This designation refers to God the Father in a way that stresses His eternality, dignity, and power. The prophecy of Daniel 7 nevertheless had great relevance and application to those in Daniels day. Before the coming of Christ, who would? 4:19; Ezk. From an eternal perspective, the coming of Christ and His kingdom is but one coming. The ten horns, Daniel is told, represent ten kings who will emerge out of the fourth kingdom. Two weeks ago, we quickly looked at the description of the beast that John sees in Revelation 13 and he described it as a composite of the first three beasts, the body of a leopard, the feet or paws of a bear, and the head and mouth of a lion. This vision was an interactive vision, as Daniel was not only present in the vision but was able to approach one standing by to ask the meaning of what he saw. When He came with His kingdom, they would be sure to recognize Him (24:27). In his vision, the statue collapsed and disappeared, because a mysterious stone struck it at its feet. Then the time had arrived for the saints to take possession of the kingdom. No wonder this vision causes Daniel such distress. The prophecy of Daniel 11 includes amazing details about great empires, political developments and end-time powers that would affect the Jews and all people today. He will persecute and oppress the saints of the Highest One, the angel says that he will wear them down; the idea comes from the concept of wearing out a garment until it is threadbare. As I stated two weeks ago the leopard was noted for its swiftness and the two pairs of wings suggests added swiftness beyond the animals own ability. The boastful beast becomes even more aggressive, waging war with the saints and even overpowering them. So the king spoke, and said, "Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation trouble you." 75 Everything in chapter 7 is on a world-wide scale, the empires of the beasts, the judgment, and the nations that worship and serve the one like mortal man. The beast also was given a mans mind. He distinguishes himself by his ability to overcome the whole earth, crushing it under foot. The saints of the Highest One are given all the kingdoms of the earth for an everlasting kingdom. In more detail, the outline would be as follows: (2) The Divine Interpretation verses 15-28. Chapter 7 reveals in broad terms what the future holds. Through the vision of a magnificent, awe-inspiring statue, God reveals the future for Gentile kings and their kingdoms. The second is Daniel's dream. Let us listen then, and be sober, enduring the sufferings and trials sent our way, looking expectantly and certainly for His kingdom to come. Remember Daniel was in his 60s when he received this revelation. Consequently, it is little wonder that in the events recorded in Daniel 5, Belshazzar was ignorant of Daniel and the abilities God had given him. Through this dream, King Nebuchadnezzar learned that only God's Kingdom will last forever. While God tells neither Daniel nor us that this beast represents Nebuchadnezzar, He does reveal that the head of gold in the vision of the great statue was Nebuchadnezzar (2:36-38). The fourth portion of the statue in Daniel 2 is the iron legs and feet and toes of partly iron and partly baked clay which represented the Roman empire. 3 While they are saying, Peace and safety! then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. What so upset Daniel about the future? (3) This chapter contains the major segment of Daniel, which is primarily prophetic, although it does not contain the first prophecy in the Book of Daniel. Daniel was told that the beasts are kings, but he was not told the identity of any of the kings. 1. The nation of Israel has been set aside by divine discipline in the present times of the Gentiles, which began with Nebuchadnezzar. The king knew that Daniel spoke the truth. Our attention should be given to what is clearly and emphatically said. (Numbers 23:19). In Daniels dream the Medo-Persian empire and it king Cyrus was represented by the bear. 8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:1-8). In the latter days, before the kingdom of God is established on the earth, kings and kingdoms will become worse and worse. Just so, Christs suffering and glory is but a part of one coming. After this chapter, the book returns to the Hebrew language. The saints should expect to suffer because of their faith, especially as the last days for the kingdoms of men draw near. As the saints suffer at the hands of the wicked, it may appear all hope is lost. The expression, son of man, is not new to Daniel nor to the Jews of his day. Does this dream have any significance for us? Part of the dream seemed good, and part of it seemed bad. Would Belshazzar toast the gods of gold, silver, wood and stone with the sacred temple vessels? (8) The four beasts are all different, with the last standing apart from the first three. In the Psalms and also in Daniel 7, the expression Son of Man begins to take on a more technical meaning, referring to the Messiah, who will sit on the throne of His father, David, to rule over men forever. Arrogant, boastful, and even blasphemous kings will reign over the nations, opposing God and oppressing His saints. Other biblical prophecies bear on the prophecies of Daniel, particularly preceding or contemporary prophecies. We see a gapan almost insurmountable gapbetween suffering and glory; God does not. The fourth beast appears to differ from the other three in that he is more beastly, more powerful, more destructive, and more arrogant. God has revealed in this interpretation what He wants us to know and has kept back that which we need not know. Remembering this avoids confusion. (3) The finest commentary on the prophecy of Daniel 7 comes from our Lord Himself. Let Thy hand be upon the man of Thy right hand, Upon the son of man whom Thou didst make strong for Thyself (Psalm 80:17). 18 He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so . The last kingdom has at least eleven kings. At-A-Glance 1. When they came in and stood before the king, 3 Humanly speaking, it was impossible for them to have a child. The beasts are hardly worthy of prose, but the court of heaven deserves a description of the finest words. Daniel was terrified or alarmed by the scenes he had seen in his mind and desired to understand what they meant. In Ezekiel, and even in Daniel (8:17), it is used in reference to a prophet. His thoughts alarm him, and his face pales. Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him. At this point the revelation ended. Daniel 2:9-11 But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof, Daniel 1:18,19 Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar, We are not told in so many words that this extension of time was granted, or that Daniel undertook to show more than the interpretation of the dream. But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come. (Daniel 7:1718, NASB95)[2] The four beasts that Daniel saw in his dream were four kings and represented the four kingdoms of these kings. As we consider what we have just learned from Daniels dream and as we look at Daniels response to his dream and the interpretation of it; this should indicate to us that the more we know about the future, the more our hearts should be moved to personal purity. 7 For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. Twice in chapter 7 Daniel speaks of his distress: As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within me, and the visions in my mind kept alarming me (verse 15). (5) While the process involves wicked kings and nations and the suffering of the saints, the culmination is the establishment of Gods eternal kingdom. It seems that three of the kings try to resist him and he overthrows them by force. to revoke its approval of the two main drugs used for medication abortion in the United States. Not only was he greatly alarmed and physically sick, but he says he also kept the matter to himself. Peter reminds us of Gods patience, but His patience has a determined end. The saints must believe and behave according to what God has promised about the future the righteous will possess the kingdom of God forever. But later on two came forward, 61 and said, This man stated, I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days. 62 And the high priest stood up and said to Him, Do You make no answer? Je. All distinctions of race and colour and nationality are stripped away and one apparently human figure represents the whole human race. Joyce C. Baldwin, Daniel: An Introduction and Commentary (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1978), p. 150. Who is the Son of Man? Rose withdraws the power from her chest, which takes the form of a ruby heart that then cracks as Unity dies peacefully in her sleep. 1 John 3:1-3 says, See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. So, this phrase refers to 3 years. During this ten-nation confederation another ruler will rise as described by the little horn. What it does not destroy or consume with its teeth, it crushes under foot, much like a bull in a china shop. Nebuchadnezzar was the first ruler of Babylon to have contact with Daniel. The final outcome is Gods people under the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, will receive the kingdom. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995, [2]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. This scene in Daniel is also similar to a prophecy recorded in the Book of Revelation: 4 and they worshiped the dragon, because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?. Having related the dream, Daniel then interprets it: it concerns four successive kingdoms, beginning with Nebuchadnezzar, which will be replaced by the everlasting kingdom of the God of heaven. When God granted Daniel the wisdom to interpret the king's dream, it launched Daniel's long career as a political leader, trusted adviser, and well-known prophet. Yet Gods covenant to David (2 Samuel 7:16; Psalm 89:14) stands and will ultimately be fulfilled. Daniel still dreaming said he approached one of those standing there. The horn of the beast that made war against the saints was one of 10 kings who prevailed until the Ancient of days came and judged against him in favor of the saints. Those who rejected the Lord Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of Man, would mourn when they saw Him returning in the clouds: And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory (Matthew 24:30). While conservative, evangelical scholars believe the prophecies in Daniel are true, their interpretations differ greatly. In a similar way, Belshazzar becomes blasphemous and is suddenly removed by God for his wickedness. Daniel urged them to pray for mercy from the God of heaven, . It's build upon the passage in Daniel 7 where he has a disturbing dream. 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 states, For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:910, NASB95)[6] Finally, the more we know about the future, the more our hearts should be moved to prayerful petition for those who will face the judgment of God if they do not turn in faith to Jesus Christ. For the remainder of Nebuchadnezzars life, it seems that religion in the kingdom of Babylon was at least favorable to the worship of the God of the Jews. Subsequent revelations in the Book of Daniel which Daniel received were closely associated with some kind of agony or distress (see 8:17, 27; 9:20-21; 10:2-3, 7-10, 17; 12:8). Before long, Daniel was explaining the dreams of King Nebuchadnezzar. In fact, Daniel has trouble interpreting some of his own dreams. 78 Walvoord thinks this is the year 553 B.C., some 14 years before the fall of Babylon. The other seven will then likely submit out of fear or a sense of the unavoidable consequences of resisting represented by this little horn growing larger than the seven. 9:1; 12:1, AV, RV), and the book of Daniel insists here and in subsequent chapters (8:27; 10:1, 10, 11, 15, 18) on the anxiety and psychological turmoil involved in receiving, even at Gods hand, understanding of the future course of history. Joyce C. Baldwin, Daniel: An Introduction and Commentary (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1978), p. 143. While most prophecies in the Bible reveal events which will take place after the death of the recipient of the prophecy, the prophecy is revealed for impact upon those to whom it was revealed. That night his life and his kingdom came to an end. Chapter 2 - The original dream describing the future kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persian, Greek, Roman, kingdom of God. In the euphoria of this grand event, someone might well conclude the kingdom of God was to be established within the lifetime of those returning to Israel. Up to this time, it was simply a synonym for being human, a son of man. Thus he said: The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it. At this point the revelation ended. Belshazzars rise to power and ascent to the throne seems to have inaugurated a new age for Babylon. Nevertheless, Daniel tells no one, keeping the matter to himself and suffering a quiet agony over the future events God has revealed to him. The Ancient of Days is a designation for God, not found elsewhere in the Bible. That was bad enough, from the religious leaders perspective, but the way in which He answered them was the last straw. (10) What effect did the vision have on Daniel, and why? For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. As I read through the statements men have made about the God of Israel in the first six chapters of Daniel, I find that what men came to know and to acknowledge through history, God declares through prophecy. We must approach prophecy with fear and reverence. Considering this text has changed my opinion about the gap in the prophecies of the Old Testament. Even the fate of this fourth beast is different than his three predecessors, as his life and his kingdom seem to end at the same moment. He could not figure out what the dream meant, so he wanted his advisors to explain it to him. a. Salvation is likewise a process involving sufferingand then glory. The scene of the four beasts arising from the sea, which Daniel saw in his night vision, is strikingly similar to the account found in the 13th chapter of Revelation: 1 And he stood on the sand of the seashore, and I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:13). The reign of Belshazzar was, in some measure, a foretaste of what was yet to come in full measure during the reign of the fourth beast, especially of the eleventh horn. In Gods economy, things are not what they appear to be. Daniel (Daniel 2; 4): As He had done for Joseph, God placed Daniel in a position of power and influence by allowing him to interpret a foreign ruler's dream. In spite of all these beasts do and say, in spite of their power and even their success, neither they nor their kingdoms will last. 4 The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. He was at ease when he received the vision, and then he became fearful, and his mind alarmed him (4:4-5). The angels went on to add that the saints of the Highest One will be given into Antichrists hand for a time, times, and half a time. ET. (4) Prophecies not completely fulfilled cannot be fully understood until after their fulfillment. (4) Suffering is to be expected by the saints, before they enter into the glorious kingdom of God. JPS Tanakh 1917 Since the last kingdom and the prophecies associated with it have not yet been fulfilled, we must in some way be a part of that kingdom. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was granted to them for an appointed period of time. Rome did conquer much of the known world, but it never conquered the whole world as this is describing. When mentioning the little horn that grew up and uprooted three of the first ten horns, Daniel now tells us that this little horn grew until it was larger in appearance then the remaining seven horns. They believed that the Messiah would come to establish the kingdom, to bless the Jews and to condemn the Gentiles. Interpretations of Daniels prophecies differ widely. Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. Our deliverance from the power of sin and the penalty of death has been accomplished by our Lord, who suffered in our place. The transfiguration of our Lord was but a foretaste of His coming glorious kingdom (16:28). His vision in chapter 4 should have produced more distress than it did. If, in Gods eyes, a day is as 1,000 years and 1,000 years as a day (2 Peter 3:8), then the coming of our Lord has only been a few days from beginning to end. The distance in time of the fulfillment of Daniel 7 said something very important to the captive Jews of Daniels day. As the beast continues to boast, a second scene commences in Daniels vision, and for a period of time both scenes run simultaneously. 9 If any one has an ear, let him hear. Neither peer opposition nor the king's new law (chapter 6) greatly disturbed Daniel. Episode 5 of "How I Met Your Father" Season 2 tested the friendships of everyone in the group. This angel responded and gave Daniel understanding into his dream as he interpreted it for him. When the Lord Jesus Christ came to earth, having added perfect humanity to His undiminished deity, He spoke of Himself very often as the Son of Man. In the Gospels, Jesus began not only to identify Himself as the Messiah, the promised Son of Man, but also to explain all that this involved. If you remember as I have already stated, much of the interpretation of this dream could be found in chapter 2. The angel goes on to describe what the Antichrist will do: He will speak out against the Most High, he will be boastful and arrogant, he will deny that the Most High is God, he will deny that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. If we go back to Daniel 2 and look at the statue in Nebuchadnezzars dream, we find that it too represented four kings and their kingdoms. International Standard Version so Daniel went to ask Nebuchadnezzar for an appointment to see him , and it was granted him so that he could reveal the meaning to the king. These kings will rise to power and dominate the earth. So, I began the review by looking at the first 14 verses where Daniel gives us a summary of the visions he had as he dreamed in his sleep. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995, Embedded video for Daniel's Dream Interpreted - Daniel 7:15-28. In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's rule, he had a dream. Each of the four beasts represent a king and thus a resulting kingdom. 2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. The final push of the times of the Gentiles will last for 3 years, then the end will come, the end of the times of the Gentiles., THE JUDGMENT AND THE FIFTH KINGDOM (Daniel 7:26-27). I approached one of those who were standing by and began asking him the exact meaning of all this. 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