Daniel 8:1-27
Key Verse 8:17
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."

* DANIEL'S VISION OF A RAM AND A GOAT (1-14)

1. Read verses 1-4. When did Daniel have this vision? How was he personally involved in this vision? Describe the ram, its appearance and its behavior. How does it resemble the Medo-Persian Empire? (20)

2. Read verses 5-8. just when it seemed that no animal could stand against the ram, what happened? Describe the goat. What happened to him? How does he resemble Alexander the Great (334-323 B.C.) and the Greek kingdoms after him (21-22)?

3. Read verses 9-14. What evils are perpetrated by the horn that started small? (What happened during the time of Antiochus Epiphanes?) What does it mean that the truth was thrown to the ground? (1 Jn 2:22) What hope is planted by the holy ones?

* THE INTERPRETATION OF THE DREAM (15-27)

4. Read verses 15-22. What happened while Daniel was watching the vision and trying to understand it? How did Daniel respond? What did the vision concern? What do the ram and the goat, the single horn and the 4 horns that replace it represent?

5. Read verse 23-25. This concerns the "small horn" (9). What does he do and what happens to him? What spiritual meaning can we find here? Think about our spiritual warfare with Satan. (1 Pe 5:8; 1 Jn 2:22)

6. How did Daniel respond to the vision? What was he told about it? What does this vision teach us about man and his power? About human history? About God?

Note: Daniel saw this vision about 551 B.C. Alexander the Great conquered Persia about 330 B.C. and sought to Hellenize the world. He died in 323 B.C. and his empire broke into four parts. The Seluicids (Syria) and the Ptolemies (Egypt) vied for control of Palestine. Antiochus IV Epiphanes came to power through intrigue (175-164 B.C.) He sought to eradicate the Jewish religion, and desecrated the temple. (Hanukkah commemorate the rededication of the temple in 165 B.C.) Antiochus died mysteriously in 164 B.C. in Persia. These events are a portent of the end. Such men arise and such events occur from time to time throughout human history.