Please read Daniel Ch 8 prior to reading the post, and read post one, two, three, four, five, six, seven and eight in this series first.

Chat GPT Summary: In Daniel 8, Daniel has a vision of a ram with two horns, representing the Medo-Persian Empire, and a goat with a single prominent horn, symbolizing Greece and its first king, Alexander the Great. The goat defeats the ram, but its horn is broken and replaced by four smaller horns, signifying the division of Alexander’s empire. From one of these horns arises a smaller, arrogant horn, symbolizing a future ruler who desecrates the temple, halts sacrifices, and opposes God. An angel explains the vision as concerning future events, emphasizing that God will ultimately judge and destroy this oppressor, reaffirming His sovereignty over history.

BATG Political Economy Commentary: Daniel returns to writing in Hebrew in chapter eight, having ended the message to the whole world that God is sovereign in the affairs of men and that he appoints event the lowliest of men to rule according to His perfect plans. This message continues, but now more in the context of encouraging the Israelites about their future. This encouragement and call to perseverance and faithfulness will carry through the rest of the book.

In chapter eight, Daniel has a vision of future kingdoms, and in this case is given an explicit interpretation that the ram represents the kings of Media and Persia, whereas the Goat represents Greece. Daniel needs to understand that conflicts between the kingdoms of men and Kingdom of God will continue, and it will be for “many days in the future” (v26). Indeed, the kingdoms of men will appear to have the upper hand (v9-13), but Daniel is encouraged that in the end, the holy place will be restored. The message for Daniel and us today is still the same–each chapter is highlighting God’s sovereign providential orchestration of events of this world. “In this world you will have tribulation” but we must take heart. The kingdoms of men are short lived, and even in their strength they ultimately fade away in comparison to the kingdom of God. The Medes and the Persians appeared so strong, dominating the world, and yet they were thrown down by Greece. Greece was so powerful and fast that the goat moved without its feet hitting the ground, and yet Alexander the Great was left without even being able to pass his kingdom to his progeny. We see presidents come and go, Obama here, Biden there. Trump here, Trump there. People always seeking power, and yet refusing to come to the one true God to rule according to His precepts–they will continue and we are called to keep our eyes on things above, and not putting our hopes in princes who cannot save and when they die their plans die with them. If Donald Trump appoints righteous judges, we can rejoice. If he starts a global trade war and sinks the economy, we can still know that God’s kingdom is every day getting stronger and closer to a culmination. We can, as Daniel did (v27) be appalled at what we see, but we can be encouraged that God is still actively working through the situation.

One interesting specific of this chapter is that wicked kingdoms of men (represented by a little horn–likely referring to Antiochus Epiphanes) will attack true religion itself, and “throw truth to the ground.” We’re going to see more details in subsequent visions of what happens to this little horn, and more importantly, how the wicked kingdoms of men are really part of a larger spiritual battle in the heavenlies (chapter 10). But for us, we should have every expectation that the kingdoms of men are not serving the Kingdom of God, even the best of them. The worst are overtly serving their father and will be hostile to things of the Lord. Are we surprised that Kamala Harris main campaign pledge was to promote abortion? And that when God has said He created us male and female that they would call God a liar? We shouldn’t be. They will always try to throw truth to the ground. But that doesn’t mean truth isn’t still truth. Truth being culturally out of step does not diminish its truthfulness. Our call is to hold fast to the truth, and proclaim it boldly.

If the message in each of these posts is sounding familiar, it is because that is the point. Daniel is really a simple message that God is repeatedly telling us, with slightly different details and different focus areas. The fact that God repeatedly tells us this message (that basically He’s got everything under control–be faithful) is because we are prone to not trust God–to allow the circumstances of this world get us down. Daniel is an antidote to our anxiety, an encouragement that we are not alone and we have a powerful God on our side ruling and reigning. We shouldn’t get too distraught when the kingdoms of men are very wicked, nor should we be too enthusiastic when the kingdoms of men are more supportive. Both will come and go.