Daniel 7:1-14 - Terrifying Dreams and Eternal Promises
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Introduction
Today we are going to pick up our message series in Daniel. Chapter 7 is a transition chapter in the book of Daniel. Up to this point we have read about events that happened in the life of Daniel and his friends. Chapter 7 starts a series of dreams that Daniel had and have implications on end time events. Today we are only going to cover the first half of this chapter as there is a lot to cover and I want to allow enough time to cover all that is here.
As we read through this dream, you’ll see some similarities to the dream that Nebuchadnezzar had about the statue in chapter 2. Let’s put the picture of that statue up and recap.
***Picture of the statue***
Head of gold is Nebuchadnezzar - his kingdom was vast and united.
Chest and arms of silver are a kingdom that came after him that was not as vast - This is believed to be the Medes and the Persians. It is believed to be 2 groups since there are 2 arms and those two groups together defeated Babylon.
The belly and thighs of bronze were believed to be the Greeks under Alexander the great. His empire stretched over most of the known world at the time.
The legs of iron are believed to represent the Roman Empire. They has great strength and imposed their will over a large area. They literally crushed every other empire on their way to greatness
As the statue transitions into feet, there is a gradual change from solid iron to a mixture of iron and clay. This is thought to represent the progressive weakening and deterioration of the Roman empire. The 10 toes are thought to represent the 10 empires or kingdoms that will exist in the last days that came from the Roman empire.
This proposed fulfillment of scripture is not fully accepted by all, but it is accepted by many Bible scholars. There are some that have tried to apply more modern day empires and kingdoms, but they don’t seem to fit as well or span as great of a time as these four: Babylon, Medes/Persians, Greeks and Romans.
Let’s read about this dream and see...
1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying in bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.
2 Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea.
The time of this dream is estimated to be in 553 B.C. This date will be important later...
There are so many symbols in this passage that are so easy to miss if we don’t take the time to examine them.
Four winds of heaven: In other passages in God’s word, wind is used to signify God’s Judgments. The four means they came from all directions. There was nowhere to escape.
Churning up the great sea: As the earth is mostly water, the world could be seen as a great sea and the winds of heaven are churning up or stirring up the entire earth and causing kingdoms to rise and fall.
As we’ve read in Daniel up to this point, God is always sovereign - He causes nations to rise and fall, He puts kings in place and takes them down. In this dream it is no different. God churns up the earth with his judgments…let’s keep going...
3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
As we’ll see shortly, they came up and out of the sea in succession...
4 “The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.
Artifacts from the Babylonian kingdom show that a lion with wings was often used to represent them. Check out this passage from Jeremiah:
17 “Israel is a scattered flock that lions have chased away. The first to devour them was the king of Assyria; the last to crush their bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”
4 “The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.
At the time of Daniel’s dream, Nebuchadnezzar is already dead, but the imagery of the the lion’s wings being clipped and then given the mind of a human suggests this king. If you remember from chapter 4, Nebuchadnezzar was made crazy and had the mind of a wild animal for a period of seven years before he was restored to rule and his rule from there on was classified as “greater than before”.
Our first beast - a lion with eagle’s wings - represents Babylon.
5 “And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’
The Medes and the Persians conquered Babylon and it is believed they are represented by this beast. Interestingly, this combined empire was one, but the Persians had a greater influence in this alliance. They were the more dominant and larger of the two. That could explain one side of the bear being bigger.
The three ribs in its mouth are believed to be its three major conquests: Lydia (546 B.C.), Babylon (539 B.C.), and Egypt (525 B.C.). If you remember from before, Daniel’s dream was around 553 B.C. The first conquest of the Medes and Persian was 7 years later with their final conquest coming nearly 30 years later.
Get up and eat your fill…Up to this point in time, no other empire controlled more territory than the Medes and Persians. They certainly did eat their fill of other kingdoms...
6 “After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
The third beast is most likely the empire of the Greeks and Alexander the great. From our statue they are the mid section made from Bronze.
Both the leopard and the wings symbolize swiftness. It took Alexander only ten years to conquer the same territory occupied by the Medes and Persians. After Alexander’s death in 323 B.C. a struggle within Greece resulted in the kingdom being divided into four parts ruled by four different guys. There are no other good explanations of this four headed beast/kingdom up to this point in history. Given the fit of the previous two, this makes the most sense. That brings us to our final beast:
7 “After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
This beast represents the Roman empire. This empire was ruthless and terrifying. If an area resisted, they were leveled. Like our statue with the ten toes, this beast had 10 horns. At this point in history, we cannot pin point ten kingdoms or empires or nations that would fit. The theory is that at some point, ten nations that will come from areas controlled by the Roman empire will form and be identified.
Up to this point, we can see the fulfillment of the other 3 beasts, but can’t see the complete fulfillment of this one, so it must be yet to come. Here is what happens next:
8 “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
A single horn - or kingdom - will arise that will overtake three of the 10. Presumably, the 3 kings will be conquered and taken over by the one. This new horn will have characteristics that the others don’t. It will have eyes and a boastful mouth. The eyes represent insight and wisdom that will surpass those before it. Apparently this insight and wisdom will turn into a clever and boastful tongue. As such, this horn will speak for all the rest and be the dominant kingdom on earth. Look what 2 Thessalonians says:
3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.
4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
This leader will likely be who we refer to as the anti-Christ.
These are the signs preceeding what happens next:
9 “As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.
10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.
God is the Ancient of Days - He’s always been. White clothing symbolizes holiness and the white hair wisdom. Fire of the coming judgment was all around the throne and flowing like a river.
Ten thousand was the highest known number at the time. When multiplying the highest number by itself, Daniel was implying a vast number of people standing before and with God that could not be counted.
11 “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.
12 (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)
Daniel sees each beast and then he sees God sit to judge. On the other side of the courtroom is this boastful beast that keeps running his mouth. I can imagine Daniel glancing at God and then the beast, back to God and then the beast and then just staring at the beast knowing what was coming. While this is a victorious moment, it is also sad. The entire kingdom will be burned and destroyed. Anyone who went along with the deception goes too. Here is what Revelation says about this event:
20 But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
This is the final battle before Christ’s eternal kingdom is established:
13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.
14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
Jesus in several passages is referred to as The Son of Man, but is described by Daniel as one like a son of man. Daniel describes Jesus as one coming on the clouds, and yet looking like a man - in human form. Even though he looks like a man, he is more than a man.
Jesus is here given all authority and it is said of him that he will be universally worshiped at this time and for ever.
I don’t know if you are like me and you wonder why we should study prophecies such as these other than to know what to expect. I would venture a guess to say that many Christians and churches have had so many divisions and arguments over interpretation of prophecy. That should certainly not be our goal. I think when we argue about these differences in interpretation, we miss the point. Here is what I think we should get from the study of prophecy:
1. God is sovereign
1. God is sovereign
He can and will cause nations to rise and fall. He will put leaders in place and remove them.
The enemy would have us believe that he is orchestrating things and in charge, but that is not true. That’s point number 2
2. Satan is not in charge, though he wants us to believe that he is.
2. Satan is not in charge, though he wants us to believe that he is.
If we lose faith that God is in charge, we risk falling into the belief that the devil is - that is just not true.
3. At some point, it will look like Satan is winning
3. At some point, it will look like Satan is winning
Again, another lie of the enemy. The enemy thought he was winning when he used the jealousy of the religious leaders to hang Jesus on the cross. He thought if he had Jesus killed, he would win…so much for that plan. His disciples even thought they lost…BUT Jesus rose again!
4. Jesus will come again
4. Jesus will come again
As you look at any of the end time prophecies, it all ends the same. The enemy in the lake of fire and Jesus on the throne. The enemy destroyed and Jesus worshipped forever!
Next week, we’ll finish chapter 7 which is the interpretation of the dream. Spoiler alert…I gave away most of it this week, but we’ll see what that really means in greater detail.
Know this saints - God is in charge and nothing happens without Him knowing and allowing. Trust Him through all that happens.