An Angel Interprets Daniel's Vision Series

Tonight I'm going to try to finish up chapter 7 of The Book of Daniel beginning in verse 15. We have spent two sessions already on trying to interpret this vision that Daniel was given. Tonight's episode is an angel that Daniel asks to interpret for him. So, it will allow us to get a little bit clearer picture of what the meaning was of Daniel's vision.

We have to remember that by this time in Daniel's life he had witnessed the rise and fall of nations due to war and conflict. So, Daniel sensed the suffering that people were going to bear, in particular his own people.

Daniel 7:15. At this point in time the Jews were under the rule of Babylon. They were scattered throughout the empire. Daniel simply could not understand the vision, in particular the meaning of the fourth beast and the little horn.(vv.7-8) He was deeply troubled by all the questions running through his mind. So, the Lord sent an angel to interpret the vision for Daniel.

Daniel 7:16. Daniel's troubled spirit drove him to seek the meaning of the vision. He approached one of the angels and asked him to explain what he had witnessed. This angel is not named but it was probably Gabriel. In fact, Daniel later says that Gabriel was the angel he had seen in an earlier vision (Dan. 9:21). Whatever the case, the messenger of God met the need of Daniel and explained the vision to him.

Daniel 7: 17-18. Straight to the point, the four beasts represented the corrupt and violent kingdoms of the world. As history went on, nations and empires would succeed one another. They would conquer one another and inflict death and sorrow, pain and suffering all over the earth.

But the good news is what we learned from verses 13 and 14. The day is coming when the Son of man's eternal Kingdom will be established on earth. And we, as his saints and true believers will inherit that kingdom. The kingdom will last forever and the saints will rule forever.

So all was not lost. With this explanation, Daniel knew that his people Israel had a bright future and a wonderful hope. Eventually they would have their messiah, and they would serve him throughout all eternity. This must have greatly encouraged Daniel when the angel explained the coming kingdom of God on earth and the fact that true believers would inherit the Lord's kingdom.

Daniel 7: 19- 22. Daniel requests that the angel explain the meaning of the fourth beast and its little horn. He wanted to know why the fourth beast was unlike any other animal on earth and was so ferocious and terrifying. He also wanted to know about the 10 horns, and especially about the little horn. He wondered why the three horns fell before it, and why the little horn seemed so much greater than the others. Why was it so arrogant and boastful? And why did it wage war against the saints, persecuting and crushing them. He also asked about the ancient of Days and his judgment of the little horn, a judgment that delivered the saints and gave them the kingdom of God.

The angel answers Daniel's questions, explaining events that both he and future generations needed to know. Despite all the war, conflict, lawlessness, and violence on earth, and all the suffering and death of human life, a wonderful hope lies in the future. And every human being needs to know about this wonderful hope. They need to be encouraged to place their hope in the Lord and in his coming kingdom. In answering the prophet’s questions, the angel stressed five major points:

Daniel 7:23. The fourth beast represented the fourth Kingdom on Earth and we pointed out in verse 7 that this kingdom was the Roman empire that controlled most of the known world of that day. This empire was to be different from all others that had preceded it, different in its power and terror. It would violently devour the whole earth. It would crush and trample underfoot all the people who stood in its path of world conquest.

As we know now, Rome was different than many ways in its laws, political structure, and organization. This would influence many nations down through history, so much so that the last Kingdom to rule on Earth will arise from a restoration of the old Roman empire. The explanation from the angel clearly shows the fact that specific features of the Roman state will endure in certain nations down through history until God himself establishes the final government on earth, the kingdom of God itself.

Daniel 7: 24a. The ten horns represented a coalition of ten rulers. These 10 rulers arise from the Roman empire. The 10 kingdoms or nations will exist right before Christ returns to set up God's Kingdom on earth.