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Audio
Tablet Eight
VISION OF THE RAM
AND HE GOAT BY DANIEL
Chapter 8
"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." (Daniel 8:1-2)
<1>River symbolizes confusion in the consciousness (mind,
water
is the symbol for manifested consciousness). These things will
happen in the confusion of the world.
"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." (Daniel 8:3)
<2>This ram is described to be the "kings of Media and
Persia" (verse 20). This kingdom had two great kings (two horns,
also two silver arms of the image in the dream of King
Nebuchadnezzar), the second greater than the first ("...the higher
came up last").
"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)
<3>Just as the kings of Persia conquered southward,
northward, and westward later on, this ram was pushing toward those
directions. He was given to conquer all that he desired and no man
could stand in front of him, and he "became great."
<4>The kings of Persia became great because there was a
purpose which should have been fulfilled through them. <5>That
is how God
uses humans, however, then the humans think that it is they who are
doing the action. But in reality it is He who does all great
things through man.
"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." (Daniel 8:5)
<6>This he goat is the kingdom of Grecia and the
notable horn is
its first great king (verse 21) which came from the west and
conquered Persia and went even further to Tibet.
"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." (Daniel 8:6)
<7>So the king of Grecia would attack the Persian Kingdom, as
did occur.
"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." (Daniel 8:7)
<8>The king of Grecia would destroy the Persian Empire, as he
did.
"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 8:8)
<9>When this he goat (Grecian Empire) with its great king
(Alexander the Great, "notable
horn") conquered the whole earth as its kingdom, then the horn
would be broken and the kingdom would be divided into four. That is
exactly what happened. <10>After Alexander the Great
conquered all the great empires and lands as far as Tibet, on his
way back he died without any warning, "the great horn was broken."
Then his empire was divided between his four great generals, "and
for it came up four notable ones." All this has happened from the
confusion on
earth and earthly
bonds, "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 8:9)
<11>The intellectual philosophies and new ideas of the Greeks
then appeared. This one little horn which later on also
appeared in the head of the fourth beast (Roman Empire) symbolizes
all the endeavors that have been done to explain that
God does not exist
(atheism, dialectic materialism, etc.), and also all those
intellectualized religions that have created separation between man
and man.
<12>This base of intellectualizing all things started from
Athens, "...out of one of them...," which is in one of the four
kingdoms in the west part of the Grecian Empire.
<13>It would conquer the south, west ("toward the pleasant
land," America) and east. There has never been such a king as a
person from the Grecian Empire. This little horn is a symbol for
intellectual achievements of Athens through great philosophers and
thinkers of Greece, and the beginning of the domination of the
intellect.
"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." (Daniel 8:10)
<14>The superior power of this little horn is not over other
kings or empires but is directed toward spirituality and the truth
of the existence of the Lord, "even to the host of
heaven."
<15>It is intellectual arguments that try to explain all things,
by putting
God out of the discussion.
<16>Through empirical studies, it is intellectual discussions
which talk about dialectic materialism and try to explain that
God does not exist. It is the intellectuals who try to bring
laws from themselves and replace them for the Laws of
God. So they try to wax
great, "even to the host of
heaven." They feel they are
God themselves.
<17>It was this horn which created superstitions,
differentiation between religions and men, and attempted to destroy
the idea of
God and His Laws, "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 his sanctuary was cast down." (Daniel 8:11)
<18>It was this intellectual superiority which replaced the
truth of religions. Man started arguing with the Laws and
regulations of the Lord and tried to replace them (man always tries
to replace His Laws) with what he believed was good, like the
woman who thought the fruit of the knowledge of good and
evil was good to eat (Genesis
chapter 3), without having the deep feeling of seeing the spiritual
consequences of her actions and beliefs ("eating of the tree of the
knowledge of good and
evil": to follow the sight
or appearance instead of listening to
God).
<19>A true seeker does not argue with
God
and His Revelations, but he contemplates His Sayings, and will find
the truth of His Commands for purity,
sacrifice (not being self-centered), obedience, and
Daharma.
<20>But it is intellectuals who try to intellectualize His Commands and
do not understand the depth and effect of them on the well-being of
humanity.
<21>That is why they magnify themselves "even to the prince
of the host." They say there is no truth but their own reasoning.
They do not even know what reasoning is itself! They intellectualize
religions and make them dry and a burden on humanity (like the
Pharisees and scribes), "and by him the daily
sacrifice was taken
away."
<22>They also destroy the House of
God which is within them by
crudifying themselves with thinking about matter instead of the
spirit behind it, "and the place of his sanctuary was cast down."
<23>The destruction of the
temple in Jerusalem is a
symbol of this. It was destroyed by the Romans!
"And an host was given him against the daily
sacrifice by reason
of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it
practiced, and prospered." (Daniel 8:12)
<24>Because of the attraction of
Maya
("an host was given him") and the dullness of the
mind to grasp the reality,
which follows when man becomes attached to this manifested world
instead of understanding why and how it has been manifested, this
little horn will use all its power to destroy the daily
sacrifice (sacrifice
for others, forgetting the
self for the rest of the
universe), and it will cast down the truth of the religion and
reality behind this universe to the ground, and try to destroy it.
<25>With doing these things many believed in him and thought
they could understand everything through
intellect. They believed all religions are just an imaginary
fancy thought of some too smart or crazy people, "...and it cast
down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped
upon them" (verse 10). He practiced this teaching and prospered.
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