Battle of the Beasts

When the Visions of Daniel were Received

Just as the vision of Daniel 7 covered the same ground as the prophecy of Daniel 2 while zooming into more detail, so the vision of Daniel 8 also zooms into that of chapter 7.

The vision of Daniel 7 was received during “the first year of King Belshazzar” of Babylon (Dan.7:1). His father, Nabonidus, took the throne in 555 BC. He appointed his son, Belshazzar, as co-ruler in 553 BC; so, this vision would have been given in 553/552 BC. The vision of Daniel 8 was received during “the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar (Dan.8:1), that was c. 550 BC - i.e. 12 yrs before the fall of the Babylonian Empire. It is therefore important to know that Daniel received the prophetic vision of chapt.8 when the Babylonian Empire was still in existence.

The Vision of Daniel Chapter 8

(v. 2)
In vision, Daniel saw himself in Susa - i.e. Shushan in the metropolis of Elam. The large Ulai (Eluacus) Canal connected the River Corprates and the River Choaspes together.

(vs. 2,3)
He saw a ram beside the river. It had 2 long horns, but one was longer than the other; and the longer one came up after the other.

(v. 4)
The ram was charging towards the west, the north and the south. No other beast (i.e. kingdom) was able to withstand it, & none was able to deliver from its power. It increased in strength. Emerging from the East, this empire was extending in various directions - namely:

• Westward: conquering Babylonia, Mesopotamia & Syria;

• Northward: conquering Armenia & the area around the Caspian Sea;

• Southward: conquering Egypt, Palestine, Libya & Ethiopia.

(v. 20)
This ram represented the Kingdom of Medo-Persia that was soon to overthrow the Babylonian Empire. Under Cyrus the Great, Persia became the strongest of the two kingdoms, hence it was symbolised by the longest of the two horns. It is interesting that they crowned their kings with a ram’s head of gold adorned with precious stones. Their coins also carried a ram’s image. The overwhelming power of Medo-Persia was too strong for anyone to prevent its advancement.

(vs. 5,6)
Then a male goat came charging towards the ram from the opposite direction. The goat had a horn between its eyes. It was approaching at tremendous speed, intending to attack the ram with great force.

(v. 7)
In anger it struck the ram & in doing so, broke its 2 horns. Unable to defend itself, the ram was thrown to the ground & trampled upon; in fact, there was no one able to deliver it.

(v. 21) 
The goat represented the Kingdom of Greece while its horn was its first king - i.e. the founder of the Greek Empire who later became known as ‘Alexander the Great’. It is also interesting to note that an ancient Macedonian tradition held that Caremus, the first king of Macedon, followed a herd of wild goats to Edessa where he established his capital. He called it Aege, “The Goat City”, from where the national symbol emerged.

(v. 5) 
While both Babylon & Medo-Persia came from the East, the Greek Empire emerged from the West. The Greek exploits are described as coming with great speed that it did not touch the ground. The speed and aggression by which Alexander founded his empire is also signified in the previous vision by a 4-headed leopard with 4 wings of a bird (Dan.7:6). After the death of his father, Philip of Macedon, Alexander took the throne in 336 BC. At that time, Macedon was a semi-Greek state. After settling revolts in Greece & Thrace, Alexander set out to conquer the Persian Empire by a series of victories.

(vs. 6,7)
He came fast and furiously as he marched his troops across the earth, conquering Asia Minor, Syria, Phoenicia, Cyprus, Egypt, Babylonia, Persia and the mountains north of India. He took his troops as far east as the Indus River (one of the longest rivers in Asia, almost 2,000 miles in length), which flows from Tibet into Jammu, Kashmir & the rest of Pakistan. His troops finally refused to go any further and forced him to return. He had conquered the Persians formed the Greek Empire, the largest up to that time! In just over 10 years, he had marched his troops more than 10,000 miles and conquered the ancient world! He returned as far as the City of Babylon, intending to make it his headquarters; but he contracted “swamp fever”, probably malaria, and complicated by heavy drinking, he died within a few days in 323 BC. He was only 33 years old when he died. It is said of him, ‘that he conquered the world but failed to conquer himself!’

(v. 8)
“At the height of its power, the great horn was broken”: a significant statement of prophecy with reference to the death of Alexander the Great, who on his death bed, was asked by Perdiccas, his friend, to whom he would bequeath his kingdom. His reply was, “The strongest!”

The 4 horns (4 kingdoms) that arose in place of the broken horn (Alexander) would not be as powerful as Alexander’s Empire had been. After his death, his empire entered into disarray with strife and turmoil, resulting in the army being scattered and the cities being plundered. The Greek Empire was divided between Alexander’s 4 army generals:

• Lysimachus took the North, including Cappadocia, Thrace and Northern Asia Minor.

• Ptolemy took the South: Egypt and Palestine.

• Cassander took Macedonia, Thessaly and Greece.

• Seleucus took the East as far as India, including Babylonia, Persia and Syria.

(vs. 8,9)
The “four prominent horns” arose towards “the four winds of heaven” (v.8) and “out of one of them came another horn, a little one” (v. 9). There is some ambiguity in the Hebrew as to whether this “little horn” arose out of one of the 4 horns or out of one of the four winds. Commentators are inconclusive as to which is referred to.  The mystery is caused by the genders given to the words “one” and “them”.  We know that the Roman Empire, which succeeded that of Greece, emerged from the West beyond the Greek Empire and not out of Greece. Therefore, it is more logical to interpret this text as referring to the “little horn” arising out of one of the four winds - i.e. is from the western point of the compass. This then harmonizes with the facts of history.

We have already identified the “little horn” kingdom that was introduced in the vision of Daniel 7 [c.f. Lesson 7, Identifying the Little Horn). From the prophecy in Daniel 8, we receive further insight into the significance of this “little horn” which emerged from the Roman Empire in Daniel 7; but in Daniel 8 it represents Rome in both its pagan and papal phases - the reason being that its papal phase absorbed the pagan influences that preceded it through Imperial Rome. This is also witnessed from the activities that are listed in this chapter that are directed against the Jewish nation as well as the Christians.

(v. 23)
The angel Gabriel explains to Daniel (c.f. v.16) concerning the time when the “little horn” would arise.

(v. 9)
Toward the South (Egypt became a Roman province in 30 BC). Towards the East (The Seleucids lost their western lands to Rome that became part of the Roman province of Syria c.65 BC). Toward the beautiful land (Jerusalem and Palestine came under the Roman Empire in 63 BC). The Jewish nation suffered under Roman rule, and in AD 66, the armies of Rome marched against Jerusalem in response to rebellion. The Jewish War lasted for 4 years. Finally, in AD 70, under the command of Titus, the Roman legions stormed the walls and destroyed the city and the Temple. Many Jewish survivors were taken to Rome as prisoners. The dispersion of the Jews took place throughout the empire.

(vs. 24-25)
The Roman Empire is referred to as “The Kingdom of Iron” in Daniel chapters 2 and 7. It has waged bitter persecution of both the Jewish nation and the Christian Church after ordering the crucifixion of Jesus. The empire eventually broke up into 10 kingdoms. The “little horn” power pushed its way into the forefront, uprooting 3 of the 10 kingdoms. Unlike pagan Rome, this power was not just a political power but it also became a religious power - namely the apostate church as portrayed in Daniel 7 and 8.

(vs. 9-12, 24,25)
Symbols of Daniel 8

A.  The 2-horned Ram: Medo-Persian Empire

B.  The male Goat: Greek Empire

C.  The notable Horn: Alexander the Great

D.  The 4 horns of the Goat: the 4 divisions of the Greek Empire

E.  The Little Horn (papal Rome) became exceedingly great and rose up against the “Prince of princes”

Counter-claim about the Little Horn

In order to divert attention from the papacy, it is claimed that Antiochus Epiphanes was the “little horn” of Daniel 7 and 8. The question is: Does this claim meet all the criteria as outlined in the Bible?

1. The “little horn” became exceedingly greater than Cyrus or Alexander. None of his line came anywhere near as great; and he himself was anything but great! He constantly had to pay tribute to Rome; & ended up being murdered whilst attempting to raise more money for the tribute. His subjects even called him “Antiochus Epimanes” (the madman). He was just amongst one of many kings.

2. The “little horn” became exceedingly great toward the South (Egyptian Kingdom), the East (Seleucid Kingdom), the Pleasant Land (Palestine) and even against the Prince of princes (Jesus Christ). The Kingdom ruled by Antiochus was Syria & was already in the East; so it obviously could not refer to him! The latter was something Antiochus could never do since he died in 164 BC, long before Christ was born!

3. According to Daniel 7:25, the “little horn” would reign supreme for 1,260 years. Antiochus obviously did not manage to reign that long! He only reigned for 11 years (175-164 BC). He was born 215 BC and died 164 BC. He only lived 51 years.

Indeed, as we have examined in our previous lesson, the only power that meets the criteria laid down in the Bible is Papal Rome. In the prophecy of Daniel 8 we are introduced to an extremely important vision . . . of a Ram, and a male goat, and a Little Horn power that would seek to destroy the truths of salvation; a power that would claim to exercise the prerogatives of Christ!

We shall examine this further in the next lesson entitled: The Defiling of the Sanctuary!

This article serves as the script for presentation #8 in "The Book of Daniel" series, delivered by Pastor Michael I. Walker. If you're interested in downloading a printable PDF version, just click here.

You can also find the video presentation recorded during the Zoom meeting on Wednesday, 26 February 2025, below.