Daniel's Vision of the Ram and the Goat

After Daniel's vision in chapter 7, he was very disturbed. He really had no one to talk to about what he had seen, if he had tried to tell anyone they would not have understood. That was not the end of the visions that God wanted to show Daniel. God was giving Daniel insight into the end time events, which would not be understood by anyone in Daniel's time, but only during the end times would people understand their meaning. In Daniel chapter 8, Daniel receives another vision.

Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and a Goat

8 In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had already appeared to me. ² In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susain the province of Elam; in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal. ³ I looked up,and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later. ⁴ I watched the ram as it charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against it, and none could rescue from its power. It did as it pleased and became great.

⁵ As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between its eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground.⁶ It came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at it in great rage. ⁷ I saw it attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering its two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against it; the goat knocked it to the ground and trampled on it, and none could rescue the ram from its power. ⁸ The goat became very great, but at the height of its power the large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven.
⁹ Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land. ¹⁰ It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them. ¹¹ It set itself up to be as great as the commander of the army of the Lord; it took away the daily sacrifice from the Lord, and his sanctuary was thrown down. ¹² Because of rebellion, the Lord’s people^[a] and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.
¹³ Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled —the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, the surrender of the sanctuary and the trampling underfoot of the Lord’s people?”
¹⁴ He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.”

The Interpretation of the Vision

¹⁵ While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man. ¹⁶ And I heard a man’s voice from the Ulai calling, “Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision.”
¹⁷ As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. “Son of man,”^[b] he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”
¹⁸ While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me and raised me to my feet.
¹⁹ He said: “I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath,because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end.^[c] 20 The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. ²¹ The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king. ²² 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.
²³ “In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise. ²⁴ He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people. ²⁵ He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.
²⁶ “The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”
²⁷ I, Daniel, was worn out. I lay exhausted for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding.

Daniel's second vision came two years after his first vision. In his vision, Daniel is in Susain, the province of Elam. This was the winter residence of the kings of Persia. It was thought that Daniel was living here and not in Babylon since Belshazzar did not have a good relationship with Daniel. This palace overlooked the U'lai river and is located in the southwestern corner of modern day Iran. In the vision Daniel sees a ram with two horns standing beside the canal. The ram had long horns, but one was longer than the other and grew later. The ram was undefeated and no one could stand against him.  This ram represents Medea Persia.   The two horns represent the two sides of the Medea Persian empire, Cyrus overthrew his grandfather, Astyages the king of the Medes and Persia, the younger kingdom rose up later. This was also represented by the Bear raised up on one side in Daniel's last vision.                                                                                           Then Daniel sees a goat with one large horn came from the west and he seems to cross the earth without touching the ground.  The goat represents Greece, which was located west of Persia. The horn represents Alexander the Great, who was represented by the leopard in Daniel's first vision. The goat crosses the earth without seeming to touch the ground represents the speed with which Alexander the Great was able to conquer the world during this time.   The goat furiously attacks the ram and breaks its horns, Greece and Persia had a long history of conflict, and when Alexander came to power he went out to defeat the Persians. Greece defeated Persia and became great under Alexander, but at age 33 he died and his kingdom was broken into four pieces. This is the meaning of the large broken horn and the four horns that grew up in its place.        Out of one of the horns rises a small horn. It grows in power to the south and east toward the Beautiful Land, which is Israel.  This little horn represents Antiochus Epiphanes who outlawed judaism and demanded to be worshiped as a god four times a year. He defiles the Temple by sacrificing a pig on the altar. Daniel hears a voice asking how long the sacrilege in the Temple will be allowed to continue, the answer is 2300 mornings and evenings. This period coincides with the time that the corrupt high priest Jason began to neglect the daily sacrifices until the Temple was cleansed after the Jews returned to Israel.  This little horn foreshadows the coming of the Antichrist which Daniel will talk more about in later chapters.  Daniel is confused by the vision, and then he sees the angel Gabriel standing before him. A voice commands Gabriel to tell Daniel the meaning of the vision, we can assume that it is God. Gabriel tells Daniel that the vision he had been shown was about the end times. He tells Daniel that the ram represents Medea Persia and the goat is Greece, with the large horn representing its first king and the four horns that rise up replacing the first.  Now Gabriel refers to a king that will rise up in the latter period. This can't be a reference to Antiochus, but to the Antichrist. He will rise up, but not under his own power, we know that Satan will give him the power. He will be destroyed, but not by man, Messiah will destroy him. Gabriel tells him that this vision is for the distant future.                                 Daniel is quite overwhelmed by this vision and was in bed exhausted for many days. After he recovered he got up and continued on the king's business. The vision was too overwhelming for Daniel to think about.