Daniel’s Prophecies

I want to present a study of the prophecies of Daniel. I’m sorry if it so lengthy, but initially it will be two parts and maybe later somewhat more in depth. So here we go.

Daniel, chapter 2—An overview of the future from 600 B.C. all the way down to Christ’s return. A dream to King Nebuchadnezzar, not to Daniel. It described the next four empires as metals that became increasingly inferior and less valuable, but also stronger and more destructive, as they moved down from the head to the legs of the image: gold, silver, brass, and iron— representing Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. The image of a man was something the pagan king could identify with. The last part of the dream was of the feet and ten toes, which in a later dream of Daniel’s coincided with ten kings that conquered Rome. The iron and miry clay of the feet which can’t cleave to each other represent the Roman Empire after it divided. Every attempt to reunite Europe has failed. In the end of the dream, a stone, (which Christ represented to be Himself in so many ways, including the Ten Commandments written in stone), rough and falling from the sky, much like a meteor from space, hit the statue at its feet which obliterates it, and the stone became a great mountain that filled the whole earth.

God is so good to give us this special book of prophecies to warn of coming events and to let us know He is in charge of it all; and He is so wise a Master Teacher to begin with the simplest overview before moving on to more detailed dreams and visions.

Daniel, chapter seven—A continuation of prophecy from Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The dreams and visions each repeat and amplify the information of the previous ones. Daniel dreams and sees a beach front in turmoil. The setting of blustery wind and wild waves indicates fear and terror. Out of the crashing waves walks a Babylonian lion with wings—an obvious representation of the current empire of his day. But presently the wings are removed and the lion’s heart is replaced by a weak man’s heart, and it is made to stand up like a man. Daniel had the gift of interpretation and knew this represented the weak King Belshazzar who had just assumed the throne of Babylon. Next a bear came out of the water. No explanation was given for which nation this could be, but it represents Medo-Persia which conquered Babylon. Next came a leopard with four heads and four wings, representing Greece and the rapidity with which it conquered Peria. Last of all came a monster that left a fearful memory forever in Daniel’s mind. No doubt God meant for it to do this. That last empire holds a great notoriety with God, and since Daniel wrote out the dream and we now have possession of it, we need also to view that final empire with fear and distrust. Ten horns sit atop this seven-headed monster with ten crowns, as John sees it later in Revelation 13; and it is simply a conglomeration of the preceding three animals. Now that Daniel’s attention is arrested with the horrendous scene, his focus moves to the horns. Three horns begin to move and give way for another 11th horn that starts out as a baby horn but grows so big it uproots the three horns in its way, and become bigger than the remaining seven. Then it develops a face of a man looking very proud, and speaking very boastfully and blasphemously to God. This little horn made war against God’s people and presumed to change times and laws which are God’s right alone. This power acted like it was God, standing in the place of the Almighty. It would rule for 1,260 prophetic days which translates to 1,260 actual years. But in the end, the judgment would be set up, that evil power would be sentenced and destroyed, and the people of the saints would regain God’s kingdom. One quality emphasized in the monster was that it devoured all its enemies and whatever was left over it stomped into the ground. No such hatefulness, bitterness, or control by force would be seen in any other animal representing a world power. This rabid, devil-possessed beast needed to be killed and put out of its misery.

Daniel, chapter 8—Now Daniel sees a vision. It’s the third year of the reign of Belshazzar and Babylon is about to become history. Daniel sees himself in Persia, at that time a part of the Babylonian empire, but soon to become the next world power. Thus the vision never even mentions Babylon. Daniel sees Medo-Persia, as a ram with two horns, conquering and pushing until it dominates the known world. After that he sees Greece speeding on collision course against Persia, to destroy it. Greece is represented by a unicorn goat that runs so fast that it flies through the air. That great horn represented Alexander the Great, who conquered the vast empire of Persia in just four years. Never stopping long enough to enjoy a victory, he drove his armies to the end of the civilization and then when there was nothing left to conquer, he drank himself to death. The goat lost that great horn, but after it fell, four smaller horns took its place, signifying Alexander’s four generals who carved up the Greek kingdom, and led the homesick soldiers back to Macedonia.

But then Daniel watches as an outgrowth of one of those horns, a little horn becomes larger than any other before it. It not only crosses the known world, but its growth sends it up into heaven and dares to stand up against God on His throne. God’s home is desecrated by this earthly power which even casts some of the stars of heaven to the earth. It received an army to flaunt rebellion against God. It cast the truth to the ground, and no one could stop it.

Then as an interlude to the vision, one of the angels asks the angel Gabriel how long this desecration of God’s sanctuary would last. Gabriel’s answer: after 2,300 days or 2,300 real years, then the sanctuary would be cleansed from the defilement of this corrupting power. Then the interpretation came to Daniel that Persia would reign, and then Greece. Although unnamed in the prophecy, Rome would conquer Greece, and then, picking back up with the prophecy, when the worst rebellion against God finally covered the Roman Empire, a king understanding satanic things would stand up and control the world. By the end of the vision Daniel was completely bewildered and exhausted. Gabriel told him to shut up the vision and keep it secret because it would cover a long period, all the way down to the time of the end.

Daniel, chapter 9—This chapter opens with Daniel determined to beseech God, as a result of learning of a prophecy God had given Jeremiah. It is the first year of the Medo-Persian Empire and God’s people have been subjugated for 70 years. God’s promise was to send Israel into captivity for 70 years because of their continued flagrant disobedience to him. Now that time period was finished. The recent vision of the desecrated and destroyed heavenly sanctuary added to Daniel’s burden for the earthly temple that lay in ruins—that building and its sacrificial system that had been a reminder of God’s continuous mercy and love toward sinful man.

So Daniel prays and he prays. His words are all about his sinfulness and that of his people. They also recount God’s past goodness to them and of His righteousness for punishing them. You find no self-justification in that genuine prayer. This isn’t one of Daniel’s daily approaching to God. The reality of the written promise from God to his people has gotten hold of him and he can’t stop praying. On and on Daniel prays, all day long. At last, at the time of the evening sacrifice, he feels a friendly hand on his shoulder. The angel Gabriel whom he had seen in the vision a few years previous is now talking to him. He has come to answer Daniel’s pleas. Not by a promise that providence was already at work, although it was; Cyrus, the Great, was just about to decree that Jews could be free to leave. No, Gabriel came to give Daniel another prophecy that had hope for the temple buried deep within it.

As Israel sent spies into Canaan for 40 days and then wandered outside Canaan for 40 years because of unbelief, likewise, the Jews had spent 70 literal years in captivity, and now, Gabriel announced a probationary period for Judah of 70 prophetic weeks, to see if the captivity had taught them the big lessons of faith and dependence that God had intended for them.

At the end of the 490 actual years Messiah would arrive. More accurately, on the start of the 69th prophetic week, Messiah would be anointed by the Holy Spirit, without measure, to preach the gospel. Half way into that prophetic week Messiah would be killed and the sacrificial system would be fulfilled and made obsolete. Then, because God knew the hearts of the Jews, the prophecy ended on a negative note with the earthly sanctuary being destroyed and the Jewish nation desolated and scattered around the Roman Empire. The prophecy had a starting point—at the command to rebuild Jerusalem. At the third and final offer by the Persian Empire in 457 B.C. the Jews left Babylon under Ezra and Nehemiah, and rebuilt Jerusalem’s walls and the temple. 483 years later, in the fall of A.D. 27, Jesus of Nazareth was baptized and prepared for His ministry. A.D. 31, in the middle of the prophetic week, 3 ½ years later, Jesus offered up His life to save our lost human race, on the eve of the Passover. But although the Jews took the life of Messiah, He still granted them the final 3 ½ years of the probationary period. When they stoned Stephen, they proved they would never repent and salvage their covenant with God. Shortly afterwards, Saul of Tarsus was converted and God’s everlasting covenant o the world was given to the Gentiles to carry forward and to protect.

Prior to His crucifixion, Jesus warned of the coming storm on the Jews, “When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies then know that the desolation thereof is nigh...for these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.” Luke 21:20, 22. These words of Jesus were in answer to Gabriel’s message that because of, “the overspreading of abomination [of the Jews], He [Messiah] shall make it [the old covenant] desolate, even until the consummation, and that [the judgment upon them due to a failed probation] shall be poured upon the desolate [the unrepentant Jews.]” Dan. 9:27.

(To be continued.) I hope this was easy enough to follow.