DANIEL 7:1

The Bible says in Daniel 7:1-8, “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.[2] Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.[3] And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.[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 stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.[5] And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself 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.[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.[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.[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.” Before we get into the interpretation of this dream that Daniel had, there are some interesting truths to be discovered from some of the symbolism. It is always good to understand symbolism. One thing symbolizes another. Physical and material things often symbolize something that is spiritual. That is because the spiritual came before the material. God, who is a Spirit, created the material universe around us. God is truth. The spiritual realities are truth. The material things of the universe are imperfect reflections of what is true and real. What we see is not the ultimate reality. God is the ultimate reality.

Concerning his dream, Daniel said in verse 2, “I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.” There is a tremendous amount of symbolism just in this one verse. This first statement about the dream introduces the dream and sets the stage for what this dream is about. It was “night.” Normally we cannot see well at night, but Daniel saw a lot because of the heavenly “vision.” One o fthe problems with the world is the fact that they are in spiritual darkness, and it will take revelation from God to open the eyes of the blind so they can see. The ministry of Jesus was all about opening the eyes of the blind. When John introduced Jesus, John said in John 1:1-9, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.[2] The same was in the beginning with God.[3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.[4] In him was life; and the life was the light of men.[5] And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.[6] There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.[7] The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.[8] He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.[9] That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”

Daniel said at the beginning of his dream that he saw, “the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.” In the Bible wind is often symbolic of the Spirit. For example, Jesus said in John 3:8, “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” The “great sea” symbolizes the multitude of people on the earth. For example, it says in Revelation 17:15, “And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” It is important to notice the word “strove” in Daniel 7:2. To strive speaks of being in battle and in competition and opposition to one another. And so Daniel’s dream is about the striving of men upon the face of the earth. There are wars and rumors of wars. There are men striving for control and dominance. They kill and attack one another. They constantly prepare for the next war. One nation strives with another, and so it goes generation after generation. Who will win? What will the outcome of all this striving be? How will it all end up? That is what Daniel’s dream was all about.

Daniel’s dream was about four great beasts: the lion, the bear, the leopard, and then the fourth beast that was “dreadful and terrible” and that had teeth made of iron. But before these four beasts, which represent four countries, are explained, we are given information about a King and a kingdom that will arise after the aforementioned beasts. It says in Daniel 7:9-11, “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.[10] 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.[11] 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.” It is amazing how much the Old Testament book of Daniel has parallel passages in the New Testament book of Revelation. In verse 9 God is called “the Ancient of days,” and He is described as having a garment “white as snow,” hair “like pure wool,” and having a throne “like the fiery flame,” and wheels “as burning fire.” At least two truths about God are emphasized by these phrases: 1. God is holy. 2. God is Judge. Because He is holy, He must judge.

This description of God, who is called The Ancient of days, is very similar to the description of Jesus in Revelation chapter one. Jesus said in Revelation 1:8, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” And then Jesus is described in Revelation 1:13-18, “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.[14] His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;[15] And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.[16] And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.[17] And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:[18] I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”

Daniel was beholding a vision of the future and he said in Daniel 7:9, “I beheld till the thrones were cast down.” The “thrones” that he was talking about here, are the kingdoms of man. Where is this world heading? It is heading to the point where all of the kingdoms of this world will be cast down and taken over by the Messiah. The reason that it will happen is because God is holy and God is Judge. The Judge will not put up with this foolishness forever. He has a plan. The end of the kingdoms of the world comes at Armageddon. The new King takes over at the Second Coming of Christ.

In Daniel 7:10 it says, “the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” The symbolism of the “books” is the fact that God is keeping track of all deeds and thoughts of human beings so that there will be a proper and accurate accounting when the time comes. The exact same message is given in Revelation 20:11-15 but with more detail. It says, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.[12] And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.[13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.[14] And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.[15] And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Daniel 7:11 makes it very clear what the final outcome will be for the antichrist. It says, “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.” “The horn” represents a ruler. There will be many rulers who come out of the divided and broken-up Roman Empire. One of them will be the antichrist. There have several Hollywood movies produced in the past twenty or thirty years about the antichrist. These movies seem to have a purpose of elevating fear about the antichrist. The movies tend to end with the antichrist coming out on top and defeating all those who oppose him. The scriptures give a much different view of the antichrist because the scriptures emphasize the certain and swift destruction that the antichrist will come to. Daniel says that the antichrist will be “slain,” “destroyed,” and “given to the burning flame.” It says in Revelation 19:20, “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.”

It is interesting to notice that according to Daniel 7:11, the antichrist will be known for “great words.” Evidently, that is one of the reasons that he comes into power, and he rises out of the mass of humanity to take control. He sways the masses by his speaking ability. He will be pleasant to listen to. He will be persuasive. He will be a good liar. He will play upon the weaknesses of human nature as no one before him has ever done, and opposition will melt before him. The public speaking and the public presentation of his agenda will be so important that there will be another individual who will assist him in this great deception with the “great words.” This other individual is called in the book of Revelation, the false prophet. The Bible says in Revelation 16:13-15, “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.[14] For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.[15] Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” The dragon is the devil, the beast is the antichrist, and the false prophet is the one who helps the antichrist. Evil has its purposes, but God overcomes that evil and somehow even uses the evil to fit into the great overall plan of God. What will be the result of the work of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet? They will simply be used to gather the kings of the earth and the whole world to “the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”

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