Alexander the Great was a young military genius who defeated the Medo-Persian empire in 333 BC. He is the biblical king of Greece mentioned in the prophecies of Daniel, written almost two hundred years before Alexander lived.
Alexander’s armies moved swiftly like a leopard against the lumbering “bear” of Medo-Persia, two analogies used in Daniel’s second prophecy, found in Daniel 7. In Daniel 8, Daniel’s third prophetic vision uses imagery of a two-horned ram for Medo-Persia and a goat for Alexander’s Greece. Greece will defeat Medo-Persia to become the next great world empire in its place.
Daniel described in his vision what was to happen to the two-horned ram, Medo-Persia.
5 “While I was contemplating this, behold, a male goat came from the west crossing the face of the whole earth without touching the ground! Now the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes. 6 He came up to the two-horn ram that I had seen standing beside the canal, and charged it with raging strength. 7 I saw him attacking the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering his two horns. Now the ram was not strong enough to stand against him, so he knocked the ram to the ground and trampled him. No one could rescue the ram from his power.
8 “The male goat became exceedingly great, but as soon as he became mighty, the large horn was broken, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven. Daniel 8:5-8 (TEV)
We do not need to speculate about the correct interpretation for the beasts in this prophecy. The answer is clearly spelled out to Daniel by a heavenly being, the angel Gabriel.
15 When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. 16 And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, and it called, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” 17 So he came near where I stood. And when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end.”
18 And when he had spoken to me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But he touched me and made me stand up. 19 He said, “Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of the indignation, for it refers to the appointed time of the end. 20 As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia. 21 And the goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king. 22 As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his nation, but not with his power. Daniel 8:15-22 (TEV)
Upon his death at a young age, Alexander the Great’s empire would be divided four ways, with four of his subordinates each taking over leadership roles. None would achieve the greatness or power of Alexander, who was represented by the great horn in Daniel’s vision.
The angel Gabriel would return again, five hundred years after Daniel, and three hundred years after Alexander the Great, to appear before Mary, the mother of Jesus. This later visitation would lead to the appearance of Jesus on earth, who would be born to Mary, both fully God and fully human. Jesus’ mission for His first visit to earth would be to spread the good news of His coming kingdom of heaven, as attested to by His many great miracles. He would finish His work by atoning for the sins of all believers, worldwide, through His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. The gospel writer, Luke, gives us an account of Gabriel’s second visit.
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Luke 1:26-33 (ESV)
When a grown man, Jesus would begin His three-year mission and ministry, as recorded in the gospel of Matthew:
35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. Matthew 9:35 (ESV)
Even at the height of its glory. Alexander’s empire would be nothing in comparison to the glory of Jesus’ eternal kingdom, which will one day replace all earthly governments. We have the privilege of being invited into that kingdom through the gift of faith in Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross for us. This complete purification and forgiveness through faith allows us to spend our eternity in the presence of a holy God, something we could never achieve through our own efforts and abilities.
As the apostle Paul wrote in the New Testament:
1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. Romans 5:1-2 (NLT)
As Daniel’s prophecies showed, earthly kingdoms will come and go, but the kingdom of God in Jesus Christ will replace them all and stand forever. May we all choose to be with Him in His kingdom.
Reflection
What is one nagging worry or concern in my life that I can place in the hands of a loving and sovereign God? He desires to lift the weight of that burden from us today.
Lord, we worship You and glorify You. Forgive my sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus and help me to forgive others through Your divine love. Bless and protect my loved ones and even my enemies. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Have a blessed day in the Lord today.
Daily Meditations from the Genealogy of Jesus 