Daniel - Chapter 7
When we began our study, we noted that the first six chapters were history chapters and our study of them has been basically a study of what happened. These chapters were a foundation to the last six chapters, which we begin now, that are the chapters of prophecy. Now we come to the meat of the book, which is not only to see what happened but to go deeper into the Word and try to gain wisdom as to what it means.
Daniel writes in a fashion that is not chronological. This chapter should precede chapters 5 & 6. But chronological writing has not been used by Daniel so that the clear division of history and prophecy might be held.
The opening words of this chapter take us back to the first year of Belshazzar's rule. History tells us he died in 538 B.C. so the first year of his rule would have been 541 B.C. Daniel would have then been approaching 90 years old, about 62 years after Nebuchadnezzar had his vision of the golden headed image. The years between these events have commonly been named as “The Silent Years” of Daniel. We will see in chapter 9 that he had been much in study of the Lord's previous books, likely seeking more light upon the “Times of the Gentiles” and how this affected his own people. Now we see the granting of Daniel's own vision, known as the vision the four wild beasts. It makes sense to note that both Daniel & John were quite old when visions were granted to them and it was because of their lifelong faithfulness that they were so blessed.
This chapter records three visions that Daniel had:
Four Wild Beasts
Judgment Scene
Son of Man Receiving the Kingdom
Just as in the Revelation of Christ to John, the curtain that hides the glory of God is drawn back. We are given a brief look into the throne room of the universe and the complete sovereignty of God over all things in creation.
(7:1-8) Four Wild Beasts
Daniel introduces his vision which came to him by night and it begins with the four winds of heaven blowing across the great sea (the Mediterranean) and four beasts arise, each different from the others. Isaiah 17 had warned of these winds that are the rushing of nations like the rushing of mighty waters. These winds are said to represent the “powers of the air” which are the forces of the evil one that Paul warns in Ephesians 6 to be not of flesh and blood.
These beasts seen by Daniel are shown to be fierce in nature and they maintain their positions in the world by brute force. The beasts generally correspond to the metal elements seen in the vision Daniel interpreted for Nebuchadnezzar.
(Babylonian / Mede Persian / Greek / Roman)
The first beast was a lion with wings. This symbol decorated the palaces and great halls of Nineveh & Babylon during their times of greatness. It corresponded to the head of gold of the man image seen before. It is a combination of the king of beasts with the king of birds, the eagle. Daniel saw it lifted up and walking on two legs, like a man, and a man's heart was given to it, but it remained a beast. It no longer relied upon its teeth and claws but began to have some perspective of humanity.
The second beast was like a bear, the strongest beast after the lion. It is a powerful beast but has none of the agility and majesty of the lion. It is awkward and does its work by slowness and brute strength. This view was a description of the Mede Persian empire which gained its victories with enormous force of numbers. Xerses sent an army of over 2,500,000 soldiers to battle Greece. While the bear is seen to be inferior to the lion in nature, the Mede Persian empire was inferior to the Babylonian empire, not necessarily in power but in wealth and majesty. Just as in the vision of the image, each beast is inferior to the one before it.
The third beast was like a leopard, except it had four heads and four wings. The leopard is the most agile and graceful of beasts in nature. While it is slight of build, it is strong, swift, and fierce. It represents the smaller but highly agile armies of Alexander the Great who led Greece to greatness, conquering the Mede Persian empire over ten years and taking the entire civilized world. We notice that the wings were not wings of an eagle but of a fowl, which would be helpful but not as powerful as that of an eagle. The four heads represent the four kingdoms to come from this empire, Thrace, Macedonia, Syria, and Egypt. Verse 15 allows us to see that that Daniel was troubled by these views and it was two years until he understood this part of his vision when a solution would come to him that we will see in chapter eight.
The fourth beast was dreadful, terrible, and strong, with iron teeth. It devoured and broke in pieces the previous three creatures. It was quite different from the other beasts and it had ten horns as well as a “little horn” that grew along with three of the first ten being ripped out by the roots. In the little horn were eyes like a man and a mouth speaking great things. These four beasts came to Daniel in one vision, all coming from the sea, one after the other, forming a complete vision, just as all the different metals made up one vision of a standing man creature in earlier years. This beast represents the Roman empire chewing up all other empires with its iron teeth. Generally, it is thought that the little horn likely represents the Antichrist. But before Daniel could seek God's counsel on the meaning of the little horn, another vision came to him.
(7:9-14) Judgment Scene
A new vision arrives with Daniel seeing into the throne room of heaven itself, with a view of Jesus Christ receiving the Kingdom promised and a view of the judgment of the Gentile nations, filling out God's program for His creation.
Step by step Daniel was receiving the light of wisdom as to the things that should come to pass in latter days. This judgment scene is NOT the Great White Throne judgment NOR is it the Judgment Seat of Christ. Those are after the rapture of His church. This scene represents judgment of the Gentiles. This Roman empire is slain, and its body destroyed by flame, while the other beast representations are allowed to remain, but without dominion.
Here is a view for Daniel of the judgment of nations that we are shown in Matthew 24, which Joel 3 teaches will occur in the valley of Jehoshaphat, and in this manner the sheep and goat nations will be separated with the ultimate purpose at the end to convert the Jews. This one shown to sit in judgment is the Lord Jesus, which we know from John 5:22 which teaches us that the Father judges no man but has committed all judgment to the Son. The physical description given is close to identical to the view John was given in the first part of The Revelation. When the one like the Son of Man is now shown to arrive in the clouds of heaven, we are given confirmation that the Son and the Father are ONE. Jesus taught us this lesson in John 10:30 “... I and my Father are one”.
(7:15-28) The Everlasting Kingdom
The immediate result of these visions to Daniel was a troubled spirit. So to gain some understanding, and to calm his mind, Daniel asks one who was in the vision what did it all mean, and the truth is given to the prophet.
Now the unnamed one tells Daniel that the four beasts are indeed earthly kingdoms which shall be overcome by the saints of the Most High, which will then possess the Kingdom that results forever. Who are these saints? The saints of the church will have already been called away. Although there are always numerous interpretations of scripture, we are often granted clues as to the right one. We see the evidence here in verse 25 of 3 ½ years (time and times and dividing of time) and this arranges a clue toward the time of the Great Tribulation (and verse 25 speaks of the speaking of great words against the Most High). So the ending faithful saints after this period plus the now reclaimed Jews may be the most promising notion as to this identity. We should not overlook that Duet 28:13 also teaches that the Jews are to be the “head of the nations”.
Daniel seeks even further wisdom and comes to understand that a covenant will be seen changing times & laws, further leading us toward the Antichrist who will make his covenant with the Jews for seven years, and will break it after 3 ½ years. We will see the this fact in 9:27. We will also see the wisdom granted by the angel Gabriel to Daniel in chapter 8 concerning the policy of this counterfeit to the Lord.
Paul teaches on this matter in his letter to the Thessalonians calling this one that Daniel is considering the Man of Sin, The Son of Perdition, and That Wicked.
What are the lessons we should learn from this complex and difficult scripture?
The people of God must never be naive about the strength, the reality, or the durability of evil. Daniel was horrified because of what he saw. His concern for God's people should be a good example to us all. While we live here in relative tranquility are we concerned for those who are coming later and how dark their world may be under Satan's growing power?
The people of God must once more learn and accept that the Kingdom is one of suffering. The forces of hell will never prevail against it but will do all in their power to overwhelm the saints. Suffering in one way or another is crucial to being a Christian.
Romans 8:17 teaches that “... we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together”.
The people of God must look beyond the terrible events of man's kingdoms to seek a view of the ultimate Kingdom which Daniel was shown so that he may tell us that it is only that righteous Kingdom which will be everlasting.
Our great hope is not in man, nor his power. It rests only in the Lord. This is the lesson for us in Daniel's vision.
