Revelation Chapter Thirteen “a”
Daniel Chapters 7-8
Before we consider the thirteenth chapter of though book of the Revelation off Christ it will be to our benefit to read and consider chapters seven and eight of the book of Daniel. This book is relative to the events coming at the end times. We will be considering other passages of this book later.
8:19 And he said, "Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be.
DAN 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon [about 553 bc], Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts.
2 Daniel spoke, saying, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven [four points of the compass] were stirring up the Great Sea [Mediterrian Sea].
3 "And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.
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.
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 [the ribs] said thus to it: 'Arise, devour much flesh!'
6 "After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.
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.
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 plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.
The Ancient of Days Reigns
9 "I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days [God the Father] was seated; His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire;
10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him (Rev 5:11-14). The court was seated, and the books were opened.
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 [Rev 19:20].
12 "As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
The Son of Man Is Given Dominion
13 "I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man [Jesus], coming with the clouds [Rev.1:7] of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him (the Son) near before Him (the Father).
14 Then to Him (the Son) 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 the one which shall not be destroyed.
Daniel's Vision Interpreted
15 "I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.
16 "I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things:
17 'Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth.
18 'But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.'
19 "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;
:20 "and about the ten horns that were on its head, (Revelation 12:3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.) and about 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.
21 "I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them,
22 "until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.
23 "Thus he said: 'The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth [The Roman Empire], which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces.
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.
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 [three and one half years; Dan 9:26].
26 'But the court shall be seated, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it forever.
27 Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.'
28 "This is the end of the account. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance changed; but I kept the matter in my heart."
Daniel's Vision of the Ram and the Goat
DAN 8:1 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me -- to me, Daniel -- after the one that appeared to me the first time.
2 I saw in the vision, and it so happened while I was looking, that I was in Shushan, the citadel, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision that I was by the River Ulai.
3 Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the river, was a ram which had two horns [Medo-Persian Kingdom], and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last.
4 I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no beast could withstand him; nor was there any that could deliver from his hand, but he did according to his will and became great.
5 And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat [Alexandra the Great] came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
6 Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power.
7 And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand.
8 Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken [Alexander died] , and in place of it four notable ones [Alexander’s generals] came up toward the four winds of heaven.
9 And out of one of them came a little horn [Antiochus Epiphanes, a type of the antichrist] which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land.
10 And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them.
11 He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away [Dan 9:27], and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.
12 Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.
13 Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, "How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled under foot?"
14 And he said to me, "For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed."
The Interpretation of the Vision
DAN 8:15 Now it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.
16 And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, "Gabriel, make this man understand the vision."
17 So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, "Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end."
18 Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me, and stood me upright.
19 And he said, "Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be.
20 "The ram which you saw, having the two horns -- they are the kings of Media and Persia.
:21 "And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king. [Alexandra the great’s father]
22 "As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, [Alexander’s four generals] but not with its power.
23 "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features, Who understands sinister schemes.
24 His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.
25 "Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without human hand. [Roman Empire]
26 "And the vision of the evenings and mornings which was told is true; therefore seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in the future."
27 And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king's business. I was astonished by the vision, but no one understood it.
Daniel 7,8. As in chapter 2, the fourth stage of empire is Roman. Since this kingdom must prevail until the destruction of Antichrist (the little horn) and the establishment of the eternal, final, visible kingdom of Christ (cf. Rev 19:11-20:4), it must be regarded as prevailing today. The ten-fold form of the final stage, perhaps suggested by the ten toes of chapter 2, is clearly taught here and confirmed by Rev 17:3 ff. Later in the chapter the little horn is identified with final Antichrist.
9-14. This throne scene is fully elaborated in Revelation, chapters 4-20. Evidently the five verses of Daniel cover the same ground as the seventeen chapters of Revelation. It is a judgment scene wherein the Ancient of days-none other than "the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity" (Isa 57:15)-takes possession of the earth's kingdoms through the Son of man-a name our Lord clearly claimed for himself (Mat 24:30). The dramatic action whereby the beast's kingdom is violently taken away fits the many Biblical predictions of the manner in which our Lord will judge the nations at the close of this age.
21, 22. Though separated by details of interpretation (vv. 15-20), these two verses belong to the vision itself rather than to the interpretation. The saints of the most High ... the saints possessed the kingdom. Nothing is more sure than that all saints of all ages will share in Christ's ultimate triumph in his kingdom. But this passage is affirming only a part of that truth. The perspective of the book, the meaning of the words, and the context here limit the application to Daniel's people, Israel, clearly identified in 10:14 (the equivalent Hebrew expression is used). "By the 'people of the saints of the Most High' to whom dominion is to be given (Dan 7:18-27), Daniel evidently could only understand the people of Israel, as distinguished from the heathen nation and kingdoms, which were to rule up till then (2:44); nor have we, according to strict exegesis, a right to apply the expression to any other nation; hence we cannot apply it immediately to the Church ... The prophet's words refer to the re-establishment of the kingdom to Israel" (C. A. Auberlen, The Prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation of St. John, pp. 216, 217).
