In the Bible, the book of Daniel is often considered an interesting mix. Parts of it are easily understood: the tale of Daniel in the lions’ den is easy enough to understand that it is regularly taught to children in Sunday school classes. Other parts however are, to be blunt, really weird. Daniel is a prophet and he regularly recorded visions and told stories to let people know what was going to happen. Interpreting those stories in a time far removed from when they were written can be difficult.
The eighth chapter of Daniel starts with a description of a ram. The ram has two horns -; one of which is bigger than the other. It has subdued all the other animals and reached the point where it is so powerful that none of the other animals even want to challenge him. Then a goat appears. The goat has one very large horn between its eyes. The goat runs around trampling everything, but then it crosses the earth without touching it. It gets to ram and easily defeats it. After this, it is considered the new ruler. At the height of its power, however, its horn breaks off. This is not a problem though since the horn is quickly replaced by four new horns that grow in different directions.
That is just the first part of the vision! Just understanding that can be challenging enough, though. Why is there so much focus on horns? How is the goat trampling everything if it does not touch the earth?
To have Daniel 8 explained properly, one needs to keep in mind two things, first this culture of the time it was written, and second, that symbolism has been around as long as people have been telling stories. At the time it was written, using horns to symbolize royalty was a common occurrence, and biblical scholars believe this tale is about Greece’s conquest of Persia. The words “land” and “earth” in the Old Testament were often used to symbolize the nation of Israel so when the ram tramples everywhere but runs across the earth without touching it, it is reflective of how Greece attacked all her neighbors but left Israel alone.
To read more of the vision and have the entire chapter of daniel 8 explained, visit http://revelationrevolution.org. They have extensive footnotes so you can see exactly where they did their research and follow up with your own.