Daniel also warned that the power of the United States would wane for a time.

The goat became very great, but at the height of his power, his large horn was broken off (Dan 8:8).
Something went wrong for the Goat from the West. After a successful invasion of Iraq, a Sunni insurgency developed in western Iraq and after the withdrawal of American troops, it transformed into ISIS. The US has also struggled to win and withdraw from Afghanistan. Military adventures in Syria, Libya and Yemen gained an initial victory, but then deteriorated into disaster, preventing the US objectives from being achieved. A twenty-year effort to conquer Afghanistan has failed. The US retreat from Afghanistan was an embarrassing shambles. US efforts to defeat Russia via a proxy war in Ukraine appear to be failing.

These events have shaken the confidence of the American leadership. The financial burden of fighting two wars at a time will become too great and an economy weakened by the Global Financial Crisis will limit the scope for action.

Uni-polar Moment Ends

Daniel was seeing the end of the so-called uni-polar world that emerged at the end of the Cold War, which had developed at the end of World War 2. During that season, the world was dominated by a struggle between the Soviet Union and the United States. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States emerged as the dominant world power. No other nation could come close to matching its economic wealth and military power. This world is described as uni-polar. It is represented by the large horn on Daniel’s goat.

However, during the beginning of the 21st century, the strength of the Russian economy and military was restored. At the same time, China emerged as a major economic power, with an economy that will soon match the United States in size. Its military capability is growing rapidly. The United States can no longer dominate in the way that it once did. A multi-polar world is emerging. Daniel saw this happening after the large horn was broken off.

In its place, four conspicuous horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven (Dan 8:8b).
Daniel saw four powers (horns) arising towards the four winds of heaven. This is another way of saying the four corners of the earth. These four are probably Russia, China, Germany and France (or perhaps India). Daniel was describing the emergence of a multi-polar world. This temporary weakness of the United States allows these nations to flex their muscles. The ability of the United States to dominate the world is gone forever.

The four horns could also represent civil war in the United States. This nation is becoming more and more divided. If the anger gets worse, some states could leave the union and divide the nation.

Many Christians want to make "America great again", but God is not interested in that. He wants his Kingdom to be glorious, and for that to happen, the glory of America will have to shrink and disappear. Unfortunately, God will not have to do much to make that happen. Americans will do that for themselves.

As the number of people following Jesus declines, and the church corrupts itself by compromising with political power, the constraints on the spiritual powers of evil will be released. Evil will increase, disasters will be frequent and pervasive, and the nation’s troubles will multiply.

People will be divided by hate, and some will get out their guns.

No presidential candidate put up by either party will be able to unite the country. Instead, they will divide the nation further.

The only thing that will unite the country is the people’s love of war, so presidents will continue to lead their nation into many pointless and destructive wars all over the world in an attempt to it together.

The decline of American power will bring a change in power in the nation.

Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land. (Dan 8:9).
A new dominant power will seize control of the United States of America. The horn starts off small but grows extremely large. The new political ruler will seem insignificant at first, but will grow into enormous power. As the big four grow in strength, the United States will attempt to recover its position and become the dominant power in the world. It will do this by picking on weaker enemies and knocking them back into line.

When the situation gets desperate, a ruthless and powerful leader will emerge. He will take control and unite the nation by force, trampling on those who oppose him and stamping out all opposition. The nation that loves freedom will get a dictator, but they will welcome the order that he brings.

This new ruthless president will lead this change. He will expand his control in South America by trampling on weaker nations that oppose him. The United States will stand alone, but grow to achieve enormous power. This will culminate in an invasion of Israel.

Followers of Jesus who understand the times should join together in small communities where they can support each other and protect each during the hard times. By standing together, they will remain firm, while others are being shaken. They should be prepared for distress and equipped for victory.

The United States will be transformed into the Terrible Beast that Daniel described in his previous chapter, by relying on military power and control. It will become the most powerful nation again, but at a terrible cost in terms of freedom. The United States will become a Terrible Beast, continuing the tradition of the Roman and Babylonian Empires.

Despicable Rulers

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