Daniel Chapter 7

Daniel

chapter 7: Four Wild Beasts

Daniel is stunned by what he has seen. But he isn't frozen in fear. He takes the initiative and asks one of the angels there in the vision to please help him understand the terrible and glorious things that have been shown to him.

Daniel 7:15-19

I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.

I came near one of those that stood by, and asked him to explain all this. So he told me the interpretation of the things I had seen.

'The four great beasts are four kingdoms which shall arise out of the earth.

But the saints of the most High will receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever -- yes, for ever and ever.'

Then I asked about the fourth beast, which was so different from all the others and exceedingly dreadful, with its iron teeth and claws of brass; which devoured, crushed its victims, and trampled the residue with his feet;

Daniel was deeply troubled by the fourth beast. He had already been told that it was a metaphor for an empire, but he was having difficulty getting his head around the reason why any kingdom would be so destructive. Until the Romans came along (which wouldn't happen for more than 200 years), kings became powerful by using the resources that were already established. Daniel could not understand a strategy so dramatically different.

Daniel 7:20-22

I also wanted to know about the ten horns on his head, and of the other horn that came up, and before whom three fell -- this horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke very boastful things and whose look was more stern than the others.

I watched, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;

until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given in favor of the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

The horn that represents the coming world leader is waging war against the saints and appears to be winning until interrupted by the return of the Messiah. The Bible tells us in Zechariah 13:8,9 that two-thirds of believers (possibly all Jewish) will fall. Zechariah 14:1-2 predicted that Jerusalem will fall. Some scholars say that this reference to "overcoming" the saints is evidence that this happens after the rapture of the church, since Jesus promised that the gates of Hell would not "overcome" the church. To study this in more detail, see Matthew 16:18; Revelation 2, 3.

The Roman empire does not end in God's sight until after the great and glorious "Day of the Lord" when Jesus returns and judges all mankind.

Daniel 7:23-26

He answered, "The fourth beast will be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and will trample it down and crush it.

And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that will arise. After them another will rise, and he will be different from the earlier ones, and he will subdue three kings.

And he will speak boastful words against the most High, and will oppress the saints of the most High, and try to change times and laws. The saints will be given into his hand for a time, times and the dividing of time.

But the court of judgment will sit, and his authority will be taken away from him, and he will be destroyed forever.

The Great Tribulation will last three and a half years. There are many references to this time period in Scripture to ensure that we don't allegorize it or try to modify its meaning. It's a literal time period: Daniel 12:7 (3-1/2 years); Revelation 11:2; 13:5 (42 months); Revelation 11:3 (1260 days); Daniel 9:27 (half a "week of years"). Keep in mind that throughout the Bible -- from Genesis to Revelation -- God uses 360-day years: 12 months of 30 days each.

Daniel 7:27

And the kingdom and authority, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, will be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will serve and obey him.

The everlasting kingdom is mentioned in too many places to bother listing here. For a few of them, see Deuteronomy 28:1-44; Isaiah 65:17-25; 2Timothy 2:12; Revelation 5:10; 20:6

Daniel 7:28

"This is the end of the matter." As for me Daniel, my visions troubled me deeply, and my face became pale. But I kept the matter in my heart.

The first sentence of verse 28 is actually the last statement by the angel begun in verse 23. It really should have been attached to the end of verse 27. Verse numbers were applied to Scripture centuries later. The angel is saying that after Jesus is set on the throne, it ends the entire story of human history as we are meant to know it in the present age.

Here Daniel changes from the commmon Gentile language of Aramaic back to Hebrew. The rest of the book views events specifically through the lens of Israel, with the Jews as the center point of the story.

The destructive empire

The fourth empire terrified and troubled Daniel. He asked for more information about this empire because he could not understand how any people group could be so destructive. Previous empires respected and honored the cultures they dominated, using the people, tools and techniques to their advantage. Rome would prove to have a different style. The Romans simply ran over everything like a bulldozer, with no regard for any value that may have existed before. The final Roman leader who will rule during the last days will also use terror and massive destruction in an effort to force his will upon the world.

The Bible first referred to the "iron teeth" of Rome hundreds of years before the empire even took shape. Yet that term came into common use during the Roman period as a description of its military might.