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THE RAM AND THE GOAT |
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Outline 1. A FUTURE PORTRAYAL OF HISTORY a) The Prophetic Revelation of the Dream b) The Prophetic Identification of the Dream 2. A FACTUAL PORTRAYAL OF HISTORY a) The Forceful Ram b) The Furious Goat The Bible has throughout history has been a hated book. It has often been the object and subject of relentless attacks. One of the most notable critics was Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899). He is considered by many to be one of the greatest thinkers in American history. He was the son of a Presbyterian pastor; however he chose a different role when it came to the Bible. Instead of preaching the Bible like his father, he spent a big portion of his life attacking and criticizing the Bible. For example, in one of his speeches he said: “Somebody ought to tell the truth about the Bible. The preachers dare not, because they would be driven from their pulpits. Professors in colleges dare not, because they would lose their salaries. Politicians dare not. They would be defeated. Editors dare not. They would lose subscribers. Merchants dare not, because they might lose customers. Men of fashion dare not, fearing that they would lose caste. Even clerks dare not, because they might be discharged. And so I thought I would do it myself.” A modern example of critics of the Bible is the web site called “The Skeptic’s Annotated Bible.” The web site is dedicated to pointing out all of the supposed errors, contradictions, and discrepancies in the Bible. The Skeptic’s Annotated Bible divides the supposed errors into fourteen categories and raises 5,481 supposedly errors, contradictions, and discrepancies in the Bible. I glanced at a few of the supposed errors they claim in the Bible and their claims say more about their ignorance than knowledge. In just the few examples I looked at, if just the basics of hermeneutics were applied it would remove the so-called discrepancies. The web site states:
“Millions of such
Bibles are published and distributed each year by believers in their
tireless and tiresome effort to propagate their beliefs.
Consequently, nearly everyone, whether believer or skeptic, has at
least one copy in his or her possession. Among these Bibles will be
found many different versions, but all have one thing in common: all
are believer- friendly editions that support, promote, and defend
the Bible.”
“The Skeptic's Annotated Bible
attempts to remedy this imbalance. It includes the entire text of
the King James Version of the Bible, but without the pro-Bible
propaganda. Instead, passages are highlighted that are an
embarrassment to the Bible-believer, and the parts of the Bible that
are never read in any Church, Bible study group, or Sunday School
class are emphasized. For it is these passages that test the claims
of the Bible-believer. The contradictions and false prophecies show
that the Bible is not inerrant; the cruelties, injustices, and
insults to women, that it is neither good nor just.”
“The SAB will help
those who believe in the Bible to honestly reconsider that belief.
It will help those who are unfamiliar with the Bible to resist the
temptation to believe. And it will help those who have already
rejected the Bible defend their position.”
“It is time for us all
to stop believing in, or pretending to believe in, a book that is so
unworthy of belief.” The Devil hates the Bible and always had and will always have those who will try to convince others that the Bible is anything and everything but the Word of God. However, all the attacks and critics do not change the fact that it is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God. When it comes to the
truth and reliability of the Bible, in my opinion, Daniel chapter 8
is one great example. It is a testimony of the accuracy of the
Bible. In chapter seven we looked at a dream and visions that God
gave Daniel. As we move into chapter eight we see God giving Daniel
another dream. We read in verses 1-2,
“In
the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared
unto me, even unto
me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first. And I saw
in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I
was at Shushan
in the palace,
which is in the
In this second vision Daniel sees some of the same truths he saw in the first dream, such as the rise of world empires. But now he is given greater detail. He sees a ram and a goat. It is a dream that primarily deals with the two kingdoms that would follow the Babylonian kingdom. Let’s consider this dream by thinking about how this dream gives us:
1. A FUTURE PORTRAYAL OF HISTORY Verse 1 says it was in
“the third year of the reign
of king Belshazzar” when Daniel had this dream. This would have
been in the year 550 b.c. and Daniel would have been around the age
of seventy. In his vision he finds himself in
“Shushan” which was
about 220 miles east of The vision that he has, much like his first, gives us a future portrayal of history and the rise of certain kingdoms. To Daniel it was prophetic. To us it is historical. We can look back in history and see the literal fulfillment of the vision Daniel was given. Let’s look at Daniel’s dream and let me point out two features of the dream. First:
A) The Prophetic Revelation of the
Dream In this second vision Daniel once again we see that God used certain animals to depict the events that are prophetically revealed. In chapter seven God used a lion, bear, and leopard. In this dream He uses a ram and a goat. First, Daniel saw a
ram. We read in verse three,
“Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold there stood before
the river a ram.” We do not have to speculate as to what this
ram represented or symbolized. We read in verse 20 that it
represented the rise of another kingdom. We read in verse 20,
“The ram which thou sawest
having two horns are the kings of Media and Secondly, Daniel saw a goat. The second animal that Daniel saw was a goat. We read in verse 5, “And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west.” As with the ram, we do not have to speculate as what or whom this goat represented. We read in verse 21, “And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.” We look back and see these things as a part of history. You must keep in mind that Daniel saw them as a matter of prophecy. His dream was a revelation of the future. We see what has happened. Daniel was seeing what would happen. He saw the rise of the two succeeding world empires that would follow the Babylonian Empire. The second feature of this dream is:
B) The Prophetic Identification of
the Dream Daniel not sees two
world empires rising in the future, but he is even told who they
are. These empires are called by name. Again notice verse 20-21:
20 The
ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings
of Media and I find it interesting that at the time when Daniel is told that the Grecians would one day conquer the Medes and Persians, there was no such thing as a Grecian Empire. They were just a small coalition of independent states. However, Daniel saw them as one day being a world empire. It is one thing to say such and such will happen, but a totally different thing to say who such and such is. At the time, the Babylonian Empire seemed invincible. Yet, Daniel sees them falling to another empire and even sees who that empire will be. And then add to that, he see several hundred years through time and sees another empire conquering the Medes and Persians and even sees that that empire will the Grecian Empire. Daniel chapter eight is one example of how the Bible is accurate and reliable. Amen! Why is the Bible accurate? It is the Word of God! Since God knows all things, even what the future holds, He can tell us what will happen hundred of years before it happens. Daniel chapter eight is such an example. Let’s look at this future portrayal of history even closer and notice that it is:
2. A FACTUAL PORTRAYAL OF HISTORY Daniel not only sees the rise of two successive world empires in the ram and goat, but he also sees certain features of them. As we look at these features we see not just a future portrayal of history but also a factual portrayal of history. If someone read Daniel chapter eight and did not know that it was prophetic, they would think they were reading a history book. Down to the smallest detail, it describes the Medo-Persian and Greek Empires. Let me explain by looking closer at the ram and goat Daniel saw in his vision.
A) The Forceful Ram In Daniel chapter two we saw Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and how he saw the Babylonian empire symbolized by a head of gold. He also saw the Babylonian empire being conquered by another which was represented by the arms and chest of silver. We know by history that the Medo-Persians conquered the Babylonian empire in 539 B.C. led by Cyrus the Great. The ram that Daniel sees is clearly identified in verse 20 as the Medo-Persian Empire. The ram was a fitting symbol of the Medo-Persian Empire for history tells us that the Persian Ruler carried the gold head of a ram when he marched before his army. There were certain features of this ram or the Medo-Persian Empire that Daniel saw in his vision. First, the ram “had two horns.” Rams normally have two horns but these two horns were unique. Daniel said, “the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last” (Vs. 3). This signifies two powers—the Medes and Persians—formed as one empire. The higher one
symbolizes one being stronger than the other. Before Cyrus came to
power, Media was already a major force and In verse 4 He saw “the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand.” Before it ever happened, God said the Medo-Persian Empire would push, westward, northward, and southward conquering nations. When you get out your history books we find that this is an accurate description of the movements of the Medes and Persians as they conquered nation after nation. Daniel sees the Medo-Persian empire as invincible as it pushed to the west subduing Babylonia, Syria, Asia Minor, and made raids upon Greece; northward subduing Armenia, Scythia, and the Caspian Sea region; and southward subduing Egypt and Ethiopia. No one could stand against the ram and no deliverance from its power could be found. No country could resist the Medo-Persians. Daniel saw in verse 4 that “he did according to his will.” Medo-Persia did as they pleased and conquering who they desired as history shows. Daniel saw the ram becoming “great.” This speaks of how large and powerful the Medo-Persian Empire would become. In fact, history shows that more territory was controlled by this empire than by any other until that time. It was an empire that increased in strength and power. Secondly, we see:
B) The Furious Goat In verse 21 this goat
is clearly identified as the Greek Empire. We know by history that
the Medo-Persian Empire was conquered by the Greek Empire in 332
B.C. led by Alexander the Great. I think it is interesting that a
goat is used to depict the Greek Empire. The capital of Daniel is thinking
about the ram when he sees this goat coming out of the west. Coming
from the “west” points
to the position and location of The words “on the face of the whole earth” speak of how Alexander the Great conquered the world of his day and the words “touched not the ground” speaks of the swiftness of his conquests. The “notable horn between” the goat’s eyes speak of the first king of the Greek Empire which we know to be Alexander the Great. Although he only lived 33 years, he was one of the great military strategists of history. Although Daniel chapter 8 was written some 250 years before Alexander was born, it describes him in amazing detail. In verses 6-7 Daniel
saw how the goat would conquer the ram. In verse 6 we read,
“And he came to the ram that
had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran
unto him in the fury of his power.” Running unto the ram in fury
of his power or rage aptly describes Alexander’s assault on the
Verse 7 says,
“And I saw him come close
unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote
the ran, and brake his two horns; and there was no power in the ram
to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped
upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his
hand.” The word “choler”
means “bitter.” The Greeks bitterly hated the Persians and Alexander
had determined to avenge the assaults by the Persian armies on his
homeland. In 334 B.C., at the age of 21, he led the armies of We read in verse 8,
“Therefore the he goat waxed
very great.” As I stated earlier, Alexander conquered most of
the known world of that day, thus making An interesting note in
history is that when Alexander came to the city of Daniel saw the
greatness of Alexander the Great in the vision of the goat, but also
something happening to the goat once it was great. He says in verse
8 that “when he was strong,
the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones
toward the four winds of heaven.” Alexander carved out
an empire of 1.5 million square miles, but at the pinnacle of his
career, he died at the age of 33. On returning from He left two sons, Alexander IV and Herakles, both of whom were murdered. The mighty Greek Empire was then partitioned among four Greek military leaders. Daniel saw the great horn being broken and afterward “four notable ones toward the fours winds of heaven.” Again, I emphasize that hundreds of years before such events ever occurred Daniel was told they would happen. There were further
historical details that were revealed to Daniel. In verse 9 we read,
“And out of one of them came
forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south,
toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.” Daniel saw one
coming from the four horns one that started small (little horn) but
eventually rising to great power. We know by history that is exactly
what occurred and this little horn represents Antiochus Epiphanes
IV. The “pleasant land”
refers to the Holy Land and Antiochus Epiphanes IV is particularly
known for his hatred of the Jews and his exploits against the
inhabitants of In verses 10-12 Daniel
foresaw his attacks upon the Jewish people. We read, “10 And
it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down
some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped
upon them. 11 Yea,
he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by
him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his
sanctuary was cast down.
12 And an host
was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of
transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it
practised, and prospered.” The “host of heaven” refers to the Jewish people. The casting down of this host and stars and stamping them to the ground speaks of being persecuted. In 170 B.C. Antiochus Epiphanes assassinated the high priest Onias III. Over the next several years he would execute thousands of Jews who resisted his unfair regulations. A couple of examples
of his cruelty are two Jewish women who defied Antiochus Epiphanes.
He took their sons, slaughtered them, wrapped them around their
necks and drove them through the streets of There was another Jewish woman who had seven sons. He took those seven sons of that poor Jewish woman and burned them to death on frying pans just before he put out her eyes. In 169 B.C. after
returning from a humiliating defeat in He felt that he and his Greek gods were above the God of Israel and magnified himself as lord over the Jewish people, doing whatever he pleased and wished. In verses 13-14 Daniel
heard two angels conversing with one another about what was being
seen. We read, “13 Then
I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain
saint which spake, How long shall be the vision
concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of
desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden
under foot? 14 And
he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then
shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” The word “saint” as
used here refers to angels. The word means “holy ones.” One asks the
other, “How long will this last?” He was asking about the cessation
of the Daniel was told that
it would last “two thousand
and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”
Two thousand and three hundred is 6 years and four months. In 164
A.D. Judas Maccabeus cleansed and rededicated the Hundreds of years before any of this ever happened, Daniel saw it happening. We can look back at history and see that what God predicted came to pass just as He said it would. The compilers of the Skeptics Annotated Bible may say, “It is time for us all to stop believing in, or pretending to believe in, a book that is so unworthy of belief.” But I say, the Bible is a book worthy of our belief. © 2007 by the Living Word |
