Daniel 7 REVIEW
Daniel 7 REVIEW: For the past few weeks we have been studying the book of Daniel. To date, we have looked at Chapters 1 through 6 of Daniel, and we looked at the exodus from Egypt, the Temple, and the Blue Stone. By way of a very brief review we have seen: Daniel 1: The attack on Jerusalem, the taking captive of Daniel and his friends, the attempt to merge the things of God with paganism, and Daniel’s resolve to remain true to God and His Laws. Daniel 2: Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a metal man, and God’s revelation through Daniel’s interpretation, of prophecy revealing history from Daniel’s time through the end of time and to Christ’s second coming. The Blue Stone: In the Blue Stone study, we looked at parallels between the Exodus, the temple, the plan of salvation and the experience of Moses and Israel at Mount Horeb (Sinai). We learned the Blue Stone, out of which the Ten Commandment tables of stone came, was God’s Eternal Throne. And, we saw the CHRIST was the ROCK that was the source of life-giving water. Daniel 3: Nebuchadnezzar rejecting God’s prophecy, setting up a golden image, and legislating forced “false” worship; “Shadrach, Messach and Abednego” refusing to go against God’s laws, and how they were saved from the “fiery furnace”. We saw that God’s presence is a burning fiery furnace that is eternal. Daniel 4: Chapter 4 is Nebuchadnezzar’s “testimony” chapter. In the end of Chapter 3, we saw that Nebuchadnezzar was being drawn to God. In Chapter 4, we learn that he had accepted God and God’s rule, after loosing his mind and thinking (and acting) like an animal for seven years (seven times). Daniel 5: We saw that Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson, rejected God and blasphemed God and His holy sanctuary utensils. We saw the end of Babylon’s literal rule and the coming to power of the Medo-Persian empire. Daniel 6: In Chapter 6, we saw the story of “Daniel and the Lion’s Den”. We learned that Daniel remained true to God, even when it was not “politically expedient” We learned that God protected Daniel from the lions. We also learned that Daniel’s prayer life was a type of the prayer life of Jesus who is our great High Priest. We were challenged to evaluate our resolve to remain true in the face of conflict. We saw some parallels between Daniel 3, 6 and the end time.
The studies to date have helped to establish some of the foundation blocks upon which we will build as we move into significant prophetic materials from here forward. We will begin to see many revelations from God’s Word. Prepare yourself now, through prayer and asking God to help you understand, and to be willing to respond to whatever LIGHT and TRUTH He reveals to you . Now, let’s continue with our studies of the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation.
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INTRODUCTION TO DANIEL 7: The prophecies of Daniel and Revelation apply with particular force to the end of time. Jesus’ parting
Matthew 24:15-16, 20
words to his disciples in book of Daniel for ourselves.
are a warning to you and I to study the
“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: ... [And in verse 20] But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:” Jesus warned the people of His day that the destruction of Jerusalem was imminent. And He commanded them to read and understand the book of Daniel. But Jesus’ warning in Matthew 24 also has application for the end of time. It is a prophecy which forecasts the end of the world and the second coming. And Jesus said that we had better understand the book of Daniel. The book reveals with uncanny accuracy the 2,500 years of human history since the time of ancient Babylon. And it shines the prophetic searchlight of Bible Prophecy upon our day. Confucius said “A picture is worth a thousand words.” In the Book of Daniel, God’s method is picture symbolism. He paints the scenes of human history with pictures. You remember in Daniel 2, God covered 2,500 years of prophetic history with a metallic man. The Head of Gold The Chest of Silver The Body & Thighs of Bronze The Legs of Iron Feet with Ten Toes - of Iron & Clay -
Babylon Medo-Persia Greece Rome The Division of Europe; Some strong, some weak.
In Daniel Chapter 7, the same period of history is covered, with additional details being given. This is the principal in prophetic writings of repitition and enlargement. Four prophetic beasts are used to represent the story of man. Let’s begin our study:
THIS STUDY - DANIEL 7: Dan. 7:1 - 3: Daniel saw a wind-whipped sea, out of which four fierce and ferocious beasts march out in strange succession. Wind, water and beasts are common symbols in Bible prophecy. Let’s look at what they mean when used in prophetic applications: (Note: To understand prophecy, it is important to understand the symbols used. God’s symbols used in prophecy are consistent. God does not use a symbol in one place and then change its meaning in another -- so we will use Scripture to interpret Scripture:
Beast: Beasts represent kingdoms Dan. 7:17 - These great beasts ... are four kings ... Dan. 7:23 - The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom ...
Sea: The sea, or waters, represents multitudes of peoples 2
Rev. 17:1,15 - The waters ... are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. Isaiah 57:20 - ... the wicked are like a troubled sea ... Psalms 65:7 - ...noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.
Winds: A symbol of war and strife - diplomatic, political and military that shapes world history. Jer. 49:36-37 Rev. 7:1 As a result of war among nations, 4 great kingdoms would rise and fall. The four metals of gold, silver, brass and iron, in the image of Daniel 2, represent these four powers. History reveals that there have been only four universal kingdoms since Daniel’s day. Let’s look at the historical picture as Daniel laid it out:
Daniel 7:4 First Beast - Lion with Eagles Wings =Babylon (605/6 - 539 BC) A lion with eagles wings appeared first. Like gold, it represented the kingdom of Babylon. The symbols for Babylon are all in the superlative: Gold is the finest of metals; the lion is king of the beasts; the eagle is lord of the air. Ancient Babylon was a mighty empire. (History reveals to us that a winged lion was evidently the official symbol of the Babylonian kingdom) Jer. 4:6-7 - Jeremiah refers to Babylon (“from the North”) as a lion. Dan. 4:33-34 - compare to Daniel 7:4 “...wings plucked, lifted up ..., made to stand like a man, and a man’s heart given to it ...) - Sounds a lot like what happened to Nebuchadnezzar in chapter four. A picture of a winged lion from anceint Babylon made by Nebuchadnezzar.
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Daniel 7:5 3
Second Beast - Bear, raised up on one side = MedoPersia (539 BC) In 539 BC, Medo-Persia, prophetically represented here as a bear with three ribs in its mouth, supersedes Babylon. The three ribs, no doubt, stand for the three great conquests that brought the Persians to power - Egypt, Lydia and Babylon were crushed and destroyed. Raised up on one side - History tells us that at first the Medes and Persians ruled jointly, but that later the Persians rose to be the greater power. Dan. 8:3, 20 - Shows another reference - a ram, identified as Medo-Persia, with one horn higher than the other.
Horn(s): A symbol of kings, kingdoms, divisions of kingdoms, power, authority. Dan. 7:24 - ten horns are ten kings (kingdoms) that shall arise Dan. 8:21 - the great horn is the first king (kingdom) Rev. 17:12 - the ten horns are ten kings
Daniel 7:6 Third Beast - Leopard = Greece (331 - 168 BC) A leopard with four wings on its back represents the third of the world empires. The Grecians, under Alexander the Great, literally flew from conquest to conquest to dominate the world.
Wings: Represent great speed for conquest. Hab. 1:6-8 - ... swifter than leopards ... shall fly as the eagle ... Jer. 4:13 - His (Babylon’s) horses are swifter than the eagles of heaven. Deut. 28:49 - The Lord shall bring a nation against thee ... as swift as the eagle flieth. Alexander the Great died of consumption, caused by drunkenness, at age 33. His kingdom was divided up between his 4 generals (Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucius). Dan. 11:2-4 refers prophetically to this occurance as well.
Daniel 7:7 Fourth Beast - Dreadful & Terrifying = Rome (168 BC - 476 AD) (Dan. 7:19) The dreadful, terrible, non-descript beast, sometimes thought of as a dragon, represents the cruel, crushing power of Rome. Rome ruled the world for five centuries beginning in 168 BC. In the picture of the metal man in Daniel 2, the kingdom of the Ceasars is symbolized by iron that “subdueth all things.” Notice that this beast in Daniel 7 has iron teeth representing Rome, and
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bronze claws (V. 19) representing the culture and language of Greece, which Rome adopted (i.e. it had characteristics of Greece in it). Dan. 7:24 - 10 Horns: In Daniel 7:24, the Bible says: “The ten horns are ten kings that shall arise.” No animal in nature has 10 horns. These symbolic horns forecast, 1000 years ahead of time, the break up of the Roman empire into exactly ten parts (corresponds to the 10 toes in Daniel Chapter 2). These division laid the foundation of the modern European nations. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Franks Visigoths Lombards Suevi Alemanni Anglo-Saxons Burgundians Heruli Vandals Ostrogoths
(French)
(Germans) (British) } THESE THREE WERE UPROOTED } BY THE LITTLE HORN (Dan. 7:24) } (And are now extinct)
Daniel 7:8 - The Little Horn And now something new is introduced. Everything we have talked about so far has been part of the metallic man. But now we are going to take a look at additional information (repeat & enlarge) which is what Jesus talked about in Matt. 24:15. It is information which has significance for today. In Daniel 7:8, Daniel saw the next important development in Europe after the break up of the Roman Empire in 476 A.D. - another power arisesDan. 7:8 - “I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another, a little horn, 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.” Dan 7:24 - “And as to the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall arise ten kings; and another shall arise after them; and he shall be diverse from the former, and he shall subdue three kings.” We will come back to identifying the little horn power later. However, first let’s continue with our overview of Daniel Chapter 7.
Daniel 7: 9-10 - A judgment scene Psalms 5:3-6: Daniel 7:9-10 is an allusion to these verses in Psalms. The passage in Psalms is a picture of God coming to judge His people. Daniel 7:21-22: Judgment is in favor of God’s people. Here we see a picture of a judgment scene in Heaven - sometime after the appearance of the little horn. God (The Ancient of Days) is seen sitting on His chariot-like throne (remember the Blue Stone Study - ref. Ezekiel 1). The Bible tells us in 1 Chronicles 28:18 that the ark of the Covenant is God’s chariot.
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“And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the
chariot of the cherubims, that spread out [their wings], and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD. “ In God’s sanctuary there were two rooms - The Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The priests ministered in the Holy Place for most of the year. But on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest entered the Most Holy Place to pray for the sins of his people and to cleanse the sanctuary from evil. The ark of the covenant was in the Most Holy Place. That means the judgment scene of Daniel 7 must be located in the Most Holy Place of the Heavenly Sanctuary.
Malachi: 3:16-18: Books are used by God in the judgment to discern between the righteous and the unrighteous. In this sense, the books protect God’s people from injustice.
Daniel 7:11-12 Little Horn Removed From Power We see the destruction of the Little Horn Power / Beast destroyed by fire from God (from the throne). Remember in our Daniel 3 study how we discussed that those who were not in harmony with God could not survive in the fiery presence of His glory? Also - in Rev. 11:3-5, we see that if anyone tries to harm the 2 witnesses (which we will learn later are the Old and New Testament i.e. “God’s Word”), fire will come out and devour them.
Daniel 7: 13-14 Mark 2:10: Son of Man = Jesus No less than 78 times in the 4 gospels, the term “Son of Man” is applied to Jesus. Thus, we see Jesus comes in to the Father, and receives: John 5:26-27: The Son of Man presides in the judgment.
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Key Point: Christ comes to the Ancient of Days & receives His kingdom. Here Jesus is pictured entering the throne room of the Most Holy Place to judge His people in a positive sense by rescuing them from the little horn power. Dominion - everlasting - See also Dan. 7:26 - The dominion is taken from the little horn power and given to the Son of Man - (Religious - Faith dominion) Glory - Rev. 14:6-7 “And I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having [the] everlasting glad tidings to announce to those settled on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; and do homage to him who has made the heaven and the earth and the sea and fountains of waters.” Kingdom - “that shall not be destroyed” Rev. 11:15-17 - see the Kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of Christ.
Daniel 7: 15-16 Daniel is troubled by the vision, and “in his vision” asks the meaning to one of those standing before God in the scenes of vs. 11-14. Daniel is given the interpretation - and provides information to us in vs. 15 - 27.
Daniel 7:17-27 Daniel summarizes the clarifications given of the vision. We will focus on a few key verses as we talk further about the little horn power. WHO OR WHAT IS/WAS THE LITTLE HORN POWER? Logically, certain questions demand an answer. For instance: What power arose in Europe after 476 A.D. by uprooting three nations? How was that power different from the four preceding kingdoms (and the other 10 kingdoms)? Who or what is the little horn? The following points will help us to identify the little horn power: 1. It came up among the ten horns. (vs. 8, 20, 24) That is, it would arise out of the head of the fourth beast, which is undoubtedly the Roman Empire. 2 It would arise after the ten horns. (v. 24) This means chronologically it would arise after Rome fell in A.D. 476. 7
3. “He was diverse from the former [that is the ten kings]. (v. 24) Diverse means different in character. The ten were political organizations only. This little horn would derive his authority from a different source. By religion, he would claim God-like authority. 4. Three of the ten kingdoms would be displaced by his rise to power. (vs. 8, 20, 24)“He shall subdue three kings” the Bible says. 5. It would have “eyes like a man”. (vs. 8, 20) Throughout the Bible, eyes are a symbol of divine intelligence. This horn has “eyes”, not of God, but of man. It is guided by human intelligence, human leadership, and human authority. With a man as leader, it usurps God’s leadership. 6. It would have a “mouth speaking great things” & “shall speak great words against the most High” (v. 25). The little horn power would speak great, or pompous things, and would speak out against the Most High - against God. 7. It would last for “a time, times and the dividing of times”. (v. 25). Rev. 12:14 - Uses similar terminology to define the period of the persecution of God’s church, as symbolized by a woman. “Time, times and half a time” Rev. 12:6 - Describes this persecution period as 1260 days. Rev. 13:5 - Describes this period as 42 months. Ezekiel 4:4-6 - God defines that in prophetic applications, He has defined the day for a year principle. Understanding that a month in the Bible is based upon lunar reckoning (i.e. 1 month = 29.56 days, rounded to 30 days.), and given the above references, we see that Time Times 1/2 Time Time, Times and half a time
= 1 Year = 2 Years = 1/2 Year
= 12 months = 24 months = 6 months
= 360 days = 720 days = 180 days
= 360 Years = 720 Years = 180 Years
= 3 1/2 Years
= 42 months
= 1260 days
= 1260 Years
Thus the little horn power would have dominion and persecute the God’s saints (wear out the Saints - v. 25) for 1260 years. 8. It would “think to change times and laws” (v. 25) We have seen that the little horn power would be different from the rest of the preceding powers - i.e. it would be both a political and a religious power. In the context of speaking great things against God, and of persecuting the saints of God, it would also think to change “Times and Laws” (of God.) What are the cornerstone Laws of God? (The Ten Commandments), Which is the ONLY one of the 10 Commandments that deals with Time? (The 4th Commandment).
History gives only one possibility for the identity of the little horn power. The Bible unmistakably points to the Roman Papacy of the middle ages as the little horn of Daniel 7. The Roman Empire finally “fell” in 476 A.D. Just after the ten kingdoms of Europe arose, a Christian church-state entity, the Roman papacy, was established. This church-state grew over several centuries and rose to prominence in Western Europe It came into existence exactly when the prophecy said it would. Of the ten divisions of the Roman Empire, three of the Germanic tribes were destroyed (uprooted) in Italy - the Heruli, Ostrogoths, and the Vandals - by the rise of the rise of the Roman papacy -- just as Daniel predicted would happen by the little horn power. The other seven divisions (tribes) can still be found in Europe today.
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The Following chart illustrates the 1260 years of papal rule from 538 AD to 1798 when Napoleon’s general Berthier took Pope Pius VI captive and temporarily ended the union of church state embodied in the Roman Church.
The Bible says this power was “diverse” or different from the powers before it. This was the first time in history that a church/state arose slashing the sword in the name of Christ. It was a combination of spiritual and political power that would rule from Rome in the place of the ancient emperors. At this point, we need to consider the parallel predictions in the New Testament regarding the experience of the Christian church and the coming of antichrist. Acts 20:29-31 - Here Paul warned the church at Ephesus of the coming apostasy: “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.” Three things Paul warned against: 1. 2.
First, opposition from without - the damage of wolves as they attacked the sheep. He also saw satanic persecutions that would attempt to destroy the church. Yet the church would still survive. The second problem would be more serious -APOSTASY from WITHIN. Men would arise speaking perverse (“crooked” or “twisted”) things.
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3. Third, the beginning of apostasy would come quickly. Paul said, “Of your own selves shall men arise.” In the 2nd letter to the Thessalonicans, Chapter 2, Paul pleaded with the Church to remain pure, but he knew apostasy would creep in. Scholars have recognized that this chapter is built around the book of Daniel. In this chapter, there are direct quotations and allusions to Daniel 7. Christian from all denominations agree that this chapter is talking about the antichrist. II Thess. 2:3-4 - Paul wrote warning believers of the coming antichrist and his apostasy: “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day [the second coming of Jesus] shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God [the church], shewing himself that he is God.” 1. First, Paul warns of a falling away. The Greek for “falling away” is APOSTASIA which means literally “a falling away or departure from the purity of faith”, thus, “an apostasy.” 2. The term “son of perdition” is given only one other place in Scripture - to describe Judas Iscariot, who betrayed our Lord. In other words, the popular Christianity would get caught up in a landslide apostasy and betray the essentials of the gospel while maintaining an outward form and profession of faithfulness. 3. The Bible says this leader would be a man called the “man of sin”. In the original Greek, the phrase is “the man of lawlessness”. Paul teaches here that he would stand in opposition to the law of God. 4. The Bible says he sets himself up in the temple of God, as God. In Eph. 2:19-22 Paul tells us that the temple of God is a symbol for the Church (made up of the believers). Paul teaches that this man of sin would actually take his “seat” of political authority in the church. And he would claim for himself the prerogatives of God. In Daniel 8, a further vision is recorded in which Daniel saw more details of the approaching apostasy in Christianity. Using a similar picture of a little horn growing strong, he wrote: Dan. 8:11-12 “And he magnified himself even to the prince of the host” -[Jesus Christ], and “...it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered.”
The Bible is clear. The great struggle of the ages is not a battle against atheism and unbelief. Rather, opposition from without only proved to fan the fires of faith. Friends, the great apostasy is from within. Satan’s great triumph is the corruption of Christianity. The devil has hoodwinked the Christian world. The antichrist already has come as an historical power in Christian Europe
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In Daniel 7:25, Daniel describes the length of the little horn’s reign in history and the nature of the apostasy in its attempt to destroy the church. “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time, times and the dividing of a time.” We have seen that this time period is 1260 years. History shows that the papacy was established in power in 538 A.D., by decree of Justinian, when the last of the three kings, the Ostrogoths, was uprooted from Rome. Exactly 1260 years later, in 1798, the papacy came to a temporary end when the Pope was taken captive and died during the French Revolution. The Bible says. “... and he shall wear out the saints of the most High”. This can only refer to persecution. Historians tell us that as many as 100 million people died at the hands of popes and priests during the dark ages. Friends, the Roman church was the greatest murderer of human history - bar none (and this was done “in the name of religion” - often to those refusing to recant their faith and accept strict “Catholicism” ) The nature of his deception is aimed at the law of God: Daniel says, in Dan. 7:25 - “... and he shall think to change times and laws”. When someone meddles with God’s law, he is meddling with God. His law is an expression of His character and claim as Creator. The Bible tells us that Jesus was God in the flesh. If anyone had a right to change God’s law, Jesus did. Yet, In Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus warned (from the Goodspeed Translation): “Do not suppose that I have come to do away with the law or the prophets. I have not come to do away with them but to enforce them. For I tell you, as long as heaven and earth endure, not one dotting of an i or the crossing of a t will be dropped from the law until is all is observed.” Daniel says “he would think to change times and laws”. Now isn’t that interesting! There is only one commandment which God tells us to remember in relation to time. This is not because the others aren’t important. It is because He saw the day when the Christian church would forget it. It also is because it is the special sign that He is the Creator and the giver of rest in our lives. In remembering the Sabbath, we are, in fact, remembering Him. Exodus 20:8-11 (The Fourth Commandment) - God Said: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: In it thou shalt not do any work ...: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” History tells us the the Roman Church was instrumental in the departure over time from remembering the Sabbath as commanded in the fourth commandment. And the Church acknowledges today her role in that..
A Judgment Scene - Daniel 7:13-14: 11
The Roman Church prospered during the middle ages, just as the Bible had predicted. It prospered until something dramatic happened in Heaven. As shown in Daniel 7:8-14, a judgment scene is seen taking place in heaven. Dominion is taken away from the little horn power at the end of the 1260 years, and Jesus is given: 1. Dominion 2. Glory 3. Kingdom
First, dominion is given to Jesus.
The Roman Church exercised religious dominion. Therefore, Jesus reasserts his dominion over faith. This points to the reemergence of God’s trodden truths after 1798.
Second, glory is given to Jesus.
This calls to mind worship in Revelation 14:6-7, where Christ is pictured restoring a true knowledge of God (as the Creator God) and of true worship.
Third, Jesus receives a kingdom. A kingdom calls to mind a people. God’s kingdom is comprised of those He rules over. In Luke 22:28-30 Jesus called the New Testament Church His kingdom. Dan. 7:14 indicated that Christ’s kingdom is reconstituted along proper lines in this heavenly judgment scene. Verse 14 also indicates that it is a movement made up of every nation and tribe of planet earth. No doubt Jesus had Daniel 7:13,14 in mind when He quoted the prophet Daniel on the Mount of Olives before His crucifixion as recorded in Matt 24:14-15: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come. So when you see the desolating sacrilege spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand) ...” So the Bible indicates in Daniel 7 that we are to look to Christ in the Heavenly Sanctuary, after 1798, to reassert His power to gather a people who will take the Gospel to all nations of earth.
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The studies to date have helped to establish some of the foundation blocks upon which we will build as we move into significant prophetic materials from here forward. We will begin to see many revelations from God’s Word. Prepare yourself now, through prayer and asking God to help you understand, and to be willing to respond to whatever LIGHT and TRUTH He reveals to you . Now, let’s continue with our studies of the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation.
1
INTRODUCTION TO DANIEL 7: The prophecies of Daniel and Revelation apply with particular force to the end of time. Jesus’ parting
Matthew 24:15-16, 20
words to his disciples in book of Daniel for ourselves.
are a warning to you and I to study the
“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: ... [And in verse 20] But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:” Jesus warned the people of His day that the destruction of Jerusalem was imminent. And He commanded them to read and understand the book of Daniel. But Jesus’ warning in Matthew 24 also has application for the end of time. It is a prophecy which forecasts the end of the world and the second coming. And Jesus said that we had better understand the book of Daniel. The book reveals with uncanny accuracy the 2,500 years of human history since the time of ancient Babylon. And it shines the prophetic searchlight of Bible Prophecy upon our day. Confucius said “A picture is worth a thousand words.” In the Book of Daniel, God’s method is picture symbolism. He paints the scenes of human history with pictures. You remember in Daniel 2, God covered 2,500 years of prophetic history with a metallic man. The Head of Gold The Chest of Silver The Body & Thighs of Bronze The Legs of Iron Feet with Ten Toes - of Iron & Clay -
Babylon Medo-Persia Greece Rome The Division of Europe; Some strong, some weak.
In Daniel Chapter 7, the same period of history is covered, with additional details being given. This is the principal in prophetic writings of repitition and enlargement. Four prophetic beasts are used to represent the story of man. Let’s begin our study:
THIS STUDY - DANIEL 7: Dan. 7:1 - 3: Daniel saw a wind-whipped sea, out of which four fierce and ferocious beasts march out in strange succession. Wind, water and beasts are common symbols in Bible prophecy. Let’s look at what they mean when used in prophetic applications: (Note: To understand prophecy, it is important to understand the symbols used. God’s symbols used in prophecy are consistent. God does not use a symbol in one place and then change its meaning in another -- so we will use Scripture to interpret Scripture:
Beast: Beasts represent kingdoms Dan. 7:17 - These great beasts ... are four kings ... Dan. 7:23 - The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom ...
Sea: The sea, or waters, represents multitudes of peoples 2
Rev. 17:1,15 - The waters ... are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. Isaiah 57:20 - ... the wicked are like a troubled sea ... Psalms 65:7 - ...noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.
Winds: A symbol of war and strife - diplomatic, political and military that shapes world history. Jer. 49:36-37 Rev. 7:1 As a result of war among nations, 4 great kingdoms would rise and fall. The four metals of gold, silver, brass and iron, in the image of Daniel 2, represent these four powers. History reveals that there have been only four universal kingdoms since Daniel’s day. Let’s look at the historical picture as Daniel laid it out:
Daniel 7:4 First Beast - Lion with Eagles Wings =Babylon (605/6 - 539 BC) A lion with eagles wings appeared first. Like gold, it represented the kingdom of Babylon. The symbols for Babylon are all in the superlative: Gold is the finest of metals; the lion is king of the beasts; the eagle is lord of the air. Ancient Babylon was a mighty empire. (History reveals to us that a winged lion was evidently the official symbol of the Babylonian kingdom) Jer. 4:6-7 - Jeremiah refers to Babylon (“from the North”) as a lion. Dan. 4:33-34 - compare to Daniel 7:4 “...wings plucked, lifted up ..., made to stand like a man, and a man’s heart given to it ...) - Sounds a lot like what happened to Nebuchadnezzar in chapter four. A picture of a winged lion from anceint Babylon made by Nebuchadnezzar.
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Daniel 7:5 3
Second Beast - Bear, raised up on one side = MedoPersia (539 BC) In 539 BC, Medo-Persia, prophetically represented here as a bear with three ribs in its mouth, supersedes Babylon. The three ribs, no doubt, stand for the three great conquests that brought the Persians to power - Egypt, Lydia and Babylon were crushed and destroyed. Raised up on one side - History tells us that at first the Medes and Persians ruled jointly, but that later the Persians rose to be the greater power. Dan. 8:3, 20 - Shows another reference - a ram, identified as Medo-Persia, with one horn higher than the other.
Horn(s): A symbol of kings, kingdoms, divisions of kingdoms, power, authority. Dan. 7:24 - ten horns are ten kings (kingdoms) that shall arise Dan. 8:21 - the great horn is the first king (kingdom) Rev. 17:12 - the ten horns are ten kings
Daniel 7:6 Third Beast - Leopard = Greece (331 - 168 BC) A leopard with four wings on its back represents the third of the world empires. The Grecians, under Alexander the Great, literally flew from conquest to conquest to dominate the world.
Wings: Represent great speed for conquest. Hab. 1:6-8 - ... swifter than leopards ... shall fly as the eagle ... Jer. 4:13 - His (Babylon’s) horses are swifter than the eagles of heaven. Deut. 28:49 - The Lord shall bring a nation against thee ... as swift as the eagle flieth. Alexander the Great died of consumption, caused by drunkenness, at age 33. His kingdom was divided up between his 4 generals (Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucius). Dan. 11:2-4 refers prophetically to this occurance as well.
Daniel 7:7 Fourth Beast - Dreadful & Terrifying = Rome (168 BC - 476 AD) (Dan. 7:19) The dreadful, terrible, non-descript beast, sometimes thought of as a dragon, represents the cruel, crushing power of Rome. Rome ruled the world for five centuries beginning in 168 BC. In the picture of the metal man in Daniel 2, the kingdom of the Ceasars is symbolized by iron that “subdueth all things.” Notice that this beast in Daniel 7 has iron teeth representing Rome, and
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bronze claws (V. 19) representing the culture and language of Greece, which Rome adopted (i.e. it had characteristics of Greece in it). Dan. 7:24 - 10 Horns: In Daniel 7:24, the Bible says: “The ten horns are ten kings that shall arise.” No animal in nature has 10 horns. These symbolic horns forecast, 1000 years ahead of time, the break up of the Roman empire into exactly ten parts (corresponds to the 10 toes in Daniel Chapter 2). These division laid the foundation of the modern European nations. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Franks Visigoths Lombards Suevi Alemanni Anglo-Saxons Burgundians Heruli Vandals Ostrogoths
(French)
(Germans) (British) } THESE THREE WERE UPROOTED } BY THE LITTLE HORN (Dan. 7:24) } (And are now extinct)
Daniel 7:8 - The Little Horn And now something new is introduced. Everything we have talked about so far has been part of the metallic man. But now we are going to take a look at additional information (repeat & enlarge) which is what Jesus talked about in Matt. 24:15. It is information which has significance for today. In Daniel 7:8, Daniel saw the next important development in Europe after the break up of the Roman Empire in 476 A.D. - another power arisesDan. 7:8 - “I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another, a little horn, 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.” Dan 7:24 - “And as to the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall arise ten kings; and another shall arise after them; and he shall be diverse from the former, and he shall subdue three kings.” We will come back to identifying the little horn power later. However, first let’s continue with our overview of Daniel Chapter 7.
Daniel 7: 9-10 - A judgment scene Psalms 5:3-6: Daniel 7:9-10 is an allusion to these verses in Psalms. The passage in Psalms is a picture of God coming to judge His people. Daniel 7:21-22: Judgment is in favor of God’s people. Here we see a picture of a judgment scene in Heaven - sometime after the appearance of the little horn. God (The Ancient of Days) is seen sitting on His chariot-like throne (remember the Blue Stone Study - ref. Ezekiel 1). The Bible tells us in 1 Chronicles 28:18 that the ark of the Covenant is God’s chariot.
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“And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the
chariot of the cherubims, that spread out [their wings], and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD. “ In God’s sanctuary there were two rooms - The Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The priests ministered in the Holy Place for most of the year. But on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest entered the Most Holy Place to pray for the sins of his people and to cleanse the sanctuary from evil. The ark of the covenant was in the Most Holy Place. That means the judgment scene of Daniel 7 must be located in the Most Holy Place of the Heavenly Sanctuary.
Malachi: 3:16-18: Books are used by God in the judgment to discern between the righteous and the unrighteous. In this sense, the books protect God’s people from injustice.
Daniel 7:11-12 Little Horn Removed From Power We see the destruction of the Little Horn Power / Beast destroyed by fire from God (from the throne). Remember in our Daniel 3 study how we discussed that those who were not in harmony with God could not survive in the fiery presence of His glory? Also - in Rev. 11:3-5, we see that if anyone tries to harm the 2 witnesses (which we will learn later are the Old and New Testament i.e. “God’s Word”), fire will come out and devour them.
Daniel 7: 13-14 Mark 2:10: Son of Man = Jesus No less than 78 times in the 4 gospels, the term “Son of Man” is applied to Jesus. Thus, we see Jesus comes in to the Father, and receives: John 5:26-27: The Son of Man presides in the judgment.
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Key Point: Christ comes to the Ancient of Days & receives His kingdom. Here Jesus is pictured entering the throne room of the Most Holy Place to judge His people in a positive sense by rescuing them from the little horn power. Dominion - everlasting - See also Dan. 7:26 - The dominion is taken from the little horn power and given to the Son of Man - (Religious - Faith dominion) Glory - Rev. 14:6-7 “And I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having [the] everlasting glad tidings to announce to those settled on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; and do homage to him who has made the heaven and the earth and the sea and fountains of waters.” Kingdom - “that shall not be destroyed” Rev. 11:15-17 - see the Kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of Christ.
Daniel 7: 15-16 Daniel is troubled by the vision, and “in his vision” asks the meaning to one of those standing before God in the scenes of vs. 11-14. Daniel is given the interpretation - and provides information to us in vs. 15 - 27.
Daniel 7:17-27 Daniel summarizes the clarifications given of the vision. We will focus on a few key verses as we talk further about the little horn power. WHO OR WHAT IS/WAS THE LITTLE HORN POWER? Logically, certain questions demand an answer. For instance: What power arose in Europe after 476 A.D. by uprooting three nations? How was that power different from the four preceding kingdoms (and the other 10 kingdoms)? Who or what is the little horn? The following points will help us to identify the little horn power: 1. It came up among the ten horns. (vs. 8, 20, 24) That is, it would arise out of the head of the fourth beast, which is undoubtedly the Roman Empire. 2 It would arise after the ten horns. (v. 24) This means chronologically it would arise after Rome fell in A.D. 476. 7
3. “He was diverse from the former [that is the ten kings]. (v. 24) Diverse means different in character. The ten were political organizations only. This little horn would derive his authority from a different source. By religion, he would claim God-like authority. 4. Three of the ten kingdoms would be displaced by his rise to power. (vs. 8, 20, 24)“He shall subdue three kings” the Bible says. 5. It would have “eyes like a man”. (vs. 8, 20) Throughout the Bible, eyes are a symbol of divine intelligence. This horn has “eyes”, not of God, but of man. It is guided by human intelligence, human leadership, and human authority. With a man as leader, it usurps God’s leadership. 6. It would have a “mouth speaking great things” & “shall speak great words against the most High” (v. 25). The little horn power would speak great, or pompous things, and would speak out against the Most High - against God. 7. It would last for “a time, times and the dividing of times”. (v. 25). Rev. 12:14 - Uses similar terminology to define the period of the persecution of God’s church, as symbolized by a woman. “Time, times and half a time” Rev. 12:6 - Describes this persecution period as 1260 days. Rev. 13:5 - Describes this period as 42 months. Ezekiel 4:4-6 - God defines that in prophetic applications, He has defined the day for a year principle. Understanding that a month in the Bible is based upon lunar reckoning (i.e. 1 month = 29.56 days, rounded to 30 days.), and given the above references, we see that Time Times 1/2 Time Time, Times and half a time
= 1 Year = 2 Years = 1/2 Year
= 12 months = 24 months = 6 months
= 360 days = 720 days = 180 days
= 360 Years = 720 Years = 180 Years
= 3 1/2 Years
= 42 months
= 1260 days
= 1260 Years
Thus the little horn power would have dominion and persecute the God’s saints (wear out the Saints - v. 25) for 1260 years. 8. It would “think to change times and laws” (v. 25) We have seen that the little horn power would be different from the rest of the preceding powers - i.e. it would be both a political and a religious power. In the context of speaking great things against God, and of persecuting the saints of God, it would also think to change “Times and Laws” (of God.) What are the cornerstone Laws of God? (The Ten Commandments), Which is the ONLY one of the 10 Commandments that deals with Time? (The 4th Commandment).
History gives only one possibility for the identity of the little horn power. The Bible unmistakably points to the Roman Papacy of the middle ages as the little horn of Daniel 7. The Roman Empire finally “fell” in 476 A.D. Just after the ten kingdoms of Europe arose, a Christian church-state entity, the Roman papacy, was established. This church-state grew over several centuries and rose to prominence in Western Europe It came into existence exactly when the prophecy said it would. Of the ten divisions of the Roman Empire, three of the Germanic tribes were destroyed (uprooted) in Italy - the Heruli, Ostrogoths, and the Vandals - by the rise of the rise of the Roman papacy -- just as Daniel predicted would happen by the little horn power. The other seven divisions (tribes) can still be found in Europe today.
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The Following chart illustrates the 1260 years of papal rule from 538 AD to 1798 when Napoleon’s general Berthier took Pope Pius VI captive and temporarily ended the union of church state embodied in the Roman Church.
The Bible says this power was “diverse” or different from the powers before it. This was the first time in history that a church/state arose slashing the sword in the name of Christ. It was a combination of spiritual and political power that would rule from Rome in the place of the ancient emperors. At this point, we need to consider the parallel predictions in the New Testament regarding the experience of the Christian church and the coming of antichrist. Acts 20:29-31 - Here Paul warned the church at Ephesus of the coming apostasy: “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.” Three things Paul warned against: 1. 2.
First, opposition from without - the damage of wolves as they attacked the sheep. He also saw satanic persecutions that would attempt to destroy the church. Yet the church would still survive. The second problem would be more serious -APOSTASY from WITHIN. Men would arise speaking perverse (“crooked” or “twisted”) things.
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3. Third, the beginning of apostasy would come quickly. Paul said, “Of your own selves shall men arise.” In the 2nd letter to the Thessalonicans, Chapter 2, Paul pleaded with the Church to remain pure, but he knew apostasy would creep in. Scholars have recognized that this chapter is built around the book of Daniel. In this chapter, there are direct quotations and allusions to Daniel 7. Christian from all denominations agree that this chapter is talking about the antichrist. II Thess. 2:3-4 - Paul wrote warning believers of the coming antichrist and his apostasy: “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day [the second coming of Jesus] shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God [the church], shewing himself that he is God.” 1. First, Paul warns of a falling away. The Greek for “falling away” is APOSTASIA which means literally “a falling away or departure from the purity of faith”, thus, “an apostasy.” 2. The term “son of perdition” is given only one other place in Scripture - to describe Judas Iscariot, who betrayed our Lord. In other words, the popular Christianity would get caught up in a landslide apostasy and betray the essentials of the gospel while maintaining an outward form and profession of faithfulness. 3. The Bible says this leader would be a man called the “man of sin”. In the original Greek, the phrase is “the man of lawlessness”. Paul teaches here that he would stand in opposition to the law of God. 4. The Bible says he sets himself up in the temple of God, as God. In Eph. 2:19-22 Paul tells us that the temple of God is a symbol for the Church (made up of the believers). Paul teaches that this man of sin would actually take his “seat” of political authority in the church. And he would claim for himself the prerogatives of God. In Daniel 8, a further vision is recorded in which Daniel saw more details of the approaching apostasy in Christianity. Using a similar picture of a little horn growing strong, he wrote: Dan. 8:11-12 “And he magnified himself even to the prince of the host” -[Jesus Christ], and “...it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered.”
The Bible is clear. The great struggle of the ages is not a battle against atheism and unbelief. Rather, opposition from without only proved to fan the fires of faith. Friends, the great apostasy is from within. Satan’s great triumph is the corruption of Christianity. The devil has hoodwinked the Christian world. The antichrist already has come as an historical power in Christian Europe
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In Daniel 7:25, Daniel describes the length of the little horn’s reign in history and the nature of the apostasy in its attempt to destroy the church. “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time, times and the dividing of a time.” We have seen that this time period is 1260 years. History shows that the papacy was established in power in 538 A.D., by decree of Justinian, when the last of the three kings, the Ostrogoths, was uprooted from Rome. Exactly 1260 years later, in 1798, the papacy came to a temporary end when the Pope was taken captive and died during the French Revolution. The Bible says. “... and he shall wear out the saints of the most High”. This can only refer to persecution. Historians tell us that as many as 100 million people died at the hands of popes and priests during the dark ages. Friends, the Roman church was the greatest murderer of human history - bar none (and this was done “in the name of religion” - often to those refusing to recant their faith and accept strict “Catholicism” ) The nature of his deception is aimed at the law of God: Daniel says, in Dan. 7:25 - “... and he shall think to change times and laws”. When someone meddles with God’s law, he is meddling with God. His law is an expression of His character and claim as Creator. The Bible tells us that Jesus was God in the flesh. If anyone had a right to change God’s law, Jesus did. Yet, In Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus warned (from the Goodspeed Translation): “Do not suppose that I have come to do away with the law or the prophets. I have not come to do away with them but to enforce them. For I tell you, as long as heaven and earth endure, not one dotting of an i or the crossing of a t will be dropped from the law until is all is observed.” Daniel says “he would think to change times and laws”. Now isn’t that interesting! There is only one commandment which God tells us to remember in relation to time. This is not because the others aren’t important. It is because He saw the day when the Christian church would forget it. It also is because it is the special sign that He is the Creator and the giver of rest in our lives. In remembering the Sabbath, we are, in fact, remembering Him. Exodus 20:8-11 (The Fourth Commandment) - God Said: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: In it thou shalt not do any work ...: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” History tells us the the Roman Church was instrumental in the departure over time from remembering the Sabbath as commanded in the fourth commandment. And the Church acknowledges today her role in that..
A Judgment Scene - Daniel 7:13-14: 11
The Roman Church prospered during the middle ages, just as the Bible had predicted. It prospered until something dramatic happened in Heaven. As shown in Daniel 7:8-14, a judgment scene is seen taking place in heaven. Dominion is taken away from the little horn power at the end of the 1260 years, and Jesus is given: 1. Dominion 2. Glory 3. Kingdom
First, dominion is given to Jesus.
The Roman Church exercised religious dominion. Therefore, Jesus reasserts his dominion over faith. This points to the reemergence of God’s trodden truths after 1798.
Second, glory is given to Jesus.
This calls to mind worship in Revelation 14:6-7, where Christ is pictured restoring a true knowledge of God (as the Creator God) and of true worship.
Third, Jesus receives a kingdom. A kingdom calls to mind a people. God’s kingdom is comprised of those He rules over. In Luke 22:28-30 Jesus called the New Testament Church His kingdom. Dan. 7:14 indicated that Christ’s kingdom is reconstituted along proper lines in this heavenly judgment scene. Verse 14 also indicates that it is a movement made up of every nation and tribe of planet earth. No doubt Jesus had Daniel 7:13,14 in mind when He quoted the prophet Daniel on the Mount of Olives before His crucifixion as recorded in Matt 24:14-15: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come. So when you see the desolating sacrilege spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand) ...” So the Bible indicates in Daniel 7 that we are to look to Christ in the Heavenly Sanctuary, after 1798, to reassert His power to gather a people who will take the Gospel to all nations of earth.
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