DANIEL - Chapter 7

Pastor Carolyn Sissom \ December 12rd, 2011 (7302 views)

DANIEL – Chapter 7

Sunday Evening Service

November 20, 2011

By:  Pastor Carolyn Sissom

 

THE FOURTH BEAST

 

Fourteen years before Babylon fell, Daniel received this dream.  Daniel saw first in this dream the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea.

 

7: 1& 2:  In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and related the following summary of it.  Daniel said, “I was looking in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.”

 

The four winds of heaven are spiritual winds.  Each wind, north, south, east and west, performs a spiritual work of the Lord.  In this vision of the night, Daniel saw all four winds were blowing.  “The winds of heaven signified the providence of God and God’s sovereignty over human history.  That the winds came from heaven meant that human history goes on within the boundaries of the divine will.  Whatever rebellion the devil may raise, it will not change the course of human history” (Cho)

 

When the Spirit Winds of God blow, there is an upheaval of whatever is out of God’s order.  Since all four winds have received the divine call to stir up the great sea, it would mean universal change.

 

I have been blessed to have a vision of the East Wind.  It was the Most Holy Presence I have ever experienced in my life.  I wanted every one I loved to be touched by this wind.  However, everyone whose lives were touched changed course forever.  The upheaval was almost more than the flesh could bear.

 

Throughout the Bible, the great sea often signifies the Mediterranean Sea.   However, metaphorically “sea” means unredeemed humanity.  If this is literally the Mediterranean Sea, then it is prophetic of historic events by the providence of God which would unfold in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.  If the meaning is metaphorical, then again it would indicate unredeemed humanity in the whole earth.

 

7: 3,4:  “And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another.  The first was like a lion and the wings of an eagle.  I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, a human mind also was given to it.”

 

This corresponds to the statute King Nebuchadnezzar had seen in his dream.  The first beast refers to Babylon.  Sculptures of such a creature stood before the gate of the Babylonian palace.  An eagle is king among the birds of the air, while a lion is king among the animals on the earth.  So this creature reflected the absolute power of the Babylonian monarch and the perfect organization of Babylonian bureaucracy. 

 

The Second Beast:

 

7:5  “And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear.  It was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, “Arise, devour much meat!”

 

This beast represented the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, which was to rise through the conquest of Babylon and last about two centuries to 331 B.C.  Like a bear, the Medes and Persians were stupid and tactless but strong.  When they waged a war, they needed little strategy; they just pushed  with the power of the sheer numbers in their enormous army, which ranged from a hundred thousand up to a million.  They were also cruel, conquering many countries, trampling them under their feet.

 

“Raised up on one side” shows that although the Medes and Persians were a coalition of two kingdoms, the empire leaned to one side, the side of Persia; for Persia, which was built later than Media came to supremacy and eventually defeated the Medes.

 

The three ribs between its teeth signifies the strong nations conquered by the Medo-Persian empire:  Babylon, Lydia and Egypt.

 

The voice which said, “Devour flesh, much” represented the divine grant given to the empire to have dominion over many neighboring countries.  This empire lasted for more than two centuries, but the empire finally fell, and the third beast appeared.

 

7:6: “After this I kept looking, and behold, another one like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.”

 

This creature referred to Alexander the Great, the Greek general who conquered Medo-Persia and gained control of much of the world.  He was the greatest conqueror the world had ever seen, occupying a vast territory in a short time.  Alexander rose from Macedonia in Europe and conquered large portions of Asia and Africa, sweeping like a storm all the way to the borders of India. 

 

Legend has it that Alexander wept, sitting at the bank of the Indus River, because there was no more land to conquer.  The Indus River originates in Western China (Tibet- the highest region on earth) and flows through Pakistan and India into the Arabian Sea.   Soon after that he died of a fever in Babylon at the age of thirty-three.

 

The strongest spirit over any region will always occupy the highest tower or mountain.  At the mouth of the Indus River is Tibet and is reported to be the highest region on earth.  That this strong spirit in Alexander the Great was driven to this place indicates the strength of the demonic force driving him.

 

The fours heads of this leopard referred to the four generals of Alexander the Great; that is, the collective leadership system of his empire.  After Alexander’s death they divided the entire Greek kingdom among themselves.  These four kingdoms constantly warred against each other.

 

The Beast with Ten Horns:

 

7: 7, 8:

 

“After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and; and it had large iron teeth.  It devoured and crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.  While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possess eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth uttering great boasts.” 

 

This beast refers to the Roman empire, which succeeded Greece and brought the whole world under its sway.  By the turn of the second century B.C., it had already conquered Spain and Carthage.  Then it continued to further its conquests, adding Macedonia, Greece, Asia Minor, Syria, Jerusalem, Great Britain, France, Belgium Switzerland and Germany.  Its power reached to the border of India.  Rome succeeded in building the largest empire in human history.  Yet even Rome fell to invading armies in A.D. 410.  No human kingdom lasts forever.  In the wake of the Roman armies, civilization was often reduced to ashes.

 

The description of the ten horns does not correspond to any known historical aspect of the Roman empire.  This is believed to be the future extension of the Roman empire.  It has now been over 2000 years since the time of the Roman Empire.  Interestingly all of the other kingdoms only survived 200 + years.    Since the time of the Roman Empire, (9) world empires have oppressed the Jews (counting Hitler) in the time of the Gentiles.   However, it is believed by most scholars there will be ten kingdoms yet to arise.

 

NINE KINGDOMS WHICH HAVE OPPRESSED ISRAEL IN THE TIME OF THE GENTILES SINCE THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE:

 

1. Byzantine Empire – grew out of the East roman Empire.
2. Moslem Empire – originated with the Arabs.
3. Seljuk Turks
4. Christian Crusaders
5. Marmadukes of Egypt
6. Ottoman Turks
7. Nazis
8. British and Arab Guerilla fighters
9. Arabs (Islam)

 

Jesus came to this world in the age of Rome.  The past 2011 years is the age of the Gospel Church (the establishing of the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven), the period in which all humankind can be delivered by the cross of Jesus Christ.  Jesus’ Kingdom is the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, and has broken to pieces all of the other kingdoms. (Daniel 2:44-45) “And in the days of these kings shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”

 

7: 9-14: “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 to Him, and ten thousand times then thousand stood before Him; the judgment was set, and the books were opened.  I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spoke; I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.  As concerning the rest of the beats, they had their dominion take 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.”

 

From the horror of the horned beast, Daniel was turned to the solemn splendor of the heavenly court.  There sat one Ancient of Days, venerable, entirely pure purging and consuming wrong.  Knowing all that had passed in history, and all that He has ordained for the future, He is qualified to judge the latest upstart as He had judged others before.  Judicial authority was displayed in the river of fire, and the requisite power in the innumerable thousands at His call.   Beside the Judge were various thrones set in place. 

 

Before this court the books recording the deeds of the accused were opened. (Heavenly records of human activities are alluded to by many ancient writings).  The accused is this one man in who is embodied all the evil of the devil manifest the spirit of anti-christ.  “Then I was watching from the sound of the great words…I was watching until the beast was slain…Nothing could distract the seer until the dream ended with the presumptions punished in the fire of justice.  Three beasts remained powerless for a set time.

 

The Heavenly Court has been convened to judge this one man.  I would also conclude without too much presumption that it will include his followers who have a like mind.

 

Contrasting with the beasts which were inherently hostile to God, stood this visionary figure, like a human being.  That would be Jesus.  Nebuchadnezzar saw Jesus  in the setting of his earthly judgment.  Daniel saw a human being (Jesus – one like the Son of Man) in  the place of God’s justice.  This figure came with the clouds of heaven.  The clouds of heaven are the glorified saints who have passed on into Heaven before the living. 

 

Daniel  was greatly alarmed by what he saw and was determined to fully understand the full importance of this terrifying message.  In the midst of his distress he received a reassuring promise from an angel who, in bold affirmation of God’s sovereign  control over the affairs of men and empires loudly declared, “but the high holy ones of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever; for all ages to come.”

 

“Remember, every word of Daniel’s prophecies has come true regarding the four great Gentile kingdoms---Babylon, Media and Persia, Greece and Rome.  The revived feet and toes kingdom prophesied by Daniel is nascent but growing here on earth today, aggresively seeking to extend its authority over more and more of the nations of the earth” (B.B.).

 

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 to 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.

 

Excerpt from Covenant The End-Times Prophecy of Daniel by Baruch Battelstein:

 

1. The fourth beast will be a Fourth Kingdom that will arise upon the earth (first manifested by ancient Rome, but with a second, more complex incarnation yet to come---the feet and toes).
2. The fourth Kingdom will be different from al the other kingdoms before it.
3. The fourth Kingdom will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it (a historical first, as no previous empire has ever dominated the entire earth at one time).
4. Another king will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings.
5. Once he is firmly established in his power and authority, he will speak out against the Most High God.
6. He will intend to make alterations in times and in law.
7. He will wear down the high holy ones of the Highest One.

 

We know from history that what Daniel prophesied in these verses has not yet taken place.  For no king has yet arisen who has ever devoured the whole earth, trodden it down, crushed it, ruled for three and a half years, and after this time been destroyed by the Messiah, ruling and reigning over His earthly kingdom…

 

Out of this kingdom ten kings, or leaders, will arise.  After them a king will rise who will subdue three kings and begin his three-and-a-half-year reign over the whole earth.” (End of quote B.B.)

 

7:20:  “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 unto his hand until time and times and the dividing of time.”

 

The antichrist will try to change the set times and the laws.  He will dislike the present name of our era, A.D. or “Anno domini,” which means “The year of the Lord.”  Thus he will loath to hear words like A.D. 2011 because is means “the year of the Lord 2011”, a year in the era whose beginning is Jesus Christ.  He will also change laws in order to place himself at the center of law, and he will institute a new era.

 

We have just seen this manifestation in the Jaguar, who has the spirit of antichrist.

He said that “In God we trust is no longer our national motto”.  He tried declare that “E Pluribus Unum” (e pluri bu su num) which means “from many one”, is now our national motto.  When congress wrote a resolution confirming In God we Trust, he mocked congress.

 

 

 

7:20b:  “…”Of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.”  The word for stout here is “power”.  I would also conclude it means “intimidating”.  Another reason why saints must not be intimidated by any one.

 

7:21-22:  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.”

 

Until the appointed time of his judgment, the horn was overcoming the saints.  The Ancient of days will not allow this to continue. 

 

7:26: “But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it to the end.  And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.  So far is the end of the matter.  As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.”

 

Taught by: Pastor Carolyn Sissom

Scripture from K.J.V.; quotes from Daniel by: Paul Yonggi Cho; Covenant by:  Baruch Battelstein; F. F. Bruce Bible Commentary; Comments and conclusions are my own and not meant to reflect the views of those from whom I have gleaned.