DANIEL 8:1-14 EVIL IS TEMPORARY

Written by , Rector of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia
 

¹ In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had already appeared to me. ² In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa in the province of Elam; in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal. ³ I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later. ⁴ I watched the ram as he charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against him, and none could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased and became great.
⁵ As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. ⁶ He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at him in great rage. ⁷ I saw him attack 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 power. ⁸ The goat 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.
⁹ 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. ¹⁰ It 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. ¹¹ It set itself up to be as great as the Prince of the host; it took away the daily sacrifice from him, and the place of his sanctuary was brought low. ¹² Because of rebellion, the host of the saints and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.
¹³ Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, “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?”
¹⁴ He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.”

Things are not always as they seem. Again animals are used to represent kingdoms at war with one another. Although the animals are less grotesque in this vision, a goat and a ram, they have unnatural horns which appear to be their power. The ram was already established when suddenly the goat with a single large horn literally flew through and destroyed the ram. But in victory his horn was broken. The picture is that of a single-minded person who expends all his energy and power getting what he wants, only to find out that he has no energy and power left with which to enjoy his victory. In some cases the attaining of the prize destroys the victor.

The greater danger to the world is the one who develops slowly at the expense of those around him. He develops an ego that will not stop at any limit. Since he uses others, he has plenty of energy and has amassed plenty of power to take on all comers, even God himself. He is the one who seems to prosper at the expense of God’s people. Yet, the cosmic promise is that God will prevail, according to his time table.

This is a message to us that whatever the evidence to the contrary, God will prevail and we must stay faithful to him. What can be worse than the very sanctuary of God being desecrated? However, even these are temporal events perpetrated by finite men, while we have a God who is eternal. We must face the persecutions of this life with the prayer that God will give us the patience of true faith that lives beyond the temporal and into the eternal. “The sanctuary will be reconsecrated.”

O King eternal and only Lord of Creation, keep me in the crease of your palm so that I will be carried through the physical and spiritual wars of this life with an undying confidence in your omnipotence and steadfast love. Amen.

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