DANIEL SERIES: DANIEL’S FIRST RECORDED DREAM AND VISIONS – CHAPTER 7

The first six chapters of Daniel were historical. These chapters shared the life and times of Daniel, spanning sixty-plus years. The last six chapters share the prophetic revelation given to him by God.
Chapter 7, which precedes the events of chapters 5 and 6, discloses the dream and visions Daniel received in the first year of King Belshazzar’s reign. Additionally, it highlighted six kingdoms: the four kingdoms of the world, the kingdom of Satan, and the eternal kingdom of God.
The chapter begins with the winds, which usually blow from one direction; however, in this vision, the four winds were furiously blowing in all directions over the Mediterranean Sea from which four different beasts emerged.
The first beast seen was a lion with eagle’s wings, which represented King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. After a time, the wings were plucked off of it, and it stood up like a man with a man’s heart. The second beast, which represented the Medio-Persia kingdom, was a bear with three ribs in its mouth. It rose up on one side and was told, “Arise, devour much flesh.” The third beast, to whom dominion was given, represented the Graeco-Macedonian empire of Alexander the Great. It looked like a leopard, which had four fowl wings on its back and four heads, and this concluded Daniel’s first vision.
In the second vision, Daniel saw the fourth strong, brutal beast, which had ten horns representing the Roman Empire. It had great iron teeth and was described as dreadful, terrible, and exceedingly strong. From the midst of the horns came another little horn who had eyes like a man, spoke haughtily, and was able to subdue three of the previous existing horns.
Then Daniel got a glimpse of heaven where he saw thrones thrown down by God the Ancient of Days, who was in a white garment, had hair like pure wool, and was sitting on what appeared like a fiery throne with flaming wheels. Standing before God were ten thousand times ten thousand persons besides the thousand upon thousands that ministered to Him.
In verse eleven, Daniel witnesses the destruction of the fourth beast as it is placed in the lake of fire. The other beasts’ fate revealed the collapse of their kingdom but they were allowed to live a short time longer.
Continuing with the heavenly vision Daniel saw the Son of man before the Ancient of days who gave Him everlasting dominion, glory, and a kingdom that would not be destroyed and in which all people, nations, and languages served Him.
Daniel found himself troubled and grieved by the visions; therefore, he requested the interpretation from a nearby angel. Complying with Daniel’s request, It was revealed to him that the four beasts were four kings who would one day rule in the earth; however, the saints of the Most High would eventually govern the world forever.
Additionally, the fourth beast would war against the saints and be victorious until Jesus appears to judge and rule the earth and give the saints power to govern the earth. This fourth beast represented a future destructive kingdom from which ten kings would come, and then another king would come from them, who would brutally destroy three of the kings. He would also defy God, persecute the helpless saints, and try to change all the laws, morals, and customs. God’s people will be powerless in his hands for three and a half years.
In the end, God’s righteous judgment will prevail with the return of Jesus to earth. Jesus will be victorious, the Antichrist will be defeated, and Jesus will give His saints, who will live in the everlasting kingdom, power to rule worldwide as they obediently serve Him.
When Daniel awakened, the interpretation of the dream and vision still left him perplexed and disturbed; therefore, he did not share this dream with anyone.
Studying eschatology and understanding Revelation has helped me comprehend Daniel’s dream and visions. Thus, I recommend that if you are having difficulty understanding the prophetic chapters in Daniel, you also study Revelation, for in so doing, you will see how these two books correlate. Those things revealed to Daniel were also shown to John. (If you go into the teacherspick archive 1/2/2012 – 5/3/2012, you will find my blog postings on Revelation).
Finally, here are further explanations and nuggets from this chapter:
God shares visions with royalty and with commoners.
Old men dream dreams.
This dream and the visions that Daniel experienced were similar to the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2, except the king dreamed of a statue made of various metals, and Daniel dreamed about four beasts.
The turbulent sea is symbolic of the unpredictable nations of the world that are at war with one another.
The fourth beast known for its brutality will be the empire from which the Antichrist will emerge. The little horn (Antichrist) that appears will be both a boastful and blasphemous last-world ruler.
Before delving into the details of Daniel’s visions, the angel gives a summary of the chapter, revealing four kings and their kingdoms that will exist on earth, with the final outcome being the Most High reigning eternal with the saints on earth.
During the tribulation, God will allow the human government of the Antichrist to have power and authority over the earth’s inhabitants. The saints will experience great suffering and persecution under the hands of the Antichrist.