DANIEL SIMPLIFIED

 

CHAPTER 7.9

Gleanings from the Book of Daniel:

A Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series

 

DANIEL

 

Chapter Seven

The Ancient of Days

 

Introduction

Daniel envisioned four beasts from the Lord who supplant each other. A lion, representative of Babylon is overthrown by a lopsided bear, representative of the Medo-Persian Empire. The Bear is quickly conquered by the Grecian Empire under Alexander the Great. And, a last non-descript beast, representing the Roman Empire, overtakes Greece after its four-way split upon the death of Alexander the Great.

 

Interestingly, the fourth beast, the Roman Empire, different from all other beasts is depicted as having ten horns, each horn symbolic of a king and kingdom. The ten horns designate the final form of a ten-nation confederacy, the revived Roman Empire in the Last Days.

 

Out of the ten horns, a little horn will rise to power, subdue three horns, and take control of the global government. The little horn is none other than Antichrist. Now observe:

Revelation 13:2a - 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.

 

The order of animals is reversed in the Book of Revelation simply because John is viewing the prophecy from this side of the Cross. As for the little horn (Antichrist):

Revelation 13:2b - The dragon (Satan) gave him (Antichrist) his power, his seat, and great authority.

 

Daniel is viewing history moving toward a climax in which righteousness will triumph over evil. However, the Messianic Kingdom is not established until after the fourth beast is judged and slain (cf. Daniel 7:9ff.).

 

 

1. The Introduction (v. 1)

2. The Intervention from God (Vv. 2-7)

3. The Innovation of the Little Horn (v. 8)

4. The Intercession of the Ancient of Days (Vv. 9-14)

(Verse 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.

 

A Judgment Scene

In preparation for the Great Tribulation Period and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, there is an interposition in Daniel’s animal vision. The scene abruptly shifts from the terrestrial to the celestial and from the human to the divine.

 

Verse 9 ushers in the fifth kingdom on earth as the final form of world power. But quickly, the reader is directed to the thrones of judgment in Heaven. Several extraordinary sights come into view as Daniel continued looking:

1. The thrones being cast down

2. The seating of eternal God

3. The description of His garment

4. The description of His hair

5. The description of His Throne

6. The fire emitting from His Throne

7. The wheels of His Throne as burning fire

 

I beheld…the thrones were cast down

In His vision, Daniel is given a view of the heavenly courtroom at the time of final judgment upon the nations. As he continued to watch, thrones were cast down (set in place) for the assessors of the Judge. These are differentiated from the angelic hosts mentioned in verse 10.

 

I beheld…the Ancient of Days did sit

While Daniel observes as the Ancient of Days sits on His Throne. Ancient of Days is a term Daniel uses to refer to God the Father. The name exemplifies the eternality of God - He is the eternal self-existing One.

 

Interestingly, this designation for God is found only in Chapter 7 of Daniel (Vv. 9, 13, 22). He is the only One qualified to render judgment upon the nations and to all those opposed to His supreme authority.  

 

The word, Throne is representative of God’s government, authority, and power. Compare as John writes:

Revelation 4:2 - And immediately I was in the Spirit: and, behold, a Throne was set in Heaven, and One (Jesus Christ) sat on the Throne.

 

The Trinity

Both God the Father and Jesus Christ, the second person of the Godhead also take their seat on a Throne. Here, the Trinity is a mystery. They are equally three Persons in One – A triune God [see discussion in Revelation Study 4.2]. John informs us as to Who is the righteous judge:

John 5:22 - For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.

 

I beheld…whose garment was white as snow

As Daniel views the eternal Father God, he notices His garment. It was as white as snow. White is an attribute characterization of God’s righteousness, holiness, and absolute purity.

 

I beheld…the hair of His head like the pure wool

Hair like pure wool emphasizes God’s infinite wisdom rather than age. His clothing and hair also speak of His holiness and purity:

Matthew 28:3 - His countenance was like lightning, and His raiment white as snow.

 

Revelation 1:14a - His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow.

 

I beheld…His Throne was like the fiery flame

Next, God’s Throne pictured as a fiery flame speaks of justice and judgment:

Leviticus 10:2 - And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

 

Isaiah 66:15-16 - For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.

 

I beheld…and His wheels as burning fire

Daniel beholds wheels representing the omnipresence of Almighty God. In Antiquity, oriental thrones had wheels. God’s Throne also has wheels like a blazing fire – great destruction to the wicked. It is here from God's Throne, that the execution of His judgment is thus moving swiftly. The representation of a wheeled fiery Throne is found in the visions of Ezekiel (read Ezekiel 1:15-28).

 

 

(Verse 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.

 

As a prelude before final judgment, streams of fire burst forth from His Throne, most likely with lightning and thunder:

Revelation 4:5 - And out of the Throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the Throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

 

Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him

A Hebraism, meaning a vast or countless number of attending angels are standing by to minister to God and execute His will. At the same time, myriads of people are standing before His Throne ready to be judged when the books are opened.

 

The judgment was set, and the books were opened

The judges sat, the court was convened, and the process of judgment commenced as the books were opened. Based upon God’s judgment records, He judges with righteous judgment (cf. Psalm 89:14; 96:13; 98:9).

 

God’s Books

In Scripture, the Lord is a great bookkeeper. At the time of the Great White Throne Judgment, John writes:

Revelation 20:12 - And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

 

Notice, books are plural. God has a record of everyone’s thoughts (cf. Romans 2:14-16), words (cf. Matthew 12:36-37), and actions (cf. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) while here on earth. And, Malachi 3:16 speaks of a book of remembrance.

 

God even collects and writes down the tears of the saints…

Psalm 56:8 - Thou tellest my wanderings: put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?

 

The Book of Life

God also has a heavenly record or roll book of all creation. The roster of those who have salvation through Jesus Christ will inherit eternal life. The fates of the unrighteous, unredeemed, or unsaved are removed from the Book of Life and will receive eternal damnation such as Judas Iscariot (cf. Revelation 3:5):

Revelation 20:15 - And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire..

 

 

(Verse 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.

 

The Fourth Beast

The scene now shifts from Heaven to Earth. As Daniel kept his attention fixated, boastful words against the Ancient of Days are loudly blurted forth from the little horn’s (Antichrist) mouth.

 

Daniel continued observing until the beast was slain, its body destroyed, and thrown into the blazing Lake of Fire at the end of the Millennium Age:

Revelation 19:20 - And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

 

Observations

1. Antichrist and the False Prophet do not undergo annihilation, rather, they are given perpetual punishment by fire (cf. Isaiah 66:24; Mark 9:48; Revelation 20:10).

 

2. Their fiery destruction corresponds to the smashing of the image by the stone or rock in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (cf. 2:35, 45a).

 

3. In both cases, the end will come upon the Beast and the False Prophet suddenly and spectacularly.

 

4. The fourth beast (Antichrist and his kingdom) represents the revived Roman Empire during the Last Days (Tribulation) in its political and religious entity (Mystery Babylon - Babylon the Great, see Revelation 17-18).   

 

 

Discover what happens to the first three beasts (kingdoms) and the action of the Son of Man in the continuing segment.

 

 

QUESTIONS:

1. What do the four beasts represent?

2. Who is the little horn?

3. How does the little horn rise to power?

4. Who is the Ancient of Days?

5. What does His Throne look like?

6. How many angels minister to God?

7. What is the Book of Life all about?

 

 

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