Reading for June 11th

Read Daniel 8.1-14 In 8.1-27: The vision of the ram and the goat. A second vision surveys Greece's defeat of Persia and points to the downfall of Antiochus IV. The language of the book reverts to Hebrew (see 2.4b). In verses 1-4: Third year of Belshazzer: 552 BCE. Susa located inthe provice of Elamby the River Ulai in modern day Iran, was the winter capital of the Persian empire. The ram with two horns is the combined Persian-Median empire. In verse 5: The male goat with a horn is the empire of Alexander, who swept through Persia in 333-330 BCE. Alexander died in 323 BCE, and his empire split into separate kingdoms. In verses 9-14: Another horn, a little one: Antiochus IV, who attempted to extend his power to the south and the east, including the beautiful land of Israel. Alexander defiled the Temple by turning it into a sanctuary for Zesus. Two thousand three hundred evenings and morings: or 1,150 days, approximately three years and two months (see 7.25;12.7), the time of Antiochus' persecution. Comments or Questions..