Daniel 7:1: In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.
Now we come to the heart of Daniel's fascinating book. Speaking to His prophets in dreams and visions of the night is God's appointed way of teaching truth to His people. "If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream" (Numbers 12:6). Daniel qualifies!
Daniel 7:2-3: Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
World history is covered in chapter 7 as it was covered in the prophetic image of chapter 2. But there are differences between the two prophecies:
(1) Chapter 2 was to be understood by a pagan king, and therefore was very simple.
(2) Chapter 7 was to be understood by the prophet and by the church: hence, it reveals far greater detail and a deeper meaning.
(3) The prophetic image of chapter 2 shows us the four kingdoms in their purely political forms.
(4) Chapter 7 shows us the four in their spiritual forms, as they relate to God's work and His people. It is for our current world population.
The angel in verses 17 and 23 tells us that the four beasts are symbols of four kings, or kingdoms. In His wisdom, God represents the glory of human empires as entirely of the earth, as animals which have no care for heavenly things. It's to lift the human race from thinking only of earthly things so they can see eternal spiritual things, that the Bible was given to us. Daniel is a good book for anyone to begin reading the Bible. It's the one book that Jesus singled out as especially important for us to "read" and "understand" (Matthew 24:15).
One hundred years earlier the prophet Hosea used the same symbols of a lion, leopard, and fierce beast to describe kingdoms which would rule over God's people because of their rebellion and forgetfulness of truth (see Hosea 13:5-8). If Israel had remained true to her Lord, these four cruel empires could not have arisen as they did. How much depends upon the faithfulness of God's people! They are "the light of the world," and if that light goes out how great is the darkness (Matthew 6:23)! God has promised to "hold" back the "four winds" of strife if His people will proclaim faithfully His sealing message (Revelation 7:1-4). In this light, thoughtful people have recognized that World Wars I and II and other terrible strifes have been unnecessary; God's people have often neglected their duty.
Daniel 7:4: The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.
The first kingdom, the lion, answers to the head of gold of the image of chapter 2, the Babylonian empire. Jeremiah likened the Babylonian army to a destroying lion (Jeremiah 4:7; 21:7). The eagle's wings denote the speed of their conquests. Habbakuk said that the Chaldeans' "horses also are swifter than the leopards. They shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat" (Habbakuk 1:6-8). Beginning with Nebuchadnezzar's mental sickness in chapter 4, the empire of Babylon lost its spirit and strength. When the empire fell, the mighty men could not even fight. "They became as women" (Jeremiah 51:30). This weakness was symbolized by the lion being made to stand upright; now the empire had a weak fearful heart, as a lion forced to stand on two legs has lost its lion-like courage.
Daniel 7:5: And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it was raised up on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
The bear represents the same kingdom as the breast and arms of silver of the image—Medo-Persia. The raising up of itself on one side shows how the Medes under Darius were the more powerful of the two factions; but later the Persians under Cyrus took over. There were three conquered provinces that the Medes and Persians treated most cruelly after they rose to power: Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt. Probably these are symbolized by the three ribs between its teeth.
No animal can be more cruel than a blood-thirsty bear. Cruelty was the outstanding characteristic of the Persian Empire. As we saw in chapter 6, verse 24, the innocent wives and children of condemned men were punished equally with them. This is cruelty that human governments do not do today.
Daniel 7:6: After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
This, the same as the thighs of brass of the image, was the Grecian kingdom as established by the swift conquests of Alexander the Great. The leopard is a small animal compared to the bear. We read that only 47,000 men in Alexander's army conquered the huge Persian army of nearly a million. The four wings show how quickly the Greeks traveled, to surprise their conquests. Alexander was famous for his organizing skill and rapid marching. The four heads show the division of his empire into four separate kingdoms after his death.
Daniel 7:7: After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
No animal in creation is terrible enough to be compared with this one! Rome is symbolized in chapter two by the legs of iron. The ten horns now are the same as the ten toes of the image— ten kingdoms which arose out of the ruins of the pagan Roman empire. Tyranny was terrible in the days of pagan Rome. Never had there been a world kingdom as heartless and all-powerful. She filled up her cup of iniquity by taking part in the crucifixion of the Son of God, and by murdering many of the early Christians. In judgment, God held her accountable.
Daniel 7:8: I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
This "little horn" is the main subject of this chapter. Surely God's word will not hide its identity from us. All the details that have gone before are as a "root" which supports the "tree" of the rest of the chapter. This little horn power is the subject of many prophecies in the Bible, evidence that God wants us to understand who it is. It has a very prominent part in world history and in our own lives everywhere today. Either we are totally with Christ or our allegiance will gravitate toward the power symbolized as the "little horn."
Daniel is no longer a sealed book, for we have reached the "time of the end" when God has opened it (Daniel 12:4). As we proceed, we shall see how simple it is to understand these prophecies.
Daniel 7:9, 10: I beheld till the thrones were cast down and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
In Revelation 14:6, 7, we read an announcement to the world that the time of the judgment here described has already come. It was future in Daniel's day; it is present truth in ours.
What thinking man can fail to tremble before an infinite personal Judge? It is a fearful time, when the angels assemble before Him and the books which record every secret of our lives are opened for divine inspection. It is of this judgment time, when our names will be called for judgment, that Jesus warns us: "Take heed to yourselves, lest ... that day come upon you unawares. ... Pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy ... to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:34-36). But please remember: there are two kinds of judgment. One is condemnation; the other is vindication. What God's people face in the judgment is vindication, because Christ has accepted in Himself their condemnation and has died for them their second death.
The "books" are the records kept of all that has been right or wrong on earth. They contain our "tears" of agony and sorrow and repentance (Psalm 56:8), the names of those who respond to God's love (Psalm 69:28; Exodus 32:32, 33), and the record of our lives (Psalm 139:16; Malachi 3:16). Those who devote their lives to God's service have their names in the book of life (Philippians 4:3).
So do not be afraid of this judgment! Your Savior died to redeem you. He is not trying to keep you out of His kingdom, but He is seeking to prepare you to enter in triumphant so you'll be happy there. He will honor and vindicate in this judgment those who respond to His Holy Spirit. Trust your case to Him (1 John 2:1, 2). "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out, "says Jesus (John 6:37). Cling to that promise as for dear life!
Daniel 7:11-14: I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
Now we can see that the "little horn" is not primarily a political power because his "great words" are considered by the spiritual judgment in heaven. The "little horn" is therefore a religious power. It grew to world prominence as a branch growing out of the old Roman empire. It is a great church which we see in the world today, distinguished because it has exercised political power.
Daniel noticed something interesting: although the three previous beasts (world empires) had their dominion taken away, their "lives" were prolonged until the time of the final judgment. Babylon's wealth and glory, Medo-Persia's cruelty, and Greece's subtlety, are all merged in the great and terrible Roman Empire; and the "little horn" power has learned his super-marvelous wisdom from the four beasts whose wisdom and power live on in him.
The "One like the Son of man" can be no other than Jesus, the Son of God, who loved to call Himself "the Son of man." He became one with us as our Elder Brother. The footsteps of Jesus can be traced all through the Old Testament because He is the One "whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2). His footsteps lead today into that place in the sanctuary of heaven which is called "the most holy apartment." There He is working for us as our great High Priest in the "presence of God for us," to finish His work of redemption. When this judgment described in verses 9 and 10 is finished, Christ will win an everlasting kingdom of righteousness.
The nations and languages who serve Christ in His coming kingdom are not worldly kingdoms, but the host of redeemed in the "new earth" from every language and people (see Revelation 21:24).
Daniel 7:15, 16: I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.
If Daniel himself was so concerned to understand this prophecy, surely we also living now should be greatly concerned about it. Jesus said, "Whoso readeth [Daniel] let him understand" (Matthew 24:15). The angel himself made known to Daniel the meaning of the prophecy. Therefore we are not to guess at it with our own private interpretations.
Daniel 7:17-22: Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
Daniel understood about the first three kingdoms; but the fourth, so strange, powerful and cruel, distressed him. What especially troubled him was a strange movement among the ten horns on the fourth beast. A "little horn" different from the others arose to world power. It uprooted three kingdoms that stood in its way. Daniel saw in this power the real enemy of the saints of God, because it persecuted them so severely. The Ancient of Days finally sat in judgment and said, "It is enough.
"But none of this suffering has been in vain. "Judgment" will be given to all who have been loyal to Christ. Even though they have suffered on earth, it has been a privilege for these loyal, believing ones to share in "the fellowship of His sufferings." In a special way, they forever "enter into the joy" of their Lord (Philippians 3:10; Matthew 25:21). We either bring honor or shame to our Lord! Daniel gives us insights to view our suffering in a new, encouraging light.
Daniel 7:23-25: Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
We have already seen that the fourth kingdom (the legs of iron of the image) was pagan Rome. Between 351 and 476 A.D. pagan tribes from the north rushed down upon the Roman Empire. Ten smaller kingdoms evolved out of its ruins. Historians generally agree that the following were the ten: England, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, Italy. These seven remain to this day. Three others no longer exist, having been "plucked up by the roots": the Heruli, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths.
In South America, some people who could not read or write asked a missionary to send them a teacher. He agreed to do so. "But," they asked, "how will we know that the teacher is really sent by you?" The wise missionary picked up a stone, broke it in two, gave half to the chief, kept half himself. "When the teacher comes he will bring the other half of this broken stone, and you can know that no other teacher in all the world can have a broken stone that will fit your half!"
So it is that the prophecy of Daniel is one half of a broken stone; history is the other half which fits so perfectly that even a child can see that God's word has been precisely fulfilled.
Seven identifying features are in the words of the angel:
(1) The "little horn" will arise out of the ten kingdoms of the Roman Empire, but be different in nature. Rome being the capital of the world, the pastor of the church there came to be looked upon as the leading bishop of all the churches. As the apostasy predicted by the apostle Paul developed (see 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12; Acts 20:29, 39), that church became more worldly and powerful. False doctrines crept in from paganism, among them a tradition that Peter had given sole authority to rule over the church to the bishop of Rome, and that later popes were his successors. (Matthew 16:18-20; 18:17, 18; Psalm 149:5-9) They built their ambition on the idea that Christ's kingdom was a kingdom of this world. They forgot His words, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36).
(2) The popes determined to put down by force all resistance to their claims to spiritual and temporal authority and to rule over the nations. Thus the "little horn" is not a mere political kingdom as the other ten, but a religious power arising from among the political powers.
There were five steps by which the papacy exalted its claim:
"The mighty Catholic Church was little more than the Roman Empire baptized. Rome was transformed as well as converted. The very capital of the old Empire became the capital of the Christian Empire. The office of Pontifex Maximus was continued as that of Pope ... Even the Roman language [Latin] has remained the official language of the Roman Catholic Church down through the ages. ... Christianity not only conquered Rome, but Rome conquered Christianity."
(3) The little horn in its fight for power will subdue three kingdoms which oppose his ambition. What does history say?
Odoacer, king of the Heruli, opposed the claims and doctrines of the papacy. Odoacer and his Heruli soldiers were overthrown in 493 A.D. This naturally caused rejoicing among the friends of the papacy. But they were sorry to discover that the new king of the Ostrogoths, Theodoric, who had conquered the Heruli, also opposed the papacy. The papacy then turned to become the determined enemy of Theodoric and the Ostrogoths.
At the same time, a third hostile kingdom from North Africa threatened the papacy. This was the kingdom of the Vandals.
Something had to be done!
In 533 A.D. the Emperor Justinian of the East made a decree in which he exalted the pope to be the head of all the churches. To make effective this new decree, he sent his general Belisarius with an army into Africa to crush the opposing Vandals. The next year he succeeded. The same general then fought against the Ostrogoths, finally driving them out of Italy in 538 A.D. Thus, that year the three kingdoms were uprooted from before the "little horn."
(4) The "little horn" will speak great words against the Most High. Some of the arrogant and blaphemous claims made by the papacy are quoted here from Ferraris's "Ecclesiastical Dictionary":
"The pope is of so great dignity and so exalted that he is not mere man, but as it were God, and the vicar of God. ... The pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven and of earth, and of the lower regions. ... The power of the Roman Pontiff by no means pertain(s) only to heavenly things, to earthly things and to things under the earth, but even over angels, than whom he is greater. ... For he is of so great dignity and power that he forms one and the same tribunal with Christ. ... The pope is as it were God on earth."
As late as 1894, Pope Leo XIII said: "We hold on this earth the place of God Almighty." Here is a power fulfilling the will of Lucifer, son of the morning, who said, "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. ... I will be like the Most High" (Isaiah 14:13, 14). It was for such pride and blasphemy that Lucifer, now known as Satan, was cast out of heaven.
(5) The "little horn" will wear out the saints of the Most High. During the Dark Ages, which began in 538 A.D., many Christians who determined to follow the Bible were persecuted to death by the papacy. This horrible record is one of the darkest stories of human history. We quote now from a few historians.
"That the church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any other institution that has ever existed among mankind, will be questioned by no Protestant who has a competent knowledge of history."
(6) The "little horn" will attempt to change times and the law of God. We quote again from the Roman Catholic Prompta Bibliotheca by Ferraris:
"The pope is of so great authority and power that he can modify [change], explain, or interpret divine laws."
In the Roman Catholic catechisms used for teaching the common people, the law of God is modified so that the second commandment forbidding the worship of images has been deleted. The fourth is shortened so as to support the observance of the first day of the week (Sunday) in place of the seventh day, the true Sabbath. The tenth is divided into two commandments. Regarding their change of the fourth commandment, they say in an officially approved catechism:
"Quest. Have you any other way of proving that the church has power to institute festivals of precept?
"Ans. Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her—she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority."
Another interesting recent statement:
"Nothing is said in the Bible about a change of the Lord's day from Saturday to Sunday. We know of the change only from the tradition of the [Catholic] Church—a fact handed down to us from earliest times by the living voice of the [Catholic] Church. That is why we find so illogical the attitude of many non-Catholics, who say that they will believe nothing unless they can find it in the Bible and yet will continue to keep Sunday as the Lord's day on the say-so of the Catholic Church."
To attempt to change the law of God is something which God himself says He cannot and will not do (Psalm 89:34). We need not wonder that Daniel was amazed when he heard the words of the "little horn."
(7) The "little horn" will continue for a time, times, and a half of time." A "time" is another expression for a year. "Times" would therefore be two years, and the "dividing of time" a half a year. Thus altogether, the little horn power would continue in authority for three years and a half, prophetic time, with the saints delivered into his hand for that time. But prophetic time is not literal time.
The various symbols found in the prophecies of Daniel are easily explained in the Bible. In Bible prophecy a day is a symbol which stands for a year of literal time (see Ezekiel 4:6; Numbers 14:34; Leviticus 25:8; Genesis 29:27).
This same period of time is mentioned in Revelation 12:14. In Revelation 13:5 it is again, 42 months, counting twelve months to the year (12 x 3-1/2 = 42). Again we find the same time period in Revelation 12:6, as 1260 days, counting 30 days to the month for 42 months (42 x 30 = 1260). The little horn, the papacy, was to rule supreme in Europe, persecuting the saints of God, for 1260 literal years.
Justinian made a decree in 533 A.D. giving the papacy unlimited power over all the churches. This decree went into effect in 538 A. D. when the last of the three kingdoms opposed to the papacy was pulled up by the roots. Thus the time for beginning the 1260 years of papal rule is 538 A.D., see item number (4).
Exactly 1260 years later, the papacy lost its temporal power. On February 20, 1798, Berthier, General of the French army under Napoleon, took the pope a prisoner in Rome, effectually putting an end to the papacy's temporal power in Europe. After that time there was no real persecution of the saints in Europe. They were free to worship God.
Like a broken stone, the two halves of which alone can join together perfectly, Daniel's prophecy and the testimony of history agree in clearly pointing out the "little horn" power.
We recognize that the development of the papacy in history has been the outworking of the principle of self-seeking (gadal, see chapter 8), which is natural to all our human hearts. We all need a Savior from sin; and thank God, we have One! But although we would be humble in recognizing these facts of history, we must also confess the truth that Daniel's prophecies have been fulfilled.
Daniel 7:26-28: But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and all dominions shall serve and obey him. Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations [thoughts] much troubled me, and my countenance was changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.
Daniel is permitted to look down to the end of time, when the little horn together with the beast who carries him are destroyed in the final end of sin and sinners. Just before the end, the deadly wound suffered by the papacy will be healed (see Revelation 13:3, 14), and for a short time the whole world will "wonder after him." However, the heavenly judgment has passed judgment upon him. Though he may prosper for a time, his final end is certain.
This vision of Daniel, which was to him such a source of concern is also of concern to us in these last days, lest we be found serving the little horn ignorantly, and thus share in opposing Christ. Even now the "dominion" of the "little horn" is being taken away, to destroy it unto the end. Here and now today we may know that this power has lost his hold over us. Not only in the world around us, but in our own hearts we see this dominion taken away as we by faith follow Christ in His work as our great High Priest in His sanctuary above.
How encouraging to God's people to know that the kingdom will be given to those for whom it has been prepared since the foundation of the world. In all their trials and afflictions, God's true worshippers may remember this promise.
And they will choose to elect Jesus and to crown Him as their KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS because here on this earth in their daily lives, they have so crowned Him (Revelation 19:16). Devotion to Him will take away all fear from our hearts (1 John 4:18).