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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
October 23, 2011
Revised September 10, 2023
The Vision of the Ram & the Goat
Daniel 8:1-27
Daniel’s Second Vision – Daniel 8:1
This morning we come to Daniel 8 and the second vision given to Daniel. The chapter begins, “1 In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one which appeared to me previously.”
Daniel 7 records the earlier vision which had been given to him in the first year of the reign of Belshazzar in 553 B.C. It is now 551 B.C. – two years later. This is 12 years before Daniel interpreted the writing on the wall for Belshazzar and Babylon fell to the Medes & Persians. (See: God’s Judgment of the Proud)
Daniel’s earlier vision gave an overview of the time of the Gentiles from the kingdom of Babylon to the crushing of the last kingdom of the Gentiles under the judgment of the Ancient of Days and the establishment of the eternal kingdom under the rule of the Son of Man. Daniel’s interest was on the fourth kingdom in that vision and the establishment of the final kingdom. The interpretation of the vision by the angel focused on those aspects of the vision. (See: The Vision of the Four Beasts)
The vision Daniel records in this chapter is similar in that it concerns kingdoms that were yet future to him, but this vision only involves the two kingdoms that would immediately follow Babylon. There is quite a bit of detail given concerning these kingdoms, and since liberal scholars reject prophecy, they claim this was written as history by someone else in the second century B.C. Their god is small for their god is neither omniscient nor sovereign.
Our God is not small. He is omniscient, omnipotent, eternal and sovereign. Our God is not bounded by time for He was before it and will continue after it for He is without beginning or end. Time began with His creation of the heavens and the earth. Detailed prophecy and its fulfillment is positive proof of God’s hand at work for only He can reveal the future with 100% accuracy. That is why such accuracy was required of the prophets otherwise they proved themselves to be false prophets and were to be put to death (Deuteronomy 18). The details of the prophecy in Daniel 8 show God’s hand at work.
The Vision – Daniel 8:2-14
Everything Daniel experienced from verse 2-14 was in the vision which begins by seeing himself in another place. 2 “And I looked in the vision. And it happened that while I was looking, I was in the citadel of Susa, which is in the province of Elam; and I looked in the vision, and I myself was beside the Ulai Canal.”
Susa was the provincial capital of Elam. Susa later became the capital of the Persian Empire since it was the location of the king’s Summer Palace. That is where Nehemiah had served King Artaxerxes as the wine steward (Nehemiah 1:1; 2:1) and where the story of Esther takes place. The citadel or fortress of Susa was located about 230 miles east of Babylon and 120 miles north of the Persian Gulf. It was located between the Choaspes and Coprates rivers. A large canal about 900 ft wide was built on one side of the fortress to connect the two rivers. This is the Ulai river or canal that Daniel says he saw himself standing next to.
Starting in verse 3 Daniel relates what he saw when he lifted his gaze in his vision. We will read through this first and then exam it with the interpretation given about it by the angel Gabriel.
3 Then I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a ram which had two horns was standing in front of the canal. Now the two horns were long, but one was longer than the other, with the longer one coming up last. 4 I saw the ram butting westward, northward, and southward, and no other beasts could stand before it, nor was there anyone to deliver from its power, but it did as it pleased and magnified itself.
5 And while I was considering, behold, a male goat was coming from the west over the surface of the whole earth without touching the ground; and the goat had a conspicuous horn between its eyes. 6 Then it came up to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing in front of the canal, and ran at it in his strong wrath. 7 And I saw it reach the side of the ram, and it was enraged at it; and it struck the ram and broke its two horns in pieces, and the ram had no strength to stand in opposition to it. So it threw it down to the ground and trampled on it, and there was none to deliver the ram from its power. 8 Then the male goat magnified itself exceedingly. But as soon as it was mighty, the large horn was broken; and in its place there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven..
9 And out of one of them came forth a rather small horn. And it grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land. 10 Then it grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down. 11 And it even magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down. 12 And on account of transgression the host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will throw truth down to the ground and do its will and succeed. 13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, “How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, while the transgression causes desolation, so as to allow both the holy place and the host to be trampled?” 14 He said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be made righteous.”
Quite a few years ago I was asked to lead a Bible study discussion for another Bible teacher who had to be away. They happened to be studying Daniel 8. As we started the study they read through these verses which we just read and then began a discussion about the meaning of the ram and the goat. Their speculations were interesting, but really had little to do with the text. After sometime I finally asked them if any of them had read the rest of the chapter. None of them had done so, in fact, they thought they were supposed to figure out the meaning of the vision without reading the rest of the chapter. I then proceeded to not only read to them the rest of the chapter, but also give them a lesson in basic principles of Bible study.
I want to do the same here this morning because as I was reading through commentaries I found they often try to give an interpretation to the first part of this chapter before they get to the end of the chapter and Gabriel’s revelation of its meaning. Since commentaries usually give verse by verse explanations, the conservative commentators end up giving the interpretation of this vision twice. As they explain the vision as Daniel describes it, they freely reference Gabriel’s later interpretation. Then, when they get to Gabriel’s interpretation, they explain the vision again. Liberal commentators are not so tied to context and so can become very speculative in their interpretations given throughout the chapter.
The Bible is the best interpreter of the Bible. We start with the immediate context, which in this case is all of chapter 8 including Gabriel’s interpretation of the vision. Then you expand to the context of the book, which in this case is comparing the meaning of this vision to the other visions given concerning these kingdoms. Then you expand to other Biblical books that reference the same events or same subjects. That is the proper method for all Bible study, and it is the only way to properly understand the vision given here to Daniel.
In the next section of this chapter we find that Daniel wants to understand the meaning of what he had seen in his vision, and so do we. He did not resort to speculations concerning it, and neither should we. God intervened to explain it to Daniel, and that is the source of our explanation too.
Daniel & Gabriel – Daniel 8:15-19
15 Now it happened when I, Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought to understand it; and behold, standing before me was one who had the appearance of a man. 16 And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, “Gabriel, give this man an understanding of what has appeared.” 17 So he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was terrified and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end.” 18 Now while he was talking with me, I sank into a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me and made me stand upright. 19 Then he said, “Behold, I am going to let you know what will happen at the final period of the indignation, for it pertains to the appointed time of the end.
Starting with verse 15 the vision takes a turn. Daniel had seen the activities of the ram and the goat when he “had lifted [his] eyes” (vs. 3). Daniel now returns to seeing himself by the Ulai. Daniel wanted to understand the vision and God sent someone that looked like a man and who was then identified as Gabriel by a voice originating from between the banks of the Ulai. This voice was heard, but no one was seen. The text does not identify who spoke, so it is only speculation of whether this was the voice of God or an angel. The voice directs Gabriel to give Daniel an understanding of the vision he had just seen.
We know the identify of Gabriel from other Scripture passages which speak about him. The name Gabriel means “man of God” or “warrior of God.” Gabriel will appear to Daniel again in Daniel 9:21 to give Daniel an answer to his prayer. He again appears in Luke to announce to Mary that she would bear the Messiah. In Luke 1:19 he states, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God; and I have been sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news.” By these latter appearances and description of himself we know that he is an angel whom God sends as a messenger and not a man. Angels characteristically appear to humans as men.
Gabriel then comes near Daniel who became terrified and fell on his face. Gabriel begins to speak and Daniel “sank into a deep sleep.” Daniel passed out. Such sudden and overwhelming fright is the normal reaction of a mortal man meeting an immortal spiritual being. It is beyond us and therefore frightening with the man often falling down (Genesis 17:3; Ezekiel 1:28; Matthew 17:6; Luke 1:12; Acts 9:4; Revelation 1:17). The most common first words an angel has to say when communicating to a human is something to the effect of “do not be afraid.” There are people who claim that they have or do talk with angels, yet their reaction is not like Daniel’s or John’s or Mary’s or the many other such encounters recorded in the Scriptures. That is a reason to doubt their claim from the beginning. Such claims are then to be examined against the Scriptures and thoroughly opposed if the message varies from the Bible. Paul warned the Galatians that even if an angel from heaven preached a different gospel, they were to be accursed (Galatians 1:8). John warned that the spirits are to be tested to see if they are from God for there are false spirits that lie and deceive (1 John 4:1-3). Peter also warned believers to be on guard against being carried away by the error of unprincipled men (2 Peter 3:17).
Gabriel touched Daniel and caused him to stand up. He then explained that the vision concerned “what will occur at final period of the indignation, for it pertains to the appointed time of the end.” The first period of indignation would probably be the conquest and deportation of Israel by Assyria which occurred in 734 B.C.. Isaiah 10:5, 25 uses this terminology to describe God’s use of Assyria in this manner. Jeremiah uses the same terminology to described God’s anger and actions against Judah which culminated in them being conquered and carried away by Babylon which started in 605 B.C. The “latter indignation” would then refer to the period that follows this. Things changed in 538 B.C. when Cyrus allowed Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, yet the nation still remained under God’s indignation for Jerusalem was still under authority of a foreign king. Contextually, this “latter time” would then extend from 538 B.C. until the future return of the Messiah to set up His kingdom. Gabriel then begins to explain the vision to Daniel.
The Ram – Daniel 8:3-4, 20
20 “The ram which you saw with the two horns is the kings of Media and Persia. The ram corresponds with the silver chest and arms of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and the bear of Daniel’s earlier vision.
The description of the empire ruled by the kings of Media and Persia as a ram is very appropriate. C. F. Keil remarks in his commentary that “in Bundehesh the guardian spirit of the Persian kingdom appears under the form of a ram . . . ” He continues “the Persian king, when he stood at the head of his army, bore, instead of the diadem, the head of a ram.” John Walvoord adds in his commentary that different lands were assigned to the signs of the Zodiac with Persia under the zodiacal sign of Aries, the ram.
In Daniel’s vision the ram had two horns, but one of the horns grew to be greater than the other horn. Gabriel said the ram with the two horns represented the kings of Media and Persia. Each horn would have represented one of those kings and both nations were joined together in one cooperative empire. The Medo-Persian empire had been dominated by the Medes until 550 B.C. when Cyrus, a Persian, became king over the entire empire. From that time on the Persians dominated the combined empire. The empire already extended to the east into central Asia with great resources.
In Daniel’s vision the ram butted westward, northward and southward and nothing could stand before the ram or rescue from its power. This is another fitting description of the expansion of the Medo-Persian empire from Cyrus conquering Babylon in 539 B.C. which was to the west of Susa. With its defeat, Cyrus gained much of the territory that had been under Babylonian control including Syria, Assyria and the land of Israel. He granted the Jews the right of return and some did under Zerubbabel as recorded in the book of Ezra.
Cyrus went north to conquer the areas of the Armenians and Scythians. He died in battle in 529 B.C. in an area east of the Caspian Sea. His son Cambyses took over and after finishing the work in the north, went south into Egypt conquering it in 525 B.C. The Medo-Persian Empire controlled a vast territory extending from the Arabian Sea north to the Aral Sea, then west through all the areas north of Arabia, then south into Egypt and Libya. It included all of Asia Minor and some of the coastal areas of Macedonia. Through all these areas the Persian kings were unstoppable and did what they wanted. The limit of their kingdom was set in the south when the army sent to conquer Carthage disappeared, probably the victim of sandstorms in the desert. In west it was stopped by the Greeks in a series of battles over many years. Darius lost the battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. Xerxes finally won at Thermopylae in 480 B.C. and burned Athens, but lost his fleet and therefore his ability to supply his invading army due to a storm and being routed at the naval battle at Salamis. The following year they lost both the battle at Plataea and their territories in Thrace including the much needed north side of the Hellespont. The Persian army never invaded Greece again. A century and a half later, the Persian empire would quickly collapse before Greece, the next dominate Empire.
The Goat – Daniel 8:5-14, 21-26
Gabriel explains in verse 21. 21 “Now the shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
In the vision Daniel saw this goat come from the west going east very quickly. The sight of the goat not even touching the ground demonstrates its speed. The goat had a conspicuous horn between its eyes signifying singular strength and intelligence. The goat shatters the ram and tramples him. The goat then magnifies himself exceedingly, but at the height of his power the large horn of the goat is broken off and four conspicuous horns grew up in its place toward the four winds of heaven.
This is Alexander the Great and the advance of his empire was incredibly swift in shattering the Persian Empire. Alexander’s father, Philip, had already consolidated rule over Macedonia, Greece and Thrace by 336 B.C. when he was murdered and Alexander took the throne when he was only 20. It only took him a few months to put down the revolts that had arisen within his empire after his father’s death, and then he set his sights on fulfilling his father’s desire to conquer the Persian empire which had plagued the Greeks for so long. He began in 334 B.C. with the invasion of Asia Minor and victory at Granicus. By 333 B.C. he had taken Asia Minor and routed the Persian army at Issus in northern Syria. In 332 B.C. he took Tyre and swept south to Egypt which opened its gates to him. He established the city of Alexandria in 331 B.C. He then went back north to Syria and then turned east into the heart of the Persian Empire. He defeated Darius III’s army at Gaugamela in what is now northern Iraq on October 1, 331 B.C. Darius fled the battle and hoped to renew the fight, but was later murdered by one of his generals. Alexander continued east taking control of what had been the eastern portion of the Persian empire. He sacked and burned Persepolis in 330 B.C. and then headed northwest to Media and then north east into Parthia. In 329 B.C. Alexander crossed the Hindu Kush, went through Bactria and crossed the Oxus and Jaxartes rivers. In 327 B.C. he turned southward crossing the Indus river and into India. He probably would have just kept conquering new territory, but his troops had enough. In 326 B.C. at Hyphasis they refused to go father. He headed south to the Indian ocean and from there he went west along the coast. In just 10 years he had conquered and ruled over an area equal to the entire Persian Empire at its peak plus Greece & Macedonia. Yet this large horn was broken off at the peak of his power. While in Babylon and planning for an invasion of Arabia, he suddenly fell ill with fever and died June 11, 323 B.C.
Gabriel continued his explanation of the vision in verse 22 “And the broken horn and the four horns that stood in its place are four kingdoms which will take their stand from his nation, although not with his power.”
With Alexander’s sudden death his vast empire was broken up into four kingdoms divided among his leading generals. Cassander took the West – Macedonia & Greece. Lysimachus took the North – Thrace and Western Asia Minor. Ptolemy took the South – Egypt. Seleucus took the central and East – From Syria to the boundaries of India. A fifth general, Antigonus, tried to gain power but was defeated. The centuries that followed would be filled with war and intrigue as these resulting kingdoms would struggle for greater power against the others.
Gabriel continued his explanation of the vision . 23 “In the latter period of their reign, When the transgressors have run their course, A king will stand, Insolent and skilled in intrigue. 24 “His power will be mighty, but not by his own power, And he will destroy to an astonishing degree And succeed and do his will; He will destroy mighty men and the holy people. 25 “And through his insight He will cause deceit to succeed by his hand; And he will magnify himself in his heart, And he will destroy many while they are at ease. He will even stand against the Prince of princes, But he will be broken without hands. 26 “And what had appeared about the evenings and mornings Which has been told is true; But as for you, conceal the vision, For it pertains to many days in the future.”
Gabriel’s interpretation here concerns the small horn that grew out of one of the four horns and became exceedingly great toward the south. This is not the little horn seen in Daniel’s earlier vision of the four beasts. That little horn came out of the fourth kingdom, the Roman empire, and was an eleventh horn that rooted out three of the ten horns. That horn would persecute God’s people for 42 months which is 3.5 years. The small horn in this vision is part of the third kingdom, the Grecian Empire, and arises out of one of the four horns. This horn persecutes God’s people for 2,300 days which is 6.3 years.
This small horn is Antiochus IV called Epiphanes. He was the eighth king in the Syrian dynasty and reigned from 175-164 B.C. He was the younger son of Antiochus III. His brother, Seleucus Philopater, had taken the throne when their father died, but he was murdered and Antiochus IV ended up on the throne. This was a very evil man.
The Seleucids who controlled Syria and the Ptolemys which controlled Egypt had been in constant conflict with each other. The land of Israel was between the two and often victim to these warring dynasties. Antiochus invaded Egypt to the south, Babylon to the east and took over Israel and Jerusalem, the “beautiful land” just has had been prophesied in verse 9.
The books of Maccabees records many of Antiochus’ atrocities after he had conquered Israel. He promoted Greek culture and gods and especially Zeus. Many Jews fell to this and rejected the Mosaic Law while following Greek licentiousness and worshiping Greek gods. These are the “transgressors” mentioned in verse 23. Antiochus and the “transgressors” persecuted the faithful Israelites which are symbolized as stars in verse 10. The persecution ranged from mocking to murder. 1 Maccabees 1:29-31 records the plundering and destruction of Jerusalem while 1 Maccabees 1:24, 27, 57-64; 2 Maccabees 5:11-14, 23-26 records several of the times in which he slaughtered many Jews. This fits what Gabriel said in verse 24.
Gabriel also said that this horn would be “insolent and skilled in intrigue” (vs. 23) and “And through his insight He will cause deceit to succeed by his hand.” Antiochus was well known for this kind of behavior beginning with usurping his nephew Demetrius, the rightful heir to the throne, with the help of Eumenes II Soter of Pergamon. He had his nephew murdered a few years later. In 173 B.C. he conspired with a group of Jews to have the godly High Priest Onias replaced by his hellenized brother Jason. Onias was then murdered. He then replaced Jason with Menelaus in 171 B.C. because he promised greater tribute. He was known to disguise himself and go out among the people in order to find out what his subjects were thinking. He would set up a situation in which the people would think they were safe and felt at ease and then turn on them (vs. 25). 1 Maccabees 1:29-33 records such an incident in which the people were deceived by his tax collector Apollonius who entered Jerusalem peacefully and then once they were not on guard against him, he attacked, plundered the city, murdered many Jews and sold women and children into slavery.
This would be a man that would magnify himself, blaspheme God and stop the sacrifices (vs. 11-14). In 170 B.C. Antiochus plundered the temple. This was followed two years later by a policy of extermination of Judaism, and Jerusalem was plundered as already mentioned above. Antiochus forbid the observance of the Sabbath and the festivals as well as circumcision. All sacred books were to be surrendered. The regular sacrifices were stopped. On Kislev 25, 168 B.C. a statue of either Zeus or possibly Antiochus himself was placed in the Temple above the altar and the Jews were compelled to offer sacrifices of pigs to it as well as sacrifices to other Greek idols that had been set up throughout the land.
Daniel 8:14 states that it would be 2,300 mornings and evening before the holy place would be properly restored. That would not occur until the Maccabean revolt and the cleansing of the temple. That event is the reason for the celebration of Hanukkah and that occurred December 25, 165 B.C. The beginning point then would have been in 171 B.C. which correlates with the start of Antiochus’ severe persecution of the Jews following the murder of Onias.
One final aspect of the prophecy about the small horn is that he would “be broken without hands.” The various accounts of Antiochus’ death differ in cause of death ranging from grief to epilepsy to madness or disease, but none of these are by human hands.
Antiochus IV gave himself the title Antiochus Theos Epiphanes which means the “Antiochus the Visible God” for he thought of himself as the manifestation of Zeus or Jupiter. The people used a word play and called him Antiochus Epimanes which means “Antiochus the Madman.” He was an evil man showing all the evidence of being empowered and controlled by Satan in his persecution of the Jews.
Gabriel concluded saying that Daniel was to “conceal the vision, For it pertains to many days in the future.” To conceal is to “shut up” or “seal up” as translated in the KJV and NKJV. The idea here is not to hide it, for revelation is not given to then be hidden. The idea is to preserve it which would include writing it down so it would be available in the future when the events described would be fulfilled. That is what Daniel did and why we have the record now.
Daniel’s Response – Daniel 8:27
Daniel’s own response to this is recorded in verse 27. “27 Then I, Daniel, was exhausted and sick for days. Then I rose up again and did the king’s work; but I was appalled at what had appeared, and there was none to make me understand it.”
The vision and its interpretation overwhelmed Daniel much as the earlier vision had done. In this case he was unable to even function for several days before he was finally able to get up and carry out his normal responsibilities, and yet even then he remained perplexed by it. Though Gabriel had interpreted it for him, there was still so much he did not understand.
As I said in the previous sermon on Daniel 7, though we so often think we would like to know the future, if we were told what was to come we would probably be frightened by it. Our hope and trust cannot be in knowing the details of what is to come, but in knowing the One that holds the future in His hands. God will carry out His promises even as fulfilled prophecies such as this one prove. We also know His love for us cannot be questioned for it was proven in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:8). That perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). He will not forsake us, but will be with us to the end of the age whatever may come (Matthew 28:20). And one day we will be with Him in heaven for eternity (John 14:1-3). Until then, like Daniel did so long ago, we are to walk with the Lord faithfully, serving Him however He directs for the sake of His glory.
Sermon Notes
The Vision of the Ram & the Goat – Daniel 8:1-27
Daniel’s Second Vision – Daniel 8:1
This vision occurs in _______ B.C. – two years after the previous vision and 12 years before Daniel 5
Daniel 7 – An overview of the time of the Gentiles from Babylon to ___________
Daniel 8 – Only the _______ kingdoms following Babylon – Medo-Persia and Greece
Fulfillment of detailed prophecy is positive _________ of God’s hand at work.
The Vision – Daniel 8:2-14
Daniel sees himself in his vision as being at the citadel of _______ by the Ulai canal
Susa was the provincial _______of Elam – 230 miles east of Babylon, 120 miles north of the Persian Gulf
The ____________ is the best interpreter of the Bible and any passage must be interpreted in its context
Daniel & Gabriel – Daniel 8:15-19
Daniel again sees himself in his vision and this time he hears _______being directed to explain the vision
Gabriel (man or warrior of God) is an _____________ messenger – Daniel 9:21, Luke 1:19
Daniel __________ out for fear is a common reaction of humans when they meet angelic beings
The ____indignation probably refers to the Assyrian & Babylonian captivities – Isaiah 10:5, 25, Jeremiah
The latter indignation probably refers to the time from the return from exile until ___________ return
The Ram – Daniel 8:3-4, 20
The Medo-Persian Empire – the __________ was a symbol used by that empire
Two horns are the two kingdoms that made up the empire – Media and ________which became dominate
The ram butted __________ – Cyrus conquered Babylon, Syria, Assyria and the land of Israel
The ram butted __________- Cyrus conquered the areas of the Armenians and Scythians
The ram butted __________- Cambyses conquered Egypt
Medo-Persia was unable to __________ further and conquer either Carthage or Greece
The Goat – Daniel 8:5-14, 21-26
The goat heading East very quickly that tramples the ram is Greece under _________________________
Alexander become king in 336 B.C. at age ______. He begins his invasion of Persian empire in 334 B.C.
In just 10 years Alexander conquered what had been the Persian empire and father east into _________
Verse 22: The four horns are four divisions of the empire to Cassander, Lysimachus, _______& Seleucus
Verses 23-26: the small horn in the latter period of their rule
The small horn of Daniel 8 arising out of _________is not the little horn of Daniel 7 arising out of Rome
The small horn is _____________ IV “Epiphanes” 175-164 B.C.
Antiochus invaded ________ to the south, Babylon to the east and Israel – the “beautiful land” – see vs. 9
Antiochus and Jewish apostate “transgressors” persecuted faithful _____including murder – see vs. 10, 24
Antiochus was known for his _______which included slaughtering those who trusted him – see vs. 23, 25
He magnified himself, stopped the ________, installed an idol of Zeus and sacrificed pigs – see vs. 11-14
The holy place was properly restored by the Maccabees – Dec. 25, 165 B.C. – celebration of __________
Antiochus took the title Theos Epiphanes -the Visible God. His enemies called him Epimanes – ________
Daniel “shut up” “sealed” the vision – he ____________ it to be available for the future
Daniel’s Response – Daniel 8:27
Daniel was overwhelmed and became ___________. He remained astounded by the vision
KIDS KORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – Count how many times Persia, Alexander and Antiochus are mentioned. Discuss with your parents the importance of fulfilled prophecy in being able to trust God for your future.
THINK ABOUT IT!
Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. What year does Daniel receive the vision of the Ram and Goat in Daniel 8? How does this vision differ from the one received in Daniel 7? What is the importance of fulfilled prophecy? Was Daniel actually in Susa when he received the vision? Why or why not? What was the importance of Susa? What is the importance of context to interpreting a Bible passage? What is the importance of related Bible references? How do we know who is Gabriel? What was Daniel’s reaction to meeting Gabriel? What are some of the common responses of those recorded in Scripture when they meet an angelic being? What are some things that might caution you about believing those who claim to have encounters with angelic being in the present time? What is the “latter indignation?’ How is a ram a fitting symbol for the Medo-Persian empire? Describe the rise of the Medo-Persian empire? What stopped its westward expansion? Trace Alexander the Great’s years of conquest. What happened to his empire after he died? Trace the actions of Antiochus IV Epiphanes after his ascension to the throne. How does it correlate with Daniel’s vision and the angel’s interpretation? What was Daniel’s reaction to the vision? How can be at peace in facing the future? What promises has God made to those who believe in Christ?
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