This prophecy of Daniel 7: is an enlargement of Daniel 2:
- What does sea mean in prophecy?
Daniel 7:2. Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.
Isaiah 57:20. But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
- How many beasts did Daniel see coming up from the great sea?
Daniel 7:3. And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.
I would like to add further, that these beasts came up from the great sea and not from the shores of the great sea as many artists have depicted. What is the difference you may ask? Well in Revelation 10:1.2. we have a picture of an angel who symbolizes Christ. The angel has one foot on the sea and one foot on the land. Therefore, one could say the angel is on the shore of the sea. This picture symbolizes that Christ has dominion and power over all of the earth, the land and the sea, Rev 10:5.6.
However, the four beasts in Daniel 7:3 came up from the sea only, and not from the earth, the land and the sea. This means that the beasts came up from the most populated regions of the earth, which includes wicked peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues. This would include Babylon, Greece and Rome. Therefore, I have not incorporated the traditional pictures of the beasts coming out of the shores of the sea. I am not an artist and therefore I am using normal pictures of a lion and a bear and you should use your imagination for the rest.
- What do the symbols of beast mean in prophecy?
Daniel 7:17. Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings/kingdoms, which arise out of the earth.
- What did the first beast look like?
Daniel 7:4. 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.
- Which kingdom represented the beast like a lion with eagle´s wings, when we compare this beast with the metal statue in Daniel 2:31-35?
Daniel 2:36.37. This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. You, O king are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, he has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all – you are this head of gold.
- What did the second beast look like?
Daniel 7:5 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!”
- Which kingdom represented the bear with three ribs in its mouth, when we compare this beast with the metal statue in Daniel 2:31-35?
Daniel 2:39 But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours. (The Medo-Persian Empire was the next kingdom after Babylon. The Medo-Persian Empire ruled from 539 to 331 years B.C.)
- What did the third beast look like?
Daniel 7:6 After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. This beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it
- Which kingdom represented the leopard like beast with four wings and four heads, when we compare this beast with the metal statue in Daniel 2:31-35?
Daniel 2:39 Then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. (The Grecian Empire was the next kingdom after the Medo-Persian Empire. The Grecian Empire ruled from 331 to 168 years B.C.)
- What did the fourth beast look like?
Daniel 7:7 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.
- Which kingdom represented the fourth-terrible beast, when we compare it to the metal statue in Daniel 2:31-35?
Daniel 2:40 And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. (The Roman Empire was the next kingdom after the Grecian Empire. The Roman Empire ruled from 168 B.C. to 476 years A.D.) Notice that the metal iron was used in both the fourth beast and the fourth kingdom on the statue.
- How many horns did this terrible beast have?
Daniel 7:7 It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
- Who do the horns represent in this prophecy, when we compare it to the metal statue?
Daniel 2:41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter´s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. Daniel 7:24 The ten horns are ten kings who shall rise from this kingdom. (The ten horns represent the ten tribes of Europe after the Roman Empire disintegrated. E.g. Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Suevi, Alamanni, Anglo-Saxons, Heruli, Lombards, Burgundians).
- Which power represents the strength of the iron and was different?
Daniel 7:24 The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; he shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings. (OK! This verse and the following verses need some explanation due to the prophetical detail. We shall take the explanation one step at a time. The ten horns represent the ten tribes of Europe. Why Europe? Because God´s prophecies from the Bible are always centered around where God´s people are living. In the Old Testament, God´s people the Israelites were living in Israel and all God´s prophecies were centered around Israel and the surrounding nations. During the period of the ten tribes of Europe, the majority of God´s people were living in Europe.
Who were the three tribes, which were plucked up?
The three tribes were the Visigoths A.D. 508, the Vandals A.D. 534 and the Ostrogoths A.D. 538. ( William H. Shea, Daniel: A Readers Guide, Nampa, Idaho: Pacific Press Pub., Assoc., 2005) 116.117.
Who is the, “another horn which is a little one and was different from the others?”
The only power which fits this description of the little horn, is the papacy in the Roman Catholic Church system. The papacy emerged from the breakup of the Roman Empire, and although it was little when it emerged, it quickly grew and became a great religious institution covering the whole of the earth.
This is what made it different from the other horns or tribes of Europe. It was both a political and a religious institution whereas the other tribes of Europe were only political.
Why did the papacy or the little horn power remove these three tribes?
Because they were all in theological opposition to Rome over the nature of Christ´s divinity. With the removal of these tribes, the papacy had the freedom to implement an orthodox form of Roman Christianity.
Daniel 7:8 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 picked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.
How did the little horn or the papacy speak pompous words against the Most High God of heaven?
“The bishop of Rome took the title, ´Vicar of the Son of God, ´ meaning that he stood in place of the Son of God to represent Him here on earth.” (William H. Shea, Daniel: A Readers Guide, Nampa, Idaho: Pacific Press Pub., Assoc., 2005) 118.
Daniel 7:19-21. Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows. I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them.
How did this same little horn power, the papacy make war against the saints?
During the Dark Middle Ages, “the Church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any other institution that has ever existed among mankind, will be questioned by no Protestant who has a competent knowledge of history.” Stated by the nineteenth century historian W.E.H. Lecky. In addition, when reading my study on Daniel 11:34 Why did the papacy kill over 50 million Roman Catholics? One realizes that this is the only religious institution on earth, that has had the power to make war and kill so many Christians or saints as the Bible states.
Daniel 7:25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.
What does it mean that the papacy has “changed times and law?”
There are many laws in the Bible, however there are not many laws related to times. There is only one law among the Ten Commandments of God, that is related to times. This the fourth commandment: the Sabbath day. The Sabbath day has to do with the seventh day of the week, and therefore is related to time. It is also one of God´s commandments and therefore a law from God written by his own finger. Daniel 7:25 states that this power the little horn: the papacy has changed the Sabbath day.
How did it change the Sabbath day?
The Sabbath day from Saturday to Sunday was a gradual change over the first few centuries because the Roman hierarchy did not want to be associated with the Jewish population. Later the papacy included the change in their catechism.
Peter Geiermann. The Convert´s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine (1957 ed.), p. 50. Copyright 1930 by B. Herder Book Co., St. Louis. Used by permission. (See FRS No. 26)
Question. Which is the Sabbath day?
Answer. Saturday is the Sabbath day.
Question. Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
Answer. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday, because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.
Daniel 7:25 Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.
The saints shall be given into the hand of the papacy for a specific time. What does this “time and times and half a time” mean?
Rev 12:6. Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days. In prophetical writings, one day is equal to one year. Num 14:34, Eze 4:6. Therefore, when it says in the text “one thousand two hundred and sixty days” this means prophetical 1,260 years. This figure is also equal to “a time, times and half a time” in Rev 12:14. When we add this figure up, we have one time plus two times plus half a time which equals 3½ times. One time is equal to 360 years in prophecy. So 3½ times is equal to 1,260 years. Therefore, these two verses in Rev 12: 6.14, reinforce each other in Biblical prophetic time. In addition, the 42 months (in Rev 11:2.3.) are also equal to 1,260 years in Biblical prophecy. If we times 42 months with 30 prophetic days for each month, this gives us 1,260 days or prophetic years. Hence, there is harmony in these calculations.
When does this woman flee into the wilderness away from the persecutions of Satan the dragon? During the Dark Middle Ages from 538 to 1798 A.D. This was when Satan worked through the papacy to persecute many millions of Roman Catholic believing members of the church, in Christ. They tried to conform them to believe in the papacy and their authority to interpret the Bible. However, they would not be deterred; they read the Bible for themselves and become personal believers in Christ as their savior. They were called Protestants, because they protested against the authority of the papacy to control their beliefs. As a result, over 50 million Roman Catholic Church members, were burnt at the stake for their beliefs and this included their children. This was then a Dark period for the church of believers. The woman, being Protestant believers in the Roman Catholic church, was persecuted.
- What happened to the fourth beast with the little horn?
Daniel 7:11 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.
- Who established the last kingdom on earth which never shall be destroyed?
Daniel 7:13.14 I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. 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 shall not be destroyed.