What happensPermalink
Daniel sees a ram with two horns defeated by a goat from the west. The goat’s great horn breaks and is replaced by four horns. From one comes a ruler who attacks God’s people, stops the regular sacrifices, and desecrates the sanctuary. Its restoration is promised after 2,300 evenings and mornings. Gabriel identifies the ram with Media and Persia and the goat with Greece. This ruler will challenge God but be broken by no human hand.
Why it mattersPermalink
The vision moves from empires to the threatened worship of God’s people. Its sequence points to Alexander the Great, his successors, and Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who persecuted the Jews and profaned the temple. The reckoning of the evenings and mornings remains debated, but the promised restoration gives the oppressed an endpoint to await. Daniel is overwhelmed and returns to his work still struggling to understand.
Key versePermalink
He said, “Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of the indignation, for it refers to the appointed time of the end.”