8. From the Stormy Sea to the Clouds of Heaven: Feb. 22, 2020
The book of Daniel was written in two popular languages during the days of His life, chapter 1-2:3, 8-12 were written in Hebrew while chapters 2.4-7 were written in Aramaic. In our Sabbath School Lesson this week Feb. 16-22 we'll be going deep into the mine of truth as it was unfolded in prophetic symbols. Inspiration declares, "The whole system of types and symbols was a compacted prophecy of the gospel, a presentation in which were bound up the promises of redemption. " {AA 14.1}
In comparison with Daniel 2:
Daniel 7 shows:
1. The four beasts: Daniel 7:1-7, 15-17
Daniel explains that these four beasts symbolize four world empires, one following the other. And it has long been widely understood that they are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome.
a. A Lion with two wings: Being the king of the jungle, Babylon learn its lessons.
Its wings plucked off - means end of his rule as the 2nd universal kingdom from Adam. Other kingdoms before Babylon were not universal.
It is lifted up from the earth - means was humiliated because it loses its dignity. When we loses our dignity, we fall! When we preserve it we'll be uplifted.
A man's heart is given to it - After the wings of the lion were plucked, says Daniel: "He was made to stand upon his feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it." Whatever is meant by the position of the beast and the exchange of heart, its application is after Babylon had fallen under Medo-Persian rule, for he stood as a man after the wings "were plucked." If we are to acquire the understanding of the symbol, we must first consider the function of the heart, for the symbol itself must be perfect, otherwise the truth cannot be determined. The function of a heart is to preserve the life energy in the body. Let the heart stop and all is lost. This most vital organ is a governor of the body. As an empire is composed of numerous individuals, and their necessities, just so is the living body composed of a multitude of life cells, and all their essentials. As the duty of a king is to preserve the life energy in his kingdom, also punish or uproot the evil and to supervise the good, just so does the heart. By contraction and expansion it controls and imparts the flowing, living energy in the form of pure blood. The evidence gathered thus far Proves that the heart is a fitting symbol of a king. But we must specify the difference between the human and the beastly heart. Daniel 4:16, speaking of the penalty that was to fall upon the king before he was driven from his throne to the field with the beasts, says: "Let his heart be changed from a man's and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him." After the king's heart was changed, he lost his reason, and by nature became equal to an ox. "The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as an oxen and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws." (Dan. 4:33.)
The sum of the symbol is, Babylon was forced to acknowledge the existence of the Most High by removing one king (beast's heart) and setting up another (man's heart).
b. A Bear with three ribs: The next kingdom which characterizes an inner strength, gentleness and tolerant but a dangerous predator for its prey. Has a good eyesight that it uses an engineering tactics of conquering Babylon digging a canal to divert the Euphrates river.
It is raised up on one side - which means Persians were stronger than Medes.
It has three ribs in its mouth - which could be marginalized as the third kingdom after Babylon and they conquered Lydia, Babylon and Egypt as well.
It is said: Arise devour much flesh! At the commencement of the Persian government, the previous quarrels broke out in bloody wars, thus the words by the ribs in the mouth of the bear, "Arise, devour much flesh" (Dan. 7:5) met a perfect fulfillment. Therefore, peace was taken from the earth by the great sword in the hand of the rider on the red horse.
c. A Leopard with four wings: Leopards are astoundingly strong and renowned for its agility.
It has four wings of a fowl - the fourth universal kingdom after Medo-Persia.
It has four heads -the four general of Alexander the Great after his death had divided the kingdom: Lysimachus - north, Ptolemy - south, Cassander - West and Seleucus - East.
It is given dominion -Greece had a dramatic transition of power from King Philip II to his heirs Alexander.
These four beasts again represent the four empires, beginning with Babylon. The Greco-Macedonian Empire is identified with the third beast, which is like a leopard.
Its attributes fit the historical description of Alexander’s army and its tactics. As already noted, Alexander’s army was small but powerful and quick, like a leopard. It tore at and easily defeated the massive, bearlike (powerful, but less agile than a leopard) empire of the Persians.
Daniel had another vision concerning Alexander’s empire. It likewise fits in with history with remarkable accuracy.
Daniel had another vision concerning Alexander’s empire. It likewise fits in with history with remarkable accuracy.
In this vision (chapter 8), Daniel was by a river when he saw a ram with two horns, one horn being higher than the other. God’s angelic messenger told Daniel the ram represented the Persian kingdom, composed of Persia and Media. The different lengths of the horns showed that Persia would overshadow Media. This ram advanced in three directions and no other power could withstand its advance.
It became a great power until a new power arose in the form of a male goat from the west (verse 5)—from the direction of Greece. This goat had a “notable horn” between the eyes. Notice the interpretation in verse 21: “And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king.”
Clearly, this horn is Alexander. The prophecy even mentions the breakup of the kingdom on Alexander’s death into four smaller kingdoms. “As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power” (verse 22).
The book of Daniel makes one further reference to Alexander’s empire in the very long prophecy of chapter 11. Verses 3-4 refer to a “mighty king” who would arise after Persia’s period of dominance and accomplish his own will before his kingdom would then split into four parts.
d. A Beast:
It's dreadful and terrible
It's strong exceedingly
It had great iron teeth
It devour and brake in pieces
It stamped the residue with the feet of it.
It was diverse from all beast
It had ten horns
And there came a little horn and plucked up three of the horns. This horn had eyes like the eyes of man and a mouth speaking great things.
Note that John's leopard-like beast has the head of a lion (first beast), the feet of a bear (second beast), the body of a leopard (third beast), and ten horns (fourth beast). And so, you see, the leopard-like beast is a composite beast of Daniel's four beasts, a descendant of them. It must therefore represent the world after the fall of the fourth empire, after Pagan Rome. (2TG 17.6)
2. The Little Horn: Daniel 7:8, 19-25
As widely accepted, the fourth beast's two-phases -- one with ten horns, the other with seven horns along with the "little horn" (Dan. 7:7, 8) -- portray, first, Pagan Rome, and second, Ecclesiastical Rome, and the "little horn" (the horn-head), the power that then ruled, was religious-political.
These four beasts coincide respectively with the "gold," "silver," "brass," and "iron" of the "great image."
In this prophetic four-beast symbolism, along with its historical fulfillment, we see the passing political events and the consequent changing political status of the world from the time of ancient Babylon on down to the time of Christianized Rome. The great image, however, brings us down to the present, the time in which we find ourselves ruled by its toe-kings. But as Daniel's series of beasts delineates but a part of the world's history, another series is necessary to complete it. The only other such series is in The Revelation, the first symbol in which is THE LEOPARD-LIKE BEAST. (12Tr 19)
The horns of the non-descript beast's having no crowns, and the horns of the leopard-like beast's having crowns, point out that the latter symbolizes the world after the crownless horns (kings that were to arise -- Dan. 7:24) of the former beast were crowned.
Now, as we have seen, it is clear that Ecclesiastical Rome (the second phase of the non-descript beast) was a combined church and state power (a horn-head, having "the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things" -- Dan. 7:8), and that the Protestant Reformation caused the separation of the two. So while Ecclesiastical Rome's rise and reign are prefigured by the non-descript beast's horn-head, her downfall is depicted by the leopard-like beast's wounded common head -- the horned part (the civil power) having been taken away. The church was stripped of the sovereign power with which the state had clothed her, with the result that the governments are now independent of the church, and the church is in subjection to the governments. (12Tr 22)
The little horn on the beast of Dan. 7:8, which came afterwards among the ten, and in place of which three fell has been interpreted to be the papal head, from 538 A.D. to 1798, and which was wounded in the fifteenth century. The deadly wound brought about the division and multiplied the head as pictured in Rev. 13:1. The six heads represent Protestantism, and the one which was wounded, Catholicism. The six Protestant, and the one Catholic head make the Biblical number "seven," meaning "complete" (all). The ten horns represent this present civilization under civil power; the heads are symbols of all Christendom.
This prophecy pictures the entire civilization which came out through the four universal empires by the fall of Rome. But it cannot include other nations and peoples, for the makeup of the beast is composed only of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome, as previously explained. Had the number of horns been "seven," it would have the Biblical meaning (all), but since the number "ten" is used, all other are excluded. (1SR 213)
3. The Judgment: Daniel 7:9-12
It is not the purpose of Dan. 7 to introduce the kingdoms represented by the lion, the bear, the leopard and the non-descript beast, for Daniel was already informed of these kingdoms in Dan. 2. The Kingdom Truth, also, is not coming as a new subject. The major and newly-introduced subject of Daniel 7 is the investigative judgment, especially of the dead. The judgment of the living is represented by the cutting out of the stone from the mountain and the gathering of nations to expand the stone-kingdom.
It is the purpose of Daniel 7 to reveal when the investigative judgment of the dead begins. In this chapter, we see clearly that the Investigative Judgment takes place between the time of the fall of the fourth beast's second phase (the papacy) and the setting up of God's Kingdom, something which was not included in the dream of the Great Image of Dan. 2. The beasts accompany the subject to reveal the time, also for the reason that without history we cannot understand Present Truth.
It was after Daniel had seen the activities of the little horn when he "beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit." The word "till" shows that there is a space of time from the time of the little horn to the time the thrones were cast down. And since the little horn's activities took place for a "time" (one year or 360 days), "times" (two years or 720 days) and half a time (six months or 180 days), a period of 1260 prophetic days or 1260 literal years (see Ezek. 4:6), and since the only such period in history is that from A.D. 538 to A.D. 1798, the only tenable conclusion is that the Judgment was to begin sometime after 1798.
Sometime after 1798, then, the thrones, not a throne, were to be cast down. Though Daniel saw the Ancient of Days sit on one of the thrones, he did not see who sat on the other thrones. John, who saw the whole process of Judgment, tells us that there were 24 elders (Rev. 4:4) who sat on the thrones. Here we see the utter impossibility to understand Daniel's prophecies without The Revelation. These books must be studied together. [See Testimonies to Ministers, pages 113 to 117.]
While many are interested in the beasts, especially the little horn (a past thing), because of the Catholics, we are interested in the investigative judgment (a present work), the main subject of Dan. 7, because of the Seventh-day Adventists, for judgment must begin at the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17). This will be our subject this week.
4. The Son of Man: Daniel 7:13-14
Daniel saw the "One like the Son of man" while He was being borne near before the Ancient of Days. But John saw Him after He had been brought there.
To John His appearance was like a "lamb," and one of the elders called Him "the lion of the tribe of Juda." (Obviously He is "the Son of man," the Saviour, the King of Israel -- Christ, the Lord.) Besides these, John also saw the four beasts therein, the candlestick, and the book while it was being opened. To repeat, Daniel saw only a part of the preparations, whereas John saw the opening of the Judgment, and the entire proceedings thereafter.
The Judicial throng, Inspiration makes known, consists of a judge -- the Ancient of Days; of witnesses -- the angels; of an advocate -- the Lamb; of a jury -- the elders; of defendants -- the beasts; and of their ruler -- "the Lion of the tribe of Juda." (That the four beasts are a symbolical representation of the saints, just as the beasts of Daniel 7 are symbolical of the nations, is made clear by the beast's own statement: "...for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." Rev. 5:9.)
The student of advancing Truth will also note that Daniel refers to but one judicial session, although he does make mention of the Judgment twice, -- first in verse 10 of chapter 7, and second in verse 22. This will be seen in the following eight paragraphs:
In the first fourteen verses, Daniel describes all he saw while in vision. And in Dan. 7:15 he explains how grieved and troubled he became after considering the damaging work which the fourth beast did. Then, in Dan. 7:16, he tells that he approached the angel who stood by, and requested his interpretation of the things seen. In compliance with this request, the angel answered:
"These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever." Dan. 7:17, 18. (15Tr. 14)
5. The saints of the Most High: Daniel 7:18, 22, 23-27
Clearly, then, Daniel saw only one judical sitting, but made mention of it twice -- first in connection with describing what he saw in vision, and second in connection with obtaining the angel's interpretation of the vision.
The Judgment takes place, the angel explained to Daniel, after the little horn arises, and before the saints possess the kingdom. (See Dan. 7:8, 9, 22.)
But John, having been shown the entire judicial proceeding, describes the Judgment in three parts, in three different sittings: one before the half hour's silence (Rev. 8:1), one after it, and a third one during the thousand years (Rev. 20:11, 12). This truth is seen from the following facts:
During the period of the six seals, while the first session of the Judgment is on, the four beasts rest not day and night, saying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." Rev. 4:8. But when the seventh seal is opened, there is silence in heaven (the beasts hold their peace, also the "lightnings," the "thunderings," and the "voices" cease -- Rev. 4:5) "about the space of half an hour." Rev. 8:1. The silence clearly reveals that the first session of the Judicial proceedings comes to a close, and that the second session commences after the silence is over.
The third session, the one during the thousand years, is at "the Great White Throne" (Rev. 20:11, 12), the throne of Him from Whose face the earth and the heaven flee away. At this latter throne there is no "sea of glass," no "beasts," no "Lion," no "Lamb," and although there are lesser "thrones" (Rev. 20:4), Inspiration does not flatly say who sits on them.
Now the nature of the Judgment in each of the three judicial sittings and the time they actually occur will be seen in the following analytical examination:
Although the proceedings of the first two sessions are somewhat different, they are in all other respects similar. The third, however, is entirely unlike the first two. The differences are seen in that before the half-hour silence occurs, there is at the throne "a sea of glass like unto crystal" (Rev. 4:6), and no one stands on it; but after the half-hour silence passes away, the scene changes: The "sea of glass" is "mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God." Rev. 15:2. (15Tr 17-18)
From the Pen of Inspiration:
“The kingdom of God’s grace is now being established, as day by day hearts that have been full of sin and rebellion yield to the sovereignty of His love. But the full establishment of the kingdom of His glory will not take place until the second coming of Christ to this world. 'The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven,' is to be given to 'the people of the saints of the Most High.' Daniel 7:27. They shall inherit the kingdom prepared for them 'from the foundation of the world.' Matthew 25:34. And Christ will take to Himself His great power and will reign.” E.G.W. (Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, cp. 5, p. 108)
For more deeper study please click the link below:
https://sites.google.com/view/meatindueseason/15-the-leopard-like-beast?authuser=0#h.p_dv_OmlNmJaxV