Session 12: Future Secured

Daniel 7:1–14 CSB

1 In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream with visions in his mind as he was lying in his bed. He wrote down the dream, and here is the summary of his account. 2 Daniel said, “In my vision at night I was watching, and suddenly the four winds of heaven stirred up the great sea. 3 Four huge beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. 4 “The first was like a lion but had eagle’s wings. I continued watching until its wings were torn off. It was lifted up from the ground, set on its feet like a man, and given a human mind. 5 “Suddenly, another beast appeared, a second one, that looked like a bear. It was raised up on one side, with three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up! Gorge yourself on flesh.’ 6 “After this, while I was watching, suddenly another beast appeared. It was like a leopard with four wings of a bird on its back. It had four heads, and it was given dominion. 7 “After this, while I was watching in the night visions, suddenly a fourth beast appeared, frightening and dreadful, and incredibly strong, with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and it trampled with its feet whatever was left. It was different from all the beasts before it, and it had ten horns. 8 “While I was considering the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. And suddenly in this horn there were eyes like the eyes of a human and a mouth that was speaking arrogantly. 9 “As I kept watching, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was white like snow, and the hair of his head like whitest wool. His throne was flaming fire; its wheels were blazing fire. 10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from his presence. Thousands upon thousands served him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was convened, and the books were opened. 11 “I watched, then, because of the sound of the arrogant words the horn was speaking. As I continued watching, the beast was killed and its body destroyed and given over to the burning fire. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was removed, but an extension of life was granted to them for a certain period of time. 13 I continued watching in the night visions, and suddenly one like a son of man was coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him. 14 He was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.

What are some things that excite you about the future?

What are some things that make you nervous, anxious, or even fearful about the future?

THIS WEEK’S focus Most of us wish we could know what the future has in store for us. We would love to know which of our favorite teams will make it to the playoffs next year, or whether or not we’ll get the part in the play we auditioned for. We may even be curious about things further in the future, like which college we’ll go to or what kind of jobs we will have. It can be fun to make guesses about what the future will hold, but not knowing what’s going to happen can be scary, too. We already know that God had given Daniel the gift of interpreting dreams, and this week we will see that God also gave Daniel visions about the future. These visions were often frightening, but Daniel trusted that God would be faithful to His people. Just like Daniel, believers can be confident in our future with God.

Daniel 7:1–6 CSB

1 In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream with visions in his mind as he was lying in his bed. He wrote down the dream, and here is the summary of his account. 2 Daniel said, “In my vision at night I was watching, and suddenly the four winds of heaven stirred up the great sea. 3 Four huge beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. 4 “The first was like a lion but had eagle’s wings. I continued watching until its wings were torn off. It was lifted up from the ground, set on its feet like a man, and given a human mind. 5 “Suddenly, another beast appeared, a second one, that looked like a bear. It was raised up on one side, with three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up! Gorge yourself on flesh.’ 6 “After this, while I was watching, suddenly another beast appeared. It was like a leopard with four wings of a bird on its back. It had four heads, and it was given dominion.

Chapter 7 begins the second half of the book, which contains Daniel’s visions of the future. Though it chronologically falls prior to the events of chapters 5 and 6, God was apparently speaking to Daniel in this way all along. It wasn’t just other people’s dreams he was interpreting. Daniel was faithful to record the visions that God gave him about the future. Here he described the seas being stirred up with four winds coming from heaven. As the seas were stirred up, four different beasts came up from the water.

1. What were the three beasts that Daniel saw? In his dream, where did they come from?

Key Question

2 .What do you learn about the first three animals from Daniel’s descriptions? What kind of traits do these animals have in our world? What about in Daniel’s vision?

These portions of Daniel, along with a few other parts of Scripture (like Revelation) use a style of writing known as “apocalyptic literature” or just “apocalypse.” This usually includes revelations about the future, and it usually does so with vivid, highly symbolic language—typically in the form of dreams or visions. It can be confusing and sometimes even frightening to read these parts of the Bible. However, it is important to remember that this kind of literature was written to a group of people who were suffering. In Daniel’s time, God’s people were living in exile. In Revelation, John was writing to the early followers of Jesus who were being heavily persecuted. These visions—even with all the bizarre scenes—are ultimately reminders of the hope we have in a future that is secure in Christ.

The first beast was like a lion with eagle’s wings. Both animals are predators, but in different environments. The lion is given an even greater range with the wings of an eagle. But then the wings were torn off and the animal was set on the ground like a man, and even given a human mind. Even under the disguise of a human, it was still a beast. The second was like a bear, a predator that had already devoured enough to have three ribs in its mouth. Still it was called on to devour even more flesh. Then, a third beast appeared that was like a leopard with four wings and four heads. This beast could see far (four heads) and go far (four wings) and therefore had great dominion. These beasts, and the fourth one that appeared last, were a visual representation of different kingdoms and rulers. Just as the beasts had temporary power and dominion in Daniel’s vision, those kingdoms would have temporary authority. But there was One coming who had even greater authority.

Daniel 7:7–8 CSB

7 “After this, while I was watching in the night visions, suddenly a fourth beast appeared, frightening and dreadful, and incredibly strong, with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and it trampled with its feet whatever was left. It was different from all the beasts before it, and it had ten horns. 8 “While I was considering the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. And suddenly in this horn there were eyes like the eyes of a human and a mouth that was speaking arrogantly.

3. Why was the fourth beast even worse? Why might the horns be significant?

Still, there was a fourth beast that appeared in Daniel’s dream. It was more terrifying than its predecessors. Terrifying and strong, this beast had large iron teeth. It trampled on and devoured everything in its path. Nothing was going to get in the way of this creature. Standing out from the other three, it also had ten horns. Horns typically symbolize power in these kinds of visions, and this beast had ten of them. Its power was unmatched. But then, another little horn appeared. It had eyes like a person and a mouth, and it began to speak arrogantly. Each of the beasts represented a nation or a king. Just as is often the case in political upheaval, many people were vying for power. This was represented by little horns trying to displace other ones and bigger horns seeking to maintain power. Daniel had lived under the rule of many different leaders and he had seen examples of these kinds of leaders already. He saw up close the kind of arrogance that Nebuchadnezzar had displayed— constantly speaking out of arrogance and pride and even commanding people to worship the statue he built in honor of himself. He required an extreme humbling before he bowed to the Most High God. But God was also pointing Daniel to what was to come.

4. What kind of feelings would you have if you saw a vision of these beasts? What fears might it bring up in you?

Be Vulnerable

The fourth beast was described as having a little horn that spoke arrogantly. Arrogance and self-grandeur have been repeated themes in the book of Daniel. Consider sharing about time you have thought too highly of yourself, your accomplishments, or your status. How did the Lord humble you? What lessons did you learn for the future?

Daniel 7:9–14 CSB

“As I kept watching, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was white like snow, and the hair of his head like whitest wool. His throne was flaming fire; its wheels were blazing fire. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from his presence. Thousands upon thousands served him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was convened, and the books were opened. “I watched, then, because of the sound of the arrogant words the horn was speaking. As I continued watching, the beast was killed and its body destroyed and given over to the burning fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was removed, but an extension of life was granted to them for a certain period of time. I continued watching in the night visions, and suddenly one like a son of man was coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him. He was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.

5. Who is the Ancient of Days? What do these descriptions teach us about Him?

6. What happened to the beasts? What did this part of the vision mean?

As Daniel’s vision continued, more came into his view—a courtroom scene. Thrones were put into their places, and the one known as the Ancient of Days took His seat. His clothing and hair were white as snow, symbolizing purity and longevity. His throne and its wheels were ablaze, indicating a purified rule and wide-spread authority. As the courts convened, thousands upon thousands stood before the righteous judge as He opened the books. The Ancient of Days who Daniel saw in his vision was a picture of the Most High God. God alone sits on the highest throne, and He alone has the authority to rightly and righteously judge. No earthly power can stand against Him. As the arrogant words continued to pour forth from the horn, the mightiest of the beasts was destroyed. The other beasts were given more time, but ultimately lost their dominion, too.

7. Who was this “Son of Man”? How is He described?

HISTORY | What do the four beasts represent? God used the image of these four beasts to represent four different nations or kings. While there has been much debate about the specific nations, traditional interpretation points us to Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome as the four kingdoms at hand. Regardless of the specifics of the represented nations, these passages point to the instability of all earthly kingdoms. Ultimately, Israel’s hope for a restored kingdom will only come through the Ancient of Days.

8. How does verse 14 relate to what we already know about Jesus from the New Testament?

The vision continued with another person entering the courtroom— one “like a son of man” came with the clouds of heaven. He was escorted to the throne of the Ancient of Days—God Himself as He sat on the throne. This, of course, we understand to be Jesus, the Messiah. God was giving Daniel a glimpse at a future kingdom that He would establish through His Son. As Daniel had watched nations rise and fall, God was pointing Him to a day when God’s kingdom would be set up on earth. No longer would it be about earthly powers, because when the Son of Man ushered in the kingdom of God, people would be able to experience His eternal kingdom. Daniel’s story has continued to illustrate the greater rule and reign of God over and above any powers of this rule. There isn’t a king powerful enough, an army strong enough, or an enemy cunning enough to thwart the work of God. The Ancient of Days and the Son of Man were the true leaders that Israel had been seeking. No human authority would ever match them.

9. How does knowing about God’s kingdom give us comfort in a broken world?

10. How does Daniel’s vision of the Son of Man point us to Jesus?

11 . How do we sometimes look to earthly leaders to do for us what only God can do?

12. How does the hope of God’s kingdom impact our choices and living here and now?