Daniel
Prophecies from the Lions’ Den
Lesson 5: Vision of the Four Beasts
Daniel 7 & 8
7:1-7 Daniel’s Dream
Who has received the dreams and visions in the first six chapters of Daniel?
Nebuchadnezzar, but now the Lord reveals things directly to Daniel.
When does Daniel receive this dream?
In the first year of Belshazzar—around 533 B.C. This is about six years before Cyrus takes over Babylon.
What nation do you think of when you see these pictures?
The eagle reminds us of the United States.
The bear may remind us of Russia.
The Lord gives Daniel a vision of four beasts that represent four kingdoms. Babylon is the lion with wings of an eagle. How does Babylon fit the description in verse 4?
The lion is mighty and powerful like Babylon. But the Lord humbled Nebuchadnezzar by giving him the mind of an animal for “seven times” which could be the wings being stripped off.
It is interesting to note that archeologists have found statues of winged lions in their excavations of Babylonian areas.
Medo-Persia is the bear. What are the Medes and Persians going to do according to verse 5?
They are going to destroy. The three ribs may represent their three great conquests—over Lydia, over Babylon, and over Egypt. They were ruthless.
Greece is the leopard with four wings and four heads. The four wings show Alexander’s swift victory over a huge amount of land. He conquered it all in about 12 years with about 30,000 soldiers, overtaking hundreds of thousands of the Persians. However, he died suddenly at the age of 33, about three years after his conquests, and no one emerged to replace him. His empire was then divided into four areas with four rulers, the four heads of the leopard.
Remembering back to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the statue, what is the fourth beast that is so terrible that it is not even identified as a known animal?
The Roman Empire is the fourth beast. It crushed and devoured all other nations that stood in its way.
This fourth beast had 10 horns. What could those 10 horns mean?
Horns are a symbol of strength in the Old Testament and horns are used as weapons by animals. Ten horns would be exception power and might.
7:8-14 The Fourth Beast and the Little Horn
Describe the little horn according to verse 8.
Took the power of three other rulers. Boastful.
In verses 9-10 the Lord gets ready to judge. What does the name Ancient of Days tell us about God?
He was around before the beginning and will be around forever. Nothing happens in time that he does not know about. He is a good judge.
The Ancient of Days sits in heaven surrounded by the angels and pronounces judgment. On what does he base his judgment? Consider the following passages. What is in those books of verse 10?
Revelation 21:27 (NIV) Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Revelation 20:12 (NIV) And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
The Lord will judge justly. He has a record of what people have done. Unbelievers get what they deserve. Believers book is clean and their name is in the book of life through Christ Jesus.
What is the verdict and sentence for the beast and the boastful horn in verse 11?
The Ancient of Days destroys them and casts them into eternal punishment—the blazing fires of hell.
Who is the “one like a son of man” (v 13)? How do you know?
Jesus Christ often identified himself as the “Son of Man.” Jesus came from the heavens, not from the sea. Jesus was given authority over all (Matthew 28:19). Everyone will worship him (Philippians 2:9-11). His kingdom will never end. All of these show that Jesus is the one like a son of man.
7:15-28 More of the Fourth Beast and Boastful Little Horn
Daniel was just as curious as we are about the meaning of the dream. It is very similar to the dream of Daniel 2 but there is much more detail on the Roman Empire and there is this little horn to figure out.
Look at verses 21-22. Who is winning in the beginning?
The horn was “defeating” the saints.
How do things change?
The Ancient of Days—the Lord—intervenes and destroys the horn. Jesus returns on the Last Day.
What is the result for the saints?
The saints go to heaven—where they possess the kingdom.
This fourth beast is the Roman Empire. The ten horns are 10 kings (v 24). The boastful horn is another king who will subdue three others. Compare what this horn will do with the beast in Revelation 13 below.
Both blaspheme God. Both oppress the saints. Both rule for the same time 3.5 years is 42 months.
Revelation 13:5-7 (NIV)
5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. 6 He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.
What does the New Testament call this boastful horn?
See 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 and 1 John 2:18.
This is the Antichrist, the man of lawlessness, the beast of Revelation. This is the office that sets itself in Christ’s place and leads many away from Christ.
It is scary to think that the “saints will be handed over” to the Antichrist for some amount of time. What could “time, times and half a time” mean?
It is one time plus 2 times plus half a time, which equals 31/2 times. Some will try to make this 3.5 years but it does not say years and this is dream language. It is symbolic of something else. Seven could symbolize God’s covenant with men and 3.5 shows a broken covenant promoted by the Antichrist. It could be that the progression from one time to two times shows an increase in the evil activity but then it is cut short—half a time. However it is interpreted it does mean that the Antichrist’s time will end. God will be victorious.
God wins! The boastful horn is judged and destroyed. The saints triumph and receive their reward of heaven. This is good news! Why was Daniel so troubled?
None of these things had happened. He did not want his people to suffer. He was also overwhelmed by the amount of future happenings the Lord gave to him. The Lord revealed the rest of human history to Daniel. Daniel had lots to think about in the next years.
8:1-8, 19-22 The Ram and the Goat
The
ram with two horns is Medo-Persia. Persia was the
stronger of the two and thus the longer
horn. Cyrus of Persia easily conquered from the east, going north, west and south.
The goat is the Greeks, beginning with Alexander the Great. We already saw in chapter seven the reason for the four horns replacing the large horn that was broken off.
8:9-12, 23-26 Another Little Horn
One of the four leaders to emerge after Alexander was Seleucus who ruled over Syria and Babylon. It is from this horn that the next horn comes from and causes problems for God’s people. What is meant by the Beautiful Land?
That is Palestine, Israel. This king will oppress Israel.
Antiochus Epiphanes ruled from 175-164 b.c. in the line of the Seleucid rulers. He has been identified as the little horn from the time of Christ. He waged many wars but was especially brutal in Israel, with some estimating that he killed 100,000 Jews. He desecrated the temple and did not allow the morning and evening sacrifices to be offered. He set up an idol of Jupiter in the temple, further desecrating it. The books of Maccabees, though not part of Scripture, give the history of this time period and the atrocities Antiochus committed.
Antiochus Epiphanes is a type of the Antichrist. The Antichrist comes out of the fourth kingdom, Rome. Antiochus came from the third kingdom, Greece. But there are many similarities. What are some of those similarities?
Both put themselves in God’s place. Both oppress the saints for a time, but God has determined an end to that time. Both destroyed by God.
What is the good news for God’s people in verse 26?
The little horn will be destroyed.
Who will bring about this good news?
God will. Humans will not. We are unable to stop the forces of evil without the Lord. He has the power to stop them and he promises to do so.
8:13-18 The Interpretation
After all this talk of destruction and suffering, we want know how soon it will end. The angels ask the same question. What is the answer?
2,300 evenings and mornings.
This amount of time is about 61/3 years.
· This may correspond to the time from Antiochus Epiphanes’ rise to the cleansing and rededication of the temple (celebrated at Hanukah).
· It could also be symbolic. It is less than 7, which would be the divine period of judgment. But it is cut short. This judgment will be cut short by the Lord to preserve his people.
Who tells Daniel the meaning of the vision and what other messages does he bring?
The angel Gabriel. He shows up again in Daniel 9. He brings the news of John the Baptists birth to his father and the news of Jesus’ birth to Mary (both in Luke 1).
Gabriel says that “the vision concerns the time of the end.” When is the “time of the end”? See Hebrews 1:1-2 below.
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
The last days are the New Testament times. Ever since Christ came, we are in the last days. God allows Daniel to see events on the Persian and Greek times but also glimpses of the New Testament times and the final deliverance of all believers.
8:27 Daniel Exhausted
We get exhausted just trying to read through these visions the Lord gave Daniel. He was really exhausted and even sick for three days.
What appalls you about these visions?
What comfort do you receive from reading these visions?