Eschatology: Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and a Goat. Daniel 8

Dan 8:1  In Belshazzar's third year as king, I, Daniel, saw a vision. This vision came after the one I saw earlier.

Dan 8:2  In my vision I saw myself in the fortress of Susa in the province of Elam. In my vision I saw myself at Ulai Gate.

Dan 8:3  I looked up and saw a single ram standing beside the gate. The ram had two long horns, one longer than the other, though the longer one had grown up later.

Dan 8:4  I saw the ram charging west, north, and south. No other animal could stand in front of it, and no one could escape from its power. It did anything it pleased and continued to grow.

Who is the Goat and why the Two Horns?

The Ram represents the Medo - Persian Empire. “The ram had two long horns, one longer than the other, though the longer one had grown up later.  The Kings are represented by the horns. Note the imbalance - one longer and the other shorter. Persian stronger than the Medes.  

Persia, which was of little note till Cyrus’ time, became then ascendant over Media, the more ancient kingdom. Darius was sixty-two years old (Dan_5:31) when he began to reign; during his short reign of two years, being a weak king (Dan_6:1-3), the government was almost entirely in Cyrus’ hands. Hence Herodotus does not mention Darius; but Xenophon does under the name of Cyaxares II. The “ram” here corresponds to the “bear” (Dan_7:5), symbolizing clumsy firmness. The king of Persia wore a jeweled ram’s head of gold instead of a diadem, such as are seen on the pillars at Persepolis. Also the Hebrew for “ram” springs from the same root as “Elam,” or Persia [Newton]. The “one horn higher than the other” answers to the bear “raising itself on one side” JFB’s Commentary

Dan 8:17  Gabriel came up beside me, and when he came, I was terrified and immediately knelt down. He said to me, "Son of man, understand that the vision is about the end times."

Dan 8:18  As he spoke to me, I fainted facedown on the ground, but he touched me and made me stand up.

Dan 8:19  He said, "I will tell you what will happen in the last days, the time of God's anger, because the end time has been determined.

Dan 8:20  "The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kingdoms of Media and Persia.

The Powerful Angry Male Goat

Dan 8:7  I saw it come closer to the ram. The goat was extremely angry with the ram, so it attacked the ram. It broke both of the ram's horns. The ram didn't have the strength to stand up against the goat. So the ram was thrown down on the ground and trampled. No one could rescue the ram from the goat's power.

Dan 8:8  The male goat became very important. But when the goat became powerful, his large horn broke off. In its place grew four horns. They corresponded to the four winds of heaven.

Dan 8:9  Out of one of the horns came a small horn. It gained power over the south, the east, and the beautiful land.

The Male Goat was extremely angry with the ram. The male goat speaks of the Greeks and the one horn was Alexander the Great. His horn or his life was broken off or  (cut short) and another ‘little horn’ came up out out of the four horns that grew in its place

The Grecian Empire

Dan 8:22  The horn broke off, and four horns replaced it. Four kingdoms will come out of that nation, but they won't be as strong as the first king was.

Alexander's Empire Divided into Four Divisions

Dan 8:23  "In the last days of those kingdoms, when rebellions are finished, a stern-looking king who understands mysterious things will rise to power.

Dan 8:24  He will become very strong, but not by his own strength. He will cause astounding destruction and will be successful in everything he does. He will destroy those who are powerful along with some holy people.

Dan 8:25  He will cleverly use his power to deceive others successfully. He will consider himself to be great and destroy many people when they don't expect it. He will oppose the Commander of Commanders,[the Ruler of Rulers] but he will be defeated, though not by any human power.

This vision is not referring just to Antiochus Epiphanes but the End Times

Dan 8:17  So he came near beside my place. And when he came, I was afraid and fell on my face. But he said to me, Understand, O son of man, for the vision is for the time of the end.

the time of the end — so Dan_8:19; Dan_11:35, Dan_11:36, Dan_11:40. The event being to take place at “the time of the end” makes it likely that the Antichrist ultimately referred to (besides the immediate reference to Antiochus) in this chapter, and the one in Dan_7:8, are one and the same. The objection that the one in the seventh chapter springs out of the ten divisions of the Roman earth, the fourth kingdom, the one in the eighth chapter and the eleventh chapter from one of the four divisions of the third kingdom, Greece, is answered thus: The four divisions of the Grecian empire, having become parts of the Roman empire, shall at the end form four of its ten final divisions [Tregelles]. However, the origin from one of the four parts of the third kingdom may be limited to Antiochus, the immediate subject of the eighth and eleventh chapter,JFB’s Commentary

The AntiChrist.

Dan 8:9  And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which became very great, toward the south and toward the east and toward the bountiful land. [Israel]

Note the Explanation:  

Dan 8:24  And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power. And he shall destroy marvelously,[he shall cause terrible destruction] and shall prosper and work, and destroy the mighty and the holy people.

Dan 8:25  And also through his understanding, he shall cause deceit to succeed in his hand. And he shall magnify himself in his heart,[proud and arrogant] and by peace shall destroy many. He also shall stand up against the Ruler of rulers. But he shall be broken without a hand.

v.  24. not by his own power — which in the beginning was “little” (Dan_8:9; Dan_7:8); but by gaining over others through craft, the once little horn became “mighty” (compare Dan_8:25; Dan_11:23). To be fully realized by Antichrist. He shall act by the power of Satan, who shall then be permitted to work through him in unrestricted license, such as he has not now (Rev_13:2); hence the ten kingdoms shall give the beast their power (2Th_2:9-12; Rev_17:13).

prosper and practise — prosper in all that he attempts (Dan_8:12).

holy people — His persecutions are especially directed against the Jews.JFB

The 144,000 Messianic Jewish Witnesses will have tremendous impact according to Rev 7 for there are those who have come out of Great tribulation and washed their Robes in the Blood of the Lamb.

The Two Witness.

Rev 11:1  I was then given a stick that looked like a measuring-rod, and was told, "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count those who are worshiping in the temple.

Rev 11:2  But do not measure the outer courts, because they have been given to the heathen, who will trample on the Holy City for forty-two months.

Rev 11:3  I will send my two witnesses dressed in sackcloth, and they will proclaim God's message during those 1, 260 days."

Rev 11:4  The two witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lamps that stand before the Lord of the earth.

Rev 11:5  If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes out of their mouths and destroys their enemies; and in this way whoever tries to harm them will be killed.

Rev 11:6  They have authority to shut up the sky so that there will be no rain during the time they proclaim God's message. They have authority also over the springs of water, to turn them into blood; they have authority also to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish.

Rev 11:7  When they finish proclaiming their message, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will fight against them. He will defeat them and kill them,

Rev 11:8  and their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, where their Lord was crucified. The symbolic name of that city is Sodom, or Egypt.

Rev 11:9  People from all nations, tribes, languages, and races will look at their bodies for three and a half days and will not allow them to be buried.

Rev 11:10  The people of the earth will be happy because of the death of these two. They will celebrate and send presents to each other, because those two prophets brought much suffering upon the whole human race.

Rev 11:11  After three and a half days a life-giving breath came from God and entered them, and they stood up; and all who saw them were terrified.

Rev 11:12  Then the two prophets heard a loud voice say to them from heaven, "Come up here!" As their enemies watched, they went up into heaven in a cloud.

Rev 11:13  At that very moment there was a violent earthquake; a tenth of the city was destroyed, and seven thousand people were killed. The rest of the people were terrified and praised the greatness of the God of heaven.

Rev 11:14  The second horror is over, but the third horror will come soon!

The two witnesses have the authority to prophecy for three and a half years.

Fire comes out of their mouths to destroy their enemies.

They dry up the rain and the springs are turned into blood. They strike the earth with terrible ebola like plagues. These two cause chaos on this God-defying world.

The Ant-Christ has power to kill the two Witness Rev 11 :7 above

But they rise from the dead and are called up to heaven.

The Vision is sealed up for the distant future.

Dan 8:26  And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true. But you shall shut up the vision; for it shall be for many days. [because it is about things that will happen in the distant future."

Dan 8:27  And I Daniel fainted, and was sick for days. Afterward I rose up, and did the king's business. And I was amazed at the vision, but there was no understanding.

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