Daniel 7:1-14

Rachel Workman: Wow, what a reading today. Here are so many things happening in this dream that it’s a little overwhelming. We see the fall of Babylon and then overtaking of three enemies. The small horn rising up. Next we see the end times and God’s judgement. I for one and grateful to Christ for taking my judgement upon himself. There is no judgement to be found in me because Christ has taken my place.  Last we see the Messiah. I have included some study materials. If you’re interested in reading them.

  In Daniel 2, the image which was like a giant man with a golden head, chest of silver, thighs of bronze, legs of iron and feet of iron and clay. The symbols of gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay refer to the political nature of these four kingdoms. In Daniel 7, God gives Daniel a more detailed vision with addresses the moral fiber of these nations.

The Description of the Beasts

Lion with eagle wings is clearly ancient Babylon. In Ezekiel 17:3, the Babylon is referred to as "a great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours."

          The Lion is symbolic for strength and might. The eagle is king of the air and the lion of the ground. Solomon had twelve lions of either side of the steps leading to his throne. These lions had wings. (1 Kings 10:20, 2 Chron. 9:19) The statement that the first beast had its wings plucked and was made to walk as a man with a man's heart refers to the humbling of Nebuchadnezzar. (Dan. 4:28-37)

The Bear is the next kingdom that followed and represents the Medo-Persian Empire. This kingdom was like the bear which is known for its strength, austerity and cruelity. Normally a bear eats fruits and berries, but when hungry or given the opportunity will eat flesh, ripping it apart and devouring it. It will attack without mercy.

          Raising itself up on one side refers to the Medo-Persian empire being a combination of two nations. The Persian side of the bear was the most powerful. The three ribs refer to the three cities of power within the Medo-Persian Empire of Ecbatana, Borsippa and Babylon itself. Cyrus, who was the King of the Empire took these three cities from the Babylonians. With the power gained by controlling these three cities, Cyrus was able to expand his empire. He did so cruelly by brutally attacking and taking over other nations devouring their people and resources.
          The Bear is the next kingdom that followed and represents the Medo-Persian Empire. This kingdom was like the bear which is known for its strength, austerity and cruelity. Normally a bear eats fruits and berries, but when hungry or given the opportunity will eat flesh, ripping it apart and devouring it. It will attack without mercy. Raising itself up on one side refers to the Medo-Persian empire being a combination of two nations. The Persian side of the bear was the most powerful. The three ribs refer to the three cities of power within the Medo-Persian Empire of Ecbatana, Borsippa and Babylon itself. Cyrus, who was the King of the Empire took these three cities from the Babylonians. With the power gained by controlling these three cities, Cyrus was able to expand his empire. He did so cruelly by brutally attacking and taking over other nations devouring their people and resources.
          Ecbatana (ek-bat-t-na), was capitol of the Median Empire. Herodutus, the Greek historian, wrote that Dioces who was the king of the Medes asked them to build him a great city. The city was named Ecbatana which was a city contained the kings palace with was in side two circular walls for protection. It was called the most beautiful city in the world at that time. According to the Nabonidus Chronicle, Cyrus the Great, in 550 BC, conquered the city and seized all its treasures. ¹
          Borsippa, was a city-state twelve miles south of Babylon in the central area of southern Iraq. It was a religious center and was the site of the Ezida Temple dedicated to idol Marduk It was destroyed by the Persian king Xerxes I in the fifth century.

The Third beast, the Leopard which is a predator, refers to the Greek Empire with Alexander the Great as it head. In twelve years (334-323 BC ), he subjugated by conquest or voluntary submission the entirety of the Persian Empire. It was smaller than the great lumbering cruel bear, but the Greeks were known for their swiftness and mobility in warfare.

          When Alexander died a premature death his generals divided the empire into four primary kingdoms (the "four heads"). Ptolemy took Egypt and nearby lands. Seleucus received Syria, Asia Minor, and the conquered eastern nations. Lysimachus ruled Thrace and surrounding territories, and lastly, Cassander controlled Macedonia and Greece. This alludes to the four heads of the leopard.

The Fourth beast is not described except to say it was different from the others and had ten horns. It clearly refers to the Roman Empire which historically followed the Greeks. In Revelations 13:1, John refers to this beast as being like a leopard, with bear's feet and a lion's mouth which is the source for the illustration at the right. The Roman Empire was actually a combination of the previous three nations and particularly of the Greek Empire after it was divided. It was much greater in power than the others.

          This fourth beast was made up of ten nations. The ten nations are those of the Revived or Restored Roman Empire that is future to out time. However, among these ten nations rises a smaller one called the little horn. It takes control of three of the original ten then rises to power over them all. A horn is used as a symbol of power and strength. In Daniel Eight this beast is symbolized as a the ram which refers it having power in its horns. This little horn is represented as a person because it has eyes and a mouth which defies God. The Little Horn comes to power by conquering three nations, which would mean that he literally rules over three nations he overcomes and in his power subjugates seven other nations. Historically we know that the nation that is being represented is the nations of the old Roman Empire which ruled most of the known world and had its base in Italy and later in Europe. Thus this would indicate this beast, who the Scriptures identify as the Antichrists who will come to power in the seven year Tribulation (Daniel's 70th Week - See Daniel 9:27) and will rule over a European union.
          Daniel sees this Little Horn (Antichrist) leading the Fourth beast and being destroyed by God. Only the Little Horn is destroyed, the nations he ruled remain for a time and be included in the Kingdom period when Christ rules the earth in the Millennium.
          The Ancient of Days is a name for God. In Revelation 1:14, John represents God as having white hair like wool, white as snow. "His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire."
          Please note: If you find the material a little confusing please understand that by the end this study it will become clearer to you. As one studies through Daniel one builds his understanding and knowledge. One can see plainly that Daniel did not understand what he was seeing and that most of what was being revealed to him was future to his day. Today we have the great advantage of being able to look back in recorded history and understand the nature of these kingdoms as recorded extensively in history. We however, are like Daniel, in our understanding of the last kingdom, which is yet future to us.
           This first vision of Daniel sets the stage for Daniel's following visions and when all are studied the subject of these prophecies will be understood and further it will clarify much of the symbolism of the Book of Revelation. What is important is that through the study of Daniel, God's future plans for the earth can be understood because one can see the panorama of history through the end of time and into eternity in the New Heavens and Earth of Revelation 21-22. This is what Daniel saw.

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John Burnett:  7 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions ^[a]in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and related the ^[b]following summary of ^[c]it. ² Daniel ^[d]said, “I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. ³ And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. ⁴ The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human ^[e]mind also was given to it. ⁵ And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, ‘Arise, devour much meat!’ ⁶ After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its ^[f]back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. ⁷ After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. ⁸ While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, ^[g]this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.  This prophesy is one of the great mysteries of the Bible.  The first three beasts are speculated to nations/leaders throughout history that wreaked havoc on the world (ie. The Romans and the Babylonians are the two most common mentioned as being beasts).  The fourth beast that has ten horns is the one world government led by the Antichrist.  The ten horns are often linked to the ten regions/kingdoms that were created by the one world government.  The little horn is speculated to be the Antichrist and his uttering great boasts takes place in the temple at the beginning of the great tribulation, when he storms the Temple in Jerusalem and declares himself to be God. 

The Ancient of Days Reigns

⁹ “I kept looking
Until thrones were set up,
And the Ancient of Days took His seat;
His vesture was like white snow
And the hair of His head like pure wool.
His throne was ^[h]ablaze with flames,
Its wheels were a burning fire.
¹⁰ “A river of fire was flowing
And coming out from before Him;
Thousands upon thousands were attending Him,
And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him;
The court sat,
And the books were opened.  I am so thankful that my name is listed in the book of life.

¹¹ Then I kept looking because of the sound of the ^[i]boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning ^[j]fire. ¹² As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was granted to them for an appointed period of time.

The Son of Man Presented

¹³ “I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, with the clouds of heaven
One like a Son of Man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient of Days
And was presented before Him.
¹⁴ “And to Him was given dominion,
Glory and ^[k]a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations and men of every ^[l]language
Might serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.  What a glorious day that will be?  I look forward to serving Him in His Kingdom forever.

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Krista Cook:  - Now we see Daniel being the one having a dream that needs interpreting.  

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Mike Grimm:  Before I start I want to take a moment to say how difficult it is to interpret prophetic scripture. There are so many interpretations today and only God knows the intention of Daniels dream. I don’t want to go into great detail with my postings as I don’t know enough about Biblical history and prophecy, so I don’t want to write any incorrect information. I am fascinated with Biblical prophecy and will only use what I consider trusted sources. Still, I have to ask myself “how does what I’m reading and writing actually compare to the word of God?” Therefore, below in purple, I have copied some information that I found from Robert L. (Bob) Deffinbaugh on the Bible.org website. It is very insightful on the reading and interpreting of prophecy. He brings up some very good points. In Christ, Mike.

What principles should guide and govern our attempt to interpret the prophecy of this chapter?

First, the prophecies of Daniel are divinely inspired and revealed, and thus they are true and reliable. Second, the prophecies of Daniel are to be understood in the light of the entire Book of Daniel, of the Old Testament, and of the Bible as a whole. Thirdly (and most importantly), the prophecies of Daniel mean exactly what God says they mean, nothing more and nothing less. The prophecy of this chapter is divinely interpreted. God has revealed in this interpretation what He wants us to know and has kept back that which we need not know. We dare not ignore that which is revealed nor do we dare go too far afield in speculating about what is concealed (see Deuteronomy 29:29; 1 Timothy 1:4; 2 Timothy 2:23).

Interpretive Guidelines

Interpretations of Daniel’s prophecies differ widely. Liberals reject all prophecies, because they require a sovereign God and a miraculous revelation of future events. While conservative, evangelical scholars believe the prophecies in Daniel are true, their interpretations differ greatly. Whether liberal or conservative, our conclusions grow out of the premises and presuppositions governing the process and the product of our interpretation. For this reason, I wish to clearly state the foundational presuppositions and principles on which this exposition of Daniel is based.

(1) The Book of Daniel is a part of the Holy Scriptures, and thus inspired, accurate, and trustworthy.

(2) The prophecies of Daniel must be understood in relationship to and in light of the other prophecies of Daniel.

(3) These prophecies must be understood in light of their historical background as provided in Daniel, in the inspired revelation provided by other portions of Scripture, and the cautious use of supplementary information by reliable historical documents or study. Other biblical prophecies bear on the prophecies of Daniel, particularly preceding or contemporary prophecies.

(4) Prophecies not completely fulfilled cannot be fully understood until after their fulfillment. At least the final portion of chapter 7 has not been fulfilled. Even those portions which we believe have been fulfilled; students of prophecy differ about the way of their fulfillment.

(5) Above all, the prophecy in this chapter means precisely what God says it means in this text, nothing more and nothing less. How easily we turn from what is revealed to speculate about what has been concealed (see Deuteronomy 29:29). We should not spend a disproportionate amount of time and energy trying to fill in the blanks God has left. Our attention should be given to what is clearly and emphatically said. In our passage, Daniel asks for and receives an explanation. What God determined to reveal to Daniel should be enough for us.

Daniel’s Dream of Four Beasts

Daniel, a godly prophet and a man of unshakable faith, has been steadfast in his daily walk of fellowship with God throughout the first six chapters of the Book of Daniel. Nothing has caused him to panic or depart from his faith and practice as a godly Jew. Neither peer opposition nor the king's new law (chapter 6) greatly disturbed Daniel. Daniel’s first inner turmoil occurs in chapter 7. A revelation from God in his sleep discloses future events which Daniel finds most troubling. Twice in chapter 7 Daniel speaks of his distress:

“As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within me, and the visions in my mind kept alarming me” (verse 15).

“At this point the revelation ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were greatly alarming me and my face grew pale, but I kept the matter to myself” (verse 28).

7 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying in bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream. Chronologically, this chapter takes place before chapter five. At this time, Belshazzar had just been given a position of authority. The first six chapters of Daniel present history; the last six chapters are visions relating mainly to the future.

² Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. ³ Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea. The scene of the four beasts arising from the sea, which Daniel saw in his night vision, is strikingly similar to the account found in the 13th chapter of Revelation.

⁴ “The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it. The lion with an eagle’s wings represents Babylon with her swift conquests.

⁵ “And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’ The bear that ravaged the lion is Medo-Persia. The three ribs in its mouth represent the conquests of three major enemies.

⁶ “After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule. The leopard is Greece. Its wings show the swiftness of Alexander the Great's campaign as he conquered much of the civilized world in four years. The leopard’s four heads are the four divisions of the Greek empire after Alexander's death.

⁷ “After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns. The fourth beast points to both Rome and the end times. Many Bible scholars believe that the horns correspond to ten kings who will reign shortly before God sets up his everlasting kingdom. These ten kings had still not come to power at the time of John's vision recorded in the book of Revelation (Revelation 17:12).

The fourth beast receives greater attention and is of the most interest to Daniel. Different from the first three, this beast seems uglier, more powerful, and much more hostile toward God and His saints. Daniel finds nothing to compare to it. With iron-like teeth, horns (some with eyes), and feet, it is utterly destructive. What it does not destroy or consume with its teeth, it crushes under foot.

⁸ “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully. The little horn is a future human ruler or the antichrist (see also 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4). God is illustrating the final end of all worldly kingdoms in contrast to his eternal kingdom.

⁹ “As I looked,

“thrones were set in place,
    and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow;
    the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire,
    and its wheels were all ablaze. Here the prophecy shifts to the end times. The Ancient of Days is almighty God, who assigns power to kingdoms and who himself judge those kingdoms.

¹⁰ A river of fire was flowing,
    coming out from before him.
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
    ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated,
    and the books were opened. Daniel saw God judging millions of people as they stood before him. We all must stand before almighty God and give an account for our lives. If my life was judged by God today, I imagine he wouldn’t have a lot of nice things to say. How would he measure it against his will for me? We should live each day with the full awareness that we must appear before God someday to give account for how we used our lives. How will your life measure up?

¹¹ “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. ¹² (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.) The slaying of the beast represents the fall of Rome. While this beast was destroyed, the other beasts were allowed to live for a period of time. The kingdoms (or their cultures) continued to be recognizable in some form; history did not end when God intervened with his judgment.

¹³ “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. ¹⁴ He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. This “one like a son of man” is the Messiah. Jesus used this verse to refer to himself) Matthew 26:64; Luke 21:27; John1:51). The clouds of heaven portray the Son of Man as divine; throughout the Bible clouds represent his majesty and awesome presence. God’s glory appeared in a cloud in Exodus 16:10 and 19:9 at the giving of the law at Sinai.

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Tomorrow’s reading for Daniel 7:15-28

¹⁵ “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. ¹⁶ I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this.
“So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: ¹⁷ ‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. ¹⁸ But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’
¹⁹ “Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. ²⁰ I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. ²¹ As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, ²² until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.
²³ “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. ²⁴ The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. ²⁵ He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.^[b]
26 “‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. ²⁷ Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’
²⁸ “This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”