Daniel 8 Ram and Goat
Daniel has another vision. This one involves a ram and goat and their struggle for power. It is an end times vision that even Daniel didn’t fully comprehend.
This is Daniel’s second vision of things to come. I feel in good company when it comes to understanding it, for even Daniel wasn’t given a full understanding of its meaning. He is given names of some of the kingdoms represented and history helps us with some of the others, but there is more to come that God is not sharing; yet.
I am not qualified to try and interpret beyond what we are given here. I’m simply telling Daniel’s story. With this in mind, let’s rejoin Daniel as God reveals mysteries to him. We will let the Spirit of the Living God take us where He will along the way.
♥ ♦ ♥
It has been just over two years since Daniel’s last vision. He still revisits the record of it from time to time. It has left an indelible mark on his heart, so he doesn’t really need the written record to recall the dream, but he still likes to read it. He wonders about the timing of God fulfilling this vision. “Will it be in my lifetime?” “Will Israel be free?” “What kingdoms will be involved?” “Is this the END of man?”
SO many questions, but enduring faith. Daniel knows that his life and that of all Israel is in God’s hands. His biggest and most fervent prayer is for Israel’s heart to return to their God. This is expressed in each of his prayers, three times a day. And, while he waits, he serves faithfully where the Lord has put him.
This day is like any other day for Daniel. He goes about the business he has been assigned. He returns to his room in the middle of the day for prayer time. And he waits with the rest of the nation to see what will happen with the siege on their doorstep.
Daniel returns to his chambers at the end of another long day. As he kneels in prayer, a vision begins to unfold before him. In this vision, Daniel is taken to a familiar place. He recognizes the Ulai canal which is in the citadel of Susa in the province of Elam. Before he can wonder about the setting of this vision, action begins to unfold.
On the western bank of the canal stands a ram. He is a magnificent creature! He is tall and strong with his head held high. Daniel watches as two horns erupt from his head, first one side and then the other. They reach heavenward and stand in regal majesty. The horn that started second reaches higher than the first. Not a towering difference, but enough that it draws the eye to the discrepancy.
After these horns are fully developed, the ram starts charging and challenging anything it encounters. Everything flees from it as it charges north, south and west. Anything that tries to stand in its path is trampled under its hooves. It reigns supreme from its position and does as it pleases.
While the ram stands secure in its position, a goat comes from the west. Its coming is astounding, for its hooves never touch the ground. It floats in as if standing on air; as if brought in by the very hand of God. This goat has another astonishing feature in that it has only one horn and it protrudes from between its eyes. And it is a magnificent horn.
As the goat get closer to the ram, fury builds in the goat and it charges the ram. It overpowers it and breaks both the ram’s horns and tramples the ram underfoot, obliterating it from its very existence.
The goat takes on authority and becomes great like the ram had been. As its power grows, the weight of its horn causes it to crack and break at its base. Rather than regrowing as a single horn, now four horns erupt from its place. They point in all the directions of the compass; north, south, east, and west. One horn begins to spiral, its growth reaching towards all points as it grows. That single horn becomes so tall that it touches the stars of heaven and hooks some of them, careening them to the ground. Once they hit the earth, the goat tramples them into dust.
As inexplicable as it sounds, the great horn on the goat becomes even greater that “the Prince of the host” (Daniel 8:11b). Greater than the Son of God. The goat takes from the Prince the daily sacrifices and robs Him of His temple. Even some of those who served the Prince will become servants of the great horn of the goat through deceit. The goat will trample truth to the ground and its actions begin to prosper; it grows even stronger.
Holy voices cry out in the background against the goat. One voice cries to another; “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?” (Daniel 8:14).
As Daniel is struggling to understand all that he is seeing and hearing, one having the appearance of a man suddenly stands on the band of the Ulai canal and gives the answer to the question asked; “For 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state” (Daniel 8:15).
While Daniel is considering the answer, the first voice calls out again. “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision” (Daniel 8:16).
At this command, Gabriel approaches Daniel. Daniel KNOWS the origin of this being and falls immediately to his face on the ground in awe. As Daniel lies on the ground on his face, Gabriel speaks to him. “Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end” (Daniel 8:17).
The words are so penetrating that Daniel loses all sense of time and falls into what feels like a deep sleep, for what seems like hours, but may in fact be only minutes. Gabriel reaches down and touches Daniel and commands him to rise. Once Daniel is standing on his feet, Gabriel reveals a portion of the vision to Daniel; only that which God has allowed him to illuminate.
“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” (Daniel 8:19-26).
When the vision ends, Daniel crumples into a heap. “Even God in Heaven is going to suffer under this kingdom? How can that be?! O Lord, please tell me I heard wrong!” As he cries in anguish, the question and answer of the voices resounds in his spirit. It is only for a time; 2,300 evenings and mornings. “And then what” wonders Daniel. He KNOWS that God will prevail in the end, for He IS GOD of ALL creation. But these words of a hand reaching into the very gates of Heaven leave Daniel heartsick for days.
After days of dwelling on the vision, and knowing that he cannot change it, nor does he fully understand it, Daniel rises and records what he has seen. He puts it with the other vision he received from the Lord. Once this is finished, Daniel returns to his daily life. His steps are a little heavier with the knowledge he has received, but his faith in his God remains just as strong. “God would not show me this without a purpose. And whatever that purpose is, HE will reveal it, in HIS time.”
(to be continued)
This was a terrifying vision to Daniel. It doesn’t have a ‘happy ending’ for him to see. He doesn’t get to see God judging the world after defeating the horn. He has to hold onto the ‘happy ending’ of the previous vision for that. He has a timeline that the previous vision lacked though. Only for 2,300 mornings and evenings will this horn rule. That is the comfort he can cling to.
Daniel is also on the other side of the promise from us. We recognize Satan reaching into heaven as it were with the death of Jesus. He thought he had won, but God snatched that ‘defeat’ right out of his hands and made it His ultimate victory. That victory is what we hold onto for the final days. For the end is coming and there are a LOT of hard things coming with it. Hold fast to this if nothing else; GOD IS IN CONTROL. And NOTHING that He has promised will not come to pass. I’ve read the back of the book and HE WINS; meaning that those who are His will also!
Father God, thank You for Your promises. I feel for Daniel. He was heartsick hearing how pain and destruction would come even to Your doorstep. My heart hurts thinking about that time to. And it hurts knowing what is still to come. Scary days are ahead, for those who don’t have a personal relationship with You. Simple knowledge of Your existence isn’t enough. Only those who have Jesus as their Lord and Savior are secure in Your arms.
And that salvation is a FREE gift to ANY who ask for it! That is the GREATEST NEWS OF ALL! Thank You Jesus for Your precious gift! I was lost without You. And THANK YOU that Your gift will NEVER be taken away from me. For it is through YOUR work and not MINE. I CLING to this promise with both hands, both feet, teeth and nails! Better than that though, YOU cling to Your promise too. NOTHING can pry me from Your hands!
