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Introduction
A Transition Chapter
Let’s remind ourselves of the context of the passage we are studying.
We are at the major turning point in the book of Daniel.
Daniel 1-6 highlighted the major stories of Daniel as he was living as an exile in Babylon and then as he stayed an exile through a major transition in power from the Babylonian Empire to the Medo-Persian Empire.
Daniel 1-6 is primarily storytelling.
In Daniel 7 we transition away from telling the narrative of Daniel’s life to the Prophetic dreams and visions of Daniel.
But these two distinct sections of this book are not unrelated.
The very same God who delivered Daniel from the Lion’s Den is able to accurately predict the future.
Chronology of this Chapter
What that means is that if you have been following the timeline with us of the events of the life of Daniel, you will recall that last week as Daniel was thrown into the Lion’s Den by King Darius, Daniel was 80 years old.
Now in Daniel 7 the opening verse reads, “In the first year of King Belshazzar.
Well that puts this chapter chronologically just before the events of chapters 5 and 6 around the year 556 BC.
Most Important Chapter in the Old Testament
Our chapter today is of a dream, and that dream’s interpretation that Daniel the prophet had.
EW Heaton, an Old Testament scholar has called this chapter the single most important chapter in the Old Testament.
And I have to admit, I don’t think he’s crazy for saying this.
In extrabiblical writings that came from Jews in the centuries leading up to Christ, this chapter is referenced above and beyond every other chapter in the Bible.
Why?
The answer lies in the purpose of the dream that Daniel has.
This dream (all of chapter 7) and its interpretation is designed to prepare the Jews who were living in exile at the time for the coming of their messiah.
This chapter provides Jews in the days of Daniel with a lens to look into their future, and know world events that would happen that would lead to the birth of the long awaited messianic Kingdom.
We are not Jews living in the Old Testament, we are Christians who have been adopted into the Jewish heritage living 2,000 years after Jesus the messiah came, so what does this passage mean for us.
Jesus the Messiah has come and we are living, reigning, and building His indomitable Kingdom.
A Warning & An Encouragement
I want to give a bit of a warning as we dig into the next few chapters of Daniel.
These chapters are heavy on Bible prophecy and the use of symbolic images.
Because of that some of you are going to be more excited for these sermons than you have ever been.
And others, the intricate details of Bible prophecy are not the things that get you the most excited.
Let me give a word of caution and encouragement to both of you.
First, as a follower of Christ, Bible prophecy is not to be taken lightly, if Bible Prophecy is not something you stay up late at night sorting through, don’t give up on this.
This is God’s Word.
He has given us these prophecies to encourage and embolden us and sharpen our minds.
On the other side, if you are someone who can’t get enough of prophecy and have the prophetic maps printed and laminated in your house, protect yourself from worshiping the prophecies, and not the one to whom the prophecies point, Jesus our messiah.
Move 1: The Four Beasts
The text is broken into two separate parts.
First, verses 1-14 describe Daniel’s dream.
Then, verses 15-28 are the interpretation of that dream.
We’re going to read the entire chapter and then I’ll provide some commentary.
Daniel 7 “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. 3 And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.
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.
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.’
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.
7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrif…”
The Four Beasts
The dream begins with four beasts.
If you have been really paying attention to our study of Daniel you might recall that in Daniel 2 Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of statue with four parts to it.
The beasts of this dream correlate exactly with the statue from Daniel 2. If you recall Daniel 2, there was a dream of a statue with four parts to it that represented four Earthly Kingdoms.
The beasts of Daniel 7 perfectly correspond to the parts of the statue of Daniel 2. We are told in verse 17 very specifically
Daniel 7:17 “17 ‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth.”
So these beasts represent four Kingdoms that were going to come upon the Earth in Daniel’s future.
Keep in mind, Daniel wrote this down about 550 years before Jesus the messiah was born.
So the rise and fall of these kings and kingdoms were his future, but our past.
Let’s go through the four beasts and understand the symbolism of each.
A Lion with Eagle’s Wings (Nebuchadnezzar): The first beast in verse 4 is of a lion with eagle’s wings whos wings are plucked off.
This is a clear reference to Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire.
If you recall we learned earlier in Daniel that Nebuchadnezzar quite literally had his wings clipped when he went insane for about seven years.
A Bear Raised up on One Side with Three Ribs in its Mouth (Medo-Persian Empire): The next beast is a bear that is raised up on one side.
This is the Medo-Persian empire, which came after the Babylonian Empire.
It is raised up on one side because the Persians eventually out muscled the Mede’s in that relationship.
A Leopard with Four Wings and Four Heads (Greek Empire): The third beast is a leopard with wings on his back.
This is a fitting image of the next major empire, the Greek Empire.
Specifically this represents Alexandar the Great who conquered the known world with incredible speed (like a leopard), by the time he was thirty years old.
Unknown Terrifying Beast (Roman Empire): The fourth beast is an unknown terrifying animal that devours and destroys.
This represents the Roman Empire.
Scholar Stephen Miller comments on the Roman Empire this way:
“The incredible might and cruelty of Rome are aptly depicted by Daniel’s fourth beast.
Just as this monster was “different” from all the others, so the Roman Empire differed from those that had preceded it.
Rome possessed a power and longevity unlike anything the world had ever known.
Nations were crushed under the iron boot of the Roman legions, its power was virtually irresistible, and the extent of its influence surpassed the other three kingdoms.”
— Stephen Miller
Review of Daniel 2
If you recall from Daniel 2, after the four kingdoms came a fifth Kingdom, an everlasting kingdom that grew to be the greatest kingdom ever established on the planet.
This is precisely what we see happening in this chapter as well.
The poetry that is used to describe the throne room scene where one like the Son of Man is given an everlasting dominion, is describing the birth of the Kingdom of God.
We’ll get to those details more in a bit.
The 10 Horns
First, let’s examine some of the new details of the fourth beast.
This fourth beast in Daniel 7 has 10 horns.
This is very similar to the 10 toes of Daniel 2. We read in verse 24:
Daniel 7:24-25 “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.
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.”
The Futuristiic Interpretation of the 10 Horns
It is at this point where much controversey among Christians exist.
Some interpreters believe that the fourth beast is not Rome, but is actually some future Kingdom.
Many think its something like the United Nation, a confederation of Kings and Kingdoms.
And that the little horn is the Antichrist that will come just before the return of Jesus Christ.
People who hold to this view are often always scavenging news articles looking for who might be the AntiChrist to make war against Christians.
I read one synposis of a recent posting that said this, “In the near future, ten European nations will form a comprehensive alliance with the Antichrist.”
To this view, I humbly say, they might be right.
I however don’t believe that is the best interpretation of this passage.
The Preterist Interpretation of the 10 Horns
Rather, just like in Daniel 2, I believe this passage is overwhleming Preterist.
That term means the events of this passage have all happened in what was Daniel’s future, but what is our past.
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