September 16: Daniel 7-9

September 16, Daniel 7-9

Daniel continued… I will confess to you that I am in no way an expert on apocalyptic prophecies. I am not the guy that can explain it in detail and argue every theologian under the sun. What I can tell you is that I do understand that these prophecies will be fulfilled in Christ and in future events because the Bible tells us that. The details and the arguments in between are of less concern to me. So, if I write with simplicity - that is the reason. 

May Yahweh bless you as strive to understand what it means to trust in Him as He is in control of history and future events and ties them all together for His Purpose and His namesake. 

Daniel 7 Daniel’s vision of the 4 Beasts. What we learn here is that he saw four beasts being blown by 4 winds. These represent great empires that will one day fall. 

1. A lion with Eagles wings
2. A bear with ribs in his mouth
3. A leopard with four wings and four heads
4. A great beast with iron teeth and ten horns 
1. out of that comes a little horn and takes out 3 of the bigger horns and was arrogant.

Then Daniel sees God on His throne passing Judgement on all the nations. Then Jesus is given power and dominion that nobody could destroy. An angel of the Lord interprets all of this for Daniel. The 4 great beasts we read about will rise up to destroy but God’s people will eventually receive the Kingdom forever. The 4th beast is the worst and the little horn from it represents the spirit of the anti-christ and will relentlessly attack God’s people. This 4th beast will have some sort of a kingdom on earth and will reign for three and a half years, speaking and treating Christians horribly. His time will come to an end by God. This was a bit much for Daniel to receive this vision and he was greatly alarmed…

Daniel 8 Daniel then has a vision about the little horn from the 4th beast, in detail. About the way that he (the goat) will challenge other kings (ram) and try to win and conquer. But as these earthly kings war and challenge each other, the Lord God above sees them only as cattle, pushed and pronged wherever He will have them. But the Lord gives us some insight that parallels the book of Revelation and what John sees. Daniel finds out that the soon-to-be anti-christ will win in battle, lead strong, and defile the Temple of God. For the Christians who are left and still around, we are to see this and understand that the Lord’s Kingdom is soon to come. And if there was any misunderstanding, the Lord states that the goat is a king that is to come out of the area of Greece, when the kingdom seems weak. And this king that is to arise, will be the anti-christ and speak wisely and boldly. But this forgery of a man, will be taken down by the Hand of the Lord. 

This made Daniel sick, as he struggled to grasp it… 

Daniel 9 Daniel’s response to finding out the future of the world, is repentance. He turns his face towards God and starts interceding for his people. He pleads for the mercy and faithfulness of God, in the light that his people were disobedient that lead to the judgement and captivity by Babylon. Daniel asks for forgiveness for sins that he didn’t commit, but that his people have committed throughout the generations.  This is a bold and brave move for Daniel. Daniel realizes that a God who has all the earthly powers in the palm of His Hands, is in total control. Daniel realizes that it is God who sees earthly kingdoms, as animals as more powerful then all things. And Daniel takes this opportunity to seek forgiveness for any sin that has ever come against the Most High. Have you ever done the same? Have you ever prayed to the Lord for your family? And interceded for them and their sins against a Holy God?

After this time of seeking God, the Lord brings back an answer to Daniel through an Angel named Gabriel. This Angel encourages Daniel and gives him a big picture of the timeline that is to occur. But even then, the Angel speaks in riddles and doesn’t give Daniel just an answer. But tells him that there are 70 weeks decreed for his people. And even scholars debate on the answer to the 70 weeks. Why would God send an answer that didn’t speak clearly? Because God is a God of mystery, and “Mystery and faith walk hand in hand.” The Lord gets to chose how much He is going to reveal to His people. If He revealed too much, we wouldn’t need Him. Would we? We would instead trust in our own minds, and not in the Lord.  

But the Lord does give little hints. And that the end will come like a flood and that we are to look to the Temple of the Jews for the signs of the end… 

To sum it all up: 

• Can you see why Daniel was struggling to grasp what the Spirit was showing him? I am struggling to grasp it too!
• Repentance comes when we remember our sins and confess them to God - with a heart that hates that sin, not tolerates it. Does it make sense now that you must repent in order to be saved?
• Do not rely on your own ‘intellect’ or ‘gut’ but rather Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding and in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths