Daniel 07 01-28

Daniel 7:1-28

The Importance of Literal Interpretation - Probably the most important issue in understanding prophecy is the question of whether it should be understood literally.

One widespread assumption is that while ordinary Scripture can be interpreted in a literal manner prophetic portions of the Bible should be treated as a special case, with the literal or natural meaning no longer applying.
It is true that prophecy sometimes is presented in a symbolic way, as in Daniel, Ezekiel, & Revelation.
But often the Bible itself provides clues to what these symbols mean.

For example, the ten horns in Daniel 7:7 are interpreted in verse 24 to mean ten kingdoms or kings.

When this is understood, the passage's meaning becomes clear. (We do not have to guess.)
It is wrong to say that because symbols are included in Revelation, all the book should be taken symbolically.
Many facts are to be accepted in their literal sense.

The stars in the fourth trumpet judgement are literal, Revelation 8:12.
Rev 8:12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.

But others are clearly symbolic.

A star in Revelation 9:1 is personified as a person receiving a key.
Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.

Symbols in the Bible are "word pictures" that present literal truths in a picturesque way.
What is important that we let the Bible interpret itself.
This is what we are going to do as we look at Daniel seven & the rest of the book of Daniel.

1. Daniel's Vision

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. The four winds of heaven?

The four winds of heaven?

The phrase "four winds of heaven" is used in the Bible to mean all over the earth.

In some passages like Zec. 2:6 God is scattering people all over the earth.
In other passages like Matthew 24:31 & Mark 13:27 God is gathering people, His people, from all over the earth.

Zec 2:6 Up! Up! Flee from the land of the north, declares the Lord. For I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the Lord.
Mk 13:27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

The "great sea"? This can be interpreted one of two ways.

The Mediterranean Sea - It was the largest body of water in the area & all the kingdoms in the vision touched it.

Throughout the Old Testament the Mediterranean Sea is referred to as the Great Sea (Num. 34:6-7).
This vision then would be related specifically to the Mediterranean world.

The Sea of humanity - the sea may represent the mass of humanity, or the nations of the world.

This is a picture used else where in the Bible.
Mt 13:47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.
Rev 13:1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.
Daniel 7:3; 7:17

In other words God is stirring up humanity. This vision was going to be about the kingdoms of man & the coming kingdom of God that would conquer man's kingdoms & rule over them.

For the Jews in Babylon this is what they were all longing for & hoping for.

They were looking for the Messiah to come & establish His kingdom back in Jerusalem.
This vision would therefore give them hope that God would be true to His Word.
This vision would encourage them to continue to live for the Lord even while in Babylon.
This vision would ensure them of ultimate victory.

This vision can bring us the same kind of hope it did the Jews living Babylon.

There is coming a day that God's righteous rule will be establish upon the earth.
We can a sure hope that our future is bright.
We can be encouraged to continue to endure to the day of Christ.
We can be ensured of ultimate victory in Jesus.

3 And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.

These four beasts are symbols or pictures of the four kingdoms represented in image that Nebuchadnezzar's dream in chapter two.

Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, & Rome

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.

The lion with the wings of an eagle represented the empire of Babylon, which in Nebuchadnezzar's image was the head of gold (2:37-38).

In Scripture, Babylon is identified with both the lion and the eagle (Jer. 4:7, 13).
The description of the lion being lifted up to stand like a man, and then given a man's heart, reminds us of how God humbled King Nebuchadnezzar, and made him live like a beast for seven years (Dan. 4:16, 28-34).
God told Daniel that the Babylonian Empire would fall.

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.'

The bear with three ribs in its mouth symbolized the empire of the Medes and Persians who defeated Babylon (Dan. 5) and parallels the arms and chest of silver in the great image (2:39).

The bear was raised up on one side because the Persians were stronger than the Medes.
In the later vision of the ram with two horns (Dan. 8), the higher horn represented the Persians (vv. 3, 20).
Interpreters aren't agreed on the meaning of the three ribs that the bear carried in its mouth.

The a good guess is that they stand for Lydia, Egypt, and Babylon, nations that the Medes and Persians had conquered.

The armies of the Medo-Persian Empire did indeed "devour much flesh" as they marched across the battlefields.

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.

The leopard with four wings represented Alexander the Great and the swift conquests of his army, resulting in the incredible expansion of the kingdom of Greece.

This beast is identified with the number four: four heads and four horns (see 8:8, 21-22).
Alexander's untimely death in 323A.D. left him without a successor and his kingdom was divided into four parts and assigned to his four top leaders.

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. 8 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.

The "dreadful and terrible" beast represented the Roman Empire, as strong and enduring as iron and as uncompromising as a beast on the rampage.

The Roman armies swept across the ancient world and defeated one nation after another until the empire extended from the Atlantic Ocean east to the Caspian Sea and from North Africa north to the Rhine and Danube Rivers. Egypt, Palestine, and Syria were all under Roman domination.
This beast corresponds with the legs of iron on Nebuchadnezzar's image (2:40-43).
The ten toes are represented by ten horns (7:7, 24).
Later in this study we will have more to say about these ten horns.

In the great movement of ancient history, one empire has replaced another, leading up to the establishing of the Roman Empire.

The two visions (chaps. 2 and 7) make it clear that God knows the future and controls the rise and fall of nations and rulers.
We too can know that God is controlling the course of human history.
We may think Oh dear things are bad, but we can rest assured that God is working out His plan of salvation & righteousness.

Salvation for you, I & everyone else that puts their trust in Jesus Christ.
Righteousness for the whole earth as human history & man's kingdoms will give away to Christ's righteous rule on the earth.

These are truths we can hold on to as we endure living in this sinful world.

9 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. 10 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.

The four winds of heaven?

The phrase "four winds of heaven" is used in the Bible to mean all over the earth.

In some passages like Zec. 2:6 God is scattering people all over the earth.
In other passages like Matthew 24:31 & Mark 13:27 God is gathering people, His people, from all over the earth.

Zec 2:6 Up! Up! Flee from the land of the north, declares the Lord. For I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the Lord.
Mk 13:27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

The "great sea"? This can be interpreted one of two ways.

The Mediterranean Sea - It was the largest body of water in the area & all the kingdoms in the vision touched it.

Throughout the Old Testament the Mediterranean Sea is referred to as the Great Sea (Num. 34:6-7).
This vision then would be related specifically to the Mediterranean world.

The Sea of humanity - the sea may represent the mass of humanity, or the nations of the world.

This is a picture used else where in the Bible.
Mt 13:47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.
Rev 13:1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.
Daniel 7:3; 7:17

In other words God is stirring up humanity. This vision was going to be about the kingdoms of man & the coming kingdom of God that would conquer man's kingdoms & rule over them.

For the Jews in Babylon this is what they were all longing for & hoping for.

They were looking for the Messiah to come & establish His kingdom back in Jerusalem.
This vision would therefore give them hope that God would be true to His Word.
This vision would encourage them to continue to live for the Lord even while in Babylon.
This vision would ensure them of ultimate victory.

This vision can bring us the same kind of hope it did the Jews living Babylon.

There is coming a day that God's righteous rule will be establish upon the earth.
We can a sure hope that our future is bright.
We can be encouraged to continue to endure to the day of Christ.
We can be ensured of ultimate victory in Jesus.

3 And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.

These four beasts are symbols or pictures of the four kingdoms represented in image that Nebuchadnezzar's dream in chapter two.

Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, & Rome

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.

The lion with the wings of an eagle represented the empire of Babylon, which in Nebuchadnezzar's image was the head of gold (2:37-38).

In Scripture, Babylon is identified with both the lion and the eagle (Jer. 4:7, 13).
The description of the lion being lifted up to stand like a man, and then given a man's heart, reminds us of how God humbled King Nebuchadnezzar, and made him live like a beast for seven years (Dan. 4:16, 28-34).
God told Daniel that the Babylonian Empire would fall.

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.'

The bear with three ribs in its mouth symbolized the empire of the Medes and Persians who defeated Babylon (Dan. 5) and parallels the arms and chest of silver in the great image (2:39).

The bear was raised up on one side because the Persians were stronger than the Medes.
In the later vision of the ram with two horns (Dan. 8), the higher horn represented the Persians (vv. 3, 20).
Interpreters aren't agreed on the meaning of the three ribs that the bear carried in its mouth.

The a good guess is that they stand for Lydia, Egypt, and Babylon, nations that the Medes and Persians had conquered.

The armies of the Medo-Persian Empire did indeed "devour much flesh" as they marched across the battlefields.

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.

The leopard with four wings represented Alexander the Great and the swift conquests of his army, resulting in the incredible expansion of the kingdom of Greece.

This beast is identified with the number four: four heads and four horns (see 8:8, 21-22).
Alexander's untimely death in 323A.D. left him without a successor and his kingdom was divided into four parts and assigned to his four top leaders.

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. 8 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.

The "dreadful and terrible" beast represented the Roman Empire, as strong and enduring as iron and as uncompromising as a beast on the rampage.

The Roman armies swept across the ancient world and defeated one nation after another until the empire extended from the Atlantic Ocean east to the Caspian Sea and from North Africa north to the Rhine and Danube Rivers. Egypt, Palestine, and Syria were all under Roman domination.
This beast corresponds with the legs of iron on Nebuchadnezzar's image (2:40-43).
The ten toes are represented by ten horns (7:7, 24).
Later in this study we will have more to say about these ten horns.

In the great movement of ancient history, one empire has replaced another, leading up to the establishing of the Roman Empire.

The two visions (chaps. 2 and 7) make it clear that God knows the future and controls the rise and fall of nations and rulers.
We too can know that God is controlling the course of human history.
We may think Oh dear things are bad, but we can rest assured that God is working out His plan of salvation & righteousness.

Salvation for you, I & everyone else that puts their trust in Jesus Christ.
Righteousness for the whole earth as human history & man's kingdoms will give away to Christ's righteous rule on the earth.

These are truths we can hold on to as we endure living in this sinful world.

9 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. 10 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.

In this portion of the vision Daniel saw thrones of judgment set up.

One throne was occupied by the Ancient of Days. This is God who exercises control over men and nations.
"Ancient of Days" is a name for God that emphasizes His eternality; He is the God who had existed from eternity past, has planned all things, and is working out His plan.
His white clothing and hair speak of His holiness (Rev. 1:14).

God is holy, righteous, & just in all that He does including judging man kind for it's sin.
People may not like this but every man & kingdom of man will answer before the Ancient of Days.

When Daniel saw God the Judge take His seat, the court (Dan. 7:26) was convened, and the books were opened.

Interestingly, as stated earlier in our study of Daniel, Daniel’s name means “God is my Judge”.
Here Daniel saw God as the world’s Judge.
In Revelation 20:12 the opening of books refers to a review and judging of one’s stewardship.
Thus God, who assigns power to kingdoms, will judge those kingdoms.

Daniel’s description of the glory surrounding the One seated on the flaming throne with wheels recalls the description of the glory of God which Ezekiel saw (Ezek. 1:4-28).

Man's glory fades with time but the Lord's endures for ever. The thousands* who surrounded the throne were God’s servants, angels who execute His will.

Daniel’s description of the glory surrounding the One seated on the flaming throne with wheels recalls the description of the glory of God which Ezekiel saw (Ezek. 1:4-28).

Man's glory fades with time but the Lord's endures for ever.

The thousands who surrounded the throne were God’s servants, angels who execute His will.

11 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. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

This final king & kingdom are destroyed, killed, and done away with.

The kingdom's of men live on but their dominion & power over the earth is taken away.13 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. 14 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.

13 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. 14 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.

Lastly in Daniel's vision he see one more man, one like the son of man we are told.

Notice this man does not come from the earth or any of the earthly kingdoms but from heaven.
He stands before the Ancient of Days & is given dominion, glory, & a kingdom that rules over all people & all nations.
His kingdom will never pass last forever & never be destroy.

By now you may be asking what in the world does all this mean?

Daniel was asking this question.
Fortunately for us Daniel had someone to interpret the vision for him & therefore for us as well.

2. The Angel's Interpretation

15 "As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me. 16 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. 17 'These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. 18 But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.'

The saints of the Most High refer to the Jews or the Jewish nation.

For Daniel was a Jew & he was writing to Jews.
This is now he & his readers would have understood this phrase.
Plus the Church was not yet in existence.
Other very fine Bible teachers would include Gentile believers going through the Great Tribulation in this group.

Clearly believers in Tribulation will under go much if not all that is written here in Daniel 7.
But the focus of the book of Daniel in Jewish in nature.

So the saints of the Most High, the Jewish nation, will receive an everlasting kingdom.

Jesus did bring in a spiritual kingdom at His first coming.
But this kingdom spoken of here is more than that. It is a political kingdom upon the earth just like the four kingdoms of man referred to political kingdoms in the rest of the chapter.
The Jews in the New Testament were looking for this political kingdom upon the earth from the Messiah.
Remember They had been under the control of these four other kingdoms for some time.

Jesus never told His disciples they were mistaken only that it was not the time.
Ac 1:6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.

This kingdom has not yet happened so we should still be looking for it in the future. (At Christ return or the second coming)

19 "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, 20 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.

Having had the over all dream interpreted for him Daniel now desired to know more about this awful fourth beast & the little horn.

Let's note some facts about these horns & this little horn before we move on.

They existed at the same time not at different times.

We know this because the little horn destroys or defeats three of the other horns.
Plus these horns are said to be companions.

The little horn is a man as said earlier.

We know this because it has eyes & spoke great things.

The little horn is proud as it is boastful. For good reason as it is said to be greater than it's companions.

21 As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, 22 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.

Next we are told that this horn made war with the saints (Jews) & prevailed over them.

There have been many men throughout history that have made war against God's chosen people the Jews.
First there was Antiochus Epiphanes of Syria.

In 170 A.D. Antiochus turned his attention to Israel and the wealth in the temple. He plundered and defiled the temple, abolished the daily sacrifices, killed a great many Jews, and left soldiers behind to keep things in control.
There was a small group of faithful Jews who opposed the godlessness of Antiochus and trusted God to enable them to fight back. A Jewish priest named Mattathias, with his five sons, gathered an army and were able to fight back. His son Judas, nicknamed Maccabeus ("the hammerer"), was one of the heroes of this revolt.

In more recent times their was Adolph Hitler of World War Two.
But no one from history fits this discriben. For this man prevails over the saints until the Ancient of Days comes & a saints take possession of a everlasting kingdom.

This will not happen until the Second coming of Christ.

Now the angel gives Daniel the interpretation of the horns on the fourth beast.

23 "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. 24 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.

So it is very clearly spelled out the horns are kings of the fourth & last kingdom of man.

The fourth kingdom in Daniel Two was Rome.
The kingdom that followed Greece was Rome.

Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, & Rome

As odd as it might sound there is going to be some kind of Roman Kingdom or Empire just before & at the Second coming of Christ.
This Roman Empire will be some kind of confederation of ten kings or rules.

Rev 17:12 And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast.

This last days kingdom will be different from the others in that it will rule the whole earth by force.
Some time after it's founding a man will arise that will put down three of it's kings. (This man is else where in the Bible called the Antichrist.)
Let's see what else this man does.

25 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.

This man is not a very nice man at all.

First of all he speaks words against the Most High, against God Himself.
Secondly, he is the one who wages war against the saints of the Most High God.
Thirdly he changes the times and the laws. What does this mean?

Remember Daniel is writing to Jews.
The times & laws would be their times & laws. Scarifies & feasts times.
In other words he will change the way they are allowed to worship God.

This all will happen for a time, times, and half a time.
Time seems to be used to mean a period of one years. So that this would mean one year plus two years plus a half of a year. Three & half years.
This would fit with Revelation 13:5 & the last half of the Tribulation period.

Rev 13:5 There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.

This all sounds bad & indeed will be bad. But the victories of Satan are short lived.

26 But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end. 27 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; their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them.'

This little horn or man of sin is judged by God & destroyed.

God will not allow evil to remain unpunished forever.
We may think that those comitting evil are getting away with it but they will all have to answer to God the judge of all of mankind.
Secondly here we see that dominion & greatness of all these kingdoms will be given to saints of the Most high.
The final victory & reward goes to those that believe in & call on the name of the Lord.
Jew & Gentile believer alike will receive victory & reward in the end.
Let this truth help us endure the battle we all face living in the evil of this world.
We are told that kingdom given to the saints we be everlasting.
We endure oppostion & persecution for a time. But we than enjoy the everlasting righteous reign of Christ for ever.

28 "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."