THE RAM & THE GOAT

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on July 21, 2024 under 2024 |

Bethany Bible Church Sermon Message from July 21, 2024 from Daniel 8:1-27

Theme: Even in a time of indignation, the God of Israel still loves His chosen people and has a good outcome appointed for them.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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The Book of Daniel is a book of visions. In this amazing book, God reveals His sovereign plan for the future of this world through a series of remarkable prophetic visions that He gave to His godly servant Daniel. Over the past several weeks, we’ve been looking at these visions; and from them, we’ve been learning about the plan that God has for the Gentile nations of this world—from the time of Daniel’s captivity in the land of Babylon all the way up to the time when the Lord Jesus will return to reign upon this earth.

This morning, we will look at yet another vision. We find it in Chapter 8 of Daniel. But it’s a remarkable vision that stands out because of who this particular vision had been meant for. In all of the previous things that we’ve read in the Book of Daniel, the theme of the visions that Daniel saw had been God’s plan for the Gentile nations. But with this particular vision, the focus of attention begins to shift—and it remains shifted until the end of the book. Starting with Chapter 8, the visions that God gave to Daniel had to do with his own native homeland Israel; and they show us God’s plan for the nations as it relates specifically to His chosen people.

How can we know this? In Chapter 1, the language of the Book of Daniel is Hebrew—the language of the Jewish people. And because Chapters 2-7 all have to do with official interactions with the rulers of Gentile nations, the language of those chapters had been in Aramaic—the language that both the Jewish captives and the Gentile nations would have had in common. But beginning in Chapter 8, the language shifts back again to the specific language of the Jewish people … and remains in Hebrew until the end of the book. That’s because the things we’re about to encounter in the rest of this amazing book are meant primarily to inform the Jewish people of God’s plan for them.

And it’s with that particular frame of mind that we need to approach the vision of Chapter 8. In it, God reminds the Jewish people—and us—that all of the flow of human history is pointing toward the return of the Jewish Messiah, King Jesus. He will rule one day over this world from His throne in Jerusalem as the King of the Jewish people. It reminds everyone that—no matter what—God remains devoted to His precious Jewish people. That’s true even when they’ve been disobedient to Him and have had to be punished by Him. His plan remains the same: that—one day—all of Israel will be saved; and that they will absolutely welcome King Jesus to the throne in Jerusalem.

The reason that the Gentile world has occupied the Jewish land for so long is because God had been disciplining His people. But if you want to know what God’s plan is for this world, keep your eyes on Israel! This chapter helps to remind us that, even in a time of indignation, the God of Israel still loves His chosen people and has a good and glorious outcome appointed for them.

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Now; the best way for us to make our way through this chapter—and the amazing vision it contains—is to simply read our way through it thoughtfully and reverently. So; let’s begin by considering …

1. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE VISION.

In verse 1, we’re told the time in which this vision was given to Daniel. It says;

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 (v. 1).

What was the vision that ‘appeared’ to Daniel ‘the first time’? It’s the one that we found recorded for us in Chapter 7—the vision of the four beasts that Daniel saw that represented the four successive world empires of what the Bible calls ‘the times of the Gentiles’. First, he saw the Babylonian empire in the form of a lion with the two wings of an eagle; then he saw the Median-Persian empire in the form of a devouring bear—leaned up on one side to show that the Persian empire held superiority over the Median empire. Third, he saw the Grecian empire in the form of a strange, four-headed leopard with four wings. And finally, he saw the Roman empire in the form of a ferocious beast with iron claws and dreadful teeth. That last beast had ten horns which represented a form of the Roman empire that’s still yet to come in our time; a ten-nation confederacy from out of which would arise the Antichrist. And finally, at the conclusion of that vision, Daniel saw the return of Jesus Christ—the Son of Man—who would come and destroy the Antichrist and begin His glorious reign upon the earth as King of kings and Lord of lords. This second vision is strongly dependent upon the information given to us in that first vision; and that may be why Daniel made a point of stressing that it was to him—“to me, Daniel”—that this vision in Chapter 8 was given.

We’re told at the beginning of that vision that it was given to Daniel in “the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon”—the king who was the very last king of the Babylonian empire, who saw the ‘writing on the wall’ and who perished along with the Babylonian empire in just one night. Daniel was given that first vision in the first year of that king’s reign—which meant he saw it about 15 years before Babylon was destroyed. And in the case of the vision before us in Chapter 8, we’re told that he saw it in the third year of that king … just two years or so after that first vision.

And notice not only the time but also the setting of this vision. In verse 2, Daniel wrote,

I saw in the vision, and it so happened while I was looking, that I was in Shushan, the citadel, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision that I was by the River Ulai (v. 2).

In chapter seven, Daniel saw that first vision as a dream on his bed. But here, he seems to be wide awake and able to look with open eyes. What’s more, he sees it as if he had been transported from one place to another—from his duties in the capital of the Babylonian empire (near modern-day Baghdad in Iraq), to a place about 250 miles to the east in Shushan (at modern-day Susa in Iran). Was he physically transported from one place to another? Or was he figuratively transported in the vision? We’re not told. But what’s remarkable is that—at that time in the reign of King Belshazzar of Babylon—that place in Shushan wouldn’t have been, in any way, considered important. It certainly wouldn’t have been suspected to be the kind of place it would become later on as the capital city of the mighty Persian empire—the ‘home-in-exile’ of Queen Esther, and of Ezra, and of Nehemiah.

God wanted to position His servant Daniel in that very place—whether physically or figuratively—so that he could see, in this vision, the conflict that was about to occur there about 200 years or so in the future … and to also see how it would all affect his fellow Jewish kinsmen.

And that leads us next to …

2. THE CONTENT OF THE VISION.

Now; before we look at the details of the vision, I need to let you know that we’re not left to guess at what those details mean. Later on in this chapter, Daniel is given an authorized interpretation of what the details mean. And so, as we read these things, let’s also consider them in the light of what we’re told later about them.

First, in verses 3-4. Daniel tells us;

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. I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no animal could withstand him; nor was there any that could deliver from his hand, but he did according to his will and became great (vv. 3-4).

This is an unusual ram. It had two horns—just as rams ordinarily have. But one horn grew higher than the other. Later on in this chapter, we’re told that this ram represented “the kings of the Media and Persia”; that is, the second great beast that Daniel saw in his vision in Chapter 7. The Median-Persian empire would be the empire that would soon conquer and destroy the Babylonian kingdom in which Daniel was—at that very moment—serving as an official. Back in that first vision, the Median-Persian empire was shown as a devouring bear raised up on one side—indicating that one aspect of the empire would become dominant over the other. And this is pictured to us in this vision in the way that this ram had two horns with one horn higher than the other. Over time, the Persian aspect of the empire held dominance over the Median aspect.

Daniel saw that this two-fold empire—which, in his time, had not yet risen as a significant empire at all—would end up ‘pushing’ like a ram, from its place in the east, toward the west and the north and the south. It was making conquests in all these areas of the known world; and no one was able to stop it in its domineering advance.

But then, Daniel tells us of another thing he saw in his vision;

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. 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 (vv. 5-7).

This male goat is also unusual. Instead of two horns, it had just one—a notable horn that grew between its eyes. It was a unicorn goat. It came upon the ram with remarkable swiftness—not even touching the ground as it flew toward him in fury. And later on in this chapter, we’re made to know that this ‘male goat’ from the west is the kingdom of Greece. We’re told that this singular horn was the Grecian empire’s first king—who we know from history to be none other than Alexander the Great. Alexander was a brilliant young military genius who—being scarcely past his twentieth year of age—successfully conquered the known world in only twelve years’ time.

Historians tell us that Alexander had a score to settle with the Median-Persian empire. In its pushing in all directions, the Persian empire had previously attacked and humiliated Greece. And later, the one-horned goat would come upon the two-horned ram in fierce vengeance. Alexander trampled and defeated the Persians in Asia Minor in 334 B.C.—which eventually led to the collapse of the Median-Persian empire a few years later.

Daniel went on to write;

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 toward the four winds of heaven (v. 8).

Apparently, Alexander was able to conquer the whole world … but was unable to conquer his own fleshly passions. In 323 B.C., at the age of 33—while in the midst of a drunken feast—he died. Eventually, Alexander’s kingdom became divided among four of his generals—Cassander taking control of the west, Lysimachus taking control of the east, Ptolemy taking control of the south, and Seleucus taking control of the north. This was all shown to Daniel prophetically.

But the story of the ‘male goat’ kingdom of Greece was not yet over. Daniel was then shown something very remarkable about those four horns …

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. 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. 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 (vv. 8-12).

In the Bible, a “horn” is symbolic of political power—often embodied in one person. We now know from history who this mysterious ‘little horn’ was. He was the eighth ruler who came from the dynasty of one of those four horns—the Selucied king of the north, Antiochus IV. He called himself Antiochus Epiphenes; which means ‘Antiochus the God Manifest’. But behind his back, people often referred to him as Antiochus Epimaneus; which meant ‘Antiochus the Extreme Madman’. He doesn’t figure very large in world history in general; but he figures very significantly in the history of the suffering of the Jewish people.

We know much of the story of this wicked king from the first chapter of the apocryphal book 1 Maccabees. Apparently, some apostate Jewish people came to Antiochus and offered to persuade their fellow Jews to embrace heathen practices; which—with Antioochus’ approval—they then did. We’re told of how eventually—when “the transgressors” had “reached their fullness”—Antiochus then came against the people of Israel with a demonic hatred and rage. He sought to eradicate all of the feasts and offerings that God had given to the Jewish people, and threatened to kill any Jewish family that circumcised their sons. He tore up any copies of the Scriptures that were found; and he set up a horrible idol in the site of the temple in Jerusalem and commanded the Jewish people to worship it by threat of death. He even slew a pig and poured its broth on the altar of God in the temple area in order to completely desecrate it.

In Daniel’s vision, we’re told that this was done “because of transgression”. The people of Israel had disobeyed God’s commandments, and had failed to honor Him in their worship. And so Antiochus and his army would come and ‘oppose the daily sacrifices’ and ‘cast truth down to the ground’. But even as He allowed all of this to fall upon them, God still remained devoted to His chosen people. The suffering they would undergo would only be for a time. Verses 13-14 tell us;

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 underfoot?” And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed” (vv. 13-14).

2,300 days works out to about six-and-one-quarter years; which many Bible scholars believe is the time period between 171 B.C. when the Jewish high priest Onias III was murdered, and 164 B.C. when Antiochus was finally killed in battle. Whether or not that’s the precise understanding of that time period, God nevertheless made it clear to Daniel that the oppression would be placed under a very strict limit; and the honor of His holy place would then be restored.

Now; we can understand much of this; because, to us, it’s past history. But for Daniel, it was all still in the prophetic future. The impact of it left him stunned and bewildered. But God didn’t leave either Daniel—or us—to guess at what it all meant. As we go on, we find …

3. THE EXPLANATION OF THE VISION.

Verses 15-17 tell us;

Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end” (vv. 15-17).

The name of this “man” is familiar to us; isn’t it? He may have appeared to Daniel as a man, but he was in fact the angel Gabriel—the very same angel who later appeared to Mary to tell her that she would bear the Son of God in her virginity; and also to the father of John the Baptist to tell him of John’s birth. He may be the same angel that appeared to Joseph in a dream. Gabriel’s unique role in the Bible seems to be that of bearing an important message concerning the coming and the work of the Lord Jesus.

But the sight of Gabriel was overwhelming to Daniel. Daniel wrote;

Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me, and stood me upright. 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. The ram which you saw, having the two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia. And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king. 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.

“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” (vv. 18-23).

Up to this point, it’s very clear that Gabriel was speaking of the oppression of Antiochus IV upon the Jewish people. He was called “a little horn”; but we need to remember that Antiochus was not the same ‘horn’ as ‘the little horn’ of Chapter 7. The ‘little horn’ of Chapter 7 will arise from out of the ten-nation confederacy of the future Roman empire; and is a prophetic symbol of the Antichrist. The ‘little horn’ of Chapter 8 arose from out of the four horns of the four generals of the Grecian empire. In studying Daniel, it’s an important policy to keep the different ‘horns’ distinct.

But it seems evident that the ‘little horn’ Antiuchus is meant to be a type—a representative symbol—of the ‘little horn’ who is the Antichrist. In biblical prophecy, elements of one vision that are meant for one time can symbolically represent elements of another vision for another time. Gabriel stressed to Daniel that the vision he saw had to do with events of “the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be”. Gabriel says something about Antiochus in verses 24-25 that, while certainly being true of Antiochus, seems to look beyond Antiochus to the coming Antichrist:

“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.

“Through his cunning
He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule;
And he shall exalt himself in his heart.
He shall destroy many in their prosperity.
He shall even rise against the Prince of princes;
But he shall be broken without human means” (vv. 24-25).

The “Prince of princes” that Gabriel spoke of refers to the Messiah—King Jesus. And Jesus had not yet been born into the world at the time of Antiochus. And so, much of what Gabriel said of Antiochus also describes what the Bible tells us elsewhere of the activities of the Antichrist who was yet to come. In Daniel 9:26-27, the Antichrist is called “the prince who is to come; and we’re told this about him—after the time that Jesus will have been crucified;

“And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate” (Daniel 9:26-27).

Our Lord Himself made it very clear to us that this was describing an event that was future to the time of His own ministry on earth. He told His disciples in Matthew 24:15-22—and through them, the Jewish people;

“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:15-22).

The Book of Revelation also presents this to us as a yet-future event. In Revelation 13:5-8, it tells us this about the activities of the Antichrist;

And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:5-8).

But don’t forget that, at the end of verse 25 of Daniel’s vision, we’re told this about the ‘little horn’;

He shall even rise against the Prince of princes;
But he shall be broken without human means (Daniel 8:25).

God was letting His precious chosen people know, through Daniel, what they would suffer … but was also letting them know that He would bring about the victory for them through the coming of Jesus Christ. As the Bible tells us, our Lord will destroy the Antichrist and his armies with ‘the sword’ that proceeds from His mouth.

Now; this was a message that was intended for the Jewish people. It’s to be received by all of us; but its main intention is to assure the Jewish people that—even in the time of His righteous indignation—God is still faithful in His love to them and will still fulfill His glorious plan for them. And that leads us to …

4. THE RELIABILITY OF THE VISION.

Gabriel said in verse 26;

“And the vision of the evenings and mornings
Which was told is true;
Therefore seal up the vision,
For it refers to many days in the future.”

The “vision of the evenings and mornings” speaks specifically of the 2,300 days in which the time of the desolation of the temple would occur. God has sovereignly set His limits to that time of punishment … and indeed for all that the Jewish people would suffer. And Gabriel makes it clear that what has been told is “true”. It can be trusted. The things that were told to us in this vision happened in history past—just as Daniel was shown that it would happen. Therefore, we can confidently trust that whatever it tells us about the things of the future will also happen.

And that leads us, finally, to notice …

5. THE RESPONSE TO THE VISION.

In Daniel 8:27—after the vision was concluded—he said;

And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king’s business. I was astonished by the vision, but no one understood it (Daniel 8:27).

Often, when we study the prophetic passages of the Bible together, we approach them with a kind of casual curiosity. But Daniel’s reaction at the end of this vision shows us that we need to take these prophetic passages very seriously. When this vision was completely shown to Daniel, he wasn’t merely entertained and informed. It caused him to pass out. He was so sick that he couldn’t do his work; and was only able to return to his duties as a royal officer of the king of Babylon after having taken some time off to recover. It left him astonished and bewildered; and even after it had been explained to him by an angelic messenger, he still couldn’t grasp it.

Why might that be? I suspect that it was because it had to do with his own Jewish kinsmen. And it’s interesting to note what happens immediately afterward—in Chapter 9. We will find that Daniel prays a remarkable prayer of repentance for his people Israel—pleading that God would forgive them for their disobedience and to cause His face to shine upon them once again.

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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; let’s always remember God’s unending love and devotion to His chosen people. Even in their disobedience—even in times of His indignation for their transgressions—He still loves them and still plans to bless them. His Son Jesus will return one day to rule over this world from His throne in Jerusalem; and the people of Israel will be exalted over all the earth.

That’s the great lesson that we should learn from this remarkable vision. It should move us to love and pray for the people of Israel. Their promised King is none other than our beloved Redeemer and Savior; and even when they fall short of His expectations of them, He Himself still loves them. As God Himself has declared in Isaiah 41:8-10

“But you, Israel, are My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
The descendants of Abraham My friend.
You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions,
And said to you,
‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand’” (Isaiah 41:8-10).

So, dear brothers and sisters in Christ; if you want to know what God’s plan is for this world, keep your eyes on His chosen people! And if you want to keep on the right side of His plan, love them as He does!

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