Page 217 - Daniel

8
The Vision of the Ram and the Goat

wo factors mark Daniel 8 as the beginning of a new section. First,
Tthe language returns to Hebrew instead of the Aramaic used in
2:4–7:28. Second, the change of language is in keeping with the change
in thought introduced by this chapter.

In this vision God presented Daniel with a brief overview of the Medo-
Persian and Grecian Empires—the second and third empires in Daniel’s
history of the “times of the Gentiles”—through the reigns of the key
leaders. He traced prophetically the history of Medo-Persia and Greece

in very broad-brush strokes until the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes. At
that point God gave a detailed revelation because this “little horn” was
the mirror image of the still-future “little horn” of chapter 7 (the
Antichrist).

From here to the end of Daniel, the prophecy, even though it concerns
the Gentiles, is occupied with history as it relates to Israel. Therefore,
although many expositors divide the book of Daniel into two halves (1–6
and 7–12), there are also good reasons for dividing Daniel into three
sections (1, 2–7, 8–12). 1

The first of Daniel’s own visions recorded in Daniel 7 is a broad
summary of the times of the Gentiles, with emphasis on the climactic

events culminating in Christ’s second coming to the earth. Beginning in
chapter 8, Daniel’s second vision focuses on the rulers of the empires of
Persia and Greece and their relationship to Israel and the Jewish people.
Under the Persian government, the Israelites returned from captivity to
rebuild their land and their city, Jerusalem. Under Grecian domination,
in particular under Antiochus Epiphanes, the city and the temple were
again desolated.

Daniel 9 presents Israel’s history from the time of Ezra and Nehemiah
to the inauguration of the kingdom from heaven at Christ’s second
coming immediately preceded by the time of great trouble for Israel.