Daniel 7. We ve finally reached the conclusion of the chiastic structure. The final step is literally back to the future

Transcription

1 Daniel 7 We ve finally reached the cnclusin f the chiastic structure The final step is literally back t the future We return t the prphecy abut the Age f the Gentiles The Age f the Gentiles is a perid f histry that Gd has planned fr Israel and the wrld The age is marked by three things, accrding t what we learned back in chapter 2 First, it is a time fr Israel t be scattered utside their land Secndly, their city, Jerusalem, will be under Gentile dminatin Thirdly, this age must cntinue until the Messiah s secnd cming At Christ s return, the Jewish natin will be returned t her place as supreme natin n earth If this backgrund is unfamiliar t yu, then I encurage yu t revisit ur teaching frm chapter 2 f this study That review will be helpful fr yu since Daniel 7 takes the teaching f chapter 2 and expands it greatly But by that tken, understanding chapter 7 depends n a firm grasp f chapter 2 Just as the chiasm that runs frm chapters 2-7 wuld suggest A - The prphecy cncerning fur Gentile empires that dminate Israel and the wrld B - Gd delivers Daniel s friends frm Gentile persecutin C - Gd humbles the Gentile king (Nebuchadnezzar) t demnstrate His svereignty C - Gd depses the Gentile king (Belshazzar) t demnstrate His svereignty B - Gd delivers Daniel frm Gentile persecutin A - The prphecy cncerning fur Gentile empires that dminate Israel and the wrld S let s set the scene fr the events f chapter 7 by reading the pening passage 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Daniel 7 2 f 26 Dan. 7:1 In the first year f Belshazzar king f Babyln Daniel saw a dream and visins in his mind as he lay n his bed; then he wrte the dream dwn and related the fllwing summary f it. Dan. 7:2 Daniel said, I was lking in my visin by night, and behld, the fur winds f heaven were stirring up the great sea. Dan. 7:3 And fur great beasts were cming up frm the sea, different frm ne anther. Dan. 7:4 The first was like a lin and had the wings f an eagle. I kept lking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up frm the grund and made t stand n tw feet like a man; a human mind als was given t it. Dan. 7:5 And behld, anther beast, a secnd ne, resembling a bear. And it was raised up n ne side, and three ribs were in its muth between its teeth; and thus they said t it, Arise, devur much meat! Dan. 7:6 After this I kept lking, and behld, anther ne, like a lepard, which had n its back fur wings f a bird; the beast als had fur heads, and dminin was given t it. We re ging back in time Daniel dates this chapter t the first year f Belshazzar s reign as king f Babyln Remember, chapter 5 described hw Belshazzar s reign came t an end And then chapter 6 mved frward in time t the reign f the Med-Persian king, Darius But nw we ve mved backward t the beginning f Belshazzar s reign Histry recrds that he reigned 14 years, s we ve gt back abut 15 years in times That timeline places Daniel in his mid-sixties and still serving the king f Babyln And at that time, he receives a trubling dream And with it he als receives a persnal interpretatin frm an angel sent frm the Lrd This dream and its interpretatin parallels the dream Gd gave t Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 2, but it adds imprtant new details In fact, taken as a whle this chapter reveals mre detail abut future events than any ther chapter in the Old Testament 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Daniel 7 3 f 26 The nly ther place in the Bible cmparable t this chapter is the bk f Revelatin S the Lrd is speaking t the final king f Babyln thrugh Daniel in the same way He spke t the first king f Babyln cncerning the same subject In v.2 Daniel begins t describe his strange dream Fur winds were stirring up the great sea When we attempt t interpret symbls in prphetic passages, we must be cnstrained by prper rules f interpretatin The meaning f symbls will always be given smewhere in the Bible First, we cnsult the immediate cntext fr an answer If nne is fund, then we lk elsewhere in the same bk f scripture fr an explanatin f the symbl If still n answer is fund, we lk elsewhere in the Bible But in all cases we will find an answer given In this case, the great sea is cnsistently a reference t the Mediterranean Sea, which was the greatest bdy f water in Israel s experience In scripture, the Mediterranean Sea is used symblically t represent the ppulatin f the earth It means the masses f humanity, but particularly the Gentile natins f the earth This symbl is used in this way in Isaiah and Jeremiah And Jesus uses the sea symblically in the same way in Matthew 13, Luke 21, and multiple times in Revelatin And the fur winds is a reference t Gd s pwer ver His creatin The Hebrew wrd fr winds is a synnym fr spirits S we culd translate v.2 t say the fur spirits were stirring up the sea 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Daniel 7 4 f 26 Fur winds are used symblically in this way in multiple places in bth the Old and New Testament (e.g., Jer, Zech, Rev) Next Daniel says fur beasts emerged frm the sea Each beast was different frm the ther and Daniel describes each beast s appearance Befre we lk at each beast in turn, let s first nte the similarity t ur matching chapter in the chiasm, chapter 2 In chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed f a statue with fur sectins Thse sectins described a timeline f kingdms, each ne replacing the prir ne But that chapter tld us virtually nthing abut the nature f each kingdm Nw in this dream we have fur beasts, and as we re ging t see, these fur animals crrespnd t the same fur kingdms But beasts d nt imply a timeline as did the parts f the statue Instead, the beasts emphasize the nature f each kingdm S this dream cnfirms the earlier interpretatin and adds imprtant infrmatin abut what t expect in each kingdm perid Mst imprtantly, this chapter fcuses ur attentin n the final stage f the furth kingdm Remember Nebuchadnezzar s dream f the statue was actually a dream f five kingdms, nt fur At the cnclusin f the furth stage f the statue, a new kingdm was established frm Heaven As we learned in chapter 2, that final kingdm is the Kingdm f Christ that He establishes at His Secnd Cming Nw in chapter 7 we re ging t learn imprtant details abut hw the last kingdm cmes t its end in preparatin fr the Lrd s return Naturally, this is ur primary interest in the prphecy 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Daniel 7 5 f 26 The fur kingdms have already appeared in histry Babyln, Med-Persia, Greece and Rme have all cme and gne S as the wrld mves t the final perid f the furth kingdm, ur interest naturally mves t hw the age f the Gentiles ends Therefre, the prphecy in this chapter fills in many f thse blanks S at this pint, we arrive at ur interpretatin f the sea, wind and beasts The Lrd tells Daniel He will mve amng the Gentile natins f the wrld supernaturally t raise up fur kingdms The first f these kingdms is Babyln (which we knw frm chapter 2) That kingdm is pictured by a lin with the wings f an eagle At a pint, the wings are plucked Later, the beast is made t stand up like a man and a man s mind is given t the beast As we wuld expect, all the details f this beast match the histry f Babyln perfectly First, the natin f Babyln used bth a lin and an eagle as natinal symbls In fact, statues have been fund in Babyln f lins with wings Furthermre, the beast s descriptin matches Nebuchadnezzar s seven year episde f exile He had his authrity and hnr remved by Gd (i.e., wings plucked) But later Nebuchadnezzar was restred frm living like a beast He was returned t his psitin as king and his right mind was returned t him as we saw in chapter 4 Next Daniel describes the secnd beast as like a bear raised up n ne side with three ribs in its muth Here again, the symbl matched the histry f the Med-Persian empire that replaced the Babylnian Empire 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Daniel 7 6 f 26 In ancient Palestine, the bear was cnsidered the secnd mst fearsme predatr after the Lin And the bear is a creature knwn fr verpwer by its weight and strength The bear crushes and rips apart its prey Such was the military strategy f the Med-Persian empire They amassed huge armies that defeated enemies by sheer strength in numbers And as they cnquered, they utterly destryed their enemies with a vengeance Furthermre, their empire arse ut f tw peples, the Medes and the Persians, yet it was nt a unin f equals The Persians were by far the mre pwerful peple, having a much larger empire and superir army t the Medes This is reflected in the bear leaning t ne side Heavenly vices tld the bear t devur much meat, meaning t cnquer many natins And the kingdm defeated three majr adversaries in its rise t wrld dminatin First it defeated the Babyln Later it cnquered Lydian Finally, it cnquered Egypt These three cnquests are represented by the three ribs in the bear s muth This empire ruled fr 208 years, having cnquered an area greater than even Babyln pssessed Next, Daniel describes a beast resembling a lepard with fur heads and fur wings This beast crrespnds t the Greek Empire f Alexander the Great, which cnquered the Med-Persians 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Daniel 7 7 f 26 In fact, histry reprts that Alexander pinted t the bk f Daniel in his day as prf he was destined t cnquer the wrld S taking cnfidence in Daniel s predictin, Alexander s armies mved swiftly frm West t East cmpleting a victry in recrd time In three years, Alexander cnquered territry stretching frm Greece t Africa t India, which reflects the swiftness f a lepard During Alexander s life, he delegated gvernmental cntrl ver this vast territry t fur divisins with a single gvernr in charge f each This divisin is represented by the fur heads f the lepard At Alexander s death, he had n heirs, s his empire was divided amng fur generals in fur gegraphical regins There was an East, West, Nrth and Suth divisin, which is represented by the fur wings All these details track with histry and with the earlier dream in chapter 2 They are als f little interest t us, beynd simply cnfirming the accuracy f Daniel s prphecy The real interest has always been with the furth kingdm Nt nly des the fur kingdm receive the mst attentin bth in chapter 2 and here in chapter 7, but it s the mst imprtant histrically This kingdm will be the ne that ushers in the Kingdm f Christ ne day Therefre, we are mst interested in knwing hw this kingdm will prceed ver time and in particular hw it ends Since we knw we are currently living in the furth kingdm perid, then these details will naturally be very imprtant t us In fact, they speak f ur wn future lking ahead t the end f this age S then Daniel describes the next visins he sees in his dream 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Daniel 7 8 f 26 Dan. 7:7 After this I kept lking in the night visins, and behld, a furth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strng; and it had large irn teeth. It devured and crushed and trampled dwn the remainder with its feet; and it was different frm all the beasts that were befre it, and it had ten hrns. Dan. 7:8 While I was cntemplating the hrns, behld, anther hrn, a little ne, came up amng them, and three f the first hrns were pulled ut by the rts befre it; and behld, this hrn pssessed eyes like the eyes f a man and a muth uttering great basts. Dan. 7:9 I kept lking Until thrnes were set up, And the Ancient f Days tk His seat; His vesture was like white snw And the hair f His head like pure wl. His thrne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire. Dan. 7:10 A river f fire was flwing And cming ut frm befre Him; Thusands upn thusands were attending Him, And myriads upn myriads were standing befre Him; The curt sat, And the bks were pened. Dan. 7:11 Then I kept lking because f the sund f the bastful wrds which the hrn was speaking; I kept lking until the beast was slain, and its bdy was destryed and given t the burning fire. Dan. 7:12 As fr the rest f the beasts, their dminin was taken away, but an extensin f life was granted t them fr an appinted perid f time. Dan. 7:13 I kept lking in the night visins, And behld, with the cluds f heaven One like a Sn f Man was cming, And He came up t the Ancient f Days And was presented befre Him. Dan. 7:14 And t Him was given dminin, Glry and a kingdm, That all the peples, natins and men f every language Might serve Him. His dminin is an everlasting dminin Which will nt pass away; And His kingdm is ne Which will nt be destryed Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Daniel 7 9 f 26 The first thing we ntice abut Daniel s descriptin f the furth beast is his inability t cmpare it t any living creature tday In the case f the earlier beasts, Daniel drew cmparisns t real-life animals: a lin, eagle, bear, lepard But in this case, there simply was n cmparisn pssible This beast was unlike anything else, dreadful and terrifying And this detail alne piques ur interest as Gd intended This creature was very strng, with irn teeth, and it trampled and crushed all the prir kingdms This beast crrespnds t the furth kingdm in the statue and as with the earlier beasts, several details cnfirm ur interpretatin First, this kingdm devurs the prir kingdms, cnfirming this kingdm is the ne that fllws Greek Empire Secnd, this beast has irn teeth, which reminds us f the irn legs f the furth kingdm f the statue Third, it has ten hrns We re ging t lk at these hrns mre clsely in a minute, but already we see a cnfirmatin this matches the furth kingdm f the statue In the statue, the furth age ended with ten tes In chapter 2, the meaning f the ten tes weren t explained, but nw the ten hrns in this dream will give pprtunity fr the Lrd t explain Speaking f the hrns, we then learn that amng the ten hrns, an eleventh hrn suddenly appears n the beast This hrn was unique in that it had facial features f a man and was able t speak It utter great basts, meaning it made audacius claims abut itself And it did vilence t three f the ther hrns resulting in nly seven remaining 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Daniel 7 10 f 26 Next, in v.9 we see the end f all the beasts and the arrival f an entirely new kingdm Once again, this detail matches the ending f the statue prphecy In chapter 2, the statue was destryed by the arrival f the rck nt cut by human hands That rck represented Christ s Secnd Cming And f curse the statue itself represents the Age f the Gentiles S we learned that the Age f Gentiles will end when the Lrd returns t set up His kingdm n earth Nw we find a similar pattern in Daniel s dream The 4 beasts here represent the same 4 kingdms f the Age f the Gentiles And nw in v.9 we see a descriptin f Jesus return and the Kingdm First we re tld that thrnes were set up and the Ancient f Days tk His seat This is a reference t the Father Gd He has taken a seat in the sense f a judge preparing t pass judgment His descriptin is similar t the descriptin that Jhn gives us the glrified Lrd in Revelatin 1 Rev. 1:13 and in the middle f the lampstands I saw ne like a sn f man, clthed in a rbe reaching t the feet, and girded acrss His chest with a glden sash. Rev. 1:14 His head and His hair were white like white wl, like snw; and His eyes were like a flame f fire. Thugh ne describes the Father and the ther the Sn, nevertheless the similar appearance f bth is purpseful Jesus appeared t Jhn in Revelatin t explain what events wuld bring the age t an end And Daniel is receiving a dream describing very much the same thing 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Daniel 7 11 f 26 Therefre, these tw mments are intended t be linked in ur minds Hence the similar descriptin f bth members f the Gdhead Arund the Father was the curt f Heaven His thrne was ablaze and a river f fire flwed arund Him He was attended t by thusands and myriads, whether angels r thers And with bks being pened, it s clear that a judgment accrding t law is abut t take place After the Father has sat dwn t judge, ur attentin is turned t events n earth, where the Father s judgment is directed First, the beast (and his basting hrn) is slain and destryed, given ver t a judgment f fire This is a direct result f the Father s judgment in Heaven This pattern f heavenly judgment fllwed by earthly cnsequences mirrrs the events f Revelatin We re seeing that Daniel s visin is a preview f the events described in Revelatin In effect, Daniel 7 is a little Revelatin describing the way the Heavenly judgments f Tribulatin result in earthly destructin Furthermre, nt nly is the furth beast destryed but s are the remnants f the earlier beasts, s that all they represented was als taken away Interestingly, befre this judgment is cncluded this age is permitted t cntinue fr a time We will learn mre abut this time perid later Finally, as judgment cmes against the Gentile kingdms that rule during the Age f Gentiles, a new Kingdm arises This new kingdm begins with the Sn f Man cming frm the cluds f Heaven 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 Daniel 7 12 f 26 This reminds us f the rck cming ut f Heaven and it cnfirms that the rck is Jesus Daniel says in v.13 that the Sn f Man is presented befre the Father befre cming t earth t begin His rule This scene is described in detail in Revelatin 4 & 5 Rev. 4:1 After these things I lked, and behld, a dr standing pen in heaven, and the first vice which I had heard, like the sund f a trumpet speaking with me, said, Cme up here, and I will shw yu what must take place after these things. Rev. 4:2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behld, a thrne was standing in heaven, and One sitting n the thrne. Rev. 4:3 And He wh was sitting was like a jasper stne and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbw arund the thrne, like an emerald in appearance. Rev. 5:1 I saw in the right hand f Him wh sat n the thrne a bk written inside and n the back, sealed up with seven seals. Rev. 5:2 And I saw a strng angel prclaiming with a lud vice, Wh is wrthy t pen the bk and t break its seals? Rev. 5:3 And n ne in heaven r n the earth r under the earth was able t pen the bk r t lk int it. Rev. 5:4 Then I began t weep greatly because n ne was fund wrthy t pen the bk r t lk int it; Rev. 5:5 and ne f the elders said t me, Stp weeping; behld, the Lin that is frm the tribe f Judah, the Rt f David, has vercme s as t pen the bk and its seven seals. Rev. 5:9 And they sang a new sng, saying, Wrthy are Yu t take the bk and t break its seals; fr Yu were slain, and purchased fr Gd with Yur bld men frm every tribe and tngue and peple and natin. Rev. 5:10 Yu have made them t be a kingdm and priests t ur Gd; and they will reign upn the earth. Rev. 5:11 Then I lked, and I heard the vice f many angels arund the thrne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number f them was myriads f myriads, and thusands f thusands, Rev. 5:12 saying with a lud vice, Wrthy is the Lamb that was slain t receive pwer and riches and wisdm and might and hnr and glry and blessing Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 Daniel 7 13 f 26 Ntice the descriptin f the scene Myriads f angels attending t the Father n the thrne And the Sn f Gd being presented befre the Father and receiving the right t judge the wrld Finally, the Sn being granted a kingdm n earth having purchased the earth with His bld Cmpare that descriptin t the ne we have in Daniel v.14 All the same features are present Peple frm every tribe, tngue and natin serving Christ The Sn f Man presented befre the Father The Sn granted a dminin And Christ s dminin will last frever There will never be anther Gentile natin r any kingdm t take pwer away frm Christ By the way, when Jesus referred t Himself as Messiah in the Gspels, the title He used mst ften was Sn f Man, fund here in Daniel He uses the title 31 times in Matthew alne It seems Jesus was emphasizing He was the fulfillment f Daniel s prphecy Jesus is the One cming t end the furth kingdm He is the One granted authrity t rule ver the wrld S t this pint in Daniel s dream, we see a cnsistent parallel with Daniel 2 The fur beasts represent the fur kingdms f the Age f Gentiles The final kingdm is different than the rest It pssesses an unique final stage invlve the symbl ten And it leads the wrld int the secnd cming f Christ We als learned sme new details 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 Daniel 7 14 f 26 The symbl ten is mre cmplex than we saw in chapter 2 It invlves an eleventh that makes great claims abut itself and cntends with the ther ten And these things accmpany a brief perid f intense judgment pured ut frm Gd in Heaven against the furth kingdm Obviusly, there is still a lt f questins we wanted answered, and Daniel feels the same way, s we see what he des next Dan. 7:15 As fr me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within me, and the visins in my mind kept alarming me. Dan. 7:16 I apprached ne f thse wh were standing by and began asking him the exact meaning f all this. S he tld me and made knwn t me the interpretatin f these things: Dan. 7:17 These great beasts, which are fur in number, are fur kings wh will arise frm the earth. Dan. 7:18 But the saints f the Highest One will receive the kingdm and pssess the kingdm frever, fr all ages t cme. Daniel says his spirit was distressed at these visins, fr bvius reasns Just as Nebuchadnezzar had been disturbed by his dream, Daniel was preccupied in seeking answers fr his visins It seems when Gd send messages by dreams, the receiver will always sense that the dream has unique imprtance This may be a gd rule f thumb fr us t knw if a dream is truly spiritually meaningful Des the dream stick in yur mind in an unique way? D yu feel cmpelled t understand it? If nt, it s prbably just t much pizza the night befre But Daniel knws this dream is imprtant In fact, even while he is still in his dream state, Daniel addresses a fellw bserver in the dream visins asking fr answers Wuldn t it be nice t have smene in yur dreams with yu t explain why yu went t schl in nly yur underwear? In this case, the ne wh culd interpret dreams needed an interpreter 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

15 Daniel 7 15 f 26 This little detail reminds us why the Lrd wrks thrugh interpreters The kings f Babyln received visins, but they lacked answers S when they received their answer supernaturally, they understd the dream had been a divine message Similarly, even the prphet needed divine interventin t understand the message, which validated it was frm Gd In this case, we dn t knw the identity f the divine interpreter, but given what we see happening later in the bk f Daniel, it was likely an angel In the interpretatin, we find cnfirmatin f all the interpretatin I prpsed in the earlier passage First, the fur beasts are fur kingdms, the same kingdms as in chapter 2 And the final kingdm is the kingdm f Gd that cmes t rule the earth after the end f these fur Gentile Kingdms Again, n surprises here But Daniel had ther things he wanted t knw, just like us Dan. 7:19 Then I desired t knw the exact meaning f the furth beast, which was different frm all the thers, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth f irn and its claws f brnze, and which devured, crushed and trampled dwn the remainder with its feet, Dan. 7:20 and the meaning f the ten hrns that were n its head and the ther hrn which came up, and befre which three f them fell, namely, that hrn which had eyes and a muth uttering great basts and which was larger in appearance than its assciates. Dan. 7:21 I kept lking, and that hrn was waging war with the saints and verpwering them Dan. 7:22 until the Ancient f Days came and judgment was passed in favr f the saints f the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints tk pssessin f the kingdm. Daniel s attentin was fcused n the furth beast because it was s unique Of curse, Gd made it unique t draw Daniel s attentin and t draw ur attentin as well In particular, Daniel wanted t knw abut thse hrns and the eleventh ne 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

16 Daniel 7 16 f 26 Ntice Daniel gives us a little mre detail abut the bastful hrn s behavir He adds that this eleventh hrn is waging war against the saints A saint is nt a special persn abve ther believers The term saint in scripture is always a reference t any and all wh belng t Gd, His children by faith, thse wh believe We wuld save tday thse wh are saved r brn again S at the end f the Age f Gentiles, an eleventh hrn is trying t kill believers And Daniel says the hrn was verpwering them That is the hrn was succeeding in killing believers But the hrn s pwer nly lasted until the Ancient f Days passed judgment in favr f the saints Interestingly, Daniel then says that the saints, including thse wh have been verpwered, were nw taking pssessin f the earthly kingdm In ther wrds, thse wh were killed by the eleventh hrn lived again And in their living, they tk back the kingdm that the furth beast and his eleventh hrn had fught t btain S the eleventh hrn may have wn a battle here r there, but he lst the war The saints and their King, Christ, win in the end This nw brings us t the heart f the chapter, when the angel interprets the meaning f these new symbls t Daniel Dan. 7:23 Thus he said: The furth beast will be a furth kingdm n the earth, which will be different frm all the ther kingdms and will devur the whle earth and tread it dwn and crush it. Dan. 7:24 As fr the ten hrns, ut f this kingdm ten kings will arise; and anther will arise after them, and he will be different frm the previus nes and will subdue three kings. Dan. 7:25 He will speak ut against the Mst High and wear dwn the saints f the Highest One, and he will intend t make alteratins in times and in law; and they will be given int his hand fr a time, times, and half a time Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

17 Daniel 7 17 f 26 Dan. 7:26 But the curt will sit fr judgment, and his dminin will be taken away, annihilated and destryed frever. Dan. 7:27 Then the svereignty, the dminin and the greatness f all the kingdms under the whle heaven will be given t the peple f the saints f the Highest One; His kingdm will be an everlasting kingdm, and all the dminins will serve and bey Him. Dan. 7:28 At this pint the revelatin ended. As fr me, Daniel, my thughts were greatly alarming me and my face grew pale, but I kept the matter t myself. The angel s interpretatin fleshes ut the last days f the furth kingdm in remarkable detail And as yu re ging t see, these details map perfectly t later prphecy given t the Apstle Jhn in Revelatin First, the angel says in v.23 that the furth kingdm is a different type f kingdm It s different in cmparisn t the three that came befre it This reminds us f the statue descriptin frm chapter 2 In chapter 2 Daniel tld Nebuchadnezzar this: Dan. 2:40 Then there will be a furth kingdm as strng as irn; inasmuch as irn crushes and shatters all things, s, like irn that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. Dan. 2:41 In that yu saw the feet and tes, partly f ptter s clay and partly f irn, it will be a divided kingdm; but it will have in it the tughness f irn, inasmuch as yu saw the irn mixed with cmmn clay. Dan. 2:42 As the tes f the feet were partly f irn and partly f pttery, s sme f the kingdm will be strng and part f it will be brittle. Dan. 2:43 And in that yu saw the irn mixed with cmmn clay, they will cmbine with ne anther in the seed f men; but they will nt adhere t ne anther, even as irn des nt cmbine with pttery. Ntice in this descriptin, the furth kingdm will cnsist f alliances being brken apart nly t jin back tgether in new ways When we studied this chapter, we cncluded that the furth kingdm was different than the prir three It wasn t a mnlithic gvernment r empire 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

18 Daniel 7 18 f 26 It began as the Rman Empire, which itself when thrugh numerus phases ver its existence But eventually it brke up int pieces, which later recmbined in varius alliances Even tday we see that pattern cntinuing Just as the alliances have changed, s have the names it calls itself But in all cases, the furth kingdm cntinues t exist and t exert it s cntrlling authrity ver Jerusalem and the Jewish peple Nw in Daniel 7 we see the angel cnfirming this pattern in v.23 This kingdm is different than the rest Dn t try t find a single natin r gvernment t represent the whle f this kingdm Because Gd has designed it t be different than the pattern He established in the earlier three kingdms This is ne f the primary mistakes interpreters make in trying t label the furth kingdm in histrical terms The amillennialist (thse wh dn t believe in a literal 1,000 kingdm f Christ n earth) cmmnly makes this mistake They hld that the furth kingdm was nthing mre than Rme, s that nce the Rman Empire disappeared, the Age f Gentiles ended Therefre, this leads them t cnclude we must nw be living in the prmised Kingdm This view is wrng fr many reasns accrding t scripture, but ne reasn is fund here in Daniel If we assign the furth kingdm t the Rman Empire alne, then this kingdm can t be said t be truly different frm the rest In fact, it wuld be very much like the rest N, the meaning f the angel s wrds in v.23 (and Daniel s in chapter 2) tell us t lk fr smething unlike what has cme befre 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

19 Daniel 7 19 f 26 Specifically, the furth kingdm perid may start with a mnlithic pwer in Rme but it desn t end that way After Rme the furth kingdm lives n, dividing and recmbining int new alliances These alliances being frmed frm amng the crushed pieces f the earlier kingdms This is exactly what we ve seen in the centuries after Rme and it cntinues tday (Brexit, anyne?) Then in v.24 the angel begins t explain the hrns Each hrn represent a king he says Out f this furth kingdm, fur kings will arise These are the ten hrns Daniel saw initially Ntice that these ten hrns are cntempraries They are exist and rule at the same time All ten are tgether Just as the statue in Daniel 2 ended with ten tes lined up tgether Als, remember that the statue was a timeline, s therefre the tes represented the very end f the Age f Gentiles Nw we knw that the ten tes symblize the ten kings again S this tells us that the ten kings must cme at the very end f the age, right befre the Lrd s return We are living in the furth kingdm nw and yet we dn t see ten rulers cntrlling the entire earth In fact, we have never see this cme t pass during this kingdm perid Therefre, we knw this prphecy still lies in ur future t Sme (particularly amillennialists) have interpreted the ten kings as ten successive caesars f Rme There are numerus prblems with this interpretatin 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

20 Daniel 7 20 f 26 But a key prblem is that the symbl if ten hrns requires these kings rule at the same time And again, the wrld has yet t see ten wrld rulers during the time f the furth kingdm Therefre, this must be an unfulfilled prphecy The angel cntinues in v.24 t explain the meaning f the strange eleventh hrn This extra hrn is als a ruler, as the symbl suggests But he is nt like the rest We wnder in what way he is different, and we get mre detail later in chapters 9 and 11 We als get details in the New Testament, particular in Revelatin Fr nw, the angel says this hrn will subdue three f the existing kings This detail cnfirms that the ten kings must be cntempraries, since three are being depsed by the eleventh The wrd subdue culd have been translated humbled These kings are brught lw, taken ut f pwer Apparently, the eleventh king desn t need t humble the ther seven, since presumably they dn t ppse him Once the eleventh king has cnslidated his pwer, he begins t g t war against Gd Himself and the saints f Gd, that is believers During this time he will intend r try t make changes t times and t law These statements are bscure being by themselves s we can nly prpse pssibilities A change in times suggests a change t ur calendar Remembering ur calendar is centered n the first cming f Christ S it makes sense that smene wh ppses Gd wuld seek t change a calendar that hnrs His Sn 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

21 Daniel 7 21 f 26 And a change in law culd be almst anything, but cnsidering what we knw, it seems t relate t ppsing the saints Perhaps he utlaws wrship f Christ Perhaps he determines that thse wh are prfessing Christians are t be executed We will see cnfirmatin f this in Revelatin Then the angel says this king will have his way n earth fr a perid f time, specifically a time, times and half a time This phrase is well-knwn t students f prphecy, especially in the bk f Revelatin The phrase is a simple arithmetic equatin The wrd time represents the number 1 The wrd times represents the number 2 (plural f time) And then half a time represents.5 S the phrase can be written = 3.5 Later in the bk f Revelatin, which describes this same perid f time, we cme t learn that this phrase describes 3.5 years f time S the eleventh hrn reigns ver the earth, persecuting the saints and ppsing Gd, fr three and a half years This is what Daniel meant earlier when he said the kingdm was granted an extensin f life fr a brief time The Ancient f Days has already sat fr judgment and the sentence has been decreed But fr a shrt time, this king is allwed t cntinue thugh his fate has already been fixed and his judgment is sure S the final thing the angel describes is that cming judgment and the kingdm t fllw In v.26 the angel says the curt sits fr judgment and the eleventh king s dminin is taken away and he is destryed frever 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

22 Daniel 7 22 f 26 In his place rule f the whle earth is handed ver t the saints, the peple f the Mst High We will live in this Kingdm with ur King We serve Him and bey Him Befre we leave this chapter, let s cmpare what we ve learned in Daniel 7 t a passage frm Revelatin 13 In Revelatin 13, we re tld f a cming wrld ruler, called the beast, wh will cnquer the entire earth Rev. 13:1 And the dragn std n the sand f the seashre. Then I saw a beast cming up ut f the sea, having ten hrns and seven heads, and n his hrns were ten diadems, and n his heads were blasphemus names. Rev. 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like a lepard, and his feet were like thse f a bear, and his muth like the muth f a lin. And the dragn gave him his pwer and his thrne and great authrity. Rev. 13:3 I saw ne f his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wund was healed. And the whle earth was amazed and fllwed after the beast; Rev. 13:4 they wrshiped the dragn because he gave his authrity t the beast; and they wrshiped the beast, saying, Wh is like the beast, and wh is able t wage war with him? Rev. 13:5 There was given t him a muth speaking arrgant wrds and blasphemies, and authrity t act fr frty-tw mnths was given t him. This beast f a man is described as having ten hrns with ten crwns Ntice he cmes up frm the sea again, as did the beasts f Daniel 7 And ntice this particular beast is cnstructed f parts f all fur beasts frm Daniel 7 And he had ten hrns n which sit ten crwns Clearly these details are intended t cnnect Daniel 7 t Revelatin 13 Then at sme pint, this leader is killed and yet after a time his fatal wund is healed In ther wrds, he is resurrected 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

23 Daniel 7 23 f 26 As a result f his miraculus resurrectin, the wrld is amazed and begins t fllw this man thinking him all pwerful After this event, he begins t bast arrgantly Finally, ntice he has his time in the sptlight fr 42 mnths, which happens t be 3.5 years All these details cnfirm that this man is the eleventh hrn f Daniel 7 He is cming int pwer in the final three and a half years f the furth Kingdm, which is als the final 3.5 years befre Christ s return He ges by many names in the Bible, including the eleventh hrn and the beast Later in chapter 9 Daniel will call him the prince t cme Paul calls him the sn f destructin and the man f lawlessness Jhn labels him the sn f perditin and mst famusly f all, the antichrist He rules the entire wrld fr the final half f a seven-year perid called Tribulatin And he is able t gain rule ver the wrld by defeating the ten kings that rule in his day And by his miraculus resurrectin, he cnvinces the wrld he is the Christ, Gd Himself This is bastful thing he claims, the arrgant blaspheme he cmmits Hw is able t d these things? In Revelatin 13:2 we were tld that the dragn gave his pwer t the beast, enabling him t resurrect and cmmand the wrld s bedience Revelatin 12 tells us that this dragn is Satan himself He brings this man t pwer, and thrugh a cup he takes cntrl f the ten kings Daniel says he humbles three f the seven, and Revelatin says he is killed and then resurrected at the mid-pint f Tribulatin 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

24 Daniel 7 24 f 26 It wuld seem, then, that in his effrt t gain cntrl f the wrld, three f the ten cnspire t kill this eleventh man They succeed in killing him, nly t see him return t life by the pwer f Satan At that pint, the beast uprts thse three kings while the ther seven fall in line Revelatin 17 explains it this way Rev. 17:12 The ten hrns which yu saw are ten kings wh have nt yet received a kingdm, but they receive authrity as kings with the beast fr ne hur. Rev. 17:13 These have ne purpse, and they give their pwer and authrity t the beast. S the ten tes f Daniel 2 and the ten hrns f Daniel 7 bth pint t a cnfederacy f ten kings that rule the wrld Revelatin cnfirms that these men rule at the same time in histry at a pint in the future, shrtly befre Christ s return They exist fr the purpse f enabling the antichrist t rise, when they may give their pwer t him That is the final state f the furth kingdm Therefre, we knw that the secnd cming f Christ culd nt happen tmrrw That event depends n several things happening first beginning with the emergence f ten wrld rulers in place f the hundreds we have tday Later an eleventh man must appear, the antichrist Then he must gain full pwer fr 42 mnths Only then can Christ return, accrding t Daniel In fact, we can precisely date the return f Christ It will be exactly 42 mnths (3.5 years) after the antichrist gains cntrl f the entire wrld Sme might wnder what abut Christ s wrds that n ne will knw the day and hur f His cming, nt even the angels r the Sn Himself? 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

25 Daniel 7 25 f 26 That statement cmes frm Matthew 24:36 in the Olivet Discurse When Jesus spke thse wrds, He wasn t referring t His Secnd Cming He was referring t His return fr His Bride, the Church The mment Christ returns t claim the Church and remve us frm the earth is a mment that has n warnings, n prerequisites We cannt knw that mment, nr des even the Sn It s a mment chsen by the Father alne But Christ s secnd cming t earth t establish His kingdm is a date dependent n a series f ther events, which Daniel and Revelatin describe S nw at the end f ur chiasm we have a clear understanding f the Age f Gentiles It is a perid Gd brught t pass against his wn peple It will be man y centuries f Gentiles ruling ver Israel The perid is marked by furth majr empires Daniel saw the arrival f the first tw We are living near the end f the furth Despite subjecting Israel t this age f Gentiles, the Lrd hasn t frgtten them He will cntinue t act t preserve a remnant amng Israel When they are persecuted by Gentiles, the Lrd will be their strength Daniel and his friends experienced this lessn persnally And finally, the fact that Gentile rulers have cntrl ver Israel desn t mean they act with impunity Gd Himself retains His svereignty ver every ruler n earth S that even as Gentiles will cmmand Israel, Gd will cmmand them 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

26 Daniel 7 26 f 26 This is a final assurance t Israel that Gd is nt mving t destry them but t discipline them And s that He may extend mercy t Gentiles as well 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.