The Judgment And The Kingdom Series

The Prophecies of Daniel

Part 5: The Judgment and the Kingdom

We have reached Part Five of our study of the prophecies found in the book of Daniel. We are still in the seventh chapter of Daniel exploring the vision given to Daniel concerning the Times of the Gentiles and the four wild beasts.

Two weeks ago we looked at the meaning of the four wild beasts that arose from the great sea. These beasts correspond to the metals found in the vision of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue and stand for the four great Gentile world powers that would hold sway in the Middle East.

Last week we studied the little horn of the fourth beast, which stands for the final great Gentile ruler, the antichrist. I showed you why I think that the antichrist will come from somewhere in the Middle East as opposed to Europe as most Bible prophecy scholars are putting forth. And we saw that he will be allowed to wage war against the Jewish people for a period of three and a half years.

Now, the Old Testament prophet Daniel was given a series of successive visions. By this I mean that the prophecies or visions found in his book cover the same topic or period of time, the Times of the Gentiles. However, each successive prophecy is different in that it reveals a little bit more information and detail about what is happening during this period of time. The vision of the four beasts in Daniel 7 covers the same topic as the vision of the giant statue in Daniel 2, just with more detail revealed.

This being so, we should realize that in Daniel 7 we have covered everything that was foretold in Daniel 2 except for the final part which deals with the judgement and the final world kingdom set up under the rule of Jesus Christ. So, today we are going to finish this vision by examining these final two pieces.

I. The Judgment

So, to begin this morning let’s read the passage of Daniel 7 that deals with the judgment.

Daniel 7:9-12 and 26, “As I looked thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. [10] A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.

[11] Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the [little] horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. [12] (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)

[26] But the court will sit, and his [the little horn, antichrist] power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever.”

This is the scene that corresponds to the Rock in Daniel chapter two smashing into the feet and toes of the Colossus and destroying the entire statue. This is the judgment.

A. The Rock = The Ancient of Days

In Daniel 2 Jesus Christ was represented by the Rock that was cut out without human hands. Here in chapter seven He is called the Ancient of Days. Now, some study Bibles and commentaries will say that this reference is actually referring to God the Father and not Jesus the Son. They say this because in the next part of this vision which deals with the kingdom, there is another reference to the Ancient of Days in which God the Father is clearly the One being spoken of. But there are two very important reasons why we can say with certainty that here in verses 9-12, this is Jesus who is sitting down to pronounce judgment and not the Father.

1. Compare to Revelation 1

The first reason we know this is because in Revelation chapter one there is a passage of Scripture in which the Apostle John describes Jesus Christ, and his description is extremely similar to this portion of Daniel, which we just read. Look with me at Revelation 1:13-15,

“and among the lampstands was someone ‘like a son of man,’ dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. [14] His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. [15] His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters…”

And this Person identifies Himself in verse 18 by saying, Revelation 1:18, ‘I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.’”