|
||||
|
||||
|
This vision was given to Daniel in the first year Belshazzar descendant of King Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon. In his vision,
Daniel had seen 4 great beasts. Note the similarities and compare with chapters 2 and 8 of the book of Daniel.
Daniel 7
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 allthe 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.
9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment
was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
10 A
fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood
before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn
spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.
12 As concerning the rest of
the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.
13 I saw in the night visions,
and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before
him.
14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, 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.
15 I Daniel was
grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.
16 I came near unto one of them that stood by,
and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.
17 These great beasts, which
are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess
the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others,
exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with
his feet;
20 And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn
that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.
21 I beheld, and the same horn
made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the
most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
23 Thus he said, 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.
24 And
the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from
the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints
of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing
of time.
26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
27 And the
kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most
High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
28 Hitherto is the end of the matter. As
for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.
The four
beasts are four kingdoms in which four kings would rule (v. 3, 17).
These are the four beasts and their comparison with Daniel
2:
Lion with eagle wings:
Babylon 609-539 B.C. (v. 4)
head of gold (Daniel 2)
Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon from 605 to
562 B.C. (Healy). Babylon was under the rule of Belshazzar when this vision was given to Daniel.
The eagle wings of the lion:
The eagle itself is symbolic of Babylon under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar, and the two wings are symbolic of the kingdom ruled under
Nabonidus (Nebuchadnezzar's son-in-law, married to his daughter Nitrocris) and that part commanded by Nabonidus' son Belshazzar.
Bear
with 3 ribs in its mouth:
Medo-Persia 539-333 B.C. (v. 5)
breast and arms of silver (Daniel 2)
Cyrus the Great ruled Medo-Persia
from 559-530 B.C. (Abbott). He ruled Babylon beginning in 539 B.C.
The three ribs of the bear:
three empires
which Cyrus the Great defeated: Median Empire, Lydian Empire, and Neo-Babylonian Empire.
Leopard with 4 fowl wings and 4
heads:
Grecian Empire, 333-168 B.C. (v. 6)
belly and thighs of brass (Daniel 2)
Alexander the Great ruled the Grecian Empire from
336-323 B.C. (Skelton). The four fowl wings of the leopard were the four kingdoms that the Grecian Empire would become after
Alexander the Great's death.
The four heads of the leopard were the four Kings that would rule each Kingdom:
Kingdom of Ptolemy I
Soter
Ruler of Egypt from 323-283 B.C. Founder of Ptolemic Kingdom and Ptolemaic Dynasty. In 305/4 B.C., took the title of King
Kingdom
of Cassander
Cassander was son of Antipater, Macedonian general of Alexander the Great. Ruled from 305-297 B.C. Founded the Antipatrid
Dynasty. Declared himself king of Macedon in 302 B.C. His dynasty was overthrown in 294 B.C. by the Antigonid Dynasty, led by Alexander
the Great's General Antigonus.
Kingdom of Lysimachus
King from 306-281 B.C. Ruled Thrace, Asia Minor, and Macedonia.
Kingdom of Seleucus
I Nicator
Reigned from 305-281 B.C. Established the Seleucid Dynasty and the Seleucid Empire. At it's greatest, this Empire included
Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, Turkmenistan, and Pamir.
Beast with ten horns, dreadful and terrible:
Rome, both
as a republic and an empire (v. 7-8, 11, 17, 19-21, 23).
legs of iron (Daniel 2)
Rome as a republic began in 508 B.C. (Hill).
It became part of the statue of Daniel 2 and the fourth beast of Daniel 7 with its defeat of the previous beast, the leopard (the
Grecian Empire) in 168 B.C., and it lasted until 27 B.C.
feet part iron and part clay (Daniel 2)
Rome as an empire, 27 B.C.- A.D.
30.
Ten horns of the beast:
the ten emperors of Rome from Caesar to Vitelius (v. 7, 20, 24)
Julius Caesar: 49-44 B.C., Emperor: 44 B.C.
Mark Antony: 43-31 B.C., triumvirate with Lepidus and Octavian.
Octavian: 27 B.C.-A.D. 14, first consecutive Emperor
Tiberius: A.D.
14-37
Caligula: A.D. 37-41
Claudius: A.D. 41-54
Nero: A.D. 54-68
Year of 4 Emperors (A.D. 68-69): Galba, Otho, Vitelius, VespasianVespasian subdued the three and became the official emperor.
Vespasian: A.D. 69-79
The 11th horn was Vespasian; the next two emperors,
Titus and Domitian, were Vespasian's lineage as his children and thus part of the 11th horn (v. 8, 11, 20, 21, 24-26).
[Roman emperors
considered themselves to be leaders of a Republic and not Kings. Accordingly, emperors were not chosen based on heredity, although
some were lineage of their predecessors. The choosing of an emperor was based on their ability to lead an army. As leader of their
country, an emperor was also the leader of the military force of the country. An emperor was chosen as next emperor either by his
predecessor or by the military. Although some of these ten leaders (beasts) were interrelated, only Titus and Domitian were direct
lineage of a previous ruler, this being Vespasian.]
It was in the rule of Vespasian that his son Titus destroyed the Temple
of Jerusalem. This was after previously trying to contract peace with the Jews in A.D. 67. With the destruction of the Temple, he
tried "to change laws and times" (v. 25).
[The next "beast" to try "to change laws and times" by Jewish war would be Hadrian (ruled
A.D. 117-138). He prohibited the Torah Law and the Hebrew calendar, and ceremonially burned the sacred scroll on the Temple Mount.
He sought to rebuild Jerusalem, renaming it after himself and a Roman deity. His attempt was to root out Judaism He continued
to persecute Jews.]
The period from A.D. 67, when Titus tried to settle peace by contract, to A.D. 70, when Jerusalem and the
Temple was destroyed, was 3 1/2 years: "a time, times, and the dividing of time" (v. 25).
[This destruction of the Temple was forewarned
by the Lord (Mark 13:14). After the resurrection of the Messiah and Holy Shavu'ot (Pentecost) took place, the Kingdom of God had come.
The old kingdoms of false idol worship were defeated. It was time for the Saints to take the Kingdom. From the time of the destruction
of the temple, the gospel was ministered to the rest of the world.]
After Vespasian, his son Titus ruled from A.D. 79-81. Titus
supposedly fell ill to a fever, although there was speculation that his brother Domitian had something to do with his passing. Domitian
replaced his brother as emperor. He ruled from A.D. 81-96. His first act was to deify his brother. As indeed the beast (whose
deadly wound was healed" (Rev. 13:12) of Revelation (Rev. 13, 17), he was the most prominent persecutor of early Christians after
Nero. He was assassinated in a palace conspiracy organized by court officials. His body was cremated and thus "given to the burning
flame" (verse 11). Nero and Domitian particularly "made war with the saints" and would "wear out the saints of the most high" (v.
21, 25). Nero was before the 11th horn yet from the main "beast" and Domitian was part of the 11th horn. Both sons belonged
to the horn because they were the sons of the horn as sons of Vespasian.
Most pagan emperors were deified after death. Domitian,
however, deified himself while still alive, believing himself to be a god. Although the Kingdom now belonged to the saints, the beasts
would continue for "a season and time" (v. 12). Thus, persecution of the saints would last a while longer.The Roman Empire would legalize
Christianity, and it would continue to be "partly strong and partly broken" (Dan. 2:42) by wars within and without the Empire until
its decline and then fall.
The years A.D. 395-476 saw the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Rome had been sacked in A.D. 410 by
the Visigoths. This began the fall. In A.D. 476, Odacer, who was of Hunnic lineage (a nomadic tribe of Central Asia), removed from
the throne the last Western Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustus, and became the first barbarian ruler of Italy. The Western Empire had
officially ended.
The Roman Empire, already separated as Western and Eastern Roman Empires, became further divided as the Heruli,
Suevi, Burgundians, Huns, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Vandals, Lombards, Franks, and Anglo-Saxons (Machiavelli). The divisions of the Roman
Empire to date include Italy, Greece, British Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Germanic nations, Spanish
Peninsula, Turkey.
These countries are the foundation of Rome since its rule as the beast so they continue with symbolism of
the ten horns of Revelation 13,17. The eleventh horn continues its symbolism with the beast and the false prophet (Rev. 19:19-21).
The difference is that at the time of Daniel's vision the saints take the kingdom for the Lord, a prophecy that begins with
early Christianity. The beast and false prophet are a symbolic continuation of this same beast but take place before Christ's
return.
When the Lamb returns, He will take the worldly kingdoms that exist at the time (Rev. 11:15). He will rule over them and
the saints will possess the Kingdom with Him (Rev. 20:4).
The Spiritual Kingdom of God: Christ from the beginning of Christianity to
eternity (v. 13-14, 18, 22, 27) "until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High: and the time
came that the saints possessed the Kingdom" (v. 22).
Revelation 20
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment
was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had
not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they livedand reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Daniel 7 explained verse by verse:
Daniel 7
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 beasts: 4 kingdoms]
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.
[beast 1: lion with eagle wings that were plucked, Babylon]
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.
[beast 2: bear with 3 ribs in mouth, Medo-Persia]
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.
[beast 3: leopard
with 4 wings of a fowl and 4 heads, Greece]
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.
[beast 4: dreadful and terrible with iron teeth and
10 horns, Rome]
8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three ofthe 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.
[another
little horn came up and 3 of the 10 horns were plucked up; the year of the 4 emperors]
9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down,
and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like
the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
[God the Father, day of judgment]
10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before
him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books
were opened.
[judgment was set, books were opened]
11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I
beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.
[horn spoke great words, beast was destroyed]
After Daniel
sees the Day of Judgment (v. 9-10) which takes place after the 1000 year reign of Christ (Rev. 20:11-12), God takes Daniel back in
time within the vision to see the time of the horn again (v. 11) so that God could show him greater detail about the beasts
and horn.
Daniel sees the time when the beast was "slain" and burned "even till." This beast is Domitian who was was slain
"even till." The words "even till" mean "eventually" as in the beast that spake "great words" would eventually be slain.
[Notice
that this beast was "slain" and not "cast alive" in the flame as the beast in Revelation is at Christ's return (Rev. 19:20).]
12 As
concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.
[The rest
of the beasts of the Roman Empire had their dominion taken away because their empire was no longer the empire that was to rule; the
Kingdom now belonged to God's chosen (the saints). However, their lives were prolonged for "a season and time." The Roman Empire would
adapt to Christianity before it would decline and fall (v. 14).]
13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man
came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
[Messiah's return with God the
Father. The Son of Man is the Messiah and the Ancient of Days is the Father. Here, Daniel sees Messiah's return "with the clouds
of heaven."]
[Verses 11-13 continue from the time the beast is destroyed (v. 11) to the rest of the beasts (v. 12) to the end of theage and Messiah's return.]
14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, 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.
[This
Messiah "was given" a kingdom. He will return "with the clouds" (v. 13) to rule this Kingdom He "was given" or had previously been
given. It will be forever because His Kingdom is an "everlasting dominion" so it will not end.]
15 I Daniel was grieved in my
spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.
16 I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him
the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.
17 These great beasts, which are four, are
four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
[4 beasts are 4 kings that will rule 4 kingdoms]
18 But the saints of the most High
shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
[The saints will take the Kingdom (ministry of the
gospel) and possess the Kingdom forever. (They share the Kingdom of God with Christ for ever and ever.)]
[Note it says it is Jesus' chosen
who will take the Kingdom. While Jesus is the stone that establishes the Kingdom, the saints take it through ministry.]
19 Then
I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and
his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;
[Roman Empire]
20 And of the ten horns that
were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake
very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.
[10 horns: ten kings from the Roman Empire; 11th horn: another that
would come from the Roman Empire that would subdue 3 of the 10 original horns]
21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints,
and prevailed against them;
[11th horn made war with the children of God]
22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given
to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
[God gives right of judgment to the saints and
they possess the Kingdom.]
23 Thus he said, 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.
[4th beast is 4th kingdom]
24 And the
ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the
first, and he shall subdue three kings.
[10 horns are 10 kings. An 11th king will rise after them and subdue 3 of them.]
25 And he shall
speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they
shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
[He will war against the children of God and try to change
times and laws. This king will break a 7-year peace contract in the middle, lasting for 3 and 1/2 years for a total of time, times,
and half a time or 3 and one half times. Note that Titus fulfilled this prophecy showing that he was part of the 11th horn as was
his father and Domitian.]
26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto theend.
[This horn will be judged and lose his dominion "unto the end."]
27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom
under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and
all dominions shall serve and obey him.
[Saints will be given the Kingdom, and people from "all dominions" will serve the Lord.]
28 Hitherto
is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter
in my heart.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Works
Cited
Abbott, Jacob. History of Cyrus the Great. Harper and Brothers, 1876.
Healy, Mark. Nebuchadnezzar: Scourge of Babylon. Firebird Books, 1989. Hill, Duncan. Ancient Rome: From the Republic to the Empire. Parragon Books, 2007. Machiavelli, Niccolo. History of Florence and of the Affairs of Italy. CreateSpace Publishing, 2015. Skelton, Debra, and Pamela J. Dell. Empire of Alexander the Great. Facts on File, 2005. |
||||