Hi Friends! I hope you all are well. We’ve experienced some very cold weather here in Wyoming. Sub-zero temperatures outside and some snow. It’s a little warmer now, but we’ll probably light up the fireplace this evening and enjoy the scent of burning wood and the bright, cheerful flames. Spiced tea and pumpkin custards with whipped cream sound good, too. Wherever you are, I hope you will enjoy today’s look at the prophecies of Daniel.
Blessings to you!
Sheri
Daniel’s Prophecies Part 1
By Sheri Schofield
Timelines are helpful to understanding the Bible’s authors. Ezekiel and Daniel were both taken to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar, probably in 597 BC, the first time Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem. Other Hebrew captives were Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego).
Nebuchadnezzar returned to Jerusalem ten years later and completely destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the temple. He took approximately 10,000 Hebrews (Jews & Levites) back to Babylon. Among those captives would have been forefathers of Esther, Nehemiah, and Ezra. Ezekiel was among the captives taken. So Ezekiel’s visions came well before Daniel’s time. There are similarities between the prophecies.
Ezekiel was given his visions as he stood beside the Kebar river in Babylon. The Kebar is a tributary of the Euphrates River. Daniel received his vision in Daniel 10 as he stood beside the Tigris River in Babylon.
Many times, when God speaks to us, we are in quiet places where we can be alone with him. It is easier to receive God’s messages when we are alone in a quiet place. I’m sure Ezekiel and Daniel both looked for precious moments alone with God, to commune with his Spirit.
Daniel was one of four young men who kept their faith in God during their captivity. Because of their faith, they were given wisdom. But Daniel was also given a gift of prophecy and interpreting dreams.
In Daniel 2, we read about the first time Daniel interpreted a dream for the king. One night, King Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he could not sleep. He called for the wise men of Babylon to see if they could help him. But he was no fool. He knew the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers might just make things up. And Nebuchadnezzar was in no mood to be told soothing lies. He said, “I’ve had a disturbing dream, and I want you to tell me what it was, then interpret it.”
The wise men were alarmed. “Tell us your dream, then we’ll interpret it!”
“The king replies, ‘I know what you are doing! You’re stalling for time because you know I am serious about when I say, “If you don’t tell me the dream, you are doomed.” So you have conspired to tell me lies, hoping I will change my mind. But tell me the dream, and then I’ll know that you can tell me what it means” Daniel 2:8,9 (NLT).
The wise men could not do it. They said it was impossible, that no one but the gods could tell him the dream, and the gods did not live in Babylon. So the king ordered all the wise men in Babylon to be executed.
But when the commander of Nebuchadnezzar’s guard came to kill them, Daniel, who had not been in the group before the king, asked why they were to be killed. When the commander told him, Daniel asked to be taken to Nebuchadnezzar. He asked for more time and it was granted. That night, God revealed the dream and its interpretation to Daniel, and the wise men were all spared.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream & Interpretation
The king saw a huge statue of a man standing. The head of the statue was pure gold. The chest and arms were silver. It’s stomach and thighs were bronze. Its legs were iron. Its feet and toes were a combination of iron and baked clay.
Then a rock not made by human hands was cut out of a mountain and was hurled to earth. It smashed the feet of the statue. The entire statue was crushed into small pieces and dust, and the winds blew the entire statue away like it was grass. The rock grew into a mighty mountain and covered the whole earth. (See Daniel 2:31-35)
Daniel told the king that the gold head represented Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom, and the one true God of heaven had given him great power, strength and honor, making him ruler over all people on earth, and gave him power over even the animals and birds.
After Nebuchadnezzar’s rule, however, another kingdom would arise. It would be inferior to Babylon, but it would rule the world. It was the silver portion of the statue. Then would come a third kingdom to rule the world, this one represented by bronze. After that, a fourth kingdom would arise represented by iron. It would crush all previous kingdoms. Finally, a kingdom would arise represented by iron and baked clay. It would be divided but would have some of the strength of iron as well as areas of weakness, like baked clay. This kingdom would try to become strong through their alliances, but the alliances wouldn’t hold together.
Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar (in 2:44-45), “’During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever. This is the meaning of the rock cut out from the mountain, though not by human hands, that crushed to pieces the statue of iron, bronze, clay, silver and gold. The great God was showing the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain.’”
We now know what three of those kingdoms are. First, the Babylonian kingdom ruled the world. That is clear from the passage. Bible scholars are not fully in agreement about the kingdoms which followed, but this seems to be the general consensus:
The kingdom of silver: Medeo-Persian Empire
The kingdom of bronze: Greek.
The kingdom of iron: Rome.
The kingdom of mixed iron & clay with 10 toes: An alliance of 10 nations (kings) which were once parts of the Roman empire (Italy). There is some division of thought about the fourth kingdom.
This is the general interpretation of that vision. Many Bible scholars think we are living in that iron and clay portion of the vision now, and the alliance is European, which was once part of the Roman empire, and Italy is in this alliance. But it could be the United Nations—all the kingdoms of this world. One reason is because the UN is governed by the Roman Statute—the rule of Rome. Some think the old Roman empire, represented by iron, will be the leading ruler of the kingdom. However, I believe ALL the kingdoms of the world will be conquered by the coming King—Jesus, not merely Europe. Only time will tell the composition of this final kingdom.
The number 10 represents “complete” in the Bible. It could be that the 10 kingdoms represent the complete world—all the nations together would be a complete kingdom represented by the number 10. Most Bible scholars think the 10 is literal, and for a while, there were 10 nations in the European Economic Union that had all the Bible scholars excited. But now there are 27 nations. It is possible/probable that this final kingdom has not yet come into existence.
We do not know for sure if our current world represents the feet of iron mixed with clay. Most Bible scholars think we are living in the times of that final kingdom. I do not think the characteristics of the final ruling kingdom are visible yet, for later in Daniel (chapter 7) the vision speaks of a kingdom that devours and crushes its victims and tramples their remains beneath its feet. (Daniel 7:7—But we aren’t there yet in our study.)
The last kingdom before the return of Jesus will probably have the characteristics of the ancient Roman empire. Whether it will be a revival of the territory of that ancient empire, or whether it will be around the globe, I cannot say. We will recognize it when it comes, though.
The rock torn out of the mountain represents Jesus. Someday he will return to earth, conquer all the kingdoms, and reign as King of kings and Lord of lords forever. We find the prophecies of his return in the Book of Revelation, which I will cover later.
Daniel’s Angel Encounters
Daniel 7-8 go into more detail about the fourth kingdom. I promised you a glimpse of what God’s angels look like. In Daneil 8:15-18 we read this:
“As I, Daniel, was trying to understand the meaning of this vision, someone who looked like a man stood in front of me. And I heard a human voice calling out from the Ulai River, ‘Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of his vision.’ As Gabriel approached the place where I was standing, I became so terrified that I fell with my face to the ground. ‘Son of man,’ he said, ‘you must understand that the events you have seen in your vision relate to the time of the end.’ While he was speaking, I fainted and lay there with my face to the ground. But Gabriel roused me with a touch and helped me to my feet.”
The angel Gabriel, who also spoke to Mary to announce she would conceive the Christ, looks like a man. But his presence is so overpowering that Daniel was terrified and fell to the ground.
Our next description of an angel is In Daniel 10. There we read about another messenger (angel) from God. Daniel writes that he saw this vision on April 23. Scholars have researched the date, and it was April 23, 536 BC. Daniel describes the angel messenger in Daniel 10:4-6.
“On April 23, as I was standing on the bank of the great Tigris River, I looked up and saw a man dressed in linen clothing, with a belt of pure gold around his waist. His body looked like a precious gem. His face flushed like lightning, and his eyes flamed like torches.”
Though Daniel’s companions saw nothing, they were suddenly terrified and ran away, while Daniel himself was drained of strength and his face went pale.
This may not have been Gabriel, or the angel may have been Gabriel with the glory of heaven still around him. Or this may have been the angel of the Lord, who is seen throughout the Bible, and whom many believe is Jesus before he became man. There is nothing in the passage to tell us who the angel was.
The Fourth Kingdom
Daniel’s interest was in the fourth kingdom described in the dream. This kingdom was different from the other three kingdoms. From what I have gathered, this kingdom is so different that it is probably from a much later time. It would have to be, because it precedes the return of Jesus as King. Also, the crushing power seems to be far greater than the Romans displayed when they conquered the world. Rome, though violent, brought law and order to the world- the law of Rome. We have that law now ruling the United Nations – it’s called the Statute of Rome.
We do not know if this fourth kingdom rules the entire world, though the passage declares that it does. But previous prophecies describe Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and ancient Rome as ruling the entire earth, yet we know even Rome did not cover the entire globe. Its rule reached into Great Britain and the northern countries of Europe, and as far south as Egypt, but it did not rule over the entire planet. So the fourth kingdom may rule only over the European nations to begin with. We do not know how large it will become.
Most of the Bible’s prophecies are about the nations surrounding Israel and how they impact Israel. I keep this in mind when reading the Bible’s prophecies about end times.
As far as I can tell, the prophecies of Daniel about the fourth kingdom begin where Ezekiel’s prophecies end: after the rebuilding of the (third) Temple in Jerusalem.
Most of the conditions are here for this mysterious fourth kingdom to emerge. But the fourth kingdom cannot emerge until the Temple is rebuilt in Jerusalem. We may see it in our time. I will cover it in my next blog post.