Daniel Who Let the Beasts Out? Chapter 7:1-28

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1 Daniel Who Let the Beasts Out? Chapter 7:1-28 C HRISTIAN HAD FLED HIS HOME, fearful of the coming destruction promised by the Book. Obstinate and Pliable had followed him with the intent of bringing him back to his family, but he could not be turned away from the path that Evangelist had set him on. And so Obstinate returned home, while Pliable decided to accompany him. On they went across the plain, Christian keeping his eye on the light that directed him to the wicket gate. But because Christian was hurrying, due to the sense of panic he felt over the coming destruction, he didn t look where he was going. Before he knew what had happened, both he and Pliable were up to their arms in muck. They had fallen into the slough of Despond. Pliable managed to work his way out, but on the side closest to his home and so he decided to give up the quest. Christian strove for the opposite shore, still seeking the light. But because of his burden he was sinking. Suddenly he heard a voice. Suddenly Help, the very one Christian had called for, appeared and lifted him out of the Slough. Christian wanted to know why the way was unmarked, unmended. Into it ran the filth that comes from the recognition of sin and so it overwhelms those who fall into it. The reason that Christian had fallen into it was because he had taken his eyes off the distant light which marked the steps that the King had placed into it. It was because Christian had taken his eyes off the light and had focused on his circumstances that he missed the way and had fallen into the Slough. As we look at circumstances instead of the light the Lord provides, we too may find ourselves in a Slough of Despond. And as we have looked at the world this week, it seems to be one big mud puddle. Considering Daniel s last days prophecies, the day of the little horn, it seems as if the world will never get out of the muck and mire. But as we will see, the day will come when the Messiah s light will break forth. All who love Him will see it and know the kingdoms of darkness will fall and the kingdom of light will stand eternally. That kingdom will be perfect. It will be God s theocracy, God s dictatorship. Our hope is the knowledge that God is in control, will bring restoration, an end of pain, will pull us out of Despond, and will be the source of our comfort and peace. Let us share that same comfort and peace with others. VII Daniel s Vision and Interpretation Verses 1-27 A. The Four Beasts Verses 1-8, The 4 Beasts and the 10 Horns Verses 15-18

2 B. The Ancient of Days Verses 9-12 C. The Son of Man Verses Introduction: 1 This morning we enter a new section in the book of Daniel. We are moving from the narrative section to the prophetic section. The following chapters present a view of the end times, the closing of the time of the Gentiles. We will examine the vision and using the interpretation provided to Daniel as well as other passages in Scripture we will endeavor to understand the content of the dream. Dr. McGee introduces this section this way: Chapter 7 opens a new and different section of the Book of Daniel. The first six chapters contained the historic night with prophetic light; the last six chapters are prophetic light in the historic night. Whereas in the Leupold feels that this chapter actually is the last in the first section because it is the last written in Aramaic. This is not a problem because it is another view of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. This being the case, it still can serve as a foundation for the dreams and visions to come. first section of the book the emphasis was upon the historical, the emphasis will now be on the prophetic, yet still with an historical background. God gives to Daniel several visions of four beasts which are quite remarkable. Daniel had these visions at different periods. The vision of chapter 7 was in the first year of King Belshazzar. In chapter 8 the vision was seen in the third year of the reign of Belshazzar. In chapter 9 it was in the first year of Darius; in chapter 10 it was the third year of Cyrus; and in chapters 11 and 12 the vision was seen in the first year of Darius. Daniel did not record these visions in the historical section but gathered these prophetic visions together in this second section of his book. 2 Because of the nature of the chapter I am going to use a slightly different approach. We are going to look at the vision and interpretation simultaneously. The primary messages I want to take from this study are: We can receive comfort from God and give praise to Him. These come from understanding that we are moving towards an eternal relationship with the God of heaven and with the Savior who has purchased our salvation. The other truth we should always take from the prophetic is our responsibility is to carry out Christ s commands and be interrupted by His coming. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. that You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:19, 22:37 40, 28:20 ESV) As the world grows darker, there is a day coming when the light of God will burst forth on the entire world, a day when the kingdoms of man will fall and the eternal rule of Messiah will be established over His people. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! 1 Leupold, H. C., Exposition of Daniel, Baker Books, 1969, pg McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Vol. III, Daniel, Thomas Nelson Inc. Nashville, TN, ) 82 (

3 As you can see this section is not chronologically tied to the narrative section, for the vision recorded here occurred back during the time Daniel served in the court of Babylon under the Belshazzar s rule. We are told that what we find recorded here is an account of both a dream and visions. These are messages from God, revealing that which was still to come. The difference between Daniel s vision and Nebuchadnezzar s is the that king s vision sees the future kingdoms from man s perspective, as a glorious statue. Daniel s vision shows the kingdoms from God s perspective, bestial. The Gentile kingdoms are those which do not seek after the Lord. They are carnal, destructive and therefore self-destructive. Our approach to this passage will be to identify the symbols in the dream and seek their interpretation simultaneously. By the way, it is worth repeating that as we deal with Scripture, we are generally to take it literally. When something is symbolic, the symbol is interpreted elsewhere in the Bible. And this first vision founded on the dream of Nebuchadnezzar becomes the base for the visions that follow. So A. The Four Beasts: Out of the seas, the nations, come four kingdoms. Scripture equates the sea with the peoples of the world s kingdoms. For example: Ah, the thunder of many peoples; they thunder like the thundering of the sea! Ah, the roar of nations; they roar like the roaring of mighty waters! The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm (Isaiah 17:12 13 ESV). These are the kingdoms we have already identified with the statue of Nebuchadnezzar s dream. As we noted then, the first kingdom, the golden head, is identified here by the lion. The winged lion was a symbol of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar is identified in Scripture with both the lion and the eagle. The picture of the wings being torn off and then the Lion rising up like a man may refer to the fall and restoration of Nebuchadnezzar. 3 Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions. First the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has gnawed his bones. say, Thus says the Lord God: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar. Say now to the rebellious house, Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them, behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes and brought them to him to Babylon (Jer. 50:17; Ezekiel 17:3, 12 ESV). The second beast, the bear, is the parallel to the breast and arms of silver, the Medo-Persian empire. As Wood notes Just as a bear is more massive in size but slower moving that a lion, so Medo-Persia became much larger as a kingdom that was Babylon, and the Medo-Persian army was noted for its huge size but slower movements. 4 3 Showers, Dr. Renald E., The Most High God, The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, Inc., 1982, pg Wood, Leon, A Commentary on the Book of Daniel, Zondervan, 1973, pg ) 83 (

4 The bear is raised up on one side because the Persian side of the partnership was the stronger of the two. Showers speculates the three ribs picture Lydia, Babylon and Egypt three other great kingdoms that were conquered by Medo-Persia. 5 And the kingdom, like the bear, had an insatiable appetite for additional conquest. The third beast was a winged leopard. This parallels the belly and thighs of bronze and most likely represents the Greek Empire in general and pictures the disrupted empire after the death of Alexander when the nation was divided into four kingdoms under his four generals; therefore the four heads. 6 The fourth beast though is the one that draws Daniel s attention. It apparently was unlike the others in that it didn t relate to any know creature. We can assume this because it is not described in the same way. The beast itself is best understood as the Roman Empire and, as with the legs of iron, it eventually falls into a loose confederacy of ten nations, ten horns, a restored empire. Scripture identifies horns as symbols of power of some sort or another. In this case the horns speak of political power. And out of the midst of the ten horns, that is the restored Roman Empire, springs up a small horn which overthrows three of the other horns. This confederacy does not yet exist. This horn is a individual ruler who will be at war with the people of God, that is the Hebrew people, and he will be winning. The fact that the horn is described as having eyes and a mouth seems to support the position that it represents not a government as much as it does a specific ruler. This being the case, the individual is identified elsewhere in Scripture. This is most likely the Antichrist. (Again, remember: we are not to be dogmatic here. The primary focus of these visions is the sovereignty of God and the coming of the Messianic kingdom.) Let no one deceive you in anyway. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction (2 Thessalonians 2:3 ESV). B. The Ancient of Days: Now the scene shifts to God s courtroom. God, the sinless and righteous judge, prepares action against the little horn. And it is the stone cut out without hands He will use it to bring destruction down on the kingdom of the Antichrist. God is described in verse 9 and 22 as the Ancient of Days. The fire of God s judgment flows as a river before Him. All around are the host of Heaven who serve Him. And He opens the book, most probably the book of Life in which are kept the records of those who belong to Him. And before the throne of God comes one who is described as like a Son of Man. In Revelation we read, 5 Showers, p Ibid. ) 84 (

5 in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire (Revelation 1:13 14 ESV). In other words the one who defeats the little horn is the Son of God, Jesus Messiah. And the kingdom of the little horn, the kingdom that has brought destruction on the whole world, will be overthrown by God. His kingdom will be established. It will be an eternal one. First it will appear as a political power here. Where there had been nothing but darkness the light of God will break through and it will cover all. While the Millennial Kingdom will last only a thousand years, it is a precursor of an eternity of God s rule over His own. Conclusion: And thus, this chapter gives the most important message of the Old Testament, the coming of the Son of God, the promise of the final victory of God through Jesus, His Messiah. As the Son approaches the throne of God to rule, He must first come as light to save a fallen world! This is the message of not just this chapter but of all of Scripture. And with the Second coming, we have the focus of all history. Praise the Lord for the coming of His light into the darkness. And it is the light of God that is our comfort. It is this message we are to pass on. We first received it when we accept the truth of Messiah s substitutionary death for our sins. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:1 5 ESV). And as the dark clouds of circumstances sometimes seem to come between the light of God and ourselves, as we seem to find ourselves trapped in the Slough of Despond, we need to remember as we turn to Him that there is no situation so dark He cannot bring light to it. The problem is we often chose to ignore the light. We focus on our circumstances and therefore allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the darkness. But we are called to walk in the light. Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12 ESV). We will never walk in darkness as long as we depend on the Holy Spirit to bring to us the Messiah s light. But the world is in darkness. And our walk is in the midst of that darkness. I always think of it a little like the account of Moses in Exodus 10, during the Plague of Darkness. Then the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt. So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for ) 85 (

6 three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived. Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, Go, serve the Lord; your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind. (Exodus 10:21 24 ESV) I always picture Moses as he returns to speak to the Pharaoh. Since light only shone on the Hebrew, Moses walks down the throne room towards the king followed by a heavenly spotlight. It provided light for him and showed to others the light of God. As believers we walk, when we choose to do so, in the midst of that heavenly spotlight with darkness all around us. And we can become a reflector of that heavenly light to others, for Messiah as the light has chosen to allow that light to shine through us. But again we need to choose to let it shine. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden (Mat 5:14 ESV). Since the world lives in darkness, then let us rejoice that God has entrusted us to bring it His light. Remember, all we go through, all we suffer is, in the final analysis, so that the light of God can be manifest in the darkness of the world. This is why we need to accept our circumstances, our situation, no matter how difficult. God has chosen to use our feeble light to represent the light that comes from Him. Do we really understand that our purpose in this life is as simple as living it the way that God desires us to for the accomplishment His good works? We are called to be faithful, to show up. And as difficult as it may be to carry this out on a practical basis, as long as we truly trust in Him, remembering that He is in control of all things, and look to Him to provide strength through the power of His Spirit, then we can be all that He desires us to be. As we have noted on so many occasions; And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28 ESV). The bottom line for us then, is the knowledge that the day is coming when we will have nothing more to fear, when there will be no darkness around us, but we will be living in God s eternal light. As we read of the New Jerusalem, And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever (Revelation 21:23 24; 22:5 ESV). What a glorious day that will be when Messiah will come with all of His saints to restore His people, to establish His Millennial reign. And then will come an eternity with God, with setting up the new heaven and the new earth. And so with these words comfort one another. For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. I ) 86 (

7 will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD, and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, says the LORD (Isaiah 65:17 25 ESV). And so we again say, Even so, come, Lord Jesus! 1. Sing the wondrous love of Jesus, Sing His mercy and His grace; In the mansions bright and blessed He ll prepare for us a place. Refrain: When we all get to heaven, What a day of rejoicing that will be! When we all see Jesus, We ll sing and shout the victory! 2. While we walk the pilgrim pathway, Clouds will overspread the sky; But when trav ling days are over, Not a shadow, not a sigh. 3. Let us then be true and faithful, Trusting, serving every day; Just one glimpse of Him in glory Will the toils of life repay. 4. Onward to the prize before us! Soon His beauty we ll behold; Soon the pearly gates will open; We shall tread the streets of gold. 7 7 Hewitt, Eliza E., The Hymnal for Worship & Celebration, When We All Get to Heaven, Word Music, Waco, TX, 1986, # 542. ) 87 (

8 Daniel Who Let the Beasts Out? Chapter 7:1-28 VII Daniel s Vision and Interpretation Verses 1-27 A. The Four Beasts Verses 1-8, The 4 Beast and the 10 Horns Verses B. The Ancient of Days Verses 9-12 C. The Son of Man Verses Introduction: (Matthew 28:19, 22:37 40, 28:20) A. The Four Beasts: (Isaiah 17:12 13; Jeremiah 50:17; Ezekiel 17:3, 12; 2 Thessalonians 2:3)

9 B. The Ancient of Days: (Revelation 1:13 14) Conclusion: (John 1:1 5, 8:12; Exodus 10:21 24; Matthew 5:14; Romans 8:28; Revelation 21:23 24; 22:5; Isaiah 65:17 25) Personal Application: This week focus on what it means for you to accomplish God s works in your life. Prayer for the Week: Lord help me to live in a way that accomplishes Your call for my life. In Jesus name, amen.