09. THE VISION OF THE RAM AND THE HE-GOAT

THE eighth chapter of Daniel reveals the connection which will be found to exist between the third empire and Antichrist—a connection which may, perhaps, serve to identify him when he appears, and which at the same time hints that his rule will be characterized by the intellectual brilliancy and defective morality of Greece, as well as by the iron force of Rome.

¹ Zech. i. 12-21.

It was some two years after the grand vision of the four beasts, when another wonderful sight was presented to the eyes of Daniel. The time was critical, and the prophet may have felt the need of further guidance and prayed for it; for the siege of Babylon was being pressed, and her end was so near that in the new revelation it is tacitly assumed, and the predictions begin with the power which overthrew her.

Daniel's past experiences, and his close walk with God, had probably quickened his spiritual perceptions; and, accordingly, the Divine communications could now reach him without needing the medium of a dream. While awake, and fully conscious, he seems to have been caught up—like Ezekiel—by the Spirit of God, and conveyed out of beleaguered Babylon to the far distant city of Susa, that he might there behold in vision the fall of the Persian empire, of which it was a capital, and be instructed in regard to the third empire and the arch-enemy who should arise from one of its four kingdoms in the latter days.

He soon found himself standing on the banks of the Ulai, and, lifting up his eyes, saw a ram with two horns, one of which was higher than the other; but the higher had come up last. This ram was pushing Westward and Northward and Southward, so that none were able to stand before him: consequently, he did according to his will and became great. But while the prophet was considering the sight, a he-goat suddenly appeared, coming from the West with such speed that he seemed not to touch the ground, and having one great horn between his eyes. In the fury of his power, he made for the ram, smote him, shattered his horns, cast him down, and trampled

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upon his prostrate body: nor could the ram either resist him, or find a deliverer. Then the he-goat waxed powerful; but in the midst of his strength the great horn was broken off, and in its place four others came up towards the four winds of heaven.

Out of one of these sprang a little horn, which became exceedingly great towards the South, and toward the East, and towards the glory—that is, the land of Israel. Nay, it even grew up to the host of heaven, and cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and trampled upon them: it magnified itself against the Prince of the host, and took away the daily sacrifice, and destroyed the sanctuary.

Then Daniel saw two angels in conversation, and, endeavouring to hear what they were saying, seems to have failed to understand the first speaker, but caught the meaning of the other, who inquired;—

“How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?” And the first replied;—“Unto two thousand and three hundred days: then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” These words were unintelligible to Daniel, and caused him the greatest anxiety; but, while pondering them, he was suddenly startled by the consciousness of an apparition facing him in the distance, a supernatural presence in human form. And then he heard a voice of command—proceeding, apparently, from one who was hovering above the waters of the Ulai—which said;—“Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.”

Instantly the heavenly being began to move toward him, and Daniel, though he was the greatly beloved, experienced the indescribable horror which seizes upon every sinful man when he is brought face to face with perfect holiness. He fell to the ground, just catching, before he fainted, a single sentence from the lips of his celestial instructor;—"Understand, O son of man: for the vision has reference to the time of the end."

Here, then, is the first clue to the interpretation. The vision is no prophecy of Antiochus Epiphanes: the little horn is another and far more terrible persecutor who shall arise in the last days.

While Gabriel was speaking, Daniel had fallen into a swoon: but the angel restored him by a touch, set him on his feet, and then continued;—"Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for it relates to the appointed time of the end."

Here is another solemn warning against misapprehension. The first part of the vision, which was soon to be fulfilled, is merely used to introduce, connect, and render intelligible, what follows; while its main burden is a prediction of the closing days of that indignation which Moses threatened to disobedient Israel, and under which the Twelve Tribes are now suffering, and will suffer until the times of the Gentiles be ended.

Gabriel then explains that the ram signifies the king of Media and Persia, and the hairy goat the king of Greece. In the former vision these two powers were represented by a bear and a leopard; but the symbols are here changed, perhaps for the sake of more certain identification. In the earlier vision the representative beasts seem to have been selected

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for the purpose of delineating the characteristics of the kingdoms for which they stood: here there is also a reference to heraldic devices.

Most of the great Asiatic powers were founded by mountaineers or nomads, the Persian among them: and this probably explains the fact that its recognized emblem, or one of them, was a ram. In Taylor's "Calmet" there is an engraving of a Persian coin displaying a ram's head on the obverse, and a ram recumbent on the reverse. The same symbol is found among the sculptures of Persepolis, which was the capital of Persia proper from the time of Darius Hystaspes until its wanton destruction by Alexander. And it seems to have been long retained: for Ammianus Marcellinus, in describing the march of Sapor, tells us that the Persian king rode in front of his army wearing "a golden figure of a ram's head set with gems, instead of a diadem."¹ We may add that, in the Zendavesta, Izad Behram, the guardian spirit of Persia, appears "like a ram with clean feet and sharp-pointed horns."

The ram corresponds to the bear in that it also is a heavy and strong animal. Its two horns, the one higher than the other, indicate the twofold character of the empire, as well as the superiority of the Persians to the Medians.² The same facts are marked by the right and left arms of the image; and in the vision of the four beasts by the attitude of the bear, who raises himself up so as to strike with the side on which he is strongest.

Amm. Marc., xix. 1.

The higher horn is said to have come up last, because the Median dynasty was earlier than the Persian.

The pushing of the ram in three directions seems, like the three ribs in the bear's mouth, to indicate the conquest of the kingdoms of the league, Lydia Babylon and Egypt, of which the first two were subjugated by Cyrus, the last by his son Cambyses.

And finally, the overthrow of all other beasts, and the note that none could deliver them from the power of the ram, answer to the command given to the bear; —"Arise, devour much flesh."

Thus far, then, for the ram. The goat, on the other hand, owing to its connection with the famous legend of Caranus,¹ was the national emblem of Macedonia, and is found on the coins of that country, the ancient capital of which was called Ægæ, or the Goat-city, and the people Ægeadæ; while the adjacent waters received the name of the Ægean, or Goat-sea. Hence the son of Alexander by Roxana was called Ægus, or "son of a goat," and some of his successors are represented on their coins with goat's horns. And in his life of Pyrrhus, Plutarch describes the enthusiasm with which that

¹One of the Heraclidæ, and the founder of Macedonia. His story is thus related by Justin;—"But Caranus also, who was followed by a large number of Greeks, when he had been bidden by the answer of an oracle to look for settlements in Macedonia, came to Emathia, and seized the city of Edessa. He took it by surprise, a dense rain and mist having prevented the inhabitants from descrying his approach; while he contrived to find his way to the place by following a flock of goats which were flying from the storm. After the capture he called to mind an oracle by which he had been bidden to seek for a kingdom under the guidance of goats, and was, consequently, induced to make the city his capital. And from that time he was scrupulously particular to have the goats in front of his standards whenever he marched out with the army, in order that he might retain, for all his undertakings, those guides which had put him in the way of gaining his kingdom. To commemorate their service, he changed the name of the city of Edessa, and called it Ægæ, and his people the Ægeadæ" (Just. Hist. vii. 1).

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monarch was recognised by the Macedonians when he had put on his helmet adorned with a lofty plume and a crest of goat's horns.¹

In the ram and the he-goat there is the same contrast of dull strength and nimble energy as in the bear and the leopard; and the he-goat comes from the West—that is, from Greece, which is to the West of Persia.

He had a notable horn between his eyes, a symbol of pre-eminent strength directed by intelligence; and this, as the angel explains, represents the first king of the Grecian World-power, Alexander the Great, whose marvellous energy was guided by an equally marvellous intellect.

The fury and violence of the goat well depict the vigour of Alexander's attack, which carried everything before it, and of which a wonderful example was given in the very first encounter, the fiery assault on the Persian positions at the Granicus. All conditions of peace were refused, and Alexander openly declared to the ambassadors of Darius that he would pursue their master to the death, not as an honourable enemy, but as an assassin and poisoner. The decisive battle of Arbela followed; after which Alexander, at the instigation of an Athenian courtesan, wantonly destroyed Persepolis, the ruins of which prove it to have been one of the grandest cities the world has ever seen. Then, taking with him a compact army, he made a forced march of three hundred miles in eleven days in hot pursuit of Darius.

But while the goat was at the height of his strength,

¹ It is possibly in allusion to such a crest that Alexander is called Dhu'lkarnein, or the Two-horned, in the Koran (chap. xviii., "The Cave").

the notable horn was suddenly broken off: and so, in the midst of his glory, with plans inconceivably vast in his mind, Alexander "succumbed to marsh fever and intemperance" at Babylon, in the thirty-third year of his life. The great centre of power was broken; but the intelligence and energy of the Greeks remained, and soon four horns sprang up in the place of the one: the World-empire fell apart into four dominions extending toward the four winds of heaven. For after the battle of Ipsus, four of the generals of Alexander divided his territories among themselves in the following manner.

Ptolemy took possession of Egypt, Cyrene, Cœlo-Syria, and some of the northern parts of Asia Minor.

Cassander of Macedon and Greece.

Lysimachus of Thrace, Western Bithynia, Lesser Phrygia, Mysia, and Lydia, with the Meander for a boundary.

Seleucus of the remainder of Asia Minor and the East.

Just after the appearance of the four horns, Daniel saw a little horn issuing from one of them, and becoming exceedingly great. Had the vision been transmitted to us without interpretation, we must have supposed this last to indicate some monarch, or state, arising from one of the four kingdoms not long after their establishment. But the interpreting angel explains that the power represented by it will not appear until "the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full." Hence we perceive that at this point the vision passes on to "the time of the end," with which, as we have previously seen, it is mainly concerned.¹ Now the four kingdoms were all merged in the Roman

¹See p. 94.

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Empire before the birth of Christ—the last survivor being Egypt, which continued until the defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra by Augustus, B.C. 31.¹ They will, however, be resuscitated; for “the latter time of their kingdom” must be synchronous with “the time of the end” and “the last end of the indignation.” Otherwise, no part of the vision would refer to that crisis, and the solemn declarations of Gabriel would be without meaning. And so we understand that the period of the little horn will not arrive until the closing days of the dispensation in which Daniel lived—that is, until the seven years which yet remain to it, after our parenthetical age has run its course.²

But in the previous vision there also arises, from among the ten horns of the fourth beast, a little horn, which has been usually distinguished from that which we are considering, on the ground that the former springs from the fourth beast, and the latter from the goat, which corresponds to the third.

This, however, when carefully examined, proves to be a very superficial reason. The moral features of the two powers are precisely the same. Both of them are violent and blasphemous oppressors of God’s people: both dare to defy the Powers of heaven, the Most High and the Prince of princes. Both exist at the same time: for the horn of the seventh chapter continues until Christ comes to take the Kingdom; while that of the eighth prospers until the last end of the indignation, which is also closed by the appearing of the Lord.

¹ At this date, therefore, what we may call the former time of their kingdom came to its end.

² The reader will find this statement fully explained in Part II., chap. 3.

Both become exceedingly great upon the earth, and destroy terribly; and, finally, both are at last struck down by the direct interposition of God. Scarcely would there be room in the world for two such beings at the same time: the descriptions seem to be of one and the same person.

The apparent difficulty of the diverse origin may be easily explained. We have already seen, from the seventh chapter, that the Roman Empire when resuscitated will consist of ten kingdoms, locally governed each by its own king, but welded into one great dominion under Antichrist. And again, from the eighth chapter, we find that the four kingdoms of Alexander's successors will also be in existence during the Last Week. But these were merged in the Roman Empire before its disappearance; and even if they had not been, we are, nevertheless, taught by the vision of Nebuchadnezzar, as well as by the description of the Beast in the Apocalypse, that the fourth World-power, just before its fall, will comprise all the dominions of the three previous empires.

It follows, then, that if the kingdoms of Alexander's successors are to be in existence at the end, they must be among the number of the ten which will at that time make up the Roman Empire. And so, while the seventh chapter tells us no more than that Antichrist may arise from any one of the ten kingdoms, the subsequent vision limits this statement, and declares that he will proceed from one of the four which were formed out of the territories of

1 The phrase, "in the latter time of their kingdom," evidently indicates that they will not be found in the revived Empire as mere dependencies, but be reckoned among the ten sovereign states.

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Alexander. To speak roughly, two of these four will fill the peninsula south of the Danube, Bulgaria Turkey and Greece, the third will probably be Asia Minor, and the fourth Egypt. Greece is already a separate kingdom, and there are not a few indications that the Turkish empire is about to break up into some such portions as the other three.

If, therefore, this interpretation be correct, Antichrist will spring from the dominions of the third empire, but will hold sway over the fourth, which will include all the others.

Now the third and fourth world-powers were diverse. The former was distinguished for its intellectual splendour, though at the same time it was utterly devoid of truth and morality.¹ It excelled in everything that could beautify and adorn outward life, and it has educated the world: its poets, philosophers, historians, orators, painters, and sculptors, have been models for

¹ As a specimen of Greek morality, we may cite the following account of the way in which the Athenian commander Paches gained possession of Notium. “But he invited Hippias, the officer in command of the Arcadians who were in the fortified quarter, to a conference, on the condition that, if he failed to propose anything acceptable to the other, he should restore him safe and sound to the fortress. Upon this understanding Hippias came out to him, whereupon he held him in custody, but did not put him into chains, and having suddenly assaulted the fortress takes it, since the garrison were not expecting an attack, and puts to death all who were in it, whether Arcadians or foreigners. Afterwards, in accordance with his promise, he brings Hippias to the fortress, and, as soon as the latter was fairly within it, seizes him and shoots him down” (Thucyd. iii. 34). This is the account of the philosophical historian Thucydides, who coolly relates it as an ordinary transaction against which no one would think of raising an objection. The reader will notice the diabolical scrupulosity of Paches, which made him avoid putting Hippias into fetters, lest his prisoner should be bruised, and it should thus become impossible to restore him safe and sound to the fortress.

all succeeding generations. Even the conquering Romans owned the power of Greece, acknowledging her superiority in the intellectual sphere; and Paul in his Epistle to them, divides the whole Gentile world into Greeks and Barbarians.¹ For this division, which originally meant Greeks and foreigners, had, by reason of Greek influence upon the world, become not so much a designation of nationality as of degree of culture. And so the Romans themselves were reckoned as Greeks, because they had imported into their country, and become imbued with, the language and culture of Greece.

The characteristics of the fourth power, on the contrary, were its iron will, its maintenance of law, and the mighty strength with which it bent everything to its rule. Virgil has well delineated the features of either empire in a celebrated passage, which we may translate as follows;—

" Others will mould with softer touch the breathing brass—

I grant—the living face from the cold marble draw;

Will urge with rarer eloquence their client's plea;

Will trace with skilful rod the tangled ways of heaven,

And tell the rise and setting of each silver star.

But, Roman, thine it is to make the world obey!

These are thy noble arts: to fix the terms of peace,

To spare the vanquished suppliant, and fight down the proud."

It would, then, seem that Antichrist will fascinate the world by an intellectual brilliancy like that of Greece, which he will use to direct the irresistible will of Rome. And so when the fourth beast appears in his last phase, he is no longer diverse from all the others, but is "like unto a leopard";³ has assumed

¹ Rom. i. 14, 15. ² Virg. Æn. vi. 847-853. ³ Rev. xiii. 2.

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much of the outward grace and beauty of Greece, while retaining the might and force of Rome. And in the chapter under our consideration the interpreting angel seems to point to the same thing. For the king is "fierce of countenance"; that is a characteristic of Rome, which, indeed, is elsewhere described in the very same words, as "a nation fierce of countenance."¹ But the next clause, "understanding dark sentences," presents the subtlety of the Greek mind.²

Possibly some of the considerations just advanced may explain the fact that Israel and Greece are brought into sharp collision, at the time of the end, in Zechariah's prophecy;—"When I shall have bent Judah for Me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece."³ And it is not unworthy of notice that, at the first advent, the three kingdoms of Greece Rome and Israel are found together in the inscription on the cross.⁴

When it is said of the fierce king that "his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power," we are reminded of those other words, "And the Dragon gave him his power, and his throne, and great authority."⁵ Strengthened by such a helper, he will spread havoc in a wondrous manner, will by his cunning make the deceit which he devises successful, and will destroy many by professions of peace, or, as the words may mean, by unexpected and malignant attacks in times of security. It is especially mentioned that he will work the ruin of "strong ones and the people of the saints." The latter would seem to be the Jews, of

¹ Deut. xxviii. 50.

² Dan. viii. 23.

³ Zech. ix. 13.

⁴ Luke xxiii. 38.

⁵ Rev. xiii. 2.

whom—if we render the twelfth verse more correctly—we have already been told that “a host shall be given up, together with the daily sacrifice, because of transgression.” It is more difficult to find out who are indicated as the “strong ones,” but probably they are that nation, or those nations, which, comprising many believers in Christ, will at first be moved to resist Antichrist with the sword, and will, consequently, have to pay the penalty with which those who do so are threatened.¹

The king will further defy God by destroying the Temple, and will at last stand up against the Prince of princes Himself: but he will then be broken without hand, dashed to pieces by the stone cut without hands from the mountain.

The words of the angel in regard to the two thousand three hundred days are mysterious. The literal Hebrew expression is, not “days,” but “evenings mornings,” which proves that actual days of four-and-twenty hours are intended; just as when we hear of forty days and forty nights, or of three days and three nights. And we should note that seven full prophetic years would contain two thousand five hundred and twenty days; that is, that the time mentioned by the angel is two hundred and twenty days short of seven years.

Now it may be that the vision of the daily sacrifice and the transgression of desolation refers to the whole period of Antichrist’s connection with Jerusalem. If so, he is to make a covenant with the majority of the Jewish nation for seven years, as we shall see in a later chapter, and after the first three years and a

¹ Rev. xiii. 9, 10.

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half will cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease. The remaining three years and a half will be the time of the great tribulation. But the Lord Jesus has promised that those days shall be shortened for the elect's sake.¹ Possibly, then, the angel's words are intended to give us the extent of this shortening; and if so, God will spare His people two hundred and twenty days from the last year.

We have thus examined some of the most remarkable prophecies of the Old Testament which relate to Gentile dominion. Before the later Scriptures were written three of the great World-powers had passed away, so that we no longer hear of Babylon Persia and Greece, but only of Rome. And even of Rome but little is said, until she is set before us embodied, as she will be, in her last king. At that time, as we shall presently see, many Jews will be dwelling in their own land, having been gathered thither to endure that purification by the Spirit of judgment and burning which shall prepare the meek among them for their glorified inheritance. And then, when God begins to remember Israel, His dealings will resume their direct reference to the government of earth; so that at this point prophecy again enters into details of earthly matters. But of what will happen to the kingdoms of this world during the dispensation of grace only the barest outline is revealed. For believers in Christ have a heavenly calling, and are commanded not to mind earthly things, but to be ever waiting for the coming of their Lord.

We will now briefly consider some New Testament predictions respecting the fourth empire.

¹ Matt. xxiv. 22.

VI.