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THE DREAM OF BEASTS AND HORNS IN THE
NIGHT |
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Outline
1. THE DREAM DELIVERED TO DANIEL
a) The Recording of the Dream
b) The Revelation of the Dream
2. THE DREAM DESCRIBED BY DANIEL
a) The Rolling Sea
b) The Rising Beasts
c) The Ruling Little Horn
3. THE DREAM DISCLOSED TO DANIEL
a) The Historic Rise of the World
Rulers
b) The Prophetic Rise of a World
Ruler
A wife said to her husband at
breakfast, “I dreamed last night that you have me a pearl necklace
for our anniversary. What do you think it means?” “You’ll know
tonight,” the husband said. That evening the husband came home with
a small package. So excited, she opened the package and on the
inside found a book entitled, “The Meaning of Dreams.”
As we have made our way through
the book of Daniel we have seen Daniel as an interpreter of dreams.
Now we see him as a receiver of dreams. In Daniel 7 we see the first
of four dreams or visions that Daniel received. The second is found
in chapter 8, the third in chapter 9 and the fourth is found in
chapters 10-12.
The book of Daniel is both
historical and prophetical. Chapters 1-6 are largely historical,
although there are prophecies in this section that relate to
history. The dream of Nebuchadnezzar is example. Chapters 7-12 are
largely prophetical. It gives us what is often referred to as the
Revelation of the Old Testament.
Each of Daniel’s four dreams
occurred during the historical period described in chapters 1-6. The
first occurred during the first reign of Belshazzar (555 B.C.). The
second occurred during the third year of Belshazzar’s reign (552
B.C.). The third dream or vision occurred during the first year of
the reign of Darius (538 B.C.) and the fourth during the third year
of the reign of Cyrus (536 B.C.).
I want us to begin looking at the
first dream of Daniel. I want to divide the dream into two parts. We
will look at the first part in this study and then consider the
second part of the dream in our next study.
The first part of the dream has
to do with beasts and horns. Let’s consider this part of Daniel’s
first dream by thinking about:
1. THE DREAM DELIVERED TO DANIEL
Before we look at the dream
itself, I want you to think with me for a few moments of Daniel’s
experience in having the dream. There was a night when Daniel went
to bed and in his sleep he had a dream in which he had visions. The
Bible says of Daniel in chapter 1:17,
“Daniel had understanding in
all visions and dreams.” Before us is an example of Daniel’s
God-given ability to see and interpret dreams and visions.
Notice first:
A) The Recording
of the Dream
We read in verse 1,
“In the first year of
Belshazzar king of
Daniel was aware that God often
spoke in dreams and visions. The Bible says in Hebrews 1:1,
“God, Who at sundry times
and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers…” The
word “sundry” means “in many portions” and speaks of the diverse and
various times God spoke. “Divers manners” speaks of various ways. At
various times God spoke in various ways.
For those who would say that God
still speaks through dreams and visions, the Bible says in Hebrews
1:2, “(God) Hath in these
last days spoken unto us by His Son.” We have the Word of God
from the Son of God which is God’s method of speaking to us today.
In short, you will not be seeing a 900-feet Jesus telling you to
take certain actions. Just thought I would slip that in. When God
speaks, He will through His Word!
In Daniel’s day, God often used
the method of speaking through dreams and visions. Daniel knew that
this dream and vision was from God, therefore he realized the
importance of recording what he saw.
Furthermore, we see:
B) The Revelation of the Dream
We read in verse 15,
“I Daniel was grieved in my
spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled
me.” At first Daniel did not understand the full extent of the
dream. No doubt he recognized that it revealed certain events that
were to take place, but not fully understanding the meaning, he was
troubled.
We read in verse 16 that he
sought an understanding of the dream:
“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 to know the interpretation of the things.” The
one that stood by was no doubt one of the many angels that are
referred to in verse ten. We will consider these angels in our next
study. The angel explained to Daniel his dream and the visions so he
could understand their meaning.
Concerning the dream and vision
Daniel received, W.S. Towner in his book
Daniel, states that
“modern commentators are generally agreed that chapter 7 is the
single most important chapter of the Book of Daniel.” E. W. Heaton
in his book states, “It would be no exaggeration to say that this
chapter is one of the most important passages of the O.T.”
Why is this chapter and Daniel’s
dream so significant? Several reasons are cited by different
authors, but no doubt the most significant is the prophetic nature
of Daniel’s dream and visions. Walvoord states: “As interpreted by
conservative expositors, the vision of Daniel provides the most
comprehensive and detailed prophecy of future events to be found
anywhere in the Old Testament.”
We read in verse 17,
“These great beasts, which
are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.”
The angel made it very clear that Daniel’s dream and the visions
involved four kings or four kingdoms that would arise in history.
You will find the events of the
dream very similar to the events described in Nebuchadnezzar’s
dream. He saw much the same thing in his dream of the image with a
golden head, arms and breast of silver, legs of iron, and feet of
iron and clay. As we saw, his image represented the world rulers
that would arise throughout the course of history.
Daniel’s dream involves the same,
but with a different perspective. Both give a panoramic view of
Gentile world history and the climax being God’s kingdom established
on the earth. The difference is that in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar
you see history as man would view it. In Daniel’s dream you see
history from God’s perspective.
If we want to understand history
from God’s point of view and have an understanding of future events,
Daniel’s dream and visions are the key that unlocks the door. His
dream tells us what has happened, what will happen, and how things
are going to end up.
Have you ever started reading a
novel and then cheated by jumping to the last chapter to see how
things end? In Daniel’s dream we have the last chapter. It takes all
the guessing away. It tells us what has happened, what is yet to
happen, and how it all will end up. We will see how it all ends up
in our next study, but I will say this much, things will come out
just as God said and planned, and the Lord Jesus will rule and reign
as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Secondly, notice with me:
2. THE DREAM DESCRIBED BY DANIEL
Let me first just give you
Daniel’s description of what he saw in his dream and visions. Then
we will consider what each one represents.
First, Daniel saw:
A) The Rolling Sea
We read in verses 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.” From the north, south, east, and
west, the wind began to blow upon the great sea. The word “strove”
means “to rush forth.” The image is of a sudden storm and a churning
sea. Suddenly these four winds blew upon the sea creating turmoil
upon the sea.
Secondly, Daniel saw:
B) The Rising Beasts
We read in verse 3,
“And four great beasts came
up from the sea, diverse one from another.” Daniel sees four
beasts that are distinct and different from one another. The word
“beasts” means “animals.” Daniel saw four different kinds of
animals.
In verse 4 he sees a lion. We
read, “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 to stand like
a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.” This was an unusual
lion for it had eagle’s wings. Eventually Daniel saw these wings
plucked from the lion. With the removal of the wings, the lion was
lifted up and made to stand as a man, along with a man’s heart given
to it.
In verse 5 he sees a bear. We
read, “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.”
I think of two fellows who were
hiking in the woods one day when a huge bear start chasing them. One
stopped and took off his boots and put on his tennis shoes. The
other said, “Even with tennis shoes, you can’t outrun that bear.” He
replied, “I don’t need to outrun the bear, I just need to outrun
you.”
Here was a bear you would want to
outrun. Daniel sees it raise itself up on one side and notices that
in its mouth are three ribs. Yet it is still not satisfied and rises
to find other prey.
In verse 6 he sees a leopard. We
read, “After this I behold,
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.” Similar to the lion, this leopard had wings. As
well, it had four heads.
In verse 7 we find a fourth
beast. This beast is so fierce and terrible that there is no animal
to compare it to. We read,
“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 out the residue
with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that
were before it; and it had ten horns.” This beast was stronger
than the lion, scarier than the bear, and swifter than the leopard.
Its great feature was ten horns.
The third thing Daniel saw in his
dream was:
C) The Ruling Little Horn
Daniel sees a little horn rising
up from the ten horns of the fourth beast. We read in verse 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 mouth
speaking great words.”
There was something intriguing
about the ten horns on the fourth beast to Daniel. He “considered”
which means he was in deep thought about them when from them emerged
a “little horn.” The unique features of this little horn were that
it had the eyes of a man and a boastful and blasphemous mouth.
Now if we had such a dream we
would probably call it a nightmare. You talk about unique and
unusual creatures; Daniel’s dream was full of them. However, God was
giving Daniel, as well as us, in a symbolic word a comprehensive
picture of world history, past and present.
Think with me of:
3. THE DREAM DISCLOSED TO DANIEL
As we have already seen, Daniel
asked an angel to explain to him the meaning of the dream and
visions. The interpretation the angel gave is found in verse 17,
“These great beasts, which
are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.”
The meaning of the dream is obvious. We do not have to guess or
speculate. Each of the beasts represents a king or kingdom.
Everything about the dream was
future and prophetical to Daniel. For us, much is history. We have
the benefit of history to use as a guideline in understanding what
Daniel saw.
First, in Daniel’s dream we see:
A) The Historic Rise of the World
Rulers
The sea that is described in
verse 2 is defined as the earth by the angel. The beasts seen coming
out of the sea represent the four kings or kingdom that rose to
power from the earth. The four winds that created turmoil on the sea
represent the turmoil caused by their rise to power, conquering the
one that preceded them.
The lion represents the
Babylonian Empire (612 – 539 B.C.). A lion with eagle’s wings was a
common symbol of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire. It was
their national symbol. Statues of winged lions have been found in
the ruins of
The wings represent the swiftness
by which the Babylonians conquered their enemies. The wings being
plucked out, torn out, represents a dramatic change that came over
the kingdom. No doubt this refers to the period of time following
Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity and the more humane manner of his rule.
The bear represents the Medo-Persian
Empire (539-331 B.C.). In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream he saw his empire
falling to another. History shows this was the Medo-Persians. The
bear rising up on one side no doubt represents how that
The leopard represents the rise
of the Grecian Empire under Alexander the Great (331-63 B.C.). The
leopard, a swift, cunning, and cruel animal with an insatiable
thirst for blood accurately describes Alexander and his conquests.
The four heads no doubt describe the division of his empire after
his death.
The fourth beast we know by
history represents the
This comprehensive portrait of
history reminds us of the accuracy of prophecy and the Word of God.
Years, yea, centuries before any of this ever happened, God
described the events of history, and it happened just as God said.
History is a testimony of the reliability of God’s Word. The Bible
says in Psalm 93:5, “Thy testimonies are very sure.” They are
one-hundred percent sure! History only verifies the sureness of
God’s Word.
We also see in Daniel’s dream
that which has not happened as yet. He saw this fourth beast having
ten horns and a little horn coming from the ten. In these horns we
see:
B) The Prophetic Rise of a World
Ruler
Bible scholars tend to agree that
the ten horns represent a future confederation of nations that will
be comprised of nations that existed under the old
From these ten horns there will
come a “little horn.” It is called little in the sense of its size
at the beginning. It came up from the ten and grew in size until it
overpowered (uprooted) three of the horns and bringing the others
under its control.
Having the eyes of a man speaks
of human personality. Daniel saw a world ruler rising to power. He
saw the rise of the antichrist in the future. One day there will be
a person who will rise to the forefront of the world’s stage. He
will become a one-world ruler. His domination of the ten horns
represents his rule.
Having a mouth that speaks great
things speaks of being boastful and being blasphemous. The
antichrist will declare himself as god, and will spew out his
blasphemies of the one and true God. However, as we shall see in our
next study, there will be one greater that will conquer him. There
is one more kingdom that is to rise to power, as represented by the
ten horns and the little horn, but then God will set up His kingdom.
Glory!
People often wonder what the
future holds. Daniel’s dream and visions tell us exactly what the
future holds. The accuracy of the past assures of the future. Such
prophecies of the Bible, the fulfillment of those prophecies assure
us that God has His hand on the driver’s wheel. © 2007 by the Living Word |
