Before we consider the vision, let us be certain that this vision is related to the End Time: Dan 8:16 And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called and said, Gabriel, make this one understand the vision. Dan 8:17 So he came near beside my place. And when he came, I was afraid and fell on my face. But he said to me, Understand, O son of man, for the vision is for the time of the end. Dan 8:18 And as he was speaking with me, I was stunned, on my face toward the ground. But he touched me and set me upright. Dan 8:19 And he said, Behold, I will make you know what shall happen in the last end of the indignation. For it is for the time appointed for the end. That said, not every part of the vision are related to the End Time. Some parts provide us with the necessary information to identify the actors in the End Time !!!
	Dan 8:3 Then I lifted up my eyes, and looked. And behold, a ram with two horns stood before the canal having two horns, and the two horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. Dan 8:4 I saw the ram pushing westward and northward and southward; so that no beasts could stand before him, nor any that could deliver out of his hand. But he did according to his will, and became great. The angel explains to Daniel that the Ram represents the Persian Empire Dan 8:20 The ram which you saw having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. Looks like God wants to be extremely accurate: one horn of the Ram represents Media and the other represents Persia The directions in which the Ram pushes represent the directions of expansion of the Median/Persian Empire.
	Dan 8:5 And as I was watching, behold, a he-goat came from the west, over the face of the all earth, and did not touch the ground. And the he goat had an outstanding horn between his eyes. Dan 8:6 And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran to him in the fury of his power. Dan 8:7 And I saw him come close beside the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and struck the ram and shattered his two horns. And there was no power in the ram to stand before him. But he threw him down to the ground and stamped on him. And none could deliver the ram out of his hand. The angel explains to Daniel that the Goat represents the Greek Empire Dan 8:21 And the shaggy goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king (= Alexander the Great). We know from history that Alexander the Great destroyed the Persian Empire and took revenge on the attacks of Xerxes on Greece (the movie "300" recently depicted the heroics of the Greeks in this battle).
	Dan 8:8 Then the he-goat became very great. And when he was strong, the great horn was broken. And in its place came up four outstanding ones towards the four winds of the heavens. The angel explains to Daniel that the 4 horns are the 4 kingdoms that come forth from the Alexander's empire: Dan 8:22 And as for that (first horn) being broken, and four stood up in its place; four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in its power. History tells us that when Alexander died in 323 BC (at a very young age), there followed a period of fighting among his generals for control of the empire These generals are called "Diadochi" or "successors". They fought many wars among themselves - See: click here. When the dust settled, 4 empires were formed out of Alexander's original empire: Seleucid Empire (Syria, Persia) click here - This is the "Kingdom of the North" in Daniel 11 (relative to Israel) Ptolemic Empire (Egypt - Cleopatra comes from this empire) click here - This is the "Kingdom of the South" in Daniel 11 (relative to Israel) Kingdom of Cassander click here Kingdom of Lysimachus click here
OK, from this verse onward, the vision is about the future (i.e., beyond 2009).
Dan 8:9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which became very great, toward the south and toward the east and toward the bountiful land. This is a definitive and specific clue that tells us the origin of the Anti-Christ (the little horn symbolizes the Anti-Christ) Two of the directions have been fixed. The power of the Anti-Christ will grow toward the east and south The bountiful land is Israel: The Hebrew word for "bountiful" is "tsebee"; and the same word is found in Daniel 11:16: Dan 11:16 But he who comes against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him. And he shall stand in the glorious land, which shall be destroyed by his hand. The land in question is Israel Then there remain two possible directions to locate Israel: North West If Israel is located North from its origin, then we have: There is not a likely option. On the other hand, if Israel is located West from its origin, then we have: There is an Islamic prophecy that the Mahdi will re-emerge from a well in the city Qom: Behind the Jamkaran mosque (in Qom), there is a well. And according to many Shiite Muslims, out of this well will one day emerge their version of an Islamic savior. See: click here This Islamic savior is the Mahdi - he will (re)-establish the Muslim Caliphate and conquer the world for Allah. So Daniel 8:9 tells us that the Anti-Christ will emerge from a country in the East of Israel - and that's why I believe that the Anti-Christ's empire is the revived Islamic Empire Dan 8:10 And it became great, even to the host of heaven. And it made fall some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. Dan 8:11 Yea, he magnified himself, even to the ruler of the host, and the daily sacrifice was taken away by him, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. Dan 8:12 And an army was given to him against the daily sacrifice because of transgression, and it cast the truth to the ground. And it worked and succeeded. From the descriptions "he magnified himself, even to the ruler of the host" and the daily sacrifice was taken away by him, we can conclude that the little horn is the Anti-Christ. I believe the most likely candidate is the Madhi - Islam's awaited military and religious leader who will conquer the world for Allah.