PM Dec 5th Dan 7

December 5^th     Daniel 7            The four beasts

1: In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. 2: Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. 3: And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. 4: The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. 5: And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. 6: After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also 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, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. 8: I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. 9: I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. 10: A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. 11: I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. 12: As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. 13: I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14: And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. 15: I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. 16: I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. 17: These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. 18: But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. 19: Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; 20: And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. 21: I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; 22: Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. 23: Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24: And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 25: And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. 26: But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. 27: And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. 28: Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.

Daniel 8            C. Prophesies related to Israel (Written in Hebrew)           The ram and the goat

1: In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first. 2: And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai. 3: Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. 4: I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great. 5: And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. 6: And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had there seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. 7: And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. 8: Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. 9: And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. 10: And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. 11: Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. 12: And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered. 13: Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? 14: And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. 15: And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. 16: And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. 17: So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision. 18: Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright. 19: And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be. 20: The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. 21: And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. 22: Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. 23: And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. 24: And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. 25: And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. 26: And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days. 27: And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.

 

Next Daniel records a dream that he had in the first year of the reign of Belshazzar, king of Babylon. First he says I saw in my vision that the four winds of heaven blew against the great sea. The sea are the nations of the world. And four great beasts came up out of the sea, They were all different from each other. The First was like a lion but it had eagles wings. And its wings were plucked off and the beast was lifted up from the earth and a mans heart was given to it. The second beast was like a bear and it was raised up on its side and in his mouth were three ribs and it was said to the beast rise and eat much flesh. The third beast was like a leopard with four wings like a bird and he beast had four heads. Then Daniel saw a forth beast it was dreadful and terrible and very strong indeed and it had iron teeth. It ate, smashed everything in pieces and stamped the leftovers with its feet. The beast had ten horns. As Daniel looked on he saw a little horn which displaced three of the horns. The horn was full of eyes and was speaking great things. Then Daniel sees God himself, called The Ancient of Days. His garment is described as white as snow. His hair like pure wool and his throne was like a flame of fire. Millions ministered to him and hundreds of thousands served him. The time of judgment comes and the books are opened. All of these beasts come before him in judgment. Then Daniel sees the Son of Man come to The Ancient of Days. And the Son of man was given total dominion over the whole earth over every nation and tongue. Daniel is troubled by all this so he goes to one of the angels standing near to ask what all this means and he is told that these four beasts are four kings that will arise in the earth. Then Daniel asks about the fourth beast. This last beast makes war with the saints of God. The four empires were Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome and the forth kingdom is the one who in the past and in the future under the Antichrist will persecute the saints of God. From mans point of view these empires are great images of precious metals but from Gods point of view they are grotesque wild beast of the earth. Daniel was deeply troubled by all these things. In the next chapter Daniel records a prophecy that he sees three years later. In this vision he sees by the river a ram which has two horns. This ram pushes west north and south and none can stand in front of him. Then Daniel sees a he-goat come from the west he came so fast that he didn’t touch the ground. The he-goat had a horn on his forehead. The he-goat charges so fast into the ram that he broke him and stamped on him. This military force in very great and has some evil supernatural powers. He invades Israel and even causes the sacrifice to be removed from the temple. A question arises between the saints as to how long the sanctuary is defiled and the answer is 200 – 300 days. Then Gabriel the angel is told to make this vision understood by Daniel. Daniel is overcome by the frightfulness of his vision and is rendered unconscious. However the angel wakes him to tell him that the ram with two horns was the Medes and Persian empire. The he-goat is the Greek king (Alexander the Great) then the Lord explains that the Prophecy then switches to the latter days. (The days preceding the Messianic Kingdom) this time the mighty one is the Antichrist. He will be very clever and very powerful and he will stand up against Christ himself. This vision was to be shut up and only revealed in the end times. Daniel was very ill as a result of this vision for many days. He was astonished at the vision and none could understand it.