41. Daniel 7 12
ROUTE 66 41. Destination: Daniel 7-12 Tonight we are going to finish our drive through the book of Daniel We pick up in Daniel 7. Our drive through Daniel is taking us a week longer than I originally mapped out. So we aren’t going to review last Mondays content. PLEASE GET RESOURCES on line or from Metro Calvary Church App. It is necessary for me to preface tonight’s with this because it is particularly important to the remaining content of the book of Daniel. The book of Daniel is not about Daniel. It’s all about God — and in particular how God is sovereign — how He rules over the kingdoms of this world — how His plan and His Kingdom trumps and triumphs over the plans and the kingdoms of this world that is organizing itself without God and against God. Daniel 7 begins the 2nd division of the book. Chapters 7 through 12 describe four visions Daniel had. He had two in the Babylonian period and two in the MedoPersian period. The visions in Daniel 7-8 took place somewhere along the timeline of chapters 4 and 5. Here’s the time stamp for the vision of Daniel 7 — In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. 1
Nebuchadnezzar is gone. Belshazzar (the handwriting on the wall guy of Chapter 5) is ruling as co-regent along with a guy named Nabonidus. That means Babylon is only a few years from falling to the Medo-Persian empire. As we read we read through these visions it is hard to be dogmatic about them. Generations of the Church have studied these things and differed on them — and even erred concerning them. Without a doubt the vision of Daniel 7 parallels the vision of Daniel 2 Daniel 2 shows the succession of four Gentile powers that will be followed by the establishment of God’s final kingdom. In his book titled “Against the Flow” John 1
Lennox references David Gooding’s (1981) summary of the main similarities and contrasts Daniel 2 and Daniel 7. CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 7
The story of the whole course of Gentile imperial Power Gentile imperial Power
The story of the whole course of Gentile imperial Power Gentile imperial Power
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 7
Four empires in the form of a man
Four empires in the form of wild beats
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 7
The Fatal Weakness:
The Hideous Strength:
An incoherent mixture of iron and clay in the feet
A frightening mixture of animal destructiveness with human intelligence
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 7
The whole image destroyed by a stone not cut by human hands and the universal, Messianic Kingdom set up
The final beast destroyed and the universal, eternal dominion given to the Son of Man
Some say that the dream of Nebuchadnezzar in Chapter 2 is man’s perspective of the succession of kingdoms of the world — while Chapter 7 is God’s view of the same thing. Both visions concentrate in particular on the fourth empire and its eventual destruction.
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As interpreted by conservative expositors — the vision of Daniel provides the most comprehensive and detailed prophecy of future events in the Old Testament. Again — there are numerous interpretations of Daniel 7. Though they differ on details, conservative scholars agree that Daniel 7 traces the course of four great world empires: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, concluding with the climax of world history in the second coming of Jesus Christ and the inauguration of the eternal kingdom of God — which is represented in the vision as a fifth and final kingdom which is from heaven. In his commentary on the book of Daniel, the Old Testament scholar Carl Friedrich Keil said that the commonly accepted view in the church was that these four kingdoms were Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. But when faith in the supernatural origin and character of biblical prophecy was shaken in later centuries the authenticity of the book of Daniel was rejected and the identity of the fourth kingdom as the Roman world-monarchy was denied. But again — the ultimate authority — Jesus settles the matter of the nature of Daniel’s prophecies. In Matthew 24:15 Jesus referenced the abomination of desolation predicted in Daniel 9:27 and 12:11 as being future, not past. Daniel 9:26 announces that the Messiah will be cut off and the city of Jerusalem destroyed — events that occurred in the Roman period. The Jewish historian Josephus believed that Daniel had predicted the rise of Rome, and the Roman destruction of Jerusalem. Josephus — “in the same manner Daniel also wrote concerning the Roman government, and that our country should be made desolate by them.” By inspiration of the Holy Spirit Daniel makes a point of establishing the time of his visions to proactively argue the divine origin and predictive nature of those visions. The opening verse of Daniel 7 dates the vision around 553 BC. The vision of Daniel 8 is dated in Belshazzar’s third year. In the opening verses of Chapter 9 Daniel tells us that he discovered the prophecy of Jeremiah concerning the seventy years of captivity in the first year of Darius the Mede — later in the same chapter, he had a third vision. In the opening verse of Chapter 10 Daniel tells us that his fourth vision (chapters 10–12) occurred in the third year of Cyrus. Let’s dive into the prophecies. 3
DANIEL 7 In this vision he saw “the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea” (7:2). He saw four beasts came up out of the sea. The first beast was compared to a lion having the wings of an eagle (v. 4). The wings were torn off — and “the heart of a man was given to it” (v. 4). Then Daniel saw a second beast described as “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!’” (v. 5). Then he saw a third beast that resembled a leopard with four wings, such as a bird would have, and four heads. This beast also “was given authority to rule” (v. 6).
Then he saw a fourth beast — For Daniel this was the most important and the most important frightening. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. This beast had ten horns But as he kept watching he saw an eleventh horn
v. 8 a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things. As Daniel watched — the vision shifted away from the character and behavior of the kingdoms of man and he found himself looking into another world — the very throne room of the universe — heaven itself. (v. 9) Daniel saw one described as “the Ancient of Days” — taking his place on a throne that looked like a blazing fire. By inspiration of the Holy Spirit Daniel describes for us the absolute holiness of God. In the NT in the book of Hebrews we’re told that our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12: 29). The ancient of days sits on his throne before a crowd that is staggering in number a thousand thousands served him (= 1 million) and ten thousand times ten thousand (= 100 million) stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. 4
It was an overwhelming sight — a vision of the supreme court of the universe. As the books were opened and court was about to be in session Daniel’s attention was drawn to the fearsome fourth beast by the sound of the great words of the little horn. DON’T MISS THIS — In the very presence of God — the final Judge himself — the little horn was insisting on being heard. THIS IS AWESOME — No details of the subsequent trial are given. The sentence is carried out — the beast killed — and its body destroyed by fire. There is a pause before Daniel resumes the description of his vision — he says — 13I saw in the night visions. What follows is crucial to the whole of biblical revelation: The CLIMAX of the vision is in verses 13-14 — behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given 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 one that shall not be destroyed. THIS is of the most important passages of the entire Bible. It not only references the ultimate outcome of our rescue — it is the very passage Jesus referenced the night before he died for our sins when the high priest challenged Jesus and asked Him “Are you the Messiah?” (Mark 14) Let’s identify the empires represented by these beasts — and then zero in on the importance and relevance of this vision. The first kingdom with characteristics of a lion and an eagle represented Babylon. There is archaeological evidence for the lion representing Babylon. The same imagery is found also in the writings of the prophet Jeremiah (4: 7; 50: 17). He describes Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar in particular) as an eagle (48: 40; 49: 22). Ezekiel does so as well. The second beast represents the Medo-Persian Empire, which conquered Babylon in 539 BC (Dan. 5). Like a bear it had great power but not the regal characteristics of Babylon. The third beast represents Greece — and the rapid conquests of Alexander the Great. When Alexander the Great died in Babylon in 5
323 BC, his empire was divided among his four generals; represented by the four heads and four wings. Lysimachus — who ruled Asia Minor and Thrace (today referred to as the Balkans) Cassander — who ruled Macedonia and Greece Seleucus, who ruled Syria, Babylonia, and land to the east And Ptolemy, who ruled Egypt, what is called Palestine, and Arabia. The fourth kingdom wasn’t described in terms of any particular beast. It is simply described as different from all the others. It had ten horns. Daniel watched as another little horn grew up among them — displacing three of them. As Daniel looked more closely he could see that this strange little horn had human eyes, and a mouth speaking great things. Daniel admits that he was confused by the vision — and then the angel comes and interprets it. …. and the visions of my head alarmed me. 16I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. 17‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. 18But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’ 15
Daniel was particularly concerned about the meaning of the fourth beast. “Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying….. 20and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. 21As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, 22until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. 19
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That’s an amazing description of the anti-Christ in the book of Revelation; speaking blasphemous things and making war on the Jews. Daniel was told that the final kingdom (described by the fourth beast) will “devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it” (v. 23). THAT set this fourth kingdom apart from any other. Daniel was told that the ten horns represented ten kings (7:24). The little horn which represented “another king” (v. 24), will differ from the ten horns. SIDE NOTE — Don’t confuse the little horn of Chapter 7 with the little horn of chapter 8. The little horn of chapter 7 arises from the fourth empire. The little horn of chapter 8 arises out of the third Empire — Greece. That little horn found it’s fulfillment in the person of Antiochus Epiphanes. And without a doubt he foreshadows the little horn of chapter 7 which finds its fulfillment in the person of the anti-Christ.
The little horn of Daniel 7 will not only be a world ruler who eventually will conquer the whole earth (v. 23) — but he will also speak against God and make war on the Jews (v. 25). He will attempt to change long-accepted laws and times (v. 25). The last world governing empire fourth represented by this fourth beast will be crushed at the 2nd coming of Jesus and the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom. The book of Daniel is SO IMPORTANT to us because 1. Daniel 7 tells us that this world is not going to be forever trampled and smashed by the broken kingdoms of man and the broken men who rule them. Daniel 7 tells us that a day WILL come when God will bring to an end wars and terrorism and totalitarian oppression — gas chambers, death camps, killing fields, and countless other instruments of death. I love that verse in the book of Revelation that says
Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. The book of Daniel is SO IMPORTANT to us because 7
1. It tells us that there will be a judgment. There are a lot of people in contemporary church culture that are REALLY uncomfortable with the very concept of judgment. They take the position that talk about judgment is so grim — so archaic — it is something that belongs relegated to the dark ages. They say that we only need to be concerned with and talk about how God is a God of love. I have to disagree!
Psalm 96:11-13 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; 12 let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy 13 before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness. We also have to ask the question: What was the cross all about? It was about God judging sin. The cross is where God judged your sin and my sin. The cross is where the Judge stood in the place of the judged. The judgment of God is something we should anticipate and long for because we all long for justice! When you suffering unjustly, if you are the victim of discrimination — the biggest question in your heart is: How long is this going to last? And will anything ever be done about it? We long for justice — but it is a rare commodity in this world. There are many who will never experience justice in this life. Daniel is radically relevant to us — it is the underpinning of our hope! Daniel 7 tells us that the injustice of this world is not the end of the matter. One day ultimate and perfect justice will be meted out. Records have been kept of every wicked thing human beings have experienced at the hands of broken and corrupt human power. The awesome court of heaven will open. The Ancient of Days will presides as judge and righteous justice will be done. The book of Daniel is SO IMPORTANT to us because 3. It tells us about the return of Jesus! Daniel 7 tells us that Jesus — the Son of Man — the perfect man — will come with all authority to forever remove the rule of fallen men and rule in perfect justice. THAT is the trajectory of our rescue! The Gospel hold out the only real and glorious hope to man. Hope is not hope unless it can fix what’s broken. Jesus alone can fix what is broken between God and man. He accomplished that by way
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of His cross and resurrection. And HE IS COMING BACK to fix what is broken in the world.
CHRISTIANS — We know who the Son of Man is. He is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Long after the time of Daniel this very Son of Man visited earth! He bore the judgment for every act and every motive that drove the kingdoms of this world. The night before He died on the cross to reconcile sinners to God Jesus used this exact title — referenced this very portion of Scripture (Daniel 7:13-14) — to identify Himself. We don't have much time — so we’re going to jump to Chapter 9 DANIEL 9 — The first part of Chapter 9 is a prayer. Because Daniel was a student of prophecy he knew that the time of captivity in Babylon was drawing to a close — so he began to seek God in prayer. Daniel knew where he stood in God’s prophetic timeline! It moved him to pray! It is an amazing prayer. READ IT! The second part of Daniel 9 is — I believe — the most important part of the whole book — and one of the KEY passages in the whole of the Bible. “Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city,
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That means that what is to follow is concerning ISRAEL and to JERUSALEM to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. That gives us the scope of the prophecy. Verse 25 gives us the first portion of the prophecy until the Messiah comes. Verse 26 gives us the space between the coming of the Messiah and the antiChrist. And verse 27 gives us the prophecy of the anti-Christ and the end of the age. 9
All of that certainly hasn’t happened yet. NOTICE — These seventy weeks are decreed. The KJV translates it as determined. The Hebrew is literally cut out, to be cut. This is a section of time that has been cut out of the rest of the history of the human race — and within this time frame things will take place that will determine the history of the world and the nation of Israel — and will bring us all the way to the end of the age. As we talk about these weeks I would encourage you to get a hold of Dr. John Walvoord’s commentary on the book of Daniel as well as John Lennox’s book where he sights Sir Isaac Newton concerning the calculations of this prophecy — and a book titled “The Coming Prince” by Sir Robert Anderson.
Seventy weeks = a week of years. Seventy times seven is 490 years The KJV is often thought of as being hard to read and clunky. But in this section of Scripture the KJV it gives us a not so clunky read. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: 25
That is 483 years. It was 49 years until Nehemiah was done with the walls. That leaves 434 years from that point until the Messiah comes. 483 years. So let’s back up and look at this together. There are 70 weeks set aside in human history that have to do with the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem. Sixty-nine of them have to do with the period from the time the commandment goes forth to build Jerusalem until the coming of the Messiah. We know from secular history that Artaxerxes took the throne in 465 BC. We know from history that he gave the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem on the first of Nisan in the 20th year of his reign — which was 445 BC.
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We also know that the month of Nisan in 445 BC began on March 14th on our calendar. There’s our beginning date — March 14, 445 BC. According to this prophecy we have to add to that 483 years. Until 701 BC the world ran off a 360-day calendar. So if we take 360 days in a year — multiply that by 483 years — we get 173,880 days. If you start at March 14, 445 BC and you add to that 173,880 days — it brings us out to April 6, 32 AD — the tenth of Nisan — the Sunday before Passover — 32 AD! THAT is the very day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem (recorded in Luke 19) — We call it Palm Sunday! It was on that day that Jesus to presented Himself to the nation as the Messiah. THIS IS SO AMAZING — Because all through His ministry Jesus went out of His way to not tell Israel that He was the promised Messiah! The only time in His public ministry that He willingly presented himself as the Messiah was on this particular day. Turn to Luke 19 — Jesus is making his triumphal entry. The crowds, in verse 38 are saying, ….. “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” 38
In essence — Jesus was saying that the prophecies being fulfilled at that very moment — on that tiny spec of dirt and rock on planet earth — were so radical that if the people shut their mouths — the rocks would start crying out saying the same thing.
Luke 19:41 41And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it Literally — He wept convulsively over it.
V.42 KJV — “Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou,” speaking to Jerusalem “at least” — notice — “in this thy day,” 11
This was the THEIR day — the very day Daniel spoke of — 173,880 days from the time the commandment went forth to restore and build Jerusalem. …..But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, 42
Listen to what Jesus says — because you did not know the time of your visitation.” Jesus held them accountable to understand what their own prophets had spoken. I believe that God holds us accountable to look around the world today. You and I should be sensitive enough as believers to look at the world we’re living in and realize that these are days that the Bible has clearly spoken of. REMEMBER — Daniel said that there were 70 weeks of years cut out of all of history dealing with Israel and Jerusalem. To this point there have only been 69 weeks of years. That means there is one seven year period left. Daniel 9:26 KJV 26And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: Jesus was cut off so we could be brought in — in to relationship with God! and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. In 70 AD the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and there was a great dispersion of the Jews. And he — A reference to this ruler who will somehow be related to the old Roman Empire — the little horn of Daniel 7 27
shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
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In the final seven-year period of God’s dealing with Israel and Jerusalem the anti-Christ will make a covenant with the nation of Israel. Halfway through that covenant he'll break the covenant by committing what's called the abomination of desolation. Jesus referred to that when He was talking to His disciples about the last days in Matthew 24
Matthew 24:15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place Paul tells us about this in 2 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians 2:4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. That last 3 ½ years of Daniel 9 moment forward is the most referenced time in all of Scripture.
Chapter 10 — gives us a tremendous insight into prayer and the reality of spiritual warfare.
Chapter 11 — gives more detail about Antiochus Epiphanes. Chapter 12 — “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. 1
But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. 2And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. 4But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”
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What will the time of the end look like? People will run to and fro and knowledge will increase. From the beginning of history until 200 years ago people traveled the planet in pretty much the same way. In the Orlando Airport in the summer, 100,000 people a day go through security. That's people running to and fro! How about knowledge increasing. Industrytap.com — Buckminster Fuller created the “Knowledge Doubling Curve”; he noticed that until 1900 human knowledge doubled approximately every century. By the end of World War II knowledge was doubling every 25 years. Today things are not as simple as different types of knowledge have different rates of growth. For example, nanotechnology knowledge is doubling every two years and clinical knowledge every 18 months. But on average human knowledge is doubling every 13 months. We are living in the most exciting time in all of human history!
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Nebuchadnezzar is gone. Belshazzar (the handwriting on the wall guy of Chapter 5) is ruling as co-regent along with a guy named Nabonidus. That means Babylon is only a few years from falling to the Medo-Persian empire. As we read we read through these visions it is hard to be dogmatic about them. Generations of the Church have studied these things and differed on them — and even erred concerning them. Without a doubt the vision of Daniel 7 parallels the vision of Daniel 2 Daniel 2 shows the succession of four Gentile powers that will be followed by the establishment of God’s final kingdom. In his book titled “Against the Flow” John 1
Lennox references David Gooding’s (1981) summary of the main similarities and contrasts Daniel 2 and Daniel 7. CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 7
The story of the whole course of Gentile imperial Power Gentile imperial Power
The story of the whole course of Gentile imperial Power Gentile imperial Power
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 7
Four empires in the form of a man
Four empires in the form of wild beats
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 7
The Fatal Weakness:
The Hideous Strength:
An incoherent mixture of iron and clay in the feet
A frightening mixture of animal destructiveness with human intelligence
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 7
The whole image destroyed by a stone not cut by human hands and the universal, Messianic Kingdom set up
The final beast destroyed and the universal, eternal dominion given to the Son of Man
Some say that the dream of Nebuchadnezzar in Chapter 2 is man’s perspective of the succession of kingdoms of the world — while Chapter 7 is God’s view of the same thing. Both visions concentrate in particular on the fourth empire and its eventual destruction.
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As interpreted by conservative expositors — the vision of Daniel provides the most comprehensive and detailed prophecy of future events in the Old Testament. Again — there are numerous interpretations of Daniel 7. Though they differ on details, conservative scholars agree that Daniel 7 traces the course of four great world empires: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, concluding with the climax of world history in the second coming of Jesus Christ and the inauguration of the eternal kingdom of God — which is represented in the vision as a fifth and final kingdom which is from heaven. In his commentary on the book of Daniel, the Old Testament scholar Carl Friedrich Keil said that the commonly accepted view in the church was that these four kingdoms were Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. But when faith in the supernatural origin and character of biblical prophecy was shaken in later centuries the authenticity of the book of Daniel was rejected and the identity of the fourth kingdom as the Roman world-monarchy was denied. But again — the ultimate authority — Jesus settles the matter of the nature of Daniel’s prophecies. In Matthew 24:15 Jesus referenced the abomination of desolation predicted in Daniel 9:27 and 12:11 as being future, not past. Daniel 9:26 announces that the Messiah will be cut off and the city of Jerusalem destroyed — events that occurred in the Roman period. The Jewish historian Josephus believed that Daniel had predicted the rise of Rome, and the Roman destruction of Jerusalem. Josephus — “in the same manner Daniel also wrote concerning the Roman government, and that our country should be made desolate by them.” By inspiration of the Holy Spirit Daniel makes a point of establishing the time of his visions to proactively argue the divine origin and predictive nature of those visions. The opening verse of Daniel 7 dates the vision around 553 BC. The vision of Daniel 8 is dated in Belshazzar’s third year. In the opening verses of Chapter 9 Daniel tells us that he discovered the prophecy of Jeremiah concerning the seventy years of captivity in the first year of Darius the Mede — later in the same chapter, he had a third vision. In the opening verse of Chapter 10 Daniel tells us that his fourth vision (chapters 10–12) occurred in the third year of Cyrus. Let’s dive into the prophecies. 3
DANIEL 7 In this vision he saw “the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea” (7:2). He saw four beasts came up out of the sea. The first beast was compared to a lion having the wings of an eagle (v. 4). The wings were torn off — and “the heart of a man was given to it” (v. 4). Then Daniel saw a second beast described as “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!’” (v. 5). Then he saw a third beast that resembled a leopard with four wings, such as a bird would have, and four heads. This beast also “was given authority to rule” (v. 6).
Then he saw a fourth beast — For Daniel this was the most important and the most important frightening. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. This beast had ten horns But as he kept watching he saw an eleventh horn
v. 8 a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things. As Daniel watched — the vision shifted away from the character and behavior of the kingdoms of man and he found himself looking into another world — the very throne room of the universe — heaven itself. (v. 9) Daniel saw one described as “the Ancient of Days” — taking his place on a throne that looked like a blazing fire. By inspiration of the Holy Spirit Daniel describes for us the absolute holiness of God. In the NT in the book of Hebrews we’re told that our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12: 29). The ancient of days sits on his throne before a crowd that is staggering in number a thousand thousands served him (= 1 million) and ten thousand times ten thousand (= 100 million) stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. 4
It was an overwhelming sight — a vision of the supreme court of the universe. As the books were opened and court was about to be in session Daniel’s attention was drawn to the fearsome fourth beast by the sound of the great words of the little horn. DON’T MISS THIS — In the very presence of God — the final Judge himself — the little horn was insisting on being heard. THIS IS AWESOME — No details of the subsequent trial are given. The sentence is carried out — the beast killed — and its body destroyed by fire. There is a pause before Daniel resumes the description of his vision — he says — 13I saw in the night visions. What follows is crucial to the whole of biblical revelation: The CLIMAX of the vision is in verses 13-14 — behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given 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 one that shall not be destroyed. THIS is of the most important passages of the entire Bible. It not only references the ultimate outcome of our rescue — it is the very passage Jesus referenced the night before he died for our sins when the high priest challenged Jesus and asked Him “Are you the Messiah?” (Mark 14) Let’s identify the empires represented by these beasts — and then zero in on the importance and relevance of this vision. The first kingdom with characteristics of a lion and an eagle represented Babylon. There is archaeological evidence for the lion representing Babylon. The same imagery is found also in the writings of the prophet Jeremiah (4: 7; 50: 17). He describes Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar in particular) as an eagle (48: 40; 49: 22). Ezekiel does so as well. The second beast represents the Medo-Persian Empire, which conquered Babylon in 539 BC (Dan. 5). Like a bear it had great power but not the regal characteristics of Babylon. The third beast represents Greece — and the rapid conquests of Alexander the Great. When Alexander the Great died in Babylon in 5
323 BC, his empire was divided among his four generals; represented by the four heads and four wings. Lysimachus — who ruled Asia Minor and Thrace (today referred to as the Balkans) Cassander — who ruled Macedonia and Greece Seleucus, who ruled Syria, Babylonia, and land to the east And Ptolemy, who ruled Egypt, what is called Palestine, and Arabia. The fourth kingdom wasn’t described in terms of any particular beast. It is simply described as different from all the others. It had ten horns. Daniel watched as another little horn grew up among them — displacing three of them. As Daniel looked more closely he could see that this strange little horn had human eyes, and a mouth speaking great things. Daniel admits that he was confused by the vision — and then the angel comes and interprets it. …. and the visions of my head alarmed me. 16I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. 17‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. 18But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’ 15
Daniel was particularly concerned about the meaning of the fourth beast. “Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying….. 20and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. 21As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, 22until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. 19
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That’s an amazing description of the anti-Christ in the book of Revelation; speaking blasphemous things and making war on the Jews. Daniel was told that the final kingdom (described by the fourth beast) will “devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it” (v. 23). THAT set this fourth kingdom apart from any other. Daniel was told that the ten horns represented ten kings (7:24). The little horn which represented “another king” (v. 24), will differ from the ten horns. SIDE NOTE — Don’t confuse the little horn of Chapter 7 with the little horn of chapter 8. The little horn of chapter 7 arises from the fourth empire. The little horn of chapter 8 arises out of the third Empire — Greece. That little horn found it’s fulfillment in the person of Antiochus Epiphanes. And without a doubt he foreshadows the little horn of chapter 7 which finds its fulfillment in the person of the anti-Christ.
The little horn of Daniel 7 will not only be a world ruler who eventually will conquer the whole earth (v. 23) — but he will also speak against God and make war on the Jews (v. 25). He will attempt to change long-accepted laws and times (v. 25). The last world governing empire fourth represented by this fourth beast will be crushed at the 2nd coming of Jesus and the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom. The book of Daniel is SO IMPORTANT to us because 1. Daniel 7 tells us that this world is not going to be forever trampled and smashed by the broken kingdoms of man and the broken men who rule them. Daniel 7 tells us that a day WILL come when God will bring to an end wars and terrorism and totalitarian oppression — gas chambers, death camps, killing fields, and countless other instruments of death. I love that verse in the book of Revelation that says
Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. The book of Daniel is SO IMPORTANT to us because 7
1. It tells us that there will be a judgment. There are a lot of people in contemporary church culture that are REALLY uncomfortable with the very concept of judgment. They take the position that talk about judgment is so grim — so archaic — it is something that belongs relegated to the dark ages. They say that we only need to be concerned with and talk about how God is a God of love. I have to disagree!
Psalm 96:11-13 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; 12 let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy 13 before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness. We also have to ask the question: What was the cross all about? It was about God judging sin. The cross is where God judged your sin and my sin. The cross is where the Judge stood in the place of the judged. The judgment of God is something we should anticipate and long for because we all long for justice! When you suffering unjustly, if you are the victim of discrimination — the biggest question in your heart is: How long is this going to last? And will anything ever be done about it? We long for justice — but it is a rare commodity in this world. There are many who will never experience justice in this life. Daniel is radically relevant to us — it is the underpinning of our hope! Daniel 7 tells us that the injustice of this world is not the end of the matter. One day ultimate and perfect justice will be meted out. Records have been kept of every wicked thing human beings have experienced at the hands of broken and corrupt human power. The awesome court of heaven will open. The Ancient of Days will presides as judge and righteous justice will be done. The book of Daniel is SO IMPORTANT to us because 3. It tells us about the return of Jesus! Daniel 7 tells us that Jesus — the Son of Man — the perfect man — will come with all authority to forever remove the rule of fallen men and rule in perfect justice. THAT is the trajectory of our rescue! The Gospel hold out the only real and glorious hope to man. Hope is not hope unless it can fix what’s broken. Jesus alone can fix what is broken between God and man. He accomplished that by way
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of His cross and resurrection. And HE IS COMING BACK to fix what is broken in the world.
CHRISTIANS — We know who the Son of Man is. He is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Long after the time of Daniel this very Son of Man visited earth! He bore the judgment for every act and every motive that drove the kingdoms of this world. The night before He died on the cross to reconcile sinners to God Jesus used this exact title — referenced this very portion of Scripture (Daniel 7:13-14) — to identify Himself. We don't have much time — so we’re going to jump to Chapter 9 DANIEL 9 — The first part of Chapter 9 is a prayer. Because Daniel was a student of prophecy he knew that the time of captivity in Babylon was drawing to a close — so he began to seek God in prayer. Daniel knew where he stood in God’s prophetic timeline! It moved him to pray! It is an amazing prayer. READ IT! The second part of Daniel 9 is — I believe — the most important part of the whole book — and one of the KEY passages in the whole of the Bible. “Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city,
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That means that what is to follow is concerning ISRAEL and to JERUSALEM to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. That gives us the scope of the prophecy. Verse 25 gives us the first portion of the prophecy until the Messiah comes. Verse 26 gives us the space between the coming of the Messiah and the antiChrist. And verse 27 gives us the prophecy of the anti-Christ and the end of the age. 9
All of that certainly hasn’t happened yet. NOTICE — These seventy weeks are decreed. The KJV translates it as determined. The Hebrew is literally cut out, to be cut. This is a section of time that has been cut out of the rest of the history of the human race — and within this time frame things will take place that will determine the history of the world and the nation of Israel — and will bring us all the way to the end of the age. As we talk about these weeks I would encourage you to get a hold of Dr. John Walvoord’s commentary on the book of Daniel as well as John Lennox’s book where he sights Sir Isaac Newton concerning the calculations of this prophecy — and a book titled “The Coming Prince” by Sir Robert Anderson.
Seventy weeks = a week of years. Seventy times seven is 490 years The KJV is often thought of as being hard to read and clunky. But in this section of Scripture the KJV it gives us a not so clunky read. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: 25
That is 483 years. It was 49 years until Nehemiah was done with the walls. That leaves 434 years from that point until the Messiah comes. 483 years. So let’s back up and look at this together. There are 70 weeks set aside in human history that have to do with the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem. Sixty-nine of them have to do with the period from the time the commandment goes forth to build Jerusalem until the coming of the Messiah. We know from secular history that Artaxerxes took the throne in 465 BC. We know from history that he gave the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem on the first of Nisan in the 20th year of his reign — which was 445 BC.
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We also know that the month of Nisan in 445 BC began on March 14th on our calendar. There’s our beginning date — March 14, 445 BC. According to this prophecy we have to add to that 483 years. Until 701 BC the world ran off a 360-day calendar. So if we take 360 days in a year — multiply that by 483 years — we get 173,880 days. If you start at March 14, 445 BC and you add to that 173,880 days — it brings us out to April 6, 32 AD — the tenth of Nisan — the Sunday before Passover — 32 AD! THAT is the very day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem (recorded in Luke 19) — We call it Palm Sunday! It was on that day that Jesus to presented Himself to the nation as the Messiah. THIS IS SO AMAZING — Because all through His ministry Jesus went out of His way to not tell Israel that He was the promised Messiah! The only time in His public ministry that He willingly presented himself as the Messiah was on this particular day. Turn to Luke 19 — Jesus is making his triumphal entry. The crowds, in verse 38 are saying, ….. “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” 38
In essence — Jesus was saying that the prophecies being fulfilled at that very moment — on that tiny spec of dirt and rock on planet earth — were so radical that if the people shut their mouths — the rocks would start crying out saying the same thing.
Luke 19:41 41And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it Literally — He wept convulsively over it.
V.42 KJV — “Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou,” speaking to Jerusalem “at least” — notice — “in this thy day,” 11
This was the THEIR day — the very day Daniel spoke of — 173,880 days from the time the commandment went forth to restore and build Jerusalem. …..But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, 42
Listen to what Jesus says — because you did not know the time of your visitation.” Jesus held them accountable to understand what their own prophets had spoken. I believe that God holds us accountable to look around the world today. You and I should be sensitive enough as believers to look at the world we’re living in and realize that these are days that the Bible has clearly spoken of. REMEMBER — Daniel said that there were 70 weeks of years cut out of all of history dealing with Israel and Jerusalem. To this point there have only been 69 weeks of years. That means there is one seven year period left. Daniel 9:26 KJV 26And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: Jesus was cut off so we could be brought in — in to relationship with God! and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. In 70 AD the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and there was a great dispersion of the Jews. And he — A reference to this ruler who will somehow be related to the old Roman Empire — the little horn of Daniel 7 27
shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
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In the final seven-year period of God’s dealing with Israel and Jerusalem the anti-Christ will make a covenant with the nation of Israel. Halfway through that covenant he'll break the covenant by committing what's called the abomination of desolation. Jesus referred to that when He was talking to His disciples about the last days in Matthew 24
Matthew 24:15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place Paul tells us about this in 2 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians 2:4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. That last 3 ½ years of Daniel 9 moment forward is the most referenced time in all of Scripture.
Chapter 10 — gives us a tremendous insight into prayer and the reality of spiritual warfare.
Chapter 11 — gives more detail about Antiochus Epiphanes. Chapter 12 — “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. 1
But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. 2And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. 4But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”
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What will the time of the end look like? People will run to and fro and knowledge will increase. From the beginning of history until 200 years ago people traveled the planet in pretty much the same way. In the Orlando Airport in the summer, 100,000 people a day go through security. That's people running to and fro! How about knowledge increasing. Industrytap.com — Buckminster Fuller created the “Knowledge Doubling Curve”; he noticed that until 1900 human knowledge doubled approximately every century. By the end of World War II knowledge was doubling every 25 years. Today things are not as simple as different types of knowledge have different rates of growth. For example, nanotechnology knowledge is doubling every two years and clinical knowledge every 18 months. But on average human knowledge is doubling every 13 months. We are living in the most exciting time in all of human history!
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