Daniel Chapter 7
Daniel 7:1-8
Now it is Daniel’s turn to have a dream/vision. We are going back in time some years, as this would have been around 553 B.C., and would have taken place before the events of chapter 5, which chapter contains the “handwriting on the wall,” and the capture of the city of Babylon by the Medo-Persian army. Daniel 2 and 7 both present a prophetic look at the four kingdoms that are going to dominate the world in the coming centuries. Daniel’s dream seems to give more flesh to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in chapter 2. And there is some help here in understanding the New Testament book of Revelation.
The four beasts are identified with the four kingdoms as mentioned in Daniel 2:17, 23.
Daniel goes on to describe his vision of the four beasts that he saw. The “great sea” from which the beasts arose would be the Mediterranean Sea, as it would have been in the midst of the world known to them at that time. It is reasonable to understand that the sea represented the peoples of the earth, as seen in Revelation 17:15:
“And he said to me, ‘The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.’”
“The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon two feet as a man; and a man's heart was given to it.” (Daniel 7:4)
| Kingdoms | Chapter 2 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 |
| Babylon | Head of Gold | Lion |
"And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, 'Arise, devour much meat!'” (Daniel 7:5)
| Kingdoms | Chapter 2 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 |
| Babylon | Head of Gold | Lion | |
| Medo-Persian | Breast of Silver | Bear | Ram |
"After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.” (Daniel 7:6).
| Kingdoms | Chapter 2 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 |
| Babylon | Head of Gold | Lion | |
| Medo-Persian | Breast of Silver | Bear | Ram |
| Greek | Belly & Thigh - Brass | Leopard | He-goat |
“After this I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, a fourth beast, terrible and powerful, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.” (Daniel 7:7)
| Kingdoms | Chapter 2 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 |
| Babylon | Head of Gold | Lion | Like a lion |
| Medo-Persian | Breast of Silver | Bear | Ram |
| Greek | Belly & Thigh - Brass | Leopard | He-goat |
| Rome | Legs & Feet -- Clay | Beast - Iron Teeth – 10 horns | Sea Beast – 10 horns |
“I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).
| Kingdoms | Chapter 2 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 |
| Babylon | Head of Gold | Lion | Like a lion |
| Medo-Persian | Breast of Silver | Bear | Ram |
| Greek | Belly & Thigh - Brass | Leopard | He-goat |
| Rome | Legs & Feet –Iron and Clay | Beast - Iron Teeth – 10 horns | Sea Beast – 10 horns |
| God’s Kingdom | Stone cut without hands destroys the image | Dominion was taken away | Break these kingdoms without any human assistance |
Daniel 7:9-12
The “Ancient of Days” reigns. This phrase describing God is used only in Daniel 7:9, 13, 22.
What were the “books” in Daniel 7:10? We might have a clue from Revelation 20:12-13:
“And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.”
Daniel heard the “boastful words” of the fourth beast, and this beast was destroyed in the fire. We note that the other beasts, although they lost their kingdoms, they remained for a period of time. But not the last beast. In the years before the end of the Roman empire, Caesars were setting themselves up as gods and men were required to worship them.
Consider that the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, and Greek empires all had a world kingdom to come after them, but there has never been a world kingdom since the destruction of the Roman Empire. Daniel said that the fourth beast was slain, its body destroyed, and given to the burning fire.
The Son of Man Is Presented
Daniel 7:13-14
These verses clearly refer to Christ and his ascension into heaven as referred to in Acts 1:6-9:
“So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.”
“Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever" (Revelation 11:15).
“I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time--He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (I Timothy 6:13-15).
The Vision Interpreted
Daniel 7:15-18
Daniel is troubled by this dream and asks for an interpretation. He is told these beasts represent four kings/kingdoms of men that will rule over the earth, but there will come a time when “the saints will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come” (Daniel 7:18).
It is worth noting that the word “saint” is always used to refer to all those who are children of God. Never do we find it used to refer to a special class of God’s children. Such usage is a departure from the Revelation the Holy Spirit has given us. A cursory check of Paul’s epistles shows that he addresses letters often to the saints in a given city. And John refers to Christians as saints in various passages in Revelation.
Daniel 7:19-22
Daniel then asks for a more exact meaning of the dream. The fourth beast, the Roman Empire did cruelly persecute God’s people at the instigation of such rulers as Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Diocletian, and others. Nero was said to have hung Christians on poles and then set fire to them to give light to his banquets, etc. He was so cruel that even the Roman senate rose up against him. He fled from Rome and committed suicide.
He had been adopted by his great-uncle Claudius and became his successor. It is suspected that Nero’s mother, Agrippina had Claudius assassinated to pave the way for Nero to become ruler. Sometime later Nero then had his own mother put to death.
In July of 64 A.D. a great fire destroyed much of Rome. There is some speculation that Nero started the fire, intending to destroy Rome and rebuild it on a grander scale and name it after himself — “Neropolis.” It does seem clear that in order to escape blame, he blamed it on the Christians in Rome, which started a great persecution. Tacitus wrote about this, claiming “that many Christians were arrested and brutally executed by "being thrown to the beasts, crucified, and being burned alive." (Champlin, Nero, pp. 121-22)
Rome became a world power in about 63 B.C. under Pompey’s leadership. That was the same year that Jerusalem came under complete Roman dominion. The ten rulers were
- Pompey (63-48 B.C.),
- Gaius Julius Caesar (47-44 B.C.),
- Augustus (27 B.C.-14 A.D.),
- Tiberius (14-37 A.D.),
- Gaius (Caligula) (37-41 A.D.),
- Claudius (41-54 A.D.),
- Nero (54-68 A.D.),
- Galba (68-69 A.D.),
- Otho (69 A.D.),
- Vitellius (69 A.D.) and
- Vespasian (69-79 A.D.) He was the ruler when Jerusalem was attacked and the temple
destroyed in 70 A.D.
David Duncan gives a reasonable explanation of the ten horns in Daniel’s dream.
“Although the Roman “Empire” is usually dated from Augustus, the Roman nation (or Republic) existed before then, and Pompey’s efforts helped establish it as a dominant power. Vespasian then fits the critical aspects described: (1) a little horn who arose after 10 kings, (2) was instrumental in deposing three kings (i.e. he uprooted the one who uprooted the one who uprooted Galba), and (3) spoke pompously, and would persecute the saints (or Jews). (Workbook on Daniel, by David A. Duncan, p. 72)
Daniel 7:23-27
The explanation of the “horns” was pointed out in dealing with verses 19-22. Then verse 25 speaks of the blasphemy of the eleventh kingdom as “He will speak out against the Most High” and would persecute the “saints of the Highest One” “for a time, times, and half a time.” Consider what these numbers mean:
- 1 year + 2 years + ½ a year = 3 ½ years
- 1260 days – Revelation 11:3; 12:6
- 42 months – Revelation 11:2, 13:5
“Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days” (Revelation 12:6).
“Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months” (Revelation 11:2).
“There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him” (Revelation 13:5).
“This is the time period when the woman flees to the wilderness and God’s people are under extreme test of their faith. Will the kingdom be able to stand? After this period, the answer is clear: “the saints possessed the kingdom.” (Daniel by Robert Harkrider)
Daniel goes on to point out in verse 27 that the kingdom inhabited by the “saints of the Holy One” will have an “everlasting kingdom.” How is it that ‘all the dominions will serve and obey him?’”
There will come a time when all of the earth will stand before God in the Judgment Scene.
“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left” (Matthew 25:31-33).
“And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds” (Revelation 20:12).
“For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God." So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:10-12).
Some may ask, “How it is that “all the dominions will serve and obey Him?” as in Daniel 7:27. On Judgment Day, even those who were blasphemers and workers of evil will bow before Christ. Even atheists (who will no longer be atheists, for they will stand in the presence of God), will confess him. And all will serve God’s will, whether it be for heaven or hell.
Daniel 7:28
As the revelation and explanation to Daniel ended, he was alarmed as he tried to take in the full import of God’s message. I can only imagine what our thoughts might be if we had such a dream that came directly from God.
The predominant theme of this chapter is to emphasize that there is only one Universal Kingdom. The kingdoms of men come and go, but there is One Kingdom that will endure forever.
