Bible Study Daniel 8 - Daniel's Vision of Ram & Goat

Daniel 2nd vision of Ram and Goat tells us more about the history of man. The picture of the Little Horn is getting even clearer. Despite the explanation given, Daniel was still puzzled. For us now looking at the fulfilled prophesies, our faith on the trustworthiness of the Bible should increase. One thing is sure, the man run organization will cycle through times of victory and defeats, goodness and evil. The human system will end with the Little Horn evil empire being removed by Jesus Christ for the establishment of His eternal kingdom with believers as kings and priests. It behooves us to be watchful and busy in doing God glorifying work in the mean time while watching for his eminent return. We can also learn from here what kind of government and political systems that God is please with. In this time of election, may we select and elect our leader wisely.

The Vision of Ram and Goat

Here is the mind-map that captures the essence of Daniel 8:

The Little Horn
We consolidate the verses on the little horn from Dan 7 & 8 here to get a better view.

The Questions and Suggested Answers for Reflections

Of particular interest to us at this time of election is to select and elect the leader according to the Biblical Standards. We can see that leaders are appointed and anointed by God first. Then the Appointed Leader select and appoint his sub-leaders. It seems to be a top down approach like today business organization. The founders start the business and choose his partners and followers to build the dream together. When voting is required, it is not about bidding one against another. It is about setting a criteria or standards for leadership and those who qualified, or perceived by the people that they qualify, are elected into the team to lead them. The criteria for leadership is explicitly stated in many places in the Bible, an election by God and a response of obedience. Paul shared much of the leadership criteria with us in 1&2 Tim and Titus. Please refer to the following posts:

• Bible Study 2 Timothy 2 How to Be a Model Christian Leader
• Building Great Church and Business According to the Letter to Titus

Lim Liat (C) 18 Sep 2012