The Ram and He Goat of Daniel 8
Samuel Smith
23 Jan'19
5
LESSON 7
THE RAM AND HE GOAT OF DANIEL 8
You are welcome to another edition of Insights from God's Word, a Bible Study Programme that is committed to sharing God's Word by allowing the Bible to speak for itself.In this edition, we continue with our series on The Final Events of Bible Prophecy. The topic for this study is: The Ram and He Goat of Daniel 8. We glean the following points from our Bible study reference of
1. The vision concerning the Ram and He Goat of
2. After Daniel had chronicled the time he had this vision, he went on to give us the place he saw the vision and the details of the vision in the following manner:
Friends, the Ram that the Prophet Daniel described in vision is the combined kingdom of the Medes and Persians. The two horns represent the kings of Media and Persia. We are told by Daniel that even though the two horns were high, one of the horns was higher than the other (
Beloved, as Daniel considered the ram in vision, he saw that the ram pushed westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts (that is, kingdoms or nations as depicted in
Beloved, to understand and appreciate the fourth verse of
4. Friends, after the ram, the Prophet Daniel also saw in vision a he goat. The Prophet records the following concerning the he goat:
6. Beloved, through the symbol of a furious he goat, the Lord described in
Moreover, the symbol of the he goat attacking from the sky (that is, not touching the ground as found in
7. After the he goat defeated the ram, Daniel saw in vision that the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven (
As the Bible predicted, the Greeks became very great after they defeated the combined powers of the Medes and Persians. In fact, they became the third superpower of the ancient world. However, the prophecy records that: "when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven" (
From the records of history, we learn how when the Grecian empire reached her peak, the great horn (Alexander the Great) was broken. History records that at the young age of 33 years, Alexander had the world at his feet. "There are no more worlds to conquer" was his bitter cry. However, this valiant war genius could not conquer himself. He died of a fever which was brought on by an excessive intake of alcohol. Now, without a heir to take over the kingdom of Greece, Alexander desired on his deathbed that his kingdom would go to the strongest. This statement plunged Greece into a fierce civil war as the generals of Alexander tested their strength against each other. It was not until the battle of Ipsus in 301 B. C. that four of Alexander's generals divided the empire amongst themselves towards the four winds of heaven. These generals were Cassander, who received Greece and its area; Lysimachus, who received Asia-minor; Ptolemy, who received Egypt; and Seleucus, who received Syria and Babylon.
How true was verified the words of Scripture which said: "when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven" (
8. Friends, after the he goat, the next thing Daniel saw in vision at river Ulai was a little horn. However, I am not going to expound on that in this study as the subject of this little horn is going to be the focus of our next study. But I cannot end this presentation without bringing to your view the clear statements of fact from
Beloved, all along in our study from
9. We read from
8:16 And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.
8:17 So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.
8:18 Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.
8:19 And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.
8:20 The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
8:21 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
8:22 Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power."
(
Exhortation: "9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure" (
"8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. 9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them" (
How amazing is the God we serve. If this God is able to tell what will be in the future even hundreds of years before they come to pass, then I want to trust my life, plans and future into His sovereign hands. If this is also your wish, if this is your prayer, why don't you commit your life, plans and future into His hands right now?
In our next study, we will consider the topic: The Little Horn of Daniel 8. The Bible study reference for this study is
Stay blessed and keep shining for King Jesus.
Maranatha!
Powered by White Throne Ministries