The Prophet Daniel

⭑ Catholic Public Domain Version 2009 ⭑

- Chapter 8 -

In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision appeared to me. After that which I had seen in the beginning, I, Daniel,

saw in my vision, that I was in the capital city of Susa, which is in the region of Elam, yet I saw in the vision that I was over the gate of Ulai.

And I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, a single ram stood before the marsh, having two high horns, and one was higher than the other and growing higher still.(a)

After this, I saw the ram brandishing his horns against the West, and against the North, and against the Meridian, and all the beasts could not withstand him, nor be freed from his hand, and he did according to his own will, and he became great.(b)

And I understood, and behold, a he-goat among she-goats came from the West above the face of the entire earth, and he did not touch the ground. Furthermore, the he-goat had a preeminent horn between his eyes.(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

And he went all the way to the ram that had the horns, which I had seen standing before the gate, and he ran towards him in the force of his strength.

And when he approached near to the ram, he was enraged against him, and he struck the ram, and broke his two horns, and the ram could not withstand him, and when he had cast him down on the ground, he trampled him, and no one was able to free the ram from his hand.

But the he-goat among she-goats became exceedingly great, and when he had prospered, the great horn was shattered, and four horns were rising up beneath it by means of the four winds of heaven.(g)

But from one of them came forth one little horn, and it became great against the Meridian, and against the East, and against the strength.(h)

(i)

And it was magnified even towards the strength of heaven, and it threw down those of the strength and of the stars, and it trampled them.(j)

And it was magnified, even to the leader of the strength, and it took away from him the continual sacrifice, and cast down the place of his sanctuary.

And the advantage was given to him against the continual sacrifice, because of the sins, and truth will be struck down to the ground, and he will act, and he will prosper.

And I heard one of the holy ones speaking, and one saint said to another, (I know not to whom he was speaking,) “What is the extent of the vision, and the continual sacrifice, and the sin of the desolation, which has happened, and of the sanctuary and the strength, which will be trampled?”

And he said to him, “From evening until morning, two thousand three hundred days, and so the sanctuary will be cleansed.”(k)

(l)

Gabriel Interprets Daniel’s Vision

But it came to pass, when I, Daniel, saw the vision and sought understanding that, behold, there stood in my sight something like the appearance of a man.

And I heard the voice of a man within Ulai, and he called out and said, “Gabriel, make this one understand the vision.”

And he came and stood next to where I was standing, and when he approached, I fell on my face, trembling, and he said to me, “Understand, son of man, for in the time of the end the vision will be fulfilled.”

And when he spoke to me, I fell forward onto the ground, and so he touched me and stood me upright.

And he said to me, “I will reveal to you what the future things are in the earlier tribulation, for the time has its end.(m)

The ram, which you saw to have horns, is the king of the Medes and Persians.

Furthermore, the he-goat among she-goats is the king of the Greeks, and the great horn, which was between his eyes, is the same one, the first king.

And since, having been shattered, there grew four in its place, four kings will rise up from his people, but not in his strength.(n)

And after their reign, when iniquities will be increased, there will arise a king of shameless face and understanding negotiations.(o)

And his advantage will be strengthened, but not by his kind of force, and other than what he will be able to trust, everything will be eradicated, and he will prosper, and he will act. And he will execute the successful and the people of the saints,(p)

according to his will, and treachery will be guided by his hand. And his heart will be inflated, and by the abundance of everything he will kill many, and he will rise up against the Lord of lords, and he will be knocked down without a hand.(q)

And the vision of the evening and the morning, which was told, is true. Therefore, you must seal the vision, because, after many days, it will occur.”(r)

And I, Daniel, languished and was sick for some days, and when I had lifted myself up, I performed the king’s works, and I was astonished at the vision, and there was none who could interpret it.

Footnotes

(a)8:3 A ram:The empire of the Medes and Persians.(Challoner)

(b)8:4 The word Meridiem is sometimes incorrectly translated as South. Later in the book of Daniel, the Latin word for South is used, Austri. But here, a different area of the world is indicated. The Meridian, in my interpretation, refers to central Africa, where the meridians of latitude and longitude cross (just off the coast of central Africa). South is used to refer, instead, to the area of the world formerly the southern part of the great monarch’s (the he-goat’s) kingdom.(Conte)

(c)8:5 The phrase “hircus caprarum” literally means a he-goat of she-goats. Caprarum is in the genitive case, which often, but not always, implies possession. However, this phrase can be more loosely, and yet more accurately, translated as “a he-goat among she-goats.” The implication is that the leader symbolized by the he-goat is a leader among a group of other leaders, many of whom are women. This would be very unusual in past centuries, but fits the modern political situation, which is nevertheless unfortunate and offensive to God, wherein women take roles of leadership in society. Traveling across the whole earth without touching the ground was not possible when this book was written, nor for many centuries afterwards; it has only become possible relatively recently.(Conte)

(d)8:5 A he goat:The empire of the Greeks, or Macedonians.(Challoner)

(e)8:5 He touched not the ground:He conquered all before him, with so muchrapidity, that he seemed rather to fly, than to walk upon the earth.(Challoner)

(f)8:5 A notable horn:Alexander the Great.(Challoner)

(g)8:8 Four horns:Seleucus, Antigonus, Philip, and Ptolemeus, the successors of Alexander, who divided his empire among them.(Challoner)

(h)8:9 These are the three kings the Antichrist (the little horn) will put down: the king of the meridian (near the equator), the king of the East, and the king of the strength (the Middle East, where the holy land is and which will be the last bastion of Christianity). The king of the strength is also called the king of the South, because this kingdom used to be the southern part of the great monarch’s kingdom.(Conte)

(i)8:9 A little horn:Antiochus Epiphanes, a descendant of Seleucus. He grew against the south, and the east, by his victories over the kings of Egypt and Armenia: and against the strength, that is, against Jerusalem and the people of God.(Challoner)

(j)8:10 Unto the strength of heaven:or, against the strength of heaven. So are here called the army of the Jews, the people of God.(Challoner)

(k)8:14 The text is not counting 1150 days as 1150 evenings plus 1150 mornings (1150 x 2 = 2300); nor is the text telling us what we already know, that a day includes daytime and nighttime. Here the translation, “From evening until morning,” refers metaphorically to this space of time, i.e., from a time of darkness (evening) until a new day dawns (morning). The time of the Antichrist is a time of darkness, which lasts 2300 days, that is, until the end of his reign. After that end, and a brief time for repentance and the punishment of the unrepentant, Christ returns.(Conte)

(l)8:14 Unto evening and morning two thousand three hundred days:That is, six years and almost four months: which was the whole time from the beginning of the persecution of Antiochus till his death.(Challoner)

(m)8:19 In the phrase “novissimo maledictionis,” novissimo does not mean newest, nor does it mean last, but rather refers, in this context, to something which occurs both at a later time (than the time of Daniel) and earlier than a similar event. The word maledictionis, which often means curse (evil-speaking), refers to an accursed time, that is, to the time often called the tribulation. The tribulation is divided into two parts, occurring in two different time periods; this text refers to the earlier of the two.(Conte)

(n)8:22 The word fortitudine, or strength, is used here and elsewhere to refer to the strength of the Christian faith and to those areas or persons who are strong in the Faith.(Conte)

(o)8:23 Or, understanding strategies, or understanding (intellectual) arguments.(Conte)

(p)8:24 Again, fortitudo is used to refer to the strength of the Christian faith. Literally, it says “his strength will be strengthened.” However, in this case, fortitudo is combined with roborabitur to indicate that the Antichrist’s kind of strength will be reinforced by a strength from out of the midst of the Christian faith. This text refers to false Christians. The Antichrist will increase his advantage by making an alliance with the dishonorable, deceitful, unfaithful, false Christians. It is these false Christians who devise the abomination of desolation as a way to try to destroy the Church from within. The abomination of desolation is a false Eucharist, a perverse imitation of the Blessed Sacrament and the Holy Mass.(Conte)

(q)8:25 Principem is often translated as Prince, but it usually refers not to the king’s son, but to the more general concept of a leader of some kind. The Principem principum is clearly Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords. The phrase “sine manu” can mean “without hand” or “by no human hand,” i.e., that God’s angel strikes him down, or it can mean “without effort,” in that he is struck down by God very easily, without need of great force or a legion of angels.(Conte)

(r)8:26 The word signa can refer to sealing something or to signing something. In this case, the context indicates sealing.(Conte)