The Book of Daniel
Chapter 7
Daniel's Dream Prophecy
Daniel Dream Interpretation Explained
Happy to have you here to share another Old Testament Bible story. In
our study of the book of Daniel, Chapter 7 is not in chronological
order, as it takes place in the first year of the reign of king
Belshazzar. As you may recall, Chapter 6, the story about Daniel in
the lion's den, took place during the reign of king Darius, the
successor of king Belshazzar, so obviously the events of Chapter 7
took place before the events of Chapter 6.
What is a dream? What is a vision? Where do dreams and visions come from?
Let's take a look at what the Bible says:
Job 33:14-17
14 For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it
not.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep
falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;
16 Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their
instruction,
17 That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide
pride from man.
In modern English ... God speaks to us once, even twice, and because
of one reason or another, we don't perceive His message. He may
communicate to us through the Word, another Christian, His still
small voice, a sudden breeze, or even a thunderbolt, but many times
we fail to recognize God's leading in our lives. So when we sleep,
when our pride, our own will, and/or our flesh doesn't prevent us,
God opens our understanding and sends His message via a dream.
Daniel's Dream Versus Vision
Daniel Dream Interpretation is a Gift
What's the difference between a dream and a vision? A vision can be
part of a dream. A dream of course takes place while you are asleep,
or in a state of unconsciousness. A vision can take place while you
are awake. The word vision, of course means to see, but it also means
to understand. To envision something, means you can imagine
it. Notice the root word of imagine is image. An image is
something you can see, but to imagine is to picture something,
without it actually being a tangible object. In other words, a vision
is a spiritual understanding or foresight of something. A vision can
take place in either a conscious or an unconscious state, but dreams
only occur in the unconscious realm. A vision can feel like a dream,
for example, you may have experienced something that is commonly
known as daydreaming, where you actually feel like you're someplace
else, and you lose awareness of all that is going on around you, even
though your eyes are open and you are not asleep. Have you ever been
driving home from somewhere and when you pull up in the driveway, you
can't remember much of the drive? A vision is similar to this
"daydreaming" phenomena that we have all experienced, except for the
fact that in a vision, the events that you experience while you are
in this spiritual realm, are messages from God. A dream doesn't
always include a vision or a message from God. Solomon said:
Ecclesiastes 5:3
For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's
voice is known by multitude of words.
Daniel's Dream and Yours
Daniel Dream Interpretation Origins
In plain talk ... If there is something important that has been
weighing on your mind at your job ... That may cause you to dream
about work. Or maybe you watched a scary movie before going to sleep
... That may cause you to have fretful dreams. When something affects
you deeply, chances are, you may dream about it, and your dream may
or may not be a message from God.
You may recall having a dream about yourself or someone you know, and
then some time in the future your dream, or part of it, comes to
pass. Did you ever consider that your dream was a message from God?
Now, I want you to put yourself in Daniel's shoes for a moment,
because his dream is one that affects the future of all mankind. Can
you imagine?
Daniel said that in his dream, he saw a terrible tempest upon the sea
with the winds of Heaven coming from all directions. Then four great
beasts came up out of the water, each one different from the other.
-
The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. The wings were
plucked and it was lifted up from the Earth, and stood on it's feet
like a man, and a man's heart was given to it.
-
The second was like a bear. It raised itself up on one side, and it
had three ribs between its teeth, and they said to it, Arise, and
devour much flesh.
-
The third was like a leopard. It had four heads and four wings on its
back and it was given power.
-
The fourth was a beast was different than the other three. This beast
had iron teeth and ten horns. It was very dreadful and terrible and
strong. It destroyed the others and stamped the residue with its feet.
In the Book of Revelation, Antichrist's empire is compared to the
same beasts ...
Revelation 13:2
And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were
as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the
dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
Daniel's Dream Predicted Future
Daniel Dream Interpretation on Coming Events
In the last part of Daniel's dream, another smaller horn came up from
among the ten horns and it plucked up three of the ten horns. This
little horn had eyes like a man and spoke great things.
Whew ... How could anyone (who didn't have the gift of interpreting
dreams) ever figure out the message from a dream like this? You'll
see in a short while that the Lord provided Daniel with an
interpretation, but that wasn't the end of the dream yet.
Daniel watched until the thrones were cast down (a throne is the seat
of a deity or devil). This is also mentioned by John in his vision in
the Book of Revelation:
Revelation 20:4
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given
unto them ...
In other words, Satan and his angels were evicted from Heaven:
Revelation 12:7-9
7 And there was war in Heaven: Michael and his Angels
fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any
more in Heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent,
called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was
cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Next, Daniel saw the Ancient of days ... God ... On His throne, and
the Books were opened for the Great White Throne Judgment. Next in
his vision, the beast was destroyed, and the rest of the beasts had
their power taken away.
Lastly, Daniel saw Jesus in the clouds of Heaven, and brought before
God, who gave Him power and glory and an everlasting Kingdom, and all
people should serve Him.
Daniel's Dream Warning
Daniel Dream Interpretation Concerns
As you can imagine, this vision was a frightening experience for
Daniel. For one thing, Daniel lived in Old Testament times, before
Jesus first visit, so he really knew nothing compared to what we know
today of Jesus' life, death and resurrection, not to mention all that
we are fortunate to have of the Gospels and the other New Testament
writings that teach of the End Times, the Millennium and the New
Heaven and New Earth. Taking all this into consideration, you can
appreciate Daniel's perplexity when he wrote:
I Daniel was grieved in
my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled
me.
Ever have that feeling, when something is so worrisome to you that
you actually feel sick? It sounds like that's what Daniel is
describing. It may have even been easier for Daniel to interpret
Nebuchadnezzar's dream than his own, because he didn't experience the
horror of the king's dream firsthand. Not to worry though, the Lord
sent help.
The next thing that Daniel wrote was that he approached "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. This obviously was
a messenger from God, sent to explain the meaning of the dream to
Daniel.
The four beasts are four kings, which shall arise, but the saints of
God shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom for ever. Daniel
wanted to know more details about this fourth beast because the horn
that came up out of the ten horns that were in his head, made war
with the saints and prevailed until God came and gave them the
kingdom.
It was explained to Daniel that the fourth beast will be the fourth
kingdom on Earth, which will be different than all kingdoms and will
devour the whole earth, tread it down, and destroy it. The ten horns
out of this kingdom are ten kings or leaders that will arise and
another will rise after them. He will be different from the first and
he will subdue three kings. He will speak terrible words against God
(blasphemy), and will persecute the saints, and change times and
laws, and they shall be given into his hand for 3½
years. But justice will prevail and the saints will take away his
power and destroy it once and for all. Then the kingdom will be given
to the saints of God and all will serve Him.
Daniel's Dream Meaning
Daniel Dream Interpretation From God
That was the end of Daniel's vision. Do ya think this kind of dream
would shake ya up a bit? Here's what Daniel said about it: 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.
No doubt!
Take a look with me at a little more of what we read earlier from Revelation:
Revelation 13:1-3
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast
rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon
his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and
his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a
lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great
authority.
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death;
and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the
beast.
The dragon is Satan, and the beast is Antichrist. The Antichrist
empire has 10 parts (the ten horns of the beast in Daniel's dream).
If you're a little confused, stay tuned, because Daniel had another
vision that we'll learn about in Chapter 11 that will explain this
even further, but for now, take a look at the similarities between
Nebuchadnezzar's dream from Chapter 2, Daniel's dream, and John's
vision from Revelation:
Statue
Dream
Head - Gold
Chest & Arms - Silver
Belly & Thighs - Brass
Legs - Iron
Feet/10 Toes - Iron/Clay
Daniel's
Dream
Lion
Bear
Leopard
Iron toothed beast
10 horns
Revelation
Chapter 13
Mouth (Lion)
Feet (Bear)
Beast (antichrist)
Dragon (satan)
Daniel's Dream Summary
Daniel Dream Interpretation Conclusion
Pretty interesting, yes? We'll be expanding this chart even more in
the study of Chapter 11! Until then, be sure to come back to find out
what happens next in the life of Daniel the Prophet. I'll give you a
little hint ... Daniel has another vision!
Click the link below to learn more of Daniel's vision:
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