The Ram & The Goat
Notes
Transcript
We are a little over midway through our series on the Book of Daniel. For those who may have missed the last few weeks, Daniel was taken to Babylon as a young man during the Jewish exile - he was among several young men who were trained to serve in the royal court - they were to be indoctrinated into Babylonian culture, taught a rigorous curriculum , become the best and brightest wisemen among the king’s counsel, and serve the king in whatever capacity was needed.
Daniel and his friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abedego, determined early on that they would remain faithful to Yahweh, the God of the Jews, come what may. They would work hard and serve the king well, unless what was asked of them violated God’s Word. In the first six chapters of the book, we are told of a series of tests - times when they had to make a choice, succumb to pressure to conform, or risk their very lives by staying faithful to Yahweh - and without hesitation, they remained faithful. Each time, God would deliver them from harm and they would end up more prosperous than before. What others meant for evil, God would turn into something good.
As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
God’s gift to Daniel, the ability to interpret visions and dreams, initially helped him rise to great prominence and his wisdom and excellent spirit resulted in him serving in the inner circle of several kings.
As we discussed last week, the focus of the book changes in chapter 7. Shifting from third person narrative to first person, we hear Daniel describing his own dreams and visions. God reveals to Daniel what is to happen in the future so that he can write it down and deliver it to his people.
Daniel is a prophet who lived between 620-538 BC, and the visions he received have played out in history just as God revealed they would. He was shown the rise and fall of the empires of Babylon, Persia and Media, Greece, and Rome.
Animal imagery places an important part in these dreams - usually the animals represent a world power, empires, and the animals’ features - often horns - represent various kings. The dreams are very disturbing and Daniel does not enjoy receiving them. Typically, there is an angel, one of God’s messengers, present in the dream/vision to give an interpretation of what Daniel is witnessing.
That brings us up to the dream we just heard of the Ram and the Goat.
Once again, we have Daniel witnessing a violent spectacle and this time he sees one standing before him that has the appearance of a man, but we find out it is the angel Gabriel.
So he came near where I stood. And when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end.”
Now, just in case you think it would be cool to talk with an angel, listen to this...
And when he had spoken to me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But he touched me and made me stand up.
In other words, Danny boy passed out.
Gabriel proceeds to tell him that the Ram with the two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. Now history tells us that Persia was the dominant of the two. Hence, one horn was higher and longer than the other.
The goat, according to Gabriel…well, let’s listen to his words....
And the goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king. As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his nation, but not with his power.
Again, history reveals that Alexander the Great is the king of Greece who in a brief period of time conquered the known world. But his tenure was short, he died at the young age of 32. His kingdom was divided among his four generals: Cassander over Macedonia and Greece, Lysimachus over Thrace and Asia Minor, Seleucus over Syria and Mesopotamia, and Ptolemy in Egypt.
So, just like last week’s vision - we hear of world events that will transpire. But that is not the end of the vision, it continues. After the four horns comes another.
Out of one of them came a little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the glorious land.
Now instead of reading the cryptic things said about this great horn - which you can read on your own later, I’m going to jump straight into the interpretation given and what history shows:
A king would rise who is extremely arrogant. He will oppose God and will cause great harm to God’s people. He will bring an end to Temple worship which was central to the life of the ancient Jews - worshipping the Lord at the Temple in Jerusalem. The temple would be made desolate by his actions.
Daniel 8:12 (ESV)
...and it (the horn) will throw truth to the ground, and it will act and prosper.
The vision was so awful that the angel asks the Lord, how long will this last? and the response that Daniel heard was 2300 evenings and mornings.
History has revealed to us that this great horn was king Antiochus IV who came to power in 175BC. On his coins, he inscribed the title ‘Epiphanes’ - which was an abbreviation of god manifest/revealed - in this case, the Greek God Zeus. He was proclaiming to be the human manifestation of Zeus - which tells you a bit about his ego.
You know how presidents award wealthy campaign donors by making them ambassadors to countries? Well, Antiochus installed one of his cronies into the office of high priest in Jerusalem. And when he passed through on the way back from a battle in Egypt, his “high priest” raided the Temple and handed over to him the sacred treasures. And on the way out of town, he had quite a few Jews slaughtered.
The following year was worse. He sent his chief tax collector to Jerusalem with orders to pillage, massacre and destroy. He also forced on the population a paganization program with the intention of completely erasing Israel’s faith and practice.
It included:
substituting Temple worship and observance of the Law with pagan cult worship.
no more keeping the Sabbath
no more circumcision
in every town, Jews had to sacrifice to pagan gods
Overseers were sent throughout Judea to make sure people were living under the king’s command
If you were found with a scroll of Torah or a circumcized boy, you were put to death.
and in December 167 BC, a pig was sacrificed to Zeus on the great altar located in the Jewish Temple - what is referred to as the abomination of desolation. Pigs are considered unclean animals to Jews.
As noted by Dale Davis,
The Message of Daniel: His Kingdom Cannot Fail e. Why All the Fuss?
God’s people had never before faced what they met under Antiochus—a systematic programme designed to eradicate completely every trace of Israel’s faith, worship and life.
I think it is worth noting Daniel’s immediate reaction to this vision:
And I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king’s business, but I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it.
So what is our take away from today’s passage? How is this relevant to us?
Throughout the Bible, God, out of his love, forewarns his people so they know what to expect - so when a crisis arises, we can remember that God said this would happen, so let’s keep our focus on Him. Tough and shocking times are easier to bear when you are told ahead of time that it will happen.
Just as God spoke through Daniel to forewarn the Jews what was ahead, he has spoken to us through His Son.
And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
While it may be shocking on one level to see the increase in tensions around the world, of the unfolding events in Israel and Gaza, and the Russian aggression in Ukraine, and the threat of China toward Taiwan, and to also witness the fracturing of churches over culture wars, and the sharp divisions and all the other problems we are witnessing, on another level, it should not surprise us. There is an expectation that such things will occur before Christ returns, things he has forewarned us about and should serve as reminders that we are caught up in a spiritual war and to remain faithful and endure - not take our eyes off our mission.
I believe this reminder of God’s all-knowing, ever-present, all powerful character is needed more today than ever. God’s redemptive plan for the world cannot be stopped by evil forces, in fact, he often uses crises to draw his people back to him. For 2300 evenings and mornings - Antiochus was able, for a period of time, to make it virtually impossible for Jews to practice their faith. They experienced severe persecution because of who they served. How much strength did those Jews receive as they recalled the words of the prophet Daniel that they all knew by heart? That this abomination was spoken of in their scriptures and that it had a prescribed time. For the moment, it was hell on earth, but today, Antiochus is just a small, obscure figure in ancient history long since gone - and yet God still reigns and people around the world still worship Him.
Jesus has provided us with foreknowledge of what lies ahead - and while we may face dangers, trials, persecution - it will only be for a set period of time.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Amen.