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7 BOOK OF DANIEL
BIBLE STUDY
7 BOOK OF DANIEL
THIS IS WHAT THE PROPHET
DANIEL SAW.
The Vision of the Four Beasts
v1 In the first
year of the reign of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream,
and visions of his head passed through his head as he lay on his bed.
Afterwards he wrote the dream, and thus began his account. v2 Daniel
said, “In my vision at night I saw, and behold, the four winds of
the heavens were stirring up the great sea, v3 and four great beasts
were coming up out of the sea, each one different from the other. v4
The first was like a lion, and it had eagle’s wings. As I was
looking, its wings were torn 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. v5 The second beast was like a bear. It was raised up
half way up, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; Then
it was said to him, “Get up and devour much flesh.” v6 After this
I saw another beast, like a leopard. It had four wings of a bird on
its back, and the beast had four heads, and authority was given to
it. v7 After this I saw in the night visions a fourth beast,
terrifying and terrifying, very strong; it had large iron teeth; it
devoured and crushed everything and trampled what was left with its
feet. It was different from all the other beasts, and it had ten
horns. v8 As I was considering the horns, another horn, a small one,
came up among the others. Three of the other horns were plucked out
of its place, and its place was filled. And behold, this horn had
eyes like a man and a mouth speaking great things. v9 Then I
saw:
Thrones were placed,
and the Ancient of Days took his
seat;
his clothing was white as snow,
and the hair of his
head was pure wool.
His throne was a flame of fire,
its
wheels were burning fire.
v10 A river of fire flowed
and
ran out before him.
A thousand thousands ministered to him,
ten
thousand and ten thousand stood before him.
The judgment was
set,
and the books were opened.
v11 Then I saw, and the
beast was slain because of the great words which the horn spoke; and
his body was destroyed, and given to the burning fire.
v12 And
the dominion of the other beasts was taken away, and their days were
shortened for a time.
v13 And I saw in the night visions,
and
behold,
with the clouds of heaven one like a son of man
came;
and he came to the Ancient of Days,
and they were
brought before him.
v14 And there was given him dominion, and
glory, and a kingdom;
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting
dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom
which
shall not be destroyed.
v15 I, Daniel, was troubled at this, and
the visions of my head troubled me. v16 I went to one of those who
stood by, and asked him for the interpretation of all this: and he
gave me the interpretation: v17 The four great beasts are four kings
that shall arise out of the earth. v18 But the saints of the Most
High shall take the kingdom, and possess it for ever, even for ever
and ever.
v19 Then I wanted to know the interpretation of
the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, very
terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws, which devoured and
crushed everything and trampled down what was left with its feet, v20
and the interpretation of the ten horns on its head, and of the new
horn that came up before three others fell, to make room for it, the
horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and its
appearance was greater than the others. v21 As I watched, this horn
made war on the saints and prevailed over them, v22 until the Ancient
of Days came, and judgment was given in favor of the saints of the
Most High, and the time came for the saints to receive the
kingdom.
v23 Thus he said: The fourth beast means a fourth
kingdom that will arise on earth. It will be different from all the
other kingdoms, devouring the whole earth, trampling it down and
breaking it. v24 The ten horns mean that out of this kingdom ten
kings will arise. After them another will arise, different from the
first ones, and he will subdue three kings. v25 He will speak against
the Most High and wear out the saints of the Most High. He will try
to change times and laws, and they will be given into his power for a
time, times and half a time. v26 Then the judgment will be passed,
and the dominion will be taken away from him and destroyed and
utterly destroyed. v27 But the kingdom, the dominion and the
authority of all the kingdoms under heaven will be given to the
people of the saints of the Most High. Their kingdom is an
everlasting kingdom, and all dominions will serve and obey it.
v28
Here the story ends. My thoughts struck me with great fear, and my
face changed. But I hid the words in my heart.
When God
Takes Over World Dominion
The Book of Daniel naturally falls
into two parts: one historical and one prophetic. Chapters 1-6 make
up the historical part. Here we hear, among other things, how Daniel
comes with the first group of Judeans, whom the great king
NebuchadnezzarKadnezar leads to Babylon in 605 BC. In Babylon, Daniel
is trained for service at the court.
Chapter 7 begins the
prophetic part of the Book of Daniel, which continues all the way to
the end of the book in chapter 12.
Daniel’s Four Visions
From
chapter 7, it is not so much the events at the court that are the
focus. Instead, it is four major visions that Daniel receives at
different times in the last part of his life.
One of the
recurring themes in these visions is God’s absolute sovereignty
over world history.
Each of the four visions reveals a number of
things about the future. And some of the elements in the visions
reach so far into the future that they are also future for
us.
Daniel’s First Vision
The first of the four visions
is described as “a dream vision” (Dan. 7:1). Daniel receives this
vision in 553 BC, more than 50 years after he was taken to
Babylon.
The situation is that the founder of the Neo-Babylonian
Empire, Nebuchadnezzar, has long since died. The ruler of Babylon is
now Belshazzar, who is the last of the kings of Babylon. He rules
until Babylon is defeated by the Persian king Cyrus, with which world
history takes a new turn.
At the beginning of Belshazzar's
reign, Daniel receives the first of his visions. The vision shows
Daniel how world history will unfold in general terms, from Babylon's
dominance to the end of this world.
The four beasts
In his
vision, Daniel sees four beasts: One beast that looks like a lion,
one that looks like a bear, one that looks like a panther and then a
fourth beast, which is not described in more detail, but which can
give associations of a dragon.
It is clear that this fourth
beast is different from the others, and it therefore calls Daniel's
attention in a special way Dan 7:19.
Daniel asks for the
interpretation of the dream and is told that the four beasts are four
world empires (Dan 7:16ff). They are not mentioned by name, but are
described by means of the four beasts.
Since the time of the
ancient church, many in the church have interpreted the four beasts
in this way:
The lion denotes the Babylonian empire, while the
bear is the Medo-Persian empire, which under King Cyrus replaces
Babylon as a world power. The panther is an image of the later Greek
empire, which breaks out with Alexander the Great, while the fourth
beast contains a description of the even later Roman world
empire.
The connection with Dan 2
There is a close
connection between the beasts in Dan 7 and the dream that Daniel,
according to Dan 2, had once given to Nebuchadnezzar.
In his
dream, Nebuchadnezzar had seen an image made of four different
metals. Each of these metals, like the four beasts, represented the
four world empires mentioned above.
When the world empires are
depicted with different images in Daniel 2 and Daniel 7, it may be
related to the perspective: To the pagan king Nebuchadnezzar, the
world empires look like precious metals, while to the believer Daniel
they look more like threatening and dangerous predators.
The end
of the world empires
In Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 2, the
image is finally crushed by a stone, and it is revealed that this
stone is an image of a kingdom that God himself will one day
establish and that will never pass away (Dan 2:44-45).
In Daniel
7, new layers are added to this revelation: it is revealed that it is
God himself who sits on the throne of this kingdom, and that he will
give power to "a son of man" (Dan 7:9-14). An expression
where we - also in the light of the New Testament - are left in no
doubt that this clearly points towards the Messiah. God will
therefore transfer his power to the Messiah.
We should note that
this power includes the authority to judge the world: “The judgment
was set, and the books were opened” (Dan. 7:10).
At the same
time, we should note that power over the world is also associated
with others than the Messiah himself: “But the kingdom, the
dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be
given to the people of the saints of the Most High” (Dan.
7:27).
The saints “judge” and “rule”
“The people
of the saints of the Most High” can be a designation for two
things: Either it can designate the people of Israel (cf. for example
Dan. 9:19 and 12:1, where “people” clearly designates Israel). Or
it can also designate the believers (cf. Dan. 11:32, where “people”
is a designation for those who know God).
In light of the New
Testament, the best bet is that “the holy people of the Most High”
here designates the believers, who are thus granted both judicial
power (Dan 7:9-10) and governmental power (Dan 7:27).
In Matt
19:28, Jesus thus teaches his disciples that at the rebirth of the
world they will “judge the twelve tribes of Israel”.
Paul
similarly assumes in 1 Cor 6:2, “that the saints will judge the
world”.
And in Rev 20 it is described how some people come to
life and become “kings with Christ”. Here too it is spoken of –
in addition to the kingship – that these people will be given
judicial power (Rev 20:4-6).
Dan 7 and the Antichrist
Dan 7
is not silent about the fact that the process leading up to the
transfer of power to the Messiah and the saints is characterized by
struggle and strife. Thus, among other things, it speaks of a “horn”
that speaks “great words” (Dan 7:8,20). It is even said that this
horn makes war against and conquers “the saints” (Dan.
7:21).
This horn is a picture ofa wicked king who will persecute
God's people. In fact, the struggle against this king is a recurring
theme in Daniel's four visions (see also Dan 8:9ff; 9:27; 11:21ff;
11:31ff), and the overall statement is that a terrible time of
trouble will precede the Messiah's assumption of power.
Initially,
these descriptions point to the time around the Hellenistic king,
Antiochus Epiphanes, who ruled from Syria, and who around 167 BC
initiated the terrible persecutions of the Jews, which can be read
about in the apocryphal books of the Maccabees.
But at the same
time, there is no doubt that this Antiochus Epiphanes is also the
archetype of the future Antichrist. Thus, in Matt 24:15, Jesus quotes
precisely the descriptions from the Book of Daniel when he is to
explain to his disciples about the things that will precede his
return. In the same way, John’s Revelation uses exactly the same
images as Daniel 7 in its description of the Antichrist (see, for
example, Revelation 13).
Daniel 7 thus points forward both to
the events surrounding Antiochus Epiphanes and to the events
surrounding the end-time Antichrist.
Daniel 7 and the transfer
of power
In the light of history and the New Testament, we must
therefore understand the descriptions in Daniel 7 as
follows:
Firstly, the descriptions of the four beasts contain
the concrete historical process in which four world empires succeeded
each other until the kingdom of God with Jesus “came
near”.
Secondly, the events surrounding the fourth beast point
even further ahead. Namely, towards the time when God’s enemies
will be definitively defeated and judged, and God’s kingdom will
visibly break through.
This breakthrough also means a transfer
of power to “the saints”. Although the Bible does not reveal much
about it, the believers are therefore destined for an exciting task
in the future. Not a task that they can impose on themselves, but a
task that takes place in communion with Christ (Rev. 20:4, 6), and
which we can look forward to with great anticipation.
As
you can see5, the Old Testament and the New Testament are closely
connected, it is witty that we know, the prophecies of the Old
Testament, otherwise we are at risk of going astray.
Jesus
warns us very strongly about the false prophets, especially now that
we have the internet, we must be extremely aware of We also have many
false gospels out there, where they add and subtract, so that people
are manipulated into believing that it is the word of truth and
life.
Jesus says in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 24,
verses 5 and 11, That many false prophets will come and lead people
astray, saying, I am the Messiah. These false prophets will perform
signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Jesus
speaks of signs of his return and the end of the world in Matthew
24.
He warns his disciples that many false prophets will arise
and try to deceive them. These false prophets will claim to be the
Christ or the Messiah, or they are the only ones who really have the
whole truth, the only true Christians today, and will try to mislead
by performing miracles. Some have even rejected the kingdom of
perdition, they have made the cross a stake, Jesus is seen with their
eyes just a spirit creature, etc. They have made their own false
Bible, some have built on false prophecies that came from the heresy
of false prophets and believe that if all Christians do not do as
they do, observe the entire requirements of the false testament law
here during the Sabbath, or eat food they consider unclean, they will
not go to Heaven.
Jesus emphasizes that his return will be
obvious and like lightning that shines from east to west. Not
invisible, secret as some of the false ones claim.
Jesus warns
his followers not to be deceived by false prophets or their
miracles.
He urges them to be vigilant and not to believe rumors
that he is here or there, but to wait for his manifest coming.
The
coming of the true Messiah will be so manifest that no one will doubt
it.
False prophets will lead many people astray and into
tribulation and death.
Many will fall away from the faith and
betray one another because of the deception of the false
prophets.
However, God’s chosen ones will be gathered at his
return. These are the 1400 Jews.
Ame
