Daniel – Chapter 7b
Chapter 7 Outline
I. Introduction to the Dream (7:1-3)
a. The Date of the Dream (7:1)
b. The Detail of the Dream (7:2-3)
1. The Four Winds (7:2a)
2. The Great Sea (7:2b)
3. The Diverse Beasts (7:3)
II. Information about the Dream (7:4-14)
a. The Earthly Empire (7:4-8)
1. The Lionlike Beast (7:4)
2. The Bearlike Beast (7:5)
3. The Leopardlike Beast (7:6)
4. The Terrible Beast (7:7-8)
b. The Heavenly Empire (7:9-14)
1. God’s Sovereignty (7:9)
2. God’s Sentence (7:10-12)
3. God’s Son (7:13-14)
III. Interpretation of the Dream (7:15-28)
a. Daniel’s Troubled (7:15-16)
b. Dream’s Truth (7:17-27)
1. The Five Kingdoms (7:17-18)
2. The Fourth Kingdom (7:19-26)
3. The Fifth Kingdom (7:27)
c. Daniel’s Thoughts (7:28)
Message
4. The Terrible Beast (7:7-8)
Dr. Robert Congdon suggests that this terrible beast consists of a three-phased Roman Empire.
In the first phase the beast is called dreadful and terrible with teeth of iron and stamping feet – this is the ancient Roman Empire.
The second phase it is portrayed as having ten horns – this represents a latter-day revived Roman Empire consisting of ten nations or regions
The third phase is where we see a little horn with eyes and mouth of a man comes up and replaces three of the ten horns and speaks “great things” – This is the rise to power of the Antichrist out of the revived Roman Empire.
Phase 1
In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, this empire had been symbolised by legs of iron that took up half the total height of the image. Iron is much stronger than gold, silver or brass, therefore the iron showed the great strength of the Roman Empire.
The fact that the legs were so long reveals that the Roman Empire would far outlast the others. The Babylonian Empire lasted 70 years, the Persian Empire about 200, and the Greek Empire about 180 years. The Roman Empire lasted around 500 years, longer than the three previous empires put together.
In Daniel’s dream this fourth beast is not a common, identifiable earthly creature but is described as being “diverse” that is different or unique from all the beasts that were before it. It is dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly;
Rome was as strong and enduring as iron and as uncompromising as a beast on the rampage.
By 266 B.C. Rome had the entire Italian peninsula under its control. In 264 B.C. it began its wars with its rival Carthage. It absorbed Greece and Macedonia until the entire Greek peninsula was just another Roman province.
As they marched east they conquered Syria and Jerusalem, and in 30 B.C. Egypt, the last of the surviving kingdoms of Alexander’s empire was added to Rome’s ever expanding empire. By 84 A.D. they had gone as far north as Britain. Rome held all of these conquered lands with an iron grip.
The Romans built roads which seemed to bind the various territories to the capital, and the discipline of the Roman troops would soon put an end to any kind of revolt. Their laws were implemented and so was their pagan religious superstition.
The history of Rome was more bloodthirsty than that of even Persia and Greece. Among its many crimes was the crucifixion of our Lord and from Nero to Diocletian these Caesars persecuted the church ruthlessly.
Phase 2
At that time in history, when this wild beast was attacking the church, the apostle John was given further details of the beast and Phase 2 of the Roman Empire.
Revelation 13:1-3 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. [2] And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. [3] And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
John saw this beast in a resurrected form the same but different. He saw that in its final form the Roman beast would absorb the chief feature of all the previous prophetic empires. Like Daniel, John also saw the ten horns.
The ten horns correspond to the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar’s image. They identify the beast in Daniel’s vision with the beast in John’s vision. In both cases, the symbolism points to the same thing, the end-times reappearance of the Roman Empire in a new form. In Scripture horns symbolise power.
Phase 3
What gripped and mystified Daniel was the emergence of a malignant little horn. This little horn uprooted three of its competitors. Daniel then draws special attention with the word behold, this little horn had both eyes and mouth.
b. The Heavenly Empire (7:9-14)
Up until now, Daniel’s interest had been taken up with the rise and fall of these empires. Now, he was to see all human power, might, and dominion fade into insignificance. His gaze is now directed towards Heaven.
1. God’s Sovereignty (7:9)
Verse 9a
Daniel saw thrones set up – the critics of the King James Bible have a field day with this verse because it says that the thrones were cast down… The Chaldean is remâh (rem-aw) and it means to throw, set… The literal rendering of the Chaldean expression is one that implies the casting down of rugs and cushions to be used as an oriental divan-throne. The English translation would seem to imply the destruction of thrones.
This scene corresponds to the one in Revelation 4 and 5, where there are 17 references to the throne of God, the four and twenty elders and the “seats” (literally “thrones”) on which they sat are mentioned.
Daniel saw these thrones being set in preparation for the judgement of the fourth beast and the little horn. Central to the thrones of the angelic elders was another throne on which sat the “Ancient of Days”
Ancient of Days is a name for God that emphasizes His eternality; He is the God who has existed from eternity passed, has planned all things, and is working out His plan.
His dazzling white garment proclaims His holiness, His hair like pure wool, advertised His eternal being, His countless years, His experience, His majesty. His throne was like a wheeled chariot
The vision of God’s throne here parallels the one in Ezekiel 1:15-21. The fire speaks of His holiness and judgement against sin and the wheels symbolise His providential working in the ways we can’t understand.
Deuteronomy 4:24 For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
2. God’s Sentence (7:10-12)
Verse 10
Here we see God praised by a multitude of saints and angels Revelation 5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
The books are opened and the Lord prepares to judge evil on the earth. God’s judgement is not based on a whim. He keeps records not because He needs them, but so those who are about to be condemned might face the record of their own actions and deeds.
Nothing, no matter how small, in all of the worlds history, has escaped God’s attention, it is all written down. Historians miss facts, often on purpose so that they can prove their theory, but God misses nothing. The book contains it all. Every thought, word and deed of every man, woman, boy and girl, everything is written down.
No matter what Satan and the Antichrist do on earth, God is still on the throne and He executes judgement. Justice will be done Romans 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Verse 11
The doom of the fourth beast is described. The language embraces both the empire and its head, the Antichrist. The blasphemies of the Antichrist will bring the undiluted wrath of God. Revelation 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
The Antichrists Empire will be destroyed. Its final demise will take place at the Battle of Armageddon, when Christ will come (the Stone of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream) and put an end to the evil empire.
Verse 12
The doom of the former beasts is mentioned in passing. One by one the empires were swallowed up. The Medo-Persian Empire swallowed up the Babylonian Empire, which fell intact. Alexander’s empire swallowed the Persian Empire. The Roman Empire swallowed the Greek empire. So, in a sense, the former empires had their lives prolonged for a season.
The revived Roman Empire will incorporate all the features of all the earlier empires Revelation 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. Maybe that is what is meant by the former empires having their lives prolonged for a time.
3. God’s Son (7:13-14)
When the Lord Jesus Christ was put under oath by the high priest, Matthew 26:63 And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. The Lord referred him right back to Daniel 7:13-14.
Matthew 26:64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Jesus claimed that He Himself was the person referred to in these verses of Daniel. The high priest declared that Jesus had spoken blasphemy, whereas He had spoken only the truth.
“Son of Man” is a familiar title for our Lord Jesus Christ; it is used 82 times in the Gospels, frequently by Jesus Himself.
The clouds of heaven reminds us of His promise to return in glory and reign on the earth Matthew 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Verse 14
The Son of Man is presented before the throne of the Father and given dominion over all nations, an everlasting dominion that will never pass away. Unlike the previous four kingdoms, and the kingdom of Antichrist, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ can never be removed or destroyed.
The world has little use for Jesus today. He has been voted out of the UN, a statue of Zeus is there instead. He has been vetoed from the European Union, instead the Harlot that Rides the Beast is His replacement.
Communist nations, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and pagan lands pay no heed to Him. He is ignored by the humanists and so called do-gooders, and others just pay Him lip service. But the day is coming when Philippians 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; [11] And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Daniel saw that coming day being celebrated in Heaven.
