DETAILS THAT CAN ONLY BE GIVEN BY DEITY
Chapters seven of this inspired book goes into dramatic details regarding the empires to come. It reveals the first detailed vision of the future, and Chapter Eight the second detailed vision; Chapter Ten and eleven the third and most detailed dream.
Daniel 7:1-3 NKJV 1 In the first year of Belshazzar King of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions …."I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. 3 "And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.
The chief deity of Babylon was Marduk the god of gold. The Medo-Persian empire was slower than the winged lion of Babylon. It was slow pondering and powerful like a bear.
| WORLD RULING EMPIRE | THE BEAST | CHARACTERISTICS |
| BABYLON | WINGED LION | MOBILE AND STRONG |
| MEDO-PERSIAN | BEAR | SLOW & STRONG |
| GREEK | WINGED LEOPARD | LIGHTENING LIKE SPEED |
| ROMAN | IRON MONSTER | CRUSHES ALL OPPOSITION |
| ROMAN EMPIRE AT END OF THE AGE | MONSTER WITH IRON AND CLAY FEET | TEN HORNS & BLASPHEMOUS LEADER |
DANIEL MAKES CLEAR HOWEVER THAT IN THE END GOODNESS AND THE MESSIAH WILL REIGN.
Daniel 7:13-14 NKJV 13 "I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then 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 the one Whichshall not be destroyed.
The only empire that will last forever is the glorious kingdom of God , in the end we win!
Daniel 7:4-5 NKJV 4 "The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it. 5 "And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: 'Arise, devour much flesh!'
The three ribs being devoured by the bear ,the second beast, are the Persians defeating the Egyptian Empire which was consequential but also the Lydians and Neo-Babylonians.
Daniel 7:7-8 NKJV 7 "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 "I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.
The fourth beast was dreadful and scary beyond that of even lions and bears. It was different, the Roman Empire lasted much much longer than any of the others. Thru the treaty of Rome it is still a factor(EU) presently. Further Roman legions were anciently weapons of mass destruction. Historically they totally destroyed Carthage their big rival and destroyed the environment as well.
Daniel 7:19-20 NKJV 19 "Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; 20 "and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes anda mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows.
Rome with it's Pontiff Maximus would in the end give us a an iron clerical dictator who would speak BLASPHEMOUS words.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 NKJV 1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus ... for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
An earlier model or type of this man happened in 168 BC Antiochus Epiphany. The very title epiphany is itself blasphemous. How did Daniel know this many centuries in advance ?
DANIELS INSPIRED DETAILS OF THE RAM AND GOAT
Daniel's second vision involves details regarding the two middle empires. He predicts the success of the Persian Empire and the later remarkable conquest of the Greek Empire while he is still in the dominant Babylonian empire.
Daniel 8:3 MKJV 3 Then I lifted up my eyes, and looked. And behold, a ram with two horns stood before the Canal having two horns, and the two horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
The Medo-Persian dual kingdom started with the Medes as the lead but later the Persian Kings dominated it. That is why this empire is usually called only the Persian Empire. Further, Daniel switches from Aramaic to writing in Hebrew again for the Jewish audiences. He is writing for the audience that is most appropriate this also is another measure of the authenticity of the book. Why use three languages, if it were a counterfeit done four centuries later it would have been all written in the language of Jews of that period. Daniel wrote for the audiences he was serving over the years and posterity.
Daniel 8:5-7 MKJV 5 And as I was watching, behold, a he-goat came from the west, over the face of the all earth, and did not touch the ground. And the he goat had an outstanding horn between his eyes. 6 And he came to the ram that had two horns,...and ran to him in the fury of his power. 7 And I saw him come close beside the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and struck the ram and shattered his two horns. And there was no power in the ram to stand before him. But he threw him down to the ground and stamped on him. And none could deliver the ram out of his hand.
All Bible students recognize this as the lightening fast conquest of the Persian by Alexander the Great. The Persian army was much larger but could not stand up against the brilliant tactics Alexander from Greece. The remainder of the story involves the end of this age and the final battle. We will cover that vision next week.
