This point in our study of Daniel brings us to the second part of the book that bears Daniel’s name. The first six chapters were narratives which told stories of events in the lives of Daniel and his friends under captivity and rule of Babylon (under Kings Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar) and under the rule of the Mede king Darius. Daniel 6 ended with the statement that Daniel continued living under the reign of the Persian king Cyrus as well. Altogether, this means that Daniel lived under exile for about 70 years.

The second half of the book relates a series of prophetic visions that God gave to Daniel. He describes them as having been given to him in the first year of Belshazzar (Chapter 7), the third year Belshazzar (Chapter 8), the first year of Darius (Chapter 9), and then the third year of Cyrus (Chapters 10-12). All of these visions gave Daniel (and Israel, and us) views of future events, from Daniel’s day forward through the final days of human history and God’s judgment of all mankind. These chapters therefore are often referred to as apocalyptic prophecies. While the give us a good glimpse at the future, they are best understood in conjunction with other biblical apocalyptic prophecies as well.

The interpretation of the vision in Chapter 7 has a lot in common with the interpretation that Daniel was given for Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Chapter 2, which I wrote about a year ago. It’s interesting to note, though, that these two visions came approximately 50 years apart. Nebuchadnezzar deported Daniel from Israel in 605 B.C. and his dream in Chapter 2 came about within a year or two after that. Belshazzar was co-ruler of Babylon (with his father Nabonidus) starting in 555 B.C. This vision came to Daniel in that year.

“In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. Daniel declared, ‘I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.’“

Biblical scholars generally interpret these four beasts as the same kingdoms represented by the parts of the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s Chapter 2 dream.

“The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it.”

This first kingdom likely represents Babylon (the gold head in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream), which had it’s greatest glory under Nebuchadnezzar and diminished after that. The references to the removal of wings and the mind of a man may even be an allusion to the humbling of Nebuchadnezzar discussed in Chapter 4. When this vision occurred, Babylon had not yet fallen and was still a dominant power, but was becoming less so under the reign of Belshazzar. The events of Chapter 5 (the handwriting on the wall) came about after the vision recorded here.

“And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’”

In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, this next kingdom was represented the silver chest and arms of the statue. The Mede and Persian empire conquered Babylon in 539 B.C. The Persian empire was more predominant than the Medes, which is probably why the bear was “raised up on one side.” The three ribs in its mouth likely refer to the three main conquests and victories of the Medes and Persians – Lydia in 546 B.C., Babylon in 539 B.C., and Egypt in 525 B.C.

“After this I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it.”

The next world power to arise was Greece. Alexander the Great rapidly led conquests in the region from 334 to 330 B.C. When he died in 323 B.C. his kingdom was split into four main divisions. This vision segment corresponds to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream statue’s belly and thighs of bronze.

“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.“

The final beast/kingdom corresponds to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream statue’s legs of iron and feet of mixed clay and iron. This foretells the coming of the Roman empire, beginning in about 63 B.C. and leading to the development of the subsequent kingdoms and powers that followed. The Roman empire was vast in comparison to these preceding kingdom/beasts and marked a new era in human history. The “little horn” is discussed more later in the vision.

“As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.“

This portion of the vision is a “fast-forward” to the end of human history. It is triggered by the appearance of the “little horn” on the head of the last beast. It is at this point that Daniel sees a vision of heaven and God seated on His throne, with other thrones around him. We also see countless numbers of people gathered in God’s presence and a reference to “books” that are opened. This is a picture of a trial or court proceeding such as a king would hold in his throne room. The books would represent law books or some other type of record-keeping. I’ll discuss that later.

“I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.“

Again, the little horn is the trigger for this court proceeding. His actions (words) lead to the destruction of the body of the beast to which he is attached and a fiery sentence. The other beasts (inhabitants of the former kingdoms) are being held aside for a time.

“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.“

This passage references a “son of man”, the title that Jesus used for himself. He used that title as a direct reference to this passage from Daniel. This person is given a dominion (over all – including these “beasts”) that is everlasting and will never be destroyed. This imagery harkens to the small stone that grew into a mountain and overcame everything in Nebuchadnezzar’s statue dream.

The point of this vision is to show Daniel (and Israel, and us) that God’s plan for human history has an ending in which God exerts his power and control to set the course of history on the track that He has determined, and his “son” is going to rule forever.

This is not the end of this chapter, and I’ll continue looking at it and the ensuing chapters in coming posts. For now, though, rest (or seriously consider) that history will someday come to a close, and we are much closer to it than Daniel was! Are you ready to stand with God in opposition to his enemies, or are you one of those who is choosing to stand against Him? Your choice (e.g. how you respond to Jesus’ offer to follow him) will determine what your eternity will look like. More on that in future posts!