Daniel 7
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Hard when… The most Important
Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Darius, Alexander the Great
Roman Emporers - Nero or Domitian
Some protestant Reformers identified the Pope’s
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth & Donald Trump
Thats how this gets treated
Its a word of comfort
Context
Comfort to a weary prophet
Context is somewhere between
Genre Intro
I. Genre triggers reading strategy
Daniel 7 is apocalyptic, not straight narrative or normal prophecy.
Genre tells you how to read: apocalyptic means visions and symbols, not newspaper prose.
Modern example is once upon a time = Comedian in little red-riding hood
II. Description of apocalyptic literature
“Apocalyptic” means an unveiling—a revelation through dreams and visions.
It shows heavenly realities and the future, especially God’s final victory over evil.
III. Dynamics of communication
Jeremiah hears God and publicly declares, “Thus says the Lord.”
Daniel is given disturbing visions, then an angel quietly interprets them; it feels like a private briefing, not a street sermon.
IV. Purpose for prophetic and apocalyptic
Prophets confront sin and call people to repent before near-term judgment.
Apocalyptic strengthens suffering believers, helping them endure when evil looks in control.
V. Binary point of view
Apocalyptic draws stark lines: beastly kingdoms vs the Son of Man, wicked vs righteous, now vs the age to come.
It clarifies loyalties and reassures believers they are on the winning side.
VI. Highly figurative language
Apocalyptic uses intensified imagery—beasts, horns, thrones, clouds—to describe real events symbolically.
Structure Intro
Daniel 7:1-14 - The Beastly Dream
Daniel 7:15-28 - The Kingdoms Interpretation
Teaching
Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
Verse 2 - 3
Sea is whipping up = chaos and evil (genesis 1) but true in the broader Ancient Near East
The Babyloniam Enuma Elish would have been part of Daniel’s curriculum. Waters are chaotic and need subdueing and pushing back. That’s where Psalms come from… Psalm 29
It’s an ominous beginning.
Leviathan in Uguretic Litereaturs is described is the most powerful sea creature imagineable with seven heads
Four great beasts = kings or kindoms
Beast 1
“The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.
Verse 4
Beast Number 1 = Hybrid Beasts
Israelite attitude to hybrids. Not good to mix. If you go back and read the Leviticus, there are these what to us are strange laws like don't make clothing out of two different types of material. Don't you know? So a field with two different types of seed behind these laws, I believe and most people agree, is a teaching about, you know, God's people keeping separate from the from the other peoples, particularly the Canaanites.
Beast is taking the essences from different types animals and then becoming human it would symbolises a repulsive impurity.
Beast 2
“And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’
Verse 5
Beast number 2
Predator is not a hybrid but in the midst of eating its pray = very menacing and dangerous
Beast 3
“After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
Verse 6
Beast number 3
Another hybrid. Not as menacing but given authority to rule
Beast 4
The Worst Beast
“After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
“While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
Verse 7-8
The worst beast = number 4
Robo beast = iron teath and bronz claws of this fourth beast
10 horns. Horns are symbols of power and symbold of power. The symbol originates from Bulls etc. 10 is symbolic for ALOT. of kings and power
The little horn is the focus. eyes and a mouth and speaking boastfully
The Interpretation
“He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it.
The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings.
He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.
Try to change the set times and the laws
Religious holidays and religious laws
French revolution
Anti-Christ will revise the calendar.
Complete desire to eradicate worship of God
Times, Time and Half a Time
This gets complex. But their days are numbered. they will end
Interpretations:
Its not central, but who are the kingdoms:
One view:
Beast 1 = The Babylonians
Beast 2 = The Medes
Beast 3 = The Persian
Beast 4 = The Greeks
Horns are their kings
Boastful horn = Antiochus Epiphanes IV (selucids). He is a horrific person who is an anti-christ type figure.
Traditional View:
Beast 1 = The Babylonians
Beast 2 = The Medo/Persian Empire
Attention drawn to the two sides of the beast
Beast 3 = Alexander the Great
Alexanders split empire amongst his four generals/”four wings”
Beast 4 = Roman Empire
Little horn is future anti-christ
Slight Application:
It’s not pretty for the people of God:
There will be one oppressor after another…. Overwhelming
Application: we must be close….
Try to anchor ourselves in history
Opposition to unglodliness = persecution.
We are not hopeless….
WHILE THIS IS HAPPENING
first half verses 1-8 is the evil human kindoms in the earhtly realm represented my by beasts
Second half verse 9-14, the divine realm represented by human figures, particularly two figures:
Ancient of Days
One like a Son of Man.
Human figures can rightly represent the divine realm due to us being in the image of god.
“As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.
Verse 9 - Ancient of Days
God is described as the Ancient of Days. A dignified descriptions of an old wise man as a judge in a court room
A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.
Verse 10
Firer Court of Judgement
His angelic beings are tending to him
“Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.
Verse 11.
The worst beast is destroyed. Just like that
SON OF MAN.
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.
Cloud rider. Only God rides a cloud.
The Son of Man riding the cloud. Riding the cloud. And just like the symbol, the symbolic value of the sea. So the cloud writer is an ancient near Eastern image as well is Baal. The God build that we have talked about before the storm God - Baal - his most frequent epithet in the ugaretic texts. Writer on the clouds. Writer on the clouds.
The War chariot of God
This is storm guard imagery again. And so if you're tempted to as you picture this scene, to think of this cloud as a white, fluffy cloud, I ask you to reconsider and know that there's this storm God imagery. This is a dark. A dark cloud and. That's, I think, promoted by one of the previous uses within. The Bible, namely Psalm 18 or Psalm 68
Like a son of man. But then a Son of Man comes riding
Son of Man always means Human Being.
Its one like a Son of Man, doing a God activity
Mark 13 and Revelation 1 pick this up and apply to Christ!
This MUST have been suggestive to the original audience of a divine/human deliverer
Like Malachi 3
Jesus - The Son (explain)
Messianic title used by Jesus to express his heavenly origin, earthly mission, and glorious future coming. It does not refer merely to his human nature or humanity, as some church fathers or contemporary scholars believe. Rather, it reflects on the heavenly origin and divine dignity of Jesus, on the mystery of his manifestation in human form, and on his earthly mission which involved suffering and death but which issued in heavenly glory to be followed by eschatologicaof Man
HIS KINGDOM THAT WINS
He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
Interpretation:
“ ‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever.
Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’
Daniel is distressed. He has already been thrown in a fire and about to be fed to lions in a few years
APPLICATION: COMFORT. TAKE HEART. GOD IS IN CONTROL.
HE…. WILL…. ACT!
Inspite of our present trouble situations, the beasts seem like they are controlling us, one after another. God is in control, he will act and he will have his victory.
Sailors and no GPS Illustration.
But God is orchestraint to bring each one down….. And it’s easy!
Verse 10. Court was seated. Books were opened. Kingdoms gone!
Daniel 5. Later. The first beast gone
This isn’t a fair fight.
It is a common pattern of God to use the ordinary and weak to culfill his purposes
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.
How does this Son of Man insitute His enduring Kindgom with no End?
He is a jewish refugee, born in squaller, an ordinary carpenter, executed on roman cross, and put in borrowed tomb
Resurrection! Shock. Well he has breakfast on the beach with his mates! He appears to a few friends who are sad while walking, and assures his friends when they are scared and hiding in a room for fear of being arrested for following this political trouble maker Jesus
If you could write a strategy about how to start the longest, widest and most enduring movement (knigdom) the workd has ever seen.
What does he do.. Starts the Church!
It is easy for him, but is is daunting for us
Amidst the Cosmic sizied Chaos, Amidst the pain in your life, Amidst the confusion. God extends a reminder to look and see He has got it!
And he asks us to take heart. and endure!
Part of the cosmic reminder is to say there are big things at play here!
Not a political faith….
God’s aim for your life is not to make you comfortable in his terrarium!
A deep abiding assurance in God’s character, His power, and my future!
Application:
It is when I am overwhlemed that I pray best. It is when I am daunted by the task that I am most humble before God. It is when I am feeling the least in control as I could be, that I am closest to my God….
And that’s where he wants me! That is where I am my most effective for him!
Why?
Becuase I am close….
And I am focussed on what matters
We are persecuted because we oppose ungodliness
Wherever the harshest persecution is, the church seems to spread the fastest.
Daniel walks away from this chapter not with a cheesy grin but with a pale face. He has seen that God will win, but he has also seen how dark the night will be for God’s people before the dawn. The victory is sure, but the cost is real—and that mixture of hope and horror troubles him.
History may look beastly and out of control, but because the Son of Man has already won the decisive victory, we can know the Ancient of Days rules, will judge every oppressor, and give His people comfort and courage to stand firm.
SO TAKE HEART. ENDURE!
