If you are like most people,
you do not recall there being a story about the flying shaggy unicorn goat in
the Bible. Not only is it there, but it is a powerful story that demonstrates
Biblical inspiration. I have never met someone whose attention has not been
grabbed when I ask them if they have heard about the flying shaggy unicorn goat
in the Bible. Even the most devout atheist I know was interested in hearing the
story. This one story has the ability to crack the door to hearts of so many
people who might not be interested with other approaches. The odd story is
found in the eighth chapter of Daniel.
Daniel was a prophet of God who
was one of the first Israelites taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar, king of
Babylon in 605 BC. According to Daniel 8:1, this chapter was written in the
third year of Belshazzar. By history, we know for certain that this was the
year 545 BC (so Daniel has been in captivity for fifty years). Daniel has a
strange vision that he shares with us.
The Vision (8.3-12)
The first thing Daniel sees in
his vision is a powerful ram.
Daniel 8:3-4 Then I
lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a ram which had two horns was standing
in front of the canal. Now the two horns were long, but one was longer than the
other, with the longer one coming up last. I saw the ram butting westward,
northward, and southward, and no other beasts could stand before him nor was
there anyone to rescue from his power, but he did as he pleased and magnified
himself.
The ram was so powerful, no
other beast could stand before him. He dominated everyone he saw and did as he
pleased. This ram was so prideful because he did not think he could be beaten
by anyone. However, next we see this flying unicorn goat (the shaggy part comes
later).
Daniel 8:5 While I was
observing, behold, a male goat was coming from the west over the surface of the
whole earth without touching the ground; and the goat had a conspicuous horn
between his eyes.
Next, a battle ensues between
the ram and the goat. However, it was a bit one-sided.
Daniel 8:6-7 He came up
to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing in front of the
canal, and rushed at him in his mighty wrath.
(7) I saw him come beside the
ram, and he was enraged at him; and he struck the ram and shattered his two
horns, and the ram had no strength to withstand him. So he hurled him to the
ground and trampled on him, and there was none to rescue the ram from his
power.
That mighty, powerful ram that
could not be overthrown was thrown down in an instant. Now the flying unicorn
goat was the top beast that no one could overtake. However, his reign as top
beast did not last very long.
Daniel 8:8 Then the male
goat magnified himself exceedingly. But as soon as he was mighty, the large
horn was broken; and in its place there came up four conspicuous horns toward
the four winds of heaven.
The unicorn was now a
quadra-corn. His great powerful single horn had been shattered. Now four horns
grew in its place. The story goes on to give more details about the four horns,
especially the fourth and smallest horn that later becomes the biggest horn.
This last horn is said to throw down stars from heaven, trample them, and
removed the Commander's regular sacrifice and destroyed his sanctuary.
This story is entertaining. It
is easy to picture these powerful animals in the mind. However, there is more
to this vision. Not only does Daniel share the vision, he also shares the
interpretation.
The Interpretation (8.20-25)
An angel comes to Daniel and
tells him what his vision means.
Daniel 8:20-21 "The
ram which you saw with the two horns represents the kings of Media and Persia.
"The shaggy goat represents the kingdom of Greece, and the large horn that
is between his eyes is the first king.
And now we see the
"shaggy" description of the goat. This may not be that impressive to
you at first, but notice when this was written. According to the Bible, Daniel
8 was written in 545 BC. The Medes and Persians too control in 540 BC (five
years later). Alexander the Great took control 336 BC which is 209 years after
Daniel 8 was written.
Daniel correctly predicted that
five years down the road that the Babylonian empire would be replaced by the
Medes and the Persians. Some might argue the likelihood of anyone predicting
the next world power is not that great. However, Daniel does not just stop
there. He predicts that the great Medo-Persian empire (depicted as the powerful
ram) would be overtaken by the tiny, nobody (at the time) country of Greece 209
years before it happened. The United States of America is 229 years old. Could
you imagine someone in George Washington's day predicting the outcome of World
War II?
What is even more incredible is
matching the description of the battle to what we know as fact from history.
The first king of Greece was Alexander the Great. He is known as one of the
most successful military commanders of all time. He is most well-known for was
his speed in conquest and his premature death. It took Alexander the Great all
of twelve years to conquer most of the known world. It is said he wept because
there were no more kingdoms to conquer. As soon as he had overtaken his last
enemy, Alexander the Great died in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II at the age
of 32.
When you look back at the early
verses describing this flying shaggy unicorn goat, he moved so quickly that his
feet never touched the ground. His strike against the ram so was sudden and
fierce that the battle was over before it begun. As soon as the goat exalted
himself, that single horn broke. As verse 21 said, that single horn represented
the first king of Greece. Alexander the Great died without a son and his
kingdom was divided into how many parts? History (as well as Daniel 8) tells us
that the kingdom was divided into four parts. The smallest horn, (representing
the Roman province) later comes to power and overtakes the other three horns.
Not only that, the Roman empire destroyed the temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD (615
years after Daniel 8 was written), thus halting all sacrifices.
The Choice You Have to Make
The historical accuracy of
Daniel 8 is undeniable. The book of
Daniel makes a bold assertion that it was written before these events take
place. Now you have to make a decision. There are two options. Either you must
agree that the book of Daniel was written when it said that it was and Daniel
truly could predict the future or that the book of Daniel was written sometime
after the fact. Liberal critics say it must have written around 165 BC.
However, they have a significant problem. The entire Old Testament was
translated into Greek 100 years before that time.
Daniel must have been a true
prophet. As a true prophet, we should listen to what he has to say. Daniel also
prophesies about Jesus and His Kingdom. Close to 600 years later, Christians
knew how accurate the book of Daniel was. The book of Hebrews talks about how
God used to speak through prophets like Daniel, but "in these last days
has spoken to us in His Son (Jesus Christ)" (Hebrews 1.1-2). In the same
book, we are given a warning.
Hebrews 2:2-4 For if the
word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and
disobedience received a just penalty,
(3) how will we escape if we
neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord,
it was confirmed to us by those who heard,
(4) God also testifying with
them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the
Holy Spirit according to His own will.
God spoke to Daniel through an
angel and everything came true. If that was unalterable, how much more are the
words spoken by Jesus and the eyewitnesses to His death, burial, and
resurrection. You have a choice to make. Do you believe Daniel? If so, you have
to believe in Jesus.
