Sometime before King Belshazzar receives his day of reckoning by miraculous handwriting on the wall, Daniel sees another vision prophesying the global politics that would unfold in his lifetime and beyond.

Our God is the God of human history. God tells Daniel how kingdoms shall rise and fall—from Media and Persia, to Greece, to four kingdoms after (Dan 8:3-14).

Ancient world history marched according to these cadences. But there is more to it.

As the angel Gabriel tells Daniel, “the vision refers to the time of the end” (Dan 8:17).

It’s also a warning for us believers today.

“And [the little horn] grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. … by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down” (Dan 8:10-11)

The little horn may wield earthly influence, but he is backed by Satan’s power as he twists God’s truth and attacks God’s people. And yet, he will prosper (Dan 8:12). How unfair!

And indeed, around us, wrongdoers and even believers leaving God may reap rewards on earth.

We who love the truth, let us not be jealous of them or discouraged—we are part of God’s mighty armies.

Sadly, just as the little horn casts down some of the host and stars, Revelation prophesies about a fiery dragon who casts down a third of heaven’s stars (Rev 12:3).

Can you imagine one-third of the church losing its salvation? Unfortunately, this falling away will happen before Christ comes again (2 Thess 2:3).

Recently, I’ve been praying for God to help me endure to the end and be saved. As I grow older, I see why the Bible says that this way of salvation is narrow and difficult.

We don’t know if we’ll make it to the end. I see my spiritual struggles and sometimes I lose heart.

But lately, I take heart in the other visions in the Book of Daniel too:

- God’s kingdom shall consume all earthly kingdoms (Dan 2:44). This includes the society I live in that wears me down physically, emotionally and spiritually.

- Though we may almost lose our spiritual battles, God will judge His faithful saints as victorious and give us His everlasting kingdom (Dan 7:22, 27)

As soldiers of Christ, let’s nourish a close connection with our awesome King and with our church community. By enjoying fellowship in His word daily, we can build each other up, protecting ourselves from the deceitfulness of sin (Heb 3:13).