The Terrifying Vision Series

The Prophecies of Daniel

Part 10: The Terrifying Vision (Daniel 10)

After two weeks off to celebrate the Easter Season we are returning to our study of the prophecies found in the Old Testament book of Daniel. The book of Daniel is rightly called the Apocalypse of the Old Testament, because no other book besides Revelation gives us so much detail about the future and the times of the end. Through the many prophecies that we have studied so far, we’ve started to see God’s plan for not only the Jewish people, but also the Gentile nations of the world.

Daniel received visions from God concerning what has been come to be known as the Times of the Gentiles. By Gentile, I mean any nation or people who are not of Jewish origin. In the Bible you are either Gentile, Jew, or part of the Church. The Times of the Gentiles is the period of history in which the Gentile nations will hold sway over the earth. The Jews are no longer the head of the nations, and they won’t be until the Times of the Gentiles is over with the return of Jesus Christ. When Christ returns at the end of the Tribulation to set up His Kingdom the Jews will once again be restored as the head of the nations of the world.

We’ve seen through these series of visions or prophecies that God told Daniel which nations or empires would control the Middle East throughout history, from the Babylonians to the final empire of the Antichrist, which is forming before our eyes today. We’ve seen just how accurately these prophecies have been fulfilled throughout history. And we’ve speculated on who the final Gentile ruler, the Antichrist, will be.

I was watching a teaching video the other day by Dr. Perry Stone called “The Bloodline of the Antichrist” in which he made the following statement. He said that for a few years now he’s been 98% positive that the Antichrist will be a Muslim from the Middle East. Today he is 100% positive that the Antichrist will be a Muslim. I thought this was exciting since that is the same conclusion that we came to from our own studies of the book of Daniel.

This morning we are going to pick up our study with chapter ten of the book of Daniel. I recommended last week that you read chapters ten through twelve. The reason for this is because these three chapters are all part of one revelation given to Daniel. In chapter ten we have an introduction to the vision. Chapter eleven is the interpretation of the vision. And chapter twelve is the closing or wrap-up of this final vision.

Now, we are not going to try to tackle all three chapters in just one teaching even though I asked you read all three chapters to get an idea of what we are going to study. In fact, this vision may take a few weeks to get through because there is so much information and nuggets of truth hidden in these chapters that I want to share with you.

If you had the chance to read any of these chapters you may already have an inkling as to how difficult this passage is to understand and interpret. I thank you for those of you who have said a prayer for me while I’ve been trying to prepare for these teachings, because I wouldn’t even begin to have an idea how to interpret them without the help of the Holy Spirit.

The only way I’ve been able to gain even minimal understanding of these chapters is through what I call an in-depth prophetical study. What I mean by this is that I’ve had to use multiple Bible translations, Greek/Hebrew study Bibles to do key word studies, as well as consulting other scholars and their interpretations of these passages. And I’m going to pass what I’ve found on to you. You may already notice the insert in your bulletins of the key word studies. I thought you’d be able to see more clearly what I am trying to tell you if you had this reference before you.

So, I hope you’re ready for an in-depth prophetical study of the last three chapters of the book of Daniel. Today we are going to start with the introduction to this final revelation in chapter ten.

I. The Introduction to the Vision

Let’s begin by reading the first verse of chapter 10, first in the KJV and then in the NIV translation.

Daniel 10:1 (KJV), “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia [536 BC] a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.