Part 10: Visions of the Kingdom

Introduction to Daniel

Open with prayer.

Daniel 2:20–22 LSB

Daniel answered and said, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and might belong to Him. “And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men And knowledge to men of understanding. “He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him.

Daniel is an exceptional book in many ways. While famous for its eschatological prophecies, the book is not grouped with the prophets in the Hebrew canon. The book is unique in its language as well, being written in both Hebrew and Aramaic. It is almost one of the most viciously critiqued and attacked book in the Old Testament, along with the book of Genesis. And it provides the most specific examples of predictive prophetic testimony in the entire Bible, which have been widely recognized (even by critics) as being a stunningly (and incredibly) accurate portrayal of the progress of world history of the six centuries before Christ.

In this momentous era of history, with the demise of the theocratic kingdoms of Israel and Judah, it would appear to a pagan observer that the God of Israel had finally lost control over his people and their destiny. The God who had brought Egypt to its knees at the Exodus has finally succumbed to the overwhelming military and political power of the Babylonian empire, and his “chosen people” have been systematically displaced and impoverished so as to guarantee that they would never again rise to challenge the dreadnaught of Gentile rule.

Daniel, a Jewish hostage of the Babylonian regime, is the human vehicle through which God will reveal the naivety and frailty of the Gentile superpowers. Through the events of Daniel’s career in Babylon’s upper echelons of government, as well as divine revelation given to him through visions and dreams, God’s sovereignty over the affairs of the world would be demonstrated conclusively. The book of Daniel, as seen from its position in the Hebrew canon, is primarily a book of wisdom, filled with practical illustrations of the lessons of Proverbs, lived out through the life of a faithful follower of Yahweh within a decadent and morally compromised society.

Interwoven among these Aramaic courtroom accounts are two key eschatological visions, where Yahweh lays out a sequence of events that will comprise the framework for world history, culminating in the arrival and establishment of an everlasting kingdom that will replace all competing human rivals.

The Vision of the Great Image

Daniel 2:31–45 LSB

“You, O king, were looking, and behold, there was a single great image; that image, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was rising up in front of you, and its appearance was awesome. “The head of that image was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. “You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. “Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. “This was the dream; now we will say its interpretation before the king. “You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory; and wherever the sons of men inhabit, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has made you rule with power over them all. You are the head of gold. “But after you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule with power over all the earth. “Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. “Now in that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron; it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay. “And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. “And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay; they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not cling to one another, even as iron does not combine with clay. “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will cause a kingdom to rise up which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself stand forever. “Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will happen in the future; so the dream is certain, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

Compare with Genesis 41 (Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s dream)

Post-Exilic World Kingdoms depicted as portions of a single image of man (cf Gen 1:26)

Image is both glorious and fearsome - representing the combined might and accomplishments of human (spec. Gentile) rule

Nebuchadnezzar’s attitude - “looking”, seemingly transfixed by the splendor of the image

Cf Gen 1:26, Isaiah 2:22 - man is made in the image of God, the attitude of man is to be God-directed, yet the pagan posture is self-worship, marveling at our own accomplishments (seemingly) independent of God

Description of the first kingdom (Babylon) and its dictator king hearken back to the creation of Adam, the dominion mandate & Psalm 8 - all nations and creation itself are subject to it

Note that even for this thoroughly pagan power structure, all authority and dominion are granted by God, and all are dependent (even unconsciously) on his favor

Kingdoms are distinct in time yet with a continuity and a detectable progress: decreasing in value, increasing in strength (except the final stage of the 4th kingdom)

The 4th kingdom is more complex than its predecessors, and seems to be more significant, described in 4 verses (vs 2 verse for the 1st kingdom, and 1 for the 2nd and 3rd!) - iron transitioning to iron mixed with clay - strength mixed with destabilizing weakness

Kingdom of God is viewed as a stone cut without hands - i.e., not constructed by human ingenuity or means

Kingdom of God’s coming to Earth seen, from the Gentile/worldly perspective, as a sudden catastrophe - utter annihilation of the global order

The stone cut without hands is otherworldly, yet it occupies and dominates this world

Destruction of the world kingdoms is simultaneous (“at the same time”) and absolute - no trace is found of this Gentile hegemony

The Kingdom of God inhabits this Earth and stands “forever” - cf Isaiah 9:6 (“the government shall be upon his shoulders”),

The Vision of the Great Beasts

Daniel 7:1–14 LSB

In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions in his head as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and said the following summary of the matter. Daniel answered and said, “I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. “And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. “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; and a heart of a man was given to it. “And behold, another beast, a second one in the likeness of 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!’ “After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. “After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, fearsome and terrifying and extraordinarily 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. “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, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great boasts. “I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His clothing was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with fire, Its wheels were a burning fire. “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. “Then I kept looking because of the sound of the great boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was killed, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire. “As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was given to them for an appointed season of time. “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 came near before Him. “And to Him was given dominion, Glory, and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongue Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not be taken away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.

Daniel 7:15–28 LSB

“As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within me, and the visions of my head kept alarming me. “I came near to one of those who were standing by and began seeking out from him the exact meaning of all this. So he said it to me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: ‘These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth. ‘But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come.’ “Then I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, extraordinarily fearsome, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet, and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head and the other horn which came up and before which three of them fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth speaking great boasts and which was larger in appearance than its associates. “I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overcoming them until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was given in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the season arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom. “Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it. ‘As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will make low three kings. ‘He will speak words against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make changes in seasons and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. ‘But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever. ‘Then the reign, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.’ “At this point the matter of this revelation ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were greatly alarming me, and the splendor of my face changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.”

The Daniel 7 vision takes place shortly after the end of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign

4 distinct Gentile kingdoms are represented by the 4 beasts

Viewed from God’s perspective, these world rulers are grotesque and subhuman monsters

The beasts fall short of God’s creation design for humanity.

As in the Image vision, much more detail is given regarding the 4th and final Gentile kingdom

Once again this series of world kingdoms gives way to a “kingdom… which will not be destroyed”, inaugurated by God

The Fourth Beast & Ten Horns

The 10 horns of the 4th beast correspond to the “toes” of the Image vision (2:41-42)

The horns represent kings, associated with the 4th beastly kingdom (7:24)

These horns appear to rule all at the same time, not in a sequence (7:8)

A “little horn” arises as the lead king of this corrupt & fearsome confederation, leading & uniting the world’s rulers in open defiance against the “Most High” & his “saints” (7:25)

The “little horn” has success in his campaign against the “saints” for a period of 3 and a half “times”

Comparing & Contrasting the two Visions

The Vision of the Great Image depicts the Gentile order of world rulers from Nebuchadnezzar (man)’s perspective

The Vision of the Great beasts shows God’s perspective of these kingdoms

In the Image vision, the Kingdom of God is alien and a cataclysmic disaster

In the Beasts vision, the Kingdom is represented by the “Son of Man”: the perfect Image-bearer of God

The Head of Gold corresponds to Babylon (as interpreted) / Lion with eagle’s wings matches Babylon’s emblem - compare 7:4b to Dan 4)

Continuity of parts to the image - all destroyed at the same time / Each beast survives past its time of dominion until the 4th beast is killed

4th kingdom featuring iron, destroys enemies / 4th beast features iron teeth, destroys enemies

The Son of Man

The phrase “son of man” is used >100 times in the Old Testament Daniel 7:13 is the most significant and unusual occurrence

Daniel’s heavenly vision portrays this “son of man” figure as the ultimate human king, who receives his right to rule creation from God himself

The Son of Man “comes” before the throne of God to receive his kingdom (cf Psalm 110)

The Son of Man establishes perfect, everlasting human rule on Earth

Conclusion: A Tale of Two Kings

Nebuchadnezzar II, as he is known in history, is truly a remarkable character. Both within and outside the Bible he is depicted as a ruthless and despotic ruler, exacting cruel revenge for the pettiest slights, and crushing his enemies with overwhelming military and political power. In the visions of the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar is portrayed as a self-absorbed narcissist, transfixed by the image of his own dominion, as well as one of the deformed beasts of the world’s Gentile empires, doomed to annihilation upon the arrival of the ultimate Image of God, the heavenly “Son of Man.” In almost the exact center of this Aramaic subsection of Daniel, we find the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s humiliation. Once again taken up with rapture at the sights of his own dominion and accomplishments, the Gentile king of kings boldly exalted himself without any regard for the God of heaven who had repeatedly shown his sovereignty over the affairs of Babylon. Struck with madness, Nebuchadnezzar was forced from his seat of power, living as and among the royal cattle herds, an exile in his own capitol metropolis.

After the set time of his prophesied discipline, the humbled king finally directed his beastly gaze upward to the King of Heaven. With the blindness of his own self absorption and pride stripped away, Nebuchadnezzar saw the Most High for who he really was: the unquestioned Sovereign over all kings and kingdoms, ruler of a kingdom that would outlast the greatest of Babylon’s works, and those of every ensuing empire. The king’s words of praise and exultation now were directed towards the one from whom all authority and dominion derive. Now restored to sanity and to his former glory, the converted king commissioned his testimony to be put to writing, addressed with words of peace to all of his fellow Earth-dwellers, calling them to marvel at the works of God, and worship the Most High along with him.

This story from Daniel 4 is likely familiar to many of us. But I want us to think about the implications of this account, in light of the visions that bracket it in chapters 2 and 7. Nebuchadnezzar features prominently in both visions. In Daniel 2, he functions as an emblem of the entire structure of Gentile power and human glory. In Daniel 7, he is seen as the first of the beastly monstrosities that terrorize the Earth prior to the coming of the Son of Man. In God’s prophetic timeline, Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian empire are prominent and belligerent, having been instrumental in the downfall of the Judaean monarchy and the scattering of the covenant nation.

And yet, this man, perhaps one of the most lost souls in the entire Old Testament, who had repeatedly rejected and made a mockery of God’s gracious revelation, who had persecuted and desecrated the city of God, and whose kingdom was destined to collapse before the fury of sovereign judgement, now becomes the recipient of sovereign grace.

And as he crawls in the grass like a subhuman beast himself, like one of the creatures over which he was made to rule, he encounters the God in whose image he was made.

And as the light of God’s truth floods his heart and soul and renews his beastly mind, this Gentile despot overflows with praises worthy of the most devout Psalmist. The King of Heaven has triumphed, and a king of kings has been redeemed.

I believe this story helps us understand the proper response to these grand visions of the Kingdom of God. Nebuchadnezzar got it. He saw the truth that, many centuries later, the apostle Peter would write, in 1 Peter 5:6 - Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,

So as I close this morning, let me end with two exhortations: If you are not a believer in the God of Heaven this morning, if you have not encountered the Jesus, the Son of Man and trusted in him fully for salvation, I urge you: humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God. Give up on your works, your efforts to justify yourself and clean up your own image, and humbly believe and accept the salvation that is being offered to you, through the blood of Jesus. If he can save Nebuchadnezzar, I assure you he can save you too. Humble yourself.

And for those of us here who are believers in Christ, I urge you: humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God. Rest in the knowledge that he is sovereign over your affairs too, even when circumstances tell you that everything’s gotten out of hand. Trust in the certainty of his kingdom. Let go of your anxiety and compulsion to be in control, and to control others. Humble yourself.

We opened with the words of Daniel’s prayer in chapter 2, let us close with the words of Nebuchadnezzar’s prayer here in chapter 4:

Daniel 4:34–37 LSB

“But at the end of those days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes toward heaven, and my knowledge returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation. “And all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can strike against His hand Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’ “At that time my knowledge returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my high officials and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my kingdom, and extraordinary greatness was added to me. “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”