Vision Interpretation Part 2

    It is no surprise that Daniel didn't want to talk about his visions.  There are things that we see or experience that needs time to be processed before we can talk about it.  The end of times vision is probably something that would rattle a person to the core.  It is like a ghost that haunts you.  However, God gave Daniel this vision for a reason.

    Daniel had a second vision when he was around 70.  In the vision he was in Susa's citadel.  He saw a ram with two horns.  One horn was longer and the other grew up.  Nothing could stand against this ram as he became great.  

    A male goat with a prominent horn between the eyes came without touching the ground.  It attacked the ram with a great rage.  The attack shattered the horns of the ram which removed his power as the goat trampled the ram.  This made the goat arrogant.  That is when his horn was broken.  (It is about how Alexander the Great rose in power so quickly, but died suddenly in 323 BC.)

    Next came four horns that pointed toward the four winds.  (This is how Alexander the Great's empire was divided into four parts.)  Then the small horn rose in power (Antiochus in 170-164 BC).  This creature was powerful and it tore stars from the sky.  He became the Prince of host as people lost faith in God.  He received a daily sacrifice as he destroyed the truth. It took 2,300 evenings and mornings for the sanctuary to be reconsecrated.  Antiochus was successful, but it was only temporary.

    Daniel was still watching the vision, trying to understand, when a voice told Gabriel to explain it to Daniel.  Gabriel was gentle with Daniel as he explained that the vision of the end of time.  It is the conclusion of wrath.  The ram represented Media and Persia.  The goat was Greece (Alexander the Great).  The part that came later was evil (antichrist).  Evil made the people feel secure, but would ultimately destroy them.  That is until Jesus came.  The vision had dual meaning: time line for Hebrews history and the end of all time which is Celestial.  

    The angel told Daniel to write the vision and seal it because it is meant for the distant future.  Daniel laid where he was for several days.  He needed time to process and recover.  He was not there, but the vision was so vivid that he felt like it was happening to him, like he experienced it personally.  It was a lot to take in.

Daniel 8