One of the things that puzzles me about the Book of Daniel is the question, Why now? Why did God, at this particular juncture in history, lay out the prophecies that he did? The visions that he gave to Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar span a panorama of prophecy that goes from their day all the way to the very end.

And as you read along through here and see the incredible breadth of revelations of times and empires and places and you ask yourself, Why? I’m not sure I have the answer to that question, but sometimes it’s important to ask the questions and get them out on the table so that we can better know where we are going—and recognize when we get there.

We have been going through Daniel in this series of programs and now arrive at the eighth chapter, which is, appropriately enough, another vision given to Daniel. It begins with the prophet standing beside a river and witnessing a conflict between two fantastic beasts. Let’s join him beside that river as the vision is explained.