Introduction

In the last episode we talked about the vision Daniel had—though I left out an important bit from the end of the vision. So we're going to start with the best part of the vision, and then we need to talk about the interpretation.

The Best Part of the Vision

Daniel 7:9-14 contains the good news of the vision. Here we see the thrones, presumably of these kingdoms, cast down and the Ancient of Days (the Most High) taking His throne. We're given a description of the throne, which mirrors much of the information we're given by Ezekiel, Isaiah, and John. When the Most High shows up fire goes out from Him (this is actually a common occurrence when His presence is described!)[1] He brings out the books and the judgement is set. This reminds me of verses in Revelation in which we are told the righteous and wicked are determined and the Most High is reading from the Book of Life (Revelation 20:12). The fourth beast is destroyed and given to the fire, but the other beasts are kept alive for some time. After this, one like the Son of Man comes in the clouds. He is given dominion and a kingdom that lasts forever.

Interpretation

Daniel spends the last portion of the chapter (15-28) explaining a bit about the vision. I want to point out that "someone" interprets the vision for Daniel. We see this in Daniel 7:16 when he says he came near to "one of them". Up until this point we haven't been told anyone else is there. Personally, I believe this person was an angel or heavenly being and that Daniel was in Heaven similar to Isaiah, Ezekiel, and John when given this vision. There's also the possibility that an angel simply visited him, as we will see in Daniel 8 and 9. This is why I lean toward the person revealing this information being an angel, however I recognize that this is me trying to fill in the blanks and the Bible does not give a concrete answer.

From the person's answers to Daniel we learn the following absolute conclusions we can make about the symbols in the dream.

• Four beasts = four kings
• The end means the saints of the Most High will inherit the kingdom and dominion
• The ten horns on the fourth beast (king) are 10 kings
• The little horn is another king that subdues 3 of the original 10
• The little horn king is different from the first 10 kings
• Speaks against the Most High
• Wears out the saints of the Most High
• Changes times and laws
• Persecutes the saints of the Most High for 3.5 times

It is important to note about the 3.5 times that this can be interpreted in a variety of ways. The Hebrew word used here means a set period of time which people generally infer to mean a year.[14] As such the easiest way to interpret this is 3.5 years. However, you will find that some prophecies in the Bible use the day for a year principle. The Day for a Year Principle can be found throughout the Bible but is most clearly defined in Ezekiel 4:5-6 and Numbers 14:34. Prophecies such as the 70 Weeks of Daniel (given in Daniel 9) can not be interpreted or fulfilled without this principle. The quesiton is, when should this principle be applied? It is not obvious that it is always the case for prophecy. As such when we see a timeline, one is left to guess whether to apply this principle or not.

If we do not apply the day for a year principle, the little horn will persecute God's people for 3.5 years—this is in line with Futurist interpretation, who walso place the 70th Week (which they do apply the day for a year principle to) in the future. Together this forms the basis for the idea of a 3.5 year tribulation period during the end times.

If we do apply the day for a year principle we have to convert 3.5 years to days to determine the actual number of years there is persecution. Take note of the bullet point right before the one about the 3.5 times: the little horn changes times and law. Times have already been changed. There are (and have probably always been) different calendars across the world, but the people of God should be using God's calendar, in particular if we're trying to sort out timelines given by God. Concerning this prophecy, the main difference in the calendar Daniel would have been using and the one we use today is the fact that his calendar would have had only 360 days in it.[15] This means 3.5 years to Daniel would be 1260 days (instead of 1277.5 days). If a day equals a year, this is 1260 years of persecution. This means that the little horn is not a singular king but a kingdom or power or system, since a person cannot live that long. This Historicist view aligns this time with the Dark Ages and the era of the Inquisition, in which the Catholic Church was killing any and everyone who disagreed with them.

The Generally Accepted View

If you ask most pastors who study Revelation—particularly those who went to seminary—they will tell you that the nations described here are the same as those represented in Daniel 2. As such, they will make the following assigments:

• Lion with eagle wings -> Babylon
• Bear with ribs in mouth -> Medo-Persia
• Leopard with 4 heads -> Greece
• Beast with 10 horns -> Rome

Futurists will argue that the 10 horns and the little horn are yet to come and will be from a revived Roman empire. Historicists point to various kings and kingdoms that came from Rome—these kings were Catholic in faith and thus controled to a large extent by the papacy. This was the common view of the Protestant church until modern times.[13] I have not actually read the Preterist interpretation of the 10 horns, but they must have been 10 caesars of Rome, since they believe prophecy was fullfilled with the desturction of the Temple in 70 AD.

I am a historicist so you will see that in my break down of the 10 kings in the table below.

Other Possiilities

The other possibility is that these kingdoms have not come into existence yet. This is widely believed among Futurists. Some thing that may be in the Futurists' favor is the issue of the four winds of Heaven.

Daniel sees them striving upon the sea, but in Revelation 7 there are angels holding back these winds so that they do not harm the sea. A question we have to answer to determine the timeline of the prophecy is the ordering of these two scenes. For context, the vision of the angels holding back the winds in Revelation 7 happens during the opening of the seals, just before the 144,000 are sealed. Either Daniel 7 happens before this or after this. There are two possibilities for the winds: the angels were holding them back, then let them lose (this would mean Daniel 7 occurs after Revelation 7) or the winds were striving on the sea and the four angels pushed them back to the position we see in Revelation 7 (this would mean Daniel 7 occurs before Revelation 7). I haven't been able to find anything that would allow me to argue from a Biblical stance the ordering of these events.

Anyone leaning on Daniel 7 occurring after the sealing of the 144,000, would say that the kingdoms can't be Bablyon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. I have seen people suggest empires of the colonial era such as Great Britain, Spain, France, and the Ottomans. I have also seen people try to align the animals of the vision with national mascots of today. For example, associating the bear with Russia. I will dive deeper into some of these ideas when I can (likely when I do the actual post on Daniel 7).

One major complaint I've seen posed to Futurists is that the people of Daniel's day would not have been able to understand the vision. While I am not a Futurist, I have to side with them here. Just as John's prophecy in Revelation is meant to span many generations, so was Daniel's. In Daniel 12:4 he is told to seal the book. The implication is that it won't make sense until "knowledge is increased" during the end times. We see John given similar commands for parts of his vision in Revelation 10:4. Some of the prophets were told to "tell the people" (e.g., Isaiah 6:9), and yes, those prophecies should make sense in the context of the time period in which they were written. However, end time prophecy was written for all the generations between the time of authorship until Messiah returns. It won't make 100% sense until everything has come to pass.

References & Footnotes

1. People always associate fire with the devil but Biblically fire is heavily tied to the presence of God. The burning bush and pillar of fire (or cloud) in the Exodus is a great example.
2. In the episode I misspoke and said the Ishtar Gate had a statue of a lion. I was mixing up my words. There are images of lions at the Ishtar Gate and a statue called the Lion of Babylon.
3. "Ishtar Gate". Encyclopedia Britannica
4. "Lion of Babylon". World Monuments Fund. 2023; visited September 20, 2024
5. "The 'Lion of Babylon', ancient Babylon, 1916 (c)". The National Army Muesem; visited September 20, 2024
6. Biel. "The Persian Empire". World Civilizations I (HIS101) – Biel
7. Jim Haeffele. "Daniel 7: Four Beasts and the Little Horn". Life, Hope, and Truth
8. Christopher Klein. "How Cyrus the Great Turned Ancient Persia Into a Superpower". History. July 14, 2022; visited September 20, 2024
9. "Diadochi and the Hellenistic Period". Khan Academy; visited September 21, 2024
10. Frank W. Walbank. "Alexander the Great". Encyclopedia Britannica. September 5, 2024; visited September 21, 2024
11. "Daniel 7:24 Meaning and Commentary". Bible Study Tools; visited September 21, 2024
12. "People and Ideas: Europe". PBS; visited September 21, 2024
13. "What is historicism?". GotQuestions.org; visited September 21, 2024
14. "Strongs H5732. עִדָּן". Blue Letter Bible; visited September 21, 2024
15. "Prophetic Year". Wikipedia; visited September 21, 2024