Wednesday Bible Study Fellowship, May 14, 2008
Daniel 7
Introduction: Daniel 6 speaks of Daniel under the rulership of Darius, the Mede. Daniel 5 speaks of Daniel under the rulership of Belshazzar. Daniel 1-4 speaks of Daniel under the rulership of Nebuchadnezzar. We have a chronology of Daniel under three rulers. Daniel 7 begins the second section of the book. Now the concentration will be on Daniel’s visions. Here “The time frame is extensive- from the sixth century B.C. until the coming of Jesus Christ and beyond.” (Boice, pg.80)
I. The Time Period (1)
A. This is the first year of Belshazzar. The year is probably 553 B.C. (Walvoord, pg.149)
B. This would be 14 years before the fall of Babylon. Thus, 14 years before chapter 5.
II. The Vision (2-14)
A. Four winds of heaven churning up the great sea (2)
B. Four great beasts, coming up out of the sea (3)
1. A lion with the wings of an eagle and the heart of a man (4)
2. A bear with three ribs in its mouth (5)
3. A leopard with four wings and four heads (6)
4. A beast with large iron teeth and ten horns (7)
C. A little horn which uproots three of the previous horns (8)
D. The Ancient of Days (9-10)
E. The beast is slain and thrown into the fire (11)
F. Other beasts lived for a while but without authority (12)
G. The Son of Man approaches the Ancient of Days. He is worshipped, given authority, glory, and sovereign power. He has been given an eternal kingdom.
III. The Vision Interpreted Generally (15-18)
A. Daniel was troubled and disturbed. So he approached one standing there and asked for the meaning. Probably, Daniel approached an angel.
B. The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will come out of the earth (17)
C. God’s children will, however, receive an eternal kingdom, as opposed to those which come and go! (18)
IV. The Vision Interpreted, Specifically (19-28)
A. Daniel now wanted more information, specifically about the fourth beast (19)
B. Daniel also wanted to know about the:
1. Ten horns (20)
2. The other little horn (21)
C. Daniel noticed the little horn was waging war against the saints and was defeating them (21)
D. Defeat was turned into victory with the arrival of the Ancient of Days (22)
E. The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom (23)
1. It will be different from all others, devouring, trampling, and crushing the whole earth (23)
2. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom (24)
3. Another king will arise who will subdue three of the ten kings (24)
4. This king will (25):
a. speak against the Most High
b. oppress God’s saints for a time, times and half a time
c. try to change set time and laws
F. The court will sit and take away his powers, and he will be completely destroyed (26)
G. Earthly kingdoms will be handed over to the saints who will worship the Most High (27)
H. Daniel kept his dream to himself. He was deeply troubled and his face turned pale!
V. The Explanation of the Vision
A. The sea represents the Gentile world. The churning is the constant turmoil of the world’s nations. We are a world of nations in conflict (Rev.17:1, 15)
B. The four great winds of heavens “…represent the heavenly powers and forces by which God sets the nations of the world in motion” (Walvoord, 152, quoting Keil). “In Daniel, wind is uniformly used to represent the sovereign power of God, which is the view point of the book.” (Walvoord, pg.152)
C. Basically, what we have is the history of Gentile nations, striving with God!
D. The Four Beasts
1. The lion with eagle wings = Babylon. “Winged lions guarded the gates of the royal palace of the Babylonians” (Walvoord, pg.153). The animal with the heart of a man reminds us of Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 4.
2. The bear with three ribs = Medio/Persia. Cyrus and his son Cambyses conquered:
a. the Lydian Kingdom of Asia Minor is 546 B.C.
b. the Chaldean Empire in 539 B.C.
c. the Egyptian Empire in 525 B.C.
3. The leopard with 4 wings and 4 heads= The Greek Empire of Alexander the Great
a. The leopard with 4 wings refers to speed (Hab.1:8). Alexander with great speed conquered from Macedonia to Africa to India.
b. At his death in 323 B.C. his kingdom fractured into 4 parts:
1- Greece and Macedonia under Antipater
2- Thrace and Asia Minor under Lysimachus
3- Asia under Seleucus (except Asia Minor & Palestine)
4- Egypt and Palestine under Ptolemy
4. The beast unlike any other = Rome. This resembles the legs, feet and toes of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue.
a. legs of statue (iron); teeth of beast (iron)
b. statue has 10 toes; beast has 10 horns
E. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from the Roman Empire.
F. The little horn is the first Biblical reference to the Antichrist.
G. The Antichrist will oppress the Saints for: (Daniel 4:25 teaches that “times” equals years)
1. Time = 1 year
2. Times = 2 years
3. ½ time = ½ year__
Total = 3 ½ years
When the time for final judgment has been met (26) The Lord Jesus will return and defeat the Antichrist and his armies. The Lord Jesus is “The Ancient of Days” (McGee, pg.127). “The Ancient of Days