The Ram
The nation of Iran will be a powerful force during the Time of Distress that marks the end of the Times of the Gentiles. The role of Iran is described in a vision that Daniel received while the people of Judah were in exile in Babylon. After the vision, the angel Gabriel appeared to explain its meaning to him. He first explained the timing of the vision's fulfilment.
Understand that the vision concerns the time of the endThe angel makes it clear that the vision will be fulfilled in the later "time of wrath".
I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end (Dan 8:17,19).
Daniel 8 is being fulfilled in our time. The first part of the vision is described in Daniel 8:3,4.
I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later. I watched the ram as he charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against him, and none could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased and became great.
The interpretation of the ram is given in verse 20. The two-horned ram represents the kings of Media and Persia. The people of Media and Persia now make up the nation of Iran.
Fulfilment
During the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the Iranian and Shia spiritual leader, Ayatollah Khomeinei deposed the Shar of Iran. The Shah had been installed by the CIA and was an American puppet. Iran under the Ayatollah had all the characteristics of the ram; no nation was able to stand against it. Iran was the centre of revolutionary Islam.
During the 1980s, Iran got bogged down by the Iran-Iraq war and lost its leadership role. The next decade was spent recovering from the war. This lull in activity is represented by the gap between the horns. During this time Iran had to compromise with the West, so it lost credibility as leader of the radical Islam. Iran's mantle passed to Al Qaeda because it was leading most of the action, but Al Qaeda is a Sunni Wahabi-based organisation that is opposed to Shia Islam.
With Al Qaeda under increasing pressure and new leadership emerging in Iran, the baton was handed back again. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected as President of Iran in August 2005. He was intent on re-establishing Shia Iran as the leading defender of Islam throughout the world, the role it had when led by Ayatollah Khomeini. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his successors are the second horn on Daniel's Ram.
Although Ahmadinejad was not a religious leader like Ayatollah Khomeinei (the first horn), he became even more powerful. He took several steps to reclaim the leadership of the revolutionary movement.
Following the invasion of Iraq, Iran-backed militias dominated the southern parts of Iraq that were occupied by the British army. With only 10,000 troops on the ground, the British had little choice but to go along.
Various elections in Iraq has given dominant power to Shia parties closely tied to Iran.
These actions were a direct challenge to the power of the United States. Iran has declared that it will not be pushed around by the other nations. Several factors have contributed to this resurgence of Iranian power.
Ahmadinejad was confident that he has the backing of God. He said that when he spoke to the United Nations in September 2005, he felt himself surrounded by light. He felt that the atmosphere changed and the world leaders were unable to blink, as their eyes and ears were opened to the message from the Islamic Republic.
The destruction of Iraq has removed a major obstacle to Iranian power.
Iran now has a population of 70 million, which is more than the United Kingdom. A quarter of the population is aged under 15, which gives it enormous vitality.
Iran has the world's second-largest proven natural gas reserves.
Iran also has about a tenth of the world's oil reserves, so trade sanctions against Iran will increase the price of oil, which is the last thing that the world economy.
As the United States puts more pressure on Iran, its credibility in the Islamic world increases.
Daniel said that no animal could stand against the ram, and none could rescue from his power. Over the next few years, we will see a revival of Iranian power in a way that surprises the world. No nation will be able to stand against it (until the time when he is to be destroyed by the long-horned goat). Iran will do as it pleases and become a really important player on the world stage.
Charging South
Daniel saw the ram charging to the west, the north and the south. The charging to the west and the north were partly fulfilled in the 1980s. The recent war in Syria is another butt towards the north.
However, Iran has not yet advanced its power to the south. The only significant country south of Iran is Saudi Arabia and the Arab Emirates Although the Saudi King is a Sunni Moslem, most of the population of the Eastern Province where most of the oil is found are Shia. The majority of workers in the Aramco, the Saudi Oil Company are also Shia. They have been subject to Wahabi persecution and often much of their property has been seized.
Iran might attempt to expand its power by stirring up the Shia majority in Saudia Arabia. This could be the ram's charge to the south.
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