Scripture to Read: Daniel 8:1–4
Daniel, led by the Holy Spirit, wrote about things 400 years before they happened. Read Daniel 8:1. Daniel had a second vision in the third year of Belshazzar the King, about 551 B.C. Some doubt that Daniel wrote the Book of Daniel. But in Matthew 24:15, Jesus quotes Daniel 9:27 and says this was given through “Daniel the prophet.” In Daniel 8:20–21, God reveals this is about Persia and Greece. In Daniel 2, Persia was the chest and arms of silver and Greece was the belly and thighs of bronze. In Daniel 7, Persia was the bear and Greece was the leopard. In Daniel 8, the ram represents the Medo-Persian empire and the one-horned goat represents the empire of Greece. Read Daniel 8:2–3. Daniel saw the two-horned ram representing Persia, which replaced the Babylonian Empire. The ram had two horns, one larger than the other. The Persians and Medes had an alliance, so Daniel saw the ram having two horns signifying that alliance. The longer horn represented the Persians, who were more powerful than the Medes. Eventually, that empire became known as the Persian Empire. Read Daniel 8:4. God showed Daniel the conquest of Medo-Persia over Babylon. Daniel, twelve years in advance, saw what we studied in Daniel 5. Note the end of Daniel 8:4, “he did as he pleased and magnified himself.” The arrogance of the ram (the Persian Empire) brought it to its destruction. God’s Word is clear that “pride goes before destruction” (Proverbs 11:2, Proverbs 16:18, Proverbs 18:12, Proverbs 29:23).
Challenge & Application
• Why is it important to know the history of God’s Word, and what does God show us about Himself as He gives Daniel this vision? (Hint: See 1 John 3:20.)
• What brought the destruction of Babylon, and what does God teach us through this?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!