7:1 In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream filled with visions while he was lying on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream in summary fashion.

Chapters 1-6 recorded the narrative history of Daniel. Chapters 7-12 recorded the visions and prophecies of Daniel. Biased liberals do not like prophecies, so they must late-date these books in an attempt to explain them away.

King Nebuchadnezzar was a very brilliant man. His dream in chapter two revealed to him that he was to become the first great world ruler of three different continents (Mesopotamia, Egypt, and parts of Europe). There were three other Gentile kingdoms that would follow him (Media-Persia, Greece, and the Kingdom of the Antichrist).

Daniel knew that the Messiah was to one day rule over the world. He may have been puzzled as to how the Messiah was to fit into the Gentile powers of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The rest of the Book of Daniel will answer this question.

It is important to note that no one has to guess as to what the future holds. God has recorded the future of mankind in His Bible, especially in this book.

Edward Gibbon, the non-Christian author of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, wrote “The four empires are clearly delineated; and the invincible armies of the Romans are described with as much clearness in the prophecies of Daniel, as in the histories of Justin and Diodorus.”

This vision was revealed to Daniel in 553 B.C. At this time, Belshazzar was made co-regent with Nabonidus. This dream predated Daniel’s lion den experience by 14 years. Daniel was about 68 years of age at this time.

7:2 Daniel explained: “I was watching in my vision during the night as the four winds of the sky were stirring up the great sea.

In chapters 1-6, Daniel wrote in third person. In chapters 7-12, he wrote in first person.

The Hebrew word for “winds” is רוּחֵ֣י (ruachi), which means spirits. During the night, four רוּחֵ֣י (ruachi) began stirring the Mediterranean Sea. These spirits are stirring up propaganda among the Gentiles. They want to brainwash the Gentiles into following the Antichrist.

7:3 Then four large beasts came up from the sea; they were different from one another.

The four large beasts that come from the sea are the four Gentile powers who will rule over the Jews during the Times of the Gentiles.

7:4 “The first one was like a lion with eagles’ wings. As I watched, its wings were pulled off and it was lifted up from the ground. It was made to stand on two feet like a human being, and a human mind was given to it.

The first beast was Babylon. Babylon was like a ferocious lion that could fly high and swiftly like an eagle. Babylon was known for her speed of movement and her ferociousness in battle. A southern Civil War General Nathan Bedford Forrest said, “The one who gets there first with the most is the one that is going to win.” Speed of movement was also the secret of Alexander the Great, the Roman Caesars, Napoleon, and Hitler. Hitler’s blitzkrieg (lighting wars) conquered most of Europe in a very short period of time.

Nebuchadnezzar’s wings were plucked when God humbled him and took away his sanity. Nebuchadnezzar acted like an animal, so God gave him the mind of an animal.

The “standing upon the feet as a man” symbolizes Nebuchadnezzar’s restoration.

“A man’s heart was given to it” could refer to Nebuchadnezzar’s conversion. He may have come to know the one true God.

Archaeologists have found that Babylon was a tremendous city. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. There was a great ziggurat in the city, possibly patterned after the Tower of Babel. The Babylonians had a very efficient postal system. Their homes possessed interior bathtubs with brass plumbing. They built a tremendous library in the city. Around the city was a three hundred foot high wall, wide enough that four chariots could ride abreast upon it.

7:5 “Then a second beast appeared, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and there were three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and devour much flesh!’

The bear represented Media-Persia. The bear strikes with its two massive arms. The first arm represents Media. The second arm represents Persia. Media struck Babylon and conquered her. Then, Persia struck Babylon, taking over all of her kingdoms.  The three ribs in the mouth could represent the three kingdoms which Babylon conquered (Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt).

There are no wings on this bear, because the Persian armies moved very slowly, but in large numbers. They took their families with them into the battlefield camps.

Xerxes led an army of about 300,000 men and three hundred ships against Greece at Thermopylae and was defeated. His fleet was destroyed by a storm, because God did not intend for the East to control the West at that particular time in history.

7:6 “After these things, as I was watching, another beast like a leopard appeared, with four bird-like wings on its back. This beast had four heads, and ruling authority was given to it.

The leopard represented the Graeco-Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great. The four wings represented the swift army tactics of Alexander the Great. Alexander’s armies moved almost four times as fast as Nebuchadnezzar’s army.

The four heads represented the four generals who took over Alexander’s empire after his death. Since Alexander died at the age of 33 years old from a bout with alcoholism, he had no male heirs to inherit his kingdom. Therefore, his four generals divided the kingdom among themselves. Cassander took Macedonia. Lysimachus took Asia Minor. Seleucus took Syria. Ptolemy took Egypt.

7:7 “After these things, as I was watching in the night visions a fourth beast appeared—one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. It had two large rows of iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and anything that was left it trampled with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns.

This fourth beast does not exist as a real animal. It is the most terrible beast of all. This beast represents the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was never conquered. It is different than all of the other empires, because it has assimilated into all of the modern nations of the world.  In the future, these Gentiles will come together as a one world new order. This one world new order will be divided into ten geographical regions. This new world order will crush anyone or anything that gets in her way. The Jews are currently under the jurisdiction of the United Nations, which is run by the Gentile nations.

7:8 “As I was contemplating the horns, another horn—a small one—came up between them, and three of the former horns were torn out by the roots to make room for it. This horn had eyes resembling human eyes and a mouth speaking arrogant things.

Notice that the small horn does not come out of a fifth kingdom. He grows out of the fourth kingdom. The small horn represents the Antichrist. The other ten horns are the ten regions who will rule the earth during the Great Tribulation. The Antichrist will be born as a Gentile out of one of these ten regions.

The German historian Hoffman said: “When Germans and Slavs advanced partly into Roman ground, anyhow into the historical position of the Roman Empire, their princes intermarried with Roman families. Charlemagne was descended from a Roman house; almost at the same time the German Emperor Otho II and the Russian Grand-Prince Vladimir intermarried with daughters of the East-Roman Emperor. This was characteristic for the relation of the immigrating nations to Rome; they did not found a new kingdom, but continued the Roman. And so it continues to the end of all earthly power, until its final ramification into ten kingdoms. To attempt now to mark out these would be as misplaced as to fix the Coming of Christ (with which they stand connected) tomorrow or the next day.”

Three of these regional kings will rebel against the Antichrist, but they will lose the war. The Antichrist will possess “eyes resembling human eyes,” meaning that his eyes will look human, but the mind will be controlled by satanic influence. The Antichrist will speak blasphemies against God.

7:9 “While I was watching, thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His attire was white like snow; the hair of his head was like lamb’s wool. His throne was ablaze with fire and its wheels were all aflame.

The scene shifts from earth to heaven. The Ancient of Days seems to be the Father receiving the Son of Man, emphasizing the triune nature of God. He sits on His heavenly throne. According to Revelation 4-5, elders will be sitting around the throne of God. The Messiah is about to open the seven seals. The seven seals will bring upon the judgments of the Great Tribulation. The seventh seal contains seven trumpet judgments. The seventh trumpet judgment contains seven bowl judgments. During the Great Tribulation, God will pour out 19 judgments upon mankind.

7:10 A river of fire was streaming forth and proceeding from his presence. Many thousands were ministering to him; Many tens of thousands stood ready to serve him. The court convened and the books were opened.

The thousands who surrounded the throne were God’s angels who will execute God's will.

7:11 “Then I kept on watching because of the arrogant words of the horn that was speaking. I was watching until the beast was killed and its body destroyed and thrown into the flaming fire.

While God is setting the judgment scene in heaven to determine who will enter His kingdom on earth, the Antichrist will step into the Jewish temple and claim that he is God. At the end of the Great Tribulation, the Antichrist will be killed and thrown into the Lake of Fire.

7:12 As for the rest of the beasts, their ruling authority had already been removed, though they were permitted to go on living for a time and a season.

Although the first three beasts were destroyed, their ideologies and philosophies would live on through history and into the Great Tribulation Period.

7:13 I was watching in the night visions, “And with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man was approaching. He went up to the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him.

The “son of man” is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is coming to the Father to receive the Millennial Kingdom.

7:14 To him was given ruling authority, honor, and sovereignty. All peoples, nations, and language groups were serving him. His authority is eternal and will not pass away. His kingdom will not be destroyed.

The Lord Jesus Christ is coming down to earth to take away the Gentile kingdom from the Antichrist. Jesus is the stone who was cut “without human hands.”  He will bring down the Gentile control of Jerusalem. The kingdom which “will not be destroyed” is the Millennial Kingdom.

7:15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed, and the visions of my mind were alarming me.

Just as Nebuchadnezzar was troubled by his dream, Daniel was troubled by this dream as well.

7:16 I approached one of those standing nearby and asked him about the meaning of all this. So he spoke with me and revealed to me the interpretation of the vision:

Daniel asked another angel for the meaning of this vision.

7:17 ‘These large beasts, which are four in number, represent four kings who will arise from the earth.

These four large beasts represent four human kings (Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great, Cyrus, and the Antichrist).

7:18 The holy ones of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will take possession of the kingdom forever and ever.’

The Hebrew word for “holy ones” is קַדִּישֵׁ֖י (kodeshi), meaning the ones who are made holy. All of the cults and isms like to claim that this is their exclusive group. The New Testament church likes to claim this is a reference to the church.

The קַדִּישֵׁ֖י (kodeshi) are Jewish messianic believers. The existence of the modern church was nowhere revealed in the Old Testament. During the Time of the Gentiles, Israel has been set aside by divine discipline, which began with Nebuchadnezzar and will end with the removal of the Antichrist. During the Times of the Gentiles, four empires will emerge to rule over the Jews. However, God will still keep His promise to David (2 Sam. 7:16; Ps. 89:14) and establish a Messianic King. Gentiles will be grafted into this Messianic Kingdom.

The Hebrew word for “forever and ever” is עלם עלמיא (olam olami), meaning “a long time of a long time.” There is no Hebrew word for eternity. This term basically means that the קַדִּישֵׁ֖י (kodeshi)  will possess the Messianic Kingdom for a very, very long time. It is doubled to show that it is emphatic. Revelation 20 gives the exact length of this kingdom as 1000 literal years.

7:19 “Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others. It was very dreadful, with two rows of iron teeth and bronze claws, and it devoured, crushed, and trampled anything that was left with its feet.

Daniel wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast. Rome was hated by her captive nations. Hannibal vowed and enforced vengeance against Rome, but he was finally subdued. God came to earth and Rome crucified Him. The puppet Pilate asked Jesus “What is truth?” when “the Truth” was standing right in front of him. Rome crucified the Son of God and violently persecuted the church. Nero burned Christians and fed them to the lions. Rome was definitely a beast with iron teeth and bronze claws. She trampled everything in her way, including the Apostle Paul. However, this little Jewish blind man walked 1500 miles over the Roman roads, teaching Gentiles about Christ. The teachings of Paul brought down the Roman Empire.

7:20 I also wanted to know the meaning of the ten horns on its head, and of that other horn which came up and before which three others fell. This was the horn that had eyes and a mouth speaking arrogant things, whose appearance was more formidable than the others.

Notice that the horns do not grow out of a dead beast. The ten horns will be the ten kings who rule over ten regions during the Great Tribulation. The horn which grows from them is the Antichrist. Three of these kings will attempt to defeat the Antichrist, but they will be destroyed. No human will be able to stand against the Antichrist. The Antichrist will speak blasphemy, claiming that he is God himself in the flesh.

7:21 While I was watching, that horn began to wage war against the holy ones and was defeating them,

The Antichrist will attempt genocide on the Jews. The reason is that Jesus said that He will not return to earth until the Jews cry out, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” The Antichrist will attempt to round up all of the Jews in Israel and exterminate them. Much of the purpose of the Zionist movement was to bring the Jews into Israel so that the Antichrist can destroy them all in one place. God’s angels will eventually bring all of the Jews into Israel during the Millennial Kingdom. This will be the restoration of Israel in belief.

G.K. Chesterton said, “One of the paradoxes of this age is that it is the age of pacifism, but not the age of peace.” The League of Nations caused World War II by enforcing the Treaty of Versailles upon Germany. The United Nations will do no better. They will most likely usher in the Age of the Antichrist.

7:22 until the Ancient of Days arrived and judgment was rendered in favor of the holy ones of the Most High. Then the time came for the holy ones to take possession of the kingdom.

The Ancient of Days is the Lord Jesus Christ. He will usher in the Millennial Kingdom. He will end the Times of the Gentiles and return the Jews to their home land.

7:23 “This is what he told me: ‘The fourth beast means that there will be a fourth kingdom on earth that will differ from all the other kingdoms. It will devour all the earth and will trample and crush it.

Notice that the fourth and final kingdom will devour “all the earth.” Rome did not devour any of the western nations, because she did not even know that they existed. Therefore, this must be a future kingdom.

7:24 The ten horns mean that ten kings will arise from that kingdom. Another king will arise after them, but he will be different from the earlier ones. He will humiliate three kings.

This event has never occurred in history. It must be a future event. It is interesting to note that when the Germanic tribes conquered the Roman Empire in the fifth century A.D., they did not unite to form another empire. Instead, individual nations emerged out of the old Roman Empire. Some of those nations have continued until this present day.

7:25 He will speak words against the Most High. He will harass the holy ones of the Most High continually. His intention will be to change times established by law. They will be delivered into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.

During the last 42 months of the Great Tribulation, the Antichrist will step into the Jewish Temple and declare that he is God. He will speak blasphemies against God. He will persecute the Jews and attempt to exterminate them. He will make his own laws, built upon the satanic world system.

7:26 But the court will convene, and his ruling authority will be removed— destroyed and abolished forever!

In Revelation 4-5, God’s courtroom is seen to be in heaven. God the Father, God the Son, the elders, and the saints all agree that the Antichrist needs to be judged and removed from power. When the Antichrist is removed from earth and thrown into the Lake of Fire, the Time of the Gentiles will end. The Millennial Kingdom will begin.

7:27 Then the kingdom, authority, and greatness of the kingdoms under all of heaven will be delivered to the people of the holy ones of the Most High. His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; all authorities will serve him and obey him.’

Eternity will begin with a literal 1,000-year Millennial Kingdom where people will be tested in a perfect environment. All of the Jews and their children will be saved. The Gentiles will enter the kingdom as saved individuals. Their offspring will choose to believe or reject Christ.

Irenaeus, one of the early church fathers, wrote, “But when this Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world, he will reign for three years and six months, and sit in the temple at Jerusalem; and then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man and those who follow him into the lake of fire; but bringing in for the righteous the times of the kingdom, that is, the rest, the hallowed seventh day; and restoring to Abraham the promised inheritance in which kingdom the Lord declared that ’Many coming from the east and from the west should sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob …”

Many Amillennialists and Postmillenialists will falsely claim that all of the church fathers were not premillennial. Philip Schaff wrote, “The most striking point in the eschatology of the ante-Nicene age is the prominent chiliasm, or millenarianism, that is the belief of a visible reign of Christ in glory on earth with the risen saints for a thousand years, before the general resurrection and judgment. It was indeed not the doctrine of the church embodied in any creed or form of devotion, but a widely current opinion of distinguished teachers.”

Beware of those who teach against the literal 1,000-year Millennial Kingdom. They must spiritualize the text to make it fit their own personal theology. If read literally, the Millennial Kingdom will last for a literal 1,000 years.

7:28 “This is the conclusion of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and the color drained from my face. But I kept the matter to myself.”

Daniel was hoping that the Messiah would come in his own lifetime. He was taught that the Jewish kingdom would be under the Gentiles for a long time. This was disturbing to Daniel, because he wanted the Messiah to return immediately. He did not share this with his contemporaries. He did record it in writing for future readers.

The Amillenialists falsely teach that the “little horn” has already appeared sometime in the past. However, (1) no such ruler has attained worldwide status, (b) no such ruler has subdued 3 of 10 kings who were ruling at once, (c) no such ruler has persecuted Israel for three and one-half years, and no such ruler has been destroyed forever by Christ’s return.

Others falsely claim that the “little horn” is the Roman Catholic papacy. This cannot be the truth, because (1) the “little horn” is a king, not a pope, (2) the Catholic Church’s power has not been limited to three and one-half years, (3) the Catholic Church has not concentrated on persecuting the nation Israel, and (d) the Catholic has not been destroyed by the return of Christ to the earth. Protestants like to use these arguments against the Catholic Church, but they just are not true.