(4) Suffering is to be expected by the saints, before they enter into the glorious kingdom of God. Quite clear, however, is the identity of the Ancient of Days and the Son of Man.. (9) The interpretation of Daniels vision comes in two parts, beginning with a general interpretation and then a more specific one based on Daniels questions. 10 If any one is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if any one kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. The kingdom of God will be established and the saints will possess it forever. Abraham and Sarah were elderly and childless. 16 I approached one of those who were standing by and began asking him the exact meaning of all this. Did Daniel interpret dreams? Since the head of gold seems to describe the same king and kingdom as the first beast, it may not be too far afield to conclude that Nebuchadnezzar is the king represented by the first beast. Two weeks ago, we covered the first 14 verses, Daniels summary of his dream. Daniel made it very clear that the dream and the interpretation had come for the one true God. The statue has four parts; there are four beasts. He had lived through the overthrow of his people, his nation, and his hometown by a foreign power, he had been torn from his family and carried off into captivity. Salvation is likewise a process involving sufferingand then glory. As Daniel sought to discover more truth about the fourth beast he added some details that he had left out of his first description. That dream was read as our Scripture reading this morning. He is more beastly in the beginning and more human in the end, paralleling the character of Nebuchadnezzar. We are not of night nor o darkness; 6 so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. The horn of the beast that made war against the saints was one of 10 kings who prevailed until the Ancient of days came and judged against him in favor of the saints. I also told you it corresponded to the dream of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 2, but with more detail. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995, Embedded video for Daniel's Dream Interpreted - Daniel 7:15-28. Two weeks ago, we quickly looked at the description of the beast that John sees in Revelation 13 and he described it as a composite of the first three beasts, the body of a leopard, the feet or paws of a bear, and the head and mouth of a lion. Remember he had seen the innumerable host of angels attending the Ancient of Days. We have already seen time frame in Revelation referring to half of the seven-year tribulation. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. He couldn't sleep. This part of Daniels dream is new information that was not conveyed in Nebuchadnezzars dream in chapter two. I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar became distressed when he received his first night vision (2:1) because he did understand some of his dream. Suffering and glory are a part of one work. 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. During this ten-nation confederation another ruler will rise as described by the little horn. 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. Never in the history of the Roman empire has this happened so it is yet future. This fourth beast seems to regenerate in the form of subsequent kings and kingdoms. In the first scene, heavenly winds are employed to whip up the sea from which the four beasts emerges. The death of this king brings about the end of his kingdom. If you remember from two weeks ago the bear was raised up on one side, this was to indicate that one part of this united kingdom overshadowed the other portion. Should we be troubled as well? In spite of these kings, the saints of the Highest One will possess the eternal kingdom forever and ever. He was at ease when he received the vision, and then he became fearful, and his mind alarmed him (4:4-5). 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. Desiring a more detailed explanation, he apparently asked for one and received it. The First Vision is a dream of the king that is interpreted by Daniel. This chapter is a history, but it is the history of a prophecy, by a dream and the interpretation . (1) It follows the narrative concerning Mishael, Hananiah and Azariah in the matter of Nebuchadnezzar's golden image (Daniel 3). But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever. 2 And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. History has shown this to be true in the past, and prophecy assures us that it will be true in the future. 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). In Daniels dream the Roman empire was represented by such a terrible beast that Daniel could name no animal which fit its description. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995, [7]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. A true account of what happened can only be gathered by reading Daniel 2:18; Daniel 2:28 by the side of this verse. It seems safe to assume the interpreter was an angelic being; at least this is the case in chapter 8 (8:15-26). The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer (1 Peter 4:7). A Vision of Judgment (Daniel 7:9-12) 2. While most of those in this kingdom may not have had a true conversion, at least they tolerated the Jewish faith as the religion of the state. Before the kingdom of God is established on the earth, four earthly kingdoms will rise and fall. This designation refers to God the Father in a way that stresses His eternality, dignity, and power. Whether liberal or conservative, our conclusions grow out of the premises and presuppositions governing the process and the product of our interpretation. 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. Those who populate the earth after the tribulation will give their allegiance to Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords. In chapter 5, King Belshazzars dream should have greatly alarmed him, but apparantly it did not. In His response to the demand of the high priest, Jesus directly claimed to be the promised Messiah. The message of this prophecy is really quite simple and may be summed up this way. The other prophecies were revealed to King Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar and interpreted by Daniel. The prophecy of Daniel 7 nevertheless had great relevance and application to those in Daniels day. I encourage you to compare the statements of Daniel 2:21-22, 44, 47; 4:3, 34-35, 37; 6:26 with the content and declarations of Daniel 7. 26 But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever. They acknowledging their inability are judged to die. In my opinion, the most dramatic reference of our Lord to His identity as the Son of Man comes as the Lord Jesus stands on trial before the Sanhedrin and the high priest: 59 Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, in order that they might put Him to death; 60 and they did not find it, even though many false witnesses came forward. God is eternal, and so is His plan for all creation. When we expect it least, the Lord will return, the wicked will be punished, and the kingdom of God established forevermore. Valentina's bond with Sophie, Sid's reaching out to Jesse, and Charlie trying hard to bring Sid and Jesse back together so that the group can go back to being their normal selves and not be an awkward bunch of people not wanting to discuss actual problems. What God declares in prophecy, He reveals as well in history. 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. Lion - Babylon. These both represent Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian empire. As Daniel watches, "four great beasts," each different from the others, emerge from the dark waters (verse 3). 25 And he will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. Before the Israelites were delivered out of Egypt and brought into the land of Canaan, they suffered at the hands of the Egyptians. King Nebuchadnezzar died apparently nine years before Belshazzar came to power. Who is the Son of Man? While conservative, evangelical scholars believe the prophecies in Daniel are true, their interpretations differ greatly. If not, he could never have become airborne again. Nevertheless, Daniel tells no one, keeping the matter to himself and suffering a quiet agony over the future events God has revealed to him. 16 At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him. For this reason, I wish to clearly state the foundational presuppositions and principles on which this exposition of Daniel is based. His vision in chapter 4 should have produced more distress than it did. The beast also was given a mans mind. It is virtually the opposite of the term beast. The expression, Son of man, is not new to Daniel. After this chapter, the book returns to the Hebrew language. It devoured and crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. Bob was born and raised in a Christian home i More, The Net Pastors Journal, Eng. There seems to be a close connection between the vision of Nebuchadnezzar, which is revealed and interpreted in chapter 2, and the vision of Daniel in chapter 7. We should not spend a disproportionate amount of time and energy trying to fill in the blanks God has left. At the outset of the account of his vision, Daniel wants his reader to know the historical context in which this prophecy was given and to consider its interpretation and application in the light of that context. 74 The personal cost of receiving divine revelation is never underestimated in the Old Testament (cf. In more detail, the outline would be as follows: (2) The Divine Interpretation verses 15-28. In our passage, Daniel asks for and receives an explanation. Verses 15-28 contain the divine interpretation of this vision. 13 And he performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. Daniel was told that the beasts are kings, but he was not told the identity of any of the kings. So it was for our Lord (1 Peter 1:10-12), and so it will be for us. Choosing his words tactfully, Daniel asks Arioch why the king has made such a decree. The implication here is that this is a repeated dream, one that is . God stirred up the sea, and from its foaming, raging waters came forth four horrifying beasts. 2 Peter 3:8-9, But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. What it does not destroy or consume with its teeth, it crushes under foot, much like a bull in a china shop. The fourth portion of the statue in Daniel 2 is the iron legs and feet and toes of partly iron and partly baked clay which represented the Roman empire. I believe some in Babylon, like their king, came to a genuine faith in God. (4) Prophecies not completely fulfilled cannot be fully understood until after their fulfillment. If taken seriously, we will find the future sobering as well. He will also send forth His angels to gather those who do not belong in His kingdom (12:41). 3:15; Zc. 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? Daniel explains that each of these metals represents a kingdom that would rule the world, and the stone is God . (See Daniel 2:24, Note. God answered Daniel's prayer, and Daniel praised the Lord (Dan 2:19-23). The first of Daniel's four beasts is "like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle" ( Daniel 7:4 ). The boastful beast becomes even more aggressive, waging war with the saints and even overpowering them. Daniel uses the expression Son of man twice. His mind was troubled. It is good for us to understand the theology of the end-times, but we must approach it with reverence. The Old Testament prophet did not see the gap because he viewed the coming of Christ as God does. Before long, Daniel was explaining the dreams of King Nebuchadnezzar. 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. All of this is by divine design. Some people have a rather irreverent attitude toward prophecy, they approach it as a pastime and they delight in figuring out complex date schemes and drawing detailed diagrams of the future. The beast was lifted up and made to stand like a man. The three ribs may also represent the kingdoms of Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon which preceded the Medo-Persian empire and then fell to them. 8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:1-8). Editing is often evident in the Bible (see John 20:30-31; 31:25). 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. Liberals reject all prophecies, because they require a sovereign God and a miraculous revelation of future events. The beasts are a horrifying and frightening sight; the heavenly court scene is one of regal splendor and beauty. (1) Prophecy is necessary because God has chosen to settle His accounts with men slowly. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. (Numbers 23:19). Neither peer opposition nor the king's new law (chapter 6) greatly disturbed Daniel. (2) Chapters 7 and 8, while written in different languages, are written during the reign of Belshazzar and somehow linked by the author in Daniel 8:1. Through the ages, the saints have learned that they must wait for the promises of God to be fulfilled and that this may not happen in their lifetime (see Hebrews 11:13-16, 39-40). All distinctions of race and colour and nationality are stripped away and one apparently human figure represents the whole human race. Joyce C. Baldwin, Daniel: An Introduction and Commentary (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1978), p. 150. (19-26) Daniel explains the rise and coming fall of Nebuchadnezzar. No wonder this vision causes Daniel such distress. Both series of four kingdoms begin well and end badly. 1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans 2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy The latter prophecy of Daniel 7 adds many more details than were revealed in chapter 2. The use of the word time in Daniel is understood to be years. The horn continues to sound off while the court is being set up for judgment. The king knew that Daniel spoke the truth. This is represented by the four heads on Daniels leopard beast. Prophecy greatly benefits the Christian because it enables him to see things from the bigger and broader perspectivefrom Gods perspectiveso that when he suffers, he knows it is but a part of the process of getting to glory. 18 But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come. 19 Then I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet, 20 and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three of them fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts, and which was larger in appearance than its associates. Which fit its description after their fulfillment to fill in the past, and prophecy assures that... 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Prophecy is really quite simple and may be summed up this way refers to God Father.

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