Nevertheless, Daniel tells no one, keeping the matter to himself and suffering a quiet agony over the future events God has revealed to him. 7 After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. The other prophecies were revealed to King Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar and interpreted by Daniel. The toasting of the gods of the Babylonians with the sacred temple vessels, recorded in chapter 5, may have been Belshazzars final act of blasphemy. First, the prophecies of Daniel are divinely inspired and revealed, and thus they are true and reliable. During the times of the Gentiles four empires, Daniel was told, would rise and rule over the land and people of Israel. Those of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar, and Darius all agree with the prophecy of Daniel 7. This is represented by the four heads on Daniels leopard beast. It was said ( ch. requires it of the Chaldeans, by promises and threats. But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come. Then I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet, and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head and the other horn which came up, and before which three of them fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts and which was larger in appearance than its associates. (1) The troubling dream. This angel responded and gave Daniel understanding into his dream as he interpreted it for him. When the Lord Jesus came to the earth, He often referred to Himself as the Son of Man, gradually making it clear that He was the Messiah who was God incarnate. As the wicked prosper in their sin, it seems as though they can continue in sin without any fear of divine judgment (see Psalm 73:1-11; 2 Peter 2:3-4). This was when his life took a sharp turn. 3:15; Zc. With iron-like teeth, horns (some with eyes), and feet, it is utterly destructive. It devoured and crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you were lying in bed are these: It is good for us to understand the theology of the end-times, but we must approach it with reverence. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. Two weeks ago, we quickly looked at the description of the beast that John sees in Revelation 13 and he described it as a composite of the first three beasts, the body of a leopard, the feet or paws of a bear, and the head and mouth of a lion. In his vision, the statue collapsed and disappeared, because a mysterious stone struck it at its feet. We could never predict the goals God has determined, nor the means He has ordained for history to reach them. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (1 John 3:13, NASB95)[5] The more we know about the future the more are hearts should be moved to practical preparation. Daniel urged them to pray for mercy from the God of heaven, . (4) Prophecies not completely fulfilled cannot be fully understood until after their fulfillment. If Daniel had been shaken by the dark side of his vision, he is reminded in the interpretation of the outcome of these eventsthe establish- ment of Gods eternal kingdom. The Ancient of Days is a designation for God, not found elsewhere in the Bible. This angel, beginning in the second half of verse 23 is describing the revived Roman empire which is yet future. Verses 15-28 contain the divine interpretation of this vision. In more detail, the outline would be as follows: (2) The Divine Interpretation verses 15-28. Daniel, a godly prophet and a man of unshakable faith, has been steadfast in his daily walk of fellowship with God throughout the first six chapters of the Book of Daniel. Daniel uses the expression Son of man twice. Verse 2. As the saints suffer at the hands of the wicked, it may appear all hope is lost. Whether liberal or conservative, our conclusions grow out of the premises and presuppositions governing the process and the product of our interpretation. Hosted by Michael Barbaro and Sabrina . Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints (Revelation 13:1-10). (2) Why do you think Daniel summarized his dream when he wrote it rather than tell it in full (see verse 1)? When mentioning the little horn that grew up and uprooted three of the first ten horns, Daniel now tells us that this little horn grew until it was larger in appearance then the remaining seven horns. Thus he said: The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995, [3]Walvoord, John F.; Zuck, Roy B.; Dallas Theological Seminary: The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Thus, the vision is yet unfulfilled in terms of its major emphasis. In the first scene, heavenly winds are employed to whip up the sea from which the four beasts emerges. He could not figure out what the dream meant, so he wanted his advisors to explain it to him. This fourth beast has the distinction of ten horns. Belshazzars rise to power and ascent to the throne seems to have inaugurated a new age for Babylon. The seriousness of the prophetic truth personally affected Daniel, motivating godly fear and self-examination. These kings will rise to power and dominate the earth. Prophecies are given so that we may look at history, especially events occurring in our own lifetime, from Gods perspective. Nebuchadnezzar became distressed when he received his first night vision (2:1) because he did understand some of his dream. It is significant for us to note Daniels reaction to this revelation from God. We are told the Old Testament prophet could not see the distance between the first and the second coming of our Lord, just as one cannot see the distance between two mountains, when viewed from afar. The interpretation of the events Daniel witnessed in his vision is given in its most concise form in verses 17 and 18: The four beasts were four kings, who will arise from the earth. (2) Chapters 7 and 8, while written in different languages, are written during the reign of Belshazzar and somehow linked by the author in Daniel 8:1. 7 And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. There is fairly strong inferential evidence that Nebuchadnezzar was represented by the first beast, the winged lion. Jesus quoted the words of Daniel 7:13. Daniels dream here in chapter 7 and Nebuchadnezzars dream in chapter 2 are one and the same dream with additional details added to Daniels dream. He gave Daniel a general summary of the dream, These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth. He intends to make changes in time and in law. In His response to the demand of the high priest, Jesus directly claimed to be the promised Messiah. We are not told precisely what it is that troubles Daniel. In the context of the coming of His kingdom and the suffering and trials which precede it, soberness is a vitally important quality which prophecy promotes: 1 Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. 1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and related the following summary of it. Editing allows an author to set aside details which are not significant and focus on the essence of the message he is trying to communicate. He would, after His death, burial, and resurrection come in His glory, rewarding men according to their deeds (16:27). And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; 4 and they worshiped the dragon, because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him? 5 And there was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies; and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. This also underscores that these four kingdoms go from reasonably good to unbelievably bad. A number of lessons from our text have broad application to our thinking and conduct as Christians. The angel goes on to describe what the Antichrist will do: He will speak out against the Most High, he will be boastful and arrogant, he will deny that the Most High is God, he will deny that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Consider the birth of a child, remembering that Gods deliverance and salvation is likened to birth. Did Daniel interpret dreams? Both the statue parts (made of different metals) and the beasts represent kings and kingdoms. The next portion of the statue in Daniel 2 was the chest and arms of silver which represented the Medo-Persian Empire which was even larger than the Babylonian empire. - Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to show the king his dreams. Encouraged to do so, it savagely devours. Prophecy is necessary then so that men are reassured of divine deliverance and blessing, as well as divine judgment (see 2 Peter 2:4-9). [1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. Before the coming of Christ, who would? So, I began the review by looking at the first 14 verses where Daniel gives us a summary of the visions he had as he dreamed in his sleep. Until Gods eternal kingdom is established, kingdoms will progress from bad to worse. Prophecy is always practical and relevant to the person(s) receiving it. If not, he could never have become airborne again. Agreeing with God that they are sinners but believing that Jesus Christ death paid the penalty for their sin, that He was buried, and rose from the dead three days later triumphant over sin, Satan, and death forever. The angel told Daniel that at the end of those three and a half years the court would sit for judgment and the dominion (a word in Aramaic that means kingdom or empire and the citizens or subjects of that empire) would be taken away from the Antichrist, and the Antichrist and his followers will be annihilated and destroyed forever. How was the fourth beast different from the first three? In the euphoria of this grand event, someone might well conclude the kingdom of God was to be established within the lifetime of those returning to Israel. Suddenly, the boasting beast is silenced by death, and his body is cast into the burning fire. 1. Remember he had seen the innumerable host of angels attending the Ancient of Days. These are the things Daniel sees in the vision. We must approach prophecy with fear and reverence. Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. Daniel himself had many dreams and visions, mostly related to future kingdoms of the world and the . to revoke its approval of the two main drugs used for medication abortion in the United States. In a similar way, Belshazzar becomes blasphemous and is suddenly removed by God for his wickedness. We will deal with the meaning and application of Daniels vision later on in our questions and answers. These both represent Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian empire. If you need one see me after the service and I will get you a copy. An eleventh king then rises to power, different from the others, replacing three of the previous kings. 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