Question
Daniel 8:1-27
Key Verse: 8:17
1. Read verses 1-4.When did Daniel have this vision? How was he personally involved in the 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 truth was thrown to the ground? (1Jn 2:22) What hope is planted by the holy ones?
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 verses 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 this vision? What was he told about it? What does this vision teach us about man and power? About human history? About God?
Note: Daniel saw this vision in about 551 B.C. Alexander the Great of Greece conquered and sought to Hellenize the world; he died in 332 B.C. His empire broke into 4 parts. The Seleucids (Syria) and the Ptolemies (Egypt) vied for control of Palestine. Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164 B.C.) came to power through intrigue. He sought to eradicate the Jewish religion. He 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.