Daniel 7:15-28

The Interpretation of the Vision

v. 15. I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, for the body contains the spirit as the scabbard contains the sword, and the visions of my head troubled me, he felt apprehensive concerning them.

v. 16. I came near unto one of them that stood by, one of those engaged in the service of God, and asked him the truth of all this, the true explanation of the judgment scene which was here enacted. So he told me and made me know the interpretation of the things, so that Daniel understood the vision in all its parts.

v. 17. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, the heads of mighty empires, each one the founder of a dynasty, which shall arise out of the earth, from the surface of the earth, of the earth, earthy.

v. 18. But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, receiving it as a gift from above, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever. The true members of the covenant nation, the believers of the New Testament, the congregation of the Lord, gathered from the elect of all nations, are, by virtue of their faith in the Messiah, possessors of the kingdom of God, they enjoy all the blessings of the Lord in this relationship to the Messiah and to their heavenly Father here in time and hereafter in eternity.

v. 19. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, that is, Daniel was anxious to know, he desired to be informed, about this beast also, which was diverse from all the others, so utterly different from them, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron and his nails of brass, the feature of the brazen claws being added in this description; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;

v. 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, in boastful blasphemy, whose look was more stout than his fellows, that is, his appearance was such as to inspire terror.

v. 21. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them, this being apart of its campaign of destruction, it involved a temporary defeat of the forces of the Lord,

v. 22. until the Ancient of Days came, the true and only God coming to judgment upon His enemies, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High, for the Lord took their part and effected their deliverance from the oppression of the beast; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom, the Church holding the blessings of the Lord even here in time, in spite of all hostility of Satan and his evil forces, and entering into undisturbed possession of them in the Kingdom of Glory.

v. 23. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, following the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, and the Greek empire, respectively, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces, the general effect of its rule being decidedly destructive.

v. 24. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise, that is, the Roman Empire, upon its disintegration, would be resolved into a number of smaller states, all of which would, however, carryon the traditions of the mother state and still be one in spirit with her; and another shall rise after them, a ruler wielding a great deal of power, and he shall be diverse from the first, differing from his predecessors, and he shall subdue three kings, causing them completely to lose their identity.

v. 25. And he shall speak great words against the Most High, in blasphemies of an unusually vicious character, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High and think to change times and laws, setting aside human and divine laws at will; and they shall be given into his hand, for him practically to work his will as he chose, until a time and times and the dividing of time, the entire length of time, divided into three distinct periods, being figured in terms of God's time.

v. 26. But the judgment shall sit, the sentence will be carried out, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end, so that its final destruction is not to be expected before the end of the world.

v. 27. And the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, throughout the world, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, so that the Church of the Lord would finally be victorious, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him. Cf Ephesians 1:21-Song of Solomon :; Colossians 1:16.

v. 28. Hitherto is the end of the matter, this is the gist of the vision. As for me, Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, namely, after he awoke from his dream, and my countenance changed in me, his face showed the effect of his worry over the matter; but I kept the matter in my heart, he did not make it known, did not discuss it with others.

The interpretation of this vision may briefly be given as follows. The lion with the eagle's wings was the Babylonian Empire, whose victorious progress was halted about the time that Nebuchadnezzar was stricken with the peculiar madness, which caused him to seek the fellowship of beasts, which, however, later received at least some understanding of the true God. The bear which raised himself up on one side is the Medo-Persian Empire, whose warlike nature is testified to in secular accounts. The leopard upon whose back wings appeared is the Grecian Empire, which, under Alexander the Great, spread over the world with great rapidity. The fourth beast is the Roman Empire with its insatiable fierceness and love of conquest, whose spiritual descendant and successor is the kingdom of Antichrist, of the Pope at Rome, just as delineated in the Book of Revelation. The ancient empire indeed came to an end, but it was revived in the empire of Charles the Great, and the political power of the Pope is felt in practically every nation of the earth today. Practically every feature of the description fits the rule of the Roman Antichrist from the very start. The kingdom of the Pope grew up like a horn, exerting its political power very gradually, but none the less surely. From small beginnings it developed until it reached a station in which it practically controlled the fate of nations. The Popes have, in many cases, made use of the highest wisdom, together with an almost diabolical cunning, to further their cause. By dint of their cunning they made their authority felt in the counsels of nations; they have impressed people with their power far above the real status of affairs. The kingdom of the Pope is unlike every other kingdom, since he exerts political power under the guise of spreading the kingdom of God. Time and again the Pope of Rome has spoken blasphemous words against the one true God. History records numerous instances of persecutions carried on by Popes and their millions, as during the terrible inquisitions. Popes have altered the Word of God to suit their own convenience and to serve their selfish interests. In spite of the reverses which the kingdom of Antichrist has suffered in the past, as when Emperor Otto I deposed Pope John XII, when the councils of the fifteenth century tried to effect at least an outward reformation, and, above all, when Martin Luther carried the fight into the enemy's ranks, the kingdom of Antichrist will remain till the end of time. Cf 2 Thessalonians 2; Revelation 17. The prophecy of Daniel was fulfilled and is being fulfilled in a most remarkable manner, a fact which tends to strengthen our faith in every word of the Bible.