Daniel 7:1-28

The Men who were Loyal to God

Daniel

Robert Bryce

Chapter 7

v1 It was the first year that king Belshazzar ruled Babylon. Daniel had a dream. He saw pictures in his head as he lay on his bed. And he wrote down what he saw in the dream.

Verse 1 Belshazzar was the last king of the *kingdom of Babylon. We read about his death in chapter 5. So this happened before the events in chapter 5.

Daniel had a strange dream. His dream had meant something. It was a message from God.

v2 Daniel wrote, ‘I had a dream at night. I saw the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea. v3 Then four large animals came out of the sea. They were all different. v4 The first one seemed like a lion, but it had wings like an *eagle. As I watched, someone pulled its wings off. They lifted it up and it stood on two feet like a man. They gave it a man’s mind. v5 Then I saw a second animal. It seemed like a bear. It raised itself up on one side and it had three bones between its teeth. Someone ordered it, “Stand up and attack! Eat lots of meat.” v6 Then I saw another animal. It seemed like a *leopard, but it had four wings like a bird’s wings on its back. Also, this animal had four heads, and it had authority to rule. v7 Then I saw a fourth animal in my dream. It was more terrible than the other animals. It was very strong and it had large iron teeth. It broke things and people into pieces and it ate them. It destroyed everything else with its feet. It was different from the other animals because it had 10 *horns. v8 While I was looking at the *horns, I saw another little *horn. It came up among the other 10 *horns. It pushed out three of those other *horns in order to make space for itself. This little *horn had eyes like a man’s eyes. And it had a mouth that spoke proud words.’

Verses 2-8 Daniel saw four large animals. They were strange animals. They were not animals that Daniel knew.

The first one seemed like a lion, but it was not a lion. It had wings. Lions are powerful. *Eagles are powerful. So a lion with wings like an *eagle would be very powerful. Then Daniel saw someone pull the wings off the animal. They took away some of its power. Then the animal stood up like a man. It could also think like a man.

The second animal seemed like a bear. It had bones in its mouth, as if it had just eaten some meat. Someone told it to keep on eating meat.

The third animal seemed like a *leopard. It was not a *leopard, because it had wings too. It had four wings and four heads. It could fly quickly and look all round for something to eat. Someone allowed it to rule like a king.

The fourth animal did not seem like any other animal. It was strong and it had large iron teeth. It ate and destroyed things. This animal had 10 *horns and Daniel stared at these *horns. Then a little *horn replaced three of the *horns. It was a strange *horn. It had eyes and it could speak. It spoke proud things.

Daniel was probably afraid. This was a strange dream. And he did not know what it meant. Then the dream changed.

v9-10 Daniel continued to write about his dream.

‘I saw that the royal authority of those animals ended.

Then God, who is always God, sat down to be their judge.

His clothes were as white as snow.

His hair was white like pure wool.

Thousands of people served him.

Many thousands of people stood in front of him.

The books were open, and the court began.

God’s royal seat had wheels and it burned like a fire.

Flames from the fire came out in front of him.

v11 I watched because the *horn was speaking proud words. As I watched, someone killed the fourth animal. They destroyed it and they burned it with fire. v12 The other animals lost their power too, but they continued to live for a certain time.’

Verses 9-12 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.

v13 ‘In my dream at night’, Daniel wrote, ‘I continued to watch.

Then I saw someone who seemed like a man, in fact, like the son of a father. He came on the clouds of heaven.

He approached God, who is always God.

And he came close to him.

v14 Then God, who is always God, gave him authority, honour and royal power.

So the people in every country who spoke every language served him.

His *kingdom will last always

and it will never disappear.

Nobody can destroy it.’

Verses 13-14 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.

v15 ‘I, Daniel, was anxious. The thoughts in my head frightened me. v16 So I approached someone who was standing near me in my dream. And I asked him what all this meant. Then he explained it to me. v17 “The four great animals are four kings. They will rule with power on the earth. v18 But the real God will give the *kingdom to his holy people. Then they will have the *kingdom always.” ’

Verses 15-18 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).

When Daniel had the dream, this *kingdom was nearly finished. Belshazzar was the last king (Daniel 5:30-31). The power of the *kingdom was almost gone, like the animal without its wings.

Somebody made the first animal stand up like a man. They gave it the mind of a man. This reminds us about Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:34-36).

Then the *kingdom of the *Medes and *Persians came.

The third *kingdom was the *kingdom of Greece. It defeated people quickly like the third animal.

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.

v19 ‘Then I wanted to know about the fourth animal’, Daniel wrote. ‘It was different from the other animals. It was terrible and it frightened me. It had large iron teeth and *bronze nails. It broke things and people into pieces and it ate them. And it destroyed everything else with its feet. v20 I wanted to know about the 10 *horns on its head. I also wanted to know about the little *horn that came up among them. It pushed out three of the other *horns in order to make space for itself. This *horn had eyes, and a mouth that spoke proud things. And this little *horn seemed greater than the other *horns. v21 I continued to watch. And this *horn fought against God’s holy people. It defeated them. v22 But I continued to look. And God, who is always God, came. He was the judge. He announced that his holy people were right. Then the time came and he gave the *kingdom to his holy people.’

Verses 19-22 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.

v23 Daniel continued, ‘Then the person who was near me explained it to me. “The fourth animal means that there will be a fourth *kingdom on the earth. It will be different from the other *kingdoms. It will be as if its king eats up the whole earth. He will walk on the earth and he will break it into pieces. v24 The 10 *horns mean 10 kings who will come from that *kingdom. They will rule and after them another king will come. He will be different from the other kings. He will defeat three of the other kings. v25 He will speak against God. And he will oppose God’s holy people. He will try to change the times and God’s Law. He will have power over God’s people for three and a half years. v26 Then the court will gather. They will take away this king’s power and they will destroy it. v27 Then God will give the *kingdom to his holy people. They will have great power. And they will rule all the *kingdoms of the world on behalf of God. God’s *kingdom will never end. And all rulers will serve and obey him.” ’

Verses 23-27 In the Bible, *horns mean power.

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.

v28 ‘This is the end of my dream’, wrote Daniel. ‘And I, Daniel, was anxious because of my thoughts. I became pale, but I did not tell anyone about these things.’

Verse 28 The dream ended with good news. God will only allow evil men to have power for a certain time. One day he will make a new *kingdom for the people who are loyal to him. It will be a good *kingdom and it will never end. However, Daniel was still anxious and sick because of the dream. He did not tell anybody what he had dreamt.

kingdom ~ the place or territory or land where a king rules.
eagle ~ a large bird with very large wings. Eagles eat smaller birds and small animals.
leopard ~ a large wild cat like a lion with spots.
horn ~ a hard bone that sticks out from the heads of some animals. Goats, cows and sheep often have horns. Daniel uses the word ‘horn’ to mean a ruler who is very powerful.
eagle ~ a large bird with very large wings. Eagles eat smaller birds and small animals.
throne ~ a chair for a king or a judge.
angel ~ God’s servant in heaven, who brings messages from God.
prophet ~ a person whom God sends to speak for him; a prophet tells people good and bad things that will happen. Prophets often tell people to change before bad things happen.
Mede ~ a person from Media, a nation at the time of Daniel.
Persian ~ someone or something from a country called Persia in Daniel’s time; it is called Iran today.
clay ~ a kind of soil, which becomes hard when people bake it. People use it to make pots.
bronze ~ a bright, hard metal, which is a usually a mixture of yellow metal and tin; it is less precious than gold or silver.