seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Daniel 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying in bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.
2 Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
4 “The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.
5 “And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’
6 “After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
7 “After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
8 “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
9 “As I looked,
“thrones were set in place,
and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow;
the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire,
and its wheels were all ablaze.
10 A river of fire was flowing,
coming out from before him.
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated,
and the books were opened.
and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow;
the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire,
and its wheels were all ablaze.
10 A river of fire was flowing,
coming out from before him.
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated,
and the books were opened.
11 “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. 12 (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)
13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,[a] coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
15 “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. 16 I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this.
“So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: 17 ‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. 18 But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’
19 “Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. 20 I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. 21 As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.
23 “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. 24 The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. 25 He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.[b]
26 “‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. 27 Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’
28 “This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”
a. Daniel 7:13 The Aramaic phrase bar enash means human being. The phrase son of man is retained here because of its use in the New Testament as a title of Jesus, probably based largely on this verse.
b. Daniel 7:25 Or for a year, two years and half a year
Oh my.... I'm not sure if this is about the four beasts or the new kingdom.
Now Daniel saw a court in heaven. People were getting the court ready. A very holy and powerful person sat on a throne. Many people served him. In the Aramaic language the Bible says that he was called ‘The Ancient of Days’. That is another name for God. He has always lived and he will live for all time. God was the judge. God took away the power of the animals that Daniel had seen. He allowed the first three animals to live, but only for a certain time. He killed the animal that had the horns.
Daniel continued to watch the court. Then he saw someone who seemed like a man. This person travelled on the clouds. Only God or an angel could do that. God gave him authority, honour and royal power. God made him the king and everybody served him. His kingdom will never disappear. We believe that this person is Jesus.
Daniel was anxious and afraid. Still he did not know what the dream meant. So he asked someone to explain it to him. Perhaps this was an angel. He explained to Daniel. He told Daniel that the animals meant kings or kingdoms. Daniel saw four animals, so there would be four powerful kingdoms. This reminds us of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in chapter 2.
The first kingdom was the kingdom of Babylon. The kings of Babylon thought that they were like lions and eagles. In the book that Ezekiel the prophet wrote, an eagle means Nebuchadnezzar (Ezekiel 17:7-12).
The fourth kingdom was the kingdom of Rome. The fourth animal had iron teeth. The image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream had iron legs. Its feet were partly iron and partly clay.
All these kingdoms seemed very powerful, like the animals. It seemed that nobody could defeat them. But God was the judge. He was in control. He only allowed them to be powerful for a certain time.
The kingdom that God gives to Jesus will never end. Nobody can defeat it. The people who are loyal to God will be in Jesus’ kingdom.
Daniel wanted to know more. He wanted to know about the fourth animal because it was different. He wanted to know about the horns. He wanted to know about the little horn that had eyes and a mouth. Daniel watched the little horn. It fought God’s people and it defeated them. Then God came and gave the kingdom to his people.
Daniel heard that the fourth animal meant a fourth kingdom. This kingdom will be very powerful. The animal had 10 horns, so there will be 10 kings. Then there will be another king. He will defeat three of the kings. This is what the little horn means. He will be a terrible king. He will speak against God. He will oppose God’s people and he will have power over them. He will try to stop them from serving God. But God will only allow this for a short time. The Bible actually says one time, two times and half a time. This may mean three and a half years. What is important is that God will stop his power after a certain time. Then God will make a new kingdom. This will be a kingdom of his people and it will never end.
This is from bible-studys.org.These empires depicted by the lion, bear, leopard, and bizarre animal are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. The kings are the most notable leaders over these empires, such as Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Alexander the Great and finally the “little horn” (Antichrist).
“Fourth beast … diverse”: This may refer to the Empire’s far greater diversity than previous empires, and its breath of conquest. It branches out into two great divisions (legs), then near the end into 10 horns (a confederacy of 10 nations), and even an 11th horn (Antichrist’s kingdom), lasting until Christ’s second coming.
"Iron" speaks of strength, and "brass" speaks of judgment. They had even judged the Son of God. The Romans were in power, when Jesus was crucified. They were strong in their rule of all the people.
This one who had eyes (worldly wisdom), and a mouth that he spoke for all the horns, is speaking of the antichrist.
He is the other horn or the 11th horn (ruler and his realm), and is small and less powerful before its big rise. Early in the future tribulation period, it (he), grows to be “larger” or more powerful than any of the horns (rulers), in the group.
Daniel makes it plain that these ten kings will "arise" before the Antichrist makes his own rise to power. Three of them will not like his rapid ascent and will try to resist him, but they will quickly be defeated; Daniel says they will be "plucked out by the roots”, "fall", and be "subdued" by the Antichrist.
I believe the ten horns are actually ten nations, which have made an alliance. They altogether make up the Roman Empire. The one is separate from the ten. The one is representing the antichrist that will rise to the zenith of world rule.
During the first part of his reign, the antichrist will pretend to be a great peacemaker. He will control the people through his power to purchase goods. It is interesting that a new international currency has now been made, and these common market nations will all use it. There will come a time when no currency will be necessary.
