15 While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. 16 And I heard the voice of a man calling from between the banks of the Ulai: “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”

17 As he came near to where I stood, I was terrified and fell facedown.

“Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”

18 While he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground.

Then he touched me, helped me to my feet, 19 and said, “Behold, I will make known to you what will happen in the latter time of wrath, because it concerns the appointed time of the end.

20 The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. 21 The shaggy goat represents the king of Greece,[B] and the large horn between his eyes is the first king. 22 The four horns that replaced the broken one represent four kingdoms that will rise from that nation, but will not have the same power.

23 In the latter part of their reign, when the rebellion has reached its full measure, an insolent king, skilled in intrigue, will come to the throne. 24 His power will be great, but it will not be his own. He will cause terrible destruction and succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men along with the holy people. 25 Through his craft and by his hand, he will cause deceit to prosper, and in his own mind he will make himself great. In a time of peace he will destroy many, and he will even stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be broken off, but not by human hands.

26 The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been spoken is true. Now you must seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”

27 I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was confounded by the vision; it was beyond understanding.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Susan Duc

In the hit sci-fi movie, the ‘Matrix’, there’s a scene where the lead character, Neo, sees the same black cat twice in succession. It was a case of ‘déjà vu’, where you feel like you’ve experienced the exact same event before – and in Neo’s case, it clues him to the fact that danger is just around the corner.

This second vision must have filled Daniel with that dreaded sense of déjà vu. Once again, he sees terrifying animals that symbolise powerful kingdoms. In this case, the two-horned ram represents Medo-Persia, and the goat is Greece. Daniel sees that the ram (Medo-Persia) will be an irresistible force and will become great (v 4) … that is, until the goat (Greece) arrives from the west. Then it is Greece which will become very great and conquer the world (v 8).

The vision then focuses on a ruler, a ‘little horn’, who would attack the ‘Beautiful Land’ of Jerusalem. He would set himself up against God, destroy God’s city, plunder God’s temple in Jerusalem, and persecute God’s people.

It’s no wonder that Daniel hears one angel ask another: ‘How long?’ How long will God allow this evil to endure? The answer comes: for 2,300 evenings and mornings (about 3½ years). But then God would act to deliver his people and restore the temple (v 14).

Although the timing is debated, this probably points to the same arrogant and cruel Greek king Daniel learned about in chapter 7 – a king called Antiochus who, in 167 BC, slaughtered the people of Jerusalem and desecrated the temple in Jerusalem. But as Daniel foresaw, God delivered his people and the temple was restored 3½ years later.

Even the mighty kingdoms of the Medo-Persians and Greeks were under God’s sovereign will – and by his will, they faded away. But just as God chose to love Israel, the most insignificant of all peoples, so he is continuing to build his forever kingdom – by choosing the weak things of the world to shame the strong and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are (1 Cor 1:27). What a joy and relief for us!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susan is one of our Assistant Ministers.