Preface
Before beginning this study, I felt impressed to point out the importance of the study of prophecies, in particular the end time prophecies and the need to make it plain upon tables. As says the word of God: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18
In looking at the full spectrum, I saw that throughout the ages, God’s people have had the gift of Spirit of Prophecy. Christ himself prophesied. In prophetic tones, He spoke for example, of Jerusalem’s destruction. Said He: “When you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) …” Mark 13:14. It is interesting to note that He recognized and confirmed Daniel’s prophetic calling, as well as his prophecy. Forty years later, in AD 70, we saw the fulfillment of this prophecy. Jerusalem was desolated by the Roman army under Titus. According to history, a lone unknown man, while not a prophet, sounded an alarm for seven years, for people to get out before the impending crisis—those who heeded, escaped the abomination of desolation. We too are called to warn the world to enable those who will, to escape the wrath to come.
This is a two-fold prophecy. Says the Pen of inspiration, E.G. White, an inspired eighteenth-century teacher and writer: “The Saviour’s prophecy concerning the visitation of judgments upon Jerusalem is to have another fulfillment of which that terrible desolation was but a faint shadow. In the fate of the chosen city, we may behold the doom of a world that has rejected God’s mercy and trampled upon His law.” –The Great Controversy, p. 35–37. How necessary it is for a people today, an end time people, to study and bring this last message of mercy to the world to the nominal churches—to the ones who erroneously teach it.
The Spirit of Prophecy is the testimony of Jesus. It is given in this manner: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to shew unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that He saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” Revelation 1:1–3. While John was considered a prophet, we are no less called to bring the prophetic word as teachers. “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers…” 1 Corinthians 12:28
Dear Reader, today the Lord is calling for a revival of a greater study of Bible prophecies, a clarion call to take it out of the bin of obscurity and place it on the table of present truth; a call to take it from a mere mental assent; finally, a call to leave off the basic principles… “this we will do” (Hebrews 6:1–3), as there are far-reaching, weightier prophetic truths in the word of God waiting to be had, waiting to be studied and understood so that they can effectively warn the world of the looming final crisis. Today we are almost at the end of all things, the “toes” of the remaining prophecies, preceding our Lord’s imminent return. According to the word of God, “there should be time no longer.” Revelation 10:6. Affirms E.G. White in relation to time: “This time which the angel declares with a solemn oath is not the end of this world’s history, neither of probationary time, but of prophetic time, which should precede the advent of our Lord. That is, the people will not have another message upon definite time. After this period of time, reaching from 1842–1844, there can be no definite tracing of the prophetic time. The longest reckoning reaches to the autumn of 1844.” –Manuscript 59, 1900
This time prophecy has been on the table of present truth for one hundred and seventy-nine years now and no one knows when it will close, as truly “the time is at hand”. Can we afford not to be standing in our lot, at this appointed time?
“And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” Habakkuk 2:2
This line of scripture was the driving force of our early advent pioneers in the mid-eighteen hundreds; then, like Daniel, they stood in their lot. They laid aside every weight, earnestly studying these prophecies and so, on seeing their urgency, followed the dictates of conscience, of obedience
and principle, in a certain sense, “run that readeth it.” Like them, our current aged teachers of the present truth have been sounding it but are no longer able to do so in all its dimensions, or to go from coast to coast. And since there is no frontier and it is of a worldwide nature, sighers and criers are needed to stand in our lot. The question today is, who will answer the call to continue to sound this everlasting gospel, which hinges on many prophesies? Who will place this mighty cleaver of truth, back on the table of present truth?
Oh, that it carries with it the key to man’s eternal destiny! Think about what is before us! Recognize what is on the table that must be made plain. For example: Revelation 13, a most profound revelation of a rising power; the prophetic third angel of Revelation 14:9–12; the two thousand three-hundred-day prophecy as found in the book of Daniel. These are only some that need teachers who understand and can explain their true meaning and chronological order, comparing scripture with scripture, using history to support their position. The Holy Spirit is ready to fully empower a people, like in the days of our early advent believers with this more-sure word of prophecy.
Why the call? It is to clear away the many erroneous applications, or ones taken out of context; for example, the 2300-day prophecy of Daniel chapter 9, as taught by some nominal Protestant Churches. In one case, the “Rapture theorists misinterpret it to support their unscriptural teaching, so that according to them, those that are “left behind” after the “secret rapture”, will have an opportunity to purify themselves during the seven-year tribulation which they claim finds its fulfilment in the seventieth week of Daniel’s 490 years. Whereas it does not fit the specification; whereas its fulfilment has long been met. Upon our study, you will clearly see that it cannot be.
It must be taught even to those of the Jewish economy, whom God is seeking to give the irrefutable truth of Christ’s anointing, where again the overwhelming evidence unquestionably shows Him as fulfilling all the specifications as found in Daniel 9:24–27. Thus, countering the censure placed by the early writers of the Talmud, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism, that an anathema, as it were, a curse be on anyone who turns the pages to read Daniel 9:24–27. (See Talmudic Law, p. 978, Section 2, line 28)
One more will suffice as to why it must be sounded. Unfortunately, many believe that the book of Daniel is still closed based on one line of scripture: “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end. . .” (Daniel 12:4). Not understanding the meaning of “time of the end” they themselves close this book. Therefore, it must be shown that the book of Daniel is now an unsealed book. Of course this pertains as well to the book of Revelation. While undeniably, the word of God states that the words and the book is “shut up and sealed to the time of the end,” time must be taken into consideration.
How do we, therefore, counteract their argument as to the time of the end? What does “the time of the end” really mean? Can it harmonize with scripture? Let us take a moment and turn to Revelation 10:1–2. “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, And cried with a loud voice. . . and. . . seven thunders uttered their voices.”
Says Ellen G. White: “After these seven thunders uttered their voices, the injunction comes to John as to Daniel regarding the little book: ‘Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered’ (Revelation 10:4). These relate to future events which will be disclosed in their order. Daniel shall stand in his lot at the end of the days, John sees the little book unsealed. Then Daniel’s prophecies have their proper place in the first, second and third angels’ messages to be given to the world. The unsealing of the little book was the message in relation to time. The books of Daniel and the Revelation are one. One is a prophecy and the other a revelation. . .” –Manuscript Releases Volume 1, p. 99
Early Adventist writers therefore believed that the above line of scripture alludes to the book of Daniel. According to one of them, Uriah Smith, an early Adventist pioneer of the 1840 says: “…it infers the book of Daniel.” He continues: “We have seen that the prophecy, especially the prophetic periods of Daniel, were not to be opened until the time of the end. If this is the book which the angel had in his hand open, it follows that he proclaims his message after the time when the book should be opened, or somewhere this side of the commencement of the time of the end. . . the book of Daniel itself furnishes data from which this can be done.
He continues: “In Daniel 11:30, the papal power is brought to view. In verse 35 we read, ‘Some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and make them white, even to the time of the end.’ Here is the period of the supremacy of the little horn, during which time the saints, times, and laws were to be given into his hand, and from him suffer fearful persecutions. This is declared to reach to the time of the end. This period ended A.D. 1798, when the 1260 years of papal supremacy expired. There the time of the end began, and the book was opened. Since that time, many have run to and fro, and knowledge on these prophetic subjects has marvellously increased.” –Uriah Smith, Daniel and the Revelation, p. 520
Truly with the foregoing explanation it is reasonable to conclude that the open book in Revelation 10:2 refers to the time when the book of Daniel was to be opened, thereby signifying that 1798 commenced the time of the end.
Says the word of God: “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and our children, for ever. . .” Deuteronomy 29:29
Concludes Ellen G. White: “In the Revelation all the books of the Bible meet and end. Here is the complement of the book of Daniel.” –The Acts of the Apostles, p. 585
“Many have entertained the idea that the book of Revelation is a sealed book, and they will not devote the time and study to its mysteries. They say that they are to keep looking to the glories of salvation, and that the mysteries revealed to John on the Isle of Patmos are worthy of less consideration than these.
“But God does not so regard the book. . . . The book of Revelation opens to the world what has been, what is, and what is to come; it is for our instruction upon whom the ends of the world are come. It should be studied with reverential awe. . . . He designs that they shall be open to the study of all. In this book are depicted scenes that are now in the past, and some of eternal interest taking place around us; other of its prophecies will not receive their complete fulfilment until the close of time. . .” –The Review and Herald, August 31, 1897
Without further ado, we will study two chapters, Daniel chapters 8 and 9. Note, the first two prophetic chapters of Daniel, chapters 2 and 7, to a very large degree, parallel chapter 8, which continues to show God’s purpose and design, using different figures. And like a mosaic, He opens to view more and more, giving us the full insight of final events in the last days as well as confirming the players. We will therefore focus on chapter 8 and 9, the burden of the study being chapter 9.
So, set in these two chapters is a most compelling, most convincing, as it were, irrefutable prophecy as given to Daniel the prophet in B.C. 538 in the form of a vision. It opens to view events of large-scale proportions prophesied to take place within a space of time, “in the days appointed,” in the latter days.
This prophecy, spoken in figurative language, comprises of a ram, a he goat, a little horn, and 2300 days. While it is prophetic in nature, its literal predictions have been most accurately fulfilled. Whereas there remains a small segment yet to be fulfilled, it will most certainly happen. As we study and follow the waymarks of this notable word of God, we will see that it weaves into it the rise and fall of earthly kingdoms, opening also to view a cunning power, usurping its baneful human authority; it tells of the allotted time given for a people, the Jewish nation, to determine their destiny; most remarkably, it points out with weighted evidence, the overwhelming fulfillment of the exact time of Christ’s baptism and passion; it stretches its far-reaching arm of prophecy to the Gentiles as it winds its way to the long predicted year of fulfilment, where there will be “time no longer”—that is, no more prophetic time!
A Two-fold Prophecy
In these two chapters of Daniel, we have herewith a two-fold prophecy. Chapter 8 primarily deals with warring worldly factions, so to speak, worldly kingdoms, paralleling Chapters 2 and 7, whereas chapter 9 begins with a most sublime prayer, followed by the longest and most profound prophetic timetable that has no parallel, and to my knowledge was never opened to view until the mid 1800s, when God raised up William Miller, a humble farmer, turned minister. As well, in His wisdom, God gave talents to men to make prophetic charts to make it even more plain upon tables. And so, today we have this more sure word of prophecy in all its clarity.
The above viewpoints form the framework of the prophecy, of which we will study in more detail below. Truly an incredible prophecy! With this backdrop we go to the study at hand, attentively looking through the lens of Daniel, the Prophet, as he tells of what he saw and heard in his inspired vision. We now read the running narrative from the word of God.
The Narrative
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. 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. And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. Therefore the he-goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. 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 8:1–9
Beasts in Prophecy
We will not have to figure out the above representations as there are keys to Bible symbolism. Example: Beast, Horns, Heads, Kingdoms, Kings, all denote Kingdoms. We have a good example in verses 20 and 21: “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 ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. 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 8:19–22
We see a similar explanation in Daniel 7:17: “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.” These explanations put to rest any private interpretation or human devising.
The Ram: BC 538–331
Since we are already aware that the ram represents Medo-Persia, there is no need to explain again. We will briefly look at its career: “. . . 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. It is a known fact that “the kingdom was composed of two nationalities, the Medes and the Persians. . . . Of these horns it is said that the higher came up last, . . . it attained the higher eminence, becoming a dominant influence in the nation.” –Uriah Smith, Daniel and the Revelation p. 108
“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
The character of this beast is one of cruelty and like the prophecy states, “he did whatever he wanted according to his will.” It was this power, though inferior in wealth, who totally defeated and overthrew golden Babylon in a strategic manner. Cyrus and his inferior army diverted the riverbed, surrounding what seemed the most impenetrable, as it were, impregnable fortress, then went through the two-leafed gate and overthrew the then-ruling power, taking all her provinces.
Isaiah prophesied: “Thus, saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut… “I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob, my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.” Isaiah 45:1–4
“The power exercised by every ruler on the earth is Heaven-imparted. . . . To each the word of the divine Watcher is ‘I girded thee, though thou hast not know Me.’” –Prophets and Kings, p. 502
To be sure, history attests to the fact that from BC 538-331, Medo-Persia reigned supreme; but it was not to last, as prophecy dictates. A greater and more powerful figure, called to the world stage, will take the reign starting from BC 331-168.
The He–goat: BC 331–168
This empire reigned from BC 331-168. The prophecy states: “And as I was considering, behold, an he-goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.” Daniel 8:5–8
Notice it starts off with: “And as I was considering….” We must also consider Daniel’s reaction in all of this. Daniel momentarily was thinking deeply at what he was witnessing but suddenly he saw an even greater sight—a “he-goat,” coming from the west of the face of the whole earth” with remarkable speed and anger. Who is this beast a figure of? No doubt, Alexander the Great—the first king of the Grecian empire whom prophecy identified as “The Notable Horn.” (Not to be confused with “the little horn”). Daniel saw him coming from the West. It is interesting that geography shows that Greece lies west of Persia, all showing that the Grecian empire is the power in question.
This Grecian empire, the third-world empire, under the command of Alexander the Great, subjected, and vanquished the Medo-Persian empire, defeating it on the plains of Arbela. Amazingly and paralleling Daniel chapter 2’s fighting style, he used unconventional weaponry, made of brass, designed to create a blinding effect upon his enemies as per one of his strategies.
It is a well know fact that Alexander the great was a warrior of warriors. Says one early historian: “He was an expert in the combination of various arms; he taught the world the advantages of campaigning in winter, the value of pressing pursuit to the utmost, and the principle of ‘march divided, fight united’. . . . His speed of movement was extraordinary.” –The Cambridge Ancient History, vol. 6, p. 425–426
In keeping with the prophecy: “when he was strong,” that is, when he was still a young man, his horn, as it were, his power was broken. Unfortunately, while he was an expert conqueror, he could not conquer his own alcoholic intemperance. History states that he drank from the Herculean cup filled with alcohol and that eleven days later this 32-year-old king, full of the vigor of youth, died. The prophecy states that “the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. His empire became divided into four divisions among his four leading generals, namely: Seleucus having Syria and the entire east; Ptolemy—Egypt, Lydia, Arabia, and Palestine; Cassandrea—Macedonia and Greece in the west and parts of Asia; and, Lysimachus—Thrace and parts of Asia. In a matter of time the kingdom became weakened by infightings leaving the door open for the next player in the prophetic field.
The Little Horn: BC 168–AD 476
“Continues the prophecy: ‘…and out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceedingly great, towards the south and towards the east, and towards the pleasant land.’ Daniel 8:9. Notice that the he-goat was great, but this figure was ‘exceedingly great.’ It had dominance over the entire region! Who is he? Certain individuals connect this character to Antiochus Epiphanes, an 8th Syrian king from the Seleucus horn of the goat. Smith argues: ‘Antiochus, was simply one of the twenty-six kings who constituted the Syrian horn of the goat. He was, therefore, for the time being, that horn. Hence, he could not at the same time be a separate and independent power, or another and remarkable horn, as was the little horn.’ ‘…If Antiochus Epiphanes does not fulfill the specification of the prophecy, the application cannot be made to him.’” –Uriah Smith, Daniel and the Revelation, p. 156
Smith affirms: “The field of vision here is substantially the same as that covered by Nebuchadnezzar’s image of Daniel 2, and the vision of Daniel 7. In both these. . . we have found that the power which succeeded Grecia as the fourth power was Rome. The only natural inference would be that the little horn, the power which in this vision succeeds Grecia as an ‘exceeding great’ kingdom is also Rome. . .” He continues: “The little horn comes forth from one of the horns of the goat. . . . In 168 B.C., Rome had conquered Macedonia, and made that country a part of its empire. –Ibid., p. 158. True to prophecy “…and out of one of them came forth a little horn.”
Continues Smith: “Rome meets all the specifications of the prophecy. No other power does meet them. Hence Rome, and no other, is the power in question. The inspired descriptions given in the Word of God of the character of this system are fully met, and the prophecies concerning it have been most strikingly and accurately fulfilled in history.” –Ibid., p. 162. Concludes Smith: “This describes in a few words the work and career of the papacy. The truth is by it hideously caricatured, loaded with traditions, turned into mummery and superstition, cast down and obscured. Of this ecclesiastical power it is declared that it has ‘practiced’. . . to carry out its own ends and aggrandize its own power.” –Ibid., p. 161
The little horn magnified himself
“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 the sanctuary was cast down. And a host was given to him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced and prospered.” Daniel 8:10–12
A Two-Phased Rome
Pagans ruled Rome. Arianism became rampant. However, after these Barbarians, the bane of Rome, lost their power over to the Roman Empire, Rome became the “seat, the capital of all nations.” Says Julian: “If Rome is the queen of cities, why should not her pastor be the king of Bishops? Why should not the Roman Church be the mother of Christendom? Why should not all nations be her children, and her authority be her sovereign law?” –J.H. d’Aubigne, History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, vol. 1, p. 8
To this the memorable Emperor Justinian, after winning the war of the Italian campaign, and after giving a crushing defeat to Arianism by general Belisarius, under Emperor Justinian, He, Justinian then decreed that the Papacy be the head of the Church, which took effect in AD 538–1798 until Pope Pius 6th was taken captive in 1798.
Papal Rome usurped her authority. In the fulness of time, history’s ledgers attest to the fact that this later power, Papal Rome, “magnified himself (See Daniel 7: 25. Namely: “And 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.”) that is, for 1260 years this system reigned supreme, thus fulfilling the prophecy. Without doubt we can see that the prophetic description, and design are met.
This concludes part one of our study.
Rose Powell