IN THE THIRD YEAR OF Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel was granted a vision in which he saw a ram that was pushing westward, northward, and southward. As he continued his forward march in these directions, he saw a he-goat speeding from the west and coming with ferocious determination against this ram. With one terrific plunge the he-goat struck the ram in a mortal combat. The two horns of the ram were instantly broken by the terrific impact. Falling to the ground he was trodden down by the he-goat. There was no one that was able to deliver him. The he-goat stood triumphant and was master of the situation.

This he-goat became exceedingly strong and powerful and magnified himself in the eyes of observers. He continued to gain power until he was exceedingly strong. Unike a he-goat he had one notable horn. Eventually the horn was broken, and in its place there grew up four others that became indeed notable. They, according to chapter 8, verse 8, pointed in the four cardinal directions. Out of one of these four horns there came up a little one which "waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward, the east, and toward the glorious land." This little horn waxed exceedingly great, "Even to the host of heaven; and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground, and trampled upon them. 11 Yea, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the host; and it took away from him the continual burnt-offering, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down" (vv.10, 11).

In the interpretation, the ram, as we learn from verse 20, symbolized the Medo-Persian empire. As we have already seen in our study of chapters 2 and 7, this kingdom was symbolized by the silver chest and arms of Daniel's metallic image, and the bear-like animal of the beast visions. A glance at universal history shows that the government of the Babylonian empire was overthrown by the Medes and Persians, and their territory was annexed to this latter empire. This universal kingdom was very virile and powerful under the leadership of such rulers as Darius the Mede, Cyrus the Persian, Darius Hystaspes, and Xerxes. The history of this empire for the first fifty or seventy-five years is fairly well established; but after the reigns of Xerxes and his successor, Artaxerxes Longimanus, the curtain of obscurity was lowered, and little is known concerning the course of events during the latter part of the Medo-Persian supremacy. This period is indeed dark, and less is known concerning it than any other period in universal history. It is to be hoped that more light may come from the tablets which were reported some years ago to have been found at Persepolis, one of the ancient capitals of Persia.

From the history of the Greeks it is certain that Alexander, with his well-disciplined Macedonian Phalanxes, came into mortal conflict with the Medo-Persian empire during the days of its decadence and completely overthrew it. Thus universal sovereignty, which had already been conferred upon the Medo-Persians passed to the Greeks.

According to verse 21 of this chapter, the rough he-goat was the king of Greece, and the great horn that was between his eyes was its first king. Greek history extends further into the twilight of history by several centuries than does that of Rome. When we pass from their legendary chronicles to the period of authentic, well-established documents we see Greece composed of small states. When, however, by the expansion of Persian influence toward the west, they came in contact with the latter empire, they began to develop a nationalism which finally dominated the situation when Alexander the Great, the son of Philip of Macedonia, came to power and united the discordant and warring elements of the early civilization into a most formidable kingdom. Being a military genius and political prodigy, he rushed forth, after having consolidated his possessions at home, to the conquest of Asia. With lightning speed and with sledge hammer blows he dealt death and subjugation to the minor and less powerful states in Asia-Minor and western Asia. Finally, he overthrew the great Persian empire, as was indicated by the he-goat's head-on collision with the ram.

Alexander continued his conquests, bearing his standard even to India. He made Babylon his capital and there established an oriental empire. Though he was a conqueror of peoples in his day and established the most powerful empire that had ever been up to that time, he became a victim of the voluptuous living of an oriental monarch. After twelve years of extraordinary exploits and brilliant accomplishments, he passed away. His end is set forth in the phrase found in verse 8, "When he was strong, the great horn was broken." Daniel's prophecy does not inform us how Alexander met his death, but the facts stated above, from profane history, give this desired information.

In the vision the position occupied by the great horn was taken by four other notable ones. From profane history we learn that upon Alexander's death his kingdom fell into four principal divisions, each of which fell into the hands of one of his four leading generals. Daniel, having given us these ample facts, directed his attention in this prophecy to only one of these minor division, for he declared that "out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land." When this prediction is read in the light of the history of the time, we know that it refers to the Seleucid line of Greco-Syrian kings, who reigned in Antioch of Syria. The history may be found in Josephus, which proves to be a secondary account of that in the first book of Maccabees.

Of all persons in profane history who are despised by the Jews, there is none whose memory is held in greater contempt than that of Antiochus Epiphanes. Humanly speaking, he deserves and merits such contempt because he wantonly persecuted the Jews and attempted to subjugate Judea and make it a province of Syria. This fact is set forth in verses 9-14 of the chapter under consideration. From profane records we learn that he with duplicity and double dealing did all within his power to accomplish the ends in view. Any method that promised success to his design was instantly employed through the faithlessness and treachery of certain leaders in Israel. At times and by sheer force of arms he all but conquered the little kingdom of Judea. Had it not been for the heroic efforts of Mattathias, a priest, who lived at Modin, and his sons, Judea would soon have lost her independence and would have been reduced to a mere province of the government of Antioch, but, by the military strategy and prowess of Judas Maccabaeus and his followers, the Greco-Syrian rulers never did conquer Judah. In this vision Daniel saw Antiochus symbolized by the little horn, waxing great, "even to the host of heaven; and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground, and trampled upoa them. 11 Yea, it magnified itself, even to the prince, of the host," etc. Since this language is part of the description of the symbolic vision, it is evident that the host of heaven and the prince of the host refer to the leaders of Israel of that day. This interpretation is confirmed by historical records of the transactions of the day.

In the vision Daniel saw the continual burnt offering, together with the rest of the temple service, interrupted for a period of ''unto two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings." What is the significance of this expression? Upon reading this verse one instantly thinks of a similar one which records six times in Genesis 1: "And there was evening and there was morning, a ... day." The day for the Hebrews began with the evening, from the setting of the sun one day to its setting the next. Since Daniel was a Hebrew, it is natural to understand that the expression, "evening and morning" signifies a day, just as it does in Genesis 1. In view of the common usage, we must understand the prediction to indicate that there will be a cessation of the temple worship for 2,300 days. Are these literal days or are they according to the year-day theory, symbolic of 2,300 years? Many sincere expositors are to be found who hold either or both positions. It is most highly improbable that such opposing interpretations can be correct. According to the "Golden Rule of Interpretation," we must "accept the plain sense of Scripture ... unless the facts of the context indicate clearly otherwise." When one studies this context he fails to find any evidence pointing to a departure from the literal meaning of the words. He is therefore, bound, if he is logical in his thinking, to accept this expression at its face value. The 2,300 evenings and mornings, therefore in this prophecy indicate that the temple service with its ritual would, during the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, be interrupted for this many days. An examination of the history of those days shows that from the time of the desecration of the temple by Antiochus, when he offered swine upon the altar of sacrifice, until it was cleansed and rededicated by Judas Maccabaeus was a period of six and a fraction years. We, therefore, believe that the prophecy is to be taken at its literal face value.

One of the characteristics of Hebrew prediction is that which is known as the law of the double or manifold fulfillment of prophecy. According to this principle the prophets on a certain occasion spoke of events of their time or of the immediate future and blended such descriptions with their forecasts of a similar situation which will develop in the end time. This latter situation always is on a larger scale than that of the immediate future. But how can one determine when there is such a blending of the descriptions of widely separated events? The answer is this: When it is seen that the object or event specified by the prophet does not measure up to nor fill out the full picture of the prediction, one may be certain, that, since God said what He meant and meant what He said, the oracle, after having described the local situation, moves out into a larger circle of events which are in the more distant, future. There may be several limited and partial fulfillments of a prediction, but there can be but one complete materialization of a prediction. Unless one understands thoroughly the principle of the double or manifold fulfillment of prophecy and is alert in his study, he will pass over many most important predictions, missing the real import thereof.

As has already been stated, the ram of this vision symbolized the dual monarchy of the Medes and the Persians whereas the he-goat signified the Grecian Empire under Alexander the Great (Dan. 8:20,21). From profane history we learn that Alexander with his invincible phalanxes defeated and crushed the effete Persian Empire, upon the ruins of which he built, his world government. Yielding to the enticements of voluptuous oriental court life, he became diseased and passed away after reigning twelve years. Thereupon his kingdom divided into four sections, over each of which one of his generals reigned. The Greco-Syrian rulers committed the depredations in the whole land mentioned in the prediction found in verses 9-14. Thus the near fulfillment of this prophecy was realized especially under Antiochus Epiphanes. That the conflict between the Greco-Syrian Empire and the Jewish state did not exhaust this prophecy is evident from Gabriel's statement to Daniel: "Understand, O son of man; for the vision belongeth to the time of the end" (v. 17). This thought is repeated in verse 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," and we are again told that this vision belongs to the time to come: "for it belongeth to many days to come" (v. 26). There can therefore, be no doubt concerning this prophecy that it had a near fulfillment in the case of the conflict between the Medo-Persians and the Greeks and the Hebrews, and that it blends with one pertaining to the end time.