The Longest Time Prophecy

THE LONGEST
TIME PROPHECY
Cristopher V. Luaya, MAR
Northern Luzon Adventist College
NLAC SDA Church

The vision came to Daniel
in the third year of
Belshazzar’s reign (see Dan
8:1), which, in terms of our
calendar, was 548 BC.

Daniel 8 previews the three
great beasts, the activities
of the end-time papacy, and
the 2,300-year prophecy.

 Daniel saw “a ram with two horns . . . and
the horns were long” (Dan 8:2).
 It “represents the kings of the Media and
Persia” (Dan 8:20).
 And “one of the horns was longer than the
other but grew up later” (Dan 8:3). Later
on, Persia became prominent over Media
when Cyrus defeated Astyages (his
father) of Media in 553 or 550 BC.
 Medians were treated as allies and not
subordinates or subjugated people.

 The prophet saw “the ram [Medo-
Persia] toward the west and the
north and the south” (Dan 8:4).
 “No animal could stand against
him, and none could rescue from
his power” (Dan 8:4a)—for he
“became great” (Dan 8:4b).

 In 547 BC, Cyrus occupied Lydia and, in 539
BC, Babylon.
 Cambyses extended south into Egypt and
Ethiopia in 525 BC.
 Darius Hystaspes, in 513 BC, extended north
to Scythians.
 Later, the Medo-Persian Empire covered
much more territories than Babylon.
 In the days of Ahasuerus, the empire
extended from India to Ethiopia, i.e. Cush
(Esth 1:1).

• Then “suddenly a
goat with a prominent
horn between his
eyes came from the
west, crossing the
whole earth without
touching the ground”
(Dan 8:5).
• It signifies the rapid
rose into prominence
of the Grecian Empire.
• Its conquests were
done in far-reaching

The goat “came toward
the two-horned ram”
and “charged at him in
great rage” (Dan 8:6).

 According to angel Gabriel,
this “shaggy goat is the king of
Greece, and the large horn
between his eyes is the first
king” (Dan 8:21).
 Daniel saw that the goat
attacked “the ram furiously,
striking the ram and
shattering his two horns.”

“The ram was powerless to stand against him; the
goat knocked him to the ground and trampled on
him, and none could rescue the ram from his

 It depicts the complete
subjection of Persia to
Alexander the Great.
 This empire “was
completely broken. The
country ravished, its
cities plundered. The
royal city of Persepolis,
whose ruins still stand
as a monument to its
ancient splendor, was
destroyed by fire.” “Moved
With Choler,” SDABC, 4:840.

Greece “became very
great, but at the height of
his power his large horn
was broken off, and in its
place four prominent
horns grew up toward the
four winds of heaven”
(Dan 8:8).

• The “four horns that replaced
the one that was broken off
represent four kingdoms that
will emerge from his nation but
will not have the same power”
(Dan 8:22).
• The prominent horn must
represent the first great
Grecian king, Alexander the
Great and the four horns
symbolize the four Macedonian
kings into which the empire
was later divided.

 Daniel clearly saw that “out
of one of them came another
horn, which started small but
grew in power to the south
and to the east and toward
the Beautiful Land” (Dan 8:9,
emphasis mine).
 Gabriel: the horn again and
named him “a stern-faced
king, a master of intrigue”
(Dan 8:23).

 This power must
represent the two phases
of Rome—pagan and
papal.
 The former warred
against the Jewish people
and Christian in the early
period of Christianity and
the latter warred against
the woman-church and
her offspring towards the
end of the earth’s history.
See “A Little Horn,” SDABC,
4:841.

“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. 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” (Dan 8:8-9, KJV).

“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. And out of one [‘achath,
feminine] of them came forth a little horn,
which waxed exceeding great, toward the south,
and toward the east, and toward the pleasant
land” (Dan 8:8-9, KJV).

 First, “the four
winds of heaven”
(Dan 8:8) has its
nearest possible
antecedent is “out
of the one of them”
(Dan 8:9). This
indicates that the
little horn comes
out from the four
winds of heaven—
the metaphor of the
cardinal directions
of the compass (see
Jer 49:36; Zech
2:6).

 Second, the vision
report of Daniel 8
places the horn on the
same level as the
previous two animals.
Obviously, vv. 3-4
describe the ram,
verses 5-8 the goat,
and verses 9-11 the
little horn.

“Each part shows the same pattern of
introduction and movement, resulting in
absolute power and self-magnification,
followed by a downfall. In each of the initial
statements, the main actor (ram, goat, or
little horn) is introduced to a geographic term
or location and its first activity is described as
a movement in a geographic direction. Such a
pattern required that “one of them” refers to
one of the four winds of heaven.”—Martin
Pröbstle, “Does the Little Horn Come Out of One of the Goat’s
Four Horns or From the Four Winds,” Interpreting Scriptures:
Bible Questions and Answers, Biblical Research Institute
Studies, vol. 2, ed. Gerhard Pfandl (Silver Spring, MD: Biblical
Research Institute, 2010), 243.

 Third, the parallel order of the
protagonists in Daniel 7 and 8 do not
allow for a chronological connection
between the four horns of the male
goat (Dan 8:8) and the horn (Dan 8:9).
The bear (with two sides, three ribs in
its mouth) devours much flesh (Dan
7:5), and the ram (with two horns,
butting in three direction, and no other
beast could defy him, Dan 8:3-4)
represents the same kingdom—i.e.
Medo-Persia.

The leopard (with four wings, four head, Dan 7:6)
and the male goat (flies without touching the
ground, had four horns) represent the same
kingdom—Greece. An equivalent animal to the
fourth beast in Daniel 7 does not appear in chapter
8 because of the fact that the little horn (Dan 7)
originates from the fourth beast (Rome) and the
fourth beast does not refer to the same power as
the male goat in chapter 8. The little horn in
Daniel 8 does not come from one of the horns of
the male goat (Greece). Thus, the origin of the
horn is one of the four winds of heaven.
See Pröbstle, “Little Horn,” 243.

 And fourth, the Hebrew yatsa’(come
forth) in Daniel 8:9 “is frequently
used to describe the activity of
movement in reference to location,
often in a military sense, which
parallel the verbs used for the
activities of the ram and the male
goat. Yatsa’ is not used to describe
the growing of a horn, an activity
usually designed by ˓alah, ‘come up’
(cf. 8:3, 8).” Ibid.

 Thus, it would be
impossible to explain
that Rome came out
of one of the
divisions of the
Grecian empire.
 With the above
interpretation all
difficulty in the
interpretation is
gone.

“The grammatical
construction of verses
8 and 9, the structural
arrangement in the
vision of Daniel 8, and
the parallelism
between chapters 7
and 8 in the book of
Daniel preclude the
interpretation that the
little horn in Daniel 8
comes out of one of
the four horns of the
male goat. Rather, the
little horn comes from
one of the directions of
the compass, i.e. from
the west [Rome].”
Pröbstle, “Little Horn,” 244.

The “another horn, which started small
but grew in power (Dan 8:9a) had a dual
strategies in his attacks.
He first undertook a horizontal
movement and “grew in power to the
south, and to the east and toward the
Beautiful Land” (Dan 8:9b).
The little horn “grew until it reached
the host of the heavens, and it threw
some of the starry host down to the
earth and trampled on them” (Dan
8:10).
Biblically, the “starry host” represents
God’s people (see Dan 12:3; Gen 15:5;
Deut 1:10).

“These three
directions correspond
to the three major
areas that fell under
the domination of
pagan Rome.” Souza, 105.

 And the horn “will destroy
the mighty men and the
holy people” (Dan 8:24)
for he will “destroy
many” (Dan 8:25).
 In pagan, and even in
papal times, Rome “never
hesitated to deal harshly
with those whom she
chooses to condemn.”
“Stamped Upon Them,” SDABC,
4:842.

THE LITTLE HORN IN DANIEL 7 & 8
(1)Both horns started little in the
beginning (Dan 7:8; 8:9);
(2)Both horns become great later
on (Dan 7:20; 8:9);
(3)Both are persecuting powers
(Dan 7:21, 25; 8:10, 24);
(4)Both horns are self-exalting
and pompous (Dan 7:8, 20, 25;
8:17, 19);

(5) Both target God’s people (Dan
7:25; 8:24);
(6) Both reigned the same time
period (Dan 7:25; 8:13, 14);
(7) Both extend until the time of
the end (Dan 7:25, 26; Dan 8:17,
19);
(8) and both face supernatural
destructions (Dan 7:11, 26; 8:25).
THE LITTLE HORN IN DANIEL 7 & 8

“Because the little
horn of Daniel 7
represents the
papacy, the vertical
expansion of the
little horn in Daniel
8 must represent
the same power.
Thus, as in Daniel 2
and 7, the final
main power is
Rome, both pagan
and papal.” Souza,
105.

The little horns vertical
expansions are “the Prince of
the host” (Jesus Christ) and the
“daily sacrifice” while the
“place of his sanctuary was
brought low” (Dan 8:11b).
Christ was crucified under the
mandate of Rome.
Not only that, Rome “took
away the daily sacrifice from
him” (Dan 8:11a).

“The substitution of the papacy
of compulsory unity in a visible
church in place of the voluntary
unity of all believers in Christ,
the invisible head of the
church, of a priestly hierarchy
in place of direct access of
Christ by all believers, of a
system of salvation by work
ordained by the church in place
of salvation by faith in Christ,

and, most particularly, of the
confessional and the sacrifice
of the mass in place of the
mediatorial work of Christ as
our great high priest in the
courts of heaven; and that
this system quite completely
diverted men’s attention from
Christ and thus deprived them
of the benefits of His
ministry.”
“By Him” SDABC, 4:843.

 Verse 12 clearly states that
these acts are Rome’s
rebellion.
 At the same time, the
saints and the daily
sacrifice (“the continual
priestly ministry of Christ in
the heavenly sanctuary”]
(“By Him” SDABC, 4:843) were
given over to it” and the
“papacy loaded the truth
with tradition and obscured
it by superstition.” “Host,”
SDABC, 4:843.

“How long will it take for the vision to be
fulfilled—the vision concerning the daily
sacrifice, the rebellion that causes
desolation, and the surrender of the
sanctuary and of the host that will be
trampled underfoot?” (Dan 8:13).

 The holy one could no longer bear the activity of the
papal horn.
 “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the
sanctuary will be reconsecrated” (Dan 8:14) or “shall
be cleansed” (KJV).
 Literally: “How long the vision, the continual, the
desolating transgression to give both sanctuary and
host to trampling.” “How Long,” SDABC, 4:843.

• The expression “2,300 evenings and mornings” is
similar to the biblical expression “and there was
evening, and there was morning—the first day” (Gen
1:5). Thus, it simply means 2,300 days.
• A day is equivalent to a year (Ezek 4:6).
• Therefore, 2,300 days is equals to 2,300 years.
• The starting date of this figure is the issue of the
book of Daniel chapter 9.

 Daniel was terrified and
fell prostrate when
angel Gabriel came (see
Dan 8:17).
 “Son of man,
understand that the
vision concerns the
time of the end” (Dan
8:17).
 “I am going to tell you
what will happen later
in the time of wrath,
because the vision
concerns the appointed
time of the end” (Dan

The angel simply says that “the
vision concerning the daily
sacrifice, the rebellion that
causes desolation, and the
surrender of the sanctuary and
of the host that will be
trampled underfoot” (Dan 8:13)
reaches 2,300 literal years—it
“concerns the appointed time of
the end” (Dan 8:19).

 Preterist scholars (who thought
that events in Daniel were
already fulfilled in the second-
century BC) have been arguing
that the horn refers to Antiochus
IV Epiphanes, a Greek king of the
Seleucid Empire from 175-164 BC.
 He does not fit as the horn for his
reign did not last for 2,300 years
or until the “time of the end.”

“Any exposition that finds a
complete fulfillment of the
vision in an earlier period
such as the time of the
Maccabees (see Dan. 8:25)
falls short of meeting fully
the angel’s specifications,
and must be considered
erroneous and misleading.”
“Time of the End,” SDABC, 4:845.

 “The vision of the evenings and
mornings that has been given
you is true, but seal up the
vision, for it concerns the
distant future” (Dan 8:26).
 Daniel “was exhausted and lay
ill for several days” because the
vision was “beyond
understanding” (Dan 8:27).

He “was doubtless deeply
concerned about the events that
had been revealed to him.
Instead of predicting an
immediate end to the
indignation, Gabriel informed
the prophet that the ultimate
end would be many years in the
future.” “I Daniel Fainted,” SDABC, 4:847.

 Daniel 8 presents the cleansing of the
heavenly sanctuary, i.e. the removal of
sins in the universe.
 It depicts God’s justice, mercy, and
love.
 The good news is that God hates sins but
loves sinners.

1. How is it with you about the fact that the papacy distorted God’s truth and
established a distorted way of worship?
2. Reflect on this statement of E. G. White: “While the investigative
judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers
are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of
purification, of putting away of sin, among God’s people on earth.” GC,
425.
3. What is the relevance of Jesus’ work completed at the cross and Jesus’
ministry in the heavenly sanctuary?
4. Why God still need to undertake an investigative judgment in the
heavenly sanctuary? What does this judicial procedure reveal about God’s
character?
FOR PERSONAL APPLICATIONS

The Longest Time Prophecy

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