Daniel 1:1-2

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god.

Keep this in the back of your minds. Remember that King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians carried off these articles from the Temple. We’re going to come back to that.

Daniel 1:3-4

Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility--young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.

The king wanted the best of the people he had taken captive so he asked for the wisest, most knowledgeable, and best looking. The king wanted them trained to be administrators in his kingdom.

Daniel 1:5

The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service.

Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were among those selected. The king wants them to have the "best"—food and wine. They say, "No. We want vegetables and water."

Daniel 1:8

But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.

The key word here is "resolved." Other translations say that Daniel "purposed in his heart" not to defile himself. This is so contrary to what we see going on today—if you think about "tolerance," and "political correctness." Daniel was so far from this. He had resolved in his heart that he would not defile himself.

Daniel also wisely seeks permission. He didn’t say, "Nope, I’m not doing that. Go ahead and kill me." He found a diplomatic way to say, "Hey, we don’t want to cross this line. Can we find some other way to do this?"

So they agreed to give them vegetables and water on a trial basis. They ended up healthier than all the other trainees. So the officials made everybody eat vegetables and drink water.

Daniel 1:17

To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

God didn’t remove them from their captivity but He did give them favor while they were there. This shows us how God is sovereign. No matter what circumstances we’re in, He continues working in us, through us, and with us.

Daniel 2:1

In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep.

So this is around 604 BC.

Do you ever have nights when you can’t sleep? That’s what Nebuchadnezzar is going through. He has just taken over Judah, he has a vast World Empire going, and he’s up, worrying about it. We’re going to see that he has reason to worry.

Daniel 2:2-4

So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, he said to them, "I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means." Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, "O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it."

It’s interesting to note that in the original text for Daniel, as soon as he says, "Aramaic," everything is written in Aramaic from 2:4 through the end of chapter 7. The rest of Daniel is written in Hebrew. Aramaic was the language of the court. It was the language Babylonians were using every day. And it was intended for the non-Jews so that they could read it.

The king said, "Tell me what the dream means," even though he hadn’t told them what the dream was. None of the "wise men," psychics, or astrologers had any idea. So the king got mad and said, "Kill them all." They went to find Daniel, one of the wise men, to kill him. Daniel said, "Whoa. Wait a minute. Give me a shot. Let me try to interpret this dream."

Daniel 2:18-20

He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: "Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.

God supernaturally intervened and told Daniel the dream and the meaning behind the dream. Daniel turned around and gave God the glory. He said, "It wasn’t me. It was you, God."

Daniel went before the king. The king asked, "Daniel, can you tell me what’s going on? Can you interpret my dream?"

Daniel 2:27-28a

Daniel replied, "No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come.

This is pretty bold of Daniel. He’s very young—probably 17-18 years old. He goes before the king and says, "No, king. Nobody could do this. Nobody could tell you what your dream was, much less interpret it. But God can." He called it like it is.

Daniel 2:31-33

"You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue--an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay.

Here’s the dream. Can you picture this? A head of gold, chest of silver, thighs of bronze, etc.

Think about it. The materials go from a high value to a low value. Goldà Silverà Bronzeà Iron. They decrease in value, beauty, and importance. When you look at someone, you look at their face and eyes. The last things you look at are their feet.

But, notice that they increase in strength.

Daniel 2:34

While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.

Who do we know is the "rock"? Jesus Christ? Yes. We’re going to find out for sure later. All of this is interpreted for us.

Daniel 2:35

Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.

Any idea what the mountain is? Let’s see.

Daniel 2:36-38

"This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; in your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.

Aha! So the head of gold represents the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon.

Daniel 2:39a

"After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours.

This is the Mede-Persian Empire that took over Babylon. We’ll see this takeover later in Daniel.

Daniel 2:39b

Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.

This is Greece.

Daniel 2:40

Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron--for iron breaks and smashes everything--and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.

This is Rome.

Each of these materials progressively decreases in value, appearance, and importance but increases in strength. This is kind of like our society, as a whole. Even though we’re getting stronger and stronger as a nation with the most powerful military on Earth, we’re decaying morally. What God is trying to say here is that, "Yeah, you think you’re getting stronger and stronger but you’re really getting weaker and weaker as you get further from me."

Daniel 2:41-43

Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

No one really knows exactly what the "feet and toes" represent. A lot of people think that the ten toes represent a 10-member federation coming in the future. Some think they represent ten kingdoms that follow the Roman Empire. We’ll see more about this when we talk about the ten horns.

Daniel 2:44

"In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.

This is the "mountain" from the dream—God’s eternal kingdom, coming in the future.

Daniel 2:45

This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands--a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. "The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy."

We will see this "rock" several more times in Daniel. The rock is Jesus Christ, ushering in the kingdom of God.

Notice that the rock was not cut out by human hands but by God.

Acts 4:10-11

then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is "`the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.'

That’s one of the references to Jesus Christ as the "rock" or stone.

That’s Nebuchadnezzar’s first dream which God allows Daniel to interpret. In chapter 3, Nebuchadnezzar is very impressed with God’s revelation and decides to create a statue similar to the one in his dream. His is all gold and about 90 feet high. Like we sometimes do with things God gives us, the king took it to an extreme and misused it. He ordered everyone to bow down and worship this statue. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused. [Daniel was not included because he had been made a prime minister (after making the king happy) and was probably away on business.]

Anyway, the king said, "Worship my statue or else. I will throw you into the fiery furnace."

Daniel 3:16

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.

That’s pretty bold! "You gave an order. We defied it. But we don’t have to defend ourselves."

Daniel 3:17-18

If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

This is conviction. These men had obviously "resolved in their hearts" their faith in God ahead of time—what they would do, how they were going to react, and how they would stand for God.

On April 20, 1999, a Christian teenager named Cassie Berrnall was sitting in the library of her school studying. A man walked in and asked, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ?" She answered, "Yes, I do." And he shot her. This happened at Columbine High School. Cassie had obviously purposed in her heart, "Yes, I’m going to stand for God. His will be done."

This is what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said, "God, even if you don’t save us, we know your will will be done." I think that says a lot for us. These men obeyed the king and other authorities as long as it didn’t compromise their obedience to God.

Well, this made the king mad. He made the furnace 7 times hotter than normal. It was so hot that it killed the soldiers who put Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to the furnace. This was not a small fire.

Daniel 3:24-25

Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king." He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."

Who is the fourth person in the fire? I believe it is the preincarnate Jesus Christ walking around with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnace.

Daniel 3:26

Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire,

This was a key moment in King Nebuchadnezzar’s life. He is finally beginning to acknowledge God as the "Most High God," or "El Elyon." It means, "acknowledging God as one who transcends or one who is supreme." This miracle makes an impact on Nebuchadnezzar’s life, but we’ll see that it doesn’t last long and he doesn’t pass it down to his sons or grandsons.

I have to skip chapter 4. Basically, Nebuchadnezzar sees a vision of a great tree. It is a warning from God that he needs to humble himself or he’ll become like a wild animal. He goes insane and wanders around for 7 years with the mind of an animal.

Daniel 5:1

King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them.

About 60 years have passed. Belshazzar is Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson and the son of Nabonidus.

Daniel 5:2-3

While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them.

Remember these goblets? These are the articles taken from the Temple of God by Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 1. Here’s the grandson, pulling them out to throw a party.

Daniel 5:4-5

As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote.

OK. You’ve all heard about the "writing on the wall." Why did the hand appear? Take a look at Jeremiah 27:21-22:

"yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says about the things that are left in the house of the LORD and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem: ‘They will be taken to Babylon and there they will remain until the day I come for them,' declares the LORD. `Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.'"

Is the Lord coming for them now? Have you ever thought about exactly whose hand is writing on the wall? Some believe that any manifestation of God on Earth is the preincarnate Jesus Christ. Many commentators believe this is Jesus’ hand writing. So do I.

I am reminded of another time in the Gospels when we see Jesus’ hand writing. In the New Testament, some people bring the adulteress to Him. They ask, "Jesus, what should be done with her?" They want to stone her. At that point, He’s sitting on the ground, writing in the sand. We don’t know what He wrote but He was writing in the sand with His finger. Jesus says, "Let the one of you without sin throw the first stone," and then He goes back to writing. It’s an interesting parallel.

Anyway, picture what’s going on. These people are having a banquet, drinking wine, and having a good time. All of a sudden, this hand appears and starts writing on the wall. They were obviously scared. They called all the "wise men" again and no one could figure it out. Someone remembers Daniel. He’s probably around 80 years old now. Daniel is able to interpret the words on the wall.

Daniel 5:25

"This is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN

The "wise men" and astrologers looked at this and thought it had something to do with money: "Mene" is close to "mina," "Tekel" is close to "shekel," and "Parsin" means "half-shekel." But Daniel sets them straight.

Daniel 5:26

"This is what these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.

These were Hebrew words. "Mene" is the passive participle of "mena," meaning "to number." This is basically like, "Your number is up."

Daniel 5:27

Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.

This is from the word "teqil," meaning "weighed." This is like, "How does he measure up?" Belshazzar has been found wanting. We have been "weighed," too. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Without our salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ, we would still be wanting.

Daniel 5:28

Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."

This word has a double meaning. "Peris" means "divided" and "Paras" means "Persia."

So the meaning was clear to Daniel. He made the "wise men" look foolish. The King was pretty happy, though.

Daniel 5:29

Then at Belshazzar's command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.

Daniel was third highest behind Nabonidus and Belshazzar. So Daniel is third-in-command of a World Empire (Babylon). Yeah! How long does it last?

Daniel 5:30-31

That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.

Not long. Scholars have actually studied this and other, secular sources and determined that this occurred on October 11, 539 BC. Wow. How do they do that?

Do you want to see something neat? Turn over to Isaiah 45, written 150 years before these events in Daniel.

Isaiah 45:1a, 13

1. "This is what the LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him

13. I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says the LORD Almighty."

Who are the exiles? The Jews, taken during the Babylonian Captivity. Who is the Lord raising up to set the exiles free? Cyrus. But wait a minute. Daniel says it’s Darius the Mede.

Take a look at the very end of chapter 6.

Daniel 6:28

So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Remember that the Mede-Persian Empire took over the Babylonian Empire. So it was Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Persian. Isaiah saw all of this 150 years earlier. Isn’t that neat? The Bible is so consistent.

Earlier in chapter 6, men have conspired against Daniel. They sort of tricked Darius into decreeing thirty days of worship to himself exclusively. Daniel continues to pray to God. Darius liked Daniel but had to kill him because of the decree. So they threw Daniel into the Lion’s Den. That night, Darius didn’t get much sleep because he was worrying about Daniel. He wanted Daniel to survive. He wanted God to save him. God saved Daniel and closed the mouths of the lions. Darius was ecstatic. He threw the men who conspired against Daniel into the Lion’s Den. They didn’t last long.

That’s all the dry, boring history. Chapters 1-6 cover the story of Daniel and the Jews in Babylon. I mean they’re great stories but you’ve probably heard them all before.

It’s now time for the fun stuff—the visions and prophecies.

Daniel 7:1-3

In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream. Daniel said: "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.

This is around 553 BC. Daniel is about 70 years old when he begins to have dreams and visions.

The rest of the Book of Daniel is about visions and prophecies of Daniel. I have to tell you that as I was researching material for this lesson, I came across some really weird stuff. Some people seem to take interpreting prophecy to an extreme. I’m not saying they’re right or wrong but they are "out there." I’m reminded of the movie "Contact." After the scientists announce they’ve made contact with extra terrestrials, thousands of people show up in campers and motor homes. They’re wearing hippie clothing and carrying signs that say, "Come get us. We’re your friends."

I saw things like this where people tried to "read into" some of these prophecies. They would point to various events and say, "The End is here." We don’t know when the End Times will begin. What I’m saying is that there is no one, definitive interpretation for the prophecies. I will share some of the various interpretations with you but it’s ultimately between you and the Holy Spirit. Sometimes it’s interpreted for us. Other times, it’s "subject to interpretation."

So we have four great beasts coming up out of the sea. This dream is very similar to Nebuchadnezzar’s in chapter 2.

Daniel 7:4

"The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it.

Most scholars and historians agree that this symbolizes Babylon. The "wings" usually refer to the Empires’ speed of conquest. Also, an interesting note, winged lions actually covered the Ishtar Gate in Babylon.

Other interpretations include: England (Lion), America (Eagle…see Rev. 12:14), or Spain (Reformation; 1492-1618).

Daniel 7:5

"And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, `Get up and eat your fill of flesh!'

We know from history that this is the Mede-Persian Empire. The "raised up" could represent the Persian dominance in the Mede-Persia alliance. The three ribs refer to the three major conquests of the Mede-Persian Empire: Egyptian, Babylonian, and Lydian. This is what most people believe.

Other interpretations include: Russia (Bear), or France (Napoleon; 1618-1815).

Daniel 7:6

"After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.

Looking back, it’s clear this is Greece. The leopard is one of the fastest land animals and with four wings, it’s even faster. Like a swift leopard, Alexander the Great conquered most of the "known world" in just 13 years. The "four heads" refer to four generals who took over after Alexander the Great died. His empire was broken in four and given to Lysimachus, Ptolemy, Seleucus, and Cassender.

<This sounds like something out of Revelation.>

Yes, it does. As a matter of fact, take a look at Revelation 13:2.

Revelation 13:2

The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.

Does this sound familiar? This is a mixture of the three animals we’ve just read about: leopard, bear, and lion. Notice that the order of the animals is the reverse of the order in Daniel. Daniel is looking forward into the future and Revelation is looking back. Cool, huh?

Other interpretations of the leopard include: Germany (Leopard), or Great Britain (English language; 1815-1945).

Daniel 7:7

"After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast--terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.

This is Rome. Rome has actually never been defeated. You hear about the "Fall of Rome," but there was no conquering World Empire. Rome sort of collapsed from within. So a lot of people say that "Rome" still exists. We have many remnants of Roman culture today. They gave us the networks of paved roads, our system of law and jurisprudence, pax Romana (Roman Peace), the Roman Catholic Church, etc. Their language, Latin, led to many other languages (e.g., French, Spanish, etc.). The "European Union" controls much of the Old "Roman Empire," and many residents want to be called "Europeans," instead of Italians, Germans, etc. So many say that "Rome" is still alive.

The ten horns could signify ten kingdoms that existed in Rome, ten major world periods since Rome, or ten "members" of some federation of countries. We don’t know for sure.

Other interpretations of this beast include: a nation yet to come, or the United States of America (1945-present). – I’ll bet you’ve heard many parallels between present-day America and the Roman Empire (powerful, morally decaying, etc.).

Daniel 7:8

"While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully.

The scholars and historians can’t find anything like this in history. So if it hasn’t happened yet and it’s not happening now, when is it happening? In the future. Most commentators agree that this is the Antichrist who is to come.

Daniel 7:9

"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 of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.

Who is the "Ancient of Days"? God, at the Great White Throne Judgment. What words do you think of when you read this: white, snow, hair, head, throne, fire, and wheels ablaze? Holy. Pure. Wise. Judge. Power. Swift. That’s God.

Daniel 7:10-12

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. "Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)

Wow. It’s all here. This is the end of the End Times. Final Judgment. The final disposition of Satan, Antichrist, etc. Thrown into the Lake of Fire. Millennial Reign. Wow.

Daniel 7:13

"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 was led into his presence.

Ok. Highlight that verse. Underline it and star it. Are you ready to have your socks knocked off? The expression "Son of Man" appears in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) 81 times. No one uses that expression but Jesus, talking about Himself. Take a look at Mark 14, Jesus’ trial.

Mark 14:61b-62

Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?"
"I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."

Whoa! Wow! Does this sound familiar? "The Son of Man…coming on the clouds of heaven." Awesome. Do you know who the "Son of Man" is? Is there any doubt? Jesus Christ is the Son of Man. I love that.

Daniel 7:14

He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

Has this happened? No. Is it happening now? No. Is it going to happen? You’d better believe it. This is Christ’s Second Coming. This is His Millennial Reign. This is the Kingdom of God, here on Earth. Skip down to verse 18.

Daniel 7:18

But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever--yes, for ever and ever.'

Who are the "saints"? Last week, Carlton mentioned the various "Dispensations." The "saints" include:

1. Old Testament saints, by faith
2. New Testament saints, by grace
3. Tribulation saints, by mark or seal

Daniel 7:21-22

As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.

Here’s the Great Tribulation. The Antichrist will wage war against the saints and win, for a time. Then God will say, "Enough. It is finished," and pronounce His Final Judgment. Then we will rule with Him forever.

Daniel 7:24

The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings.

There is a very interesting observation about the "ten horns" from Rome that I have to share with you. It may be one of those "out there" interpretations, but I thought it was neat:

In 1950, ten nations sat down to form a consolidated European community. Six (not ten, but six) signed the "Treaty of Rome." Then, on October 27, 1984, these six nations joined four others to create the Western European Union, by what is called, "The Rome Declaration." Eerie, huh? Twilight Zone.

Note: The WEU is composed of Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom, much of the Old "Roman Empire."

Also FYI: The Old "Grecian Empire" is today composed of Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. Interesting, huh?

Daniel 7:25

He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time.

This is the Great Tribulation. The Tribulation period is seven years but the latter half, the Great Tribulation, lasts 3 ½ years. That’s what Daniel says here. A "time" is a year, so a "time" (1) plus "times" (2) plus "half a time" (½) equals 3 ½.

What does it mean to "change the set times"? How about "Remember the Sabbath"? Is Sunday still holy or "set aside" today for most people? How about Resurrection Sunday / Easter or Christmas? I think the "set times" are changing and not for the better.

Daniel 7:26-27

"`But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.'

This is the Millennial Reign, the Kingdom of God. Isn’t this exciting!?

Chapter 8

Chapter 8 contains another of Daniel’s visions. In this one, a ram has one horn longer than the other. The ram charges and no animal can stand against it. All of a sudden, a goat with a great horn flies in and wipes out the ram. The goat’s horn breaks off and is replaced by four horns.

   

An "out-there" interpretation is that this is about the Gulf War and the War in Iraq, near the canal outside Baghdad. The troop movements were always North, West, and South into Baghdad. The goat represents America, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground—the U.S. Air Force, satellite-guided missiles, JDAMs, etc.

You can read a lot into this. My objective is not to confuse you but to excite you so that you can say, "I want to go find out more about this." It’s all between you and the Holy Spirit.

Daniel 9:2

in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.

What is Daniel referring to? Jeremiah 25:11-12:

This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. "But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt," declares the LORD, "and will make it desolate forever.

The Captivity lasts seventy years (from 606-536 BC).

Daniel 9:3

So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.

Daniel pleads with God for the Captivity to end. God sends the angel, Gabriel, to talk to him. Gabriel says…

Daniel 9:24

"Seventy `sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.

This is the "Seventy ‘Sevens’" passage. The original Hebrew word for "’sevens’" is "sabuim," meaning "units of 7." So it’s not 7 days or 7 weeks, but units of 7. It’s like the way we use the word "dozen," meaning "units of 12."

It’s time for some math. Bear with me. I like the math. In this case, "seventy sevens" means 70 units of 7 years.

70 times 7 year = 490 years.

The Jewish and Babylonian calendars of the time used a 360 day year (lunar calendar), not 365 (solar calendar).

490 lunar years times 360 days = 173,880 days.

173,880 days divided by 365.25 days = 476 solar years.

Keep that in mind. This is neat if you can follow it.

Daniel 9:25

"Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven `sevens,' and sixty-two `sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.

From the "Issuing of the decree" to the "Anointed One, Jesus Christ" there will be 7 sevens and 62 sevens.

The "Issuing of the decree" is detailed in Nehemiah 2:1-5 when King Artaxerxes told Nehemiah to go and rebuild Jerusalem. This occurred around 444 BC. 7 sevens is 49 lunar years or 48 solar years.

444 BC plus 48 years = 396 BC.

Jerusalem is wiped out in 396 BC. It is also the end of Malachi and the end of the Old Testament.

62 sevens is 434 lunar years or 428 solar years.

396 BC plus 428 years = AD 32.

What happened around AD 32? Jesus entered Jerusalem to be crucified. Some scholars have worked this out to the exact day—April 6, 32 AD, Palm Sunday. It’s amazing how precise God’s Word is.

Wait a minute. We have 7 sevens and 62 sevens. That’s 69 sevens. Where’s the 70^th seven? We’re going to find out. Just hold on a minute.

Daniel 9:26a

After the sixty-two `sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing.

This will knock your socks off, too. We know the "Anointed One" is Jesus Christ. What does it say will happen? He will be "cut off." Most of the commentators said, "This means that Jesus will be killed." The Holy Spirit showed me that there was more to it this week.

Do any of you remember the lessons and discussions we had about covenants? People would make a covenant by taking an animal sacrifice, cutting it in half, and walking between the halves. That was to say, "If I break this covenant, may this happen to me," meaning, "cut me in half." That’s the same word that is used here. The translation here is "cut off." The definition of the original Hebrew word here ("karath") is "cut in two, as in a covenant sacrifice." We know that Jesus is the New Covenant. When He was sacrificed for us, the veil in the Temple was torn in two so that we might be able to pass through to the Most Holy Place and be reconciled to God through the blood of Jesus Christ. The Anointed One, Jesus, was the ultimate sacrifice, "cut in two" for us. Awesome! Fascinating.

Hebrews 10:19-20

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body

Daniel 9:26b-27

The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many for one `seven.' In the middle of the `seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing [of the temple] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."

Ah! Here’s the 70^th seven. "He" here is the Antichrist, during the Tribulation. The Antichrist will sign some kind of agreement with Israel for seven years. Many people think this will be a covenant to allow the Temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Halfway through the seven years (3½ years), he will end sacrifices in the Temple and place "an abomination that causes desolation" there (see Matthew 24:15).

Chapters 10-12

In chapters 10-12, angels relate to Daniel the future of Israel and the Jews. It details the interactions between the Ptolemics (South) and Seleucids (North), the life and death of Alexander the Great, Antiochus Epiphanes, and the rise of the Roman Empire. It goes on to give details of the Jews’ future Great War with the Antichrist.

Many critics and skeptics of the Bible say that the Book of Daniel must have been written around 167 BC because the prophecies were too detailed and accurate to have been written before the actual events. Wrong!

Daniel was actually written around 536 BC. It is mentioned in Ezekiel 14 & 28. The form and style of its Hebrew and Aramaic passages are consistent with other writings of the time. Many ancient Persian words were used referring to the Persian Government of the time. It is included in the Septuagint (~270 BC) and in the Dead Sea Scrolls (~200 BC).

In fact, Josephus (an historian) said in Antiquities of the Jews that when Alexander the Great approached Jerusalem, the High Priest, Jaddua, met him and showed him part of the Book of Daniel where the Greeks overcome the Persians. Alexander was so impressed, he left the Jews alone.

I am out of time. Don’t get too hung up on all this stuff. This is not about when the rapture will occur. This is not about figuring everything out to the minute. This is not about getting into arguments. We know, we’ve seen, and we’ll see again that the Antichrist is coming. Jesus Christ is also coming again. It’s all about: what will He find when He gets back? Will He find you living in faith, living in obedience, and living for Him?

It is fascinating to read and study this, but do not attempt to validate God’s Word and prophecy with history books. Validate history (what historians have written and discovered thus far) using God’s Word. And none of this will prove 100% that Jesus Christ is the "Messiah." The only proof is going to be the Holy Spirit, working in your heart. Read His Word, listen to the Holy Spirit, and believe in your heart by faith.