Daniel 7

The six chapters that we've dealt with in the past, we dealt with the narrative, the story of Daniel going through three empires, the Babylonian and then the Median and Persian empires. And we've seen God just keep him safe, and we've also seen God working in the hearts of the Babylonian rulers and in the Babylonian capital. But we've also seen that God is a God who has complete and sovereign control over the nations and that He guides them for His purposes alone. As we head into the last half of Daniel, we reach the section that's known as apocalyptic literature. That sounds very spooky nowadays because we've added some weird sort of images to the word apocalyptic.

But apocalyptic basically means revelation. Revelation. So God revealing things. And in this instance, God reveals these things to the prophet Daniel. We see throughout this section prophecy and visions that are intermingled throughout the whole section, and we notice this move away from the narrative.

And we actually see that the story sort of overlaps. It goes back to other instances of Daniel's story. So when we leave off in Daniel chapter six, we actually don't pick up Daniel chapter seven at the same time. It actually goes back a few years to another instance in Daniel's story. But the section that we're going to be looking at, the chapters, are full of symbolism and mystery, and numbers and vivid imagery and so on.

And so there's a caution for us here to hold on to things too firmly because there is a part of biblical apocalyptic literature that is always meant to be held with some humility. That's always meant to be mysterious. And there's a time coming when we sit in glory where these things will finally be able to be explained and understood in full. There are definitely instances where we can see God's hand and where even in the revelation of Jesus Christ Himself, we can see where God has revealed certain things already. But then there are instances of the future and what lies ahead that no one really should say this is what the Lord says about it.

So there's just a caution for us to hold back on some interpretations, or to at least hold them gingerly and with humility. Let's have a look at Daniel chapter seven. We see the little prologue to this chapter in the beginning that Daniel's first vision is seen in the reign of Belshazzar. So it was several years before the chapter that we had just read previously in chapter six with Darius. Daniel had a dream while he was sleeping. The first verse says, and he saw four beasts, each different and unique from the other.

They came out of a turbulent chaotic sea, and we saw them in verses four to eight coming out one by one. So the first beast is a combination of both a lion and an eagle. The imagery, and remember, these are symbols. These represent something. They are not creatures or realities in and of themselves. They symbolise and represent something other than that.

The lion and the eagle in the ancient Middle East and much like even today had the connotations of authority, of royalty almost. They were proud creatures. And we know that from chapter two, if you remember, there was the image or the dream that Nebuchadnezzar had of this statue. And if you've read this and you can remember the story of chapter two of the statue, there were also four associations. There were the statue had four different metals: gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and clay. And the same is represented here.

There are four creatures. And most scholars will say this is actually connected. These probably in some way reflect those empires of chapter two. And so we see here a beast, the first one, that is just symbolising royalty and power and importance. And we link it to the golden head of the statue in chapter two, which was Babylon.

Babylon was considered the greatest empires of the ancient East in terms of influence, in terms of culture and science and technology. And so here we have Babylon perhaps represented as the first beast that was to come. But what happens is that this beast's wings are ripped off, and it is made to stand on its two legs like a human. Then we see the second beast, which is a bear come up and it has three ribs in its mouth. The bear again is ferocious and powerful.

It has the aura of ferocity and aggression. And interestingly enough, the Persian army that was to follow the Babylonian army was known for its absolute ruthlessness. It was a vicious, domineering sort of empire that crushed enemies in its way. And so this image of slow, merciless destruction is really represented in this image. The bear is commanded to eat its fill of flesh.

Eat its fill of flesh. And it just again symbolises this idea that this creature has an appetite for destruction. Has an appetite for warfare. The third beast we see is a four-headed leopard with four wings. And this one is really interesting because here we have four wings and a very fast creature, the leopard.

And so there's this idea of swiftness about it. And according to chapter two, we know that the Greek empire was the one to follow the Persian empire. And we know about Alexander the Great and the Empire of Greece was that it conquered nations so quickly. It just overwhelmed them. I don't exactly have the months that it took for Alexander to push the Greek empire to its most greatest domination, but it was remarkably quick.

And so perhaps here we see that the aspect of the Greek empire is shown in the swiftness of four wings on a very fast leopard. And the beast is commanded to rule over the whole earth interestingly enough. Beast is commanded to rule over the whole earth. The Greek empire was the largest, up until then, the largest empire the world had seen. And then we come to the fourth beast, and it is nothing like any of the other beasts.

It was something that even Daniel could not describe. It had teeth of iron, it says. It occupies an indescribable character of its own. It tramples its victims under foot and it has many, many horns. The horns represent power according to the ancient Near East.

But theories as to who they represent and why it's ten and why there's a significant smaller boastful horn, scholars aren't exactly sure who they represent. If we were to go chronologically, it would be the Roman Empire, but the Roman Empire was divided into many more regions and had many more governors than just the ten horns. So perhaps it reflects ages or something like that, but that's not really important. The truth is that this threat is the greatest and the biggest threat that the world has ever seen. It surpasses the other three beasts, and it was more vicious and more destructive than the other empires put together.

It is absolutely terrifying to Daniel. And so these are the images that Daniel sees. And what he sees is terrifying and is disturbing. The whole earth and all the peoples of the earth rise and they fall as each beast comes out of the sea. Again, the sea is a symbol for chaos.

The ancient Near Eastern philosophies and myths about creation always revolved around the sea. Creation was born out of the turbulence of the sea. The ancient Hebrews especially hated the sea. They weren't seafarers at all, and so they were terrified of the sea. And so we see here that the sea represents these nations, these empires rising out of the turbulence of those times.

And these creatures, they devour, they exploit, they conquer. But the great thing, if we study this text closely, is that behind it all, there is an even greater power at work. If you read carefully, you'll see passive verbs associated with the beasts. The lion is lifted, the bear is told to eat, and the leopard is given authority. Now on first inspection, that doesn't seem too strange or too weird until you ask the question, well, who tells them?

Who tells them? Who gives them authority? Who lifts them up? And we're not gonna do a grammar study this morning. So those who are failing English might not get any tips from me on grammar, but we're just gonna have a quick look at this term passive verbs.

The passives in the text here in chapter seven are known as theological passives. They're actually a term. Theological passives. A passive verb is something that happens to the subject of a sentence. That happens to the subject of a sentence.

So an active verb is what we usually use to talk with, like, I throw the ball. I throw the ball. But the passive verb is the ball is thrown by me. So I throw the ball. I am the subject.

I am the subject of the sentence. I am what this sentence is talking about. But the second one, the ball is thrown. The subject is the ball, and what is happening to that ball is a passive verb. So the subject sits there while something else, named or unnamed, performs an action onto it. The passives here show that none of these beasts, in other words, did anything of their own volition.

They didn't have any real inherent authority or permission to do anything on their own. The lion didn't lift itself. The leopard didn't grab authority by itself. Someone gave these things to those creatures. And it's so easy to read over that and to not see it, but it's a very important aspect of the whole book of Daniel.

And we've dealt with this in brief in the narratives as well. But especially in these last chapters of this prophecy, Daniel chapter seven indicates that despite these terrifying and fearful creatures, the empires that are represented by these creatures are subject to a force, a power, and authority that is higher than theirs. They are subject to God's volition, Daniel is trying to say. Despite all their fearsome and their impressive characteristics, power is actually just given to them. Their wings are cut off.

They are told what to do. Their permission is given to them. And so we read this story and in the back of our minds, we're thinking, well, who exactly then is behind this all? Who is giving them the permission to do this? We'll have a read again of verses nine and ten.

Daniel gives us the answer. He says, as I looked, thrones were set in place. And the ancient of days took His seat. His clothing was as white as snow. The hair on His head was white like wool.

His throne was flaming with fire and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing coming out from before Him. Thousands upon thousands attended Him. Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated and the books were opened.

Here we meet the one who is called the ancient of days. There's no doubt who the author is referring to. The ancient Hebrews, they would have read this, would have known exactly who this was. But reading this, there's only one characteristic that comes out and it is that this ancient of days, this one being, is a being that is as old as time itself. He is Yahweh, the Creator God.

The God who created time. The God who has always existed. And the vision of the ancient of days gives the idea of an old wizened man, an old king who has seen and witnessed the rise and fall of many empires and many powers. Perhaps that's why where we get the idea where some people get the idea of God being this Santa Claus God with a beard and a cloak and all that sort of stuff. But as opposed to the limited lifespans of the beasts, the ancient of days is unending and immortal.

It's held in contrast the whole time through. The beasts, they come and go, but the ancient of days just remains steadfast. Steadfast. Thousands upon thousands wait on Him hand and foot. It is a majestic scene.

The cluster of images in this passage are so intense. It's as if His glory just jumps off the page. The fact that His clothing is as white as snow and His hair is white like wool represents the purity, the holiness of the ancient of days. But the aspect of fire is also an indication that He has purifying power. He has judgment to hold at His fingertips.

He is pure and He is holy in and of Himself, but He also has the power to bring about holiness, to purify, to control, to bring about His wrath. So not only is God pure and holy, but He is also dangerously just. The vision then goes on to show God sitting on His throne, passing judgment on human kingdoms that was to come and go. The Bible says in verse ten, books were opened. Books were opened.

And the idea is of records being kept on these kingdoms. These kingdoms, these empires never escape God's eyes. They can never do things in the shadow. Everything is written down. Everything is recorded.

They will not escape God's vigilance. They are to be judged based upon not their own laws, but upon God's laws. Interestingly, the fourth beast, the most terrifying of all the beasts is cut down and destroyed. The other beasts are stripped of their authority, but they are allowed to exist for a time. The fourth one is completely destroyed, annihilated.

The other three, the first three are allowed to continue on for some time. And this might perhaps indicate the ongoing influences of, say, the Babylonian, the Persian, the Greek empires even into our cultures today. The fact that we use much of their inventions and their technology, their mathematics, and democracy like the Greeks and so on, there's an ongoing effect that those nations and empires had on us even today, but the fourth one is completely destroyed. The empires are ended, but the culture, the first three continues on. We have no idea again what, you know, this means for the Roman Empire, which this perhaps alludes to, or perhaps that it means that there is a current age.

The fourth empire stretches into this age as well. And that at the end of this age, God will completely destroy it and set up His own kingdom. But whatever that may be, we come to the clincher. We come to the hinge of this chapter in verses thirteen and fourteen. It's one that gives me goosebumps every time because it not only sets up the hinge for this chapter, but it sets up the hinge for the whole book.

It sets up for me the hinge of the story of God and the redemption of humanity. Let's have a look at verses thirteen and fourteen. In my vision at night, I looked and there before me was one like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the ancient of days and he was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power.

All peoples, nations, and men of every language worshipped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. We see a few things, a few interesting things in these two verses. Firstly, we see one like a son of man. One like a son of man coming on the clouds of heaven.

The term son of man is just a fancy way of saying a human, but this human has something unique about him. He comes, he arrives on clouds of heaven, which was a designation for divinity. And so we have this image of both humanity and divinity in the same description of who he is. Son of man comes on the clouds of heaven, and he approaches the ancient of days. In the old traditions and cultures of those times, if you were to approach a king, you would have to be deemed worthy of being able to approach him.

Your actions, your status, your prestige would have to follow you and would have to go before you. And so we have here the indication that this son of man has been weighed and has been tested. He has been judged. He's been assessed, and he's been deemed worthy of approaching the ancient of days.

And we see where the other empires have failed, where they could not approach the ancient of days. We see that they were stripped of their power, but the son of man is deemed worthy. He passes with flying colours. And so the result is in verse fourteen. He is given authority, he is given glory, and he is given sovereign power.

All the nations and all the peoples of the earth worship Him, it says. Worship Him, a man. Imagine how terrifying or how earth-shattering this would have been for Israelites to hear. Israel, Jews worshipping a man, but he is deemed to be worthy of worship.

And it says that His rule is one that will not pass away nor will His kingdom be destroyed. And if you remember again Daniel chapter two, you'll remember the rock that was cut out of the mountain with no human hands that smashed the statue and that grew to fill the whole earth. The kingdom was also declared to be a kingdom that does not pass away. A kingdom that will last forever. And so here we again see that there's a connection. A connection not just of words, but of theme as well.

Now earlier we said in this series that Jesus Christ was that son of man. Jesus Christ was that king who led and who is leading that kingdom. In fact, Jesus Christ Himself referred to Himself as the son of man. And perhaps if you've read the Gospels and you've read Him talk about Himself in that way, the son of man, you may have thought that this is perhaps alluding to Himself in just some sort of roundabout way. That He is keeping Himself humble, that He doesn't wanna speak of Himself as Jesus will do this, but the son of man will do this.

So He's speaking of Himself in the third person. Or perhaps it was to refer to His human nature of some sort, but I don't think it was any of those things. I believe Jesus was referring to Himself as the son of man to evoke the memory of the Jews that one son of man was coming, that was going to start a new revolution, who was going to lead an entirely brand new kingdom. The son of man was going to appear with power. But we know as well that His power and His rule would come in a completely unexpected way.

Jesus at His death. Jesus at His death, not in His rule, was deemed to be worthy. Jesus at His death was tested and trialled. The books were opened, so to speak, and He was weighed on the scales of the ancient of days. We will never know on this side of eternity what happened in those three days between His death and His resurrection.

We will not know what trials He had to experience. All we know is because of His resurrection, He was deemed to be worthy. He was judged to be completely righteous. Righteous. His actions, His motives, His character was scrutinised by the one whose days are numberless.

Perhaps in those hours, as He approached the ancient of days, He had not received the kingdom yet but He knew that He was going to be king. Perhaps in the hours before His death, He was still just one like the son of man. But in His resurrection, He was found to be righteous. He was found to be just. He was found to be holy.

Because of this, because of this, He was given authority to rule over the kingdom. And it's not just for a decade. And it was not just for a century, forever. Unlike the worldly kingdoms that went before, unlike the ones that will perhaps come after Him, His kingdom would last forever. Glory and honour and sovereign power were given to Jesus.

The other nations were weighed and they were tested and they were found wanting. They were stripped of their authority. They were destroyed. Jesus' kingdom is established forever. If you remember Matthew 28, before His ascension, Jesus said to His disciples, all authority on earth and heaven has been given to Me.

All authority on heaven and earth has been given to Me. A little while ago, I read a newspaper article of a shop owner, a restaurant owner in England who turned away the king and queen of Sweden as they came to her to order a pizza. She turned them away because she was too busy and didn't know who they were. They were in her shop apparently waiting for a table and she asked them to leave. This obviously caused outrage especially amongst the Swedes.

And so, you know, the reporters came and they interviewed her. And this is what she said to them. She said, I simply didn't recognise them. I guess without the crowns and without the sceptres, I just couldn't distinguish them. I'm not up on the royal families, and I don't have time for glossy magazines.

What an interesting situation. But there's a real warning for us, and I thought it was quite poignant that Jesus' kingdom, it didn't come with sceptres and gold and everything like that. Jesus' kingdom today doesn't exist with sceptres and gold and crowns. There is no crown except for the crown of thorns. There is no sceptre to rule except by the teaching of His words.

But the world will never be the same again. Christ's kingdom has arrived and it's here. It's no secret, yet some try to keep it that way. It's no joke, although some do try to laugh it off. Christ's kingdom is here, and it is growing by the day.

It is growing by the day. And our brothers and sisters from China involved in China will just be able to attest to that fact as well. Christ was crushed for our transgressions. Instead of conquering people and nations, crushing them under His feet, Jesus was crushed for their behalf. He was bruised for their iniquities.

Instead of capturing slaves, He became a slave to all mankind and served us. Instead of calling us enemies, instead of calling us threats to His empire, to His kingdom, He came to us and called us His friends. That is our king. That is who we belong to. His kingdom is here.

It's glorious, and it is being established.