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For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.

Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and a Goat 8  In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had already appeared to me.  2 In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa in the province of Elam; in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal.  3 I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later.  4 I watched the ram as it charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against it, and none could rescue from its power. It did as it pleased and became great. 5 As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between its eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground.  6 It came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at it in great rage.  7 I saw it attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering its two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against it; the goat knocked it to the ground and trampled on it, and none could rescue the ram from its power.  8 The goat became very great, but at the height of its power the large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven. 9 Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land.  10 It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them.  11 It set itself up to be as great as the commander of the army of the Lord ; it took away the daily sacrifice from the Lord , and his sanctuary was thrown down.  12 Because of rebellion, the Lord ’s people and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground. 13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled—the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, the surrender of the sanctuary and the trampling underfoot of the Lord ’s people?” 14 He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.” The Interpretation of the Vision 15 While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man.  16 And I heard a man’s voice from the Ulai calling, “Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision.” 17 As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.” 18 While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me and raised me to my feet. 19 He said: “I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end.  20 The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia.  21 The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king.  22 The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power. 23 “In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise.  24 He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people.  25 He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power. 26 “The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.” 27 I, Daniel, was worn out. I lay exhausted for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding.

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Military coups are a well-tried method of gaining power. In the past few years, several such transfers of power have taken place in Africa. This is nothing new. The empires of the ancient Near East resorted to military might to gain power and territory. Cyrus the Mede (the ram with two horns, vv. 3, 4) extended his empire by overpowering Babylon. He was subdued by Alexander the Great (the goat, vv. 5–7), who controlled lands from Greece to the Indus Valley. He was a great military tactician who died at the age of 32. Upon his death, his empire broke up into four parts: Macedonia, Ptolemy (Egypt), Seleucus (Syria), and Thrace (v. 8). The Seleucids produced Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who took on Alexander’s crusade to make the whole world culturally Greek. In his zeal, he outlawed Jewish worship and sacrifice (vv. 23–25). He fought Judas Maccabeus, though he ultimately lost. God revealed these things to Daniel three hundred years before they happened, for posterity (v. 26). Cyrus, Alexander, Antiochus, and many other emperors and their kingdoms will come and go, but the Word of God and his kingdom will remain forever. Daniel understood that even after the exile was over and the Jews were back in their own land, their existence was going to be perilous under hostile foreign powers. God’s people must prepare for the long haul.1 At midnight on October 24, 1964, I watched as the Union flag was lowered for the last time in Northern Rhodesia and the Zambian flag was raised. Human kingdoms are always temporary.

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