Daniel 7

Our study of Daniel brings us to perhaps the most important chapter of Daniel…in fact some have even labeled this one of the most important passages of the OT.

Beginning in Daniel 2:4 and going through Daniel 7:28, the book is written in Aramaic.

Before and after those verses, the book is written in Hebrew.

Thus, the Aramaic section of Daniel begins with a vision given to Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 2 and ends with a parallel vision given to Daniel in chapter 7

Daniel 7 marks a literary turning point of the book from historical narrative to apocalyptic visions…

From here to the end, we see an emphasis on the absolute sovereignty of God over all things.

And chapters 7–12 give us insight concerning the future as God graciously reveals to us, through Daniel, his plans for world history and the end of time.

Daniel 7 is the transition chapter between the two sections of history and prophecy…

it has extreme significance prophetically because it contains the most comprehensive and detailed prophecy of future events to be found anywhere in the Old Testament.

Daniel 1-6 are necessary for understanding what comes in the latter part of the book…

they demonstrated the power and sovereignty of God to prepare them for what was coming.

Daniel 7 makes this truth abundantly clear as it provides something of a panoramic preview of coming attractions from the time of Daniel until that day when time is no more.

If Daniel’s God could deliver from lions and from the fire, He also can miraculously predict the future.

God’s message to his people through Daniel was that He was in control and the nation of Israel would endure the Time of the Gentiles domination over them

In Daniel’s time the Jews had experienced the captivity of Babylon as the first of four successive kingdoms as part of God’s judgment of their rebellion and idolatry…

so if you place yourself in their sandals…you have to begin to wonder is God done with us?…Did we go too far and now God has abandoned us, thrown us away...

God used Daniel to communicate to them they still had a place in history…

they would eventually be delivered from Gentile domination by their Messiah who would set up his kingdom and reign over the nations with Israel having a place of prominence.

The OT saints were much like us when it came to knowing when things would happen…we have no idea when Jesus will return…they had no idea when Daniel’s prophecy would be fulfilled…

The point of prophecy was not to just inform them of future events, it was engineered to provide a promise of a better world that would encourage them to live correctly now.

Apocalyptic Genre

Symbolism through the use of metaphors is often a key element in this type of literature…

sometimes they are explained in the text or in other passages of Scripture…it should be understood as an actual account of what the writer saw and heard.

Apocalyptic genre was used to communicate truth in a dramatic way to people in crisis mode who needed to know something better was coming...

Some people try to make sense of every detail and get frustrated because they can’t fully understand it…so they just don’t bother to examine it...

We are not going to shy away from it…view it as the “shock and awe”, dramatic way of communicating truth…

one of the best rules for interpreting Scripture, especially in the realm of prophecy is to accept the plain sense of the text unless there is good reason not to… “If the plain sense makes good sense, seek no other sense.”

So to find the plain sense of the text we need to place ourselves in the sandals of the original readers…what message would they have taken from Daniel’s vision here in Daniel 7?

Main Point: Because God is Sovereign We Are Guaranteed Victory!

The chapter naturally divides into three movements or sections (vv. 1–8, 9–14, 15–28).

Ideas of “seeing” and “looking” dominate throughout.

In the vision of chapter 2, we see history as man sees it.

In chapter 7, we see history as God sees it. The perspectives are different.

God Is Sovereign over the Nations (1-8)

Read DANIEL 7:1–8.

He Chooses Those He Raises Up for Power (7:1–8)

V. 1 — Daniel provides a historical marker for us: “In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon.”

The story of Belshazzar has already been conveyed in Daniel 5.

The first year of Belshazzar’s reign was around 553 BC.

It was not a pretty picture, as his drunken orgy ends with his death and the fall of the Babylonian Empire to the Medes and Persians.

v. 2-8 record what could be called “the rise of the beasts.”

v. 2 Daniel first sees that “the four winds of heaven stirred up the great sea” (v. 2).

Four winds — this is God’s doing

The four winds of heaven (north, south, east, and west) being identified with heaven teaches us this is God’s doing.

Great sea — symbolic reference to the nations

Stirring up — there is chaos among the nations.

Understood symbolically as the raging chaos, confusion, and conflict among the nations of the world.

Isaiah 17:12 “Alas, the uproar of many peoples Who roar like the roaring of the seas, And the rumbling of nations Who rush on like the rumbling of mighty waters!”

Verses 3–8 reveal Daniel saw four beasts

Coming out of the sea means these are Gentile nations.

Chapter 2 and our understanding of it will be helpful in this interpretation because the two visions are parallel.

Interestingly, allowing an animal to serve as a symbol for a nation continues in our day.

For example, Britain uses the lion, Russia the bear, and America the eagle.

Lion with Eagles Wing = Babylon

Daniel 7:4 ““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 mind also was given to it.”

This is Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon, which we can tell both from the allusion and from the fact that both Jeremiah and Ezekiel compare Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon to a lion and an eagle (Jer 4:7; 49:19; 50:44; Ezek 17:3, 11–12).

Babylon was ferocious like a lion and swift like an eagle.

However, “its wings were torn off” (Dan 7:4; ESV, “plucked off”), most likely a reference to Nebuchadnezzar’s humbling insanity in 4:28–33.

Then the lion “was lifted up from the ground, set on its feet like a man, and given a human mind.”

The phrases “it was lifted up” and “the human mind” are what we call the divine passive, indicating both were the activity of God.

He is the implied agent of action.

Nebuchadnezzar was restored from his beastly existence and behavior by God (4:34–37).

Lopsided Bear = Medes/Persia

Daniel 7:5 ““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!’”

This beast is Medo-Persia.

Being raised up on one side describes the dominance of the Persians over the Medes.

Regarding the three ribs in the bear’s mouth we can only speculate...

Some scholars believe they may represent the kingdoms of Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon, which had preceded the empire.

Others believe they may represent Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt, three nations conquered by the Medes and Persians.

We don’t need to get bogged down trying to identify every detail and miss the point...which is...

The bear was told to devour flesh.

This command teaches us that kingdoms operate by divine appointment, not their own authority.

In devouring other kingdoms and extending its territory into a vast empire, the bear was fulfilling God’s purpose.

4 Winged/Headed Leopard = Greece

Daniel 7:6 ““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.”

It is a powerful beast because “it was given dominion.”

This is clearly Greece and Alexander the Great.

With speed and agility that was unprecedented, he conquered the world of his day—all the way to India—only to die suddenly at the age of thirty-three.

The prophecy here is amazing!

If you know world history, you know what happened to the Greek kingdom after Alexanders death...he had no heir, so his kingdom was divided and given to his four generals who went to war with each other over it.

Daniel 8 will provide a zoomed in look to this kingdom.

Daniel predicted that this one empire would ultimately evolve into four kingdoms, and this is exactly what occurred.

Frightening and dreadful beast = Rome

Daniel 7:7–8 ““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. “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 uttering great boasts.”

This beast is the most “frightening and dreadful” of all.

It is “incredibly strong, with large iron teeth.

It devoured and crushed, and it trampled with its feet whatever was left.”

And it was of a different nature altogether from the other three beasts.

It had ten horns, which convey at minimum great and complete power (cf. 2:40–42).

This beast is without question the Roman Empire, and yet I believe it is also more.

Will explain this more in just a bit.

Eleventh horn = Antichrist

Verse 8 tells us an eleventh horn, a little horn, emerges from the ten.

It begins small but grows to have both great intelligence (i.e., the eyes of a man) and a big mouth.

All of this brings Revelation 13 to mind.

Daniel 2, 7, and also 8 overlap and parallel one another.

We’ll explain this in just a moment...but for now, rest in knowing God is control of even the worst of kingdoms!

God Is Sovereign over His Kingdom (9-14)

Read Dan 7:9-14.

As terrifying as the first eight verses were, verses 9–14 are more awesome, more glorious, and certainly more comforting.

God is sovereign over the nations because, as we now see, he is sovereign over his kingdom.

Verses 9–14 contain three scenes that follow in rapid-fire succession.

Verses 9–14 are almost certainly the most important verses in Daniel and some of the most important verses in the whole Bible.

They are important theologically.

They are important eschatologically.

And they are important Christologically.

He Is Sovereign Because of His Eternality and Purity (7:9–10)

Daniel continues watching (see vv. 1–2, 4, 6–7, 11, 13, 21).

This scene is radically different from the previous ones. He does not see a beast in it.

He sees thrones and “the Ancient of Days,” who takes a seat on his throne (cf. 1 Kgs 22:19; Rev 4:4).

Only Daniel calls God the Ancient of Days.

This is God the Father on his eternal and universal throne.

Ancient of Days is eternal, not old.

He is wise, not senile!

He is a big God, bigger than even Daniel realized, and bigger than the petty beast kingdoms of this world.

The following descriptions make that crystal clear.

Clothing white like snow — holy, pure, righteous.

Hair like whitest wool — eternality, purity, wisdom.

He has always existed, and he is wise beyond all comparison

Throne a flaming fire — purifying and righteous judgment.

Wheels of blazing fire — no limitations or restrictions on His judgment.

He sees everything, and he is everywhere present

River of fire flowing from his presence — reinforces the two previous ideas and conveys the righteous fury and wrath of his judgment.

Psalm 97:3 “Fire goes before Him And burns up His adversaries round about.”

Thousands serve him — referring to angels • Revelation 5:11 “Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands,”

Books opened = God’s judgment is fair and equitable.

The Ancient of Days does everything by the book.

There is no partiality, not a hint of unfairness.

This is true for his judgment of everyone, beginning with the beast.

He Is Sovereign with His Sentence and Patience (7:11–12)

Read Dan 7:11-12.

The little horn (v. 8) is still mouthing off as the vision reverts back to him.

In verse 11, suddenly and without elaboration, he is taken out: “The beast was killed and its body destroyed and given over to the burning fire” (cf. Rev 19:19–21; 20:10).

Game over! It is that quick. It is that simple.

In contrast to the fourth beast, the others had “their dominion … removed, but an extension of life was granted to them for a certain period of time” (v. 12).

extension of life granted...Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece, even after losing their dominion, continued to exist and live as part of the kingdom that conquered them.

They were shadows of themselves, but they were still there, albeit in a much diminished sense.

God was more gracious and patient with them, as he has been with many other kingdoms throughout history.

Not so for the Roman Empire, as it comes to its fullest and greatest expression in the little horn, the antichrist.

He Is Sovereign in His Man and Plan (7:13–14)

Read Dan 7:13-14.

Two persons take center stage in this night vision: “one like a son of man” and “the Ancient of Days.”

Daniel sees someone “coming with the clouds of heaven,” a clear indication of divinity, and a Christophany as we will see (see also Exod 16:10; 19:9; 24:16; 34:5; Num 11:25; Pss 97:2; 104:3; Isa 19:1; Nah 1:3).

“He approached the Ancient of Days [i.e., God the Father] and was escorted before him.” The one like a son of man is then given by the Ancient of Days a universal and eternal kingdom.

Verse 14 should be read carefully and slowly so that its impact and weight is fully felt and taken in.

The eternal and universal kingdom of God is given to “one like a son of man” who comes in divine manifestation “with the clouds of heaven.”

So the question begging to be asked and answered is, Who is this son of man?

Son of Man = Jesus

The title Son of Man was Jesus’s favorite self-designated title and was used almost exclusively by him (see also Acts 7:56; Rev 1:13).

The title appears sixty-nine times in the Synoptic Gospels and twelve times in John.

In Mark 10:45, Jesus weds the title to the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 and thereby redefines the concept of Messiah.

In Mark 14:62, he weds the title to Psalm 110 and the King/Priest portrait of Messiah.

Jesus was given this glorious kingdom following his work of atonement when he ascended back to heaven.

However, Jesus himself declares in Matthew 24:29–31 that the full manifestation and realization of this kingdom will occur when he comes again “on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”

Jesus Christ did not hesitate to identify himself with the Son of Man in Daniel 7, and neither should we!

A vision that began like a nightmare with monsters coming out of the sea, ends happily and hopefully with a Man coming out of heaven whom God crowns sovereign over the world!

God Is Sovereign in His Judgment (15-28)

Sometimes even a vision of the greatness and glory of God is still not enough to overcome our anxieties, concerns, and troubled hearts.

Daniel had the same struggle!

I guess we are in good company when moments of distress afflict and overwhelm us.

Verses 15–28 bring the vision of Daniel to a close.

God’s People Will Receive an Eternal Kingdom That Will Last Forever (7:15–18)

All Daniel had seen to this point deeply distressed him.

He “approached one of those who were standing by” (probably an angel) and asked for some help.

The angel obliged and provided an interpretation (v. 16).

As we noted earlier, the four beasts are four kings/kingdoms “who will rise from the earth” (v. 17).

They stand in contrast to the Son of Man who comes down from heaven (v. 13).

Their temporal kingdom (v. 12) also stands in contrast to the kingdom of the saints of God, here identified as “the holy ones of the Most High” (v. 18).

These holy ones “will receive the kingdom and possess it forever, yes, forever and ever.”

Our union with Christ means we share in what the Ancient of Days gives the Son of Man.

The coronation of the One like the Son of Man is the assurance that those who belong to Him will share in His dominion (cf. Rev. 20:6).

God’s People Will Suffer in an Earthly Kingdom That Will Last Only a Short Time (7:19–26).

In verses 19–20 Daniel expresses his desire to know about the fourth terrifying beast of verses 7–8.

The two descriptions are virtually identical.

In verse 21 he sees the little horn warring against God’s holy ones (saints) and defeating them (see Rev 13:7).

He was able to do so until the Ancient of Days stepped in and rescued them, giving them the kingdom in the process (v. 22).

Verses 23–26 describe this fourth beast, who is also the final beast.

He is Rome and more, as Revelation 13:1–10 clearly teaches.

He is an incredibly powerful and vicious king/kingdom who will devour, trample, and crush (v. 23), rise and subdue (v. 24), speak against the Most High, oppress the saints, and intend to change the times and law (v. 25).

He is different from any and all other kingdoms (v. 23–24).

However, his reign is a limited one—“time, times, and half a time” (v. 25)—and he will be decisively judged and destroyed by God in the end (v. 26).

Some specifics of this vision must remain a mystery (the ten kings of v. 24 and the three kings put down in the same verse). If you would like to know where I land on this, I will happy to talk to you later.

Ten horns grew out of the beast. Since the beast represents the Roman Empire, then the ten horns are best taken as the continuation of the spirit that was so powerfully expressed in that empire.

The little horn arises in this context and engages in hostile activity against three of the horns.

In Daniel’s vision, however, the little horn represents the final consummation of evil.

It belongs to the final days.

Therefore, it ought not be given a specific identification in any historical figure.

Notice, however, that the little horn emerges in the context of the beast and the ten horns.

It should not surprise us that there will be continual expressions of the characteristics of the little horn that will reach their apex in appearances of the little horn in the last days as described in Daniel’s conclusion.

Nevertheless, it is not surprising that many dictators and empire-builders have been identified with the little horn and have shared some of its worst features.

We have been told that the Antichrist will come in the final days, but that does not preclude our recognizing that many antichrists have already strutted across the pages of history (1 John 2:18). (Daniel, 147–48)

Antichrists and “the antichrist” blaspheme God, persecute God’s people, and are lawbreakers and disrupters of God’s good design (see Dan 2:21).

They deify themselves and turn the social order into godless chaos.

This reaches a climax when the “beast coming up out of the sea” in Revelation 13 emerges.

He has and has had many forerunners, but he will top them all.

However, his reign will quickly come to an end, and when it does, no human like him will ever appear again!

God’s People Will Be Given a Universal Kingdom That Will Last Forever (7:27–28).

Read Dan 7 27-28.

Daniel is told for a second time that saints will be given a universal and eternal kingdom (v. 27).

The God “Most High” will see to it.

Piddly despots like Antiochus Epiphanes come and go (175–164 BC). Madmen like Nero are here today and gone tomorrow (AD 54–68). Lunatics like Hitler have a reign of terror only for a season (1933–45).

Antichrist, the final ruler emerging from the sea, will have his day for only three and a half years.

In marvelous and striking contrast, God’s kingdom “will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will serve and obey him” (v. 27), they will obey the Son of Man. This is good news and the “end of the matter” (v. 28 ESV).

However, it is a lot to take in! I think we can readily understand why Daniel says, what he does in verse 28.

Life Lesson: Stay Faithful Because A Better Day is Coming!

A great and wonderful and eternal kingdom is on the way, but there is a long and hard road of suffering before it arrives.

Battles will be lost, but the war will be won when the Son of Man comes.

Wow! What a wonderful and hope-giving promise!