Daniel 7:15-28 End times interpretation

Today we continue the message series in Daniel and will finish up the second half of chapter 7 from last week. At the end of the message, I gave 4 things we should take from scripture as we read and study prophecy:

1. God is sovereign

He can and will cause nations to rise and fall. He will put leaders in place and remove them. The enemy would have us believe that he is orchestrating things and in charge, but that is not true. That’s point number 2

2. Satan is not in charge, though he wants us to believe that he is.

If we lose faith that God is in charge, we risk falling into the belief that the devil is - that is just not true.

3. At some point, it will look like Satan is winning

Again, another lie of the enemy. The enemy thought he was winning when he used the jealousy of the religious leaders to hang Jesus on the cross. He thought if he had Jesus killed, he would win…so much for that plan. His disciples even thought they lost…BUT Jesus rose again!

4. Jesus will come again

As you look at any of the end time prophecies, it all ends the same. The enemy in the lake of fire and Jesus on the throne. The enemy destroyed and Jesus worshipped forever! Next week, we’ll finish chapter 7 which is the interpretation of the dream. Spoiler alert…I gave away most of it this week, but we’ll see what that really means in greater detail.Know this saints - God is in charge and nothing happens without Him knowing and allowing. Trust Him through all that happens.

Our passage today is a continuation of last week and as such, we should see these 4 things at play again. As a refresher, I want to quickly read the first 14 verses of Daniel 7:

Daniel 7:1–14 NIV

1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying in bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream. 2 Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea. 4 “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. 5 “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!’ 6 “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. 7 “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. 8 “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. 9 “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. 10 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. 11 “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. 12 (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.) 13 “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. 14 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.

That is where we ended last week. Let’s keep going and dig in starting with verse 15:

Daniel 7:15–16 NIV

15 “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. 16 I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this. “So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things:

The first part was his dream and Daniel continues by telling us he was disturbed. This dream troubled him. If I were in this position, I would want to know more. Leaving the interpretation up to our own imaginations can lead to bad things. I am sure Daniel felt the same way.

So he approaches “one of those standing there” and wants to know more. Based on other passages of scripture regarding prophecy and explanation to the men having the dreams, this being is most likely an angel. And this angel gives a simple and quick interpretation of what Daniel has seen:

Daniel 7:17–18 NIV

17 ‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. 18 But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’

The lion, bear, leopard, and horned beast are all kingdoms on earth, but God’s people will possess the eternal kingdom forever.

Just in case Daniel missed the forever, the angel repeats that it will indeed be forever. Daniel is not satisfied by this answer and has more questions:

Daniel 7:19–22 NIV

19 “Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. 20 I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. 21 As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.

Daniel then gets specific with the angel. Basically he wants to know about the fourth beast. The ten horns and the little boastful horn perplexed him. He also wanted to know about the meaning of the judgement at the end. “Please angel…fill in the details here…I want to know more.”

Daniel 7:23–24 NIV

23 “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. 24 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.

So, first we have a kingdom or empire that will devour the whole earth. The Roman’s did this with great effectiveness. They conquered all of the land surrounding the Mediterranean sea and up into much eastern Europe.

Scholars believe this part of the prophecy has been fulfilled. Next, ten kings come from this empire. This has not happened yet. There is a difference of opinion on what this will look like, but from this prophecy, the ten kings or rulers will come from this kingdom. If the Roman empire is assumed to be this beast, the 10 rulers could be from Europe, Northern Africa or the Middle East.

Then another king will take out three of the ten and take over...

Daniel 7:25 NIV

25 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.

This is a description of the man who is often referred to as the antichrist. Now, I know there have been some who have put that label on people they don’t like and are doing things they don’t like, but this prophecy is pretty specific. This leader will subdue three others from the ten and then take over. This is our sign of the beginning of the anti-Christ. We can see others already changing set laws and oppressing God’s people, but that is just sinful nature in man. Potentially it is merely a getting things ready for the antichrist.

We also get a time like for how long this ruler will be in power: time, times and half a time. If you remember back in chapter 4, this verse:

Daniel 4:16 NIV

16 Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times pass by for him.

We said that sevens times refers to seven years.

Daniel 7:25 NIV

25 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.

Most interpretations of this passage say that time = 1 year, times = 2 years and half a time is 1/2 a year. If you hold your place here in Daniel and turn with me to Revelation 13:5...

Revelation 13:5 NIV

5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months.

42 months is 3.5 years. There are several other instances of 3.5 years as a reference to the rule of the antichrist on earth.

Daniel 7:25 NIV

25 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.

The end of this verse says that the holy people will be delivered into his hands for this time. God releases the antichrist to have his way for 3.5 years. He will make life difficult for anyone who would call upon his name. This will be a most difficult time, but that is not the end of the story...

Daniel 7:26 NIV

26 “ ‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever.

The antichrist’s powers are temporary. When judgement comes, it will be absolute and forever. All power taken away and destroyed. The promise of God to us is not freedom from difficultly, it is assurance of victory. Eternal victory.

Daniel 7:27 NIV

27 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.’

After the judgement and destruction of the antichrist, God’s kingdom under heaven fills the earth. God’s people will inherit the earth will worship and obey Jesus in this kingdom.

Daniel concludes with this:

Daniel 7:28 NIV

28 “This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”

It is not something he shared quickly. Just like an revelation one gets, we should take time to process and pray through what has been revealed.

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and this dream parallel each other in that they give the same message, but through a different vision. Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was that of a grand statue that represented 4 kingdoms while Daniel saw those same 4 kingdoms as beasts. The end result was the same, but the perspective was not. The king say from a wordly perspective and the kingdoms were precious metals and the statue was beautiful. This is the view of man. Man sees their own creations as great and precious, beautiful and marvelous. Yet the man of God saw those kingdoms for what they were - beasts. Mutations of creatures created by God. Mutated by the false view that man is in charge. These kingdoms were all established by men who saw themselves as gods. They wanted to rule and be the one worshipped and the world went along with it. Really what they were are vicious beasts destined for destruction.

Men and women of God, never forget who sits on the throne - the everlasting throne. He alone will rule forever. Our choice is simple…will we chose the short term ruler or the forever ruler. Short term, the enemy will seem victorious, but that is not his final fate.

Either we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior here and now, or we suffer the same consequences as the devil.