Daniel Seven ... A Background Study  

Daniel 7 describes a dream of particular significance to the author of the book. It describes four beasts coming up from the ocean. People in Daniel's time didn't brush off dreams as being insignificant like we do today. They were often taken to be prophetic or a message from God. The first beast was a lion with wings like an eagle. It's wings were plucked, and it was made to stand on it's two hind legs and was given a human mind. The second beast was a bear that was raised up on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth. The third beast was like a leopard, but it had four wings and four heads. Daniel mentions that it was very powerful. The fourth beast was the most terrifying of them all. It trampled the other beasts with its feet and had ten horns. Another horn appeared among them and three of the other horns were pulled up by the roots. The horn had eyes like a person and a mouth which was very boastful.

The four beasts symbolized four empires that would appear. *The first beast, which appears as a lion with wings, symbolizes the Babylonian empire. The fact that its wings are plucked symbolizes the reduction of Nebuchadnezzar's pride and power at the time of his insanity. The Expositor's Bible Commentary also notes that the final detail of this beast, the fact that a heart of a man was given to it, seems to refer to Nebuchadnezzar's restoration to power after his seven years of insanity.

*The second beast, a bear, represents the Medo-Persian empire. The three ribs that were in the bear's mouth symbolize three major conquests of the Medo-Persian alliance. *Their three major conquests were the Lydian kingdom in modern day Turkey, the Chaldean Empire in modern Iraq and the conquest of Egypt. Persia is located in the modern country of Iran.

The third beast, which is similar to a leopard, symbolized the Greek empire under Alexander the Great. The Greeks conquered from Macedonia (in what was once Yugoslavia) to the Indus River, which forms the western border of India. Alexander the Great also instituted a program called "Hellenization" to spread Greek language, culture, and religion throughout the Greek empire. This is the reason that the New Testament was written in Greek instead of Hebrew or Aramaic. Jews who lived outside of Palestine were known as "Hellenistic Jews" for this reason. In the third century BC, the Old Testament was translated into Greek for Hellenistic Jews who spoke Greek more than Hebrew. This also set the precedent that communicating Biblical teaching to as many people as possible, regardless of their language, was more important than keeping the message in the original language. There is certainly value in learning the original languages of the Bible, but the message itself is more valuable.

The four heads and four wings of the leopard-like creature symbolized the splintering of the Greek empire after the death of Alexander the Great. The Greek empire split into four provinces which were governed by four of Alexander's generals.

The fourth beast was by far the most frightening of the bunch. *It is unlike any predator known to natural history. Its teeth were made of iron and it would be more crushing in its military power, exploitation, and repression than any of the three preceding empires. The Expositor's Bible Commentary speculates that the horns could have been two five-pronged antlers rather than ten independent horns, but there is no question as to the correlation between the ten horns and ten toes in the dream image in Daniel 2. It also suggests that the mention of iron teeth suggests that the legs and toes were made of iron, as well. This symbolizes the superior power of this empire compared to the three previous, less unified empires.

*Verse 8 says that one of the smaller horns becomes the largest of them all and subsequently destroys three of the other horns. The remaining six horns are presumably in subjection to this larger horn. The little horn apparently describes a person who is very boastful. Attempts have been made throughout history to discover who this little horn may symbolize, but the simple fact is that we do not know.

When will these things come about? What historical events can we look for that will show us these things are happening? Jesus said only God the Father knows when these things will happen. Jesus said in Acts, 1:7, "It is not for you to know the times or epochs which the Father has set by His own authority." Our responsibility is to be ready at any time and to help as many as possible make sure they are also ready for Jesus' return. This is not to say that we are not to concern ourselves with this issue, because Jesus did tell us to be watchful. The emphasis, however, is on being ready at any time.

Verse 9 goes on to say that Daniel saw the Ancient of Days taking His seat. The Ancient of Days was a term referring to God. Taking his seat would have had a connotation of royalty or of a judge taking his seat to hear a case. Certainly God has both of those roles. His garments and hair are described as being white, and his throne and its wheels were on fire. This certainly seems to signify His holiness. There was also a river of fire coming out from before Him with thousands attending to Him. Daniel mentions in verse 11 that the court sat and the books were opened, so clearly he was seeing a vision of God carrying out his judgment.

The little horn kept on boasting. The beast was then slain and was given to the burning fire. The rest of the beasts had their power taken from them, but their lives were spared for a certain period of time. Much of this imagery matches the book of Revelation, which was written more than 600 years later. It is most certainly easier for us to interpret this dream than it was for Daniel, since we have the benefit of knowing how history had unfolded between Daniel's time and ours. The fact that we have the benefit of prophetic material written after Daniel's time also makes it easier for us to interpret the dream.

Daniel then describes the appearance of one who was like a Son of Man appearing before the Ancient of Days. Jesus frequently referred to Himself as the Son of Man. "The Son of Man" was a term that was used only to refer to the Messiah rather than being generally used to refer to any person. The people of Jesus' time would have clearly understood that when He used the terms "Son of Man" or "Son of God," he was claiming to be the Messiah. He was saying that He was God and had taken human form.

The Son of Man was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom that encompassed the entire world. It spanned all nations and all people groups. His rule lasts forever, and his kingdom will never pass away.

Verse 15 states that this dream was distressing for Daniel. He was alarmed by what he had seen in the dream. Verses 17-27 explain the meaning of the dream. The four beasts are four kings that would appear, but only for a given period of time. The saints of the Highest One, however, will receive and possess a kingdom that will last forever.

In verse 19, Daniel inquires about the meaning of the fourth beast. He was unsure of the meaning of the ten horns on its head and the other horn which came up. Verses 21 and 22 state that the larger horn was waging war with the saints and was overpowering them until the Ancient of Days appeared and judgment was passed in favor of the saints. At that time, the saints took possession of the kingdom that had been ruled by the larger horn.

Verses 23-27 quote the Ancient of Days as saying that this larger horn will be different from all other kingdoms. It will devour the whole world, tread it down, and crush it. The ten horns symbolize ten kings that will arise. After them, another one will arise who will subdue three kings. *The statement that the horn will conquer the whole world does not necessarily refer to the entire inhabited earth, but to all the Near and Middle East. It certainly refers to any territory that relates to the Holy Land. It could be said that it was referring to the entire known world of Biblical times.

Verse 25 says that this horn will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints. He will attempt to make alterations in times and law. The phrase, "a time, times and half a time" means this will be for three and a half years.

In verse 26, the horn stands for judgment before the Ancient of Days. The horn's dominion is taken away, annihilated, and destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, dominion, and greatness of all the kingdoms under all the heavens will be given to the saints of the Most High. His kingdom will last forever, and all will serve and obey Him.

Daniel notes in verse 28 that these things were alarming to him, even after he received an explanation of what the vision meant. He even mentions that his face grew pale as he pondered what he had been shown, but he kept the matter to himself.