September 2, 2025 • 39 mins
A vision that shook Daniel to his core unveils the blueprint for humanity's final chapter. Four beasts emerge from a chaotic sea - not mere symbols, but revelations of empires that would shape history and the terrifying kingdom yet to come.
The winged lion of Babylon, the lopsided bear of Medo-Persia, the swift leopard of Greece - each beast representing kingdoms long fallen. But the fourth beast defies natural description - iron-toothed, bronze-clawed, and unlike anything on earth. From this terrifying creature rises a little horn speaking blasphemies, waging war against God's people, and temporarily prevailing.
What makes this ancient vision so powerful is how perfectly it aligns with Revelation's apocalyptic scenes. The heavenly courtroom where the Ancient of Days sits enthroned, surrounded by countless angels, with books of judgment opened. The Son of Man approaching to receive dominion over all nations. The little horn's destruction by consuming fire. Each element forms a piece in the prophetic puzzle spanning millennia.
Most remarkably, this vision provides hope amid darkness. Though the saints will face persecution for "a time, times, and half a time," the Ancient of Days will ultimately pass judgment, destroy the beast's dominion, and give the everlasting kingdom to His faithful ones. Daniel's physical reaction - anxiety, alarm, and color draining from his face - speaks to the gravity of what he witnessed.
Whether you're well-versed in eschatology or new to prophetic literature, this breakdown of Daniel 7 illuminates connections between Old and New Testament prophecies, Jesus' teachings, and events yet to unfold. Listen now to understand why this ancient vision remains a cornerstone of biblical prophecy and what it means for believers today.
Email: nathan@nathandietsche.com
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Grace and peace to you from God, our Father and our
Lord and Savior, jesus Christ.
May the Spirit of Truth be withyou today as we delve in to
Daniel chapter 7.
Daniel, chapter 7, is afoundational building block of
end-time prophecy.
It both parallels the dreamthat Daniel interpreted for
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Nebuchadnezzar as well as buildson it, and it gives us a great
deal of insight into otherscripture that deals with
eschatology.
We're going to be going throughthis slowly, taking it verse by
verse, and showing theparallels between this chapter
and other scripture.
Beginning in verse 1, we readIn the first year of Belshazzar,
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king of Babylon, daniel saw adream and visions of his head as
he laid in bed.
Then he wrote the dream down andtold the sum of the matter.
Wrote the dream down and toldthe sum of the matter.
This chapter takes us back 18years from where we were in
chapter 6, back into the empireof Babylon.
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In the first year ofBelshazzar's reign, daniel would
be about 67 years old right now.
Chapter 7 also begins thesecond half of Daniel, which is
different from the first half.
The first six chapters ofDaniel were chronological and
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described how the Lord had actedthrough his people to affect
kings and kingdoms during the 70years of captivity.
70 years of captivity.
However, here, beginning inchapter 7, daniel begins to
describe additional propheticvisions and dreams that came
about at different times andgave insight into the future,
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often the very distant future,the end times of the earth.
And after Daniel received thesedreams and visions from God,
daniel took the time to writedown what we are reading today
and he says he gives us the sumof the matter, meaning he's told
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us everything that he saw.
Picking up again in verse 2,picking up again in verse 2,
daniel declared here in verses 2and 3, daniel says that in his
vision he saw the four winds ofheaven.
Let's take a moment to talkabout the four winds of heaven
that are spoken of in Scripture.
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The four winds of heaven arespoken of in multiple places
throughout Scripture.
Jesus himself used the phrasethe four winds of heaven in
Matthew 24, 31 and Mark 13, 27.
From the contexts of thesescriptures, we can learn two
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distinct things about the fourwinds of heaven.
First, when they are spoken of,it's describing the fullness of
the earth north, south, eastand west.
Second, in Revelation, chapter7, verse 1, these four winds of
heaven are spoken of as beingcontrollable by the angels.
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Who can stop the wind?
And Daniel tells us that thesefour winds of heaven were
stirring up the great sea.
The great sea in scripture isoften referring to the
Mediterranean, which is agigantic body of water with
waves much like the ocean.
The imagery of this four windsof heaven stirring up the great
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sea brings to mind wild windspushing on the great
Mediterranean from north, south,east and west from every
direction, creating chaotic,destructive and deadly
conditions on the water.
We learn later in this chapter,in verse 17, that the great sea
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, here in this context, isactually a representation of the
Gentile nations and the peopleof the earth.
Therefore, what this verse isdescribing is how there will be
across the earth chaotic,destructive and deadly
conditions, and it will stir upthe Gentile nations.
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And out of the chaotic,destructive conditions of the
Gentile nations come four giantbeasts.
Each beast is different fromthe other.
There are four separate andunique beasts that are described
in Daniel, chapter 7.
Picking up in verse 4.
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The first was like a lion andhad eagle's wings.
Then, as I looked, its wingswere plucked off and it was
lifted up from the ground andmade to stand on two feet like a
man and the mind of a man wasgiven to it.
In verse 4, we're told aboutthe first beast.
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It says it's like a lion witheagle's wings, and this
description of the winged lionis very appropriate for
Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon.
The prophets of God inScripture often described
Nebuchadnezzar as both a lionand as an eagle.
Furthermore, babylon itselfused lions as a mascot.
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The famous Ishtar Gate isdecorated with lions, and
statues with winged lions wouldhave been common in Babylon.
We're told that the wings areplucked off and then it's lifted
up from the ground, made tostand on two feet like a man and
then given the mind of a man.
This represents what happenedto Nebuchadnezzar at the end of
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his life, how Nebuchadnezzar washumiliated like a beast and
then he was restored once againto be like a man, picking up in
verse 5, and behold anotherbeast, a second one, like a bear
.
It was raised up on one sideand it had three ribs in its
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mouth, between its teeth, and,it was told, arise, devour much
flesh.
This lopsided bear that'sraised up on one side is the
United Medo-Persian Empire.
The purpose for the bear beingraised up on one side is to show
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how the Persians under Cyruswere the dominant partner in
this arrangement.
It was Cyrus the Persian thathad created the alliances and
led the army, as their general,to many victories.
We're told that this bear hasthree ribs in its mouth, between
its teeth, and these three ribsrepresent the three major
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kingdoms that the Medo-Persianempire swallowed up.
The first is Lydia, or AsiaMinor, the second was Babylon
and the third was eventuallyEgypt.
They're told to arise anddevour much flesh.
The Medo-Persian Empire was apowerful, formidable opponent
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and continued to devour evenafter it had conquered three
kingdoms, picking up in verse 6,.
In verse 6, we're told aboutthis winged leopard, and this
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image of a leopard with fourwings of a bird is the Greek
Empire under Alexander the Great, along with his four generals.
The speed with which Alexanderthe Great conquered the known
world was astounding, from thespring of 335 BC, when Alexander
began to make war, until theyear of his death in 323 BC at
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age 33 was only 12 years.
And after conquering theMedo-Persian Empire in 330 BC,
alexander the Great and hisempire lasted just six years.
The Christian historian Jeromeonce said of Alexander the Great
nothing was accomplished asswiftly as his conquest.
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He took everything from theGulf of Venice and the Adriatic
Sea all the way to the IndianOcean and the Ganges River.
He did this not so much in hisbattles but by his reputation.
I have a special note.
Next to that, his reputationbecame renowned after the death
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of Darius III, who was the kingof Persia.
After describing this wingedleopard, verse 6 also talks
about the beast having fourheads.
The four heads on this beastalso represent the four generals
, but it represents the fourgenerals after the death of
Alexander the Great, becausethese four generals will divide
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the empire and create fourkingdoms, picking up in verse 7,
.
After this, I saw in the nightvisions and behold a fourth
beast, terrifying and dreadfuland exceedingly strong.
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It had iron teeth.
It devoured and broke in piecesand stamped what was left with
its feet.
It was different from all thebeasts that were before it and
it had ten horns.
Now we see the fourth beast,unlike the other three beasts
that were described earlier,each described as an animal on
the earth.
There's no animal that existson earth to describe this beast.
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It's not of this world.
Daniel can only describe it asa terrifying and dreadful beast.
Its very appearance strikesterror into the onlooker.
It's extraordinarily strong,mightier than any kingdom that
came before it.
We're told that it has teeth ofiron, and the teeth of iron do
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point to this being the RomanEmpire.
Roman armies used iron armor.
They were known as the IronLegions of Rome.
However, the empire and beastthat's being described here as
the fourth beast, it's unique.
It's not your typical worldempire.
Even though the Roman Empiredid shatter and divide many
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nations, we could say that samething of the previous three
empires.
There's something more to thisbeast than just an earthly
empire.
We're told that it devours, itbreaks to pieces.
We're told that it devours, itbreaks to pieces, it stamps with
its feet what was left.
This imagery of breaking thingsto pieces and stomping the
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whole earth.
It's the nature of this beast.
It tells us what this beast'svery nature is like.
Its purpose will be globalindominance.
It will desire to conquer allnations, all languages and all
people.
While the Roman Empire wasknown as the empire of the whole
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world because they hadconquered every empire that was
before them, as we're going tolearn a little bit later, this
beast represents somethinggreater, something completely
global, and Daniel signals thisto us, because Daniel tells us
this beast is different from allthe other beasts that were
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before it.
As we consider this beast, weneed to remember it doesn't fit
within the typical parameters ofan earthly empire.
It's different.
This is not a beast that can bedepicted by any beast on this
earth.
It's something outside of ournatural order.
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And then we're told that thisbeast had 10 horns and, as we
will learn later, those 10 hornsrepresent 10 kings.
Horns represent ten kings.
Picking up in verse 8, Iconsidered the horns and behold,
there came up among themanother horn, a little one,
before which three of the firsthorns were plucked up by the
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roots.
And behold, in this horn wereeyes like the eyes of a man and
a mouth speaking great things.
Verse 8 seems pretty mysteriousto us right now, but we'll
learn more about it later.
But for now we're told thatfrom amongst those 10 horns,
which we know are 10 kings,comes up another horn.
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It wasn't one of the 10, it wasanother one, it was an eleventh
horn, but it came up fromamongst them, on the beast.
And when this little horn, orthis little king, comes to power
, three of the other horns willbe taken up by the roots, and
then we're told that this hornhas eyes like a man, and these
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details are given to us inscripture that we might know
that this horn has eyes like aman.
And these details are given tous in scripture that we might
know that this little horn is infact a person and represents an
actual king.
(14:13):
Picking up in verse 9, ascontinues to describe his vision
, and as the vision progresses,he sees thrones that are placed
in an order.
This is a picture of acourtroom being set up, a
courtroom that's being set up inthe throne room of God.
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It's describing how judgment isabout to come on this fourth
beast or this fourth kingdom.
Daniel uses a unique name forGod here, only found in chapter
7 of Daniel.
He calls the Lord the Ancientof Days, conveying an image of
the Eternal Father, god as ourwise judge.
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His clothing was as white assnow, his hair like pure wool.
This exemplifies the Lord'sholiness, his moral purity and
his perfection.
And then it describes thethrone.
The throne that the Ancient ofDays sat on was of blazing fire.
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Flames were shooting out of itfrom every side, and it had
large wheels, and the wheelsthemselves were on fire.
Picking up in verse 10,.
In verse 10, we're told that astream of fire issued out and
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came out before him.
One of the primary ways inwhich God will judge the earth
and this fourth beast is withfire.
The scripture speaks in manyplaces about how, in the day of
the Lord, angels will comewreathed with fire, to consume
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the earth.
Some scriptures that speak ofthis are 2 Thessalonians 1, 7
and 8, joel 2, 3, isaiah 66, 15and 16,.
Malachi 4, 1, zephaniah 1, 18.
16.
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Malachi 4.1.
Zephaniah 1.18.
Both phrases, a thousandthousands and ten thousand times
ten thousand, are phrases thatare used in scripture to
describe angels that can't benumbered, angels that will come
with the Lord in his finaljudgment.
Now, if you're a math personlike me, you might want to try
and figure out how many that is.
And a thousand thousands is onemillion, and ten thousand times
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ten thousand is a hundredmillion.
However, it is very likely thatthese phrases represent
countless angels or what otherscriptures refer to as myriads
of angels rather than an exactnumber.
Finally, in verse 10, we're toldthat a court sat in judgment
and books were opened.
(17:23):
As we mentioned in verse 9,this court is God's throne room
and it's set up as a court ofjustice at the beginning of
Daniel's 70th week, when God,the elders and the angels will
prepare to come out of heavenand bring God's wrath upon the
earth.
Picking up in verse 11, Ilooked then because of the sound
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of the great words that thehorn was speaking.
And as I looked, the beast waskilled and its body destroyed,
given over to here in verse 11,as Daniel's vision continues.
The horn speaks such greatwords that it makes Daniel shift
his attention from the throneroom of God and look over
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towards this little horn.
Attention from the throne roomof God and look over towards
this little horn.
This little horn is speakingblasphemous and arrogant words
against the Most High God.
And as Daniel is watching thislittle horn speak these words
against God, he's killed andthen he's burned with fire.
I find it incredibly interestingto find this detailed
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description of how God is goingto come in judgment and kill the
little horn, to be burned withfire.
And as we read that, for thosewho are familiar with scripture,
it starts to become clear thatall of this is a reference to
the final kingdom described inother places of scripture.
Let me read Revelation 19.20 toyou.
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It says and the beast wascaptured and with it the false
prophet who, in its presence haddone the signs by which he had
deceived those who received themark of the beast and those who
worshipped his image.
These two were thrown aliveinto the lake of fire that burns
with sulfur.
(19:18):
Now let's pick up in verse 12.
It says as for the rest of thebeasts, their dominion was taken
away, but their lives wereprolonged for a season and a
time.
It's telling us that thesethree other beasts described
earlier here, that were naturalto the earth, will have their
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dominions taken away, butthey'll be allowed to remain.
These will be the people whoare still alive on earth after
the wrath of God has been pouredout and the final battle of
Armageddon is finished.
The scripture is telling usthat there will be people who
survive, and these will be thepeople that form nations that
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continue into the millennialkingdom, where Jesus Christ will
rule over all the nations andpeople.
Picking up in verse 13, I saw inthe night visions and behold,
with the clouds of heaven, therecame one like the Son of man.
He came to the Ancient of Daysand was presented before him.
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Our understanding that we'vebeen talking about that this is
the final judgment of the finalkingdom on earth is confirmed
with a description and return ofthe Son of man on the clouds.
Clearly, this is not the firstcoming of the Messiah.
This is the second coming ofJesus Christ, as described all
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over the scripture as he returnson the clouds the title Son of
man.
Here is where the title Son ofman originates in Scripture,
although the origins of theMessiah being a seed of Eve go
all the way back to Genesis,chapter 3.
This title, the Son of man, wasone of Jesus's favorite titles
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and he used it to describehimself over 80 times in the
Gospels, picking up in verse 14,to him was given dominion and
glory and a kingdom that allpeoples, nations and languages
should serve him.
His dominion is an everlastingdominion which shall not pass
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away, and his kingdom one thatshall not be destroyed.
In verse 14, we see theestablishment of Jesus'
thousand-year reign, while allauthority had already been given
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to Jesus after his resurrectionfrom the dead.
At the end of this age, whenevery last person has been saved
, that is going to be saved, andJesus comes in power to destroy
the kingdoms of this earth, theFather will establish Jesus
Christ as the physical rulerover this earth for 1,000 years.
This begins what is known asthe Millennial Kingdom.
(22:17):
In fact, in verse 14, it makesdistinctions of peoples, nations
and languages.
All of those distinctions areunique to this earth.
They won't apply in eternity.
Earth.
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They won't apply in eternity.
This promise that is given tothe Messiah to rule on the earth
is like a promise that the Lordgave to other earthly kings
like Nebuchadnezzar.
It's clear that this is apromise of an earthly kingdom in
which the Son of man will ruleas king of kings over every
nation, every people group andevery language on earth.
However, unlike every otherearthly king, the king of kings'
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dominion is everlasting.
Even though the thousand-yearreign has a finite end, the
dominion and physical reign ofJesus Christ will never end once
it begins in the millennialkingdom, picking up again in
verse 15.
As for me, daniel, my spiritwithin me was anxious and the
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visions of my head alarmed me.
I approached one of those whostood there and asked him the
truth concerning all this.
So he told me and he made knownto me the interpretation of the
things In verses 15 and 16,.
Daniel is still in thisvisionary state and he's shaken
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and he's deeply concerned.
And as he's shaken in hisspirit, daniel approaches one of
the millions of angels thatstood before the throne of God,
and he asked him what is thetruth of all of this?
And now the angel is going tobegin to make this even clearer
for us, picking up in verse 17,.
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These four great beasts are fourkings who shall rise out of the
earth, but the saints of theMost High shall receive the
kingdom.
And Daniel's first questionhere is a very general question,
and so the angel gives a verygeneral answer.
The four beasts represent fourkings the lion is Nebuchadnezzar
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of Babylon, the bear is Cyrusof the Medo-Persian Empire, the
leopard is Alexander the Greatof Greece, and the terrifying,
unnatural beast will be theAntichrist under the revived
Roman Empire.
Under the revived Roman Empire.
(24:55):
And the angel comforts Danielby telling him that the saints
of the Most High will receivethe kingdom.
Now, the saints of the MostHigh being described here are
those who trust in God, thosewho trust in the Messiah, jesus
Christ or, in this context, theSon of man.
These are those who have puttheir faith in the Lord, who
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worship the Lord, who serve theLord Most High from every age.
And the angel again reaffirmsto Daniel that the saints shall
possess the kingdom forever andever.
Therefore, the millennialkingdom will be the beginning of
Christ's eternal kingdom, withall of his glorified saints,
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picking up in verse 19,.
Then I desired to know the truthabout the fourth beast, which
was different from all the rest,exceedingly terrifying with its
teeth of iron and claws ofbronze, and which devoured and
broke to here in verse 19,daniel asks the angel
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specifically about this fourthbeast, because he recognizes
there's something quitedifferent about it and something
quite terrifying about it.
It's not like any of thoseother three beasts, it's not
from this natural world.
An interesting note here isDaniel mentions that the claws
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of this beast are made of bronze, which is a detail he left out
in verse 7.
It implies that this beast iscomprised of multiple elements
from multiple empires, and itpoints to the Antichrist beast
having elements of all the greatworld empires, much like
Revelation 13 too, whichdescribes the beast this way the
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beast that I saw was like aleopard, its feet were like a
bear's, its mouth was like alion's and to it the dragon gave
his power and his throne andgreat authority.
Revelation points to thisterrifying beast as having all
of the properties of every othergreat world empire the
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greatness and glory ofNebuchadnezzar, the tactics and
the power of Cyrus and theswiftness to conquer nations
like Alexander the Great,Picking up again in verse 20,.
And about the ten horns thatwere on its head and the other
horn that came up before whichthree of them fell.
(27:35):
The horn that had eyes and amouth, that spoke great things
and that seemed greater than itscompanions.
Here in verse 20, daniel'sasking what is the deal with
these ten horns and that littlehorn?
What is the significance of thelittle horn having eyes and a
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mouth that speaks great things?
Why did this little horn looklike it was stronger than these
other ones?
Verse 21, as I looked, thishorn made war with the saints.
It prevailed over them untilthe ancient of days came and the
judgment was given for thesaints of the most high, and the
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time came when the saintspossessed the kingdom.
In verse 21, daniel asks whythis horn is able to make war
with the saints and prevail overthem until the Ancient of Days
comes and until they're giventhe kingdom by the Most High,
picking up in verse 23,.
(28:40):
Thus he said as for the fourthbeast, there shall be a fourth
kingdom on earth, which shall bedifferent from all the kingdoms
, and it shall devour the wholeearth.
It shall trample it down andbreak it to pieces.
Here in verse 23, one of theclarifying statements that the
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angel makes is that this fourthbeast is a fourth kingdom, not
just a fourth king.
It's important because we learnthat what is so terrifying and
dreadful about this beast is thelittle horn, the king, the
antichrist, that quickly comesout of this kingdom.
(29:22):
The second clarifying statementthat the angel makes is that
this beast will devour the wholeearth.
This statement is global and itmeans exactly what it says.
The word for whole here meansall whole, every and any.
It's describing the entireearth.
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Furthermore, the use of thewords devour and trample
describe how this beast willdevastate the earth.
He will crush all who opposehim.
The revised Roman Empire underthe Antichrist will conquer the
kingdoms of this earth quickly.
Furthermore, he shall devourevery nation's resources,
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seizing control of them for hisown agenda, and he will leave
the world's population withlittle to nothing.
And again this angel clarifiesthis beast is different from the
other kingdoms.
In Revelation 13.2, we're toldthat the dragon or Satan will
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empower this beast.
We're told that the dragon orSatan will empower this beast,
and it gives us some insightinto why this beast doesn't look
like any other kingdom on earth, why this beast is not
something natural?
Because this king is possessedby a very powerful demon Verse
24.
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As for the ten horns, out ofthis kingdom, ten kings shall
arise Verse 24.
Here, in 24, we're really givenour first glimpse into what
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these ten horns really are.
They are ten kings and thelittle horn is a different king,
separate from the ten.
Furthermore, this little hornthat is different will put down
three of the ten kings, and thisis about the extent we learn
from Daniel about this littlehorn.
However, from Revelation,chapter 17, verses 12 through 14
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, we're told that these tenkings hadn't yet received their
power when the apostle John hadpenned Revelation.
Additionally, when they doreceive their authority, it will
only be for an hour, and thatphrase, an hour, can mean an
instant or a moment.
Therefore, the ten kings willonly gain their power and
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authority for just a brief time,just enough time to create the
revived Roman Empire.
Revelation also tells us thatthey're of one mind to hand
their power and authority overto the beast.
In other words, they're quickto hand their power over to the
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Antichrist so he can rule thisrevived Roman Empire Once these
ten kings come to power and theyestablish this new, revived
Roman Empire, they'll quicklytransfer that authority to the
Antichrist.
This group of men, these tenkings.
Even though three of them willbe put down by the Antichrist,
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the rest of them will be loyalto this revived Roman Empire to
the very end.
Scripture tells us that theywill be part of the nations that
come against Christ in thebattle of Armageddon.
Picking up in verse 25, heshall speak words against the
Most High and he shall wear outthe saints of the Most High and
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shall think to change the timesand the law, and they shall be
given into his hand for a time,times and half a time.
In verse 25, we're told thatthis king will speak words
against the Most High.
The Antichrist will listen to noone and take orders from no one
.
He will exalt himself as thefirst and final authority over
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all things and all people.
2 Thessalonians 2.4 describeshim this way who opposes and
exalts himself against everyso-called god or object of
worship, so that he takes hisseat in the temple of God,
proclaiming himself to be God.
(33:53):
We can see from this verse in 2Thessalonians this Antichrist,
in an ultimate display ofarrogance and pride, will take a
seat in the temple of God,proclaiming himself to be the
God of the universe of God,proclaiming himself to be the
(34:14):
God of the universe, and as hedoes so, he will wage war on the
saints of the Most High God.
The Antichrist will be allowedand given authority to wage war
against believers, and he willsucceed in his efforts.
The Antichrist will set up lawsagainst those who believe in
the one true God and he willdestroy them.
(34:37):
In Revelation 13.7, there is avery similar verse to this verse
here in Daniel.
It reads Also it was allowed tomake war on the saints and to
conquer them, and authority wasgiven to it over every tribe and
people and language and nation.
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This war that's waged on thesaints will be worldwide, but it
will be particularly extremearound Jerusalem, because it is
there that the Antichrist willset up his new base.
Finally, in verse 25, we'retold how long this is going to
last.
It's going to last for a timetimes and half a time.
(35:19):
This could be translated oneyear, two years and half a year.
It refers to the last three anda half years of this age, the
time in which the Antichristwill be given dominion over the
whole earth.
Picking up in verse 26,.
But the court shall sit injudgment and his dominion shall
(35:43):
be taken away to be consumed anddestroyed to the end.
In verse 26, we are shown whenthis court sits in judgment.
This is the judgment of God'sthrone room that will begin at
the beginning of Daniel's 70thweek, or what many people know
as the tribulation.
(36:03):
It is then that God, the eldersand the angels will prepare to
bring the wrath of God upon thekingdom of the Antichrist and
through the judgments of God andthe final battle of Jesus
Christ at Armageddon, thedominion of the Antichrist will
be taken away.
(36:24):
Just as the Antichrist hadconsumed every resource on earth
for his war against God and hissaints, so will the wrath of
God over the great tribulationhave the Antichrist utterly
spent of all he had obtainedthrough his tyranny and
oppression and in the end hewill be destroyed.
(36:49):
Picking up again in verse 27,.
And the kingdom and thedominion and the greatness of
the kingdoms under the wholeheaven shall be given to the
people of the saints of the MostHigh.
His kingdom shall be aneverlasting kingdom and all
dominions shall serve and obeyhim.
(37:09):
Kingdom and all dominions shallserve and obey him.
Verse 27 again clarifies howthere will be an earthly kingdom
it says, under the whole heaven, where the Son of man will rule
and where the saints will reignwith him.
The millennial kingdom whichbegins Jesus Christ's eternal
(37:29):
kingdom, will be given to thosewho trusted in God and in his
Messiah.
Again, the saints included hereare all believers from all time
.
And finally, verse 28.
Here is the end of the matter.
As for me, daniel, my thoughtsgreatly alarmed me and my color
(37:51):
changed, but I kept the matterin my heart when Daniel had
received this revelation fromGod about the final beast.
It brought such fear and terrorinto Daniel that his mind
became very anxious and his bodywent into a fight-or flight
mode.
And as I thought about that, Iconsidered all that Daniel had
(38:15):
already gone through in his life.
He'd been taken captive intothe great empire Babylon when he
was about 15 years old.
He had his life threatened byKing Nebuchadnezzar, and he was
always a strange outcast amongstthe rest of the nobles who
dealt in dark arts.
For this dream to bring suchterror into Daniel, it truly
(38:38):
must have revealed somethingbeyond what we can imagine.
Yet even though this was adeeply disturbing vision, daniel
did not ignore it.
He continued to consider andtrust that this is what the Lord
had revealed to him, and it'swhat the Lord has planned.
Thank you for joining me forDaniel, chapter 7.
(39:02):
God bless you this week.
Grace and peace to you from God, our Father and our
Lord and Savior, jesus Christ.
May the Spirit of Truth be withyou today as we delve in to
Daniel chapter 7.
Daniel, chapter 7, is afoundational building block of
end-time prophecy.
It both parallels the dreamthat Daniel interpreted for
(00:25):
Nebuchadnezzar as well as buildson it, and it gives us a great
deal of insight into otherscripture that deals with
eschatology.
We're going to be going throughthis slowly, taking it verse by
verse, and showing theparallels between this chapter
and other scripture.
Beginning in verse 1, we readIn the first year of Belshazzar,
(00:52):
king of Babylon, daniel saw adream and visions of his head as
he laid in bed.
Then he wrote the dream down andtold the sum of the matter.
Wrote the dream down and toldthe sum of the matter.
This chapter takes us back 18years from where we were in
chapter 6, back into the empireof Babylon.
(01:13):
In the first year ofBelshazzar's reign, daniel would
be about 67 years old right now.
Chapter 7 also begins thesecond half of Daniel, which is
different from the first half.
The first six chapters ofDaniel were chronological and
(01:36):
described how the Lord had actedthrough his people to affect
kings and kingdoms during the 70years of captivity.
70 years of captivity.
However, here, beginning inchapter 7, daniel begins to
describe additional propheticvisions and dreams that came
about at different times andgave insight into the future,
(01:57):
often the very distant future,the end times of the earth.
And after Daniel received thesedreams and visions from God,
daniel took the time to writedown what we are reading today
and he says he gives us the sumof the matter, meaning he's told
(02:33):
us everything that he saw.
Picking up again in verse 2,picking up again in verse 2,
daniel declared here in verses 2and 3, daniel says that in his
vision he saw the four winds ofheaven.
Let's take a moment to talkabout the four winds of heaven
that are spoken of in Scripture.
(02:53):
The four winds of heaven arespoken of in multiple places
throughout Scripture.
Jesus himself used the phrasethe four winds of heaven in
Matthew 24, 31 and Mark 13, 27.
From the contexts of thesescriptures, we can learn two
(03:14):
distinct things about the fourwinds of heaven.
First, when they are spoken of,it's describing the fullness of
the earth north, south, eastand west.
Second, in Revelation, chapter7, verse 1, these four winds of
heaven are spoken of as beingcontrollable by the angels.
(03:36):
Who can stop the wind?
And Daniel tells us that thesefour winds of heaven were
stirring up the great sea.
The great sea in scripture isoften referring to the
Mediterranean, which is agigantic body of water with
waves much like the ocean.
The imagery of this four windsof heaven stirring up the great
(04:01):
sea brings to mind wild windspushing on the great
Mediterranean from north, south,east and west from every
direction, creating chaotic,destructive and deadly
conditions on the water.
We learn later in this chapter,in verse 17, that the great sea
(04:22):
, here in this context, isactually a representation of the
Gentile nations and the peopleof the earth.
Therefore, what this verse isdescribing is how there will be
across the earth chaotic,destructive and deadly
conditions, and it will stir upthe Gentile nations.
(04:42):
And out of the chaotic,destructive conditions of the
Gentile nations come four giantbeasts.
Each beast is different fromthe other.
There are four separate andunique beasts that are described
in Daniel, chapter 7.
Picking up in verse 4.
(05:03):
The first was like a lion andhad eagle's wings.
Then, as I looked, its wingswere plucked off and it was
lifted up from the ground andmade to stand on two feet like a
man and the mind of a man wasgiven to it.
In verse 4, we're told aboutthe first beast.
(05:23):
It says it's like a lion witheagle's wings, and this
description of the winged lionis very appropriate for
Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon.
The prophets of God inScripture often described
Nebuchadnezzar as both a lionand as an eagle.
Furthermore, babylon itselfused lions as a mascot.
(05:48):
The famous Ishtar Gate isdecorated with lions, and
statues with winged lions wouldhave been common in Babylon.
We're told that the wings areplucked off and then it's lifted
up from the ground, made tostand on two feet like a man and
then given the mind of a man.
This represents what happenedto Nebuchadnezzar at the end of
(06:12):
his life, how Nebuchadnezzar washumiliated like a beast and
then he was restored once againto be like a man, picking up in
verse 5, and behold anotherbeast, a second one, like a bear
.
It was raised up on one sideand it had three ribs in its
(06:32):
mouth, between its teeth, and,it was told, arise, devour much
flesh.
This lopsided bear that'sraised up on one side is the
United Medo-Persian Empire.
The purpose for the bear beingraised up on one side is to show
(06:53):
how the Persians under Cyruswere the dominant partner in
this arrangement.
It was Cyrus the Persian thathad created the alliances and
led the army, as their general,to many victories.
We're told that this bear hasthree ribs in its mouth, between
its teeth, and these three ribsrepresent the three major
(07:15):
kingdoms that the Medo-Persianempire swallowed up.
The first is Lydia, or AsiaMinor, the second was Babylon
and the third was eventuallyEgypt.
They're told to arise anddevour much flesh.
The Medo-Persian Empire was apowerful, formidable opponent
(07:37):
and continued to devour evenafter it had conquered three
kingdoms, picking up in verse 6,.
In verse 6, we're told aboutthis winged leopard, and this
(08:02):
image of a leopard with fourwings of a bird is the Greek
Empire under Alexander the Great, along with his four generals.
The speed with which Alexanderthe Great conquered the known
world was astounding, from thespring of 335 BC, when Alexander
began to make war, until theyear of his death in 323 BC at
(08:27):
age 33 was only 12 years.
And after conquering theMedo-Persian Empire in 330 BC,
alexander the Great and hisempire lasted just six years.
The Christian historian Jeromeonce said of Alexander the Great
nothing was accomplished asswiftly as his conquest.
(08:50):
He took everything from theGulf of Venice and the Adriatic
Sea all the way to the IndianOcean and the Ganges River.
He did this not so much in hisbattles but by his reputation.
I have a special note.
Next to that, his reputationbecame renowned after the death
(09:15):
of Darius III, who was the kingof Persia.
After describing this wingedleopard, verse 6 also talks
about the beast having fourheads.
The four heads on this beastalso represent the four generals
, but it represents the fourgenerals after the death of
Alexander the Great, becausethese four generals will divide
(09:38):
the empire and create fourkingdoms, picking up in verse 7,
.
After this, I saw in the nightvisions and behold a fourth
beast, terrifying and dreadfuland exceedingly strong.
(09:58):
It had iron teeth.
It devoured and broke in piecesand stamped what was left with
its feet.
It was different from all thebeasts that were before it and
it had ten horns.
Now we see the fourth beast,unlike the other three beasts
that were described earlier,each described as an animal on
the earth.
There's no animal that existson earth to describe this beast.
(10:20):
It's not of this world.
Daniel can only describe it asa terrifying and dreadful beast.
Its very appearance strikesterror into the onlooker.
It's extraordinarily strong,mightier than any kingdom that
came before it.
We're told that it has teeth ofiron, and the teeth of iron do
(10:44):
point to this being the RomanEmpire.
Roman armies used iron armor.
They were known as the IronLegions of Rome.
However, the empire and beastthat's being described here as
the fourth beast, it's unique.
It's not your typical worldempire.
Even though the Roman Empiredid shatter and divide many
(11:09):
nations, we could say that samething of the previous three
empires.
There's something more to thisbeast than just an earthly
empire.
We're told that it devours, itbreaks to pieces.
We're told that it devours, itbreaks to pieces, it stamps with
its feet what was left.
This imagery of breaking thingsto pieces and stomping the
(11:30):
whole earth.
It's the nature of this beast.
It tells us what this beast'svery nature is like.
Its purpose will be globalindominance.
It will desire to conquer allnations, all languages and all
people.
While the Roman Empire wasknown as the empire of the whole
(11:52):
world because they hadconquered every empire that was
before them, as we're going tolearn a little bit later, this
beast represents somethinggreater, something completely
global, and Daniel signals thisto us, because Daniel tells us
this beast is different from allthe other beasts that were
(12:13):
before it.
As we consider this beast, weneed to remember it doesn't fit
within the typical parameters ofan earthly empire.
It's different.
This is not a beast that can bedepicted by any beast on this
earth.
It's something outside of ournatural order.
(12:34):
And then we're told that thisbeast had 10 horns and, as we
will learn later, those 10 hornsrepresent 10 kings.
Horns represent ten kings.
Picking up in verse 8, Iconsidered the horns and behold,
there came up among themanother horn, a little one,
before which three of the firsthorns were plucked up by the
(12:57):
roots.
And behold, in this horn wereeyes like the eyes of a man and
a mouth speaking great things.
Verse 8 seems pretty mysteriousto us right now, but we'll
learn more about it later.
But for now we're told thatfrom amongst those 10 horns,
which we know are 10 kings,comes up another horn.
(13:20):
It wasn't one of the 10, it wasanother one, it was an eleventh
horn, but it came up fromamongst them, on the beast.
And when this little horn, orthis little king, comes to power
, three of the other horns willbe taken up by the roots, and
then we're told that this hornhas eyes like a man, and these
(13:43):
details are given to us inscripture that we might know
that this horn has eyes like aman.
And these details are given tous in scripture that we might
know that this little horn is infact a person and represents an
actual king.
(14:13):
Picking up in verse 9, ascontinues to describe his vision
, and as the vision progresses,he sees thrones that are placed
in an order.
This is a picture of acourtroom being set up, a
courtroom that's being set up inthe throne room of God.
(14:35):
It's describing how judgment isabout to come on this fourth
beast or this fourth kingdom.
Daniel uses a unique name forGod here, only found in chapter
7 of Daniel.
He calls the Lord the Ancientof Days, conveying an image of
the Eternal Father, god as ourwise judge.
(14:59):
His clothing was as white assnow, his hair like pure wool.
This exemplifies the Lord'sholiness, his moral purity and
his perfection.
And then it describes thethrone.
The throne that the Ancient ofDays sat on was of blazing fire.
(15:19):
Flames were shooting out of itfrom every side, and it had
large wheels, and the wheelsthemselves were on fire.
Picking up in verse 10,.
In verse 10, we're told that astream of fire issued out and
(15:53):
came out before him.
One of the primary ways inwhich God will judge the earth
and this fourth beast is withfire.
The scripture speaks in manyplaces about how, in the day of
the Lord, angels will comewreathed with fire, to consume
(16:14):
the earth.
Some scriptures that speak ofthis are 2 Thessalonians 1, 7
and 8, joel 2, 3, isaiah 66, 15and 16,.
Malachi 4, 1, zephaniah 1, 18.
16.
(16:40):
Malachi 4.1.
Zephaniah 1.18.
Both phrases, a thousandthousands and ten thousand times
ten thousand, are phrases thatare used in scripture to
describe angels that can't benumbered, angels that will come
with the Lord in his finaljudgment.
Now, if you're a math personlike me, you might want to try
and figure out how many that is.
And a thousand thousands is onemillion, and ten thousand times
(17:02):
ten thousand is a hundredmillion.
However, it is very likely thatthese phrases represent
countless angels or what otherscriptures refer to as myriads
of angels rather than an exactnumber.
Finally, in verse 10, we're toldthat a court sat in judgment
and books were opened.
(17:23):
As we mentioned in verse 9,this court is God's throne room
and it's set up as a court ofjustice at the beginning of
Daniel's 70th week, when God,the elders and the angels will
prepare to come out of heavenand bring God's wrath upon the
earth.
Picking up in verse 11, Ilooked then because of the sound
(17:49):
of the great words that thehorn was speaking.
And as I looked, the beast waskilled and its body destroyed,
given over to here in verse 11,as Daniel's vision continues.
The horn speaks such greatwords that it makes Daniel shift
his attention from the throneroom of God and look over
(18:11):
towards this little horn.
Attention from the throne roomof God and look over towards
this little horn.
This little horn is speakingblasphemous and arrogant words
against the Most High God.
And as Daniel is watching thislittle horn speak these words
against God, he's killed andthen he's burned with fire.
I find it incredibly interestingto find this detailed
(18:34):
description of how God is goingto come in judgment and kill the
little horn, to be burned withfire.
And as we read that, for thosewho are familiar with scripture,
it starts to become clear thatall of this is a reference to
the final kingdom described inother places of scripture.
Let me read Revelation 19.20 toyou.
(18:57):
It says and the beast wascaptured and with it the false
prophet who, in its presence haddone the signs by which he had
deceived those who received themark of the beast and those who
worshipped his image.
These two were thrown aliveinto the lake of fire that burns
with sulfur.
(19:18):
Now let's pick up in verse 12.
It says as for the rest of thebeasts, their dominion was taken
away, but their lives wereprolonged for a season and a
time.
It's telling us that thesethree other beasts described
earlier here, that were naturalto the earth, will have their
(19:38):
dominions taken away, butthey'll be allowed to remain.
These will be the people whoare still alive on earth after
the wrath of God has been pouredout and the final battle of
Armageddon is finished.
The scripture is telling usthat there will be people who
survive, and these will be thepeople that form nations that
(19:59):
continue into the millennialkingdom, where Jesus Christ will
rule over all the nations andpeople.
Picking up in verse 13, I saw inthe night visions and behold,
with the clouds of heaven, therecame one like the Son of man.
He came to the Ancient of Daysand was presented before him.
(20:24):
Our understanding that we'vebeen talking about that this is
the final judgment of the finalkingdom on earth is confirmed
with a description and return ofthe Son of man on the clouds.
Clearly, this is not the firstcoming of the Messiah.
This is the second coming ofJesus Christ, as described all
(20:47):
over the scripture as he returnson the clouds the title Son of
man.
Here is where the title Son ofman originates in Scripture,
although the origins of theMessiah being a seed of Eve go
all the way back to Genesis,chapter 3.
This title, the Son of man, wasone of Jesus's favorite titles
(21:11):
and he used it to describehimself over 80 times in the
Gospels, picking up in verse 14,to him was given dominion and
glory and a kingdom that allpeoples, nations and languages
should serve him.
His dominion is an everlastingdominion which shall not pass
(21:33):
away, and his kingdom one thatshall not be destroyed.
In verse 14, we see theestablishment of Jesus'
thousand-year reign, while allauthority had already been given
(21:54):
to Jesus after his resurrectionfrom the dead.
At the end of this age, whenevery last person has been saved
, that is going to be saved, andJesus comes in power to destroy
the kingdoms of this earth, theFather will establish Jesus
Christ as the physical rulerover this earth for 1,000 years.
This begins what is known asthe Millennial Kingdom.
(22:17):
In fact, in verse 14, it makesdistinctions of peoples, nations
and languages.
All of those distinctions areunique to this earth.
They won't apply in eternity.
Earth.
(22:37):
They won't apply in eternity.
This promise that is given tothe Messiah to rule on the earth
is like a promise that the Lordgave to other earthly kings
like Nebuchadnezzar.
It's clear that this is apromise of an earthly kingdom in
which the Son of man will ruleas king of kings over every
nation, every people group andevery language on earth.
However, unlike every otherearthly king, the king of kings'
(23:01):
dominion is everlasting.
Even though the thousand-yearreign has a finite end, the
dominion and physical reign ofJesus Christ will never end once
it begins in the millennialkingdom, picking up again in
verse 15.
As for me, daniel, my spiritwithin me was anxious and the
(23:25):
visions of my head alarmed me.
I approached one of those whostood there and asked him the
truth concerning all this.
So he told me and he made knownto me the interpretation of the
things In verses 15 and 16,.
Daniel is still in thisvisionary state and he's shaken
(23:45):
and he's deeply concerned.
And as he's shaken in hisspirit, daniel approaches one of
the millions of angels thatstood before the throne of God,
and he asked him what is thetruth of all of this?
And now the angel is going tobegin to make this even clearer
for us, picking up in verse 17,.
(24:07):
These four great beasts are fourkings who shall rise out of the
earth, but the saints of theMost High shall receive the
kingdom.
And Daniel's first questionhere is a very general question,
and so the angel gives a verygeneral answer.
The four beasts represent fourkings the lion is Nebuchadnezzar
(24:32):
of Babylon, the bear is Cyrusof the Medo-Persian Empire, the
leopard is Alexander the Greatof Greece, and the terrifying,
unnatural beast will be theAntichrist under the revived
Roman Empire.
Under the revived Roman Empire.
(24:55):
And the angel comforts Danielby telling him that the saints
of the Most High will receivethe kingdom.
Now, the saints of the MostHigh being described here are
those who trust in God, thosewho trust in the Messiah, jesus
Christ or, in this context, theSon of man.
These are those who have puttheir faith in the Lord, who
(25:18):
worship the Lord, who serve theLord Most High from every age.
And the angel again reaffirmsto Daniel that the saints shall
possess the kingdom forever andever.
Therefore, the millennialkingdom will be the beginning of
Christ's eternal kingdom, withall of his glorified saints,
(25:43):
picking up in verse 19,.
Then I desired to know the truthabout the fourth beast, which
was different from all the rest,exceedingly terrifying with its
teeth of iron and claws ofbronze, and which devoured and
broke to here in verse 19,daniel asks the angel
(26:05):
specifically about this fourthbeast, because he recognizes
there's something quitedifferent about it and something
quite terrifying about it.
It's not like any of thoseother three beasts, it's not
from this natural world.
An interesting note here isDaniel mentions that the claws
(26:27):
of this beast are made of bronze, which is a detail he left out
in verse 7.
It implies that this beast iscomprised of multiple elements
from multiple empires, and itpoints to the Antichrist beast
having elements of all the greatworld empires, much like
Revelation 13 too, whichdescribes the beast this way the
(26:51):
beast that I saw was like aleopard, its feet were like a
bear's, its mouth was like alion's and to it the dragon gave
his power and his throne andgreat authority.
Revelation points to thisterrifying beast as having all
of the properties of every othergreat world empire the
(27:14):
greatness and glory ofNebuchadnezzar, the tactics and
the power of Cyrus and theswiftness to conquer nations
like Alexander the Great,Picking up again in verse 20,.
And about the ten horns thatwere on its head and the other
horn that came up before whichthree of them fell.
(27:35):
The horn that had eyes and amouth, that spoke great things
and that seemed greater than itscompanions.
Here in verse 20, daniel'sasking what is the deal with
these ten horns and that littlehorn?
What is the significance of thelittle horn having eyes and a
(27:56):
mouth that speaks great things?
Why did this little horn looklike it was stronger than these
other ones?
Verse 21, as I looked, thishorn made war with the saints.
It prevailed over them untilthe ancient of days came and the
judgment was given for thesaints of the most high, and the
(28:19):
time came when the saintspossessed the kingdom.
In verse 21, daniel asks whythis horn is able to make war
with the saints and prevail overthem until the Ancient of Days
comes and until they're giventhe kingdom by the Most High,
picking up in verse 23,.
(28:40):
Thus he said as for the fourthbeast, there shall be a fourth
kingdom on earth, which shall bedifferent from all the kingdoms
, and it shall devour the wholeearth.
It shall trample it down andbreak it to pieces.
Here in verse 23, one of theclarifying statements that the
(29:00):
angel makes is that this fourthbeast is a fourth kingdom, not
just a fourth king.
It's important because we learnthat what is so terrifying and
dreadful about this beast is thelittle horn, the king, the
antichrist, that quickly comesout of this kingdom.
(29:22):
The second clarifying statementthat the angel makes is that
this beast will devour the wholeearth.
This statement is global and itmeans exactly what it says.
The word for whole here meansall whole, every and any.
It's describing the entireearth.
(29:42):
Furthermore, the use of thewords devour and trample
describe how this beast willdevastate the earth.
He will crush all who opposehim.
The revised Roman Empire underthe Antichrist will conquer the
kingdoms of this earth quickly.
Furthermore, he shall devourevery nation's resources,
(30:07):
seizing control of them for hisown agenda, and he will leave
the world's population withlittle to nothing.
And again this angel clarifiesthis beast is different from the
other kingdoms.
In Revelation 13.2, we're toldthat the dragon or Satan will
(30:27):
empower this beast.
We're told that the dragon orSatan will empower this beast,
and it gives us some insightinto why this beast doesn't look
like any other kingdom on earth, why this beast is not
something natural?
Because this king is possessedby a very powerful demon Verse
24.
(30:47):
As for the ten horns, out ofthis kingdom, ten kings shall
arise Verse 24.
Here, in 24, we're really givenour first glimpse into what
(31:11):
these ten horns really are.
They are ten kings and thelittle horn is a different king,
separate from the ten.
Furthermore, this little hornthat is different will put down
three of the ten kings, and thisis about the extent we learn
from Daniel about this littlehorn.
However, from Revelation,chapter 17, verses 12 through 14
(31:33):
, we're told that these tenkings hadn't yet received their
power when the apostle John hadpenned Revelation.
Additionally, when they doreceive their authority, it will
only be for an hour, and thatphrase, an hour, can mean an
instant or a moment.
Therefore, the ten kings willonly gain their power and
(31:57):
authority for just a brief time,just enough time to create the
revived Roman Empire.
Revelation also tells us thatthey're of one mind to hand
their power and authority overto the beast.
In other words, they're quickto hand their power over to the
(32:18):
Antichrist so he can rule thisrevived Roman Empire Once these
ten kings come to power and theyestablish this new, revived
Roman Empire, they'll quicklytransfer that authority to the
Antichrist.
This group of men, these tenkings.
Even though three of them willbe put down by the Antichrist,
(32:42):
the rest of them will be loyalto this revived Roman Empire to
the very end.
Scripture tells us that theywill be part of the nations that
come against Christ in thebattle of Armageddon.
Picking up in verse 25, heshall speak words against the
Most High and he shall wear outthe saints of the Most High and
(33:07):
shall think to change the timesand the law, and they shall be
given into his hand for a time,times and half a time.
In verse 25, we're told thatthis king will speak words
against the Most High.
The Antichrist will listen to noone and take orders from no one
.
He will exalt himself as thefirst and final authority over
(33:31):
all things and all people.
2 Thessalonians 2.4 describeshim this way who opposes and
exalts himself against everyso-called god or object of
worship, so that he takes hisseat in the temple of God,
proclaiming himself to be God.
(33:53):
We can see from this verse in 2Thessalonians this Antichrist,
in an ultimate display ofarrogance and pride, will take a
seat in the temple of God,proclaiming himself to be the
God of the universe of God,proclaiming himself to be the
(34:14):
God of the universe, and as hedoes so, he will wage war on the
saints of the Most High God.
The Antichrist will be allowedand given authority to wage war
against believers, and he willsucceed in his efforts.
The Antichrist will set up lawsagainst those who believe in
the one true God and he willdestroy them.
(34:37):
In Revelation 13.7, there is avery similar verse to this verse
here in Daniel.
It reads Also it was allowed tomake war on the saints and to
conquer them, and authority wasgiven to it over every tribe and
people and language and nation.
(34:57):
This war that's waged on thesaints will be worldwide, but it
will be particularly extremearound Jerusalem, because it is
there that the Antichrist willset up his new base.
Finally, in verse 25, we'retold how long this is going to
last.
It's going to last for a timetimes and half a time.
(35:19):
This could be translated oneyear, two years and half a year.
It refers to the last three anda half years of this age, the
time in which the Antichristwill be given dominion over the
whole earth.
Picking up in verse 26,.
But the court shall sit injudgment and his dominion shall
(35:43):
be taken away to be consumed anddestroyed to the end.
In verse 26, we are shown whenthis court sits in judgment.
This is the judgment of God'sthrone room that will begin at
the beginning of Daniel's 70thweek, or what many people know
as the tribulation.
(36:03):
It is then that God, the eldersand the angels will prepare to
bring the wrath of God upon thekingdom of the Antichrist and
through the judgments of God andthe final battle of Jesus
Christ at Armageddon, thedominion of the Antichrist will
be taken away.
(36:24):
Just as the Antichrist hadconsumed every resource on earth
for his war against God and hissaints, so will the wrath of
God over the great tribulationhave the Antichrist utterly
spent of all he had obtainedthrough his tyranny and
oppression and in the end hewill be destroyed.
(36:49):
Picking up again in verse 27,.
And the kingdom and thedominion and the greatness of
the kingdoms under the wholeheaven shall be given to the
people of the saints of the MostHigh.
His kingdom shall be aneverlasting kingdom and all
dominions shall serve and obeyhim.
(37:09):
Kingdom and all dominions shallserve and obey him.
Verse 27 again clarifies howthere will be an earthly kingdom
it says, under the whole heaven, where the Son of man will rule
and where the saints will reignwith him.
The millennial kingdom whichbegins Jesus Christ's eternal
(37:29):
kingdom, will be given to thosewho trusted in God and in his
Messiah.
Again, the saints included hereare all believers from all time
.
And finally, verse 28.
Here is the end of the matter.
As for me, daniel, my thoughtsgreatly alarmed me and my color
(37:51):
changed, but I kept the matterin my heart when Daniel had
received this revelation fromGod about the final beast.
It brought such fear and terrorinto Daniel that his mind
became very anxious and his bodywent into a fight-or flight
mode.
And as I thought about that, Iconsidered all that Daniel had
(38:15):
already gone through in his life.
He'd been taken captive intothe great empire Babylon when he
was about 15 years old.
He had his life threatened byKing Nebuchadnezzar, and he was
always a strange outcast amongstthe rest of the nobles who
dealt in dark arts.
For this dream to bring suchterror into Daniel, it truly
(38:38):
must have revealed somethingbeyond what we can imagine.
Yet even though this was adeeply disturbing vision, daniel
did not ignore it.
He continued to consider andtrust that this is what the Lord
had revealed to him, and it'swhat the Lord has planned.
Thank you for joining me forDaniel, chapter 7.
(39:02):
God bless you this week.
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