Had the congregation recite the Apostles’ Creed, and then I heard the news commentators afterwards criticizing President Trump because he couldn’t recite it. I thought, boy, on that score, I’m a goner as well. I can’t recite it quite yet either. I know it, I’m familiar with it, but it did strike me as funny to hear the news media criticizing President Trump for not being Christian enough. That was just an odd turn of events, it seemed to me.
We’re working our way through Daniel. Today we are in Daniel chapter 7. We will take time to look through Daniel 7 next time, the next three times that we meet as well. Today we’ll try to give a quick overview of this fascinating prophecy of Daniel. The title of the message is “What This World Is Coming To.” What This World Is Coming To.
Daniel chapter 7, I’ll begin with verse 1:
In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. Daniel declared, “I saw in my vision by night and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. Four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. The first was like a lion, and he had eagle’s wings. And then as I looked, its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth, and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ After this, I looked and behold another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back, and the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it. After this, I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth. It devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the other beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things. As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was fiery flames, its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him. A thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousands stood before him. The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. And I looked, then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking, and as I looked, the beast was killed, its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
I saw in my night visions and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, and all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious and the visions of my head alarmed me. I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. ‘These four beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever and ever.’
Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, and about the 10 horns that were on its head and the other horn that came up before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth and spoke great things that seemed greater than its companions. As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.
Thus he said, ‘As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms. And it shall devour the whole earth, and trample it down, and break it to pieces. As for the 10 horns, out of this kingdom 10 kings shall arise, and another shall rise after them. He shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings. He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law. And they shall be given into his hand for a time, times and a half a time. But the court shall sit in judgment and his dominion shall be taken away to be consumed and destroyed to the end. And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High. Their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom and all dominions shall serve and obey them.’
Here’s the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.”
Let’s bow together for prayer. Our Father, this is a strange but fascinating passage of Your Word. We’re struck with the breadth of it and the importance of it. We ask that You’d give us a good grasp of it now today, that You may equip us, that You may encourage us in it, we pray in Jesus’ name, amen.
As I say, I’ve titled the message “What This World Is Coming To.” Daniel 7 is one of the most significant prophecies in the entire Bible. It is broad and comprehensive in scope. It establishes the framework for all of Daniel’s prophecies and in a way establishes the framework for all of the prophetic word as well. It takes us from Daniel’s time, from the 6th century BC, all the way to the end of history in a sweep.
It is very similar to the purview that we saw in Daniel chapter 2, the vision of the image and the stone cut from the mountain breaking the image. It’s the same purview and view here, but here it is given more detail. This is a significant prophecy with regard to the book of Revelation as well. If we would take time, you could show many correspondences between the book of Revelation and here in Daniel chapter 7, where John clearly leaned on Daniel’s vision for much of his imagery and much of his perspective as well. One commentator wrote that if we can grasp this chapter, Daniel chapter 7, we have the key to history. Well, that’s a big claim, but if we can keep in mind that it is broad in its perspective, the claim, I think, is justified and is very right. It takes us with a broad view from a succession of kingdoms from Daniel’s time forward and then all the way to the end of the age when our Lord comes again.
Now, the genre of this chapter is what is so strange. This is what’s called apocalyptic literature. Apocalyptic. You might recall hearing the book of Revelation referred to as the Apocalypse. That’s actually the word revelation, for the opening words of the book of Revelation in Greek are Apokalypsis Iesou Christou, the revelation of Jesus Christ. Apocalypse is a revelation, something unveiling, a making known.
But apocalyptic literature then, which like the book of Revelation and here in Daniel chapter 7, is a specific genre where we have this outlook of prophecy looking ahead, but it’s got a distinct perspective. It is the perspective of heaven looking at the events of earth in a broad-scale kind of way. And so it’s looking at the kings and the kingdoms and the succession of kingdoms and so on. And then ultimately in apocalyptic literature, we have the in-breaking of the kingdom of God to fix the mess that is in the kingdoms of this earth.
And to carry out this vision and to make it graphic, apocalyptic literature is known for its graphic symbolism and imagery. I went through some of this the other night. Before I go to sleep at night on my way to bed, I’m kind of tired from the day and I usually head to the bedroom just after I’ve been studying. And I get a little loose, and I just start rattling a little bit. And the other night, I was heading to bed, and we were getting ready for bed, and I started on about this great vision. And this lion with wings on its back and it had eyes and a mouth and it spoke. And then there was a bear lumbering along with its big strength and raised up on one side and three ribs in its mouth. And then there was a leopard and it had wings on its back and had four heads. And then if those weren’t frightening enough, then the fourth one was this scary one that came along. And I went through the whole thing and Kim was just listening patiently. And then I get through and I said, “And you thought you had funny dreams.”
Well, that’s what apocalyptic literature is. And Daniel is given a dream while he sleeps and this vision is a prophecy then in symbolic terms of what will come. One helpful way that I’ve often thought—I read this somewhere years ago—I’ve often thought it was helpful when you read apocalyptic literature, think of it as political cartoons. You know how you see a political cartoon and with a picture and sometimes maybe a word to identify the characters, but sometimes not even that, just pictures. You see what’s going on. Well, that’s what apocalyptic literature is. It’s cerebral cartoons, if you will, showing us the succession of events in history that culminate in the kingdom of God.
In the context of Daniel here, you remember chapters 1 through 6 that we have seen were historical chapters. They were historical narrative. Chapter 6 that we saw last week was the last then of the narrative chapters in Daniel. Beginning with chapter 7 now, we have a succession of visions and prophecies that were given to Daniel.
Chapters 1 through 6 you might remember, or chapters 2 through 7 you might remember I said were written in Aramaic, but chapters 8 through 12 then revert to the normal Hebrew language. And I think the significance of that is that in chapters 2 through 7, the purview is international. It’s not just having to do with Israel. It’s an international scene where the succession of nations and so on, whereas as we will see when we get to chapters 8 and following, the focus is on it—although it includes some other nations—the focus is on the history of Israel and how those other nations bear on Israel’s history themselves.
So chapter seven then is something of a transition chapter. It’s prophetic, it’s a wide sweep of future history, probably the most comprehensive in the entire Old Testament. You might remember in chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar had that vision of this great image: the head of gold, the chest and arms of silver, the middle of bronze, and the legs and the feet of iron, and the feet with iron mixed with clay, and then this stone cut out from the mountain and runs down the mountain and crushes the image. Well, that was Chapter 2, and we saw that the interpretation of that is the succession of nations from Babylon to Medo-Persia, to Greece, to Rome, and finally to the kingdom of God. And that’s the same imagery here.
Now in Chapter 2, we saw that the head of gold would transition to the chest and arms of silver, that is to the Medo-Persian Empire. And that is what we saw happen in Chapter 5 at Belshazzar’s feast, where the handwriting came on the wall and then that transition was made, and Babylon fell to Medo-Persia. Well, we come to chapter 7 now, and we back up in time. This is actually several decades later. Verse 1, he says, is the first year of Belshazzar. So it’s some years before the events of chapter 5 that we saw previously. So we’re something like 50 years now since Daniel was brought into Babylon. This is about nine years, I think, after the death of Nebuchadnezzar, and Belshazzar is in charge in Babylon. Daniel now is in his late 60s, not nearly as old as we’ll see him in some other chapters. We have the obvious similarities with chapter 2, but this one, this is Daniel’s dream and not Nebuchadnezzar’s.
The Vision Of The Four Beasts
All right, then, in chapter 7, verses 1 to 14, we have the twofold vision. We have, in verses 1 to 8, the vision of the four beasts, and then verses 9 to 14, we have the divine judgment scene. And here’s where we’re introduced to that fascinating image, figure, the Son of Man, who receives the kingdom, standing before the Ancient of Days, and reigns universally forever. That’s verses 1 to 14. Then verses 15 through the end of the chapter, we have the interpretation of the vision that is given. Both Daniel and then the one standing with him, which is an angel, we assume, gives the interpretation. They fill in more details and give us the significance of it.
So we have the vision in verses 1 to 14. Verses 15 to 28, we have the interpretation of the vision. He tells us in verse one that he writes down the sum or the summary of the vision that he has, and it’s called in verses one and two, a vision and a dream, more like a nightmare, and it obviously captured his attention. You find phrases throughout the chapter like, “I was looking and behold,” and “as I was looking and as I was contemplating and behold,” and you find those kinds of remarks probably 20 times throughout the chapter. This obviously captivated his attention, and he says that a couple of times, that this vision bothered me, and it gave me a headache, and I tried dealing with it, and my color changed, and it was really a bothersome nightmare. And he wants to know the meaning of it.
So verses two and three, he introduces the vision and the four beasts. It says the four winds were stirring up the great sea. The sea in the Old Testament is often a symbol that is used for the chaos and the turmoil and the unsettledness of the nations, the nations like a raging sea and so on. And that evidently is what is going on here. And we have four great beasts, sometimes referred to as monsters. Well, I guess that’s fair, given that we don’t know any beasts quite like these that are described here. But these frightening beasts, and then the last one, which is not given an exact description, is called specifically a terrifying and dreadful beast.
Now if we jump ahead, and this is important to do here, if you jump ahead to verse 17, you’re given the key to understanding the vision. “These four great beasts are four kings who shall rise out of the earth.” A little later in the passage there you’ll see they’re referred to as kingdoms. Kings, kingdoms, used interchangeably. So these beasts then we know from the interpretation are a succession of kingdoms.
Verses 4 to 8 then, he gives us a description of those beasts. And the first one is the lion with eagle’s wings. This would be the kingdom of Babylon, in which Belshazzar now is the king where Daniel is serving. The lion is the king of beasts, the eagle is sort of the king of the birds. I think the symbolism reflects something of the greatness of the power that was Babylon. Jeremiah a few times refers to Nebuchadnezzar as a lion, and Ezekiel a couple of times compares Nebuchadnezzar to an eagle. I think we’re on good ground then to say that this is clearly the kingdom of Babylon in view. Verse 4, the end of the verse, this beast is standing, his wings are plucked off, he’s made to stand, he has a human mind given to him. I think that’s a reference to what we saw in chapter four of the temporary insanity of Nebuchadnezzar when he was put out to pasture like a donkey for a while, and then standing with a man’s mind, probably referring to the time following that period of his insanity.
All right, the lion with the eagle’s wings, this is Babylon. Verse five, we have the bear raised up on one side. This is unquestionably the Medo-Persian Empire. The bear raised up on one side, that symbolism showing the Persian dominance in the Medo-Persian Empire. And it says it has three ribs in its mouth. These are the, I think, the three great empires that the Medo-Persian Empire devoured. That would be the Kingdom of Lydia, the kingdom of Babylon, the kingdom of Egypt, all taken over by Medo-Persia. And it says it was commanded to eat much flesh. That is, it’s a ravenous kingdom. This kingdom was vicious in its takeover of everywhere that it could find. It consumed vast amounts of territory. If we could extend the metaphor of devouring much flesh, Medo-Persia ate until it belched. Kingdoms like Babylon and Egypt, as great as they were, were puny compared to the size of the vast territory of the Medo-Persian Empire. So this is the bear raised up on one side, three ribs in its mouth, devouring much flesh.
And then verse six, we have a leopard with four wings and four heads. This is the next kingdom. If the first is Babylon, the second is Medo-Persia, well, all you have to do is look at the history books. The next would be the kingdom of Greece: Alexander the Great and his successors. A leopard is known for its speed and agility, the wings here, and not touching ground as he moves. That’s obviously a reference to the speed, the swiftness with which Alexander the Great carried out his conquering of all of the other kingdoms. By contrast, you have in verse 5 the lumbering strength of this big bear. And now we have the leopard with its agility moving much more quickly. For all of the strength that was Medo-Persian, it took a generation to accomplish it all. Alexander the Great conquered virtually all of the known world at that time in three years. Amazing tactics. Militarily, the swiftness was just breathtaking. And it is said that at age 33, after he’d done it, he sat down and cried because he didn’t have anything else to conquer, nothing else to do. Four heads on this leopard. I think that probably does double duty. Number one, it speaks of this beast, this kingdom of Greece. Alexander the Great is insatiably greedy, rapacious, devouring everything that he could find, seeking dominion everywhere. But I think it also has reference to what we will see later in chapter eight, and that is the divisions of the Greek world under his generals that succeed him after Alexander dies. But we will see that more in coming chapters.
Then verse seven, we have this fourth beast, this nondescript beast. It’s not like a lion or a bear or a leopard. It’s just this terrifying, dreadful, and very strong beast. This one’s scary. If the others weren’t scary, this one’s scary. He tells us it’s marked by terror and power, immense power and ruthlessness. And he’s got, well, verse 7 has great iron teeth, and it devoured and broke into pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. So you see this awful image of a monster of some kind with iron teeth eating every kingdom it comes to, one after another after another, and everything left is just stomped and run to pieces and ground to powder. Well, if the first kingdom was Babylon, the second is Medo-Persia, the third is Greece, then this fourth obviously is the kingdom of Rome and the Roman Empire. And it says it has horns. These are the kingdoms or the dominions of the Roman Empire. And it says it has ten horns. This is five times more than the usual two. I think it’s speaking of multiple divisions of the Roman Empire, particularly in the world system in the aftermath of Rome. Because this is what takes us, as we’ll see later, all the way to the end of world history. So we have ten horns. That is the world system in the aftermath of the Roman Empire.
And then verse 8, we have a frightening detail. We have this little horn who came up from among the ten horns, and it rooted up three of the horns, overthrew their powers, and it’s got eyes like a man. That is, this horn represents a man who also, it says, has a mouth speaking great things. That is, he’s not only powerful, but he’s boastful. He struts. He’s proud. And all of the successive kings and empires, this person, of all of them, this one seems to be autonomous. He seems to go unchecked, without restraint.
The Divine Judgment Scene
Except, we get to verse 9. And the scene changes. Until this point, God has still been God, but it doesn’t seem so. God has still been ruling over all, and there are some hints to that earlier in verses 1 to 8. There are some hints to that. We’ll see that in some weeks to come. But it doesn’t appear that God is in control. And we have this dramatic contrast, verses 2 and following. The great sea is stirred up in the succession of ravaging kingdoms. And now we get to verse 9, and we have the settled, confident calm of heaven. God ruling over all.
So if all you do is look at verses 2 to 8, you might panic. Things seem out of control. But now in verse 9, we’re given a better perspective. Thrones were placed around a throne that is central to all of them. And on that throne is the Ancient of Days, the eternal, unchanging, unthreatened God. And it says He has garments white as snow, the hair of His head like pure wool, representing the holy judge who judges always righteously and according to truth. If you’re not familiar with this imagery from Daniel 7, you might be a little more familiar with it from Revelation chapters 4 and 5, where John borrows from this and pictures the throne of God across the glassy sea and multiple thrones around it, enhancing the sense of divine majesty. All of these thrones and all of these kingdoms around, but central is one—one throne is central to them all, enhancing the sense of God’s majesty ruling above all subordinate rulers.
Then verses 9 and 10, we have this heavenly courtroom scene, a judgment scene. The throne was fiery flames. That is the all-consuming purity of God in judgment. The throne has wheels, which is a strange kind of throne, but the idea then is it’s mobile, it’s universal, it’s ever-present, watching over all. And it has flames and a river of fire. Again, speaking of judgment, in verse 10, a thousand thousands serve Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand are standing before Him. I think both of those expressions are parallel. The thousand thousands, the ten thousand times ten thousand—I think they’re parallel expressions saying there’s just an innumerable company of angels and servants around this throne. The ancients did not have a larger number in their vocabulary than the number thousands. And so 1,000 thousands, or 10,000 times 10,000, this is an innumerable company of angels. In Revelation 4 and 5, again, that is picked up and taken in that way. And it says, “the court sat.” That is, they are assembled for business. They’re going to do judgment. “And the books were opened.” This is a familiar theme in the Bible, picturing the omniscience of God’s infallible record for purposes of measuring out judgment exactly to what is deserved.
And then verse 11, we have God’s actions in judgment, and it’s very anticlimactic. All it says is the beast was killed and its body destroyed, given over to be burned with fire. No great conflagration, no great fight. It’s just that the court sat in judgment, said, “That’s it, it’s over.” And he’s taken and he’s destroyed. Verse 12, the other beasts are allowed to live for a time, but they’re stripped of their authority. We’ll have to see that, the significance of that in the coming weeks.
Now verses 13 and 14, we have introduced for us the Son of Man and His kingdom. This is the fifth kingdom now. Son of Man is an expression that just means man, a human being. But this is one who is like a son of man. That is, there’s a little more to be said about this one. He’s like a son of man. And it says about Him that He came on the clouds. Well, that’s an expression that’s used elsewhere, but it’s used elsewhere of God. I mean, who else rides on the clouds, right? So this is obviously a heavenly figure. He’s like the Son of Man, and yet it’s a heavenly figure. And not only a heavenly figure, but a heavenly figure who has the authority to come and stand before the Ancient of Days and receive from Him a kingdom, a throne, and the right to judge. That’s what we see in verse 14. To Him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom.
And there are two characteristics of this kingdom that are highlighted. Number one, it’s universal. It says that all peoples and nations and languages should serve Him. A universal reign. Now you might remember, I’ve emphasized this a few times now going through the earlier chapters in Daniel, that this expression we’ve seen recurring through Daniel: “all peoples and nations and languages.” We saw it in chapter 3 where all peoples and nations and languages were called to bow before the image. We saw it again in chapter 6 where Darius made this decree for all peoples and nations and languages to worship the God of Daniel. That’s picked up in the book of Revelation, that language as well. The point here then is that the Son of Man has a truly universal reign. It points ahead to the consummation of the kingdom when all the world over, all peoples, nations, and languages will bow before the King.
So the first characteristic of this King in verse 14 is that His kingdom is universal, and number two, it is eternal. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away. His kingdom, one that shall not be destroyed. So what we have in verses 13 and 14 then is a coronation scene where this King receives His kingdom. What has been the case with no other king in all the history of the world will be the case with this King. He will have a universal reign that will not end. All this is familiar imagery. We’ve seen this in our larger series on the purpose of God. We’ve seen it in Psalm 2: “Ask of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance.” We’ve seen it in Psalm 110: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” We’ve seen it in several other passages, but this is where the Son of Man receives the kingdom, and of course this is the title that Jesus claims for Himself when we come to the Gospels, and we’ll see that in some detail as well.
The Interpretation Of The Vision
Well, that’s verses 1 to 14. Now, verses 15 to 28, we have the interpretation of the vision. Verses 15 and 16, Daniel is disturbed. He has a headache from this terrible vision. He wants to know what this is all about, and so he asks the one who stands there to tell him about it.
Verses 17 and 18, he’s given an explanation, an interpretation, and now he backs up, fills in a few more details, confirms for us this is a succession of kingdoms, and there are people who stand in some close relation to the Son of Man who receive the kingdom with Him and share in His rule. So although Daniel now is, beginning in verse 19, assured that the people of God will have ultimate victory, sharing in the kingdom of the Son of Man, he’s still very concerned.
In verses 19 and 20, he wants to know more about that terrible and terrifying fourth beast, the one with the ten horns and then that other little horn that comes up among them. Verses 21 and 22 fill in for us some more detail about all of that. Back in verse 8, we were told that the little horn was a fearsome ruler. He was violent and he was boastful. But here in verses 21 and 22, we’re given more detail that his specific target is the saints, the people of God. It says in verse 21, he made war with the saints. So there’s a tyrannical rule with a specific hatred for the people of God. Okay, that is something to get a little unnerved over, Daniel.
Verse 22, he assures them of ultimate judgment and the destruction of that little horn, the ultimate triumph of the saints. But Daniel’s still concerned what will happen in the meantime. Okay, we will have ultimate victory in the kingdom of God, but what is all of this making war with the saints, and what will that entail in the meantime?
So in verses 23 and following, he’s given more detail. It says, verse 23, that beast devoured the whole earth. Verse 7, we were told he devoured, but here we’re told he devoured the whole earth and he tramples it down. That is to say it was widespread violent tyranny that seems to be universal. And then verse 25, he gives more characterizations of the activity of this little horn with regard to the saints. And notice what it says, verse 25: “he speaks words against the Most High.” So he’s not only proud and strutting and boastful, but specifically he’s blasphemous, some kind of open rebellion against God. And it says—and this is what is so bothersome personally to Daniel—”he will wear out the saints.” Notice that expression: “he’ll wear out the saints” that are given into his hand. So there’ll be a time of success for this little horn, and the people of God, it will seem, will be losing. It says he’ll change times and laws. I take that to mean the laws of God. He will change long-standing religious traditions grounded in divine revelation. He’ll become a law unto himself.
Well, in summary then, we have this last king: he’s boastful, he tries to act like God, he makes himself equal to God, he speaks blasphemous words, tries to change God’s laws, he attacks the people of God, and for a “time, times, and a half of time,” he has success over them—which sounds like three and a half years. Whether that’s to be taken in a literal sense or to be taken figuratively is a discussion for another time. But there’s a period of success over the people of God. But all of this, verse 22, notice, is only “until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was given for the saints.”
So, verse 26, the court will sit in judgment. And the other kings then, verse 26, are stripped of their dominion, they’re destroyed, and the rule gives way to the everlasting kingdom of God. Verse 27, the kingdom is given to the saints of the Most High, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him. So we have a reversal now. The saints, the people of God, the people who belong to the Son of Man, who have been the object of the little horn’s rage successfully for a time, now are ushered into the glories of the kingdom of God to share in the reign of the King Himself. And all other rule is made subordinate to them.
Clearly in all of this, although this is more graphic and highly symbolic, obviously what is going on here is this familiar kingdom of God theme that is so common throughout the prophets. The little horn had his way for a while, there’s a succession of beasts, but now God comes in judgment and all of opposition is destroyed and put down. It is the same as we saw in chapter two. The stone cut from the mountain rolls down the side of the mountain, smashes the image and grinds it to powder. Here, the symbolism is different. They are killed, their bodies destroyed and burned in a fire. The symbolism is different, but the point is the same. When God comes in judgment, their time will come to an end.
Verse 28, then finally, we have the effect of all of this on Daniel. He’s overwhelmed at it, just as we saw in verse 15. But now in verse 28, “my thoughts greatly alarmed me. My color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.” A topic for continual reflection, but also clearly a topic for continued encouragement as well.
Now there is so much more to say about this chapter. I wanted to take the time this morning to give a broad brush overview of the chapter. We’ll look at it in coming weeks. Next week will be a Christmas Sunday, so the Sunday after that we’ll come to it. There’s much more to say that we’ll expound in the coming weeks as well, but so far, what is the point of all of this?
Well, the point of apocalyptic literature generally, and the point of this passage I think the same, is to encourage the people of God that even despite appearances, even if it seems at the moment that we’re losing, we can be assured that God remains God over all, and because God is God over all, His kingdom will triumph. That’s the long and short of the passage. So as we’ve seen so often through the book of Daniel already, Daniel writes chapter 7 to say to the people of God here in exile in Babylon: God reigns over the nations. He was not left defeated in Jerusalem when you were brought into exile. God still reigns over the nations and His kingdom will be established.
Now if we read Daniel chapter 7 by itself, what we see is the God who rules will one day give the kingdom over to the Son of Man, and He will destroy all opposing forces, and He will share His kingdom with His people. If we read Daniel 7 with our New Testament glasses, where we have more information to fill it in, what we see is the God who rules over all has given His kingdom to His Son, the Lord Jesus, who has earned the right to rule by His death and resurrection, and who has ascended now to heaven to the right hand of the throne to take His kingship. And for this present time, the Lord Jesus is advancing His kingdom through the gospel, and He will continue to do that with success until the day He returns again. And in that day, He will bring this kingdom which for now is visible only to the eyes of faith. He’ll bring this kingdom to its consummation and He’ll destroy all of His enemies. He’ll share His rule with His people and all of the world will acknowledge that Jesus is King. And Daniel writes this to say to his fellow exiles in Babylon, and to us ever since: People of God, do not lose hope. God reigns, and one day the whole world will know it. Amen.
Let’s pray. Our Father, we thank You for this that You have revealed to us, and we’re grateful for the encouragement that comes to us from it. Encourage our hearts with thoughts of the God who is God over all. And encourage our hearts with the great anticipation of His coming kingdom. And Lord, keep us faithful until then. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.