I have been a student of Bible Prophecy for a little over 35 years and each time that I study a verse of scripture I find that there is almost always something new that the Lord shows me that I had not previously noticed.
The seventh chapter of the Book of Daniel is one of those amazing places in the Bible where the Holy Spirit reveals extraordinary details about the events of the Last Days. As Daniel is considering the dream that has been given to him by God in verse 1 of Daniel 7, the text begins as follows:
Daniel 7:1 “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. Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.
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.
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!’
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.
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.”
Daniel views four creatures coming up from “The Sea”. Whenever the Bible speaks of “The Sea”, it is referring to the Mediterranean sea. To those who were of Hebrew descent, the Mediterranean sea was always simply referred to as “The Sea” (Ha-yam) as it was Israel’s entire western border. When we get to Revelation chapter 13:1, this same “Little Horn” of Daniel chapter 7 will be called “The Beast” in Revelation 13 and will be seen as “coming up” from the Mediterranean sea. This is clearly a reference to the future antichrist coming from the former Roman Empire which existed all around the border of the Mediterranean sea.
The four world-wide kingdoms that Daniel saw in his night visions began with the Babylonians from 605-538 B.C. Nearly 700 years later, John would be given a virtually identical vision of these same events in the Book of Revelation.
The four beasts than Daniel saw; A Lion, A Bear, A Leopard, and a Dreadful Beast beyond earthly description, were a Prophetic view of the four kingdoms that would dominate the world over the course of human history.
The Lion represented King Nebuchadnezzar, King of the Babylonians.
The Bear representing King Cyrus of the Medo-Persian Empire.
The Leopard representing Alexander the Great who conquored the know world when he was just 32 years old.
The Dreadful and Terrible Beast coming in “The Last Days” from a revival of the old Roman Empire led by the one called the “Beast” or “The Antichrist”.
It is important to remember that these first three kingdoms described in the Book of Daniel, were predicted hundreds of years before they actually occurred in history. The accuracy of these prophecies in the Book of Daniel are so precise that skeptics have often stated that they must have been written after the events actually took place. They contend that any prediction with the detail that Daniel describes, would be impossible to predict before hand.
Therein is the point that we who study the Bible have been making all along. The Bible is the handwriting of God. His words and thoughts, recorded by “holy men of God who spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit“. The most convincing proof that the Bible is the Word of God is that of the 2,500 plus prophecies in the scriptures, over 2,000 of these have already been literally fulfilled exactly as they were predicted, without a single error.
There is no other piece of literature ever written that can boast of a record of fulfilled prophecy with 100 percent accuracy, except the Bible. The much hailed prophecies of Nostradamus only have about a 50 percent rate of accuracy, and yet millions of people hold Nostradamus up as a great and credible prophet. Perhaps the reason that so many do not give honor to the accuracy of the Bible, is that it also contains the indictment that man is a sinner and has no eternal hope except through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
In Daniel’s vision of these four kingdoms as he considers the fourth, he sees “A little Horn” coming up from among the “Ten Horns” of this fourth kingdom.
Daniel 7:8-18 “I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots.
In the Bible, the horn is a picture of the Lord’s Power or strength.
2Samuel 22:3 “The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge“
Psalms 89:17 “For You are the glory of their strength, And in Your favor our horn is exalted.”
This “Little Horn” will be the power and strength of the final kingdom.
As he comes on the world scene in the last days, it will be during a time of world crisis. Financial markets will be in turmoil, energy will have accelerated in cost, entire governments will be near bankruptcy. This one man will have the solution to all of the world’s problems. He will be hailed as the “Messiah” of the world as he brings answers to the worlds unsolvable problems.
Next, Daniel tells us that this Little Horn is “A Man”
Daniel 7:8 “…And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.”
As this Little Horn rules this final fourth kingdom, he will speak “pompous words”. A little later in Daniel chapter 11, we discover that this Little Horn is called “A King” and he will seek to “Magnify himself above every god, even the God of Gods, whom he will blaspheme.”
Daniel 11:36 “Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done.“
Notice that Daniel is told that this King of the fourth kingdom will “prosper till the wrath has been acomplished...” The wrath spoken of here is the Seven Year Tribulation Period, which is also called the Time of “the Wrath of the Lamb.
Revelation 6:16 “and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!”
By just these first few details, we already know the identity of this king of the fourth kingdom. He is of course, satan. From the beginning, it has always been satan’s desire to be worshipped as God. Isaiah describes satan as falling from heaven because of his desire to exalt his throne above the throne of God:
Isaiah 14:13-14 “For you have said in your heart: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.“
In the new testament, Paul writes that all of the “so called gods” of this world are really nothing more than demons masquerading as gods.
1 Corinthians 10:20 “Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God…”
1 Corinthians 8:4-6 “Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God…”
The object of these demons as they are led by satan, is to receive the worship of man. Those who believe that they are worshipping “a god”, are in reality worshipping demons. 1 Corinthians 8:4-6 makes it clear that there is only One God, the God of the Bible.
Even today as those who seek to contact their dear departed loved ones, believing that they are still dwelling on the earth as a spirit, will often seek to contact their loved one by the use of spiritist or mediums.
According to the Bible when anyone dies, their spirit immediately leaves their body. If they died believing in Jesus Christ, they go immediately into the presence of the Lord. If they rejected Jesus during their life, then they go immediately into Hades where they will await their final judgement.
No departed human being is permitted to dwell on the earth as a spirit after they die. To attempt to contact these who have died, is to really make contact with a demon. These spirits will pretend to be your loved one, when in reality they are a demonic being. This is why Paul tells the Corinthian church that the “gentiles who offer sacrifices to their gods are really sacrificing to demons“. (See 1 Corinthians 10:20 above)
By the description that Daniel gives us of this “Little Horn”, his blasphecy of the God of gods, and his desire for the worship of man, we know for certain that this final world ruler is the one the Book of Revelation calls: “The Beast and the Antichrist”.
Revelation 13:1 “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.”
Here again in Revelation chapter 13, we see the same reference to “The Sea” that Daniel chapter 7 speaks of. Notice how both Revelation and Daniel are so close in their text, yet they were written by two different men, about 700 years apart in history.
Revelation 13:2 “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.”
As John is writing here in the Book of Revelation chapter 13, his description of the King of this fourth kingdom is exactly the same as Daniel’s description of the king in chapter 7:
A “Lion”, a “Bear” and a “Leopard”.
When the antichrist arrives on the world scene, he will have the same characteristics as those of the three kings before him that existed in past history:
The Ferociousness of Nebchadnezzar, “The Lion”.
The Power of Cyrus, “The Bear”
The Speed of Alexander the Greek, “The Leopard”.
According to Daniel chapter 11:36, this antichrist will only “prosper in his kingdom for a short time”. The period of history alloted to satan to rule through the antichrist, is just three and one-half years. The time period that is described in Revelation chapter 6 thru chapter 19 called “The Tribulation Period”.
Daniel 11:36 “…he shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished”
Jesus spoke of this period of time in Matthew chapter 24:
Matthew 24:21 “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.”
The “Wrath”spoken of here is the seven year tribulation period in which Jesus will pour out His wrath on the world which has rejected His sacrifice for their sins. In three sets of seven different judgments, the last three and one-half years of the Tribualtion are called: “The Great Tribulation:. During this very short period of Jesus wrath, over 2/3rd’s of the worlds population will perish.
The fact that this period of time is the outpouring of Jesus wrath, is important when you realize that Jesus church will not be present during while the wrath is being poured out. It would be completely inconsistent of the Lord to die for His church so that she would not experience the wrath of God in judgement for their sins, then allow his church to go through the period of His wrath described in the Book of Revelation.
1 Thessalonians 5:9 “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ…”
Revelation 3:10 Jesus told the church at Philadelphia, the true church: “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial (The Tribulation) which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”
This king that Daniel calls “the little horn, the beast and the antichrist”, will only be permitted to reign for the last three and one-half years of the present world in the Tribulation period.
Now, this is where it gets particularly interesting for me. As Daniel continues to describe the vision that the Lord has given him of this final kingdom that will come upon the Earth during the last seven years, Daniel see something truly amazing:
Daniel 7:9 “I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire;
At the conclusion of the seven year tribulation, the time of the antichrist’s kingdom will come to an end by the arrival of Jesus back to earth. The “Thrones put in place” that Daniel sees in chapter 7, are the positions of rulership around the world where Jesus will dispatch his people to co-rule with Him for 1,000 years. The “Ancient of Days” reference here, is an old testament title for Jesus, who is seen here in Daniel chapter 7 with white garments and hair as white as wool, just as John described Jesus in the Book of Revelation chapter 1.
Revelation 1:13-14 “… and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire…”
Revelation chapter 19 records that at the end of the seven year tribulation, Jesus will depart heaven with His redeemed church and journey back to earth in the event commonly referred to as “The Second Coming of Christ”.
Revelation 19:11-15 “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron.”
Jesus is returning to fulfill the prophecy of the Son of David, ruling a kingdom on earth for 1,000 years. This is commonly referred to as “The Millennium”.
Isaiah 9:6-7 “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever.“
Jesus will be returning to earth at the end of the seven year Tribualtion to establsih this kingdom and “government” that Isaiah refers to. He will co-rule this world-wide government with the assistance of His redeemed church who were raptured to heaven seven years before.
Revelation 5:10 “And have made us (Jesus Church) kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”
Revelation 3:21 (Jesus speaking) “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.“
1 Corinthians 6:2 “Do you not know that the saints (Jesus church) will judge the world?”
At the Rapture seven years before, all those who had either died believing in Jesus, or are alive when Jesus comes, will be transformed in mid-air from mortal, into immortals with eternal bodies (1 Corinthians 15). As Jesus returns to earth (1 thessalonians 4:17), the church who had been Raptured, and are now eternal beings, will be returning with Jesus at the end of the seven year tribulation. Jesus will appoint each believer to rule in various places around the Earth, with various positions of authority, depending on their faithfulness to the Lord while living as mortals on the Earth.
The Prophet Zechariah describes the return of Jesus to earth in vivid detail. as the Lord will arrive with His church at “The Mount of Olives” near Jerusalem:
Zechariah 14:1-2 “Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.“
As Jesus arrives at the Mount of Olives, just to the north in the valley of Megiddo, there will be gathered all the armies of the antichrist who are set to do battle with Jesus. As the Lord’s feet touch the ground at the Mount of Olives, the mountain will “Split in-two”:
Zechariah 14:3-4 “Then the LORD will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south.”
Revelation chapters 14, 16, and 19 describe what will happen during this event that Zechariah speaks of as the armies of the antichrist are gathered for battle:
Revelation 16:16 “And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.”
As this great army of the antichrist is gathered in the valley of Meggido, north of Jerusalem, from heaven a great proclamation will be given. The “birds of heaven” are to prepare themselves for a great feast of human flesh as all those who are gathered to fight against Jesus are killed by the breath of Jesus mouth:
Revelation 19:17-18 “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.”
Revelation 19:19 “And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.”
2 Thessalonians 2:8 “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.”
A carnage of unimaginable proportions will ensue in this valley that is about 200 miles in length. After Jesus speaks and all of the armies are killed, the blood from their slaughter will be up to the depth of a horses bridle, or about 4-5 feet deep. The graphic language of the Book of Revelation chapter 14, describes the carnage as being like and angel thrusting his harvesting sickle into the earth and throwing the grapes into a winepress…
Revelation 14:19 “So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God”.
Revelation 14:20 “And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.”
By now I am sure that you are realizing that the Book of Daniel in it’s description of these events of the last days, is virtually identical to that of the Book of Revelation. They are of course, companions in any serious study of the Bible concerning the prophecies of the last days.
As we conclude this study, we finish with the final 9 verses in this study of the Book of Daniel chapter 7.
Daniel is describing the new kingdom that Jesus is to establish on the whole earth along with all those of His church.
Daniel 7:9 “I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire;
10 A fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, And the books were opened.
11 “I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame.
12 As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
13 “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him.
14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.
15 “I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.
16 I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things:
17 “Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth.
18 But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.“
Daniel saw a clear vision of the actual events that are just about to take place during our lifetime. Jesus returning to the earth during the end of the seven year tribulation. Returning with His church, He establishes His promised kingdom over the earth in which He rules by a “Rod of Iron”. This will be a forced rulership imposed on all people of the earth who have survived the horrific judgements of the tribulation.
Although most of those who live on the earth during the last three and one-half years of the seven year tribulation will die in Jesus outpouring of wrath, there will be a remnant that survive.
These who do make it through the tribulation, and have not persecuted Israel during the reign of the antichrist, will be allowed to go into the one-thousand year reign of Jesus.
In Jesus parable of the sheep and the goats, He is describing the seperation of those who treated Israel kindly (Sheep) verses those who persecuted Israel (Goats) during the seven year tribulation.
Matthew 25:32 “All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.”
These “Sheep” who are separated from the “Goats”, are still mortals, and remain in fallen bodies. They will have the capacity for rebellion and sin. Although the rulership of Jesus is by force during the one-thousand years, at the end of the reign, when satan is released from the abusso, he will gather all those who secretly had rebellion in their hearts against Jesus rule, and a final army of rebellion will be gathered once again to seek to overthrow Jesus.
Revelation 20:7-9 “Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.”
This is of course only a short and concise study of chapter 7 of the Books of Daniel and Revelation.
What I hope that you have noticed in this brief but detailed study, is that although these two books are written by completely different men, hundred of years apart, they have the exact same story line and final outcome. Clearly both are written as a single story with each of the two books filling in the details separately, but perfectly integrated when read side by side such as we have done here.
This single integrated account in the Bible is supported by dozens of other verses of scripture that come from all over the old and new testaments, and yet they are describing the exact same events.
How is it possible that different men, writing at different times in history, know about the same future events? How is it that they are able to write in vivid detail about future events and they ALL agree with each other with no inconsistency?
To the diligent and the trained eye, this is a stunning example of the fact that the Bible is an extraordinary and unique document. Clearly, although different men wrote each of these prophecies at different periods of history, they must have all had a common source of inspiration and information. In order to be perfectly blended with each other in the way that we see them written here in the Bible there had to be a common author, I believe Him to be the Holy Spirit.
Rob Robinson
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