Dear Pastor Ron: Continuing Daniel’s prophecies. Daniel 7. Pt. 1.
Before going into chapter 7 of Daniel, I would like to make it abundantly clear again, that as we interpret these prophecies biblically, I am not making, nor is this exposition, an attack on any institution or government. I am simply reading the prophecy as is written in the book of Daniel, chapter 7. And let us please remember this is an actual historical document that we have; written about the 6th. century B. C. History attests to this. Even Jesus Christ, whom we know is an historical figure quotes from quotes from the book of New Testament book of Matthew, found in Matthew 24;15.
Finally, it pays to remember that Daniel did not write his book to record the history of the Jews or of the Babylonians; nor was it written as an auto biographical sketch in the life of Daniel himself. Daniel’s purpose was to present to anyone who will read his monograph, and to especially his people who were in captivity in Babylon, how the Almighty God works through out history to accomplish His own purposes on behalf of those that love Him and accept Him as their God. History may appear to be capricious, or circular as the ancient Greeks or Mayans would say. But this is far from the truth. Let it always be remembered, that history is acutally ‘His-story’; the story of God through human history, reconciling a rebellious world unto the divine image. And sadly, not everyone may wish to be reconciled to God and His kingdom.
The prophecies of Daniel 2 took us down from king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to the Roman Empire, then to the divided Roman empire of Europe, and finally to the Kingdom of God which will be set up in the days when Europe is still divided and not united into a super, one state empire. The kingdom of God will last forever with no sin, sinners, or evil existing any more. Won’t that be a wonderful day, folks? All men, women, and governments that reject and defy the Creator God and His guidelines to human living will one day give account for their unfortunate choice. What a day that will be! Let’s be sure that we are right with God now, for at that time it will be too late to turn to God in repentance; man will have sealed his destiny for weal or for woe.
Today this article will look at the new prophecies given in Daniel chapter 7. In this chapter Daniel sees four beasts coming up out of the sea. In Bible prophecy ‘beasts’ are a symbol of governments. For example, In Daniel 7:17, 23 the angel explains to Daniel that ‘the beasts, and the fourth beast shall be kings, and the fourth kingdom upon the earth.’ In Bible prophecy ‘seas’ and ‘waters’ represent peoples and nations. For example, in Revelation 17:15, the angels explains the vision of 17:1. He said that the ‘waters’ represented peoples, nations and multitudes. So in Daniel 7 the beasts coming up out of the waters mean that nations were arising out of people groups that existed at those particular places and times. So who are these four beasts, which nations are they? The clue is in verse 23. In there we read that the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth. We will continue this prophecy in our next article. God bless.
Pastor Ron Henderson can be reached at: ron.hende@gmail.com. for any comments.