Prophecy provides men the opportunity to think and act in a way which pleases God, who determines the future and who reveals future events to men. (7) Prophecy is revealed, not to give us the particulars of things to come, but to change our perspective. I believe some in Babylon, like their king, came to a genuine faith in God. 2 So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers [1]to tell him what he had dreamed. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. However, it must have been in the latter part of Nebuchadnezzar's reign. See John F. Walvoord, Daniel: The Key to Prophetic Revelation (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 149. 1 John 3:1-3 says, See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. In his vision, the statue collapsed and disappeared, because a mysterious stone struck it at its feet. Before the kingdom of God is established on the earth, four earthly kingdoms will rise and fall. When the sin and oppression of evil men reaches a predetermined point, God will remove them and establish His promised eternal kingdom. A revelation from God in his sleep discloses future events which Daniel finds most troubling. Jesus applied this text to them, not as those who would enter into His kingdom, but as those who would be judged at His return. After this chapter, the book returns to the Hebrew language. Suddenly, the boasting beast is silenced by death, and his body is cast into the burning fire. The inter-relationship between the prophecies of chapters 2 and 7 is demonstrated on the following page: Deterioration: Gold to iron mixed with clay, Deterioration: Nearly human to blaspheming beast. And they did! In the first scene, heavenly winds are employed to whip up the sea from which the four beasts emerges. Thirdly (and most importantly), the prophecies of Daniel mean exactly what God says they mean, nothing more and nothing less. Nevertheless, Daniel tells no one, keeping the matter to himself and suffering a quiet agony over the future events God has revealed to him. (1) The Book of Daniel is a part of the Holy Scriptures, and thus inspired, accurate, and trustworthy. Daniel, a godly prophet and a man of unshakable faith, has been steadfast in his daily walk of fellowship with God throughout the first six chapters of the Book of Daniel. The seriousness of the prophetic truth personally affected Daniel, motivating godly fear and self-examination. The vision comes to Daniel in Belshazzars first year.78 A subsequent and related vision comes to him in this kings third year (see 8:1). According to verse 1, the written record of the revelation Daniel received in his first night vision is but a summary of the prophecy he received. (9) What is the relationship between Daniels vision in chapter 7 and the events described in Daniel 5? The beasts are hardly worthy of prose, but the court of heaven deserves a description of the finest words. Daniel 2:26-49 Then He said to me, Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you! (Ezekiel 2:1). In chapter 2 we read that Nebuchadnezzar was troubled and terrified by his dream, we read here in verse 15 that Daniel was distressed in his spirit because he knew that God had just shown him a panorama of tremendous events yet future and Daniels distress was his lack of understanding his dream. From Daniel 2:4b to the end of chapter 7, the original text was written in Aramaic (the language of Babylon in that day). Agreeing with God that they are sinners but believing that Jesus Christ death paid the penalty for their sin, that He was buried, and rose from the dead three days later triumphant over sin, Satan, and death forever. (1) It follows the narrative concerning Mishael, Hananiah and Azariah in the matter of Nebuchadnezzar's golden image (Daniel 3). So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth. Chapter 9, on the other hand, has a historical account of Daniels study of Jeremiah and of his prayers of repentance and petition for Israels restoration and return to the land of promise. The chapter falls into two major parts. In the latter days, an unusually powerful and evil king will arise, who will blaspheme God and oppress the people of God. 15 And there was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast might even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed (Revelation 13:4, 11-15). Their perception is wrong, for suddenly and without warning their day of destruction will come upon them. Daniel returned to his house and explained the situation to his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995, [3]Walvoord, John F.; Zuck, Roy B.; Dallas Theological Seminary: The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. 81 See Ezekiel 29:21 for a similar use of the imagery of making a horn grow to describe a kings promotion to power. In verse 1 Daniel indicates his vision came to him in the first year of the reign of Belshazzar. This horn is called by different names in the New Testament: In 2 Thessalonians 2:3 the little horn is called the man of lawlessness. Revelation 13:1-2 calls the little horn the beast. The name he is best known by in found in 1 John 2:18-24 where John calls the little horn the Antichrist.. They believed that the Messiah would come to establish the kingdom, to bless the Jews and to condemn the Gentiles. He gave Daniel a general summary of the dream, These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth. Those of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar, and Darius all agree with the prophecy of Daniel 7. I also told you it corresponded to the dream of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 2, but with more detail. In the first use of this expression, being a son of man was contrasted with being God: God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it? 26 But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever. Because Daniel possessed wisdom bestowed by God and was conscientious in his work, he not only prospered during the reigns of successive rulers, but King Darius planned to put him in charge of the entire kingdom. May the Spirit of God reveal the meaning of this prophecy to us and produce in us that which God desires to His glory and our good. Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation. The interpretation of the events Daniel witnessed in his vision is given in its most concise form in verses 17 and 18: The four beasts were four kings, who will arise from the earth. Wherever I see the Scriptures speak of the coming kingdom of God, I find suffering closely associated with it. We know that Jesus came the first time to die and that He will come again to subdue His enemies and establish His kingdom. 75 Everything in chapter 7 is on a world-wide scale, the empires of the beasts, the judgment, and the nations that worship and serve the one like mortal man. But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever. Verse 17. In Ezekiel, and even in Daniel (8:17), it is used in reference to a prophet. The second time, the expression is used in reference to Daniel himself, as it will be used very frequently in Ezekiel to refer to this great prophet: So he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was frightened and fell on my face; but he said to me, Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end (Daniel 8:17). The fourth beast in Daniels dream relates to the fourth kingdom in Nebuchadnezzars dream, the Roman empire. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: 17 These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth. 5. (1) Daniel 7 is the last chapter written in Aramaic in the Book of Daniel. The saints of the Highest One are given all the kingdoms of the earth for an everlasting kingdom. Introduction to Daniel 11 The next portion of the statue in Daniel 2 was the chest and arms of silver which represented the Medo-Persian Empire which was even larger than the Babylonian empire. The final push of the times of the Gentiles will last for 3 years, then the end will come, the end of the times of the Gentiles., THE JUDGMENT AND THE FIFTH KINGDOM (Daniel 7:26-27). (See Daniel 2:24, Note. Hearing this, Nebuchadnezzar affirms that Daniel's god is "the God of gods and Lord of kings and revealer of mysteries". 13 I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him.77 14 And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations, and men of every language Might serve Him. JPS Tanakh 1917 No wonder this vision causes Daniel such distress. During this ten-nation confederation another ruler will rise as described by the little horn. The beasts are a horrifying and frightening sight; the heavenly court scene is one of regal splendor and beauty. The Son of Man was also Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8). Just a few years later Alexander died, and his empire was divided into four parts and his four generals became the monarch of a quarter of the Greek empire. History has shown this to be true in the past, and prophecy assures us that it will be true in the future. In more detail, the outline would be as follows: (2) The Divine Interpretation verses 15-28. Salvation is likewise a process involving sufferingand then glory. We do not act on what we see so much as on what God has said. (19-26) Daniel explains the rise and coming fall of Nebuchadnezzar. Chapter 7 reveals in broad terms what the future holds. Nebuchadnezzar became distressed when he received his first night vision (2:1) because he did understand some of his dream. Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for a time, and his thoughts troubled him. Daniel's Dream is instantly appealing as you can reallyrelate to how Daniel is feeling. When we expect it least, the Lord will return, the wicked will be punished, and the kingdom of God established forevermore. 11 And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. In Gods economy, things are not what they appear to be. These kingdoms go from bad to worse. He only called on him in a moment of sheer panic when no one else could help, and only then because of the recommendation of the queen mother. 1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and related the following summary of it. That was bad enough, from the religious leaders perspective, but the way in which He answered them was the last straw. Time: refers to one year, times is understood in Aramaic (the language this chapter was originally written in) to mean a dual or two, so times refers to two years and half a time refers to one half of a year. Daniel was an intelligent young Jew living in Jerusalem during the late 600s B.C. This morning we want to look at verses 15-28 and the interpretation of Daniels dream. Daniel 2:1-13 - Nebuchadnezzar's Dream. The beast was lifted up and made to stand like a man. As the boasting horn of Daniel 7 seems to be getting away with his blasphemies and his oppression of the saints, it seems to him he can do whatever he wishes, including the changing of times and law. He will abolish all the religious holidays and seek to abolish Gods law in an attempt to destroy the Jewish people. Choosing his words tactfully, Daniel asks Arioch why the king has made such a decree. The visions explanation was not thorough enough to satisfy Daniel. The righteous will suffer. A look through the Scriptures shows that Daniels response to the prophecies he received was not unique. 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