Hi Friends,
My husband and I have been on a much-needed vacation, but I have not forgotten you. I’ve had some time to think about Daniel’s dream in chapter 7. I hope I can present it simply and clearly! Bible scholars have many deep, confusing things to say about the visions of Daniel. But the main points remain the same throughout the Book of Daniel.
As we look at the visions, please ask the Lord to give you wisdom and understanding, for I am simply one Bible teacher, and not everyone agrees on every point presented in these dreams. I will do my best to explain the main points.
Daniel’s Dream in Chapter 7
By Sheri Schofield
Daniel’s visions all expand upon the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. It’s the dream about the great statue. Daniel 7 is no exception. Each dream builds upon the previous dreams. The basic premise is this: After the kingdom of Babylon, represented by the head of gold, three other powerful kingdoms will rise. We know what they were and are because they have already occurred. We are living in the last kingdom of the dream.
Represented by chest and arms of silver, would be the Medo-Persian empire. Next, represented by a bronze belly and thighs, would be the Greek Empire. After the Greeks would be a kingdom represented by iron, which were the Romans. Finally, the last kingdom of earth would be represented by feet and toes of mixed iron and clay, a coalition of nations that had difficulties staying together.
In Daniel 7, God shows Daniel four creatures: 1) a lion with eagles wings—2) a bear—3) a leopard with four wings and four heads—4) a frightening beast with iron teeth and bronze claws. These creatures represented Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and finally Rome, which would be strong and would crush all its opponents.
The last beast would have 10 horns—ten kings. Most Bible scholars think this refers to the final kingdom s of earth, which will be made up of a coalition of the ancient nations ruled by Rome—the feet of clay in Nebuchadnezzar’s vision.
A small horn would rise from among the ten horns. It would have eyes like a human and its mouth would boast arrogantly. It would push aside three other horns (kingdoms) to assert itself.
Many Bible scholars think this small horn represents a man known as the antichrist, who will someday present himself as being God in the Temple in Jerusalem and demand that all people worship him.(See 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12) The antichrist will persecute, imprison and kill those who will not worship him. This beast would be killed and his body burned. 2 Thessalonians 2: :8 tells us the antichrist—also called the man of lawlessness—will be destroyed by Jesus himself. In Daniel, we are told the other three kingdoms would be allowed to exist a little longer. I am not sure how this fits into end-time prophecy, so I will not even try to guess.
At that time, when the antichrist is destroyed, “someone like the son of man” would come with the clouds of heaven. This is a reference to the return of Jesus Christ to earth.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 talks about the return of Jesus to earth. In the days of the apostles, people were expecting Jesus to return during their lifetimes. They were worried about those Christians who had died. Paul wrote these words to them:
“…We want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.
“We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.” (New Living Translation)
What happens to Christians—those who believe in and follow Jesus—when they die? Do their spirits stay in the ground until they are resurrected at Christ’s return?
Paul speaks of that, too. In 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 he wrote: “So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies, we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.” (NLT)
Revelation speaks of those who are/will be martyred for the sake of the word of God and their testimony of Jesus. Their souls cry out to God from beneath heaven’s altar. (See Revelation 6:9-10)
Those who believe in Jesus, and those who believed in Jehovah in the Old Testament, go to be with God in heaven when they die. Their souls leave their bodies. When Jesus returns to earth, he resurrects them with new bodies, not perishable ones.
For the believer in Christ, there is no fear in death. We are his. He loves us. When we die, he calls us to go to him, and we enjoy the beauty and excitement of God’s presence in heaven while we await those who will join us later.