Daniel 8 is a prophecy of the Persian dominance in the region being broken by an attacker from the west. Could the death of IRGC Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani fit the paradigm of Daniel 8 and the lead up to Ezekiel 38?
Death of a Terrorist
On January 2nd a missile strike from a U.S. Reaper drone literally obliterated Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian commander of the IRGC Quds Force.
Soleimani was a scourge in the middle east. He was responsible for spreading Iranian influence throughout Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. He provided support for groups like Hezbollah and Hamas with the ultimate goal of destroying Israel, “liberating” Jerusalem, and opening the door for the Mahdi (Islamic messiah).
As an article in the Jersusalem Post stated, “As the military leader, chief strategist and charismatic face of what he knew to be the world’s emerging and greatest empire, he had it all: prestige, power, presence. Not only did he command that rising empire’s independent military force, he was nothing less than the voice of Allah to leaders in nations soon to be absorbed: Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon; Yemen and the Sinai“
Could Soleimani be Linked to Daniel 8?
End-times experts rarely discuss Daniel 8, because it largely appears to have been fulfilled about 2,200 years ago. But the angel Gabriel clearly tells Daniel that his vision “pertains to the time of the end.”
While the perspective that vision of Daniel 8 has already been fulfilled has a lot of merit, it is possible that future events could parallel the pattern set in Daniel’s vision.
To explain, Jewish prophecy is established upon patterns or paradigms. When we see certain patterns aligning to prior patterns, we can get a glimpse of what is to come. We see this is Jonathan Cahn’s books such as the Harbinger, the Paradigm and the Oracle.
Is it possible that his recent death fits the Daniel 8 paradigm?
Soleimani and the Ram of Daniel 8
Daniel 8 starts with a ram representing the Median/Persian empire. This ram has two horns, one longer than the other.
The ram butts his head westward, northward and southward and does as he pleases. Because Daniel’s vision occurs in the province of Susa, in the southeast region of modern day Iran, we can map these directions.
The horns of the ram represent positions of authority, rulers. So is it possible that Soleimani, as the commander of Iran’s “independent military force” was one of two horns? (The other horn being Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.)
Soleimani was the arms of Iran as he spread its influence throughout the middle east. He directed his aggressions to the west (Syria, Lebanon, Iraq), to the South (Yemen) and even to the North (Turkey).
In Soleimani’s own words according to MEMRI he “expanded” the Islamic resistance such that it spreads across half a million square kilometers in the Middle East. He said that Iran has created “territorial continuity” for the resistance by connecting Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.
The words of an article in the Jerusalem Post seemed to echo Daniel stating, “From the north and the south of the world’s most despicable usurper, if not so much to its east and to its west, Soleimani was slowly squeezing the Zionist entity“
The Death of Soleimani and the Goat of Daniel 8
But Soleimani’s life is not the only similarity to Daniel 8 – his death as well.
For at the ram’s peak, a goat appears from the west, traveling across the surface of the whole earth without touching the ground and strikes the ram with “furious power” shattering his horns and trampling him.
Now I have usually thought of this ram being the modern day Iran and the goat being the modern day Turkey. This is because the goat comes from the Yavan (Ionia, Greece). But Yavan could be a general reference to the west as the people of that time would not have known about the western hemisphere. Also, traveling across neighboring Turkey or Greece could hardly be considered “traveling across the surface of the whole earth.”
In the past I have pondered what Daniel meant by this phase. But then I thought of how Soleimani was killed. He was struck by a missile launched from an airborne drone that never touched the ground. He was killed by a drone acting on orders from the other side of the earth. In biblical times, this type of warfare would have been unimaginable. But these words make perfect sense in today’s modern warfare.
Also, think about how well a missile strike matches Daniel’s description of “furious power.” The photo above is a perfect image showing the aftermath of being struck by “furious power“.
Soleimani and the Shattered Horns of Daniel 8
Not only that, but in the Bible horns are many times “cut off”, but this one is “shattered.” Similarly, Solemani’s body was shattered and torn to pieces. His remains only recognized by the ring on an intact hand.
Soleimani’s horn of power was shattered. I happened to see this quote in a Fox News article. Ali Safavi, a member of Iran’s Parliament in Exile and member of the NCRI told Fox News, “And with what happened last night, that equation has been upset and it has delivered a very significant blow to the aura of invincibility of Soleimani and in fact that image of that regime has been shattered.”
This description matches Daniel’s words so well. The words, “no other beasts could stand before him nor was there anyone to rescue from his power, but he did as he pleased and magnified himself” denotes an “aura of invincibility.” In addition to that, Daniel’s words, “he struck the ram and shattered his two horns, and the ram had no strength to withstand him. So he hurled him to the ground and trampled on him,…” fits Safavi’s phrase that “that image of that regime has been shattered.”
The “Hand” of Daniel 8 Broken as was Soleimani’s
Another interesting similarity is that in Daniel 8:4, the phrase “from his power” is used. The literal translation of the Greek words are “from his hand.”
Could it just be a coincidence that Soleimani was identified by the silver ring on his severed but intact hand? In the Bible a ring symbolizes authority. This is incredibly symbolic that his hand and ring representing his power and authority were cut-off. Further consider the likelihood of finding an intact hand when the vehicle was “almost evaporated.”
The impact of this event could not be overstated.
I saw this article on MEMRI that quoted Egyptian cleric Muhammad Al-Zoghbi: “…This is why Khamenei cried only yesterday. Not over Qasem Soleimani, but over… Qasem Soleimani was nothing but a mercenary. He is crying over his arms having been cut off, and over seeing them fall off while he is still alive.“
What Comes Next in Daniel 8 after Soleimani’s Death?
While I believe this event matches Daniel 8 very well, I run into problems taking this paradigm any further. Daniel 8 is a very significant prophecy because it leads up to the small horn – the antichrist. If the U.S. is the goat than President Trump would be the “conspicuous horn” between the eyes of the goat.
The problem with this is that Gabriel states that this large horn is the first king and that this horn will broken and replaced by four horns, or four kingdoms. He further states that from one of these kingdoms the antichrist will come.
I have a lot of trouble believing this is possible in the U.S. and further do not be there to be a scriptural basis for the antichrist originating from the west. For many reasons, which I will share in future posts, I believe the antichrist will come from Turkey/Asia Minor.
Only Time will Tell
However, if Soleimani’s death meets the paradigm set in Daniel 8, than Iran is already broken. It will never again enjoy the power it once had. Not only that, but it will be replaced by a new power in the middle east, Gog, the chief priest of Meshech and Tubal – the beast.
Is it a coincidence that while Iran is waning, Turkey, with a vision for a re-birthed Ottoman Empire, is rising?
See post Compiling the End-Times Prophecy Roadmap for overview of the timing of these events.