Daniel 8 - The Ram and Goat
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Last week we finished up Daniel chapter 7. That chapter covered a dream Daniel had regarding end time events. It very much paralleled king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in chapter 2. While the king saw a statue, Daniel saw terrible beasts. What a difference the view point of a godly man is versus a wordly king. The events in those dreams are prophesies regarding end time events. Events that will culminate in the return of Jesus to set up his eternal kingdom on earth.
The chapter this week is a little different. Daniel has another dream, but this time it is not about end time events. Instead it is about an event that will take place not too long after Daniel’s time. Some of God’s prophets told of a time in a distant future like last week, some tell of a not so distant future and some prophets brought God’s truth to His people. Often that truth came with consequences if God’s Word to them was not followed. When the prophet Jonah went to Nineveh, the people repented and were spared destruction. When the prophets came to Sodom and Gomorrah, the people there tried to assault them instead of heading God’s Word and as a result the cities were destroyed.
Daniel’s prophecy here is not about either of those, but is instead an encouragement for God’s people to not fret, but to have faith that even when things get bad, God is still in control and has a plan. Daniel knew this about God, but still had an adverse reaction to this dream and interpretation.
Let’s read:
1 In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had already appeared to me.
Historical records records place this dream around 550 B.C. Keep this in mind as we read futher.
2 In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa in the province of Elam; in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal.
This area of Susa is where the events in book of Ester took place. Daniel pictures himself there during this vision.
3 I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later.
4 I watched the ram as it charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against it, and none could rescue from its power. It did as it pleased and became great.
This ram in this dream is parallel to the vision of the bear in the previous dream. The bear had one side up higher than the other and that is similar to this ram with one horn bigger than the other. As we’ll read later, this beast represents the combined Mede/Persian kingdom. This kingdom started in the east and progressed west, north and south. It conquered everyone in their path. No other animal/kingdom could stand in it’s way.
5 As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between its eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground.
The goat is this dream’s manifestation of the leopard with four wings. If you remember from last week, this is the kingdom of Greece under Alexander the great. He conquered with great speed much of the known world at the time.
6 It came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at it in great rage.
The Greeks hated the Medes/Persians. They were very bitter about previous conquests by them early in Alexander’s life and he passionately sought to completely demolish them.
7 I saw it attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering its two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against it; the goat knocked it to the ground and trampled on it, and none could rescue the ram from its power.
8 The goat became very great, but at the height of its power the large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven.
After Alexander’s death in 323 B.C., his two sons were murdered and the kingdom was divided amongst four leaders. We’ll see more about this later.
9 Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land.
This little horn is in reference to Antiochus IV. He ruled over the part of the original Greek empire that encompassed the Beautiful Land which is a reference to Palestine. This area would also have included Jerusalem and the temple. He ruled from 175-163 B.C.
10 It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them.
In 170 B.C. the high priest Onais III was assassinated and this marked the beginning of this time where Antiochus trampled on God’s people. He had many Jews executed who resisted his rule.
11 It set itself up to be as great as the commander of the army of the Lord; it took away the daily sacrifice from the Lord, and his sanctuary was thrown down.
As part of his new regulations, he abolished any form of sacrifice and sent his army in to enforce this. In 169 B.C., he plundered the temple and took what he wanted from there. As a part of that seige, it is recorded that he had 8,000 men, women and children slaughtered during this attack.
12 Because of rebellion, the Lord’s people and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.
The it here is that horn that grew from the goat. The horn that we now know is Antiochus. He threw truth to the ground and was allowed to rule the Lord’s people with a ruthless rule and abolished the sacrifice.
This is a terrifying scene for God’s people. Surely Daniel did not want this to happen. Seeing God’s people given over to this terrible leader and the temple being reduced in significance. It is not the destruction of the temple that happened after Jesus came, this is a defiling of the temple or sanctuary and all of the celebrations and sacrifices that God’s people took part in. Anyone would be sad to hear that something this terrible was going to happen...
13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled—the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, the surrender of the sanctuary and the trampling underfoot of the Lord’s people?”
Here a question on timing - how long will the temple be defiled and God’s people be mistreated. Here is the answer:
14 He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.”
The language in this verse is important. There was a sacrifice that happened at the temple in the morning and evening each day. Therefore, according to this prophecy, this terrible time would last 2300 days. That means this terrible time would last 6 years and 4 months.
In the fall of 170 B.C. the high priest Onias III was assassinated. This marks the beginning of this time where God’s people and their practices would be persecuted.
6 years and 4 months later on December 14, 164 B.C. Judas Maccabeus cleansed and rededicated the temple. The Jewish people celebrate the feast of dedication or the Feast of Hanukkah to commemorate this event. Not only do they celebrate the reconsecration of the temple, they celebrate the completion of this prophecy.
Daniel had this dream sometime in 550 B.C. That was nearly 380 years before the fulfillment of the dream. The Jewish people went through a lot during the time of Antiochus’ rule. Hopefully there were some during that time that remembered this prophecy and knew that this mistreatment was only temporary.
Let’s keep going...Similar to the dream in chapter 7, we now get the interpretation of the dream by someone within the vision:
15 While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man.
16 And I heard a man’s voice from the Ulai calling, “Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision.”
Daniel hears the name Gabriel called. This is the first instance that an angel’s name is revealed.
17 As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”
Daniel falls prostrate because of reverence for what was happening an who was speaking. Surely the presence of vision of angel was also terrifying. Gabriel tells him that the vision concerns the time of the end.
This one verse in Daniel is one of the most debated. How can the previous prophecy concern Antiochus if the prophecy is of the end? How do we explain the previous dream when there is a fourth beast that comes, a beast after the Greek empire, when the prophecy seems to be parallel to the third beast in the previous dream. The simplest explanation is that the end referred to here is a reference to the end of an era. The end of the rule of the third beast as it was just about 140 years later that the Roman empire was declared when Augustus Caesar proclaimed himself emperor.
18 While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me and raised me to my feet.
19 He said: “I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end.
20 The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia.
21 The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king.
22 The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power.
Sound familiar? We get confirmation of the Medes and Persians being the ram and then the interpretation confirms that Greece is the goat. Based on the previous dream of the leopard with four wings, Greece is also the third of four beasts mentioned. Keep in mind, this dream and interpretation is 400 years before it came to be.
Let’s read about that little horn on the goats head:
23 “In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise.
24 He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people.
25 He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.
When the actions of Antiochus are examined, he fits this description. According to texts of the time period, Antiochus did not die from battle or assassination, or even what one might call natural consequences. He died in 163 B.C. after his forces had been routed by the Jews in Palestine. It was said that he died of grief and remorse.
26 “The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”
Rarely does a prophecy give exact days and times for something to happen, but this prophecy gave an exact period of 2300 days. Gabriel gives Daniel assurance that this time frame is true and will happen that way. He then ends by telling Daniel to seal up this vision as it is regarding distant future events. This vision was written down by Daniel and not made available to his generation, but it was sealed up and preserved for future generations to read about.
27 I, Daniel, was worn out. I lay exhausted for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding.
Seeing the destruction that was to come must have been exhausting. Visually seeing and experiencing the tragedy of all those deaths and persecution of God’s people has to hurt.
I want to conclude by reminding us what the purpose of prophetical scripture is:
1. God is sovereign
1. God is sovereign
He knows what is going to happen and His will causes it to happen. Whether it’s a leader or an empire, if God says it’s so, it will be so.
2. Satan is not in charge, though he wants us to believe that he is.
2. Satan is not in charge, though he wants us to believe that he is.
God is in control…not a man, not the devil. Satan may act like he is in charge, but he’s not.
3. At some point, it will look like Satan is winning
3. At some point, it will look like Satan is winning
Again, another lie of the enemy. The enemy thought he was winning when he used the jealousy of the religious leaders to hang Jesus on the cross. He thought if he had Jesus killed, he would win…so much for that plan. His disciples even thought they lost…BUT Jesus rose again!
4. Jesus will come again
4. Jesus will come again
As you look at any of the end time prophecies, it all ends the same. The enemy in the lake of fire and Jesus on the throne. The enemy destroyed and Jesus worshipped forever! No matter what is going on, take heart, have faith. God’s got this!