Common Sense Reborn

Daniel, Part 7, Prophecies

¹³As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into His presence. ¹⁴He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal-it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13-14)

I was planning on wrapping our study of Daniel up today. I just finished reading the Book of Hebrews this week and that letter is full of wisdom that the world eagerly needs to apply in our day-to-day living, and I want to shift back to the New Testament once we finish covering Daniel. But as I looked over the second part of this book, I realized that trying to cram all the significant prophecies that make up the last six chapters into one post would not due this amazing scripture justice. So, today, I want to focus on Daniel, Chapter 7, the first of Daniel’s four prophetic dreams. As we have seen in previous posts, Daniel was an anointed prophet who was able to interpret dreams due to his relationship with God, his righteous living, and his outstanding character. Chapter 7 marks a shift in Daniel’s story, as the prophet has ended the history of some of the most remarkable miracles in the Old Testament (Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego in the fire, the Writings on the Wall, and Daniel in the lion’s den). Now, Daniel writes in the first person, recalling in epic imagery, visions he has been gifted with.

Daniel’s first vision involves four different beasts. The first beast is like a lion with eagle’s wings (Daniel 7:4); the second, a bear with three ribs in its mouth between its teeth (7:5); the third, a beast that looked like a leopard, with four bird’s wings on its back and four heads (7:6); and the final beast, the most “terrifying, dreadful, and very strong”(7:7). The fourth beast is not described to look like any known animal, but Daniel states that it was “different from any of the other beasts, and it had ten horns”. Out of the ten horns grows a smaller horn that had “eyes like human eyes and a mouth that was boasting arrogantly” (7:8). The four beasts represent the four empires that would rule the world, beginning with the Babylonian Empire; followed by the Medo-Persian; then the Greeks would rule under Alexander the Great; and finally, the fourth empire, the Romans would rule the world when the Messiah would appear. This vision is said to mirror King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the statue with four different elements from Daniel, Chapter 2. As you read in the text at the beginning of this post, these two verses prophecy the coming “Messiah”, the “son of man coming with the clouds of heaven”. Jesus referred to himself as the “son of man” (Matthew 26:64, Luke 21:27, John 1:51). Jesus also referenced this prophecy when He told Peter, James, John, and Andrew, that “everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with great power and glory” (Mark 13:26). What is the most remarkable of Daniel’s first vision is that it all happened! Daniel received this vision during Babylonian captivity, foresaw Babylon’s coming demise at the Medo-Persian expanse, then prophesied the Greek conquest, and finally, the great world power (the Roman Empire) that would stand at the time of Jesus’ birth, ministry, death, and resurrection.

If Daniel’s first vision has all been fulfilled, what do his next three visions predict? We’ll get to that in the coming days.

Wednesday began the season of Lent. I hope you are spending this time leading to Easter to remove distractions and spend quality time growing closer to God, soaking in the wonderful Word, and spending time in prayer and fasting. If you need some music to keep you motivated during this time, the Contemporary Christian Music world is continuing to push out amazing new releases. Click the image below to hear one of my favorites from this week. Until next time, friends, stay blessed!