Daniel's dream (Daniel 7:1) consisting of a series of night visions (Daniel 7:2,7,13) occurred towards the end of the Babylonian captivity - in the first
year of Belshazzar (Daniel 7:1) who was Babylon's last king (Daniel 5:1,30-31)
Daniel's visions occurred at night (Daniel 7:2,7,13),
which is significant concerning the time described by these visions
When the Lord is away from His people He describes the
time as being "night" (John 9:4-5 cf. Mark 13:34-37)
There are four watches (3 hours each) of the night (6:00
PM - 6:00 AM) - the fourth watch just before dawn (Matthew 14:25; Mark 6:48) is the darkest watch of the night alluded to by Peter when describing
the Tribulation, which immediately precedes Messiah's appearing as "the Day Dawn" (II Peter 1:19)
- Messiah is called "the Bright and Morning Star" (Revelation 22:16)
Daniel's night visions concern four beasts which are to
arise out of the "Great Sea" (Daniel 7:2-3) and are also said to be four kings which will arise out of the "earth"
(Daniel 7:17) - the "Great Sea" is a specific region of the "earth"
identified as the western boundary of the Land of Israel, i.e. the Mediterranean Sea (Numbers 34:6-7;Joshua 1:4; Joshua 9:1;Joshua 15:12,47; Joshua 23:4)
These four kings (Daniel 7:17) and their kingdoms (Daniel 7:23) will have their "thrones" to be "cast down" in
judgment by "the Ancient of Days" (Daniel 7:9,22)
Three of these kingdoms existed sequentially in the past
(Daniel 2:37-39) and the fourth kingdom is yet future and will "subdue ALL"
just before Messiah's Kingdom (Daniel 2:40-44)
The three past kingdoms will reappear together with the
future fourth kingdom and they will ALL be crushed together by Messiah when He establishes His Everlasting Kingdom
(Daniel 2:34-35; Daniel 2:44-45) and so the four kingdoms seen by Daniel in chapter 7 must be the SAME
ones as seen by Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 2
The first beast was a "lion" with "eagle's
wings" which wings were plucked and which was made to stand upright as a man and which was given a man's heart
(Daniel 7:4)
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, identified as the
head of the "gold" kingdom (Daniel 2:37-38), which will reappear as the "lion" kingdom of the future
(Daniel 7:4,17) and be destroyed together with the other kingdoms by Israel's Messiah
at His coming to establish His Everlasting Kingdom (Daniel 2:34-35,44-45)
However, the Lord abased Nebuchadnezzar by clipping the
wings of this high flying "eagle" in driving him from men to live as the beasts of the field (Daniel 4:29-33),
which resulted in his heart being changed from that of a ferocious "lion" to that of a man who has been
humbled (Daniel 4:34-35)
The second beast was a "bear" raised on its
one side with "three ribs" in its mouth telling it to "devour much flesh" (Daniel 7:5)
Darius, the Median, conquered Babylon (Daniel 5:30-31)
and was succeeded by Cyrus, the Persian (Daniel 6:28), and so the "three ribs" represent the kingdoms of Media
and Persia, which assimilated the kingdom of Babylon
Media-Persia is the "inferior" kingdom identified
as the "silver" kingdom which is to arise after Babylon (Daniel 2:39) and will reappear as the "bear" kingdom of the future (Daniel 7:5,17)
and be destroyed together with the other kingdoms by Israel's Messiah at His coming to establish His Everlasting
Kingdom (Daniel 2:34-35,44-45)
Media-Persia is also described as the "two-horned
ram" having a horn that came up first (Media) followed by the higher horn which came up last (Persia), and
so is analagous to the "bear" raised up on its one side (Daniel 8:3-4,20 cf. Daniel 7:5)
The third beast was a "leopard" with "four
wings" and "four heads" and is also described as the "goat" with a "notable horn"
(Alexander the Great) between his eyes (Daniel 8:5) and the "great horn" (Alexander the Great) was broken and
replaced by "four notable ones" (Daniel 8:8)
The "goat" which destroyed the "ram"
(Daniel 8:6-7) is identified as Greece which conquered Media-Persia (Daniel 8:20-21),
and so is the "third" kingdom of "brass" (Daniel 2:39) which "bear rule over all the earth" under Alexander the
Great (the "great horn" that was broken), and will reappear as the "leopard" kingdom of the
future (Daniel 7:6,17) and be destroyed together with the other kingdoms by Israel's Messiah
at His coming to establish His Everlasting Kingdom (Daniel 2:34-35,44-45)
The FourthBeast - "Dreadful and Terrible" (Daniel 7:7-8)
The fourth beast having "ten horns" is not described
by any particular animal figure (Daniel 7:7)
It is said to be "exceedingly ... dreadful and terrible"
having "iron teeth" that "devoured and brake in pieces" (Daniel 7:7), which ties in with the fourth "iron" kingdom that "breaketh
in pieces" (Daniel 2:40)
The residue (remainder) which was not broken by the "iron
teeth" is said to be "stamped ... with the feet of it" (Daniel 7:7)
The "ten horns" of this beast (Daniel 7:7)
correspond to the "ten toes" on the feet of the metallic image (Daniel 2:41-42)
This fourth beast in Daniel's vision (Daniel 7:7-8)
is not fully described, because Daniel is told that the words of his prophecy are "closed and sealed till
the time of the end" (Daniel 12:9)
However, this fourth beast is fully described by John
in his vision, because he was taken by the Spirit to the "Day of the Lord" and told to "seal NOT
the sayings" of his prophecy "for the time is at hand" (Revelation 22:10)
This fourth non-descript beast as seen by Daniel (Daniel 7:7-8)
is a composite of the first three beasts (six heads) plus the fourth beast (seventh head) as seen by John (Revelation 13:1-2):
"Mouth of a Lion" with one head
"Feet of a Bear" with one head
"Body of a Leopard" with four heads
"Ten Horns" on seventh head
The Son of Man: His Judgment and Kingdom (Daniel 7:9-18)
His Throne described as a "fiery flame" issuing
forth a "fiery stream" (Daniel 7:9-10) alludes to His return in judgment with the "flaming fire"
of vengeance (II Thessalonians 1:7-9), which will "sift the nations" (Isaiah 30:27-28)
Attending Messiah's Throne will be "ten thousand
times ten thousand" (100,000,000) angels (Daniel 7:10) who wiil accompany Messiah at His return when He shall "sit upon
the Throne of His Glory" (Matthew 25:31)
At His return "the judgment" will be "set"
and "the books" will be "opened" (Daniel 7:10)
God keeps a "book of remembrance" concerning
His people - "them that feared the Lord, and thought upon His Name" (Malachi 3:16-17)
Afterwards, Messiah seated upon "the Throne of His
Glory" - there will occur "the judgment" of those who remain of "the nations" (Matthew 25:31-33)
- the righteous (those who treated His brethren well) who go into "life eternal" (Matthew 25:34-40,46)
and the wicked (those who treated His brethren NOT well) who go into "everlasting fire" (Matthew 25:41-46)
In Messiah's kingdom, those that are left of the nations
will be required to make an annual pilgrimmage at the Feast of Tabernacles to worship Israel's King (Zechariah 14:16-19)
and on their way out they will be reminded of those who transgressed by the abhorrent sight of their burning with
unquenchable fire (Isaiah 66:22-24)
The "rest of the beasts" (Daniel 7:12),
i.e. the kings making up the other three beasts (Daniel 7:4-6), will have "their dominion taken away", but their lives will
be "prolonged for a season" (Daniel 7:12) - they will be Messiah's prisoners, "shut up in the prison"
awaiting judgment (Isaiah 24:21-23)
The execution of their judgment will be an honor bestowed
on Messiah's saints (Psalms 149:6-9), i.e. Israel's Tribulation overcomers who are promised to share with
Messiah in the ruling of the nations with "a rod of iron" (Revelation 2:26-27)
"The Son of Man" is brought by the "Clouds
of Heaven" to "the Ancient of Days" (Daniel 7:13)
"The Son of Man" is a Messianic title in His
relation to the earth: At His First Coming to earth, "the Son of Man hath NOT where to lay His head"
(Matthew 8:20); but at His Second Coming to earth, the "Son of Man" has
"on His head a golden crown" (Revelation 14:14)
"The Ancient of Days" is a Divine title describing
He Who is Everlasting, i.e. having NO beginning and NO ending (Psalms 90:2) and is applied to BOTH the Father (Daniel 7:13) and the Son (Daniel 7:9 cf. Revelation 1:13-14)
"The Son of Man" is seen receiving His earthly
inheritance from His Father (Daniel 7:13-14) as promised by His Father (Psalms 2:6-8)
The kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of
the Lord and of His Christ "in the days of the voice of the seventh angel" (Revelation 10:7; Revelation 11:15)
Daniel was grieved in both spirit and body concerning
the visions of his head which troubled him (Daniel 7:15)
These visions were all introduced by the words "I
saw" and included the vision of the four beasts and particularly the first three beasts (Daniel 7:2-6),
the vision of particularly the fourth beast and its judgment along with the judgment of the other three beasts
(Daniel 7:7-12), and the vision of the everlasting kingdom glory of "the Son of
Man" (Daniel 7:13-14)
Daniel turned in his distress to "one of them that
stood by" to learn "the truth of all this" (Daniel 7:16)
The one who taught Daniel to "know the interpretation
of the things", i.e. the visions (Daniel 7:15), was one of the angelic host ("clouds of heaven") that stood
near "the Son of Man" (Daniel 7:13)
Daniel's angelic instructor is repeatedly stated to be
the angel (the man) Gabriel (Daniel 8:15-16; Daniel 9:21-22),
who besides Michael was one of only two angelic princes who remained faithful to God (Daniel 10:19-21)
Daniel's angelic instructor informs him that the four
beasts in his visions are four kings which shall arise out of the earth (Daniel 7:17) in the area of "the great sea" (Daniel 7:2), i.e. Israel's western border, the Mediterranean Sea (Numbers 34:6)
The name "Mediterranean" means "middle
of the earth" - a very fitting description for the area surrounding Israel, which is the land bridge joining
three continents (Europe, Asia, Africa)
The Kingdom of the Saints of the Most High (Daniel 7:18)
Daniel's angelic instructor assures Daniel that despite
the brutal oppression of Daniel's people by these four beasts, it will be Daniel's people (the saints) who will
eternally possess the kingdom (Daniel 7:18 cf. Daniel 7:22,27) and that Daniel will stand with his people at the end of the "Great
Tribulation" days (Daniel 12:1,11-13)
The FourthBeast - "Diverse" and "Exceeding Dreadful"
(Daniel 7:19-25)
Daniel wanted to "know the truth of the fourth beast"
(Daniel 7:19)
as he "considered the horns" (Daniel 7:8)
of "the fourth beast" (Daniel 7:7)
This "fourth beast" (Daniel 7:19) is said to be the "fourth kingdom upon earth" (Daniel 7:23) and corresponds to the "fourth kingdom" in Nebuchadnezzar's vision (Daniel 2:40)
The character of this "fourth kingdom" is described
with identical language in both visions as seen by Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel (Daniel 2:40 cf. Daniel 7:7,19,23)
An additional detail found in Daniel's vision of the "fourth
kingdom", but NOT found in Nebuchadnezzar's vision is the description of "that horn ... whose look was
more stout than his fellows" (Daniel 7:20),
which "made war with the saints and prevailed against them" (Daniel 7:21)
The reason for this omission in Nebuchadnezzar's vision
is that the focus is on the beginning of the "Times of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24)
and, so only the "head of gold", Nebuchadnezzar (king of Babylon) is identified (Daniel 2:36-38 cf. Jeremiah 27:5-8)
The Kingdom of the Saints of the Most High (Daniel 7:22)
The saints (redeemed Israel) of "the Most High"
will be given the "judgment" (rule) and possession of the kingdom at the coming of the "Ancient
of Days" (Daniel 7:22 cf. Daniel 7:9,18)
and they will be "kings and priests" of their God (Revelation 1:6; Revelation 5:10) and be as promised a "royal priesthood" (I Peter 2:9), i.e. a "kingsom of priests" (Exodus 19:6)
Israel's first patriarch, Abraham (Acts 7:2), to whom was promised "possession" (Acts 7:5) of "the land which I shall show thee" (Acts 7:3), knew the "God of Glory" (Acts 7:2)
as "the Most High God", i.e. "the Possessor of heaven and earth" (Genesis 14:18-19)
The fourth beast (the fourth kingdom) will be diverse
from all other kingdoms (Daniel 7:23)
in its destructive power, because it will include within itself all the other kingdoms (Revelation 13:1-2 cf. Daniel 7:3-7)
The horn that shall arise AFTER the ten horns (the ten
kings) shall be diverse from them, because he shall gain their allegiance (Revelation 17:12-13) AFTER he subdues three of them (Daniel 7:24)
The ten kings shall arise out of the land that the Lord
promised to Israel as its inheritance and she has yet to fully occupy it - ALL the land between between the Mediterranean
Sea on the West and the Euphrates River on the East, i.e. the current day Middle East (Joshua 1:2-4 cf. Deuteronomy 11:22-24)
The ten nations occupied this land in the days of Israel's
progenitor, Abraham (Genesis 15:18-21)
and they will be the SAME nations that will come against his descendants in the last days (Psalms 83:3-8)
The "Little Horn" is said to "speak great
things" (Daniel 7:8),
i.e. "great words against the Most High" (Daniel 7:25)
- "blasphemy against God" (Revelation 13:6)
The Antichrist will "wear out the saints" and
they will "be given into his hand" for three and a half years (Daniel 7:25),
i.e. "it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them" (Revelation 13:7) - "power was given unto him to continue" for 42 months (Revelation 13:5)
The Antichrist posing as God in His Temple (II Thessalonians 2:4) will think (intend) to "change times (seasons) and laws" (Daniel 7:25) - that which is reserved to the True God alone (Daniel 2:20-21)
The Son of Man: His Judgment and Kingdom(Daniel 7:26-28)
The "Judgment shall sit" (Daniel 7:26) when the "Son of Man shall come in His Glory" and "shall sit upon the Throne
of His Glory" and before Him shall be gathered ALL the nations" (Matthew 25:31-32)
The Kingdom of the
Saints of the Most High(Daniel 7:27)
Though the thoughts concerning his people's future troubled
him so that his "countenance changed" - yet Daniel "kept the matter" in his heart (Daniel 7:28) as did Mary concerning the "things" pertaining to her Son's future (Luke 2:19)