Daniel 7:1-14
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts. [fn1]
2 Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. 4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.
5 “And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’
6 “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.
7 “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.
9 “I watched till thrones were put in place,
And the Ancient of Days was seated;
His garment was white as snow,
And the hair of His head was like pure wool.
His throne was a fiery flame,
Its wheels a burning fire;
10 A fiery stream issued
And came forth from before Him.
A thousand thousands ministered to Him;
Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.
The court [fn2] was seated,
And the books were opened.
11 “I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
13 “I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, One like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed.
Pasted from <http://www.blueletterbible.org/tools/printerFriendly.cfm?b=Dan&c=7&v=1&t=NKJVP>
What a visual experience! There is a contrast between the entities described as beasts and the entity described as the son of man. Taking Daniel’s book in small bytes allows for time to reflect and ask for Holy Spirit revelation. We can suppose and many have supposed, what each beast represents. What comes forth rather than explanation is knowledge of who God is and what he does. He uses visual, vibrant images to speak to us. Are we listening? Can we see? The people He has created are also creators and there is a fascination and appreciation for the images that are shared. In the message unfolding before us sits a judge or king on a throne, someone full of wisdom and with the title Ancient of Days might be presumed to represent God. Beasts have appeared before in visions and tales from Ezekiel and Daniel and were representations of governments. The son of man is usually a term used for Christ. One thing is clear; if the beasts are governments we can see the opinion of God for our forms of government. Reminds us of what He told Samuel. The people want a king, they will have a king, but they will be disappointed by the oppression kings bring. King as a government is seen as oppressive by a portion of any people ruled by that king/government. God demands fealty and honor. When we take our trust and place it in government or a man in leadership position we open ourselves up for disappointment and judgment.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed.
We see governments come and go. We are promised the kingdom of God will last forever and it rests within each believer.
