The Master of History, God (Daniel 7:1-8)

The Master of History, God (Daniel 7:1-8)

 

“1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.

2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.

3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

4 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 stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.

6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.

7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.”

 

 

1. John F. Walvoord  was a Christian theologian, pastor, and president of Dallas Theological Seminary from 1952 to 1986 and he said this was the importance of the Book of Daniel:

“Of all the books containing prophecies, the Book of Daniel is the clearest and most sound with the broadest scope of the world’s history. It describes the rise and fall of nations, records the path of the people, and reveals God’s plans for the world and the church. Hence, the Book of Daniel is the foundation for all prophecies made in both the Old and New Testament.”

 

This is true. The chapter 2 and 7 in Daniel are crucial in understanding the prophecies of the Book of Revelation as well as the history of the world. Thus, understanding Daniel chapters 2 and 7 are vital for anyone who is interested in the history of the world and the prophecies of the end.

 

 

A) First, let us review the main points of Daniel chapter 2.

 

Daniel 2 records the stories of Daniel when he had just turned 20. At this time, God had given a terrifying and undecipherable dream to the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. Scared, the king called forth every sorcerer, wise man, astrologer and fortune-teller and commanded an interpretation of the dream or all would be put to death. But no one could.

Daniel, who had been captured as a prisoner, alone was able to successfully interpret the dream.

In doing this Daniel gained the king’s trust, and from then on Daniel was placed in a high position beside the king.

This is the story of Daniel 2.

 

What Daniel saw in the king’s dream was the fall of Babylon and the rise and fall of the great empires of the world following it.

 

What Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream was an enormous statue, dazzling and sparkling with a head of pure gold, chest arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet partly iron and partly baked clay. Then, a rock from the sky struck the statue, destroying it so not a trace was left and in its place the rock that struck it became a mountain and filled the whole earth.

 

Daniel began to interpret the dream, telling Nebuchadnezzar the gold head represented the king himself and after the king new nations would rise. The statue he saw was the empires of history, starting with Babylon. The rock from the sky represents the Kingdom of God and the end of the world through Jesus Christ.

 

Daniel 2: 42-25

“42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.”

 

B) The connection between chapters 2 and 7

 

Daniel 2 records the prophecies he made through the king’s dream when he was young; Daniel 7 records the prophecies he made through his own dreams when he was nearly 70 years old.

Daniel chapter 7 delves into deeper detail the rise and fall of the empires and the people mentioned in the prophecy of chapter 2.

 

1. The Appearance of the Four Beasts

 

This story begins in the first year of the Babylonian king Belshazzar when Daniel had a dream, “I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another”

·         The first beast (verse 4): a lion with the wings of an eagle

·         The second beast (verse 5): a bear that had raised itself up on one side with 3 ribs in its mouth

·         The third beast (verse 6): a leopard with four wings and four heads

·         The fourth beast (verse 7): a dreadful beast with great iron teeth and ten horns; a little horn came up afterwards

 

2. The Angel’s Interpretation of the Revelation

 

Daniel 7:16-17 describes Daniel witnessing this strange vision and asking an angel “one like the son of man” the meaning of what he was seeing and he replied, “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.”

 

Daniel learns that the four beasts represent the four kings of the four nations that will rule this earth. The empires depicted in the statue in chapter 2 appear once again, more defined, in chapter 7.

 

In verse 23, the angel says, “The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth” meaning the four beasts show the order in which the kingdoms they represent will rule the earth.

 

3. Lion = Babylon

 

Daniel 7:4 “4 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 stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.”

 

#Based on archeological findings, the Babylonians had used the lion as a symbol for themselves. 2400 years later even today the ancient city walls of Babylon depict images and statues of lions. Just as the Babylonians were the gold head, the king of metals, of the statue in Daniel 2, the Babylonians are the king of the animal kingdom, the lion, with the wings of the king of birds, the eagle, in Daniel 7.

 

#But as time passed, Babylon lost its tenacity and aggressive lion and eagle-like nature and eventually became soft like “a man’s heart” and disappeared.

We can see from historical records that the kings following Nebuchadnezzar were all weak and soft. These kings turned their attention away from politics and the military and instead focused on the arts, culture, and religion thus making their own kingdom weaker. As the time for a new kingdom to rise came, the once powerful Babylon was conquered by the allied Media and Persia (Medo-Persia).

 

4. Bear = Medo-Persia

 

 

Daniel 7:5, “5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.” The bear represents the valor, persistence, and merciless qualities of Medo-Persia.

#The bear raising itself on one side depicts the unstable, uneven power of the two allied nations. Chapter 2 descries the chest and arms of the statue to be made of silver. This image is projected as a bear raised on its side in chapter 7. Media and Persia were brother Indo-European nations. Although Media had main control in the beginning of history, later Persia rose to power and overtook Media completely.

#The 3 ribs in the mouth of the bear represent the three kingdoms Medo-Persia conquered: Lydia, Babylon, and Egypt.

#The bear “devour[ing] much flesh” prophesizes the Persians killing and carrying out a much more brutal war than the Babylonians.

 

Following these conquests, a power seeking to take over the world began to rise in the Hellenic region: Alexander the Great. Despite Persia’s last king, King Darius III, preparing for Alexander’s invasion with a strong military, Persia eventually lost the war thus ending Persia’s reign and beginning Ancient Greece’s, the leopard.

 

5. Leopard  = Greece  

Daniel 7:6 says, “6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.”

The leopard is a small but fast and brave wild animal. The wings on its back only amplify its sharpness and quickness, much like Alexander the Great’s history of leading Macedonia Greece to conquering the most land in the shortest time.

 

At the age of 20 Alexander rose to the throne and with just 70 talents for money, a month’s worth of food, and 35,000 horseback men he conquered Persia and Asia Minor. To the east he conquered lands all the way to India, but died at the young age of 33 due to a lifestyle of excessive indulgence and illness. He moved to north, south, east, and west quickly like a bird and took over large lands in short time.

 

#Then what does the four heads mentioned in the Bible mean? The head in the Bible is often associated with leadership. This revelation became clear after the death of Alexander. Upon his death, discussion over who would be Alexander’s successor broke out. With the only instructions of naming his successor being “to the strongest”, Alexander’s once unified empire broke into four, under the rule of his four strongest generals.

 

Yet, the now divided Ancient Greece are inevitable dominated by the fourth beast, Rome.

 

6. The Dreadful and Terrible Beast= Rome

 

 

Daniel 7:7, “7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.”

The angel, mentioned before, describes, “The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.” (Daniel 7:23)

 

#Daniel 2:40 describes the Roman Empires power like this: “Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.”

Daniel 7:7 says, “it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it”.

The Roman Empire was like iron and conquered the known world.

 

#Why did Daniel use clear animals to describe the first three beasts, but he merely says the fourth is “a dreadful and terrible beast”? What is it about the fourth beast that made Daniel feel such fear?

It is because it is Rome that crucified the Son of God, Jesus Christ; it is Rome that killed and made martyrs of Jacob Peter, Paul, and other apostles; it is Rome and the Roman Catholics of the Middle Ages that persecuted the Christians. 

Hence, Daniel says in 7:15, “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me.”

 

#Daniel says the fourth beast as different from the rest and that it had 10 horns on its head. What does this mean? It describes the future of Rome when it falls and the 10 independent nation-states that will rise from it.

 

Last, Daniel sees a small horn come up and focuses on it. This is because the horn not only represents politics, but also religious characteristics.

He says in 7:8, “8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.”

 

The angel explains this revelation to Daniel, “24 The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. 25 He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.” (Daniel 7:24-45)

This small horn represents the religious groups with political agendas: the Catholic Church and Pope who will come to persecute Christians and bring forth a dark time.

 

 

Through today’s sermon we were able to learn about the four beasts in the Book and Daniel and see how their appearance was clearly reflected in our history through the providence of God. Seeing how powerful empires rise and fall in sync with the revelation of the Lord reminds us of God’s greatness. Among the many religious texts and books of today’s world, only can the word of God speak such truth, prophecies, and revelation. only does our God deserve our endless praise.

 

Next time, we will take a deeper and detailed look into the fourth beast and a religious power that comes to rise near its end.