The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king. The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power. Daniel 8:20-22 (NIV).
More prophecy about kingdoms that would succeed Nebuchadnezzar. This was discussed earlier in Chapter 8. Then as now, the prophecy refers to Alexander the Great and the kings who would rule Greece, once it was split into four realms after Alexander’s untimely death. These verses, and the next few after them, are repeats of those earlier parts of Daniel (verses 5-14) (https://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/understanding-the-book-of-daniel/daniel-8/). Why would Gabriel repeat something like this? If you’re asking that (like I am), you (actually, we) have found God’s (and Gabriel’s) answer.
It’s important, guys. Pay attention.
God wanted us to know that what he’s saying mattered. He wanted us to pay attention. Daniel 8 is the first place in the Bible where Jesus is identified as “Son of Man.” It’s an important title and distinction that explains part of who God is. The people of Daniel’s time didn’t know God as Jesus, but Jesus knew them. Daniel 8 is also where God reveals how he will use the Median-Persians, Greeks, Roman, and later empires to shape and rule the known world If you’re a history buff, you can start in our own time and trace directly back to the time of Daniel to see who ruled the political world and when; how these things molded history. The people back then didn’t have that luxury, and God wanted them to know to cling to Him throughout all these changes that would soon come.
Where 20-22 deal exclusively with the ancient world, what comes afterwards delves again into predictions about a world even we haven’t yet seen come to pass. Many strange things are happening in our world now, things that seem unexplainable and irrational; things that just don’t add up. Read up on the rest of Daniel, then the other books of Biblical prophecy, even Revelation, and you might see that chord consistently woven through. Something just doesn’t add up; something simply isn’t right, or normal.
That’s evil. Evil isn’t right, or normal. It isn’t logical; it doesn’t compute. Evil is raw hatred and unchecked ambition to usurp God. Evil never makes sense. It didn’t during Daniel’s time; it doesn’t during ours (despite the best efforts of so many to normalize it). We weren’t made for evil; we were made by God to share in His blessings, His love, His world. In the face of increasing abnormality, God wants us to cling more to Him. He gave us these words because He wants us to pay attention.
For further reading: Ezekiel 27:1-, Daniel 8:23
Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening.
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