Bible prophecy is being fulfilled in our time. The ram of Daniel 8 is Iran “I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward.” Since its inception in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has aggressively sought to “export” its Islamic Revolution and remake the Middle East under its dominion. Iran’s primary method to empower itself has been to anchor loyal proxies in the region, which it has done most successfully with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and more recently in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza.

Where its proxies have not been able to take root, Iran has engaged in subversive activities to undermine its rivals and enhance its influence, as it has done in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Afghanistan.

“I was in Susa the citadel, which is in the province of Elam. And I saw in the vision, and I was at the Ulai canal. I (Daniel) raised my eyes and saw, and behold, a ram standing on the bank of the canal. It had two horns, and both horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward. No beast could stand before him, and there was no one who could rescue him from his power. He did as he pleased and became great.” Daniel 8:2-4

According to Dr. Shimon Shapira, a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA), Iran has long sought to establish an Islamic empire among the Shi’ite populations in the Middle East region and encourages them to “challenge the nation-states in which they operate and to shape them by building a fighting Islamic society with military capabilities that is exclusively loyal to the leader of Iran, and that affords Iran active involvement in the jihad against Israel.”

“Lebanon was the Islamic empire’s first target,” he said. “Over the past decade, it has fallen like a ripe fruit into Iran’s hands. Through Hezbollah, Iran has taken control of the institutions of the Lebanese state and turned it into a failed state whose stability has collapsed amid severe economic and political corruption that threatens its demise.”

“Meanwhile,” Shapira added, “Iraq and Syria have fallen, and Iran is using Yemen’s territory to wage the struggle against Saudi Arabia, whose legitimate control of the Islamic holy places Iran has put in question.”

Hezbollah works day and night to improve its military capabilities in the likely and inevitable event it goes to war with Israel.

Shapira noted that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah recently announced that the terror organization “had managed to convert thousands of missiles in its possession into precision-guided missiles, despite Israel’s attempts to thwart the process during its ‘campaign between the wars.’ ”

At the moment, according to Shapira, “Hezbollah is believed to have 130,000 missiles and rockets with ranges of 10 to 500 kilometers dispersed in Southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley in bunkers next to schools, clinics, hospitals, soccer fields, as well as the Iranian embassy in Beirut and the Lebanese Defense Ministry.”

According to Shapira, Iran’s strategy in Lebanon is based on three main factors:

One, turning Lebanon into an Iranian forward position against Israel, including an array of short- and long-range missiles intended to deter Israel from attacking the Iranian nuclear program.

Two, building an Islamic society in Lebanon in the image of Iran whose fealty is to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

However, we know from Biblical prophecy that Iran will not achieve its goal of establishing a Shia Islamic Empire because the Goat of Daniel 8, Sunni Turkey will crush and subdue it. However, the revived Ottoman Empire will not exist for long as the following Scriptures reveal. It will be broken up into four nations and out of one of these four, the Antichrist will arise.

“As I (Daniel) was considering, behold, a male goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes. He came to the ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, and he ran at him in his powerful wrath. I saw him come close to the ram, and he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke his two horns. And the ram had no power to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power. Then the goat became exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven.” Daniel 8:5-8

“Out of one of them came a little horn (Antichrist), which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the glorious land. It grew great, even to the host of heaven.” Daniel 8:9-10

With Scripture, we can watch world events and see Biblical prophecy unfolding exactly as prophesied by the O.T and N.T writers. How good is our God, He has warned us in advance demonstrating His control over human history.