Kings & Kingdoms | Daniel 7:1–28

Go ahead and grab your Bibles and head on over to Daniel 7. I really did miss being here with you last week, but Will did a great job handling Daniel 6. If you haven’t had a chance to go back and listen to it then I’d strongly suggest you do.

Jordan & I were in Austin at the National Watermelon Convention—yes that is a thing—and while we were glad for some time away, we’re really glad to be back.

This morning we’re going to launch into the second half of the book of Daniel. Things are about to get strange. The first half of this book contained the incredible stories in which God moved in miraculous ways. Most of it was in narrative form. The second half of the book of Daniel is apocalyptic literature.

Now, what is apocalyptic literature? We really need to understand what that means before we dive into the passage. Apocalyptic comes from the Greek word apokalypsis and simply means “revelation.” So, like the rest of the sacred Scriptures, apocalyptic literature reveals to us something, specifically something about the future. Now I’ve seen quite a few definitions, but the one by Davis seems to be the most complete, so I’ll give you this one. It’s a bit longer, so I’ll put it on the screen:

The Message of Daniel: His Kingdom Cannot Fail Chapter 7. Is History All Beastly? (Daniel 7:1–28)

Biblical apocalyptic literature is a sort of prophecy that seeks to enlighten and encourage a people despised and cast off by the world with a vision of the God who will come to impose his kingdom on the wreckage and rebellion of human history—and it communicates this message through the use of wild, scary, imaginative, bizarre and head-scratching imagery.

We have a tendency when it comes to apocalyptic literature to respond in different ways. One way is to look at it from the outset and go, I can’t understand this, so I don’t want to touch it. Honestly, I get that. If we weren’t committed to going through entire books of the Bible, it really wouldn’t hurt my feelings to skip the next 6 chapters and move onto something simpler to understand. There is going to be some “head-scratching imagery” that I’ll do my best to explain, but it’s head-scratching for a reason.

The other way is to look at it with all confidence that we can understand it completely. One might say I can lay out my charts and draw all sorts of historical comparisons that absolutely, positively, and clearly point to this person, place, thing or event. One commentary opened up his chapter on Daniel 7 and the rest of the book by comparing it to a man’s understanding of women.

The Message of Daniel: His Kingdom Cannot Fail Chapter 7. Is History All Beastly? (Daniel 7:1–28)

If before marriage you (I speak here of males) imagine you have begun to understand the female, you are incredibly naïve; if after marriage you think you can divine the female, you are clearly deluded; if after years of happily married life you dream that at last you can fathom the female persona, you are utterly hopeless. And yet…none of that kept you from marriage.

So I say all that to say, as we step into the latter half of this book we’re going to encounter some fantastic imagery that is difficult to understand in it’s entirety, yet that shouldn’t keep us from seeking to understand it. God in His wisdom gave us His Word for his purposes and this is going to reveal to us who He is, who we are, and how we are to live in His world. All of Scripture is useful, including the apocalyptic parts. With all of that being said, let’s read all of Daniel 7, pray, and then seek to begin to wrap our minds around what God is communicating in what some call one of the most important chapters in all of Scripture.

Daniel 7 ESV

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. Daniel declared, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. 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. 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.’ 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. 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. I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things. “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. “I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. “As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me. I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. ‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’ “Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. “Thus he said: ‘As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth, and trample it down, and break it to pieces. As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings. He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end. And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’ “Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.”

This is God’s Word. Thanks be to God. Let’s pray.

There’s obviously a lot in this passage and there’s a lot of worthwhile history to study to help understand. We won’t go into all of that today. There will be a few things that we don’t fully plumb the depths of in this chapter, but I do want to try and help bring clarity as to what God is saying through this crazy vision as a whole. Here’s the primary point of Daniel 7: Remain faithful knowing the outcome is certain. If you were to boil this whole chapter down in to one statement, I believe what God is telling Daniel, and the original audience that read this, and us now that study it, it’d be that statement right there. But this vision doesn’t just tell us to do that, it also tells us why we should remain faithful knowing the outcome is certain. Here’s reason number 1:

Don’t put your trust in beastly kings or kingdoms.

Daniel transports us back in time to the first year of Belshazzar’s reign, so chronologically this would be even back before chapter 5. In the previous half of this book we saw Daniel as the dream interpreter, and now he is the dream receiver. The dream he receives is certainly no less and arguably even more disturbing than the dreams Nebuchadnezzar had received. In this vision he sees 4 different beasts come up out of the sea. Now kiddos, a couple weeks ago I had you draw me a picture of King Nebby and him turning into an ox. Now this week I want you to try and draw me these 4 creatures.

Here’s the first one, we see in verse 4 the first animal is a lion that has eagle’s wings. The wings are plucked off and the lion is made to stand up like a man and it’s given a mind of a man. Does that sound familiar? Most scholars recognize this creature to be a picture of King Nebuchadnezzar and his transition from an animal to standing on his feet and having the mind of a man because this reminds us of Daniel 4.

Then there’s a second beast like a bear. This bear obviously has eaten, because it has 3 ribs in it’s mouth, but it’s not satisfied. So it is commanded to arise and eat more. Meaning along with it comes death, but also the expansion of its rule and reign. Most scholars tend to tie this image to either the Medes or the Medo-Persian empire.

Third is a winged leopard with four heads. Back in verse two the four winds were stirring the sea, now you have a creature with four heads. The idea is that it covers the four corners of the earth. In other words, this points towards an even further expansion of rule and reign than the previous two kingdoms. Depending on who you talk to the idea is that this third creature represents either the Persian or the Greek Kingdoms.

Now there’s one other small, but really important thing to note on these 3 kingdoms. There is a continually use of a passive verb in these creatures. Wings were plucked off and it was lifted, and mind of a man was given. Then in the second it was raised, and in the third dominion was given. Just as we’ve seen throughout the book of Daniel so far, none of these kings or kingdoms existed in and of themselves. God allowed them to have dominion, and to rule and to reign over kingdoms.

But then there is the fourth creature, the one that demands the most attention of this entire chapter. We’re not really quite sure what it is other than that it is terrifying, dreadful, and exceedingly strong. It destroys and devours all in its path, and even scarier than that, it has a little horn that rises up in the midst of ten horns. This animalistic creature has eyes of a man and speaks great things. Notice that contrary to the first three kingdoms, they were passively given dominion, but this one devour and destroys on its own. It speaks great things on it’s own. Now we’ll look more at this fourth creature in a bit, but for now we ask what does this represent? Most scholars argue that it is either the Greek or the Roman kingdoms.

When you step back and look at these creatures and the descriptions of them it is clear that they are meant to evoke fear and dread towards the kingdoms of the world, and while the could show the progressive destruction of kingdoms as time goes on, what I think is more likely is that it displays the fallenness of man & his dominion. We look back at history and tend to think about how great the Roman Empire was, and on a certain level, it was, but it’s existence, like the empires that came before it, were truly animalistic in nature. When you look to see how they conquered and the way they ruled, they raped, pillaged, and plundered their way to victory because ultimately their reign was focused on their own pride and abilities.

Now we may be tempted to go, but if this was about 4 kingdoms that have already risen and fallen then what does this have to do with us? Many scholars do look at these creatures and find at least a partial fulfillment of them in previous kings and kingdoms, however, we can’t speak with absolute certainty that they have been entirely fulfilled. What these creatures and their terrifying figures do show us is the wickedness of the human heart and the devastating destruction that it leaves behind. Sin in man’s heart leads to destruction, devastation, oppression, and death. When you really think about it, what kings and kingdoms haven’t been established by those things? Even America, in it’s history is marked by destruction, devastation, oppression, and death.

If that’s true, why in the world would we put our hope in beastly kings and kingdoms? The hope of the world isn’t to be found in some earthly king or kingdom. American isn’t the great rescuer of the world. Like the 4 kingdoms found in Daniel 7 it has an expiration date on it, not that I wish for it. We’ll have more to say on this in a second, but for now, the question I have is what do you place your hope in? Is it in the President of the United States and his ability to broker a peace treaty? Is it in the economical power of the American government?

These verses don’t leave us with out a glimmer of hope however. The passive verbs found in this show that God gives kings and kingdoms for specific times and purposes. We’ve seen this the past 6 weeks so I won’t belabor this too much, but God gave Nebuchadnezzar victory of Jerusalem. Since God establishes, then we can trust him to remove. We can trust him to build up and tear down for his purposes. So while earthly kingdoms aren’t with trusting, the heavenly king truly is. And that’s the second thing that we see in this passage:

Live for the King on the throne

In verses 9-10 Daniel takes our vision off of the chaos that has occured on the sea to a new vision. What I find interesting about this is that Daniel hasn’t been transported to a new place. He still seems to be standing in the same place, but his vision is now of something much more grandeur. I think this is worth noting because we can sometimes think that God is doing his thing in heaven and just watching history unfold as it is, but Daniel shows us the continuity between the two and the role the heavenly ones have and will have with what happens here on earth.

Daniel sees the Ancient of Days who is depicted in a number of ways. First, he takes a seat. Davis in his commentary notes that this represents his sanity.

The Message of Daniel: His Kingdom Cannot Fail 2. Heartening Secret: The Firm Kingship of Heaven (9–14)

‘Human kingdoms are always caught up in feverish activity, military or diplomatic’, but he ‘is never taken by surprise, never undecided, never in a panic about his world’

Then we see his purity and his wisdom, represented by his clothing and his hair. While he is the Ancient of Days this doesn’t mean he’s old as we would consider old--he is eternal, not old. He is also holy. We see the fire of God’s presence in the story of the Exodus when God descends on Mt. Sinai. The people of Israel aren’t allowed to ascend the mountain as his holiness will actually kill them. Fire is also used throughout the OT to represent God’s judgment going forth.

So you have this wise, pure, holy king who sits on his throne and there’s thousands upon thousands, not meant to be taken literally, but represents countless number of angelic beings who serve him. Then he sits in judgment with the books--these books would’ve held all of history and man’s actions as well as all of God’s decrees in them.

Now, Daniel pauses his heavenly vision to look back to earth, but I’m going to come back to v11-12 in the next point. Let’s pick up at 13 where Daniel looks back to the Ancient of Days and all the sudden one “like a son of man” arrives. Now remember when Daniel described all those creatures at the beginning. They were like these bizzaro animals. Here we see one who’s like a man. What Daniel is saying is this Son of Man is what humanity is supposed to be. This is a picture of what God created back in Genesis for man to function as.

What sets this man apart however is that he’s coming on clouds. This would’ve been a jolting image to Daniel because in the OT only God rode on clouds and here’s one like a man riding on the clouds.

Obviously the Ancient of Days approves of him because he gives him all dominion and glory and a kingdom. But Kings are only kings when they have a kingdom of people to rule, so God gives him all peoples, nations, and languages to serve him.

I find that to be an interesting line because in the previous 6 chapter there have been several instances in which peoples, nations, and languages are given to the kings of Babylon, but here it is taken away from them, and the other beastly kings, and given to one who comes from heaven.

Now the question that comes from this is who is the Son of Man? Mark 14:62 We could swim through the Scriptures and I believe see clearly that this points towards Jesus, but for the sake of time we won’t do a deep dive. Let’s just simply look at this verse and you’ll see exactly who Jesus claims to be. He had just been asked by the high priest if he was the Christ. See his response.

Mark 14:62 ESV

And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? In fact, there’s only one instance in which we the phrase “Son of Man” isn’t uttered from the lips of Jesus. So if that’s who this is, then the next questions is why does God give Daniel this vision? Or why does he peel back the curtain so Daniel can see the Ancient of Days and The Son of Man at this point in the vision?

I think there’s a three reasons why. First, no matter how terrible things may seem, the Ancient of Days sits on his throne. He is wise, he is just, he is holy and he is timely in judgment. The fourth creature is terrifying. It seems like it has actually overthrown the will of God and is a greater force than God is. But the Ancient of Days isn’t in a hurry. The Ancient of Days isn’t out of control. No he is sovereignly reigning on His throne, and he will execute a just judgment at the right time.

Second, the Ancient of Days judges both kings and kingdoms. Now I really hadn’t thought about this, because my mind has always been focused on a personal level. My thoughts on God’s judgment have been that God judges us, individually, for our actions. And that’s true, but he also judges kingdoms for their actions.

I’m reminded of Aristotle’s statement, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” The parts, or individuals, here are accountable for their individual actions, but Daniel shows us that so is the sum of those parts. If that’s true then what kind of citizens should we be? While we don’t put our hope in our earthly kingdom we do seek its good. As citizens of the eternal kingdom we should seek the good of our temporary kingdom. In fact, our eternal citizenship constitutes an ambassadorship of bringing an appeal of the eternal to the temporal. Isn’t this what Jesus taught us to pray, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Part of being a member of the eternal kingdom means that we seek to see the reality of the Son of Man’s kingship brought to bear in every aspect of life of the temporary kingdoms we live in now.

Now, to me that paragraph feels a little heady, so what does that look like practically? I think the applications are endless, but it means we’re people who do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. We become known as a people who see injustices and hate it and seek to see it corrected. This means that there needs to be more lawyers, and doctors, and judges, and social workers, and principals, and teachers, and cops, and sheriffs, and counselors, a representatives, and senators, and presidents, and governors, and mayors, and city counsel members simply because they love God and desire to see his kingdom come on every level of life.

We love mercy, or the Hebrew word in Micah is hesed which means steadfast lovingkindness. In other words we love those close, but we also love our enemies. We actually take time to seek the least of these and care for them. We do this all while walking humbly with our God.

But in all of this, while the Ancient of Days sits on his throne and we know the Son of Man is seated beside him, his eternal rule hasn’t come to completion yet. There are still beastly creatures ruling. As long as sin and sinful man rule and reign the struggles, the oppression will seem unceasing. Yet the third thing Daniel 7 shows us is that victory is guaranteed because of Christ’s victory on the cross. We’ve already identified the Son of Man as Jesus, and since even death could not defeat him, what ruler or principality ever could? His dominion is eternal, because he is eternal. His kingdom shall not be destroyed, because he cannot be destroyed.

Yet, while Daniel sees all of this, he’s not settled. The vision isn’t over and his spirit is still anxious. This brings us to our third point:

While things may get worse know the outcome is certain.

Daniel approaches one of the heavenly beings who serve the Ancient of Days and asks for an interpretation. He gets a pretty short response essentially telling him, Kings rise and kings fall, but the saints shall receive victory because of the Most High. Now if it was me, I think that’d be enough. I’ve seen the judgment occur. There’s some Son of Man that works this all out and he reigns forever and his saints reign with him. Good enough. But there must’ve been something extremely troubling about this fourth beast. Daniel just can’t get over him or what he does. So he presses in further.

This small horn on the fourth beast seems to win. He makes war with the saints and wins. His reign seems to encompass all the earth. He brings destruction and devastation everywhere he goes, but not only that, he actually blasphemes the most high. He even seeks to changes times and law—most scholars say he changing the calendar God had established and the decrees he had given. In all of this it really doesn’t appear that the Most High is sovereign.

I was scrolling through the news a couple weeks ago and an article caught my eye. I went back yesterday to confirm it’s validity. Two weeks ago, on February 13 in a village in the Democratic Republic of Congo a group of ADF militant rebels rounded up a group of 20 Christians from their homes and took them to their church. Some of the community caught wind and began to gather to make a plan to save them, but as they did the rebel forces surrounded them and tied them up. They took those 50 people to the church to join their friends. All 70 were then killed with machetes or hammers. 2 weeks ago. An elder in a nearby church said, "We don't know what to do or how to pray; we've had enough of massacres. May God's will alone be done." 

I’ve got some friends from seminary that are missionaries in Northern Africa. They’re serving in a closed country. They had come back to the states on furlough and then upon their return back over things got bad quickly. A person that one their church members had been witnessing to turned them in. Those church members were arrested, beaten, and interrogated. Their houses were broken into and their information entirely searched. My friends were extremely fearful not just for their lives, but for all the people who had come to know Christ in their circles. I’m glad to say they weren’t found out and are still safely ministering there.

But the point is that we still live in a world in which the oppression of the saints and the victory of evil empires exists. There is still serious oppression and persecution that occurs that can cause us to wonder if the Most High is sovereign. And while we sit here in our cushioned seats and air conditioned buildings about to enjoy a meal together don’t seem to feel or see this as up close and personal as other parts of this planet do, it still happens. We might be insulated from persecution, but we’re not insulated from the other affects of sin and brokenness and the world we live in.

It’s been about a year ago I was talking with a guy who served on the police force and he was telling me about the amount of sexual assault cases he has to take on in our community. It seemed like between that and abuse he had to deal with something on almost a daily basis. But it’s not just violence where we see brokenness. My heart is burdened this morning with the amount of sickness that just has seemed to linger around. The flu and now the measles outbreak. I think of my closest childhood friend, Nate Harrison (Mark & Janet’s son), having a cancerous tumor on his spinal cord which, thank God, they’ve seen some incredible improvement. Or I think of Rebekah VanDyke and the extremely scary diagnosis she’s received. I look across the room and in almost every family in here there’s some sense of brokenness and frustration that’s a result of sin and the fall that can cause us to begin to wonder, where is the Most High?

But Daniel 7:25 tells us that the dominion of this little horn will seem like it is going to last for ever but will abruptly come to an end. When it does, the Ancient of Days sits on his throne and back in verses 11-12 this creature is judged, found guilty, and destroyed. The Ancient of Days executes justice, and then he doesn’t leave a vacuum of leadership to exist, no he gives the kingdom and the dominion of all creation to the Son of Man and the saints who follow him. You see the promise here is for those who follow Him. They receive--shall be given--an eternal kingdom in which they live in his presence and serve and obey him. Fast forward to Revelation and we’re told that in this kingdom death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore. This kingdom is a kingdom of peace and life and wholeness.

So friends the question then this morning is have you placed your trust and faith in the Son of Man? Have you found the kingdoms of this world to be lacking? Have you seen the sin around you and in you that has contributed to the brokenness of this world? Are you seeking to build a kingdom for yourself, or even trusting in the kingdom of America? The answer to all your heart is looking for is found in the Son of Man. He’s come once to initiate a new Kingdom in which He desires you to be a part of so don’t delay, because he promises to come again riding on the clouds to exercise his final judgment. Will you be found trusting in Him, or in something else? The call for you today is to repent, acknowledge your sin, turn away from it, and trust in in the Son of Man and the work He’s done on the cross to reconcile you to the Ancient of Days.

Daniel 7 ends with him alarmed. He sees the horror of all of this and it affects him. He sees the sin, brokenness, and tyrannical reign of kings, and yet sees the judgment of God and work of God occurring at the same time and it leaves him alarmed. His color changes. It clearly has a real, personal, physical affect on him. Now we could ask the question why? Why was this Daniel’s response and why did he keep the matter in his heart? And any answer we come up with would be pure speculation.

I think the point is, the conclusion of all of this is, Daniel was affected by this. It brought about a change in his disposition. Church, when you step back and look at all of this what’s your response to it? Is it, wow, interesting, cool, crazy stuff this book has? Or is it, well, church was good today, let’s get ready for Monday? What I fear is that our response, my response, to most of these things and to the brokenness around me is simply apathy. We hear it, we see it, yet we just don’t care. We don’t seek to be an influence or see the Kingdom come here and now. We walk away unchanged and indifferent. We’ve got kids events to do, and sprinklers to start, and business to get done, or vacations to go on. The problem is just too big, or I just don’t have time. But I feel better about me because I went to church today.

But what do we know about Daniel? Daniel 7 is the beginning of Belshazzar’s reign, and Daniel 5 is the end of it. Daniel 6 sees a new kingdom rise and in both of those chapters what is Daniel doing? Daniel remains faithful knowing the outcome is certain. He doesn’t put his trust in beastly kings or kingdoms, yet instead he lives for the king on the throne seeking to see the eternal kingdom come and the eternal will of the Ancient of Days being done. Things do get worse for him, he gets thrown into a lion’s den, yet he knows the outcome is certain. Church, what will be your response? Will you remain faithful knowing the outcome is certain? Or will you live for some temporary kingdom?

Remain faithful knowing the outcome is certain.