Let’s continue on with our series on Daniel. First let’s recall some important notes from last time.
The first 6 chapters (apart from Nebuchadnezzar’s dream) are primarily historical where Daniel recalls from his life.
The last 6 chapters are primarily prophetic where an Angel interprets the dreams and visions Daniel has. The visions are hard for Daniel to describe since many of the events are hundreds and even thousands of years in the future.
However the big picture is often straightforward and can help us understand who Jesus is, the times we live in and what the book of Revelation means. There are 2 dangers with prophecy in the Bible;
1. Neglect prophecy just because the symbolic language is too difficult.
2. Obsess and try to match every detail to our time and where we can’t, skip over it missing the bigger picture and the main message and simplicity of the Gospel.
Prophecy fills us with the hope of the return of Christ and purifies us as we get ready. That’s why it’s so important to teach it even though it can be difficult.
In chapter 3, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of a great statue of gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay.
We learned that;
⁃ Gold represents the Babylonian Empire
⁃ Silver represents the Medes and Persian Empire
⁃ Bronze represents the Greek Empire
⁃ Iron represents the Roman Empire
⁃ The culmination is the final empire of iron and clay with 10 toes.
We noted that the value of each empire decreased over time, even as the metals get stronger for iron is stronger than gold.
Statues impress man, we see them in our cities. They are majestic, representing strength and power. We are impressed by the history of the major empires of Babylon, Medo-Persian, Greece and Rome.
In Chapter 7, we get Heaven’s perspective on these empires which is that they are inhumane Beasts. They are grotesque and fearsome.
The first 3 beasts were easier for Daniel to understand. Nebuchadnezzar had had his wings plucked off so to speak and after he had lived like a beast for 7 years, he had been restored, made to stand on two feet like a man, and given a man’s heart. So the first beast was clearly Babylon. And as we shall see in Daniel 8, more is explained about the Medo-Persian and Greek empires so we don’t need to focus on those beasts today.
But the 4th beast was really scary and unlike anything Daniel had seen before. He cannot find a similarity to any known beast and he has difficulty describing it.
This terrifying beast has 10 horns and then a little horn emerges, an 11th horn speaking pompous words.
And as this happens on Earth, in Heaven, the Ancient of Days is seated surrounded by fire and the books are opened, he is ready to judge.
We then heard that the Beast was slain and his body thrown in the fire exactly as in Revelation 19. This all happens when the Son of Man comes on the clouds at the beginning of the Millenium Kingdom when he judges the nations as in Matthew 25. We also noted that the Great White Throne Judgement of unbelievers is a separate judgment at the end of the Millenium.
Now we continue on today from v21.
Daniel 7:21-26
“I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.
Note we are stepping into what is known as the Tribulation period when the little horn Beast is still alive just before the Son of Man has come on the Clouds.
When we are trying to understand this passage, we should remember that God is outside of time. Unless stated, his revelation does not necessarily follow the chronological order and periods of time between events can be long or short. Listen carefully because the Angel explains to Daniel about the 4th beast and how it grows which is clearly before the Antichrist little horn arrives.
“Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast shall be A fourth kingdom on earth, Which shall be different from all other kingdoms, And shall devour the whole earth, Trample it and break it in pieces.
This 4th empire devours the whole Earth. This has never happened before in history. Neither the Babylonians, the Medes and Persians, the Greeks or the Romans conquered the whole world. Ever since the Romans, there has not yet been a world government. The Nazis were the last to attempt it and they failed. However, in our times we have seen the emergence of the United Nations and we have seen the whole world brought under one temporary rule during Covid. So technologically it is possible now and a world government could very soon emerge.
The ten horns are ten kings Who shall arise from this kingdom.
Following the emergence of the World Government comes 10 kings. Now in our day we can see this is possible, we can easily imagine the World being divided up so that this World Government can rule it more easily. Whether these 10 kings rule over nations or 10 religions or 10 people types is unknown. But there will be 10 kings before an 11th emerges.
And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones, And shall subdue three kings. He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time. ‘But the court shall be seated, And they shall take away his dominion, To consume and destroy it forever.
We see that a final king shall emerge who will speak pompous words against the Most High. As this supremely arrogant Antichrist figure emerges, we learned last week that the Ancient of Days gets ready to judge.
There is more to come on this little horn, the Antichrist in chapters 8, 9 and 11. In this chapter;
1. He will exalt himself and speak pompous words against the most High God
2. He will persecute the saints of the most High God a time and times and half a time = 3.5 years = 42 months
3. He will intend to change times and laws. He wants to overthrow everything to do with God. He rejects God’s Law and probably wants to do away with BC and AD. What an arrogant man he will be !
With all this in mind, let’s make the connection between Daniel 7 and Revelation 13:1-5
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. 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. And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.
Can you see how Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the statue, the 4 beasts in Daniel 7 and the coming Antichrist in Revelation 13 tie together?
Here again in Revelation 13 is the main beast with characteristics of the beasts seen by Daniel. Like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion.
Revelation 13 confirms the length of the Antichrist rule and persecution of the saints described as a time, and times and half a time in Daniel Chapter 7 and see it is the same short period of 42 months or 3.5 years. Remember Jesus also said in Matthew 24:22
And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
There is some good news amongst the bad. We endure our government for 3 years at a time, I think we can do it!
We won’t cover this in detail today but Revelation 13 goes on to describe a 2nd beast. We will come back to this later when we study Revelation in more depth but we wanted you to see a first connection to Daniel 7.
We can connect the little horn of Daniel 7 and see it is the 1st Beast Antichrist of Revelation 13. The 2nd beast of Revelation 13 is elsewhere identified as the “false prophet” (Rev 16:13; 19:20; 20:10).
This 2nd beast has 2 horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.
The 2nd beast is religious in appearance (like a lamb) but his words are from Satan.
This religious appearance of the Beast can be understood more by reading Revelation 17:3-6
So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written:
MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.
Revelation 17 describes this counterfeit mystery religion which goes as far back as the Garden of Eden where Satan seeded with Eve the idea that she could be like God.
The mystery religion came to fore at Babel where Babylon was founded.
The history of the city of Babylon goes back to Noah's great grandson Nimrod who founded Babel in the Euphrates valley (Genesis 11:1–9). Babel was the site of a tower built to unify their people, to bring them fame, to worship the stars, and possibly to protect them from another flood. Their efforts stood in direct disobedience to God's order to multiply and fill the earth (Genesis 9:1). Babylonian worship involved prostitution and worship of the so-called queen of heaven. Many false religions today have this divine feminine figure which traces back to Babylon. The divine feminine is a red flag for mystery Babylon.
During the time of the kings of Judah and Israel, worship of the Canaanite deity Baal was common. King Ahab and his wife Jezebel made the worship of Baal the state religion (1 Kings 16:29–33). Nebuchadnezzar renamed Daniel Belshazzar after Baal in an attempt to indoctrinate him into Mystery Religion but Daniel made a vow and remained true to the Lord. After the Persians overthrew Babylon, the Babylonian worshipers of Baal moved to Pergamon, where one of the seven churches of Asia Minor was located.
Do you remember Pergamon from our study of the letters to the Churches last year? Pergamon was where the throne of Satan was located.
Jesus rebuked the Pergamon church for allowing the practice of idolatry and sexual immorality to continue.
In both literal and symbolic terms, Babylon is condemned in Scripture for its idolatry and blasphemy (see Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17–19, 25 and Ezekiel 8:14). Babylon is both a literal city and an abbreviated reference to ungodly, worldly spirituality.
The ancient city of Pergamon was the centre of pagan worship in Asia Minor. The once-thriving city lay forgotten and in ruins till 1864 when German engineer Carl Humann began excavating it, finding one of it’s greatest monuments, the Altar of Zeus.
If you think that Mystery Babylon finished at Pergamon, I’ve got news for you.
After excavation, the altar was taken stone by stone to Berlin where it was reassembled in its own museum. In 1930 the Pergamon Museum was opened to the public (modern photo to the right). Adolf Hitler commissioned a design for the parade grounds for the party rallies in Nuremberg. The Pergamon Altar was the inspiration. Using the altar as a model, a colossal grandstand was created, known as the Zeppelin tribune. In the following years’ mass rallies, Hitler descended down the steps like a Caesar of ancient Rome. Most of the Nuremberg rallies were held at night. The grandstand was surrounded with 150 searchlights and the light columns extended for a mile in the sky, creating the mystical effect Hitler wanted. This effect was known as the “Cathedral of Light.” From the altar’s podium, Hitler mesmerized the crowds as they swore a “holy oath” to Germany. From 1933 to 1938 hundreds of thousands of Germans gathered at the Zeppelin field in September, but the 1934 rally captured the attention of the world, thanks to the film, Triumph of the Will, a propaganda documentary about Hitler and the Nazi Party. In the film, Hitler was portrayed like a messiah who descended down through the clouds to the faithful waiting for him below. After the film’s release, Hitler’s popularity skyrocketed so that more than a million Germans came to Nuremberg to hear his speech in the following September rally.
On that evening of September 15, 1935, Hitler announced the Nuremberg Laws. « The law for the protection of German Blood and German Honour ». Then the Reich citizenship law was introduced, stating that Jewish people in Germany were subjects of the Reich, but not citizens. It was also in Nuremberg that Hitler used the phrase Final Solution for the first time in public. Hitler’s Final Solution is known as the Holocaust, a word that comes from a Greek word meaning “a wholly burnt animal sacrifice.” On the ancient Altar of Zeus in Pergamom, burnt sacrifice was practiced. Centuries later in German’s Nuremberg, in the redesigned Pergamon Altar, Hitler announced his Final Solution to the world and this time, the burnt sacrifice was six million Jews.
And if you think that Mystery Babylon finished with the Nazis, think again.
Mystery Babylon continues as a counterfeit religion to true Biblical faith to this day.
Here’s an Amazon bumper sticker worded « Coexist ».
Coexist is a very interesting word because that is the pattern of this evil religion. Like a parasite, it can only exist around true Biblical faith in God.
Coexist is the new One World Religion emerging. The religion of Tolerance. They coexist alright, they are the same Beast, is it a coincidence there are 7 letters in coexist, 7 religions represented and 7 heads on the beast described in Revelation?
We have Islam, Humanism, Hinduism, Judaism, Wicca or Satanism, Taoism and Christianity.
You know Truth can never Coexist with lies. Jesus said He is the only way to the Father. I don’t think some of the others can coexist with other religions either! Are there 3 that the Antichrist will pluck out and replace with himself ?
But fear not, this Mystery Religion is going to end once and for all when Jesus returns.
Daniel 7:27-28
Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’ “This is the end of the account. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance changed; but I kept the matter in my heart.”
Poor old Daniel was really troubled by what he saw. Daniel didn’t have the benefit of everything that we know. He didn’t know the name of the Son of Man coming on the Clouds as we do. Even we can sometimes fall into anxiety and depression over what we see in our World today. Jesus is told us when we see these things happening to look up ! We have the sure and certain hope of Jesus coming again to reign from Jerusalem and we will reign with him forever and ever. Hallelujah !
Sorry I just couldn’t resist this week with finishing with the Hallelujah Chorus from Hansel’s Messiah. What a day it will be when the Son of Man comes on the clouds to reign forever and ever !
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