Commentary on
3.1 Persia (and Media) Make Waves

Blue - One of the Kings (horns) was richer (higher and came up last).
Light Blue - The Total Number of Kings (Horns)
Purple - Who is it? Persia (Media and Persia)
Red - What is it doing?

Daniel 8 begins with the very first activity that leads into the great time of trouble or sorrows spoken of by Jesus. Daniel 11 touches on it. As you can see they differ a bit. (Daniel 11 seems to differ from all other prophecies yet their are simularities that help us tie it together with the other prophecies.)

A power pushes the other nations and is far richer than the other nations. It stirs up all against Grecia (which can mean: a power from the West! More of this in the next section: section 2.2.). If Persia or Media and Persia are a correct identification of the power, and if we are presently approaching this time then we might be able to identify the power as Iran, Iraq, and or Syria. Maybe the power does not exist as of yet but will reside in the same area of the globe.

An alternate possibility is that Syria, Iran, and Iraq represent the first three kings. But a fourth king will come up last. It will be associated with one of the other three making Daniel 8 Ring true as well.

This power will push in all directions and will also stir up trouble for the west

The Ram and the He Goat must occur first before the things in Daniel 7 take place. This becomes obvious when studying the rest of Daniel 8.

Daniel is very specific in telling where he saw the vision. In addition, we in his vision that he is next to the river Ulai. Many think because of the importance that Daniel places on the location that the actual activities described by the vision will take at or near that site. The location is at the southern border that separates Iran and Iraq. This is a location with much tension in today's world.

The ram is seen first as it pushes westward, northward, and southward. Apparently no nation can withstand their forces and the ram is allowed to do anything it wants. Apparently this situation is not an overnight situation since the ram is allowed to become great through the process.

The ram is apparently the union of two previous powers. Today, names such as Iran, Syria, and Iraq come to mind as possibilities for the two horns. Another possibility are some of the tribal groups within these countries.