August 24th

Daniel 7 and 8

Daniel ch. 7 is the central part of the book.  We have the most precious prominent portion of the sure word of prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah.  The chapter is worthy of the most careful prayer and study.  It is referred to directly or indirectly by Christ and His apostles perhaps more than other portions of the Old Testament of similar extent. 

The four beasts of this seventh chapter of Daniel symbolize the same world kingdoms that were pictured by the image in Ch. 2 and the ten horns of the last beast answer to the ten toes of the image.  Most of both prophecies have been fulfilled and at this writing “The blessed hope” of the ages is also showing every evidence of nearing realization.  Both visions show the end of Gentile world power.  View today’s events in the light of these disclosures and they fall into focus and make sense.  The individual child of God is challenged as never before in the world’s history to let go of the trivial and the transient, and yield himself unreservedly to Him Who is coming to fulfill the longings of every true believer – forever and ever!

7:1-2 Daniel slept and spoke to an angel in his dream??  Altho the nations are stirred up (political and social agitations, wars, etc.), the invisible winds of God blow over the surface of the water to accomplish His will in His time…the reality of 4:32 “…until you have learned and know that the Most High [God] rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He will.”

Daniel’s dream and Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in chapter 2: the king saw a great and impressive image while Daniel saw dangerous beasts that ruthlessly devoured peoples and nations.  To human eyes, the nations appear impressive and important, but from God’s viewpoint, the nations are only ferocious beasts that attack and seek to devour one another. 

THE LION – reminds us of the 7 years trial of Nebuchadnezzar…lifted up to stand like a man…given a man’s heart. Daniel was told that the Babylonian Empire would fall.  THE BEAR – symbolized the empire of the Medes and Persians; Persians were stronger than the Medes.  3 ribs might signify Lydia, Egypt, and Babylon…nations that Medes and Persians had conquered…they did devour much flesh as they marched across the battlefields.  THE LEOPARD – V.6 represents Alexander the Great…FOUR heads, FOUR horns…Alexander died and with no successor his kingdom was divided into FOUR.  THE DREADFUL AND TERRIBLE BEAST v. 7 represented the Roman Empire..strong, enduring as iron and as uncompromising as a beast on a rampage.  The Roman armies swept across the ancient world and defeated one nation after another until it was widely extended. 

This beast corresponds with the legs of iron on Neb’s image but the ten toes (10 kings) are represented by ten horns.  Often horn symbolizes a ruler or of roy authority. 

The 2 visions make it clear that God knows the future and controls the rise and fall of nations and rulers.  Prophecy is history written beforehand.

The 4 kingdoms represented by the 4 beast have already come and gone, but each kingdom continues to exist in some way within the succeeding kingdom that devoured it.  Unlike Neb, Daniel saw the last human kingdom on earth would be a frightful kingdom, unlike any of the previous and it would declare war on God…Antichrist. (Rev.13-19) An evil kingdom that will be destroyed when Christ returns.     

THE 10 HORNS – In Daniel’s day…kingdoms, today nations!  Recent developments in Europe-the organization of the European Union and the use of the Eurodollar seem to point in that direction, but there are more than 10 nations in the EU so it is an inconclusive resolve. 

THE LITTLE HORN – (V.8) a counterfeit Christ … an enemy who is against Christ.  He has to overcome the power of 3 other rulers to be able to do what he wants to do and what Satan has planned for him to do (v. 24) The mention of his eyes – remarkable knowledge and skill in planning his exploits…skilled in using words and able to promote himself so that people follow him.  Will blaspheme God and ultimately convince the unbelieving world that he is a god (II Thess 2:1-12).  Will become the ruler of the world and will control the economy and religion and seek to change the times and the laws.   

According to 7:25 and Rev. 13:5..his dictatorship will last for 3 ½ years.  Ultimately he will make a covenant with the Jewish nation for 7 years…will break the covenant and persecute God’s people.  The signing of the covenant is the signal for the start of the last 7 years of Daniel’s 70 weeks outline in v. 24-27…the Tribulation. 

After 3 ½ yrs. He will break the covenant and set up his own image in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem forcing the world to worship him and the devil who is energizing him.  Daniel does not go into all the details that John shares in Revelation, but he does assure us that the kingdom of Satan and his counterfeit Christ will be defeated and destroyed by Jesus Christ v. 22, 26

Saints are mentioned and refers to the people of God living on the earth during the Tribulation period.  John makes it clear that there will be believing Jews and Gentiles on the earth during the 7 years of the Tribulation.  God permits Antichrist to rise to power and rule the world, and even allows him to make war on the saints and temporarily win the victory. 

The most important kingdom of all is the kingdom that Christ shall establish on earth to the glory of God, the kingdom that Christians long for each time they pray “Thy kingdom come (Matt. 6:10).

Daniel did not tell!  He was deeply troubled and his face turned pale.  We will learn about Daniel that he often was ill and unable to work after “seeing”.  He was unlike the prophetic students today who when they think they know.  They study prophecy just to satisfy curiosity or give people the impression that we are great Bible students.  If divine truth does not touch our own hearts and affect our conduct, then our Bible study is only an intellectual exercise to inflate our own ego.  Tozer said, “The Bible does not approve of this modern curiosity that plays with the Scriptures and which seeks only to impress credulous and gullible audiences with the amazing prophetic knowledge possessed by the brother who is preaching or teaching!”

In Chapter 8, five persons move across the stage of prophecy and history:  DANIEL, the prophet…King Belshazzar’s 3^rd year was 551, so this vision came to Daniel before the fateful banquet in ch. 5.  This explains why the Babylonian Empire is not mentioned for with 12 years Babylon would be taken by Cyrus who would usher in the rule of the Medes and Persians. 

It is likely that God transported Daniel to Susa to receive the vision … the victory of the Medes and Persians over the Babylonians.  Daniel requested the meaning of the vision…he asked the angel.  Daniel was very frightened and fell into a faint and deep sleep.  Son of man in this instance means weak and humanness of the prophet.  The angel explained that the vision applied to the latter days of Jewish history…God’s displeasure with His people and times of intense suffering Israel would endure before the coming of the end and the establishing of the promised kingdom. 

CYRUS, King of Persia … conquered Babylon…permitted Jews to return to their land.  Babylon identified with the lion and eagle…Persia identified with the ram.  Conquests of Libya, Egypt, all of Asia Minor, toward India…once consolidated he attacked Babylon and took it in 539.  He was kind to his captives.  Let them free and allowed them to take with them the sacred vessels that Neb. had taken earlier.  Our sovereign Lord can use even a pagan king to accomplish His purposes.  No matter how brutally the Gentile nations may treat the people of Israel, God uses the nations to accomplish His ordained purpose.  His purposes will be accomplished no matter of the opposition.

ALEXANDER, the Great of Greece: Greece/thigh of brass…a swift leopard with four heads.  Now Daniel sees Greece as an angry goat who runs so swiftly his feet don’t even touch the ground!  The protruding horn/Alexander.  Horn broken/Alexander died at 33…kingdom divided among four of his leaders…FOUR Horns. 

Alexander put an end to the Oriental influence that threatened to take over the Western world.  He extended the Greek culture and language…helped to bring peoples together and eventually the common Greek became the language of the N.T.  Brought nations together so they could interact with each other…policy of kindness toward conquered peoples, powerful example of brotherhood.  All in preparation of the ancient world for the coming of Christ.  Legs of iron…Roman roads and bridges enable people to travel and share ideas..Roman law kept nations under control…legions enforced that law with an iron fist…peace gave the opportunity to experience more security..all contributed to the taking of the Christian message … Rome paid the bill for the missionaries to travel!

ANTIOCHUS, THE IV EPIPHANES… “little horn” appears not to be confused with the little horn of ch. 7 (he is one of the four dynasties into which Alexander’s empire was divided and became a great conqueror)  … great leader, the ruler of Syria…one of cruelest tyrants in history.  Dealt ruthlessly with the Jewish people…put a stop to their religious practices…claimed that he was god…foreshadowing of Antichrist.  Daniel learned the prophetic timetable as the 2 angels spoke.

ANTICHRIST … the time of wrath!  The time of the end…God’s wrath poured out on an evil world.  Daniel came to know what relates to the end times when Antichrist will oppose God and His people. 

The characteristics of Antiochus and Antichrist parallel:  begin modestly but increase in power and influence…blaspheme God with mouths that speak great things...both persecute the Jewish people…claim to be gods and put images in the temple…impose their own religion on the people…are opposed by a believing remnant that knows God…are energized by the devil and are great deceivers…appear to succeed marvelously and seem to be invincible…are finally defeated by the coming of a redeemer.

Daniel did not understand where the vision fit into the prophetic scheme for Israel.  Daniel knew nothing about God’s “mystery” concerning the church or the partial blinding and hardening of Israel or who was the king of fierce countenance and why he would attack the Jewish people.  Daniel felt the burden of suffering and knew the awful consequences of truth being cast to the ground. 

Daniel is a good example for students of prophecy.  He asked the Lord for an explanation and he allowed the Lord to instruct him.  He was trying to satisfy his curiosity or to appear knowledgeable before others.  He was concerned.  Prophetic students must wait before God for instruction and insight, feel burdened when they learn God’s truth about the future.  Instead it seems that they display their knowledge and impress people with what they think they know, purely academic…all in the head and never changes the hearts.  Daniel recovered and went back to work without telling what he had learned…God had more truth to teach him and he was ready to receive!