He's Got This

O. T. #1997  "He's Got This"

August 6, 2021

Daniel 7

LET IT GLOW

Well folks, here we are, finally reaching the last six chapters of this book. They focus on the prophetic revelations Daniel received form God, not on the lives of those Hebrew captives in Babylon. Also, these unusual visions reveal some of what God has in store for believers and unbelievers.

Up front, let me say that I am no Bible scholar, just one desiring to study God's Word and share it with others. So with a half dozen commentaries spread out on my desk, let's dive into this, looking at our God's sovereignty in human history.

We read of some background in verse 1:

• Daniel's dream and vision happened one night during the first year of Belshazzar's reign as king of Babylon. He was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar.
• The time of this chapter is a flashback to 553 BC, which was 14 years before the feast of chapter 5. So the dream occurred after chapter 4.  (Don't know why Daniel wrote this out of sequence.)
• When looking at the contents of the dream, we see similarities with chapter 2-4 successive world empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome.
• Both relate to events before the second coming of Christ.

A difference between Neb's dream and Daniel's is the powers' representation. Neb's statue was a glorious, awe-inspired statue, while Daniel's dream involved huge beasts coming up from the sea.

So I wonder why God gave Daniel these prophecies of the future. Maybe it was to reassure him that after half a century in a foreign land, God was still with him, still in control, and still was carrying out His plans.

Don't we need reassured when times are hard, challenging, or discouraging in our life? 

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.          (2 Peter 3:9) 

Friend, have you come to repent of your sins and asked God to forgive you? The blood that Jesus Christ shed has been provided for us to be His child. Only believe and repent, and ask.

LET IT GROW

In his study guide on Daniel, Swindoll divides this chapter into three sections:

  1.  It speaks of wind, water, and odd-looking beasts.

  2.  It tells about thrones and judgment.

  3. It relates the interpretation of the vision.

First, Daniel sees the 4 winds (spirits) of heaven that came from the sea.  Those spirits refer to angels, by which God's sovereign actions in human history are carried out. The great sea may refer to either to Mediterranean Sea or the peoples and nations of the world. Daniel may have seen a great upheaval that is being caused by angels of judgment. (verse 2)

History tells us that the Babylon empire was conquered by the Medo-Persian empire; two other great empires which later ruled the world were Greece and Rome. We read in Revelation that the Antichrist will come to rule the world in the future, but Christ will defeat him (stone).

What can we deduct from all of this?  Since those kingdom were destroyed, we can be sure that it will happen or come to pass, that Christ will establish Himself as king and reign for a thousand years on earth. The God who has mapped out our future is certainly able to handle the present for us. His divine plans will be carried out.

LET IT GO

When He does not give the answers nor intervenes, we are going to trust our God.

We will continue to believe God's Word is Truth.

Although we may not understand all things in it, we can know God has this.