of a drunken debauch he was seized with a violent fever, and from this he died eleven days later, June 13, 323 B.C. Thus it truly came to pass, as Daniel had foretold, that “when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four.” How accurate the prophecy! How true to the historical facts! Concerning the breakup of Alexander’s empire we read: BR-ASI9 154.1

“The story of the Successors, in the tradition, is the story of a struggle for power among the generals. War went on almost without intermission from 321 to 301 B.C.”—The Cambridge Ancient History (1928-39 ed.), vol. 6, p. 462. (Used by permission of the Cambridge University Press.) BR-ASI9 154.2

What is represented by the “little horn” of verse 9? BR-ASI9 154.3

“In the latter time of their [successors of Alexander] kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.” Daniel 8:23. BR-ASI9 154.4

Note.—As historical sources reveal, the pagan Roman Empire may be described as coming out of the Greek Empire. However, as the following question and answer show, the little horn represents more than simply pagan Rome. BR-ASI9 154.5

What was the little horn to do to God’s sanctuary? BR-ASI9 154.6

“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. BR-ASI9 154.7

Note.—As just explained, the little horn of Daniel 8 represents, first, the ancient Roman Empire. It was pagan Rome that in A.D. 70 laid the Temple in Jerusalem desolate and brought its services to an end, as forcefully described in the prophetic language of verses 9-13. However, as will be seen (see pages 90-94), the prophetic time period of verse 14 was to extend almost eighteen centuries beyond A.D. 70. This fact demands that the little horn be viewed not only as pagan Rome, but also as papal Rome, its successor. This relationship between pagan Rome and papal Rome is clearly set forth in the prophecy of Daniel 7. (See page 81.) BR-ASI9 154.8

This fact also demands that the word “sanctuary,” as used in verses 11-14, not be understood to refer exclusively to the Jerusalem Temple. There being no such “sanctuary” on earth during the remainder of that long prophetic time period, the term sanctuary, in verse 14, must refer to the “sanctuary” in heaven, “the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man,” of which the sanctuary on earth was only a “shadow.” (Hebrews 8:2, 5.) BR-ASI9 154.9

As the prophet Daniel beheld the persecuting work of the little horn of Daniel 7, what did he see take place? BR-ASI9 155.1

“The judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.” Daniel 7:26. BR-ASI9 155.2

Note.—In the prophecy of the seventh chapter there is traced the history of the rise and fall of the four great kingdoms, the division of the fourth, as represented by the ten horns, and the establishment of the Papacy under the symbol of the little horn, before whom three fell. As the prophet beheld the persecutions of this power, he saw the Ancient of days sit and the judgment begin. Following the judgment, the kingdom was to be given to the saints of the Most High. BR-ASI9 155.3