BY BRUCE GREEN
OPINION —
Daniel has a dream in the first year of Belshazzar (7:1). The dream is an expansion of the one he interpreted for Nebuchadnezzar in chapter two. Instead of a statue with four parts representing four kingdoms, his dream has four creatures representing four kingdoms (v. 23). As in Daniel 2, these creatures also represent the kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. As with the dream in chapter two, attention is drawn to the fourth creature. It is “terrifying and frightening and very powerful” (v. 7). It also has 10 horns which represent the first 10 kings (emperors) of Rome (v. 24).
While Daniel is contemplating these horns, an 11th horn/king appears and displaces three of the horns/kings. We’re told “the horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully” (v. 8). This refers to Domitian, who was the 11th emperor of Rome. Daniel later sees him “waging war against the holy people and defeating them” (v. 21). Gabriel explains that Domitian will “speak against the Most High and oppress His holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into His hands for a time, times, and half a time” (v. 25).
That’s not the end of the story, though. In response to this, we’re told in v. 27-28: “But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey Him.”
In broad terms, Daniel’s dream lays out the conflict between the Roman Empire (personified by Domitian) and the followers of Jesus’ kingdom. This conflict is more fully developed by John in the book of Revelation. Nonetheless, Daniel furnishes us with in broad outline Domitian’s rise, his oppression of the people of God and his fall. That makes the chapter a highly compressed version of Revelation. And when you consider the message of chapter 7 in light of the overall context of Daniel’s look at four kingdoms, it makes the book of Daniel a prequel to Revelation.
Finally, if we consider chapter 7 from the book of Daniel’s perspective, the takeaway is that once again, God’s sovereignty is shown. He is in control. Whether it is Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome or any other nation, “the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes” (4:25, 32).
God reigns and that’s good news,
Green has written an entry level book on Revelation called The Thrill of Hope. It is available through Amazon.com.