• The Kingdom and the Power (intro)
• Daniel or Denial?
• Antiochus & the Antichrist
• 70 Weeks of Daniel Determined for Israel
• The Future Roman Empire
• The Great World Kingdoms
• Times of the Gentiles (chart)
• A Kingdom Made Without Hands
• Who's Who in Daniel 11
• Belshazzar's Bash
• Daniel's 70 Weeks (summary)

The prophet Daniel lived in tumultuous times. In a life that stretched to possibly 90 years, Daniel experienced the demise of Judah's kingdom at the hands of Babylon and then the destruction of Babylon by the Medo-Persians. During this political upheaval, when the superpowers of the time faced off against each other, vying for control of the Ancient Near East, God revealed to Daniel that everything was under His control and was according to His plan for His people Israel and the coming of God's Kingdom to earth.

During the sixth and seventh centuries B.C., the kingdom of Judah was caught in a conflict between three great empires: Assyria, Babylon, and Medo-Persia. The Assyrian Empire, based in Nineveh, had ruled the Ancient Near East from the time of Tiglath-Pileser III in the mid eighth century B.C. This was the nation that had conquered Samaria and taken the northern kingdom of Israel captive in 722 B.C. By the end of the following century, Babylon was slowly encroaching on Assyria, sacking Nineveh in 612 B.C.

In 609, a coalition of Assyrian and Egyptian armies attempted to restrain the Babylonians at Carchemish. But by 605, under Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon proved victorious; and so Judah became subservient to the Babylonian Empire.

That year Nebuchadnezzar took Judean captives that included Daniel. He did so again in 597 after King Jehoiakim rebelled. Jehoiakim died in Babylon; his successor, Jehoiachin, was then taken prisoner (along with the prophet Ezekiel); and Zedekiah became king. Finally, in 586 B.C., after Zedekiah rebelled, King Nebuchadnezzar burned Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and exiled the rest of the Jewish nation. Since Babylon already controlled the northern kingdom of Israel, captured by Assyria, it now had total domination over world Jewry.

The Babylonian Empire, though glorious, was short-lived. Thirteen years after Nebuchadnezzar's death, a coalition of Medes and Persians under Persian King Cyrus conquered Babylon by diverting the Euphrates River and storming into the city through the riverbed on October 29, 539 B.C. Cyrus then decreed that all the captive nations under Babylon could return home. So began the unprecedented Persian Empire that ruled from India to the Mediterranean Sea for more than 200 years.

Daniel thus lived during a time of tremendous political turmoil, with the Jewish nation subservient to these greater powers. The book of Daniel, however, teaches that the world is never out of God's control and all nations are subject to Him.

THE BOOK

Although the Christian Bible places Daniel with the Major Prophets, the Hebrew Bible puts it with the Writings. (See "Daniel or Denial?") This may be because Daniel worked mainly as a Babylonian and then Persian government official, so the book was placed between Esther and Ezra/ Nehemiah with other writings from the post-exilic times.

Daniel's revelations spanned almost seven decades and specify the royal years when he received visions. The book is written in both Hebrew (1:1-2:4a; 8:1-12:13) and Aramaic (2:4b-7:28), the international language of the day, telling us that Daniel wrote to both Jews and Gentiles.

Daniel 1 functions as an introduction. It places Daniel as a Judean exile in Babylon and shows both his character and God's blessing on him and his friends for their faithfulness. Chapters 2 through 7 are in Aramaic, meaning their message is primarily for the Gentile nations.

Chapters 2 and 7 reveal four Gentile kingdoms in two forms. In chapter 2 (Nebuchadnezzar's dream), each of the four kingdoms is represented as a type of metal in an image of a man that is finally destroyed by the coming of God's Kingdom. In chapter 7, the same four kingdoms are pictured as four types of beasts. Scripture identifies the first three kingdoms as Babylon (2:37), Medo-Persia (8:20), and Greece (v21), and the fourth is generally recognized as the Roman Empire-which fits historically.

In the same way, the 10 toes of the image in 2:41-43 correspond to the 10 horns of the fourth beast in 7:7, 24. (See "Times of the Gentiles") The additional revelation in 7:8,24 is that a little horn sprouts up among the 10 to blaspheme God. The Most High then judges that little horn through the Son of Man, and the kingdom is then given to the saints.

Chapters 3 and 6 correspond to each other in that they demonstrate God's preservation of the faithful under these Gentile rulers. Chapter 3 is the famous story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego and God's protection of them in the furnace when they would not bow down to Nebuchadnezzar's image. In the same way, God protected an elderly Daniel (ch6) in the lions' den when he continued to bow down to the true God in violation of the law of the Medes and Persians. Both accounts not only instruct God's Chosen People to be faithful to Him while under Gentile rule, but they also instruct Gentile rulers as to who really is God.

This thrust then becomes the theme of chapters 4 and 5. Chapter 4 is King Nebuchadnezzar's autobiographical description of his encounter with the Most High God. It is the story of Nebuchadnezzar's pride and humbling through seven years of boanthropy, when he lived in humiliation as an animal in the field until he recognized that his kingdom and power came from God.

Chapter 5 recounts King Belshazzar's blasphemy and God's response when Belshazzar used the holy vessels from the destroyed Jewish Temple in his drunken feast. (See "Belshazzar's Bash") Both accounts warn Gentile rulers to recognize that their sovereignty over Israel comes from God. It is not theirs or that of their gods; and they should honor the Most High and His people, or they will be judged.

Chapters 8 through 12 consist of three visions, or revelations, written in Hebrew and dealing with Israel's future under the four Gentile kingdoms. All three focus on Israel's continued judgment or suffering at the hands of the Gentiles until God's Kingdom comes. Chapter 8 is a vision revealed in 551 B.C. that deals with the oppression of Antiochus IV (Epiphanes), a Seleucid king from the Greek Empire, when he profaned the yet-future second Temple in Jerusalem in 167 B.C., thus sparking the Maccabean revolt. This king is also described in the vision of 11:21-35. (See "Antiochus and the Antichrist")

Chapter 9 is God's response to Daniel's prayer in 539-538 B.C. over Jeremiah's prophecy that Jewish people would be in exile 70 years Jer25:11-12; 29:10). Daniel understood that it was the time for the exile to be completed (609-539 B.C.)

God revealed to Daniel that 70 times seven years of further judgment was decreed for Jerusalem until all atonement had been made for Israel. At the end of 483 years the Messiah was to be "cut off" (Dan9:26), leaving one final "week" (seven-year period) of judgment before the end (vv24-27).

The final vision, recorded in chapters 10-12, was given in 536-535 B.C. and deals with the nation of Israel in the "latter days" (10:14). Chapter 11 envisions the conflicts between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies during the time of the Greek Empire, which culminated in Antiochus Epiphanes' abomination of desolation in the Temple (11:31).

But Antiochus Epiphanes is pictured as but a type of a greater, future ruler: the Antichrist, who will exalt himself against God. The book ends with the establishment of God's rule and the reward of resurrection for the saints.

THE MESSAGE

The book of Daniel has a message for both Israel and the Gentile nations. For Israel, the message is to remain faithful to the one true God despite suffering under Gentile rule while awaiting God's Messiah and Kingdom.

For Gentiles, the message is to recognize the God of Israel as the Most High God and acknowledge His plan for Israel and the world. God is to be recognized as sovereign; and honor and glory given to Him. As Nebuchadnezzar came to recognize, "His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation" (4:34).

Herb Hirt is dean
of the School of Biblical Studies
at Philadelphia Biblical University.

Although the text of the book of Daniel is the same for Christians and Jews, profound differences exist in its interpretation. If understood literally and historically, the book is easy to explain. If not understood literally, God's incredible control of the world is reduced to meaningless fable.

The narrative is simple: Around the sixth century B.C., King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians took many Jewish people captive. One was a young man named Daniel who remained steadfast and faithful to the God of his fathers. Possessing a God-given ability to tell and interpret dreams, he used that ability for Nebuchadnezzar and was promoted to a position of great stature and power in the government. He became an authority throughout the kingdom of Babylon and then Persia.

Daniel also received apocalyptic visions from the Lord, providing an understanding of Israel's Messiah, world history, and the future Messianic Kingdom.

As Bible-believing Christians, we accept the literal account, viewing Daniel as a prophet much like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. We believe the book is crucial to understanding Jesus and His Second Coming, and we see it as key to understanding the New Testament book of Revelation.

The Jewish interpretation is quite different. The accepted commentary (Midrash) is often regarded as more important than the text itself. Because the apocalyptic portions of the text are associated with Christian teaching, Jewish interpreters remove the prophetic implications: "Daniel was evidently considered a prophet at Qumran and elsewhere in early Judaism (Josephus, Antiquities 10.266-68), but because prefigurations of Christ and Christian resurrection were seen in Daniel by the early church, the rabbinic tradifion hesitated to embrace the visions of Daniel."

Daniel's placement in the Jewish Bible is also used to justify a nonliteral interpretation. The Jewish Scriptures are divided into three distinct parts: Torah (the Law), Neviyim (the Prophets), and Ketuvim (the Writings). The Ketuvim consist of Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs (Solomon), Ruth, Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, I and 2 Chronicles, and Daniel. Most Jewish people regard the Writings as less inspired than the Law or Prophets. Consequently, Ruth, Esther, and Daniel are regarded as fictional.

Jewish scholars who do regard Daniel as apocalyptic believe it was written during the Maccabean period, rather than in 537 B.c, about 375 years earlier, as evangelical scholars believe. The later date makes it impossible for Daniel to have been the author and turns the prophecies about Antiochus IV (Dan11:21-35) into past history. The Jewish Study Bible speaks of "the anonymous author"

In an effort to explain away difficulties with the text, chapters I through 6 are considered "legends" of "the adventures of Jewish heroes," while chapters 7 through12 are apocalyptic visions, "revelations of the events that lead to the cataclysmic end and transformation of history"

The assumption seems to be that Daniel acts like a prophet; but because he can't be a prophet, the book's content must be explained some other way.

In response to this lack of acknowledgment of the divine inspiration of Scripture, a Jewish woman recently asked me, "What's the use of having a Bible if it's just like any other book?" It is a fair question. Her frustration is with the Jewish denial of the authenticity of the text.

God's Word is timeless in its personal application. That's because it is just that: the Word of God. Instead of adjusting the text to conform to us, we should let the text adjust us; and we should conform to it.

by Steve Herzig, director
of North American Ministries
for The Friends of Israel

This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper. Thus did the modernist poet T. S. Eliot conclude his melancholy poem, The Hollow Men. Many are convinced this description will likely be close to reality-that the earth will finally roll to a meaningless stop, and the world of men will simply shuffle off into a quiet oblivion.

But Eliot was wrong. The world will end not with a whimper, but with a bang of God's making-indeed, with a breathtaking drama described in remarkable detail in Scripture. And that drama will commence with a cataclysmic, seven-year period (the Tribulation, Mt24:21,29) that will be God's way of bringing in His righteous Kingdom over which His Messiah will rule.

THE VILLAIN WHO DOMINATES THE DRAMA

Central to that drama is the Antichrist, a person of almost unimaginable wickedness and hatefulness who was prefigured by another evil character. God showed the prophet Daniel both of these men in a vision where each appeared as a little horn.

Daniel saw four beasts representing the four Gentile kingdoms destined to dominate and trouble Israel until the time of Messiah's Kingdom (Dan7). The element that startled and terrified him most was a little horn that arose from the fourth beast, Rome (vv7-8). The pride, destructiveness, and blasphemy of that horn were horrific.

After the vision, Daniel begged the interpreting angel to explain the fourth beast in more detail, specifically, "the other [i.e.little] horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows" (v20)

In fact, the entire end-times drama cannot be properly understood without understanding the role of the little horn. For that reason, Yahweh not only provided careful scriptural descriptions, but a remarkable historical antecedent as well.

During the 400-year intertestamental period, there arose in the latter stages of the Greek kingdom a Gentile ruler named Antiochus IV. History records much about this despicable and villainous ruler, but more remarkable is the prophetic anticipation of Antichrist.

In Daniel 7-8, two little horns appear, with one deliberately anticipatory of the other. Chapters 11-12 foretell the reign of the Seleucid dynasty, culminating in the cruel reign of Antiochus IV (through 11:35, according to most students of the passage). Then the focus shifts abruptly to the end-times Anti-christ (11:36-12:3)

We will focus only on the first of these passages. But it is important to note that these two extended sections of Daniel (chapters 7 and 8) are framed to emphasize dramatically that Yahweh has allowed the former villain (Antiochus IV) to live out his ignoble career in order to prepare people for the coming of the latter-day villain (Antichrist).

THE TWO LITTLE HORNS

Daniel 7 foretells four Gentile kingdoms: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Daniel 8 is explicit that the vision recorded there concerns two of those Kingdoms: Medo-Persia (the ram, vv18-20) and Greece (the male goat, vv21-22). As readers finish Daniel 7, they are struck by the rage and arrogance of the little horn that arises from the fourth beast (Rome) in the end-times. But as they move on to Daniel 8, they are startled again to encounter another "little horn" (v9). It is similar to the first but also extremely different.

The two little horns cannot possibly be the same person. And yet a careful reading of chapters 7 and 8 yields a catalog of remarkable similarities.

Both chapters were future to Daniel's day. From today's perspective, however, the villain of Daniel 8 has appeared; but history still awaits the latter-day little horn of Daniel 7.

ANTIOCHUS IV

Given the fact that God uses Antiochus IV to prefigure the person and reign of the Antichrist we are well advised to ponder the ignoble career of that intertestamental conqueror.

After the death of the great Greek conqueror Alexander the Great in 323 B.C., a 22-year struggle ensued. When the dust settled, Alexander's kingdom had been divided four ways-as Daniel had foretold two centuries earlier. (See Daniel 7:6; 8:8, 22)

The division north of Israel (primarily Syria) was ruled by a general named Seleucus. Antiochus IV, the eighth king in the Seleucid line, ruled from 175 B.C. to 164 B.C. He was a treacherous, vengeful monarch who eventually unleashed his hatred toward his subjects who lived to the south: the people of Israel.

The reign of Antiochus IV (he took the title Epiphanes, meaning "Illustrious One") is chronicled in the apocryphal books of 1 Maccabees (1:10-64) and 2 Maccabees (6:18-31; 7:1-42). It is a gutwrenching narrative that tells of his methodical destruction of the Hebrew Scriptures; the outlawing of circumcision, Sabbath-keeping, and the observance of Jewish feasts; the wanton slaughter of thousands of Jewish women and children; and, as a deliberate insult, the building of an altar to a Greek god in the Temple in Jerusalem and the sacrificial slaughter of swine in those sacred precincts.

Anyone who would properly anticipate the terror of the end-times drama to come is well-advised to ponder that melancholy narrative.

A further parallel exists between Antiochus and the Antichrist. As cruel and powerful as Antiochus was, God, in His kind providence, raised up a family (the Hasmoneans/ Maccabees) who led a revolt that brought the cruel reign of Antiochus IV to an ignominious end Dan8:25; cf. 1 Macc6:8-16)

As stunning and fearful as the Antichrist's reign will be, God will send His Messiah to destroy him and his armies. Thus the history of Earth as we know it will end, not with a whimper but a bang, as Messiah Jesus returns to rescue Israel and destroy His enemies (Rev19)

'Douglas Bookman is professor of New Testament Exposition
at Shepherds Theological Seminary in Cary, North Carolina
He also teaches and preaches across America and abroad
He can be contacted through his Web site, bookmanministries.com

"Seventy weeks are decreed regarding your people, and regarding your holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make atonement for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Holy of Holies. Know, therefore, and understand that from the going forth of the word to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem, to Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks and sixty two weeks. The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in times of distress. And after sixty two weeks, Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself. And the people of a coming ruler shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end shall be with a flood, and desolations are determined, and there shall be war until the end. And he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. And in the middle of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the grain offering to cease. And on a corner will be abominations that cause horror, even until the end. And that which was decreed shall be poured out on the desolate. (Dan9:24-27)

BEGAN:
With the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem in 445 B.C. (Neh2)

INTERRUPTION:
Between the 69th and 70th weeks (483 years after the decree of Nehemiah 2) The 69th week ended when the Messiah was "cut off" (Jesus was killed). Clearly, the events of the 70th week (final seven years) are yet future.


The 70th Week of Daniel

DEFINITION:
The last week (seven years) of Daniel's 70-week prophecy. It is also referred to as the Day of the Lord, the Tribulation, and the Time of Jacob's Trouble.

WILL BEGIN:
With the confirmation of a covenant with many (Dan9:27)

WILL END:
When the Messiah returns to reign over the entire world from Jerusalem, Israel

One of the more intriguing prophecies in the book of Daniel concerns the final of the four Gentile kingdoms that will rule the world. It is represented in Scripture by legs of iron (Dan2:33,40) and a "dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong" beast (7:7 cf. vv23-24) that becomes Satan's powerful and merciless instrument to make humanity serve him.

Both first-century Jews and Christians understood this final empire to be Rome. Has this prophecy been fulfilled? In Daniel 2 and 7, the fourth kingdom is terminated by the apocalyptic end of this age and the establishment of God's promised Messianic Kingdom. How do these prophecies correlate with the first-century coming of Christ and the history of the Roman Empire since then?

Jesus Himself gave us the clues. In teaching His disciples about the future of Jerusalem, He made two references to Daniel. In Luke 21:20-24, He foretold the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, declaring it would be trampled by the nations until the Times of the Gentiles were fulfilled. This means Rome's kingdom was not ended by Jesus' First Advent.

Correspondingly, in Matthew 24:15, Jesus warned His disciples about a future "abomination of desolation," a typological reference to Antiochus Epiphanes who earlier, in 167 B.C., had erected an image of the Greek god Zeus in the Temple in Jerusalem to reflect himself. This act relates to the little horns of Daniel 7 and 8 together. The little horn of Daniel 7 comes out of the Roman Empire, while the little horn of chapter 8 comes from the Greek Empire. They are seen typologically together in Daniel 11:21-45. Thus Jesus revealed a future, blasphemous king who will arise during the Great Tribulation and desecrate the Temple by erecting an image of himself in it (Rev13:15-18)

The book of Revelation completes the picture. The 10 toes of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar's image in Daniel 2 and the 10 horns of the terrible beast in Daniel 7 relate to the 10 horns of the beast in Revelation 13:1-18 and 17:8-13. Revelation 17:12 indicates, along with Daniel, that these 10 kings all rule with the beast (the Antichrist) and/or a revived Roman Empire. This event has not yet happened in history.

Consequently, we are still in the Times of the Gentiles, and the Roman Empire has not yet finished its course. just as the old Roman Empire was characterized by religious pluralism, military strength, and economic incentive, its end-times culmination will be a worldwide empire of the same character (Dan7:23) According to Daniel 7:7, this empire will already exist when the "little horn" takes it over.

It is not difficult to see that the world today appears headed gladly toward a politically, religiously pluralistic and economically globalized world. This will be the revived Roman Empire.

Pictured in Revelation 12-13, it is often compared with the tower of Babel (Gen11:1-9) as a bastion of humanity's hubris in uniting in rebellion against God's rule. In its fallen state, even at its peak of unity, mankind can only offer a corrupt perversion of God's intentions for the race created in His image. Thus this revived Roman Empire, in all its totalitarian might, will become Satan's instrument to destroy all that is noble in man and will do nothing but enslave humanity to do his will.

At the same time, the Antichrist who will rule this evil empire personifies man's rebellion against God. When God's final bowl judgments rain down on Earth, instead of repenting, people will blaspheme the God of heaven (Rev16:9-11). In other words, the Antichrist is what sinful humanity will want in its insurrection against God.

King David described the world's reaction to God's establishing His Anointed as King over the earth: "Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed" (Ps2:1-2; Ac4:23-31).

What is God's response? He laughs and scoffs at them and tells them in anger to do homage to His Son (Ps2:4-6,12). Thus all creation will one day acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil2:11).

All of human and satanic might are nothing in God's sight (Isa40:12-17). During this rebellion, the saints are pictured as demonstrating their faith by caring for the Lord's brothers and so are welcomed into the Kingdom and eternal life (Mt25:34-40)

It's an exhilarating experience; everyone stands as the triumphant strains of the "Hallelujah Chorus" flood the auditorium:

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth...
The kingdom of this world 
Is become the kingdom of our Lord, 
And of His Christ; 
And He shall reign for ever and ever
King of kings! and Lord of lords! 
Hallelujah!

The climax of George Frideric Handel's Messiah, taken from the last book of the Bible, describes the most significant event in prophecy: the revelation of Jesus Christ. The apostle John penned the words, and they augment a prophecy in the book of Daniel that outlines the progression of human history that culminates in the same glorious event.

In 605 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem. Receiving news that his father, Nabopolassar, had died, he returned to Babylon to assume the throne, taking with him vessels plundered from the Temple and a select group of young Jewish captives. Daniel was among them. This was the first deportation. The last ended in 586 B.C. with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple King Solomon had built.

In Babylon, Daniel served God resolutely. He demonstrated such exceptional wisdom that he earned a place of prominence that spanned the reign of several kings and outlasted the Babylonian Empire. It is not surprising the Lord entrusted him with the synopsis of world history, since he was "greatly beloved" of God (Dan9:23;10:11,19)

Shortly after arriving in Babylon, Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's troubling dream of a massive image with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet of iron and clay (2:31-35). While the king watched, a stone smashed the feet, bringing the colossus crashing to the ground.

Daniel explained that the head of gold depicted Babylon. Then followed three successively inferior Gentile empires that were ultimately ground to dust and blown away by the wind.

THE FIRST THREE BEASTS

Approximately 50 years later, Daniel had a dream paralleling Nebuchadnezzar's. Out of a turbulent and surging sea emerged four beasts corresponding to the four kingdoms in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Both dreams highlight the same world empires. Seen from man's perspecfive, wrote Bible scholar John Walvoord, they appear "glorious and imposing"; but from the divine vantage point, the predominant characteristics are "immorality, brutality and depravity."

LION: The first beast was like a lion, had eagle's wings, and is almost universally recognized as Babylon (7:4;Jer49:19-22). As Daniel watched, the wings were plucked off, limiting its potential for further conquest (Dan7:4). "It was made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it" (v4). Many believe this refers to the time God judged Nebuchadnezzar for his pride, turning him into an animal of sorts for seven years. He emerged with a new attitude toward God (4:36).

BEAR: Lumbering across the beach behind the winged lion was a creature "like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth" (7:5). The hulking bruin with a ravenous appetite accurately depicts the Medo-Persian Empire. Large and powerful, it conquered by "force of numbers, by an elastic capacity for absorbing casualties" The bear raised up on one side seems to indicate the increasing Persian dominance that ultimately absorbed the Medes.

The ribs between the bear's teeth represent three kingdoms it devoured, likely the Lydian Kingdom, which fell to Cyrus in 546 B.C.; the Chaldean Empire annexed in 539 B.C.; and the Egyptian Empire acquired under Cambyses in 525 B.C. The bear was urged, "Arise, devour much flesh!" (7:5)

In yet another of Daniel's visions, the empire is portrayed as a ram with one horn higher than the other, "pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no animal could withstand him" (8:4)

LEOPARD: The next creature springing from the surf was "like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it" (7:6). The leopard's speed, accelerated by four wings, accurately characterized the armies of Greece commanded by Alexander the Great who conquered the world in approximately a decade. History verifies that shortly after his death in 323 B.C., the Greek Empire split four ways between Antipater (succeeded by Cassander), Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy.

In the subsequent vision, the Greek Empire is depicted as a male goat with a large horn that is broken and replaced by four notable ones (8:5,8,21). Then, out of one of the four horns comes a little horn, historically personified in Antiochus IV who ruled Syria from 175-164 B.C. (v9). Seeking to Hellenize Israel, he outlawed Judaism, sacrificed a sow on the Temple altar, and erected a statue of Zeus with his likeness in the Temple courtyard. The Temple was later reclaimed and rededicated, as Daniel prophesied (v14).

THE TERRIBLE BEAST

The last creature rising out of the sea, was "dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet.... and it had ten horns" (7:7). With no equivalent in the animal world, this monster symbolizes "a singularly voracious, cruel and even vindictive world power."

Wrote Walvoord: "The Roman empire was ruthless in its destruction of civilizations and peoples, killing captives by the thousands and selling them into slavery by the hundreds of thousands."

Nothing in history so far corresponds with the description: "The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom" (v24). Like the toes in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, the 10 horns indicate a future coalition of rulers existing contemporaneously.

As Daniel watched, he saw "another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns [kings] were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words" (v8). Not to be confused with the "little horn" associated with the Greek Empire, the horn of Daniel 7:8 emerges after deposing three rulers and represents the final world dictator (cf. 7:24-25; 11:36-45; 2Th2:3-8; Rev13:1-8). Under his leadership, the Roman Empire re-emerges reflecting his deceptive, blasphemous, and ruthless character.

Demanding worship from the world and destroying all who refuse to comply, this final world leader is the Antichrist. He will focus his animus on the Jewish people, resulting in "great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world ... nor ever shall be" (Mt24:21)

Transfixed, Daniel watched until the final beast "was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame," (Dan7:11) paralleling the apostle John's revelation that "the beast was captured, and ... cast alive into the lake of fire" (Rev19:20)

The Antichrist will become the first inhabitant of the Lake of Fire, and his destruction terminates Gentile domination of the world.

The Messiah, represented by the stone "cut without hands" in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, will then establish His Kingdom, as described by Daniel:

And behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! ... Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed (Dan7:13-14)

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had a dream of an image made of various metals, representing different periods of Gentile world rule (Dan2:34-35,44-45). In the dream, a stone cut without the help of human hands crushes the image's feet and toes, breaking them to pieces. They become like chaff on a summer threshing floor, and a wind carries the material away without a trace. Then the stone that struck the image becomes a great mountain and fills the whole earth (2:34-35)

This dream encapsulates all of world history from the Babylonian kingdom on, culminating with the establishment of the great Kingdom of God. Scholars agree the stone represents the Messiah, identified in the New Testament as Jesus Christ; and the great mountain is God's Kingdom.

However, two questions arise concerning God's Kingdom filling the whole earth. What is the nature of the Kingdom, and when will it fill the whole earth?

There are three main interpretations of this prophecy. Some teach that God's Kingdom filling the earth is to be interpreted symbolically and refers to the establishment of His spiritual Kingdom through the church at Christ's First Coming. Others teach that the church's proclamation of Christ's gospel will result in God's Kingdom eventually filling the earth, producing a period of universal peace and prosperity prior to Christ's Second Coming. Still others teach that this prophecy is to be interpreted literally and will take place in the future at Christ's Second Coming when He will reign over all the earth.

Only the third position, held by premillennialists, can be sustained by Scripture. Here is why:

Daniel's prophecy is to be interpreted literally, not symbolically.

Daniel's prophecy has no relationship to the church. God's literal Kingdom was not established on Earth through the church at Christ's First Coming, but it will be physically established at His Second Coming.

At His First Coming, Christ did not crush the revived Roman Empire represented by the feet and toes of the image. He will do so at His Second Coming, after which He will rule the world with a rod of iron (Rev19:15). Once this final Gentile empire is destroyed, "the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed" (Dan2:44). This statement presupposes that God's everlasting Kingdom will be a literal, physical kingdom on Earth.

The image in Daniel is completely crushed at Christ's Second Coming with a single, sudden, violent, catastrophic blow- not gradually by the church, as some teach.

The fulfillment of this prophecy fits the time of Christ's Second Coming, when God's Kingdom will fill the whole earth, beginning with Christ's Millennial reign and extending into the New Heaven and New Earth (Rev19-20)

Daniel 11 tells the future. In Daniel's day, it pulled back the curtain of time and revealed what would take place among the nations after Daniel's death in 536 B.C. Even today, a section of the prophecy still awaits fulfillment.

Bible prophecy is not like fortunetelling, which is occasionally accurate but most of the time not. God's requirement was that a prophet be accurate 100 percent of the time or be stoned to death (Dt18:20-22). To date, this prophecy has been 100 percent accurate.

Since Daniel 11 can seem confusing, here is an easy-to-follow explanation.

Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and thefourth shall be far richer than them all (v2)

Then a mighty king shall arise.... His kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity (v3-4)

Also the king of the South shall become strong, as well as one of his princes (v5)

And at the end of some years they shall join forces, for the daughter ofthe king of the South shall go to the king of the North to make an agreement (v6)

But from a branch of her roots one shall arise in his place, who shall come with an army, enter the fortress of the king of the North (v7)

So the king of the North shall come and build a siege mound, and take a fortified city; and the forces of the South shall not withstand him.. . and he shall give him the daughter of women (v15,17)

And... shall arise a vile person... he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue... While returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant (v21,28)

THE HOLY COVENANT: Israel and the Jewish people, whom Antiochus persecuted mercilessly.

And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation (v31)

With Daniel 11:36 the prophecy jumps to the Antichrist and the coming Tribulation.

Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods ... he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know (v36,38)

He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. He shall have power over ... Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians (v41,43)

Yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him (v45)

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him [Jesus] was called Faithful and True.... And I saw the beast [Antichrist], the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse.... Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet.... These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone (Rev19:11,19-20)

Thus says the LORD of hosts: "In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying 'Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you'" (Zech8:23)

Babylon was surrounded by Medo-Persian troops, yet the palace rocked as King Belshazzar hosted a riotous banquet for more than a thousand. Believing the city was impregnable and the food supply plenteous, he partied on, ignoring the gravity of the siege.

In the middle of the bash, Belshazzar ordered that the gold and silver vessels, looted from the Israelite Temple in Jerusalem, be used to serve his guests wine.

This was doubtless a premeditated act of defiance against Jehovah, the living God, because the prophet Daniel had predicted Babylon's fall to Medo-Persia 11 years earlier (Dan8:20). However, Jehovah (YHWH) is not to be trifled with. He will endure much, but eventually He metes out judgment.

As Belshazzar drank, he and the crowd arrogantly used the Temple vessels to toast "the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone" (5:4)

Suddenly the fingers of a man's hand materialized out of thin air and began writing on the plaster of the wall behind Belshazzar "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN" (v25). You can almost hear the fading echoes of laughter and boisterous talk as this dramatic, supernatural event unfolded. Fear contorted Belshazzar's face, Scripture says his knees knocked visibly against each other (v6)

Moments later, he grilled the wise men, astrologers, and soothsayers in a desperate attempt to understand the enigmatic message. As coregent under Nabonidus, Belshazzar promised royal robes, a gold chain, and the position of third ruler of the kingdom to anyone who could interpret the message. No one could.

Urged by the queen mother, he summoned Daniel. She counseled Belshazzar,

There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God And in the days of your father [or ancestor], light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your father- your father the king-made him chief of the magicians, astrologen, Chaldeans, and soothsayers (v11)

Unimpressed by the reward, Daniel castigated Belshazzar for his pride and arrogance and his refusal to learn from Nebuchadnezzar's mistakes.

Then he read and interpreted the cryptic message aloud.

MENE: "God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it" (v26)

TEKEL: "You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting" (v27). Belshazzar's defiance toward God tipped the scale, proving him unfit to rule.

PERES: "Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians" (v28)

Bible scholar John Walvoord noted, "A pun may be intended on this third word. Having been interpreted to mean 'divided,' it is also understood as a reference to the Aramaic word for Persian, thereby hinting a Persian victory over Babylon." Charles Ryrie says PERES is the singular of UPHARSIN and the U means "and."

But Belshazzar still did not repent. Instead, he ordered a purple robe and gold chain for Daniel and proclaimed him third ruler of the kingdom (v29). Belshazzar thought he could dely God with impunity; he was wrong. That night he was killed as the Medo-Persian army swept through the capital of Babylon, just as Daniel had prophesied. And the great Babylonian Empire was no more.

If you adhere to the literalist-premillennialist interpretation of Daniel's prophecy of 70 weeks (Dan9:24-27), here is what you believe: The 70th "week" (seven-year period, also known as the Tribulation) still remains unfulfilled. At its conclusion, Christ will return and reign over Earth for a literal 1,000 years (a millennium), after which the Kingdom is handed up to the Father (1Cor15:24) and "eternity" begins. Although many people interpret the prophecy differently, the literal-premillennial view is preferred on several counts.

First, it honors the prophecy's unmistakably Jewish character. All nonpremillennial interpretations construe the prophecy as speaking of the provision of salvation for all men, with no special focus on the Jewish people. But the angel Gabriel, who delivered the prophecy to Daniel, said specifically that it concerns Daniel's people (the Jews) and Daniel's holy city (Jerusalem, 9:24). Furthermore, it is in the section of the book penned in Hebrew for a Hebrew audience, and it was given in response to a Hebrew prayer uttered by a Hebrew prophet in entirely Hebrew terms.

Second, the literal-premillennial view makes this passage fit perfectly in the developing argument of the book. In Daniel 2, Daniel received an overview of the Gentile nations destined to dominate Israel until the coming of the Messiah and His Kingdom. Chapter 7 focuses on the final Gentile ruler (Antichrist) and his role in the horrific drama that will culminate in a divine Kingdom in which a redeemed Israel will honor its Messiah. Given a literal-premillennial understanding, the 70-week prophecy provides the precise chronological framework within which that drama will unfold. On the other hand, to divorce it from all that and make it a cryptic foretelling of an abstract, non-Jewish kingdom is to divorce it entirely from the argument being made in the book.

Third, it understands all of the elements of the prophecy simply and coherently, especially the key chronological details. Nonpremillennial interpretations are almost always crippled by two commitments:

(1) They cannot, as does the literalist, allow a gap between the 69th and 70th weeks because, by their reading, the "cutting off" of Messiah in 9:26 and the "confirming" of a covenant in verse 27 both refer to Calvary. But the grammar is explicit: the two events of 9:26 (Messiah's death and the destruction of the city and sanctuary) happen after the 69 weeks (seven weeks plus 62, v25) but before the 70th (v27)

(2) They refuse to take the 70th week literally. One nonpremillennial expositor takes the first seven weeks as 560 years, the 62 weeks as 1900 years, and the final week to be a period of undefined length. Another has the 70th week extending to A.D. 70 when the Temple was destroyed. The variations on the theme are endless, but common to all of them is the insistence that the final 70th week is not future and is not a literal period of seven years. The premillennial interpretation, however, is consistent and can allow the passage to say what it is saying.

Finally, the premillennial interpretation makes the passage entirely consistent with all other eschatological passages, especially with Jesus'words in His Olivet Discourse. There He explicitly said the "'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet" (Mt24:15; Dan9:27) will be a sign of the immediate end of the age-just as it is understood only by a premillennial reading of the 70-weeks prophecy.