We are now coming to the difficult, apocalyptic[1] section of the book of Daniel with its strange,
head-scratching imagery and evil sounding beasts. We are leaving the
biographical section of Daniel Chapters 1-6
behind, as we move into the prophetic section (Daniel 7-12). But, before
you get scared by that be assured that quite the opposite is true. The apocalyptic passages found in the Bible are
not written to scare us. On the contrary, they were given and written to
encourage God’s people in times of persecution. The main themes of the apocalyptic
passages are always the same[2]:
(i)
the
growth of evil
(ii)
God’s
providential care for His people
(iii)
the
assurance that evil will not ultimately
prevail
(iv)
the
only thing of eternal duration is the kingdom of God.
In this part of the book of Daniel we will find the
revelation of the God who is in the process of bringing this earthly mess to
its appointed end. I say this as we think of the scary days in which we live, days
in which the Ukraine and Russia expend more ammunition on a given day than they
and their respective supporters can produce on any given day. Reporters speak
of apocalyptic scenes on the battle fields of the eastern Ukraine. We think of
images of Mariupol and Bakhmut. God only knows what will happen to Sudan at this
rate.
OUTLINE
7: 1 – 8 Daniel's dream and vision of the 4 beasts
7: 9-14 Divine Judgement
7:15-28 Vision interpreted
1. 7:1 – 8 DANIEL'S DREAM AND VISION OF THE 4 BEASTS
This vision was given to Daniel "in the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon" (7:1). Chronologically this chapter fits in somewhere before chapters 5 and 6. Chapter 6, you will remember had taken place in the reign of Darius the Mede, who conquered the city of Babylon. He had king Belshazzar killed.
Instead of interpreting the dream of another, as he had done
previously, Daniel was now given his own dream. We shall see that Daniel was
also given the interpretation of that dream (7:16). We read that when Daniel woke up, “he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter” (7:1).
The vision reveals the four winds of
heaven (N,W,S & E) stirring up the great sea. The sea is symbolic of mankind. The four great beasts arise out of this sea[3] of humanity (7:2):
(i)
a lion with eagle
wings (7:4)
(ii)
a bear with three ribs in its mouth (7:5)
(iii)
a leopard with 4
wings of a bird on its back and with
four heads (7:6)
(iv)
a fourth beast that defies description (7:7).
The
identity of these beasts is given to us in 7:17
: "The four great beasts are four
kings who shall arise from the earth...". This helps us to see that these beasts must be symbolic
of mankind or human kingdoms. And now you will perhaps remember that we have
already dealt with this in Daniel 2
(Nebuchadnezzar's dream), and the parallel now needs to be
drawn with Chapter 7 :
(i)
The
head of gold of the statue (2:32) corresponds to the lion
with eagle wings (7:4) - the Babylonian empire. Apparently
the symbol of a lion with wings is well known in archaeological excavations
in Babylon. The wings are said to have been plucked
off etc... it was made to stand on two feet like a man, and
the mind of a man was given to it.(7:4).
The Babylonian kingdom would be conquered
by...
(ii)
The
second beast – the Medo-Persian empire would soon strip the Babylonian
empire of its glory! The chest and arms of silver (2:32) are represented by the second beast which looked like a bear.
The bear is represented to us in motion and with three
ribs in his mouth. It was hungry for conquest, and the ribs may be
representative of three empires which were conquered by Medo-Persia i.e. Babylon, Lydia[4]
and Egypt.
(iii)
The
third beast is described as being a leopard with four wings of a bird and it
had four heads. The third beast
corresponds to the "middle and
thighs of bronze" (2:32). This
is a kingdom which moves and conquers swiftly like a leopard, which swiftly pounces
on its prey from its hiding place. This beast and image refers to the swift and
rapid expansion of the Greek empire
under Alexander the Great (356-323BC). By the age of 30, he had created one
of the largest empires in history, stretching from Greece to north-western
India. He is widely considered to be one of history’s greatest and most successful
military commanders. His army was known for its extreme mobility. The 4 heads refer to the four portions into
which Alexander's empire was divided after his early death.
(iv)
So far-so clear! Now it becomes
more complicated. The 4th beast is beyond description "terrifying and dreadful and
exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth. It devoured and broke in pieces
and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts
that were before it, and it had 10 horns” (7:7). In Daniel 2:33,
the 4th part of the statue has "legs
of iron, its feet partly of iron, and partly of baked clay...". We saw that historically this fits the Roman
empire (which corresponds to 2:33,40). This beast has also ten horns (7:7) - referring to a later stage of
this empire. We see this in 7:24 where
we are told that the 10 horns came out of this kingdom. It is not Roman, but
Rome gives birth to these horns. Then follows a third stage in history- the era
of the little horn (7:8), destroying 3 of the first horns.
It was said to have “the eyes of a man
and a mouth speaking great things.” (7:8).
Incidentally, horns in the Bible are symbols
of power. It seems as if the 4th beast and its offshoots are
symbolic not only of the Roman empire, but it
represents the peak of evil and
rebellion and cruelty of the world’s history. If we understand this to
be the period following the ascension of the Lord to heaven, following the
birth of the church (Acts 2), then we
know from the history of the last 2000
years that these ‘last days’ have known untold evil, rebellion, cruelty and suffering. One scarcely knows where to begin.
The first 300 years of the Christian church were horrific, when one considers
the persecutions. The dark ages (roughly AD 500- 1500) were horrible. That is why this period is known as the dark
ages. The 20th century with
its two savage world wars in which 120 million people died leaves us
speechless. And as we have entered into the 21st century, things and
prospects look no better. The current Russian – Ukrainian war is tragic. Already
hundreds of thousands have been killed. I wonder whether you know that in 1932 the
Russian leader Joseph Stalin demanded grain deliveries from the Ukraine farmers
which were impossible to meet. Their food was taken from them and as a result
of this 5 million Ukrainians starved to
death. Such episodes pervade our human history. History is beastly, … to use Daniel’s terminology.
We note that judgement is firmly and decisively exercised upon the beasts. We see that the little horn, growing out of the fourth beast is finally destroyed and thrown into the fire (7:11). The divine sentence ends it all. A word – just one Word from Almighty God - and the beast is no more. Only one is all powerful, and that is the Ancient of Days – the eternal God, Creator of heaven and earth. This is the heart of the vision and this is the central truth which we need to embrace. And remember too that this divine court does not only sit at the end of history. It is sitting all the time: Remember that Babylon is judged and is no more; the Medo-Persian empire, Greece, Rome, and all other past and modern empires are judged. The third Reich is judged and dead. The America’s will be judged, Europe will be judged, Russia will be judged, China and India and Africa and all the islands will be judged. Little Namibia will be judged.
It is true that the most dramatic judgement will come at the end of time, when we shall see that the little horn, which is the anti-Christ, the rebellion, the man of lawlessness (see 2 Thess. 2:3,4) crushed beneath the feet of Jesus. Satan and all his demons and all of humanity which has defied God will be cast into that lake of fire (Rev. 20:10).
What a comfort and what an
assurance to know, dear child of God, that all evil must and will finally
be judged, although it is allowed to continue for a season and a time! (7:12).
In 7:11 we see how effortlessly the
little horn (and the 4th beast) is eliminated. Dale Ralph Davies helpful points out the ‘sandwich
structure’ of the text - ”the little horn
and its beast are scrunched and squeezed
between the Ancient of Days (7:9-10)
and the Son of Man (7:13-14). The literary envelope seem to
make the little horn truly little.”[5]
But the glorious scene does not end here. 7:13, 14 give us another view into heaven. This time it is a vision of the Son of Man - the Lord Jesus, and we find here that He shares all the attributes of the Ancient of days. He possesses dominion and authority and glory. He is worshipped and served by peoples, nations and languages. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, which will not pass away (7:14). This corresponds with 2:34; 44,45. Please note also that He is described here as "a son of man". We know that Jesus constantly referred to Himself as the Son of man. When asked by the high priest Caiaphas to confess whether He was the Christ, the Son of the Blessed, Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.” (Mk 14:62). The time will come when Caiaphas and all ancient and modern Christ deniers will find Jesus not as an accused in their arrogant human kangaroo courts, but when they themselves will be in the accused bench, facing the Great Judge seated on His white throne (Rev. 20:11ff).
3. 7:15 – 28 THE INTERPRETATION OF THE DREAM
We have covered much in this section already in our earlier comments, and so we will use this section to summarize what we have already seen:
ii.
In its ‘little horn phase’ this kingdom pursues the saints – God’s
people (cf. 7:25) for a brief time (Rev. 13:5,7,15) – a time shortened by
the Lord (Mk. 13:20). Most commentators are agreed on the fact, that this is the anti-
Christ, referred to in 2 Thess. 2:3,4
, who ushers in the time described by our
Lord Jesus in Matthew 24, and of course the anti-Christ of the book
of Revelation.
iii.
From this follows the
victory (7:26,27).
Cling to Jesus, dear believer. Do
not trust your eyes. Do not trust your emotions. Do not trust the world’s narratives. Trust in
the eternal and truth giving Word of God, and the peace of God will guard and
guide you. Amen
[1] Apokalupsis
(ἀποκάλυψις) : an uncovering ; Apocalyptic
passages are found in Isaiah
24-27, Joel, Zechariah 9-14,
Matthew 24, and of course the Book of Revelation
[2] Stuart Olyott : Dare to Stand Alone , Welwyn Commentaries ,
(EP), p. 86
[3] See
also Revelation 13:1 where the
first beast with 10 horns arises
out of the sea
[4] The
Kingdom of Lydia existed from about 1200 BC to 546 BC. At its greatest extent,
during the 7th century BC, it covered all of western Anatolia. In 546 BC, it
became a province of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, known as the satrapy of
Lydia or Sparda in Old Persian. In 133 BC, it became part of the Roman province
of Asia.
[5] D.R. Davies : Daniel , IVP p. 98
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