Daniel 8 is difficult for those that do not understand that God inserts large ‘Gaps of Time’ between verses with absolutely no indication in style of writing. This prophecy begins with the Ram, Medo-Persia, in 538BC, and then jumps more than 2,300 years to the appearance of Satan masquerading as the Great Prince {Jesus} that is still in our near future. The ‘little horn’ of Dan 8:9 is not the same entity as the ‘little horn’ of Dan 7:8 {Rule 2 –‘all the specifications of a prophecy must be met before a prophecy is fulfilled.’
The little horn of Daniel 7 came out of a beast; the little horn of Daniel 8 comes out of the wind, not a beast – this is just one of several differences}. In Daniel 8 God allows Satan to appear supernaturally out of nowhere, the wind, to divide the entire world into two groups. Those that love lies will recognize Satan as their god and will worship him thinking he is Almighty God. Those who love the truth will be persecuted by the religious wicked who love lies. Satan, the little horn masquerading as Jesus, the Great Prince, will incite religious leaders and their followers to kill everyone that refuses to worship him; thus as each person makes his/her choice the cleansing of the sanctuary or the judgment of the world is completed. At the end there are two only two groups of people marked and sealed.