Daniel 8:15-27

8:15-17 | To respond in terror and to fall on one’s face was a common response to a vision (Ezek. 1:28; Rev. 1:17).

8:17-27 | The ram with two horns represents Media and Persia. After the Babylonian kingdom fell, the Medes came along first and then were joined by the Persians. The Persians assimilated the entire Median kingdom, just as the prophecy says. The large horn represents Alexander the Great.

8:21-22 | The goat is the kingdom of Greece ruled by Alexander, who conquered the ancient world in 12 years.

8:23-25 | The vision now skips ahead in time, interpreting a little horn that grew exceedingly great (8:9). The prophecy was fulfilled in Antiochus Epiphanes. The characteristics of two men – the power of Alexander and the cruelty of Antiochus Epiphanes – merge together in the king with fierce features, the Antichrist, who will make his dramatic appearance at the end of time.