The Ram and the Goat
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Let's pray together before beginning this lesson:
O Lord,
May our study of the book of Daniel help us to trust more and more Your prophetic Word, as
well as the rest of Your Holy Scriptures.
We also ask You to give us the will and the courage we need to share this knowledge with
those around us, rather than selfishly keeping these precious treasures for ourselves.
In Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.
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Hebrews 5:13,14
For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in
the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use
have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Remembering one of the seven keys allowing a proper understanding of Bible
prophecy, that is, «Simple prophecies first, then complex ones», we now continue our
study of the book of Daniel by taking up the prophecy contained in chapter 8: the ram and
the goat.
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Daniel 8:1
In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a
vision appeared to me - to me, Daniel - after the one that appeared to me the first time.
Two years after his vision of the mythical beasts, which we studied in our last
lesson, Daniel received another one, just as interesting as the first one.
This vision constitutes the prophecy of the ram and the goat.
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Daniel 8:3
Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside
the river, was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was higher
than the other, and the higher one came up last.
Daniel 7:23
The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth.
Daniel's vision begins with a ram which has two horns unequal in length.
In our last lesson, we learned that a beast symbolizes a kingdom, a political power.
What kingdom does this ram symbolize?
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Daniel 8:16,20
And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai,
who called, and said,
«Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.» (...)
«The ram which you saw, having the two horns - they are the kings of Media and Persia.»
Bible prophecy does not give way to interpretation!
Sent by God, the angel Gabriel himself answers the question: the ram symbolizes the
Medo-Persian Empire.
Since at that time the kingdom of Babylon was just about to fall, we notice that the
prophecy begins immediately with the kingdom of Media and Persia, which overthrew Babylon
in 539 B.C.
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Daniel 8:3
Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside
the river, was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was higher
than the other, and the higher one came up last.
Daniel 7:5
And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was
raised up on one side.
Just as in Daniel 7, in which the bear was raised up on one side, the ram has
two horns unequal in length, symbolizing the superiority of some over others within the
Medo-Persian kingdom.
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Daniel 8:3
There, standing beside the river, was a ram which had two
horns, and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher one
came up last.
Prophecy is very precise: the higher horn «came up
last».
Indeed, history teaches us that the Medo-Persian Empire was, in its early stages, marked
by the domination of the Medes.
But in 550 B.C., a conflict within the empire brought the victory of the Persian Cyrus II
the Great over Astyages of Media, thus fulfilling the prophecy.
However, the Medes were not treated as subjugated people by the Persians, but rather as
confederates.
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Daniel 8:4
I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward,
so that no beast could withstand him.
As foretold, the successive conquests of the Medo-Persian kingdom spread its
empire in the mentioned directions:
- before invading the kingdom of Babylon in 539 B.C., King Cyrus had
struck westward by conquering Lydia in 547 B.C.;
- afterwards, Cambyses struck southward by invading Egypt and Nubia in
525 B.C.;
- then Darius 1st, son of Hystapes, struck northward by overcoming the
Scythians in 513 B.C.
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Daniel 8:4
I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward,
so that no beast could withstand him; nor was there any that could deliver from his hand,
but he did according to his will and became great.
The Medo-Persian Empire covered so much territory that when the king of Persia,
Xerxes (Ahasuerus), began to reign, in 510 B.C., his kingdom was stretching from India to
Ethiopia.
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Daniel 8:5
And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from
the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat
had a notable horn between his eyes.
As he was considering the ram, Daniel saw a goat coming from the west.
What does this new beast symbolize?
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Daniel 8:21
The male goat is the kingdom of Greece.
The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king.
Here again, the angel Gabriel gives us the answer directly: the goat symbolizes
Greece.
The large horn represents the first king of the Greek Empire: Alexander the Great.
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Daniel 8:5
And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from
the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground.
Daniel 7:6
There was another, like a leopard, which had on its back
four wings of a bird.
Coming from the west, the Greek Empire struck in turn the Medo-Persian kingdom.
As symbolized by the winged leopard (also representing Greece in the prophecy of Daniel
7), and the goat which does not touch the ground, the victory of the Greeks over the
Medo-Persian kingdom was very swift.
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Daniel 8:6,7
Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had
seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power.
And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, attacked the ram,
and broke his two horns.
There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and
trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand.
Thus, Alexander the Great overcame Darius III Codomannus, king of Persia, at
the Battle of Arbela, in 331 B.C.
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Daniel 8:8,22
Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he
became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up.
(...)
As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise
out of that nation.
Just as the prophecy foretold, Alexander the Great died at the height of his
fame, in 323 B.C., at the age of 32, only a few years after the conquest of the
Medo-Persian kingdom.
He was then succeeded by his four generals:
- Lysimachus;
- Cassander;
- Ptolemy;
- Seleucus.
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Daniel 7:6
After this I looked, and there was another, like a
leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird.
The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.
In the previous prophecy (Daniel chapter 7), the prediction of the division of
the Greek empire between four rulers was suggested by the the leopard with four heads.
The prophecy of Daniel chapter 8, which contains more details, now confirms this
interpretation.
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Daniel 8:8
Four notable [horns] came up toward the four winds of
heaven.
The Greek generals shared the empire «toward the four
winds of heaven».
- Northward, Lysimachus took Thrace and most of Asia Minor.
- Southward, Ptolemy acquired Egypt, Palestine and the south of Syria.
- Eastward, Seleucus seized the rest of Asia Minor, the north of Syria,
and the East nearly to the Indus River.
- Westward, Cassander kept Macedonia, and nominal sovereignty over
Greece.
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Daniel 8:22
As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its
place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.
Of course, the division of the Greek Empire contributed to its weakening, thus
preparing the ground for the next universal kingdom...
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Daniel 8:9
And out of one of them came a little horn which grew
exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land.
Indeed, just as we saw in our last two lessons, the Greek Empire was conquered
by the Roman Empire, at the Battle of Pydna in 168 B.C., when Lucius Aemilius Paulus
defeated Perseus, the last king of Macedonia.
Then, exactly as foretold, Rome spread its dominion:
- toward the east with Syria in 65 B.C;
- toward the south with Egypt, after a long protectorate, in 30 B.C.;
- and also «toward the Glorious Land»,
that is, toward Palestine, in 63 B.C.
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Daniel 8:10,11
And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down
some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them.
He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host.
Revelation 19:13,14
His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in
heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
Rome «grew up to the host of heaven», «as high as the Prince of the host».
As foretold, Jesus, Prince of the heavenly host, was crucified under the authority of
Rome.
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Daniel 8:11
He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the
host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was
cast down.
Luke 21:20
But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then
know that its desolation is near.
As foretold, Rome «cast down the place of His sanctuary»,
when, in A.D. 70, the Roman legions led by Titus besieged and destroyed the city of
Jerusalem, burning down its temple.
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Daniel 8:11
He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the
host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was
cast down.
Daniel 9:26
And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off,
but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city
and the sanctuary.
The work of Rome against the Prince of the host and Messiah, and against
Jerusalem and its temple, will be the subject of a future lesson about Daniel chapter 9.
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Daniel 8:9
And out of one of them came a little horn which grew
exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land.
You may have noticed that, in our last lesson, the Roman Empire was symbolized
by a beast with iron teeth, and that the little horn arose only after this beast.
So, why does the little horn now designate Rome?
Here is why: Daniel 8 gives us more clues about the identity of this power, in addition to
those that we have already found in Daniel 7.
First, we can see here that the identity of the little horn is closely linked with the
name of Rome.
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Daniel 7:7,8,19,20
Behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible,
exceedingly strong. (...) It had ten horns.
I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among
them. (...)
Then I wished to know the truth about (...) the ten horns that were on its head, and about
the other horn which came up.
The prophecy of Daniel 7, subject of our last lesson, had already told us that
the little horn was closely linked with Rome.
Indeed, we saw the little horn coming up, like the other ten horns, directly from the head
of the fourth beast, which symbolizes the Roman Empire.
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Daniel 8:10,11
And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down
some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them.
He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices
were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.
In a symbolic way, this power having succeeded to the Roman Empire, although
closely linked with the name of Rome, also «exalted himself as high as the Prince of the
hosts» (Jesus), attacking the daily sacrifices.
We must remember these valuable clues to identify the little horn.
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Daniel 8:12
Because of transgression, an army was given over to the
horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground.
He did all this and prospered.
According to the prophecy, the little horn attacks the work of sacrifice Jesus
performed for the salvation of men.
It successfully darkens this perfect work, thus «casting truth down
to the ground», and prospering doing all this.
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Daniel 8:13,14
Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one
said to that certain one who was speaking,
«How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of
desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled under foot?»
And he said to me,
«For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.»
In the heart of the prophecy of Daniel 8, as the lethal work of the little horn
is presented, a question is asked: «How long?»
We will study this passage in detail in our lesson «The 2300 Days».
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Daniel 8:16,23
And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai,
who called, and said,
«Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.» (...)
«And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their
fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes.»
As we have just seen, the angel Gabriel was sent to make Daniel understand the
meaning of his vision.
Gabriel gives interesting details about the little horn.
First, the leader of this power will be «a king having fierce
features, who understands sinister schemes».
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Daniel 8:24
His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he
shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty, and
also the holy people.
Daniel 7:21
The same horn was making war against the saints, and
prevailing against them.
Here is another clue: the mighty power of the little horn does not come from «his own power», but rather from an outer source.
Also, it attacks the holy people, and overcomes them, as we saw in our last lesson.
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Daniel 8:24,25
He shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive;
he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.
Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his hand; and he shall magnify
himself in his heart.
He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of
princes.
The case of the little horn is far from brilliant: «he
shall destroy fearfully», «destroy the mighty, and also the
holy people», «destroy many in their prosperity», «rise against» Jesus, «the Prince of
princes»...
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Daniel 8:25
He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; but he
shall be broken without human hand.
Daniel 2:34
You watched while a stone was cut out without hands,
which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.
Fortunately, the sad reign of the little horn will end abruptly, «without human hand», an expression which reminds us of the way
the stone destroyed the image in the prophecy of Daniel chapter 2.
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Daniel 8:15
Now it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and
was seeking the meaning...
Just as Daniel did, we must seek to understand this prophecy.
However, we must recognize that the angel Gabriel has already provided us with most of the
interpretation! In fact, we only have to identify the power symbolized by the little horn,
and the picture will be complete.
Let's therefore review the nine clues we found in Daniel 7 in our previous lesson, and the
nine others contained in Daniel 8.
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Luke 11:9
Seek, and you will find.
As we have seen in our previous lesson, we will discover the identity of the
little horn in a future lesson. Meanwhile, we encourage you to think about it.
Do not hesitate to consult history books and encyclopedias: with the help of the 18 clues
provided by the Word of God, you will surely discover the identity of the power symbolized
by the little horn.
You might be quite surprised...
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Daniel 8:17,19
[The angel Gabriel] said to me, «Understand, son of man,
that the vision refers to the time of the end.» (...)
And he said, «Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the
indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be.»
Just as for all the prophecies found in the book of Daniel, understanding this
prophecy is all the more important since it especially concerns the generation who will
live during the last days of this world.
Thus the order «Understand!» applies even more to us than
to Daniel!
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Let's thank God:
Father,
As we progress in our study of the book of Daniel, we find more and more precise and
detailed prophecies. The fulfillment of these prophecies strengthens our trust in Your
Word.
As for the events not yet fulfilled, they call us to seriously and conscientiously prepare
ourselves.
Please help us to pay attention to the vital warnings You give us through Your prophetic
Word.
We thank You for Your presence and Your love. In Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.
Source of the Pictures of this Lesson
Screen 1: In: «Photo Gallery 5,000 volume 1» by Media
Graphics International, 037_200.JPG. Screen 2: In: «The Watchtower»
magazine (June 15, 1985), Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, p.9. Screen 3: BERRAN,
Robert. In: «My Bible Friends, volume 5» (DEGERING, Etta B.), Pacific Press Publishing
Association & Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1977, p.45. Screen 4: BISHOP,
Tom. «Ram and he-goat of Daniel 8». In: «New Pictoral Aid For Bible Study» (BREADEN,
Frank), Australian Division of Seventh-Day Adventists, 1970, chart #33. Screen 5: COLLINS,
Fred. In: «The Bible Story, volume 6» (MAXWELL, Arthur S.), Pacific Press Publishing
Association, 1955, p.62. Screen 6: BISHOP, Tom. «Ram and he-goat of
Daniel 8» and «Lion and bear of Daniel 7». In: «New Pictoral Aid For Bible Study»
(BREADEN, Frank), Australian Division of Seventh-Day Adventists, 1970, charts #33 and #20.
Composite picture by Cyberspace Ministry. Screen 7: STEEL, John. In:
«God Cares, volume 1» (MAXWELL, C.Mervyn), Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1981,
p.150. Screen 8: «Persian Weapons - Battle of Gaugamela (331 BC)». In:
«Battles of the World», Compton's Home Library, 1996. Screen 9: «Greek-Persian
Wars - Cunaxa (401 BC)». Suse Palace of Artaxerxes II. In: «Battles of the World»,
Compton's Home Library, 1996. Screen 10: BISHOP, Tom. «Ram and he-goat
of Daniel 8». In: «New Pictoral Aid For Bible Study» (BREADEN, Frank), Australian
Division of Seventh-Day Adventists, 1970, chart #33. Screen 11: «Alexander
the Great - Battle of Gaugamela (331 BC)». In: «Battles of the World», Compton's Home
Library, 1996. Screen 12: BISHOP, Tom. «Ram and he-goat of Daniel 8»
and «Leopard and fourth beast of Daniel 7». In: «New Pictoral Aid For Bible Study»
(BREADEN, Frank), Australian Division of Seventh-Day Adventists, 1970, charts #33 and #21.
Composite picture by Cyberspace Ministry. Screen 13: STEEL, John. In:
«God Cares, volume 1» (MAXWELL, C.Mervyn), Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1981,
p.150. Screen 14: «Greek soldiers fighting in a phalanx.» In: «Deluxe
Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia CD - 1998 Edition», Compton's Home Library, 1997.
Screen 15: BISHOP, Tom. «Leopard and fourth beast of Daniel 7». In: «New
Pictoral Aid For Bible Study» (BREADEN, Frank), Australian Division of Seventh-Day
Adventists, 1970, chart #21. Screen 16: BISHOP, Tom. «Four horns and
little horn of Daniel 8». In: «New Pictoral Aid For Bible Study» (BREADEN, Frank),
Australian Division of Seventh-Day Adventists, 1970, chart #34. Picture edited by
Cyberspace Ministry. Screen 17: «Remains of the Parthenon.» In: «Bible
Then & Now» (ROBERTS, Jenny), MacMillan, New York, 1996, p.34. Screen 18: BISHOP,
Tom. «Four horns and little horn of Daniel 8». In: «New Pictoral Aid For Bible Study»
(BREADEN, Frank), Australian Division of Seventh-Day Adventists, 1970, chart #34.
Screen 19: STEEL, John. In: «L'Espoir de l'Humanité» volume 3 (Ellen G.
White), éditions Le Monde Français, Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1972, p.622.
Screen 20: STEEL, John. In: «God Cares, vol.2» (MAXWELL, C. Mervyn), Pacific
Press Publishing Association, 1985, p.29. Screen 21: MANISCALCO, Joe. In:
«Images from the Bible and Sacred History CD», Chosen Works, MLI Software, JM247.BMP.
Screen 22: Unknown source. Screen 23: In: MAXWELL, Arthur S.
«The Bible Story, volume 6», Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1955, p.61. Picture
edited by Cyberspace Ministry. Screen 24: NUMAZAWA, Shigemi. «Leonid
meteor storm». Japan Planetarium Laboratory. From the Web site:
http://www.skypub.com/sights/meteors/leonids/98preview.html. Screen 25: Unknown
source. Screen 26: Picture from: Generation of graphics on CoolText.com
(http://www.cooltext.com/). Screen 27: STEEL, John. In: «The Triumph of
God's Love, volume 1» (WHITE, Ellen G.), Pacific Press Publishing Association and Review
and Herald Publishing Association, 1950, p.166. Screen 28: «Scenes of
the Waldensian Persecution», Museum at La Torre, Italy. In: WHITE, Ellen G., «The (New,
Illustrated) Great Controversy», Laymen for Religious Liberty Inc., 1990. Screen
29: «Battle of Agincourt, 1415». In: «Battles of the World», Compton's Home
Library, 1996. Screen 30: GREENE, Nathan. In: «La Sentinelle» magazine
(August 1995), Pacific Press Publishing Association, p.8,9. Screen 31: In:
«The Watchtower» magazine (December 15, 1991), Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society,
p.17. Screen 32: Picture Collection «Corel Gallery Magic» by Corel,
1997, CD #2, CC39.CMX. Picture edited by Cyberspace Ministry. Table of Screen 32: BISHOP,
Tom. «Identification of the little horn». In: «New Pictoral Aid For Bible Study»
(BREADEN, Frank), Australian Division of Seventh-Day Adventists, 1970, chart #22.
Screen 33: Picture Collection «Corel Gallery Magic» by Corel, 1997, CD #2,
DETECTVS.CMX. Picture edited by Cyberspace Ministry. Table of Screen 33: BISHOP,
Tom. «Identification of the little horn». In: «New Pictoral Aid For Bible Study»
(BREADEN, Frank), Australian Division of Seventh-Day Adventists, 1970, chart #22.
Screen 34: In: «The Watchtower» magazine (February 1, 1988), New York, Watch
Tower Bible and Tract Society, p.1. Screen 35: EASTMAN, Bryant. In: «La
Sentinelle» magazine (October 1994), Pacific Press Publishing Association, p.13.
Screen 36: In: «Photo Gallery 5,000 volume 1» by Media Graphics International,
44_157.JPG.
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The test of Lesson 18 is waiting for you!