Daniel 7 is the last Danielic chapter written in Aramaic
Daniel 7 has been described as "the verycenterofgravity of thewholebook" and "the heart" of the whole of Daniel
Daniel 2
Connected with Daniel7
In Daniel 2 God shown the vision and image to king Nebuchadnezzar, while in from chapter 7 onwards it is Daniel, the man of God, who receives the visions and the interpretations
Daniel 2
Portrays the worldly empires from a political and military viewpoint
Daniel 7 includes the spiritual powers that exist in the world
The vision in Daniel 7 was given about fifty years after the vision of Daniel 2
Symbolismofbeasts
Represents the achievement of international supremacy by one nation after another through political revolution and conquest
Wildanimals
A familiar symbol for nations and empires
Winds represented storms of war and conquest
Thegreat sea
Floodingrivers symbolized the movements of invading armies
Manywaters, the nations supporting spiritual Babylon (Rev 17:15)
First beast (7:4) - Lion with eagle's wings
Represents Babylon (605 - 539 BC)
Symbols of lions and wings represent wealth and luxury
Second beast - A Bear with three ribs
Represents the empire of Medo-Persia (539 – 331BC), and its conquest of Lydia (547), Babylon (539) and Egypt (525)
The Persian predominance over the Medes
Third beast, leopard with 4 heads and 4 wings
Represents Greece (331 - 168 BC)
Faster in its conquest
Divided into 4 kingdoms: Cassander (Greece and Macedonian), Lysimachus (Minor Asia), Seleucus (Syria and Mesopotamia), Ptolemy (Egypt and Palestine)
The four wings are a fitting symbol for the speed of movement that was characteristic of the young Alexander
The fourth beast, the animal with "iron teeth"
Represents Rome (168 BC – 476 AD)
A counterpart of the iron legs and feet of the image in Daniel 2
The fourth kingdom was different from all the others before it in that they had been monarchies whereas Rome was a democracy
The fourth beast takes power gradually, defeated other kingdoms and became the domain of western Mediterranean
The little Horn
Emerges from the 4th beast which is Rome
It is between the ten horns (10 Germanic Tribes)
It rose out of the fourth beast
It appeared after ten other horns
It was little when first seen, but became greater than its fellows
It was to put down three kings so that, as it arose, three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots
It had eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things, and it spoke words against the Most High
It was to wear out the saints of the Most High
It was to think to change the times and the law
It was allotted special powers for a time, twotimes, and half a time
The little horn power is an extension of pagan Rome and thus shares essential characteristics of the former empire
The little horn power takes the prerogatives of Christ, persecutes God's people, changes God's law, speak against God, and acts as it pleases for three and a halftimes (which is 1260 calendar years)
These activities indicate that this entity hold both political and religious power, which fits with the papacy
The rise of papacy
1. Diocletian becomes an Emperor and wants to have uniformity of worship
2. Diocletian divides the empire, abdicates, and is succeeded by Galerius and Constantinus
3. Constantinus fights a battle in the name of the Christian God and defeats Maxentius, becoming the first Roman Emperor to profess Christianity
4. Constantine issues an edict forbidding work on "the venerable day of the sun" (Sunday), the day that had come to be substituted for the seventh-day Sabbath
5. The fall of Rome to Barbarians and the foundation of Constantinople in the east were important factors that favoured the rise of the papacy
6. Emperor Justinian in AD 533 but effective in AD 538 declares the Pope the head of all the churches, opening the door for the papacy to implement its rule
The Church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any other institution that has ever existed among mankind
The Catholic Church has introduced and enforced many changes in Scriptural doctrines and practices, including the transfer of the celebration of the divinely appointed festival of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week