KINGDOM TRANSFERRED
Part fourteen of fifteen devotions in Heaven Enchantment Series
Daniel 7
Daniel 7:25: “He will speak against the Most High and
oppress the saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a
time, times and a half time.”
Daniel
says in verse 28, “This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my
thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”
His
seventh chapter glimpses scary (end) times.
“He”
is the antichrist in the opening Scripture.
The saints (believers) will be under the antichrist for three and a half
years. Chapter 7:4-8 showcases four
beasts in Daniel’s dream. Beasts
represent four kingdoms. The first is a
lion with wings of an eagle. The eagle’s
wings were torn off and he stood on two feet like a man. (Great Britain’s image is a lion. United States’ national seal is an eagle).
The
second beast was a bear, (Russia), who was told to eat his fill of flesh. The third beast was a leopard. (Different
theologians label the leopard as being either Greece, the European Union or
Germany). He had four wings like a bird,
AND four heads! He was given authority
to rule.
But
the fourth best was terrifying and frighteningly powerful. It had iron teeth! It crushed and devoured its victims,
trampling what was left under its feet.
This beast had ten horns (standing for ten kings rising from that
kingdom). A little horn sprouted, uprooting
three horns! The little horn had eyes
like a man, and spoke boastfully (the antichrist). It was different from the ten political
kings. It rose as a “religious-political
superpower” demanding loyalty from the whole world.
Verses
nine and ten show courtroom drama:
Thrones. Ancient of Days (God the
Father) with white hair and white clothes sat in a throne of flaming fire. The court was seated. The books were opened.
Verses
11 and 12 say the antichrist was slain; its body thrown into blazing fire. The other beasts, (kingdoms named before),
were stripped of authority, but stayed in power for a little longer.
Redemption
comes in verse 13:
The
Son of Man, (God the Son), came with the clouds of heaven. Jesus approached His Father, who gave Him authority,
glory and sovereign power. All people in
every nation worshipped Him in every language.
Jesus’ power and kingdom is declared everlasting in verse 14.
See
the lesson linked below.
Take
Home Nugget
Verses 21-22 shows the antichrist waging war against the
saints: “until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the
saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.” (Emphasis mine).
These
saints are you and me; our kingdom is earth.
Jesus’
biography spanning both the Bible’s Old and New Testaments is the greatest
drama ever told!
This devotion is adapted from Heaven.
Chapter 22, “How Will We Rule God’s
Kingdom?” Subtitle1 “Why God
Created Mankind and the Earth.” Subtitle2
“God’s Kingdom…and Ours.” Subtitle3
“Kingdom Transfer.” Alcorn, Randy. © 2004. Tyndale House of Publishers,
Inc. Illinois.
Daniel was troubled writing chapter
seven. He could never have envisioned
how this devotion explains his dream of beasts (modern kingdoms). See the addendum after the links for
explanation of kingdoms in Daniel’s time.
J.D. Griffith
Written
for http://www.Biblestudyforkids.com
Click here for inexpensive Christian eBook and app offers
In Daniel 7, the
prophet outlines the rise and fall of kingdoms. These kingdoms battle for world
dominion. Armies fight for this earth’s throne. Potential leaders aspire to
earthly greatness. Kings and emperors wage war. The stakes are high; the
rulership of this world hangs in the balance. Finally, a religious-political
superpower arises. This power demands the total allegiance of its subjects.
God’s faithful people, who refuse to give this allegiance, are cruelly
persecuted. The superpower changes God’s law, this power sets up its own
standard of right. The destiny of the world trembles in the balance.
3. How many
horns did the fourth beast have? Daniel 7:7.
KINGDOM TRANSFERRED Addendum
Daniel 7
Googling “Beasts of Daniel 7”
brought up several links. These define
what Daniel would understand in Middle East history concurrent to his life
(605-530 B.C.). I chose one that
explains what modern theologians have agreed with the interpretation Daniel received
in Daniel 7:15-28.
“Kingdoms in Collision
Then the scene switches from earth to
heaven. The Almighty declares that He is the rightful ruler of all the world’s
kingdoms. He pronounces judgment upon the would-be usurpers of the throne. The
kingdoms of the world are His. He created our planet, and He redeemed it. “All
peoples, nations, and languages” (Daniel 7:14, NKJV) serve and praise Him
forever.
Understanding Bible Prophecy: Questions 1-4
1. What scene does Daniel describe in his
dream? What did he see? What did his vision contain? Daniel 7:1-3.
Answer: A great storm. He saw four winds
stir up the sea. Four beasts.
NOTE: Bible prophecy contains a variety of
symbolic representations. Each of these symbols is explained clearly in
Scripture.
- A beast represents a kingdom (Daniel 7:17,
23).
- Winds represent strife, war, or conflict
(Jeremiah 49:36, 37).
- Water represents multitudes, peoples, and
nations (Revelation 17:15).
2. What four beasts did Daniel see in his
vision? Daniel 7:4, 5, 6, 7.
Answer: a. A lion with eagle's wings. b. A
bear with three ribs in its mouth. c. A leopard with four heads and four wings.
d. A very strong beast.
A lion, the first beast, is a fitting
symbol of Babylon. The Old Testament prophets called Babylon a lion. A lion
with eagle’s wings was a prominent symbol on Babylonian coins and on Babylon’s
walls. The lion—the king of beasts—and an eagle—the chief of birds—aptly
describes the powerful rule of Babylon from 605 to 539 B.C.
The fierceness of the Medo-Persian
soldiers is depicted in the bear of verse 5. When the Medes and Persians overthrew
Babylon, they also conquered Lydia and Egypt. The three ribs in the bear’s
mouth represent these three nations—Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt. Medo-Persia
ruled the Middle East from 539 to 331 B.C.
The leopard is an appropriate symbol of
Alexander the Great’s empire, Greece. The Greek king conquered with the
swiftness of a leopard flying with eagle’s wings. Why does this leopard have
four heads? When Alexander died in a drunken stupor at age thirty-three, his
four generals—Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy—divided up the
empire. Bible prophecy is incredibly accurate. The Greeks ruled from 331 to 168
B.C.
The Roman empire, “as strong as iron,”
conquered the world in 168 B.C. by defeating the Greeks at the Battle of Pynda.
Under the Caesars, the mighty Roman Empire ruled from 168 B.C. to 351 A.D.
NOTE: The image of Daniel 2 contains four
metals—gold, silver, brass, and iron. There are four beasts in chapter 7—a
lion, bear, leopard, and a dragon. Just as the four metals represent the four
successive world kingdoms beginning with Babylon in Daniel’s day and passing to
Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome, so the four beasts represent the same four
kingdoms. You might wonder why God uses metals in chapter 2 and beasts in
chapter 7. In the symbolism of the metals in chapter 2, God illustrates that no
power on earth can endure. The metals are transitory, but His kingdom—the rock
cut out without hands—is permanent.
In the fierceness of the four beasts in
Daniel 7, God describes the vicious conflicts of political kingdoms as they vie
for world control.
Answer: Ten horns.
In Daniel 2, the iron legs, representing
the Roman Empire, ended in ten toes, depicting the divisions of Rome. In Daniel
7, the fourth beast has ten horns, depicting the same ten divisions of Rome.
Rome was not conquered by a fifth world power. It was divided—overrun by
barbarian tribes from the north as it decayed from within from 351 to 476 A.D.
4. What new power arose in Daniel 7:8?
Answer: A little horn.
Identifying Characteristics of the Little
Horn: Questions 5-13
5. Where did the little horn rise? Daniel
7:8.
Answer: It came up among the other horns.
Since the little horn rose among the ten
horns, it must rise in western Europe, out of the pagan Roman Empire.
6. Did the little horn rise before, or
after, the division of the Roman Empire? Read Daniel 7:8.
Answer: After
If the little horn rose among the ten
divisions of Rome, it had to rise after Rome was divided, or sometime after 476
A.D.
7. How did the prophet Daniel describe the
eyes of this power? Daniel 7:8.
Answer: Like the eyes of a man.
In the Bible, eyes are a symbol of wisdom
or understanding (Ephesians 1:18). This earthly power, rising in the early
centuries A.D., had human wisdom or understanding—the eyes of a man, not God.
8. How did Daniel compare this little horn
to the first ten horns? Daniel 7:24.
Answer: It was different from the first
horns.
The divisions of Rome were predominantly
political powers. This new power is different, therefore it must not be a
political power. It must be a religious power.
9. What three characteristics of this
power did Daniel describe in verse 25?
Answer: a. Speak pompous words against the
Most High. b. Shall intend to change times and law.
This amazing prophecy predicts that a
religious-political system would rise out of the old Roman Empire in the early
centuries A.D. Based on human wisdom, church councils and man-made decrees, it
would attempt to change the very law of God. The Bible predicted that the early
church would enter into a period of apostasy.
10. What warning did the apostle Paul give
early Christians? Acts 20:28-31.
Answer: He warned them that people would
attempt to destroy the church of God.
11. How did the apostle describe this
apostasy in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4?
Answer: When man exalts himself above God.
12. What did Daniel declare would happen
to truth? Daniel 8:12.
Answer: It would be cast to the ground.
13. How long would this power reign
supreme? Daniel 7:25.
Answer: For a time, times and half a time.
This period of a time, times, and half a
time, is also mentioned in Revelation 12:14. According to Revelation 12:6, this
time period equals 1,260 prophetic days.
Another way to calculate this period is
this way.
In the Bible,
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a time (year)
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=
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360 prophetic days
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2 times (2 years)
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=
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720 prophetic days
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1/2 time (1/2 year)
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=
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180 prophetic days
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1260 prophetic days
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In Bible prophecy, one prophetic day
equals one literal year (see Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6). The little horn, or
church-state power, would reign supreme for 1,260 years, or throughout the
centuries of the Dark Ages. This Roman power—the Medieval church—would
substitute human tradition for God’s Word, man’s law for God’s law, and penances
and indulgences prescribed by the church for the forgiveness and repentance
prescribed by God. Many faithful Christians, who refused to yield to this
church-state union, would be persecuted.
Understanding Bible Prophecy: Questions 14-15
14. What is God's answer to the battle for
the throne on earth? Daniel 7:9, 10.
Answer: God opens the books so everyone
can see why He is the rightful ruler.
In a magnificent judgment scene in heaven,
God sets all things right. Wicked rulers are condemned. Counterfeit systems are
exposed. God’s name, alone, is exalted.
15. What phrases did Daniel use to tell us
that God's kingdom is permanent? Daniel 7:14, 27.
Answer: His kingdom and dominion last
forever.
God’s kingdom is eternal—it lasts forever.
Human kingdoms rise and fall, but God’s kingdom remains forever. Political
leaders may attempt to destroy it, but it endures. Counterfeit religious
leaders may betray sacred purposes, but it remains. James Russell Lowell put
this truth in verse:
“Truth
forever on the scaffold.
Wrong forever on the throne.
Yet that scaffold sways the future
and beyond the dim unknown,
standing still within the shadows
God keeps watch above His own.”
Wrong forever on the throne.
Yet that scaffold sways the future
and beyond the dim unknown,
standing still within the shadows
God keeps watch above His own.”
The kingdom of God opposed, oppressed,
thwarted on every side, and attacked by the enemy will finally, fully,
completely triumph.”
Thank you for opening your mind to
our prophetic future possibilities.
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