The Ram and the Goat

Introduction

It is hard to trust God when things are not the way you want them to be.

It is hard to trust God when you don’t understand why things are not the way you want them to be.

And it is hard to trust God when you are tired of waiting for things to be the way you want them to be.

This is the reality of a life of faith.

It is one thing to talk about it in a Sunday School class when everything is pretty much going the way you would want it to go.

But it is another thing walk by faith when the events happening around you or happening to you are not the way you would have designed them to be.

When your blueprint seems to have been tossed out, you might even be tempted to say, “I’m not going to build this house anymore.”

What does all of this have to do with a vision of a ram and goat?

We are going to find out this morning.

Context

Today’s passage flows out of last week’s in Daniel 7.

There we saw the beastly and bullying kingdoms of man seeking to wear out the saints of the Lord.

We also saw that they are ultimately vindicated by God’s judgment and victorious as citizens of God’s eternal and everlasting kingdom.

Chapter 7 was a 30,000 feet flyover of Ancient Near Eastern history and the time between Jesus’ first and second coming as a whole.

But in chapter 8, we are zooming in.

We are getting a good look at the two kingdoms represented by the 2nd and 3rd beasts: Persia and Greece.

And we will see a horrifying evil born out of the Greek Empire that will come against God’s people just like the 11th horn in Daniel 7.

Like last week, this text still has us in the past, between Daniel 4 and Daniel 5.

It is the third year of Belshazzar ruling as vice-regent while his father, Nabonidus, is away from the Empire.

We also mentioned last week that Daniel 2-7 are written in Aramaic and not Hebrew. Daniel 8 has us back in Hebrew in the original language.

Scripture—these are the very words of God

Daniel 8 ESV

In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first. And I saw in the vision; and when I saw, I was in Susa the citadel, which is in the province of Elam. And I saw in the vision, and I was at the Ulai canal. I raised my eyes and saw, and behold, a ram standing on the bank of the canal. It had two horns, and both horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward. No beast could stand before him, and there was no one who could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased and became great. As I was considering, behold, a male goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes. He came to the ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, and he ran at him in his powerful wrath. I saw him come close to the ram, and he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke his two horns. And the ram had no power to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power. Then the goat became exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven. Out of one of them came a little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the glorious land. It grew great, even to the host of heaven. And some of the host and some of the stars it threw down to the ground and trampled on them. It became great, even as great as the Prince of the host. And the regular burnt offering was taken away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. And a host will be given over to it together with the regular burnt offering because of transgression, and it will throw truth to the ground, and it will act and prosper. Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, “For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?” And he said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.” When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, and it called, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” 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.” 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. He said, “Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of the indignation, for it refers to the appointed time of the end. As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia. 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. And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise. His power shall be great—but not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction and shall succeed in what he does, and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall become great. Without warning he shall destroy many. And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but by no human hand. The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true, but seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now.” 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.

Outline and Approach

This passage nicely breaks into two parts:

Daniel’s Vision (v. 1-14)

Gabriel’s Interpretation (v. 15-27)

But we will deal with it as a whole this morning.

That is because Gabriel’s interpretation acts as a built-in commentary to tell us what is going on in the front of the chapter.

It makes sense for us take advantage of that as we work through the front-half of the chapter.

Gabriel’s interpretation reminds us that Jesus wants us to understand His Word.

He wants us to understand chapters like Daniel 8.

We know this because as Daniel seeks to understand his vision, he gets divine help.

He has an angel standing before him (v. 15) and the angel is one of only two angels named in the entire Bible—Gabriel.

Gabriel tells Daniel the interpretation by a command of a man’s voice in v. 16.

I think this is referring to the Lord Jesus Christ—for who else has the voice of a man and yet commands angels?

God the Son wanted Daniel to understand the vision and He wants the same for us.

And He has provided us many answers in the Word today.

So that will be the first part of our time—walking through Daniel’s vision and the interpretation of it that Gabriel gives.

And then we will have one big idea for our application today:

The right perspective of God helps us trust in the purposes of God in the pain of life.

Daniel’s Vision: v. 1-14

Verses 1-2

In Daniel 7, Daniel had a dream filled with visions, but in Daniel 8, no dream is mentioned. (v. 1)

Daniel, as a prophet, is receiving a supernatural vision from the Lord.

The first thing that happens in the vision is that Daniel is taken away to Susa, in the province of Elam. (v. 2)

Now, there is significance to this location. It tells us who this vision is about.

Susa becomes the winter home for the Persian kings after they defeat Babylon.

So Daniel is in one of the major royal strongholds for Persia.

It is a sign to us that we aren’t dealing with Babylon and the place of Babylonian kings anymore.

Even while Babylon still stands, God was already showing Daniel the fate of the kingdom that came after it.

This vision is about Persia and the kingdom that conquered it.

Specifically, Daniel is at the Ulai Canal, a massive 900 foot man-made canal that made travel between prominent rivers much easier.

This is the stage for the battle between the Ram and the He-Goat.

Verses 3-8

And this is who we meet in v. 3-8.

SHOW PICTURE OF RAM AND GOAT HERE

The Ram (v. 3-4, 20)

We begin with the ram standing on the bank of the canal. (v. 3)

It has two large horns, but one of them is higher than the other one.

Now we know this is Persia because Gabriel says it outright in v. 20.

As for the ram...with the two horns, these are kings of Media and Persia.

The ram corresponds with the 2nd Beast in chapter 7—the lopsided bear.

It was raised up on one side because Persia was the more powerful of the combined empires in the Medo-Persian empire.

We see it again here where Persia is the horn that is raised up higher, while the Medes are the smaller horn.

Now this ram is no joke.

It charges to the West, North and South and no beast is able to stand before him. (v. 4)

No one could deliver from his power.

He is the alpha of the canal—doing whatever he wants and growing in greatness.

This ram provides an apt illustration of the nature of Persia.

The national symbol of Persia was a ram and this ram had a power that is not to be underestimated.

It charges and butts in almost every direction, except the East, reflecting how Persia did not have much consistent success in expanding their Empire eastward.

However, they are still the preeminent power on the global stage from 550-331 BC.

The Goat (v. 5-8, 21-22)

Then we meet the ram’s opponent—the male goat or the “He-Goat” as the King James calls it.

He-Goat is more fun to say, but we will stick with male goat.

This goat comes from the West, and moves across the face of the whole earth without its feet touching the ground. (v. 5)

It is so swift and fast that the ground can’t keep up with its feet.

He has a very noticeable horn between his eyes.

Now before we go any further, we know the goat is.

Just like with the ram, Gabriel says it outright in v. 21.

The goat is the King of Greece and the horn is the first King.

This is speaking of the Greek Empire under Alexander.

It was a swift, conquering empire that came from the West and Alexander is leading the attack as the first and most preeminent of king of the Greek Empire.

This corresponds with the four-headed leopard with wings in ch. 7. The third beast.

And as formidable as the ram is, the goat just dominates it and destroys it.

He is enraged against the ram. (v. 7)

He runs at him with a powerful wrath (v. 6)

He breaks off the two horns (v. 6)

Remember that HORNS equal power in Apocalyptic passages, so with the breaking of the horns, the power and dominion of the Persia kingdom is taken away.

The ram lacks the power to stand up to the male goat (v. 7)

The goat throws the ram down and tramples him.

Before there was no one who could rescue from the Ram.

Now there is no one to rescue the ram from the goat. (v. 7)

What we see in verses 6-7 is referring to the way the Greek Empire conquered Persia.

The prophecy of this vision was fulfilled in 331 BC.

Alexander battled Persia on three separate occasions and Persia didn’t win a single one of those battles.

It ultimately only took Alexander three years to overcome the Empire that had ruled the Ancient Near East for 250 years.

This decisive dominance leaves the goat in a position where he is exceedingly great. (v. 8)

And yet—while he is still strong, something happens.

The great horn of the goat is snapped off in an instant.

This is not unlike what occurred with Alexander the Great.

In 323 BC, less than a decade after achieving world domination, Alexander got sick and died.

Some say it was illness or a virus. Some say it was alcoholism. Some say it was a poisoning.

Ultimately we do not know.

But what we do know is that the horn was snapped off.

After Alexander died, the Greek Empire split into four divisions.

Four conspicuous horns came up toward the four winds of heaven (v. 8), meaning they stretched out in all directions.

Asia Minor, in the North, ruled by Lysimachus

Macedonia, in the Northwest, ruled by Cassander.

Egypt, in the South, ruled by Ptolemy.

Syria, in the East, ruled by Seluecus

You see in v. 22 that none of these four kingdoms have the same power as Alexander.

The Little Horn (v. 9-14)

What It Says

However, that does not make them powerless.

Far from it.

We learn one in particular produces a terrifying threat.

A little horn grows exceedingly great toward the South, the East and toward the glorious land. (v. 9)

Whenever we see Daniel saying that the horn became great or that it grew great, he is speaking to the arrogance of the horn.

It is puffing itself up and exalting itself—even to god-like levels.

v. 25 makes this more clear when it says that “in his own mind he shall become great”

You see this in verse 10—The Horn even grows great toward the host of heaven in v. 10.

It even takes some of the stars and tramples upon them.

It becomes a great as the Prince of the host. (v. 11)

He seems to interrupt temple worship by stopping sacrifices and overthrowing the temple.

In verse 12, we see the horn throws truth to the ground, and yet it acts and prospers (v. 12)

We also see in v. 12 that these things seem to be happening in connection with judgment—it is because of transgression.

Then Daniel hears two angels speaking and considering how long the little horn can get away with these things (v. 13)

The answer is 2300 mornings and evenings.

After that the temple or the sanctuary is returned to its rightful state.

The question is—what is all of this about?

Well to answer that we can certainly get help from Gabriel in the latter half of the passage—and we will.

But we can also get help from history.

Daniel had this vision around 550 BC.

He was seeing and writing about things that would not come to pass for another 200-300 years.

He did not have the luxuries of matching up his vision with specifics, but we do.

So let’s sort through it.

What It Means

As we do look back through the history around the time of the four Greek Empires after Alexander, there is one clear figure that stands out as the one who must be this little horn.

This would be the Seleucid King, Antiochus Epiphanes IV, who ruled from 175 to 164 BC.

Just about all Bible commentators agree on this.

Now that being said, we also had a little horn last week—the 11th horn that rose up above the ten horns of the 4th Beast uttering blasphemies against God and making war on God’s people.

We said that this 11th horn is symbolic of the preeminent persecuting powers among the beastly kingdoms of man.

We said there have been many through the ages and it will culminate with one final Man of Lawlessness just before Christ returns.

Here we are seeing that principle in play.

This little horn is much like the little horn of Daniel 7.

During his reign of terror, Antiochus IV was an example of one of those preeminent persecuting powers.

And he himself is a foreshadowing of the ultimate evil to come when the Final Man of Lawlessness hits the global stage.

Now one of the main ways we know of Antiochus and what he did is from a source outside of the Bible—1 and 2 Maccabees.

Unlike Catholics or Orthodox Christians, we do not consider 1 and +2 Maccabees to be part of the inspired canon of Scripture.

However, we can still consider it to be helpful.

These works written in between the time of the Old Testament’s completion and Jesus’ first coming.

If you read them, here is what you will find out:

Antiochus came against the Jewish people.

He ordered the slaughter of 40,000 Jews and sold another 40,000 into slavery (2 Macc 5:12-14)

This is just as Gabriel explains in v. 24-25, saying that his power shall be great and he shall cause fearful destruction...and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints

This destruction comes without warning (v. 25)

I also believe this is what is being referred to in v. 10.

He believes he is so great that he comes against God and even seeks to destroy the host of heaven

When v. 10 says that he tramples the stars, this very well could be a prophetic way of saying that he is attacked Abraham’s people, whom God said would be so many they would be like the stars in heaven

He attacked the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem in 167 BC and ordered for regular offerings to cease (1 Macc 1:20-24)

He came against the glorious land (v. 9) —Jerusalem

And not just that, but he sought to do what only God can do—rule over the worship of God’s people.

It puffed up in greatness to the point that it even tries to become as great as the Prince of the host (v. 11)

He is grasping for divine power in what he does in Jerusalem.

He attempts this by putting an end to regular burnt offerings in the temple.

Then he took it a step further.

On December 6th, 167, he erected an idol to the chief Greek deity of Zeus on the temple altar (1 Macc 1:54; 2 Macc 6:1-2)

He then desecrated the altar by offering up pagan sacrifices on it, including the slaughter of a pig—an unclean animal (1 Macc 1:44-47, 59; 2 Macc 6:4)

These two acts are the transgression that makes desolate in v. 13

Here we see the temple and the people who worship there being trampled underfoot

He made decrees to forbid the Jews from keeping different aspects of the Law—including Sabbath worship and circumcision

And then he forced them to practice Greek religious rites (1 Macc 1:41-51; 2 Macc 6:1-11)

In doing these things he was throwing truth to the ground (v. 12)

And as he did these things, for a time, he prospered

Just as Daniel 8:12 says

All of this clearly shows us that Antiochus IV is this little horn.

Josephus, the renowned Jewish historian, certainly agreed:

And there would arise from their number a certain king who would make war on the Jewish nation and their laws, deprive them of the form of government based on these laws, spoil the temple and prevent sacrifices from being offered for three years. And these misfortunes our nation did in fact come to experience under Antiochus Epiphanes, just as Daniel many years before saw and wrote they would happen.

Josephus

How Long This Will Last

The question that you may have, and the question that one angel has for another in v. 13 is this—how long will all this go on?

How long will the offerings be stopped?

How long will the abomination of desolation take place?

How long will the temple and those who worship there be trampled underfoot?

The answer comes in v. 14.

Daniel 8:14 ESV

And he said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.”

Now in the context of the passage, we know we are already dealing with “temple talk.”

Much of what this little horn does revolves around the temple.

That clues us into the meaning of the evenings and mornings.

This is a reference to the evening and morning sacrifices that would take place in the temple.

Some believe that this number is literally referring to 2300 days, but I struggle to line that up with the time of Antiochus.

However, if you cut that in half, it is 1150 days.

And that is the number that I believe is most important here.

If I have a morning sacrifice and an evening sacrifice for 1150 days, that adds up to 2300 sacrifices.

1150 days is about 3 years and 2 months.

Antiochus’ reign of terror in Jerusalem lasted from about December 167 BC and it ended in December 164 BC, when Judas Maccabee led a rebellion that saw Antiochus overthrown and worship restored.

Jewish people still celebrate this with Hanukkah each year.

And those dates line up well with the 1150 day number communicated in v. 14.

God is Firmly in Control

But notice throughout this passage that God is firmly in control.

The little horn is a grim prospect—so much so that it leaves Daniel overcome and sick and unable to serve the king (v. 27)

The Little Horn is brutal.

Not only that, the little horn is brilliant.

This is what is meant by his understanding of riddles in v. 23 and his cunning in v. 25.

He doesn’t just have military might—he has intellectual prowess.

And yet, his great power is not by his own power.

Like every other ruler in the book of Daniel, he is only in place by the sovereign decree of God who is in charge of kings rising and falling.

Daniel 2:21 ESV

He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding;

The Little Horn would have nothing without God’s allowance.

His power begins according to God’s timing.

It seems that God allows Antiochus to come against His people for the same reason He allowed Babylon to—because of their sin.

v. 19: His coming to power is at the end of a period of God’s indignation.

Perhaps His discipline is coming against them because of the transgressions we see in the Post-Exile community of Israel in the book of Malachi.

Temple worship is being neglected

Priests are corrupt

There is a lack of justice in the land

v. 23 says something similar—when the transgressors reached their limit, the king with the bold face will arise

God would only allow the sin of His people to reach a certain limit before He would bring His judgment again

You can see that much like Babylon before him, Antiochus is nothing but a tool in God’s hand

His power ends according to God’s timing.

God will only use the tool but for so long before he breaks it.

The bold-faced king who rises up against the Lord—the Prince of princes—is broken.

And though it took place through a rebellion led by Judas Maccabee, it is really no human hand that snaps off this little horn.

It is the Lord.

Just as no human hand throws the stone that brings down Nebuchadnezzar’s statue in ch. 2...

Just as no human hand writes Belshazzar’s fate on the wall in ch. 5...

It is no human hand that brings down this awful Seleucid king.

It is God’s hand.

In v. 27, Daniel is told to seal up the vision.

It refers to many days from now.

It will not happen in his lifetime.

Instead, it will take place at the end of the days of the male Goat.

This is what v. 17 and v. 19 means by “the time of the end.”

Greece would fall to Rome in an official capacity just about 20 years later at the Battle of Corinth (146 BC)

Application

Daniel’s Sorrow

Now, this really brings us to our application of this passage this morning.

As I said at the beginning, it may be hard to imagine what the ram and goat vision has to do with your life today...

It may seem like there is no connection between what you are going through and Persia, Greece and the Little Horn are doing a couple thousand years ago.

But in reality, there is a direct connection to the way we respond to what is happening to us and around us.

We mentioned before just how ominous all of this seems to Daniel. It is so unsettling that he is physically ill.

And we might understand that if we put ourselves in his shoes.

As he receives the vision he is still living under the rule of the Babylonian Empire.

And what he is find out is that after Babylon there will come another world power (Persia).

And after that, there will be yet another—Greece.

And even though it seems the people of God are back in Jerusalem worshipping in the temple in the future, there is this king who will rise from the Greek Empire who will persecute Israel.

This is hard news for Daniel to receive in Exile.

The man who prays in front of an open window toward Jerusalem was eager for God’s people to be back home.

And yet, once they arrive, he sees there will only be more trouble.

More persecution from the hand of a Gentile king.

More affliction brought on by transgression.

This would not happen in Daniel’s lifetime, but that doesn’t matter.

It literally makes him sick.

Our Sorrowful Frustration

Maybe you feel this way at times.

I think we all have our moments.

Maybe it has become a rather settled feeling for you, where you are constantly just feeling sick about the present and the future.

You don’t like the way life is unfolding and with each new bit of news, your sorrow becomes more entrenched.

And maybe you take it beyond Daniel.

You are not just physically sick over what is happening to you or around you—you have a sickness that is now touching your heart as well.

For how often does our sorrow boil over into frustration?

Asaph’s Sorrowful Frustration

There is a man you can identify with in the Psalms. His name was Asaph.

And as he wrote Psalm 73, he had a big problem with what he was seeing around him.

His main frustration came at watching the wicked prosper.

This is not all that different from Daniel hears about in v. 24-25, where the Bible says the little horn “shall succeed in what he does,” and “he shall make deceit prosper under his hand.”

In Asaph’s case, he says:

Psalm 73:12–13 ESV

Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.

If the wicked seem to be better off than the godly, then what is the point of piety?

What is the point of devotion to God?

This is what Asaph is saying.

And yet, if you fast forward toward the end of Psalm 73, he says this:

Psalm 73:25–26 ESV

Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

How does that happen?

How do you go from questioning God to declaring total reliance upon Him?

The answer comes in Psalm 73:17

Psalm 73:17 ESV

until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.

When Asaph goes into the temple of God for worship, he regains perspective regarding who God is—He is a God of justice who will bring evil to the ground and eventually put it in the ground for good.

He is a God who judges the wicked.

He is a God who will destroy them in a moment.

He is a God makes them fall to ruin.

And this reminds Asaph that he has been a beast toward God and he repents and praises the Lord.

So this tells us what we need when we are overcome with our circumstances and the evil around us.

When we are sorrowful and sick like Daniel...

When we are sorrowful and even sinful in frustrations like Asaph...

We need the right perspective of who God is.

So this is our big idea for applying this passage today:

The right perspective of God helps us trust in the purposes of God in the pain of life.

So what is the right perspective that Daniel 8 gives us?

Well it is the fact that God is in complete control in this chapter, just as He has been throughout Daniel.

He has sovereign power that He is exercising for His purposes.

We have seen it in this vision today:

First, we saw God’s POWER in control of the beginning and end of the Little Horn

He arises, but not by his own power (v. 22)

He is broken by God’s non-human hand (v. 25)

Secondly, we saw God’s PURPOSES being carried out through the Little Horn

God’s people have once again stacked up transgression in the land and they have reached their limit, therefore God sends Antiochus like a pruning tool to trim the disobedient edges of His people.

And painful as that will be—it is not without purpose.

If there will be any hope of our not being:

Embittered toward God...

Irate toward God...

or Impatient toward God...

...these are the lenses through which we must see the Lord.

We must wear Scriptural glasses—having a right perspective of His power and His purposes, so that we may trust Him in the pain of life.

You may never understand why God does what He does, but if you believe Him, that is all that is necessary. Let us learn to trust Him for who He is.

Elisabeth Elliot

I love what Elliot says here because it is honest.

You may never understand why God does what He does...

When God allows evil to afflict us, it is not always because we are in sin like Israel.

We don’t always know WHY He is allowing these things to take place.

But if we believe Him who who He is, we can trust that He does indeed have a purpose in the pain.

The Cross

And I will close by saying that you need to look no further than the Place of the Skull.

We may not know WHY we are going through what we are going through or WHY God is allowing what He is allowing, but what we DO know is that—our affliction at the hands of evil is nothing compared with what Christ endures in life and death.

On the Cross, we see the God-Man suffering for sin He did not commit.

We see Him afflicted by evil.

The evil of sin.

Which includes YOUR sin.

The evil of Satan.

The evil of death.

And certainly if you were his disciples, you would be tempted to say WHY.

Maybe like Daniel, the sight of the beaten and murdered Christ would cause you to be physically overwhelmed.

Maybe like Asaph, you would look at the shouting crowd and think, “What sort of God would let His Messiah die while evil people hurl insults?”

But we know what came next.

The Son that was razed down into the grave at Calvary, was raised up from an empty tomb.

And the very evil that afflicted Him was defeated by His power.

As you are overwhelmed, look beyond the ram and the goat and the Little Horn.

Look to the Lamb.

If His death has glorified God by bringing life to a countless throng of believers from all nations and tribes and peoples, can’t God glorify Himself through the circumstances afflicting you?

Remember this.

Your blueprint might be thrown out.

But God’s is perfect.

Uncreased.

Everything in place.

All for His glory and ultimately our good.

See who for who He is and trust His purposes through the pain that evil can bring to us in this life.