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| The Sistine Chapel; Ceiling Frescos after Restoration, the Prophet Daniel. Found on Pinterest |
Daniel 7:1-14
The Church of Divine Guidance (CDG) adult bible study group is beginning a study of the prophecies of the book of Daniel. As I indicated as we ended our study "Overwhelmed: Winning the War against Worry", in light of all the things that are going on in the Middle East today many Christians and others are wondering if these things are fulfillment of prophecy and a sign that the end is near. I thought that we would take a look at a book of the Bible that a lot of people use to say that these events are fulfillment of prophecy. It is not my intent to prove or disprove what people are saying about whether these things are the fulfillment of prophecy or not. My goal is to equip you through study so you can make your own determinations.
Background
The Author
In the Hebrew Bible the title is simply, "Daniel," which, in accordance with the custom followed in the Major and Minor Prophets, is the name of the author of the book. The author is also the main character of the book and in the events recorded.
Jesus Himself calls Daniel a prophet and refers to the prophecies of the book as spoken by Daniel. Matthew 24:15 (HCSB) 15 “So when you see the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place” (let the reader understand), We will get to that prophecy in our study.
Daniel is also mentioned in the book of another prophet Ezekiel and scholars identify the Daniel there with the one who wrote the book we are studying.
Ezekiel 14:12-14 (HCSB)12 The word of the LORD came to me:13 “Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of bread, to send famine through it, and to wipe out ⌊both⌋ man and animal from it,14 even ⌊if⌋ these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, they would deliver ⌊only⌋ themselves by their righteousness.” ⌊This is⌋ the declaration of the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 14:20 (HCSB)20 even ⌊if⌋ Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live”—the declaration of the Lord GOD—“they could not deliver ⌊their⌋ son or daughter. They would deliver ⌊only⌋ themselves by their righteousness.
Daniel is portrayed as a righteous man along with Noah and Job.
As we remember from our last study Daniel’s name was changed to Belteshazzar (meaning Bel’s prince) when he was as a teenager taken to Babylon in 605 BC when Nebuchadnezzar took hostages from Jerusalem in response to a actions taken by Judah’s king Jehoiakim. The meaning of the name Daniel is God is my Judge.
Date
It is believed and was accepted by Jewish historians and scholars and by the early fathers of Christianity that Daniel was written in the Babylonian and Persian periods of the sixth century BC, in and near the city of Babylon, as the book claims.
Structure
The book has two main parts each part made up of six chapters. Part 1 chapters 1-6 are primarily history. Perry Noble who wrote the book we used in the study we ended last week used the first six chapters as illustration and analogy in winning the war against worry. These chapters will not be a part of our study except to reference some things in the second part of the book chapters 7-12
The prophecies of Daniel are contained in chapters 7-12 and these are the chapters that will be the basis of our study which I’m calling Prophecies of Daniel.
The book is also divided in another way. The first seven chapters deal with primarily Gentile nations their character, relations, succession, and destiny. Chapters 8-12 deal with The Hebrew nation, its relation to Gentile dominion, and its future in the plan of God
Historical Background
Ezekiel and Daniel were written in the Exile, a name customarily given to that period during which the Jews of the Judean kingdom were removed from their country after the destruction of their temple, and capital, Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. This destruction came in three stages: First, in 605 b.c. Nebuchadnezzar brought Jehoiakim to his knees and carried off hostages, among them Daniel and his three friends. Later, 597 b.c., on another expedition to Palestine, after certain rebellious acts of the Judean kings Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin made punishment necessary, Nebuchadnezzar again made Jerusalem submit. This time he carried off 10,000 captives, among them king Jehoiachin and the young prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel is an interesting book too. We may study it later. Finally, in 587 b.c., after a long siege, Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city and the Temple and broke up the entire Jewish community and it was quite frankly never the same after that. Even when Cyrus let those who wanted to go back after he defeated Babylon most never went back.
Daniel is the first great book of Apocalypse
The Greek word Apocalypse means "revelation", "an unveiling or unfolding of things not previously known. Apocalyptic literature presents the authors' visions of the end times as revealed by a heavenly messenger or Angel. The apocalyptic literature of Judaism and Christianity embraces a considerable period, from the centuries following the exile down to the close of the middle ages. (Wikipedia)
Daniel is the only Old Testament example and Revelation the only New Testament example of apocalyptic..
Those who view both Daniel and Revelation as authentic and truthful, hold Biblical Apocalyptic literature to be a form of predictive prophecy. It is distinguished chiefly by: (1) The employment of visions reported as seen (rather than digested and summarized, as with most prophecy). (2) Use of symbols predominantly as the vehicle of revelation—either interpreted (as the ram and goat of Dan 8), or left uninterpreted (as the woman clothed with the sun of Rev 12). (3) Prediction of the future of God's people (whether Israel or the Church) in relation to the nations of earth as consummated with the coming of Messiah. (4) Prose style rather than the poetic style characteristic of the other prophetic portions of the Old Testament. (The Wycliffe Bible Commentary)
Introduction to Today's Session
OK let’s get started. I asked you to read chapter 7 last week in preparation for today. Did you have a chance to do that? .
Have you ever wondered if there was any order or plan to the course of human history?
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| Daniel's vision of the four beasts 1866 engraving by Gustave Dore found on Wikipedia |
Nations and empires rise, expand, degenerate and fall. Leaders live, rule and die. It sometimes looks as if there is no order or plan. However after only reading chapter 7 there does appear to be a plan to the course of history. Man, because of his sin nature, may be disorderly, or do things out of order or their plans actually cause disorder, but the “Ancient of Days” who we will meet later on in today’s study is a God of order with a definite plan. That plan included sending His Son Jesus at the perfect time to provide salvation to mankind, and as we will see here in Daniel has a plan for how history will play out. He shows Daniel that plan in the predictive prophecies of this book and the book of Revelations.
But where is everything headed?
Some in despair say that human history is going nowhere. Others try to sound optimistic and say that history is going wherever the human race takes it. Christians who know their God and his Word, however, realize that history does have a plan. That's the assurance God gave Daniel in what at first appeared to be a terrifying night vision!
The visions recorded in Daniel 7-12 were given at various times in Daniel's career. They are grouped together after the historical section because of their similarity, in content. This vision fits historically about 553 BC between Daniel 4 where Nebuchadnezzar has the dream about the tree that was cut down and the stump left.; and, chapter 5 during the reign of King Belshazzar. That’s an interesting story. We aren’t going to read it but I think most of you know that story. King Belshazzar was having a big party and he ordered his servants to go get gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem so that they could drink wine from them. When they started drinking there appeared a hand which started writing some stuff on the walls . They had to get Daniel to to interpret the writing which said that the gig is up and your kingdom will be divided among the Medes and Persians and before the night was over he was killed and Darius the Mede took over the Babylonian Empire.
The visions in chapter 7 happened sometime before this and after Nebuchadnezzar regained his throne in chapter 4.
1. What are some of the ways that people think the world will come to an end?
Fire, a nuclear holocaust, biological something, disease, world war, etc.
2. In most prophetic visions God communicates his message through symbolism. Nebuchadnezzar's vision of the "tree" in Daniel 4 is an example.
So how would we explain Daniel 7:2-3 (HCSB)2 Daniel said, “In my vision at night I was watching, and suddenly the four winds of heaven stirred up the great sea. 3 Four huge beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other?
Let’s let the bible interpret itself.
For example in the bible the winds represent the power of God by which he controls the nations. Go to Jeremiah 23:19 (HCSB) 19 Look, a storm from the LORD! Wrath has gone out, a whirling storm. It will whirl about the heads of the wicked.
Now go to Jeremiah 49:36 (HCSB)36 I will bring the four winds against Elam from the four corners of the heavens, and I will scatter them to all these winds. There will not be a nation to which Elam’s banished ones will not go.
Now Zechariah 7:14 (HCSB)14 “I scattered them with a windstorm over all the nations that had not known them, and the land was left desolate behind them, with no one coming or going. They turned a pleasant land into a desolation.”
Finally Revelation 7:1-3 (HCSB) 1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, restraining the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel, who had the seal of the living God rise up from the east. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were empowered to harm the earth and the sea:3 “Don’t harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we seal the slaves of our God on their foreheads.”
The sea that was stirred up was the Mediterranean Sea. Go to Ezekiel 47:10 (HCSB)
10 Fishermen will stand beside it from En-gedi to En-eglaim. These will become places where nets are spread out to dry. Their fish will consist of many different kinds, like the fish of the Mediterranean Sea.
So the beast are connected with the Mediterranean Sea area and as we will see they come with turmoil, unrest, boisterous talk, etc., accompaniments of so-called diplomacy. Each nation has its own special characteristics, though all share in common their brutal, irrational, bestial character.
3. Daniel sees four beasts which, according to represent four kingdoms. Daniel 7:17 (HCSB)
17 ‘These huge beasts, four in number, are four kings who will rise from the earth.
The lion like appearance of the first beast may represent that kingdom's strength and majesty. What characteristics of the second, third and fourth kingdoms are suggested by Daniel 7:5-7?
Daniel 7:5-7 (HCSB)
5 “Suddenly, another beast appeared, a second one, that looked like a bear. It was raised up on one side, with three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up! Gorge yourself on flesh.’6 “While I was watching, another beast appeared. It was like a leopard with four wings of a bird on its back. It had four heads and was given authority to rule.7 “While I was watching in the night visions, a fourth beast appeared, frightening and dreadful, and incredibly strong, with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and it trampled with its feet whatever was left. It was different from all the beasts before it, and it had 10 horns.
As in all biblical parables and visions, not every minute detail is described. The important features of each beast are listed, and they parallel certain qualities of the kingdom each represents. Don't get bogged down in minor disagreements of interpretation.
The four beasts probably correspond to the four parts of the statue in Daniel 2:31-34 (HCSB)
31 “My king, as you were watching, a colossal statue appeared. That statue, tall and dazzling, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was terrifying.32 The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its stomach and thighs were bronze,33 its legs were iron, and its feet were partly iron and partly fired clay.34 As you were watching, a stone broke off without a hand touching it, struck the statue on its feet of iron and fired clay, and crushed them.
The lion is the same as the head of gold (Babylon). The bear is the chest and arms of silver (Medo-Persia). The leopard is the belly and thighs of bronze (Greece). And the fourth beast is the same as the legs of iron (Rome).
We know which nations they were and their order from non-biblical history.
The fourth kingdom will last until the destruction of Antichrist (the little horn which we will talk about later in the chapter) and the establishment of the eternal, final, visible kingdom of Christ. Since that hasn’t happened then the fourth kingdom must be still in existence. The ten-fold form of the final stage, perhaps suggested by the ten toes of chapter 2, is clearly taught here and confirmed by Revelation 17:3 (HCSB)3 So he carried me away in the Spirit to a desert. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and 10 horns.
4. What aspects of God's nature and power are suggested by Daniel's description of the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7:9-10?
Daniel 7:9-10 (HCSB)9 “As I kept watching, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His clothing was white like snow, and the hair of His head like whitest wool. His throne was flaming fire; its wheels were blazing fire.10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from His presence. Thousands upon thousands served Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was convened, and the books were opened.
Daniel saw a court in heaven.A very holy and powerful person sat on a throne. In the Aramaic language the Bible says that he was called ‘The Ancient of Days’. That is another name for God. God was the judge. God took away the power of the animals that Daniel had seen. He allowed the first three animals to live, but only for a certain time. He killed the animal that had the horns.
How can this vision of God give us hope and stability when the nations (or our lives) are in turmoil?
It show us, as we learned in our last study, that God is always in control. He has the final say over all that man does. God has given man free choice but He is in final control. Nothing that happens is outside the knowledge of God. He knows the end from the beginning and He has a plan and that plan has been revealed in His Word the Bible.
5. The final figure to appear in Daniel's vision is "one like a son of man"an apparent description of the Lord Jesus. Daniel 7:13-14 (HCSB)13 I continued watching in the night visions, and I saw One like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was escorted before Him.14 He was given authority to rule, and glory, and a kingdom; so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.
Daniel continued to watch the court. Then he saw someone who seemed like a man. This person travelled on the clouds. Only God or an *angel could do that. God gave him authority, honour and royal power. God made him the king and everybody served him. His *kingdom will never disappear. We believe that this person is Jesus.
Why do you think all the kings and kingdoms of the world are pictured as beasts but Christ looks like a son of man?
Jesus identified himself as this "son of man" in Mark 14:62 (HCSB) 62 “I am,” said Jesus, “and all of you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
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Matthew 24:30 (HCSB)30 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the earth will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
The dramatic action whereby the beast's kingdom is violently taken away fits the many Biblical predictions of the manner in which our Lord will judge the nations at the close of this age.
The beasts depict the nature of man and the kingdoms that they create and lead. Violence, deceit, ravenous like wild animals, with no thought of others only the desire to satisfy their own selfish appetites.
While the son of man comes as an example of God’s desire for the way man should act toward each other in love while at the same time with the power to combat evil once and for all. Jesus was a human being in His essence and He was in His essence God. The everlasting kingdom will be led by Him.
That’s all we have time for today. We’ll start next week with Daniel chapter 7 verse 15 and we’ll talk about what I call the fifth kingdom. The one led by the Jesus the “son of man”.
Additional Resources:
The Handwriting on the Wall: Secrets From The Prophecies of Daniel by Dr. David Jeremiah (Author) C. C. Carlson (Contributor)
Daniel: God's Control Over Rulers and Nations (MacArthur Bible Studies) by John MacArthur
Remember to get your t-shirt and announce your victory in the war against worry after completing our 12 week study "Overwhelmed: Winning the War Against Worry"
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