Pinebrooke Community Church 2 March 2025 The Ram and the Goat Daniel 8
Nightmares are scary things especially when you are a child because you have no point of reference, knowing what is real and what is imaginary. There is a sense in which many today consider reality a nightmare because they have no point of reference that history provides. When we are ignorant of history there is nothing to attach the present to. History has been referred to as His…story and in today’s episode of Daniel’s story it is easy to see God at work. The challenge to Daniel was that in his vision the near future and the far future were both revealed to him and then to us through him. God was saying here’s what’s going to happen in the next few years and then here’s what’s going to happen a long time from now…but it will happen this way. Further God says just as I am here now with you, I will be with them then. That’s who I am!
Daniel 8:15-27
This takes place two years after Daniel’s dream of the four beasts. The vision captured the characters that compete for power. The context for the vision takes place in Susa, 225 miles east of Babylon. It would become the home base for Nehemiah and was the city where the young Jewish girl, Hadassah rose up to become Queen Esther. The ram and the goat are metaphors for kings. The ram is angry and spoiling for a fight. He thought himself invincible. “A tough guy is only as strong as his competition.” (p. 156). The goat is an angry newcomer that was relentless. The goat, “became so great in his own mind that he arrogantly went up against God himself, interfering with the sacrifices that were required by the Mosaic law.” For the interpretation of the vision, Gabriel, the angel with the answers, shows up. We know Gabriel’s reputation with both Mary and the shepherds as the great announcer or messenger. Remember, it is typical of prophecies to have a near and a far fulfillment. So, he starts with the near fulfillment. The two-horned tag team of the Medes and Persians reigned for two centuries after the conquest of Darius and Cyrus. During this time a cultural revolution was taking place to the west in Greece. First with Philip of Macedon, then through his 20-year-old son,
Alexander who became known as Alexander the Great. He was the goat in Daniel’s vision. The battle in the vision took place on November 5, 333 BC. The army of Darius III was crushed and the mighty Persian Empire effectively ended. Alexander was the large horn, and under his authority the Greek Empire continued to expand. The great horn broke off. At the young age of 32, Alexander died under mysterious circumstances while in the palace that Nebuchadnezzar built in Babylon. Without a named successor the Empire broke into four smaller empires. … I know you didn’t come today for a history lesson, but apparently it is important to God so that He includes it in His revelation for posterities sake. As Alexander’s army drove east, they brought Greek customs and the Greek language with them. By the end of the 4th century BC, Greek became the common language of the civilized world much like English is today. In the 3rd century BC, there was large population of Jews living in Alexandria, Egypt (named for Alexander). As citizens of one of the four empires birthed after the death of Alexander, these Jews spoke Greek rather than Hebrew. To maintain their faith, they demanded the Hebrew scriptures be translated into words they understood. Jewish scholars set to work and created a Greek translation called the Septuagint, which biblical scholars commonly use today. The Greek language is much more precise than is Hebrew. For the first time, because of the common Greek language, Gentiles were exposed to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. With Alexander gone though he had not named a successor, he had appointed four generals to oversee his conquests; Caesander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus. The empire that Seleucus led became the kingdom that Daniel’s vision traced. Subsequent rulers in that lineage led to Antiochus IV. (Remember this first part of the vision, the Jews were back in the promised land but were occupied by these Greek authorities.) Antiochus IV was pure evil. Believing himself to be deity, he christened himself Epiphanes, meaning “God manifest.” Those who knew him secretly called him Epimenes meaning “madman.” He was narcissistic, violent, and cruel, bloodshed followed Antiochus IV wherever he went. He took his oppression of the Jews too far as far as God was concerned. He attempted to stop the Jews from worshipping God in their own land in their own city. Temple sacrifices were outlawed. Mandates of Judaic law were forbidden. He ordered pagan sacrifices to be burned on the temple’s altar, then he desecrated the holy house
of God by dedicating it to Zeus the Greek god. This desecration of 167 BC, called “the abomination of desolation” is one of the ties to this vision’s future reality. Jesus announced it in Matthew 24:15-16, “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel – let the reader understand – then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” Jesus is speaking of the far fulfillment of this prophecy. This was simply too much for the Jews. A man named Judas Maccabeus organized a revolt that, through military genius and no doubt divine help, drove Antiochus IV and his army out of Judea. Three years later, the emperor Antiochus IV died of an illness. The annual celebration of Hanukkah is the celebration of the re-dedication of the temple and victory over Antiochus VI in 164 BC. Just 164 years before the Messiah’s arrival. The far fulfillment of Daniel’s vision will take place in the end times just as real as the near fulfillment of his prophecy. Daniel’s vision has an eventual fulfillment… the advent of the Antichrist who will be worse than the ram and the goat though somewhat like them. It is important to see that history is not just dates and events, but it reveals to us the ways of God over time and space. It is easy to get lost in the drama of God’s revelation, but it is given to us to help us learn the ways of God with men. No wonder Daniel was sick for days after seeing all that. It is hard to understand the movements of God given to us in condensed form. To a certain extent it is a grace to not see what is coming in the days ahead. It is why we walk by faith and not by sight. As close as Daniel walked with God it was still hard to see what was coming. What is here then for us in this passage? May I suggest at least this. To begin with this isn’t heaven and there is a lot of evil between now and then. Don’t be surprised! As long as the evil one survives (one day he won’t) there is darkness. Our function in the midst of darkness is to be the light. As followers of the Light of the world, we carry His light within us. Know this, the darkness cannot chase the light away if we will simply stand in the light. There is this as well! God is absolutely dependable! He knows yesterday, His imprint is all over it if we are willing and able to see. He knows today, He works all things for good for those who love Him. He knows tomorrow it’s of no surprise to Him. Evil will be evil until God judges evil in the end. When that happens the life graced to us will grow without the distortion that evil brings. Now that is something to look forward to.
How we respond to the darkness is a test for us. Remember the differentiation? To respond is to be conscious of God’s presence in the midst of all that happens. To react is to trust in ourselves as though God is not here and not in absolute control. The calling we have received from this prophetic message is to live life in the spirit of holiness which is to be separate from the impinging effort of evil. Our set apartness is to find our home in Jesus day by day in a very real and tangible way. The challenge the testing provides is to arrange the affairs of our lives intentionally in light of this calling to be separate. The dynamic is framed by developing a vision for living for God’s glory, making the necessary commitment to live intentionally for that purpose and shaping our days with
