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MEMORY VERSE: “And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days” (Daniel 8:26).

Suggested Reading: The Great Controversy, pp. 423–432.

“Every nation . . . has had its period of test; each has failed, its glory faded, its power departed.”—Prophets and Kings, p. 535.

1.  THE RAM BECOMES GREATSun, Apr 26

a.  Near the end of Babylon’s supremacy, what did Daniel see?

Daniel 8:1, 2: 1 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first. 2 And I saw in the vision; and when I saw, I was in Susa the citadel, which is in the province of Elam. And I saw in the vision, and I was at the Ulai canal.

b.  Describe the behavior of the first beast that came onto the scene and became great.

Daniel 8:3, 4: 3 I raised my eyes and saw, and behold, a ram standing on the bank of the canal. It had two horns, and both horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. 4 I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward. No beast could stand before him, and there was no one who could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased and became great.

c.  How did the angel interpret the ram that Daniel had seen?

Daniel 8:19, 20: 19 He said, “Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of the indignation, for it refers to the appointed time of the end. 20 As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia.

“In the vision of the prophet [God] is seen casting down one mighty ruler, and setting up another. He is revealed as the monarch of the universe, about to set up His everlasting kingdom—the Ancient of days, the living God, the Source of all wisdom, the Ruler of the pre-sent, the Revealer of the future.”—The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 4, p. 1166.

“From the rise and fall of nations as made plain in the books of Daniel and the Revelation, we need to learn how worthless is mere outward and worldly glory. Babylon, with all its power and magnificence, the like of which our world has never since beheld—power and magnifi-cence which to the people of that day seemed so stable and endur-ing—how completely has it passed away! As ‘the flower of the grass,’ it has perished. So perished the Medo-Persian kingdom, and the king-doms of Grecia and Rome. And so perishes all that has not God for its foundation.”—Prophets and Kings, p. 548.

2.  THE “VERY GREAT” GOATMon, Apr 27

a.  What new power came to challenge Medo-Persia?

Daniel 8:5, 21: 5 As I was considering, behold, a male goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes. 21 And the goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king.

b.  Describe the conquering power of the king of this new empire.

Daniel 8:6, 7: 6 He came to the ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, and he ran at him in his powerful wrath. 7 I saw him come close to the ram, and he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke his two horns. And the ram had no power to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power.

“The power exercised by every ruler on the earth is Heaven-imparted; and upon his use of the power thus bestowed, his success depends. To each the word of the divine Watcher is, ‘I girded thee, though thou hast not known Me.’ Isaiah 45:5. And to each the words spoken to Nebuchadnezzar of old are the lesson of life: ‘Break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.’ Daniel 4:27. “To understand these things —to understand that ‘righteousness exalteth a nation;’ that ‘the throne is established by righteousness’ and ‘upholden by mercy’ (Proverbs 14:34; 16:12; 20:28); to recognize the outworking of these principles in the manifestation of His power who ‘removeth kings, and setteth up kings’ (Daniel 2:21) —this is to understand the philosophy of history.

“In the word of God only is this clearly set forth. Here it is shown that the strength of nations, as of individuals, is not found in the opportu-nities or facilities that appear to make them invincible; it is not found in their boasted greatness. It is measured by the fidelity with which they fulfill God’s purpose.”—Education, pp. 174, 175.

c.  What happened to the Grecian empire when it became very great at the height of the career of Alexander the Great?

Daniel 8:8, 22: 8 Then the goat became exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven. 22 As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his nation, but not with his power.

“ ‘He that is slow to anger,’ says the wise man, ‘is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city’. The man or woman who preserves the balance of the mind when tempted to indulge passion stands higher in the sight of God and heavenly an-gels than the most renowned general that ever led an army to battle and to victory. Said a celebrated emperor when on his dying bed, ‘Among all my conquests there is but one which affords me any con-solation now, and that is the conquest I have gained over my own turbulent temper.’ Alexander and Caesar found it easier to subdue a world than to subdue themselves. After conquering nation after na-tion, they fell—one of them ‘the victim of intemperance, the other of mad ambition.’ ”—Child Guidance, pp. 95, 96.

3.  “EXCEEDING GREAT”Tue, Apr 28

a.  What new power is described as taking over the divided Grecian empire?

Daniel 8:9, 23: 9 Out of one of them came a little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the glorious land. 23 And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise.

b.  Describe the actions of Rome—both pagan and papal—that Daniel saw in vi-sion.

Daniel 8:10–12, 24: 10 It grew great, even to the host of heaven. And some of the host and some of the stars it threw down to the ground and trampled on them. 11 It became great, even as great as the Prince of the host. And the regular burnt offering was taken away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. 12 And a host will be given over to it together with the regular burnt offering because of transgression, and it will throw truth to the ground, and it will act and prosper. 24 His power shall be great— but not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction and shall succeed in what he does, and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints.

“Popery had become the world’s despot. Kings and emperors bowed to the decrees of the Roman pontiff. The destinies of men, both for time and for eternity, seemed under his control. . . . But ‘the noon of the papacy was the midnight of the world. . . .’ For centuries Europe had made no progress in learning, arts, or civilization. A moral and intellectual paralysis had fallen upon Christendom.”—The Great Con-troversy, p. 60.

“As foretold by prophecy, the papal power cast down the truth to the ground. The law of God was trampled in the dust, while the traditions and customs of men were exalted. The churches that were under the rule of the papacy were early compelled to honor the Sunday as a holy day. Amid the prevailing error and superstition, many, even of the true people of God, became so bewildered that while they observed the Sabbath, they refrained from labor also on the Sunday. But this did not satisfy the papal leaders. They demanded not only that Sunday be hallowed, but that the Sabbath be profaned; and they denounced in the strongest language those who dared to show it honor. It was only by fleeing from the power of Rome that any could obey God’s law in peace.”—Ibid., p. 65.

c.  Despite its cunning methods, how would this power be brought to an end?

Daniel 8:25: 25 By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall become great. Without warning he shall destroy many. And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but by no human hand.

“Amid the gloom that settled upon the earth during the long period of papal supremacy, the light of truth could not be wholly extinguished. In every age there were witnesses for God—men who cherished faith in Christ as the only mediator between God and man, who held the Bi-ble as the only rule of life, and who hallowed the true Sabbath. How much the world owes to these men, posterity will never know. They were branded as heretics, their motives impugned, their characters maligned, their writings suppressed, misrepresented, or mutilated. Yet they stood firm, and from age to age maintained their faith in its purity, as a sacred heritage for the generations to come.”—Ibid., p. 61.

4.  THE 2300 DAYSWed, Apr 29

a.  What conversation did Daniel overhear concerning the expanse of time cov-ered by the events of the vision, and what would take place at the end of the time period?

Daniel 8:13, 14: 13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, “For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot? ” 14 And he said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state. ”

b.  What antitypical event was foreshadowed by the cleansing of the sanctuary, as illustrated in the ceremonial law, and foretold in Daniel’s vision?

Leviticus 23:27–32: 27 “Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the Lord. 28 And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. 29 For whoever is not afflicted on that very day shall be cut off from his people. 30 And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people. 31 You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. 32 It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath. ”

Leviticus 16:33, 34: 33 He shall make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34 And this shall be a statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins. ” And Aaron did as the Lord commanded Moses.

“In the typical system, which was a shadow of the sacrifice and priesthood of Christ, the cleansing of the sanctuary was the last ser-vice performed by the high priest in the yearly round of ministration. It was the closing work of the atonement—a removal or putting away of sin from Israel. It prefigured the closing work in the ministration of our High Priest in heaven, in the removal or blotting out of the sins of His people, which are registered in the heavenly records.”—The Great Controversy, p. 352.

“As anciently the sins of the people were by faith placed upon the sin offering and through its blood transferred, in figure, to the earthly sanctuary, so in the new covenant the sins of the repentant are by faith placed upon Christ and transferred, in fact, to the heavenly sanctuary. And as the typical cleansing of the earthly was accom-plished by the removal of the sins by which it had been polluted, so the actual cleansing of the heavenly is to be accomplished by the re-moval, or blotting out, of the sins which are there recorded. But be-fore this can be accomplished, there must be an examination of the books of record to determine who, through repentance of sin and faith in Christ, are entitled to the benefits of His atonement. The cleansing of the sanctuary therefore involves a work of investiga-tion—a work of judgment. This work must be performed prior to the coming of Christ to redeem His people; for when He comes, His re-ward is with Him to give to every man according to his works. Revela-tion 22:12.”—Ibid., pp. 421, 422.

c.  What did the angel say concerning the 2300-prophecy?

Daniel 8:26 (compare verse 14, margin): 26 The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true, but seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now. ” 14 And he said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state. ”

5.  A VISION PARTLY UNDERSTOODThu, Apr 30

a.  What was the angel Gabriel commissioned to do for Daniel?

Daniel 8:15–18: 15 When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. 16 And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, and it called, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision. ” 17 So he came near where I stood. And when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end. ” 18 And when he had spoken to me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But he touched me and made me stand up.

“It was Gabriel, the angel next in rank to the Son of God, who came with the divine message to Daniel. It was Gabriel, ‘His angel,’ whom Christ sent to open the future to the beloved John; and a blessing is pronounced on those who read and hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things written therein. Revelation 1:3.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 234.

b.  Despite a thorough explanation being given for many other details, what was Daniel’s reaction after hearing about the time prophecy of the 2300 days?

Daniel 8:27: And I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king’s business, but I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it.

“Through another vision further light was thrown upon the events of the future; and it was at the close of this vision that Daniel heard ‘one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision?’ Daniel 8:13. The answer that was given, ‘Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed’ (verse 14), filled him with perplexity. Earnestly he sought for the meaning of the vision. He could not understand the relation sustained by the seventy years’ captivity, as foretold through Jeremiah, to the twenty-three hundred years that in vision he heard the heavenly visitant declare should elapse before the cleansing of God’s sanctuary. The angel Gabriel gave him a partial interpretation; yet when the prophet heard the words, ‘The vision . . . shall be for many days,’ he fainted away. ‘I Daniel fainted,’ he records of his expe-rience, ‘and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none under-stood it.’ Verses 26, 27.”—Prophets and Kings, p. 554.

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONSFri, May 1

1.  What motives too often drive the conquests of earthly powers?

2.  What uncorrected character flaw led to the breaking of the goat’s notable horn?

3.  How were the pagan and papal phases of Rome similar to each other?

4.  What was to take place at the conclusion of the 2,300 days?

5.  Which part of the vision was still a mystery to Daniel when he fainted?