“In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me—to me, Daniel—after the one that appeared to me the first time. I saw in the vision, and it so happened while I was looking, that I was in Shushan, the citadel, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision that I was by the River Ulai. Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the river, was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no animal could withstand him; nor was there any that could deliver from his hand, but he did according to his will and became great.” Daniel 8:1-4
“The two-horned ram represents the kings of Media and Persia.” Daniel 8:20
In chapter 8 we see Daniel’s vision in verses 3-4 and then we see Gabriel explaining Daniel’s vision in verse 20. Daniel’s second vision occurred in the third year of Belshazzar’s reign, about two years after the vision of chapter 7. Since both visions occurred in Belshazzar’s reign, chapters 7 and 8 chronologically occur before chapter 5, the night of Belshazzar’s feast. This vision occurred shortly before the events of the fatal night of chapter 5. This vision is about the Media and Persia. Cyrus was the King of Persia and he was the man that conquered Babylon. Centuries before Cyrus appeared on the scene, the prophet Isaiah called him by name. “When I say of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,’ he will certainly do as I say. He will command, ‘Rebuild Jerusalem’; he will say, ‘Restore the Temple.” (Isaiah 44:28) God had His plan already in place before it happened. Babylon was identified with the lion and the eagle, Persia was identified with the ram. Cyrus was the one that allowed the Jews to return to their homeland. He even returned the Holy Vessels that was taken from the temple. Cyrus and his armies pushed westward and northward and southward and defeated their enemies. They never moved eastward. The two horns in the vision were the Medes and Persians, the Persians being the stronger of the two. In Isaiah 41:2 Cyrus is called “the righteous man.” This means that he was called to fulfill God’s righteous purpose in freeing Israel from the Babylonian yoke and returning them to their land.
Why did God call Cyrus? “And why have I called you for this work? Why did I call you by name when you did not know me? It is for the sake of Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one.” (Isaiah 45:4) No matter how brutally the Gentile nations may treat the people of Israel, God uses the nations to accomplish His ordained purpose. His plans for Israel will be fulfilled no matter how much the Gentile nations may oppose His people.