August 5: PURIFICATION AND RECONCILIATION

“And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land.” Daniel 8:9

The directions here mentioned tell us that the next power came from farther west than any of the previous powers. It arose from one of the four winds of heaven (v.8), and the great advantage of hindsight tells us that this next great power was (and is) the iron monarchy of Rome, symbolized by the legs of iron (2:33) and the fourth beast, dreadful and terrible…with huge iron teeth (7:7). Notice the comparisons: Medo-Persia was great. Greece was very great. But then we are told that Rome grew exceedingly great.

It is vital to observe that the earthly governments mentioned in Biblical prophecy are introduced because of their direct interactions with the people of God; and it is especially significant that the reach of the little horn was, from the ‘get-go,’ toward the Glorious Land. This is a clear reference to the land flowing with milk and honey, the pleasant place where God’s rescued people, sometimes called His bride, were to gather and reside. “On that day I raised My hand in an oath to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, ‘flowing with milk and honey,’ the glory of all lands.” (Ezekiel 20:6) The Holy Land of the Middle East was symbolic of the ultimate home intended for the people about whom God said, “I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant… they broke, though I was a husband to them.” (Jeremiah 31:32).

Another significant detail: in Daniel’s first dream (chapter 7) the symbolic beast representations for Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece are unclean animals, symbolizing pagan practices and lifestyles. And, even though Daniel had a difficult time describing the fourth beast, we also know that it was an unclean, predatory beast because of its feet with bronze claws (7:19) as opposed to the cloven hooves of the herbivorous, cud-chewing clean animals (as described in Leviticus 11:4). But in Daniel’s second vision, clean animals, a ram and a goat, were given to represent Medo-Persia and Greece. Chapter 8 exudes sanctuary imagery to direct our attention toward the essential spiritual themes of purification and reconciliation. Rams and goats were central in the Day of Atonement ritual, given to illustrate God’s forgiveness and willingness to reconcile with His truly repentant ones. At the time of Daniel’s second vision, Babylon was not mentioned because it was already on the way out and Daniel knew it. And, indeed, as an entity, Babylon would never be saved (Jeremiah 51:9,64). It is consistently referred to as twice fallen due to her refusal to repent (Isaiah 21:9; Revelation 14:8; 18:2).

This little horn, though it grows exceedingly great on the earth, will prove to be a satanically inspired counterfeit, having only a form of godliness (2 Timothy 3:5). Its initial, pagan form exercised its power to crucify Jesus on a cruel Roman cross, in cooperation with religious leaders, also persecuting His followers in the coliseum. But its later, papal version of itself, will be intent on doing spiritual harm on a massive scale to the people of God under the pretense of pure and undefiled religion. Paul’s awareness of the developing crisis was made evident when he wrote:

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work… 2 Thessalonians 2:7a