Caught Up

Daniel 8:1-8

In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai

Daniel is still trapped in King Belshazzar's palace under his reign. This should give us a clue as to how long this man had reigned. He was on the throne for three years at this point and Daniel is already on dream number two recorded in Scripture. This one is different from the first in that it is a cohesive vision. Not only that, but Daniel says it came to pass. How many of you know the test for any prophet as Jeremiah 28:9 points out is whether those things come true. Now, not everything is a prophecy. Some people like to misuse the gift; others say things like, 'I think I will be having pizza for lunch, two beers for supper, and live until one hundred.' That, my friend, is not prophecy. That is foolishness talking. Prophecy is something like Daniel experienced here. It is when thus says the Lord and he makes it come to pass. Note that the Lord designed something to happen. He called Daniel his prophet and his servant. Daniel did not call himself. Daniel might have waited on some of these until the scene was safe to record what he had heard and seen. That may be one of the reasons why this book appears to be out of order in places. Now, let us see his location. He is beside the riverbank. I want to add, we have seen this location before have we not. If you do not remember that is ok. When he is having visions of the Lord in other texts, he is also beside a riverbank in a similar location. The righteous man, according to Psalm 1:3 "is like a tree planted by" the river of water. This is what Daniel is doing by the riverbank. He is getting his spiritual nourishment here. He remembers where he grows from for his root and source ought to be found in Christ. See, there is a transporting taking place from work in the palace to the riverbank. It is a catching up, if you will, to the place where God wants him. Diligent in your business, even in a bad situation, can allow God to speak into your life as Proverbs 22:29 explains.

Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.

Here we are beside a riverbank with visions of a ram. Now, the last time we have seen the ram mentioned in Scripture is when Abraham went to sacrifice with no offering. Genesis 22:2-13 shows the ram caught by the horns in the thicket once Isaac was bound and laid upon the altar. Not only that, but the ram of this vision had two horns. Now, I am not entirely sure of what these mean in Scripture, but Psalm 148:14 should provide some contextual clues. Also, Joel 2:15 speaks of the use of the ram's horn for calling together a sacred assembly of the people and a time for national repentance. Now, this seems to indicate, along with the Jewish custom of blowing a shofar to indicate the movement of the Lord, that this is rather a spiritual thing. One horn was higher and "came up last." So, if these represent the people that the ram is bearing, that makes sense, right? Pull yourself together and get your mind out of wherever it is. God is trying to show you something here.

In the previous book, Into His Courts With Praise, we talked about the division of the body and the soul. Together with the spirit these mirror the division of the Trinity. Therefore, the Father and the Son would be like our body and soul if they were two separate people. The text does not explicitly say this here, but it is supported by much of the Scripture. For the life of me, Daniel did not see fit to make it clear if the horn meant a person individually or persons as a group; neither did the Lord see fit in this instance. However, we know from Romans 11:11-31 that Israel had been pruned to allow the church to be ingrafted. This is as the parable of the wild olive tree. Therefore, whether personalities or dispensations of people, this ram's horns had no competition. The ram went towards the north, west, and south but not to the east while he stood upon this riverbank. Now, we have some clues as to this ram's geographic location. If it reigned everywhere, it would be found by the riverbank of the east. Now, this ram did its' own will, became great, and none could stand before it. No other beast was stronger due to the will of the ram.

And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power.

Here we see the goat. Goats are known in Scripture and on the farm for being stubborn, wayward animals. Matthew 25:31-46 associates them with those who knew not Christ and did unto their fellow man whatever they wanted. The goats sit on his left side and are cast into the eternal fire. I do not know about you, but when I think of this fire, I always picture the little flame of remembrance. This burns in memory of the Holocaust victims. Imagine out of everyone in the whole world, God has one just for you and me. It is known as the eternal fire; in the end he will set everything wrong to make it right. Now, this goat has a couple of things wrong with it. It came from the west over the face of the earth. This is a worldwide phenomenon seen here. People talk about the Rapture as millions of people gone with clothing and vehicles abandoned. Here, seeing the way this goat moves ought to terrify some of you. He "touched not the ground." You might say, he floated, levitated, or did something supernatural. Let us just say when it happens you will know of what God is speaking. Next, we see the "notable horn between" it's eyes. This might resemble a unicorn but without what makes one beautiful, harmless, and helpful. Goats have in their nature to be this way. The goat spoken of here has it in his nature; much like Pharaoh of Exodus 9:12, God hardened his heart to do his will. The nature of the goat will take over him when that time comes. What is inside of him will be brought to light or come out of him so to speak. Now this goat will do what the goat wants; that is to charge into the ram standing peacefully by the river. "In the fury of his power" tells us know just how highly this goat regards himself.

And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.

This goat is a very bad one indeed. The word 'choler' speaks of one of the four humors of Ancient Greek science, alchemy, and bodily harmony. Now, if I had to venture a guess, choler can range from a strong indignation to a full-on fury. This sort of fury is like that which comes upon male bucks every rutting season. Regardless of which, the outcome was the same. The goat "smote the ram" just as the rock was smitten by Moses in Numbers 20:10-13 to provide water for the people. So also, Christ himself was smitten for the sins of the world according to Isaiah 53:4. In fact, so long has this feud been going on that Genesis 3:15 promises that Satan would bruise his heel and Christ will crush his head. "No power" was found "in the ram" much like no fault was found in Christ by Pilate during John 19:4. I am not saying that this applies then, but there are certain parallels to be drawn here. "No power" "to stand before him" can also mean that the ram, like the lamb, has been appointed by God for this time. "Cast him down to the ground" and "stamped upon him" sounds fearfully like it is a personal matter. How many of you know that problems with each other will eventually affect everyone else around you even your relationship with God.

His horns were broken indicating that the ram had become at best a lamb. At worst, it could be seen as total defeat. It does not appear that the ram has his position anymore. Nor could any "deliver the ram out of his hand." How many of you know that when man cannot, God can. On the cross, Jesus could have called ten thousand angels to rescue him at any time as Matthew 26:53. However, it was the Father's will for the salvation of the world. When God calls you to a situation or even to occupy a rather difficult position, he will equip you to handle it. He provides even the grace when it comes to face it. This is a hard prophecy, but what God had wrought is even greater. For from this broken ram came up "four notable ones toward the winds of Heaven." We have spoken of both the winds and these notable ones before as being synonymous with the four Sprits of God sent to the four corners of the earth. Here, after having conquered, they are seen rising again from whence they came. The story is not over nor is all lost until God has been glorified and takes his rightful place. His position is as one high and lifted up in Isaiah 6:1. This is why we can rest knowing that the Lord on high is mighty.