Ram and Goat (3) Shaggy Goat

The second part of Daniel’s vision explains that when the Prince of Persia is at the zenith of its power, an even more powerful kingdom, the Shaggy Goat, will arise. It will come from the West in a sudden attack.

The Goat is called the King of Greece (Dan 8:21), also known as the King of the North. The King of Greece is not the nation of Greece, but is the civilisation that came out of Greece and the spirit that controls it. Many modern historians and philosophers consider that Western Civilisation emerged out of ancient Greece. The King of Greece symbolises Western Civilisation centred on the United States.

Originally, Western Civilisation was centred on Europe, but since the beginning of the twentieth century, Europe has been eclipsed by the United States. It now dominates Europe in terms of military power and cultural influence. Since the Second World War, Europe has been dependent on the United States. Many European businesses are controlled by United States companies. European defence has been the responsibility of NATO and is guaranteed by the United States.

The United States has developed an enormous arsenal of weapons (including nuclear weapons), and it now uses them to exert its influence in the world. Since the end of the Cold War, it has become the dominant force in the world. America, by default, has become the world’s policeman.

During the twentieth century, the United States emerged from Europe’s shadow to dominate Western Civilisation, both in terms of military power and cultural influence. The prominent horn on the goat in Daniel 8 represents the United States controlling the Western world. A powerful spirit called the King of Greece is currently working through it.

The United States currently dominates Western Civilisation, in terms of military power and cultural influence, so the goat is the United States. This explains the irony of the King of the North “coming from the West”. The vision of the Goat is a prophecy of the United States and Europe, acting as the King of the North, attacking and defeating a Middle Eastern nation.

The Goat has a single large horn. Daniel says that it was “conspicuous and impressive”. This symbolises the self-confidence and overconfidence of the United States. The horn also represents massive military power. The military power of the United States exceeds anything that has ever been known, and no nation in the world can match it. The large horn represents power concentrated in one person. It represents the hegemony of the United States president.

Daniel saw the goat, representing the United States, flying into a “great rage” against the King of the South.

He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at him in great rage Dan 8:6).

The goat attacked the two-horned ram and destroyed it.

My Mistake
Back in the 2000s, I wrote that this vision was fulfilled by the US invasion of Iraq and the destruction of Saddam Hussein, but I now believe that I was wrong. This was a serious mistake.

I now believe the true fulfilment has begun at this time through Donald Trump’s bombing of Iran in June 2025. Several aspects of Daniel’s vision are relevant to what has happened.

• The Goat has a single large horn that was “conspicuous and impressive”. This symbolises the self-confidence and brashness of Donald Trump.

• The goat comes “from the west”.

  A goat with a prominent horn between its eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground (Dan 8:5).

  The United States is west of Iran. It is “The West”.

• “Not touching the ground” symbolises an airborne attack. The B-2 bombers that dropped the bunker bombs on the nuclear sites in Iran had flown all the way from Missouri without landing anywhere, and they returned by the same way as they had come. They flew non-stop for thirty-seven hours and had to be refuelled in the air several times. This was truly “not touching the ground”. It is an amazing achievement.

• The Iranian defence forces were unable to prevent this attack. None of the US planes were shot down.

  There was no power in the ram to stand against him (Dan 8:7).

• Various allies and supporters of Iran, like Iraq, Russia and China, chose to do nothing to prevent the attack.

  None could rescue the ram from his power (Dan 8:7).

I am not sure about the two horns on the ram that were broken. I suspect that the first horn was General Qasem Soleimani, who was the commander of the Quds Force, an IRGC division. He was assassinated by a US-targeted drone attack in 2020. I am not sure who the second horn that was destroyed by the Goat represents.

The Goat knocked the Ram to the ground and trampled on it.

The goat knocked it to the ground and trampled on it (Dan 8:7).

Over the past decade, the United States has imposed crippling economic sanctions on Iran. These have severely weakened the Iranian economy. If these are not removed, the Iranian economy will continue to struggle.

Having bombed Iran once with impunity, the US can do it again. This dramatically alters the power dynamic between the two nations, but it depends on whether Iran submits to the US demands. If they don’t, the US might bomb Iran again.

Donald Trump might choose to bomb Iran to distract from his political problems at home. The bombing of Iran on 22 June 2024 might just be the beginning of the Goat’s attack on the Ram.

The Goat attacked the Ram, but it did not destroy the Ram, just its two horns. Two rulers will be destroyed, but the nation of Iran will continue on, perhaps with less power. The nation of Persia is mentioned in several prophecies that have not been fulfilled, so Iran will be around for much longer.

Source: http://getrad2.blogspot.com/2025/08/ram-and-goat-3-shaggy-goat.html