The five dreams of Daniel are spectacular and terrifying. They are prophetic and tell the story of what we know to be history with a prophecy yet to come. Each dream builds on the last.
Chapter 2: 603bc—The first dream is given to King Nebuchadnezzar and interpreted by Daniel. The dream shows a statue made of Gold (The Head - Babylon), Silver (The arms and chest - Medo-Persia), Bronze (Torso and Thighs - Greece), and a divided kingdom of Iron, and Clay (Feet and Toes representing the Seleucid Syria and Ptolemaic Egypt which became the Roman Empire). This statue represented four earthly kingdoms. The Kingdom of God, led by Jesus, our King of Kings, stands out as the stone that smashes the image into little pieces.
Chapter 7: 555bc - The second dream given to Daniel expounds on the first as it shows the character of the kingdoms and the little horn that will arise out of the four kingdoms.
Chapter 8: 553bc - The third dream goes even further. A ram with two horns (representing the kings of Media and Persia- (The silver chest and arms from the statue in the 1st dream) is attacked by a shaggy goat with one horn (representing the Greek King Alexander the Great)- The Bronze torso and thighs of the 1st dream). The ram was powerless against the goat. At the height of the goat's power, the large horn broke into four prominent horns representing the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt (Ptolemies/Pharaohs), the Seleucid Empire in the East (Persia), the Kingdom of Pergamon in Asia Minor, and Macedon (Greece). A little horn will arise from the four horns- Antiochus IV Epiphanes who thought himself a god.
Chapter 9: 539bc - Daniel has a vision of seventy weeks- called seventy sevens. Hebrews often referred to seven years as a seven. These seventy weeks were broken out into seven sevens, sixty-two sevens, and one seven. So 70x7 = 490 years. The first seven sevens (forty-nine years) began when Artaxerxes issued the decree to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem in Nehemiah 2:1. Sixty-two sevens ended when the anointed one was put to death (Daniel 9:26.) I believe that the final seven will take place at the beginning of the tribulation when the ruler makes a covenant with Israel that is set to last for seven years but is broken at the 3.5-year point when he stands on the holy place and declares himself to be god. (Does this sound familiar?)
Chapters 10-12: Daniel receives details on the previous four dreams in the fifth dream as he dreams of the kings of the north (Seleucids-Persia) and the kings of the south (Ptolemies-Greece), and the empires that follow.
Now, allow me to cook your noodle with a bit of history:
GOLD - BABYLONIANS EMPIRE - 587BC—King Nebuchadnezzar dismantled Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple (First Temple) and took Israel captive.
SILVER - PERSIAN EMPIRE - 539 BC—King Cyrus defeated the Babylonian Kingdom.
538 BC—King Cyrus issues an edict to rebuild Jerusalem
516 BC—The Temple was rebuilt by the Jews- granted permission by the Persian emperor.
499 BC—Greco-Persian wars between Ptolemies (Egypt/Greece) and Seleucids (Persia.) Xerxes raises an army against Greece, which leads to the fall of Persia (dream 5 Daniel 10-12)
Sixty-Nine SEVENS BEGIN (Dream 4 chapter 9) Note: Some say 455bc.
445bc - The Persian King Artaxerxes issued a decree to rebuild the wall. He sent Nehemiah to lead the project. The wall was rebuilt in 52 days. The city is then rebuilt. It takes 49 years to rebuild. Nehemiah 2:1-18, Ezra 5-6, Daniel 9:25
BRONZE - ALEXANDRIAN EMPIRE - 335bc - Greece raises up Alexander the Great who will usher in the Hellenistic period.CLAY- SELEUCIDS AND PTOLOMIES - Through the 2nd century bc, Jerusalem and Judah will lay between the powers of Egypt and Syria. The Ptolemies will rule in Egypt and the Seleucids in Syria (Persia.)
215-164 BC—Antiochus IV Epiphanes (Little Horn) rose to power (king of Hellenistic Syria—Old Iraq/Iran) and set up the abomination that caused desolation in the holy temple (167bc), which stopped sacrifices. This led to the Maccabean revolt, during which the Jews regained control over the holy land for 100 years.
164 BC—Judas Maccabee and his followers cleansed the Temple and restarted sacrifices after the revolt.
IRON - ROME - 146 BC—Greek kingdom fell, and Rome rose in power.
69 BC—30bc Cleopatra and Julius Caesar
Caesar was a general and a politician who changed the course of Roman history. He was born into an aristocratic family around 100 BC and rose to power through a series of political offices. He was elected consul in 61 BC, the highest office in the republic.
63bc – Roman General Pompey captured Jerusalem, ending the Hasmonean dynasty's rule.
40 BC—The Roman Senate appointed Herod the Great as King of the Jews.
37 BC—The second temple was raised, enlarged, and faced with white stone by Herod the Great.
31 BC—End of Hellenistic period – the rise of Augustus of Rome.
27 BC—Augustus Caesar established an autocratic republic where Caesar was the supreme ruler.
3 BC—Jesus was born.
6 AD—Judea, Samaria, and Idumea became the Roman province of Judaea *Samaritans are descendants of the Persians.
27 AD—Jesus began his ministry when He was anointed at his baptism.
Sixty-nine SEVENS END—30 AD—Jesus was crucified, resurrected, and anointed in Heaven as High Priest. (Note: There are varied beliefs about the exact end. Some say this period ended when Jesus was anointed at His baptism; others say this period ended when Mary anointed him; and still others say when He was anointed in Heaven. I have concluded that this period ends at His crucifixion based on Daniel 9:26.
After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.
Wow, 483 years of prophecy were given to the man who sought to gain understanding and humble himself before His God.
66 AD—Jews rebelled against Rome due to religious tensions and increased taxation. The Roman governor of Judaea, Gessius Florus, plundered the Second Temple, which set off a revolt. Nero sent his general Vespasian and 60,000 soldiers to put down the rebellion. The Romans took Galilee and parts of Judaea, but the walled city of Jerusalem held out until the Romans besieged Jerusalem and almost completely destroyed it in 70 A.D.
70 AD—The Second Temple was destroyed, and God’s people scattered.
1947 AD—Israel declared a nation.
1967AD—A coalition of Arab states attempted to take over Israel in a six-day war. They were unsuccessful.
A future prophecy:
Based on the 70-week prophecy, I believe the time clock stopped at the end of the sixty-nine weeks, and there is one week remaining—the seven-year tribulation told to John in the Book of Revelation.
God is waiting for a time only He knows to bring about the end of days. The prophecy in Daniel tells us that the antichrist to come, like Antiochus, will have all the answers.
He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches (Daniel 11:24).
This antichrist will make a covenant with Israel that will restart the clock- the final seven years will begin. The first 3.5 years will be a form of counterfeit peace. At the end of the first 3.5 years, he will show his cards and step onto the holy place, and just like Antiochus, he will declare himself to be god. Daniel 11:36 tells us that he will do as he pleases. He will exalt himself and magnify himself above every god and will do unheard-of things against Yahweh- the God of gods. Jesus said
In Matthew 24, Jesus said: “So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains."
He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. What God says- IS.
“Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 NIV
It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. - Revelation 13:7-8
Daniel 12 tells us that Michael, the great prince (archangel) who protects the Jewish people will arise. There will be a time of distress such has not happened from the beginning of nations until then.
BUT at that time your people- everyone whose name is found written in the book-will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.
In 12:7 Daniel asked how long before these things were fulfilled, the angel said “It will be for a time, times and a half time. When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed.
Why are these dreams of hope?
Here are words written to the Church to encourage us until Jesus returns:
1 Corinthians 15:51-52 tells us, “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NIV encourages:
“Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
John 6:39
And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.
Matthew 24:31 - And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 - Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness[a] is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
1 Corinthians 15:51-53 - Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
And a word from Jesus:
“As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you ahead of time. “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. “Immediately after the distress of those days “ ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
Matthew 24:3-35 NIV
Daniel was given a word for us all, and like Daniel, we are called to set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God.
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