Chapter 2 – Daniel
Read Chapters 2, 7-12;
Matthew 24
No study of
Revelation would be complete without an understanding of Daniel. Daniel is a
collection of visions and stories that span an estimated seventy years of
Daniel’s life and almost 700 years of recorded history. In this chapter I will
try and explain the significance of what Daniel saw and what we believe has
come to pass. There are as many that believe that all of the prophecy of Daniel
has happened and those in the Dispensationalist arena who point to Daniel for
the final end of days. The majority of scholars date Daniel to the 3rd
or 2nd century BCE. It was not included in the Book of the prophets
closed around 200 BCE but it seems to be widely known by the time of the Qumran
period 50 years later. The book was likely not written by Daniel who would have
been long since passed at that point but likely would have been oral traditions
and prophecies passed down.
Let us begin our discussion with chapter 2 and King Nebuchadnezzar’s
II dream. Now mind you, this is a terrible dream for the King. None of his
advisors could tell him what the dream was, much less what it meant with the
exception of Daniel who had been given guidance by God. Nebuchadnezzar had seen
a terrible figure of Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron and Clay. Imagine for a
moment waking from your nightmare and the image of this figure still very much
a part of your conscious mind. What could it mean? Daniel’s answer is that the
figure represents kingdoms that will dominate the known world of the Middle
East. He tells the King that the Head of Gold is Nebuchadnezzar himself, placed
there by God to rule the known world of his day. In fact the Babylonian
(Chaldean in some places) Empire ruled the Middle Eastern world until 539 BC.
Records indicate that the city of Babylonia existed as early as 2300 years
before the Birth of Christ. Following the
Babylonian Empire the Medes and Persians fought for control. Cyrus eventually
would gain control and the Persian Empire would survive for about 200 years.
Daniel’s interpretation was that this Empire would be inferior to Babylonia and
it was a weaker version of the old Empire. It would fall to a much stronger
enemy from the West.
Following the
Mede/ Persian Empire a young man named Alexander began his conquest of the
world. Alexander conquered the known world from Greece to Asia before his
death, but remnants of his Kingdom remain today. We have Greek art, science and
architecture. His empire lasted about 180 years and was followed by the fourth
Empire. Now an interesting side note is how historians or anthropologists refer
to the Greek empire as the kingdom of Bronze. They had bronze weapons, armor, statues
and used bronze in their art and architecture. Daniel’s interpretation is held
up by historical evidence.
The next two kingdoms are important not only to
the story but to our future as well. In the dream the next part of the body is
iron. And the feet are a mix of iron and clay. We know the fourth kingdom
because chronologically it comes next and it is often referred to as the Iron
Kingdom. That would be the Kingdom of Rome. Rome existed following the Greek
Empire and lasted more than 1500 years. Daniels prophecy was that it would
crush all of the previous kingdoms and in fact Rome ruled more of the ancient
world than any other kingdom past or present. No one can dispute the
significance of Rome on ancient history but it is the fifth Kingdom in the
statue that brings us to present day. Rome’s fall in 476 AD was not complete. Rome
falls to the invading Huns and from within. But it does not go away. Rather like
the ten toes (see verse 42-43) on the statue that are a mixture of iron and
clay, ten divisions are formed and alliances are made that hold the kingdom
loosely together for trade and for religious reasons. In verse 44 we are
promised a new Kingdom made by God that will crush all the other Kingdoms. In
fact Jesus walks the earth during the domination of the Roman Empire.
In chapter seven Daniel, who is now living in the
time of King Belshazzar, successor to Nebuchadnezzar, has a vision of the four
kingdoms. In his vision are four beasts that come out of the sea. Much of
Daniel’s world centered around the great rivers of his day and the Mediterranean
Sea on one side, the Persian Gulf on the opposite and the Black Sea to the
North. I find it interesting that these two dreams have some parallels and
though I don’t have the time to give detail today, let’s try a summary. In the
first dream, the fourth kingdom is succeeded by a fifth Kingdom that is part of
the fourth and part of something else, both clay and iron. In the second dream
Daniel sees four beasts come out of the sea. The four beasts represent the same
four kingdoms of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the Babylonians, the Mede/Persians,
the Greeks and finally the Roman Empire. What is interesting is that the final
beast sprouts ten horns. When the Roman Empire fell apart, it became ten
regional alliances that still held links to Rome through the Church. By 538 AD
three of these alliances are overthrown not by typical war, but rather by
religious war. At the center of this conflict is not a country at all but a
religious political power. In 538 AD a new political and religious entity comes
into existence and as it grows gains power and control over the entire
civilized western world. In Daniel’s second vision the three of the horns give
way and push out one small horn that replaces them. Coincidence? You decide.
But truth is the Roman Empire is still around today. Of the ten original
divisions of Rome, Germany, France, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, Italy and
England still exist and reunited under a new regime called the European Union.
All of these countries carry roman heritage in their makeup, their symbols and
their government. But the little horn also still exists. The Church of Rome
which is the reason the other three were absorbed also still exists and yields
great power. Just as an aside, dispensationalist thought believes that the ten
kingdoms have not yet been and that the little horn represents an Anti-Christ
that will come to rule the world.
In chapter eight Daniel continues to have visions
about the coming of Christ and the End of Times as he understood it. In the
vision he sees a two horned ram and one horned goat. The two horned Ram is
thought to be the Mede Persian Empire which is overthrown by Alexander, the one
horned Goat. The broken horn which is replaced by four horns fits nicely with
his death and the division of his Kingdom into four kingdoms created by
conflict within his military leaders. These events did in fact happen as Daniel
saw them. In fact Antiochus Epiphanes, one of the subsequent rulers of the
Greek Empire overthrows Jerusalem around 167 BC. It is then that he suspended
Jewish worship and uses the Temple as a worship center for Zeus, the Greek God.
Verses 23-25 refer to this sequence of events and the end of the times for the
Jewish people will be proclaimed as Christ comes for the first time. Dispensationalists
believe that the desecration of the Temple is an event in the future.
In chapter nine we have one of the strong visions
of Daniel. He reads that Jeremiah had a vision that they (the Jewish people)
would be exiled for 70 years. It is believed that Daniel was living in the 67th
year of that prophecy and so he prays to God for the return of the Hebrew faith
and return to the land of Israel. Gabriel, the messenger of God brings
understanding to Daniel. Seventy weeks (weeks being years) are determined to
finish the transgression, to put an end to sin and to atone for iniquity, and
to bring everlasting righteousness (verse 24). Now much has been discussed
about this vision and the meaning of time as Daniel saw it. Jeremiah’s week of
seven days actually meant seventy years as we have the ability to look back at
what actually happened. Likewise we have the ability to look back at Daniel’s
vision and realize that the seventy weeks equates to 490 years, or the number
of years of faithlessness by the people of Israel following their long journey
in the wilderness. In fact the vision is divided into three time periods of
weeks, seven weeks or 49 years, 62 Weeks or 434 years and then one week or 7
years. Historically we know that Nehemiah was given permission to rebuild the
Temple and only completed one wall at the end of 49 years under great trouble
from the people around him. Historically we also know that there are exactly
434 years from that moment until Jesus comes into Jerusalem to die.
Coincidence! Likely not! Now here is where the disagreements begin. Some
believe that the final seven years are the 3 ½ years of His ministry which ends
with His death and then the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. We know from
Paul and the Epistles that for the next 3-4 years after Pentecost there was a
great revival in the Roman Empire of that day. Dispensationalists believe that
the final seven year period is a time of great tribulation which is yet to come
and that there will be peace for the first 3 ½ years followed by great
desolation.
Chapters ten through twelve interweave a great
story concerning the visions that Daniel has already had. Most believe that the
Kings listed are those of the Mede-Persian Empire through the time of Alexander
and then his successors. What is curious is that historians can point to
specific individuals in the days that follow Daniel’s vision including
Antiochus Epiphanes who does in fact rule of this part of the world until the
coming domination by the Romans around 100 BC. His actions towards the people
of Israel and his desolation of the Temple are well known historically and fit
the prophecy. Chapter 12 is thought by dispensationalist thought to be about
the End of Times that Jesus does in fact predict before His death.
I thought I would end this chapter by asking you
to read Jesus predictions of the End of the Age that He shared with the
Disciples. In that context He tells the disciples to look out for a number of
things to transpire before His return. They are:
·
The
destruction of the Temple which occurs in 70 AD,
·
Many would
come in his name and many would proclaim to be the Messiah,
·
You will hear
of wars and rumors of wars,
·
Nation will
rise against nation,
·
There will be
famines and earthquakes in various places,
·
You will be
hated and persecuted in my name,
·
False
prophets will arise and lead many astray,
·
There will be
an increase of lawlessness,
·
Religious
practice will decrease, and
·
The good news
of the Gospel will reach the whole world.
