Daniel Chapter 7

Introduction

There are two ways to view the future going forward.

it is open and uncertain and the possibilities are endless. You will hear people say that I don’t what the future holds.

It is closed. God has a plan for the future and he is going to carry out his plan. God rules the future.

If you think it is open, then you are not going to like this Monday Night series at all because the remaining chapters are going to tell us the future is closed.

The story of Daniel begins in Chapter one, he is a teenager about sixteen, exiled to Babylon. They give him an new name, try to change his diet, try to convert him to a new religion. Nonetheless, he remain faithful to God. Because he shines for God he was placed in important positions in the government of Babylon. And when Belshazzar, the grandson of King Nebuchadnezzar comes into power seventy years has passed.

So Daniel gets a dream and visions of the future when he was about 86 years. Some say he may be as old as 90.

In God’s plans, just because you are old does not mean that God is finished with you. We put people on the shelf when they reach a certain age, God doesn’t.

Up to this point in the the Book, people gets dreams and Daniel interprets them. Remember Nebuchadnezzar had two dreams which Daniel interpreted. Belshazzar had a vision of a hand writing on the wall and Daniel interpreted it.

Now as we come to Chapter 7, it is Daniel who is going to have the dream and the visions. An angel of God is going to come and interpret the dream and visions for Daniel. We get that from verse 10 and verse 16.

The New King James Version (Chapter 7) verse 10

A thousand thousands ministered to Him;Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.

The New King James Version (Chapter 7) 16 

I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this

Let me make sure that understand a dream occurs while you are asleep. A vision occurs while you are awake. Daniel got both a dream and visions.

This dream and vision is about a time in the future, so it referred to as prophetic literature. Twenty five percent of the Bible is prophetic literature.

In prophetic literature God uses a lot of imagery so you got to seek understanding.

One other thing, chapter 7 is going to shift between the seen and unseen realms.there is a world we seen. And there is a world we do not see but occasionally God lets us look into it.

God knows the future. You don’t know the future but you know the one who knows the future.

The New King James Version Chapter 7

7 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts.

2 Daniel spoke, saying, “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 from the sea, each different from the other. 4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.

5 “And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’

6 “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.

7 “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.

7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts.

First, it takes back in time. This dream and visions did not occur when Cyrus is king, it did not take place when Darius. It occured in the first year of King Belshazzar.

And this dream and these visions follow the imagery of the dream Nebuchadnezzar had and Daniel interpreted. There are four great beast same as Daniel Chapter 2.

And now Daniel goes back and looks at these four kingdoms in the order.

The four great beast represent nations. He is describing to us nations by use of an animal. If I ask what animal signifies

America, you would tell me the American eagle. If I ask you what animal signifies the democratic party you will tell me a donkey and the republican party - the elephant.

We still use animals to identify different groups of people. So his describing 4 great beast referring to nations should not surprise us.