Belshazzar was the last king of the Babylonian
Empire. Daniel had the dream about the
beasts, and the following vision, while serving in Belshazzar’s palace. In this next vision, we see the same timeline
given except this time Babylon is not mentioned. In a matter of a few years Babylon was going
to be conquered by Darius the Mede, one of the first rulers of the Medo-Persian
Empire, so Babylon was already moving out of the picture.
Okay, on to the third vision.
ANIMAL |
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KINGDOM |
ATTRIBUTES |
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Ram |
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Persia |
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Two
Horns = Media and Persia |
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One
Horn Longer = Persia stronger than Media |
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Butting
in Three Directions = three areas of conquest |
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Medo-Persia |
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Babylonian
Empire |
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New
Territory |
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Goat |
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Greece |
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Not
touching ground = speed |
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Conspicuous
Horn = Alexander the Great |
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Four
New Horns = empire divided among the generals |
Here we read that Daniel saw a ram with two horns, one of which was longer than the other (Persia stronger than the Medes). And this ram was butting in three directions which corresponds to the three ribs the bear had in its mouth in the previous dream (the three geographical areas of the ancient world to come under its control). Then Daniel saw a male goat with a single horn coming from the west without touching the ground. This is Alexander the Great (horn) who, in only three years, conquered the Persian Empire (so fast he was not touching the ground). Then Daniel says he saw that as soon as the horn was mighty, it was broken and replaced by four other horns. This would be the division of Alexander’s empire amongst his generals after his death. A man standing next to Daniel in the vision explained the vision, actually naming Media, Persia and Greece, so we know without a doubt what the ram and goat part of the vision means.
The dreams and visions we have just looked at in the
Book of Daniel were written down in the sixth century BCE. History has unfolded just as Daniel was
shown, without one deviation from the prophecies. If God knew ahead of time that a mishmash of
city-states would unite under one leader and grow to be the Greek Empire, and
if God knew that a backwater town in Italy would one day rule the world with a
fist of iron, and if God knew that that backwater town in Italy would be the
last World Empire ever to exist, then I have to believe that the final parts of
those dreams and visions will come true also.
The Rock is coming, and Jesus will establish his everlasting kingdom on
the earth.
Addendum
SYMBOL |
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MEANING |
Precious Metals |
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Kingdoms, Nations,
Empires |
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Wind |
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Activity,
Commotion, Strife |
Seas, Water |
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Groups, Masses of
People |
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Animals, Beasts |
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Kingdoms, Nations,
Empires |
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Horns |
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King, Political
Power, Individual |