Daniel 7, Part 1

Transition in the genre, from historical to prophetic visions in nature, starting with visions of the rise and fall of kingdoms then the last chapter dealing with end time/apocalyptic prophecy.

Biblical apocalyptic should be understood as an actual account of what the writer saw and heard rather than contrived literature employed by a writer merely as a communicative tool.

Symbolism is a key element in apocalyptic, and these symbols sometimes have baffled readers of books like Daniel and Revelation. Usually the meaning of figures is explained in the text itself. When this is not the case, their significance is often found in other Scriptures.

A valid principle for interpreting prophecy is to accept the plain sense of the text unless there is good reason to adopt some other meaning. Daniel 7–12 contains many symbols, but most of the material is straightforward prophecy.

The Vision

Daniel 7:1–7 ESV

1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. 2 Daniel declared, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. 3 And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. 4 The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. 5 And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ 6 After this I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it. 7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.

7:1. This chapter opens with a flashback to the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, approximately 553 B.C., about nine years after the death of Nebuchadnezzar. This is the first recorded vision Daniel has received himself, and he chooses it to begin the second half of his book. In Walvoord’s words, “Conservative scholars … have hailed chapter 7 as one of the great prophecies of the Bible and the key to the entire program of God from Babylon to the Second Coming of Christ” (Walvoord, Daniel, p. 151).

7:2. How are we to understand metaphoric phrases such the four winds of heaven? The image of wind in the Book of Daniel tends to be used of God’s sovereign power and therefore suggests a picture of heavenly forces. Some have suggested that the number symbolizes the completeness of the whole earth, and even today we use the expression “four corners of the earth.”

Daniel also saw the great sea, an immediate reference to the Mediterranean, with much wider application to another phrase we commonly use today, “the sea of humanity” (Luke 21:25; Matt. 13:47; Rev. 13:1). The Bible is never complimentary in its reference to worldly nations. The picture here suggests unrest and confusion as the cosmos rages like a sea bubbling its furor when whipped by heavenly winds. There are dozens of “seas” all over the world, but the focus of headline news year after year centers in the Mediterranean. Archer interestingly points out that in the new earth there will be no more sea (thalassa) (Rev. 21:1) and that “the four winds represent God’s judgments, hurling themselves on the ungodly nations from all four points of the compass. And the successive rise and fall of the four empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, these destructive forces will exert their power through the centuries to come, till the final triumph of the Son of Man” (Archer, p. 85). Wind is mentioned more than 120 times in the Bible. More than half of those point to the sovereignty and power of God. Indeed, that is the only way Daniel uses the word.

7:3. The oft-repeated metaphors of animals and birds of prey in this chapter should not catch us by surprise. On their shields and banners many of the ancient empires used insignia and logos of such creatures. Furthermore, the first three beasts (the lion, bear, and leopard) were certainly well known to residents of the Middle East. In verse 3 they rise out of the sea, but in Daniel’s interpretation of 7:17, they “rise from the earth.” This lessens the importance of the Mediterranean issue and increases the significance of the metaphors. Luke 21:25 brings them together: “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.”

Whether the sea or the earth are metaphors, these are the nations of the world, a common concept in the New Testament, always associated with wicked human domains under the ultimate control of Satan. World is a key word throughout the Gospel of John and appears again in his first epistle where he warns believers not to love it (1 John 2:15–17).

7:4. The lion with the eagle’s wings parallels the gold head of 2:37–38 and the focus seems to center on strength and swiftness. Its wings have been clipped, its speed eliminated, and now it stands on two feet like a man. The reference to the heart of a man most likely points to the very heart and soul of the Babylonian kingdom, Nebuchadnezzar himself (Jer. 49:19–22). Throughout this book God consistently shows the great Nebuchadnezzar the source of his authority and how Babylon and all other monarchies fade into nothingness when confronted with the absolute heavenly theocracy.

So the lion symbolizes Babylon (Jer. 4:6–7). Commentators wonder whether the verse speaks as much of Nebuchadnezzar the man as it does of his empire, so closely connected were the two. The Bible has not spoken of Babylon from the eleventh chapter of Genesis to the major prophets, but then it comes in for significant treatment. Isaiah describes its destruction in Isaiah 13, and Jeremiah refers to Babylonia frequently, most notably in Jeremiah 25 and again in three long chapters at the end of the book (Jer. 50–52). We also find prophecies about Babylon in Ezekiel (Ezek. 17; 29; 30; 32).

7:5. The second beast looked like a bear. Bears appear some thirteen times in the Bible. The use of the simile in this context seems to identify the silver breast of 2:39, the kingdom of Persia. The bulky size of the animal reminds us that some Persian armies contained as many as two and one-half million men (notably in the battles of Xerxes against Greece). The posture raised up on one of its sides may indicate a predatory stance, but more likely it represents the dominance of Persia in the Medo-Persian alliance. Wood suggests a third possibility: “They may show that the legs are lifted as if walking and moving ahead; this points to the great Medo-Persian desire for conquest, carried out especially by Cyrus” (Wood, Daniel, p. 93). Some critical scholars have identified the second kingdom as Media alone. We will deal with that in “Deeper Discoveries.”

What are we to do with the three ribs in its mouth? The interpretation which finds them to be the three previously conquered empires goes all the way back to Jerome (A.D. 345–420) and is held by many, perhaps most, evangelical scholars today. There is, however, some disagreement as to what kingdoms those might be, although Archer seems confident.

According to Archer:

This corresponds perfectly to the three major conquests of the Medes and Persians made under the leadership of King Cyrus and his son Cambyses: viz., the Lydian Kingdom in Asian Minor (which fell to Cyrus in 546), the Chaldean Empire (which he annexed in 539), and the Kingdom of Egypt (which Cambyses acquired in 525). Needless to say, nothing in the career of the Median Empire before Cyrus’ time corresponds to the three ribs. In view of these things, it is hopeless to make out any plausible link between this bear and the earlier, separate Median Empire that preceded Cyrus’ victory over Astyages (Archer, p. 86).

Leupold is not convinced and generalizes the number as a symbol of conquest:

Three appears to be a number that signifies rather substantial conquests and is not be to taken literally. For the Medo-Persian Empire conquered more than Babylonia, Lydia, and Egypt. Such enumerations of three definite powers are more or less arbitrary. Three does sometimes signify nothing more than a fairly large number and has no reference to God or the Holy Trinity. That is especially true in a case like this. Someone has rightly remarked that “the three ribs constitute a large mouth full” (Leupold, p. 292).

I tend to side with Archer rather than Leupold, but the ribs are not nearly as important as the recognition of the empire and its unbalanced composition, coinciding as it does with the two arms of chapter 2.

7:6. The third beast looked like a leopard. Daniel tells us it had four wings like those of a bird. It also had four heads, and it was given authority to rule. Babylon had seized power from Assyria in 612 B.C., only to lose it to the Medo-Persians in 539. Then in 336, leopard-like from his lair in Greece, came Alexander with an army headed by four generals and known, not for its size like Persia (Alexander fought with only about 35,000 men), but for its speed. Tutored as a child by Aristotle, Alexander accomplished some of the greatest feats of military history in a very short time. From 334 to 322 B.C. his armies marched irresistibly eastward until he became the master of all lands between the Mediterranean and the modern borders of Afghanistan.

The four heads were at one time considered to refer to Ptolemy, Seleucus, Phillip, and Antigonus (Jerome, Calvin). More contemporary commentators prefer a reference to the configuration of the empire about 301 B.C.— Lysimachus, Cassander, Seleucus, and Ptolemy. As I noted earlier, and will deal with again in “Deeper Discoveries,” the prejudicial nature of some scholars denies the early date of Daniel and therefore its historic authorship, assuming the book to be nothing more than a diatribe against Antiochus Epipahanes.

7:7. But there is yet another beast, terrifying and frightening and very powerful, vicious, cruel, strong, and merciless. It trampled underfoot whatever was left. We will treat this more specifically in the latter part of the chapter, but suffice it to say here that virtually every evangelical scholar links Daniel 7:7 with Daniel 2:40: “Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.”

In Daniel’s vision this terrible fourth beast was uniquely different because it had ten horns. The comparison of Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 requires us to link the ten horns with the ten toes, and Daniel could hardly have missed the connection. Rome ruled the world for over seven hundred years from about 250 B.C. to 407 A.D. and lived on after the sack of the city of Rome so that there were still Roman rulers in the Renaissance. Even in the twenty-first century we talk about “Romance languages.”

The identification of the fourth beast could not be more dramatic in our understanding of Daniel. But it presents no complicated mystery. If one accepts the sixth-century dating of the book and acknowledges the reality of predictive prophecy, there is absolutely no problem in seeing Rome here, and most conservative scholars do. The a priori rejection of predictive prophecy, however, forces first the second-century date, and then finds it necessary to erase Rome from the mix since Daniel could not possibly have known about that evil empire.

Walvoord offers an interesting twist on the argument:

Probably the most decisive argument in favor of interpreting the fourth empire as Roman is the fact … that the New Testament seems to follow this interpretation. Christ, in His reference to the “abomination of desolation” (Mt 24:15 KJV) clearly pictures the desecration of the temple, here prophesized as a future event.… The New Testament also seems to employ the symbolism of Daniel in the book of Revelation, presented as future even after the destruction of the temple. These New Testament allusions to Daniel which require the fourth empire to be Roman … make unnecessary the tangled explanation of Rowley and others attempting to find an explanation of the ten horns or at least seven of them in the Seleucid kings (Walvoord, Daniel, pp. 161–62).

Beast Destroyed

Daniel 1:8–12 ESV

8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. 9 And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, 10 and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” 11 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.

7:8. Rarely do I divide verses in the pages of this commentary, but here these references to the ten horns and the little horn are interrupted by the vision of the Ancient of Days to which we must return in a moment. The deterioration of the Roman Empire as it falls from iron to clay provides opportunity for the rising of weaker leadership, not only in the immediate wake of Alexander but throughout the ages until the end of time. But what did Daniel actually see?

In addition to the “ten horns” of verse 7 which gave him some pause, he saw another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. Despite the specificity of this verse, verses 11–12, and the interpretation in verses 23–25, amillennial scholars find in these horns and the little horn only generalities of power or perhaps historic fulfillment in the past record of the Roman Empire. Furthermore, we dare not confuse the little horn of chapter 7 with the little horn of chapter 8 that (as we shall see when we arrive there) seems to point clearly to Antiochus Epiphanes.

Archer vehemently argues (and I agree) that the toes and horns are identical, and all ten also reign contemporaneously. So the vision stretches on into the future of our world well beyond the boundaries of the ancient Roman Empire. Regarding eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully, he says:

These features seem to imply that this little horn symbolizes an arrogant and vain-glorious ruler rather than an entire kingdom.… This introduces us for the first time to the ruthless world-dictator of the last days who is referred to in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 8 as the “the man of lawlessness [ anominas]” or “the lawless one [ anomos]” who “exalts himself over everything that is God or is worshipped and even sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God” (2 Thess. 2:4). It should be carefully noted that this little horn emerges from the fourth empire, in contrast to the little horn of chapter 8 … which arises from the third empire (Archer, p. 87).

7:9. If Daniel’s vision were a play, this would be a major scene change. The stage lights have gone off, the curtain has closed and now reopened, and in the place of the boastful little horn is a scene of heaven at the end of time. The description reminds us of Revelation 4 and 5. Some claim the Ancient of Days is the Lord Jesus Christ, claiming to find support in Revelation 1:12–14. In 7:13, however, “one like a son of man” comes before the Ancient of Days, establishing their distinct separation. This is a picture of God the Heavenly Father, and the Bible uses the phrase “Ancient of Days” only in 7:9, 13, 22. Plural thrones may indicate the seating of the Son and the Holy Spirit as well, although I would certainly not press that point. The flaming throne of God certainly portrays righteousness and judgment (Ps. 97; Rev. 1:14–15).

Wood says, “No indication is given as to who occupied the other thrones, but these were probably angels, who do the bidding of God (Heb. 1:14). Perhaps they were not mentioned specifically because they were acting only as passive observers” (Wood, Daniel, p. 96).

This picture of Jehovah as seen by Daniel reminds us of the marvelous worship hymn, “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise.” The imagery of the passage points to holiness, authority, power, and worship.

7:10. Judgment flows from a throne of Almighty God. Millions of people stand before him as the court was seated, and the books were opened

One cannot ignore the relationship of this verse to Revelation 5:11: “Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.” The open books of verse 10 surely link with the books of Revelation 20. Of this designation (the Ancient of Days) Laney writes, “This phrase, along with other depictions of great age in the context, communicates the impression of ‘noble venerability’ The designation calls attention to the eternality of God, who said, ‘I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me’ (Isa. 44:6 NASB)” (Laney, p. 39).

7:11. In the flow of his narrative, Daniel sets up the conflict of the ages. Even as the “Ancient of Days took his seat” (7:9), the boastful little horn continues to yap about his own authority. Then as Daniel watches, he sees the beast slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. If we are not careful, we will be tripped up here in Daniel’s switch from horn to beast right in the middle of this verse. Clearly the little horn was a beast, and its destruction is described with some lurid details in Revelation 19:19–21. Since the little horn as well as the ten other horns were part of the fourth beast, its destruction rids the earth of all of them. But the vision yet contains information regarding the lion, bear, and leopard.

7:12. All of the beasts had been stripped of their authority, but each was allowed to live for a period of time. Some suggest this phrase means that each lived out its God-ordained time. Certainly another possibility is that each lived on into the next in the way that Greek culture continued throughout the Roman era. In any case, they are finished when the Ancient of Days gets through with them.

Kingdom of God

Daniel 1:13–14 ESV

13 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” 14 So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days.

7:13. Here we have another scene change. Now in addition to the Ancient of Days, Daniel sees one like a son of man. Jesus used this phrase of himself (with the definite article) twenty-seven times in Luke alone. If we had only this phrase in Daniel, we might interpret this verse to mean that the one who approached the Ancient of Days looked like a human being. But in the light of the New Testament we know immediately it means much more. The image of clouds takes us back to Sinai (Exod. 16:10) and forward to prophecy yet unfulfilled (Matt. 24:30). Bock points out how the New Testament development of the term “Son of Man” completes the picture begun by Daniel. That elongated list appears in “Deeper Discoveries.”

Clouds are common in Scripture and important in this verse. After the resurrection Jesus returned to heaven in a cloud (Acts 1:9), and the angels promised he would come again in the same manner (Acts 1:11). Clouds often refer Bible readers to God’s revelation (Exod. 13; 1 Kgs. 8; Isa. 19; Jer. 4; Ezek. 10). The reference to Jesus here, still denied by some modern scholars who insist it is merely a reference to humanity, was argued by Jerome less than four hundred years after the resurrection. In his battle against the Arians, he claimed that if they “were willing to give heed to all this Scripture with a reverent mind, they would never direct against the Son of God the Calumny that He is not on an equality with God” (Jerome, 80).

7:14. The son of man not only stands in the presence of the Ancient of Days, but he was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. The New Testament interpretation of the concept of kingdom begins here. The millennium forms only the beginning of the eternal kingdom; even here in the Old Testament the concept merges into the eternal state. God’s tomorrow will bring together the saints of all the ages who will possess the everlasting kingdom of the Son of Man.

Before our very eyes Daniel describes human history up to the first coming of Christ and then jumps over centuries to the end of the age and the revival of the fourth empire. But the focus of all of this is hardly the little horn or any of the beastly kingdoms. Staring at us from the center of the chapter is the description of the Ancient of Days and the everlasting kingdom of Jesus.

Gangel, Kenneth. 2001. Daniel. Edited by Max Anders. Vol. 18. Holman Old Testament Commentary. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.