DANIEL 8
THE RAM AND THE HE-GOAT 3
"And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision. Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright." Daniel 8:15-18.
Daniel wanted to understand what all the things he was seeing in the vision meant and so he asked. In verse 16 he says, “And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.” Jesus was the one who asked the angel Gabriel to explain to Daniel what the vision meant.
Notice how Daniel was affected by the presence of these holy Beings—Daniel was one of the few people in the Bible that there is no record made of his ever being unfaithful to the Lord; and yet even he falls helpless to the ground when Jesus speaks and the angel comes near! What do you think will happen to the WICKED when Jesus returns in ALL His glory??
Now Daniel knew that God had told the Prophet Jeremiah that the Jewish people would be kept in Babylon as slaves for 70 years and then they would be allowed to return to Jerusalem. Daniel knew that soon those years would end and had been praying about it.
"And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be. Daniel 8:19.
The 'last end of the INDIGNATION' is referring to the end of the world when the 7 Last Plagues are poured out on those who refuse everything God has tried to do to save them.
"The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia." Daniel 8:20.
"And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king." Daniel 8:21.
"Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." Daniel 8:22.
As you know, Alexander died and so the kingdoms following were 'not in his power'.
"And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up." Daniel 8:23.
"And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people." Daniel 8:24.
Notice here this 'Mystery King' destroys and conquers but 'not by his own power'— Rome always gets the power of state and kings and governments to do its dirty-work. It persecutes God's people
"And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand." Daniel 8:25.
'Craft' or as we might say 'craftiness' shall prosper—Under this Religio-Political combination, lying, hypocrisy, sneakiness and dishonest and unjust practices are the rule of the day! No human effort will stop the march of this king of fierce countenance. Only God will bring him down, and none shall help him. Praise the Lord!
This verse slips back in gender and shows us Pagan Rome again that it used peace treaties to extend its power and it stood up against the Prince of Princes - Jesus. But also the Papal power also did this in the person of His people as well.
He shall be broken 'without hand'— Remember in our study of Daniel 2- how the stone that struck the image on the feet and destroyed it?
Well this shows that God himself will finally bring all these cruel, despotic powers to an end.
“And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days. And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.” Daniel 8:26,27
Now as the angel explains to him about long periods of time, (many days - verse 26) Daniel is shocked and afraid that maybe the Jews would not be returning home after all. It bothered him so much that the dear old man fainted. Also he was horrified at what he had saw about the terrible little-horn power and what it would do to the dear children of God.
God was really telling Daniel things that he was to write down so His people that live on earth today, in the last days of time, would be able to know what God was doing. We are living in the final scenes of the Great Controversy between Christ and Satan. The Judgment is going on in heaven now and soon great test will come to the living to allow them to choose whose side they are on.
The prophecies are to warn but also to encourage Jesus' dear people today. Daniel’s messages were written for you and me and they tell us that God is in charge and if we give our hearts to Him, and choose Jesus to be our own dear Savior and Lord of our life, then we can know that we will be loved and cared for by Jesus and our dear Heavenly Father, and someday go home to heaven when Jesus comes again.
That time is soon--BE READY!!
