07 The Superpowers of Daniel

Slides for this study

Revelation 14:9-11
9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

One of the most fearful warnings in all the Bible.

  • You will either be saved or lost. There is no sitting on the line.

But who is this beast that causes everyone to receive a mark on their foreheads or on their hands? This is none other than the great antichrist or Bible prophecy.

Who is this beast and where do we see its description?

  • Revelation 13:1-2
    1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. 2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.

So notice all the different descriptions of this beast.

  • 7 heads.
  • 10 horns.
  • Leopard.
  • Bear.
  • Lion.
  • Dragon.

It is made up of 4 different animals and it has 7 heads with 10 horns.

  • This is definitely symbolic. We’ve never seen this in the zoo before. It has to be symbolic.
  • So how can we understand who this is?
  • This is where Daniel 7 is the key to unlocking this amazing picture we see here. Let’s have a look.

Daniel 7:4
The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings…

  • So we see the lion mentioned here.

Daniel 7:5
“And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear…

  • Same as what we saw in Revelation 13.

Daniel 7:6
“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.

  • Same animal which made up part of the beast in Revelation 13.
  • But notice, this animal had 4 heads.
  • Of course, normally a lion would have 1 head and a beast would have 1 head and so would a leopard. But this leopard has 4.

Daniel 7:7
“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.

  • This beast doesn’t have a name. It’s just a dreadful and terrible beast. The reason we know it is a dragon is because of the parallels that we see between this chapter and Revelation 13.
  • Daniel called it a dreadful and terrible beast. But John calls it a dragon.
  • But notice, it has 10 horns.

So we see a lion, a bear, a leopard and most likely a dragon

  • And each of them have 1 head each as it is normal except for the leopard which clearly states that it has 4 heads.
  • If you add all the heads together it gives us 7 heads.

And when you put all these beasts of Daniel 7 together, it is what we find in Revelation 13.

  • So how important is this chapter that we are going to look at today? Absolutely important!
  • This is the key chapter that will help us to understand about the mark of the beast and the antichrist of Bible prophecy.
  • Daniel really is the key that helps us to unlock Revelation. You cannot study one without the other.

So first, let’s go back to Daniel and have a look at this chapter.

Daniel 7:1
1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, 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 were stirring up the Great Sea. 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.

This time Daniel is having a dream.

  • In Daniel 2 it was Nebuchadnezzar dreaming. And again in Daniel 4 Nebuchadnezzar was the one dreaming.
  • But now, Daniel dreams and he dreams of four great beasts that would come up from the sea.
  • But before they come up, the winds of heaven are blowing on the sea.
  • Let’s get some definitions first.

What does wind and sea represent in the Bible?

  • Wind:
    • Proverbs 1:27
      When your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.
    • It represents destruction, distress and anguish.
  • How about the sea?
    • Revelation 17:15
      Then he said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.
    • The sea represents many, many people – of all nations and languages.
  • So destruction, distress and anguish are blowing on the sea. This is none other than war. Nations are war with one another.
  • And what is the result, four great beasts come up from the sea.

What do these beasts represent? Let’s allow the Bible to interpret itself.

  • Daniel 7:17, 23
    17 ‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth. 23 “Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms…
  • So beasts in Bible prophecy represent kingdoms.
  • So Daniel is dreaming of a succession of kingdoms, just like Nebuchadnezzar did in Daniel 2.

What was it that Nebuchadnezzar dreamt of? Do you remember? Let’s review real quick.

  • Gold – Bablyon
  • Silver – Medo-Persia
  • Bronze – Greece
  • Iron – Rome
  • Iron and clay – Rome plus Church

Why is it that God used images with Nebuchadnezzar and beasts with Daniel?

  • Nebuchadnezzar was used to more images. Idol worship.
  • Daniel was used to beasts because he was surrounded by that growing up.
    • All the tribes were represented by animals.
    • The sanctuary, they were constantly bringing animals.
  • God was speaking their language and the symbols that they were used to.

LION

Let’s start off looking at the first beast.

  • Daniel 7:4
    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.

What does the lion represent in the Bible?

  • Jeremiah 50:17
    “Israel is like scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away. First the king of Assyria devoured him; now at last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.”
  • Jeremiah 51:37-38
    37 Babylon shall become a heap, a dwelling place for jackals, an astonishment and a hissing, without an inhabitant. 38 They shall roar together like lions, they shall growl like lions’ whelps.
  • So this lion represents Babylon! This is a repeat of the kingdoms that we have seen in Daniel 2.
  • How do we know it doesn’t represent the devil or a literal lion? Because remember, this is all symbolic. In Daniel 7 itself it said the beasts were kingdoms.

However, this picture is not just a lion. This lion has eagle’s wings.

  • What is the lion known as in the animal kingdom?
    • It is the king of all beasts.
    • It is not the biggest. It is not the fastest. Yet it is king.
  • How about the eagle?
    • It is known as the king of the air.
    • And also it is not the fastest or the biggest. Yet it is also king.
  • So when you combine the lion with eagle, what do you get?
    • It is the king of all kingdoms.
  • And notice what we see in Daniel 2.
  • Daniel 2:37
    You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory.
  • Babylon was the king of all kingdoms. It was the head of gold. And Nebuchadnezzar was the king of kings.
  • What a fitting symbol to represent Babylon.

But there’s other details there as well.

  • Daniel 7:4
    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.
  • The wings were plucked off, and it stood on its feet like a man and a mans heart was given to it.
  • This is none other than the conversion story that we read in Daniel 4 of Nebuchadnezzar.
  • Daniel 4:33
    That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

    • Nebuchadnezzar went crazy and he grew so much hair it was like eagles’ feathers. Not any bird, but eagle. So interesting!
  • And of course at the end of seven years, Nebuchadnezzar would finally look up to heaven and acknowledge the God of heaven and his reason and understanding returned back to him.
    • That is the man’s heart been given to it.

So this lion matches exactly the head of gold. It is the kingdom of Babylon.

Let’s move to the next beast. The bear.

BEAR

Daniel 7:5
“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 said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’

  • This, according to what we have seen in Daniel 2, is the Medo-Persian empire.
  • But let’s look at some of the detail given here in Daniel 7.

First, it was raised up on one side.

  • Remember, this kingdom is a combination of 2 kingdoms. The Medes and the Persians.
  • When Babylon fell, who was it that became the first king?
  • Daniel 5:30
    30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. 31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

    • Darius the Mede.
  • But you’ll remember that it was not Darius that actually came to conquer Babylon. It was Cyrus the Persian.
  • The Persian’s were the stronger of the two countries. They were the ones that were more powerful.
  • And so when it talks about the bear raised up on one side, it showed the uneven distribution of power between the two countries.

But not only that, this bear also had three ribs in its mouth.

  • Daniel 7:5
    “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 said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’
  • If there are ribs, then it must be from another dead animal. And in this case, 3 animals, or 3 kingdoms.
  • Medo-Persia had to conquer three kingdoms to rise to world power.
  • Obviously the first would have been Babylon.
  • But who were the three kingdoms that Medo-Persia would have to conquer?
    • Babylon.
    • Egypt.
    • Lydia.

Now let’s move on to the next kingdom. The kingdom of Greece.

LEOPARD

Daniel 7:6
“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.

  • This corresponds to the kingdom of Greece.

What do we know about a leopard?

  • They are known for its speed. One of the fastest land animals out there.

But not only that, it has 4 wings as well.

  • So it makes this animal super fast!

The kingdom of Greece is known for its speed. The first king, Alexander the Great, conquered the then known world by the age of 30 in a short amount of time.

  • He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered to be one of history’s greatest and most successful military commanders.
  • Hence, the leopard with 4 wings of a bird.

However, it would be at the young age of around 32 years old that he would die unexpectedly from consumption of alcohol. Some suggest that he was poisoned and killed by his generals. No one knows for sure. Nevertheless, we know that he died at a young age.

  • Before he died though, someone would ask Alexander who would be his successor should he die. And to this he replied – To the strongest one.
  • And sure enough, after his death, the kingdom was plunged into civil war. Of which there would be 4 divisions. Four generals would rip the kingdom into 4. They were:
    • Seleucus.
    • Cassander.
    • Ptolemy.
    • Lysimachus.
  • This fittingly represents the 4 heads of the leopard.

THE DREADFUL AND TERRIBLE BEAST

Daniel 7:7
“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.

This fourth beast has more description. We know that it lines up with Rome which is the legs of iron. Some similarities:

  • Daniel 2:40
    And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.
  • The legs are of iron. This beast has huge iron teeth.
  • This beast tramples the residue with its feet. Legs are used to stamp which is what we see in Daniel 2.

But this characteristic of dreadful and terrible is also something of interest to note:

  • Habakkuk 1:6-7
    For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, a bitter and hasty nation which marches through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling places that are not theirs. 7 They are terrible and dreadful; their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
  • The Chaldeans are meant to be Babylon right? And they are called terrible and dreadful.
  • But let me show you this from the Bible.
  • 1 Peter 5:13
    She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does Mark my son.
  • Peter was not in Babylon when he was writing this. He was in Rome.
  • So even Peter called Rome, Babylon.

So this clearly lines up with the first four kingdoms that we see in Daniel 2.

But this beast also had 10 horns on the top of its head. What were these horns?

  • Daniel 7:7
    “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.
  • What does the ten horns represent?
  • Daniel 7:24
    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.

    • The 10 horns represent 10 kings which is synonymous with kingdoms.
  • Rome was not actually conquered by another kingdom. Rome fell apart from within.
    • That’s why when you see back in Daniel 2 the legs of iron, the iron actually continued into the feet.
    • And we see this with this imagery here as well.
    • The 10 horns are on the top of the dreadful and terrible beasts head.

Who are the tribes that came and ripped the kingdom of Rome apart?

  • Alamanni – Germany
  • Franks – France
  • Burgundians – Switzerland
  • Suevi – Portugal
  • Lombards – Italy
  • Visigoths – Spain
  • Anglo Saxons – England
  • Vandals – Extinct
  • Heruli – Extinct
  • Ostrogoths – Extinct

This was the beginning of the fall of the Roman empire.

  • But you’ll remember that they were never conquered. They fell apart from within.
  • And what we’re going to look at next time is a power that would come in and fill that void.
  • It was a kingdom that would put church and state together. A religious and political kingdom.

Why is God repeating all of these kingdoms to us today as we read?

  • Well, there are a few reasons.
  • First, God wants to make sure that we understand that this is the history, this is the order, of what will come – or in our case today – has come already.
  • History has not changed. All we need to do is go back to the history books to validate them.
  • But God is telling us that this order is clear and it is concise.

But there is a couple other reasons.

  • I want to take you back to Egypt, during the time of Joseph. This is in Genesis. Joseph was sold as a slave by his brothers. Purchased by Potiphar, Pharaoh’s captain of the guards.
  • But later he would be accused or a crime which he did not commit and end up in prison.
  • It was during Joseph’s time in prison that Pharaoh would have a dream. It was really 2 dreams.
  • You can read about it in Genesis 41.
  • First he dreamt of 7 fat cows that came up. And then 7 thin cows appeared and ate up the 7 fat cows. And it appeared as if they had not eaten anything still.
  • Pharaoh woke up and then he goes to sleep again. And this time he dreams of 7 fat heads of grain. And then 7 thin heads appear and eat up the 7 fat heads of grain.
  • He is confused as to what all this means. And at the end of it Joseph is called from the prison to give the meaning.
  • And notice what Joseph says to Pharaoh after Pharaoh recounts the dream to him.
  • Genesis 41:32
    And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

    • God is the One that established it.
    • And God also will bring it shortly to pass.

This is the reason that God had repeated the vision of the kingdoms in Daniel.

  • First to Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2.
  • And now to Daniel in Daniel 7.
  • God has established it. He is the One that sets up kingdoms and removes kingdoms. He is the One that sets up kings and removes kings.
  • And all that we are looking at today, God is going to bring it to pass very, very soon.
  • We are running out of time.
  • We are living in the time of the toenails of that image in Daniel 2.
  • We are on the precipice of eternity. And God is telling us today that we need to set our house in order. We need to start giving attention to the things that are important. Our spiritual house – our minds, our bodies.
  • And just as God was trying to save Pharaoh by giving him that dream, and He was trying to save Nebuchadnezzar by giving him that dream. He is also trying to save us today as we are studying and looking at these amazing prophecies.
  • How should we be living our lives knowing that all these things that we are working so hard for will pass away one day?
  • Today, if you are not sure of your salvation, then these studies are for you. And it’s time to surrender our lives to Jesus and tell Him that we need help. We need Him in our lives.
  • Where do we start today? Let’s pray and tell God – God, I want you to be in my heart today. Please save me to the uttermost. I am willing to surrender everything. And where I’m not willing, please help me. Do for me what I cannot do for myself.
  • Let’s pray.

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