Ancient of Days

1. In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. 2. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. 3. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. 4. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. 5. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. 6. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. 7. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. 8. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. 9. I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. 10. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. 11. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. 12. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. 13. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. 15. I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. 16. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. 17. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. 18. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. 19. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; 20. And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. 21. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; 22. Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. 23. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 25. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. 26. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. 27. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. 28. Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.

*Hosea 13:4-9, "Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me. I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought. According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me. Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them: I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them. O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help."

In 574 B.C. Jeremiah ended a fifty-three year ministry of prophesying to a stubborn and rebellious people. Dieing, as many conjecture, in the land of Egypt and Ezekiel was given a vision of the valley of dry bones. In 571 B.C. Ezekiel was given a vision of a new heaven and new earth completing his thirty-four year ministry in 559 B.C.

In 548 Belshazzar assumed the throne in Babylon and Daniel had a dream that troubled him. "In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another," (*Daniel 7:1-3).

Upon first observing chapter seven of the book of Daniel it might appear that the vision was different from the one recorded in chapter two. However, as we observe each portion of the dream we will find that it is similar, only more ellaborate in detail.

First we will look at each image of the vision and apply what we have already observed. Once this is completed we will look at the interpretation given in the scripture of the vision in order to arrive at a proper conclusion. If you have made a chart, as suggested in our study of chapter two, this will be a good time to add the images of this vision to your chart.

Remember all scripture should be taken in its literal context before attempting to interpret it. Because we are looking at the literal context it should be interpreted literally, comparing scripture to scripture, and applying accurate historical accounts. We have the privilege of looking back at historical accounts. Daniel was living through that history and the Lord gave Him very exact precise details of what would occur up to the "end of the age."

*Joel 1:2-7, "Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten. Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth. For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion. He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white."

Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed Jerusalem body, soul, and spirit. Not with one stroke but over a period of time in three precise battles. In the final battle he destroyed all that was left, the wall, the temple, all the nobles and kings sons were killed with the sword, and the king's eyes were plucked out. He set the city on fire and left nothing but the refuse of society to pestilence, draught, and famine. As Joel prophesied, "He laid my vine waste and barked my fig tree. He made it bare and threw it away. The branches are made white." Like a roaring lion who goes about seeking whom he may devour.

In chapter two of the book of Daniel we looked at a statue whose head was made of gold. The interpretation that the Lord gave Daniel to declare before the king was that he was the head of gold. Chapter four revealed that Nebuchadnezzar was stricken with a strange illness that caused him to have the heart of a beast.

At the end of the appointed time Nebuchadnezzar returned, gave glory to the High God, and resumed his position as king. Just as Daniel interpreted the root was left and his kingdom was restored after he had been humbled by the Lord. As a lion whose wings were plucked he stood up upon his feet as a man and a man's heart was given to him.

*Jeremiah 50:9-10, "For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain. And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the LORD."

In Daniel chapter two the prophet interprets Nebuchadnezzar's dream revealing that after the kingdom of Babylon another kingdom would arise but would be inferior to Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom. The breast and arms of silver revealed in the image of Nebuchadnezzar's dream.

The Medes, consisting mainly of Elamites, were a nomadic people who came from the southern parts of Russia. Under Cyaxares, king of Media, they formed an alliance with Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. These two nations defeated the Assyrian's and destroyed the city of Nineveh in 625 B.C. However, during the reign of Cyaxares' son they were invaded by the Persians who conquered them. The two nations, Media and Persia, united under the reign of Cyrus the Persian who made Darius the Mede viceroy. Thus began the Medo-Persian empire.

In 539 B.C. they invaded Babylon just as Jeremiah had prophesied, "Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple. Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the LORD hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon. O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness. The LORD of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout against thee," (*Jeremiah 51:11-14).

Like an angry bear, they devoured the world ruling over the Achaemenid empire. Two ribs, Media and Persia, united into one kingdom.

*Isaiah 21:1-9, "The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land. A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease. Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it. My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me. Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield. For thus hath the LORD said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth. And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed: And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights: And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground."

Reading through Daniel's interpretaion of Nebuchadnezzar's dream in the second chapter we see a third kingdom, the belly and thighs of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. This third kingdom, revealed in historical accounts, is Greece.

In the Old Testament Greece was first mentioned in Genesis 10 as being the fourth son of Japheth, named Javan, whose descendants settled in Greece. Javan was universally used by the nations of the East as the name of the Greek race.

Tyre, meaning 'a rock,' was an ancient Phoenician city. The commerce of the whole world was gathered into the warehouses of Tyre. The Tyrian merchants were the first who ventured to navigate the Mediterranean waters. They founded their colonies on the coasts and neighbouring islands of the AEgean Sea, in Greece, on the northern coast of Africa, at Carthage and other places, in Sicily and Corsica, in Spain at Tartessus, and even beyond the pillars of Hercules at Gadeira (*Easton's Bible Dictionary).

Thus we find that the name Javan and the city of Tyrus in the prophesies of the Old Testament are synonomis with the Grecians. *Isaiah 23:17, "And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth."

In 499 B.C. Greece revolted against the Persian rule and, by 479 B.C., defeated their army at Mycale. In 334 B.C. Alexander the Great attacked the Persian Empire with an army of Macedonians and Greeks. In 331 B.C. Greece became the third kingdom to rule the world. Greek culture rapidly became a world culture and ushered in the Hellenistic Age.

At the end of twenty-two years of fighting Alexander's generals established their authority over portions of his kingdom. Lysimachus ruled over Thrace and Bithynia, Cassander over Macedonia, Ptolemy I Soter over Egypt, and Seleucus I Nacator over Syria. Israel was under the rule of the Ptolemies. The four wings and heads of the beast, or leopard, in Daniel's vision.

*Jeremiah 5:6, "Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased."

Before looking at the fourth beast let's look at the prophesy in Jeremiah chapter 25.

As seen in Daniel chapter two there is a trickle down effect. What begins at the head eventually trickles down to the feet. Although the names and places of the kingdoms changed their culture did not decline. Each nation we have looked at so far have had their own cultures but they also had one thing in common; they incorporated the cultures and gods of the other nations into their own.

The whoredoms of Babylon poured throughout the earth. A cup of wine that all nations of the earth were made to drink from and for which all will be punished.

*Revelation 13:1-2, "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority."

Although Daniel gives no specifics to this beast other than to define it as having great iron teeth, ten horns, and it was different from all the other beasts the book of Revelation gives us a greater insight into the appearance of this beast. It was like a leopard. Its feet were like the feet of a bear. Its mouth like the mouth of a lion. Different but it included all the appearances of the first three with one exception, it had ten horns. The legs of iron revealed in Daniel chapter two. "And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise," (*Daniel 2:40).

According to legend Rome was ruled by seven kings, Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Marcius, Lucius Tarquinius, Priscus, Servius Tullius, and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. By 290 B.C., after a series of struggles with the Greek cities of southern Italy, Rome established its power which included almost all of Italy. The Latin language and Roman culture soon spread throughout Italy.

By 264 B.C. Rome had become one of the most powerful nations of the western Mediterranean. In 241 B.C. after twenty-three years of war Sicily became the first Roman province and three years later they annexed Sardinia and Corsica. From 218 to 144 B.C. they waged war with Spain in what was called the Punic Wars. They defeated Hannibal's forces in 202 B.C.

In 190 B.C. Rome defeated Antiochus III for a second time at the Battle of Magnesia. At this time Greece was torn by quarrels among its city-states. Perscus, who had succeeded his father as king of Macedonia took advantage of the Greek discontent to provoke a war with Rome. Rome easily crushed his advances in 168 B.C.

Rome suppressed further Greek and Macedonian revolts in 148 B.C. and made Macedonia the first eastern Roman Province. Two years later, in 146 B.C., the Romans destroyed the city of Corinth completing their conquest of Greece and in 144 B.C. destroyed Carthage gaining Spain. Rome devoured, broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet.

From 146 B.C. to 476 A.D. Rome dominated the world; however, in 286 A.D. Diocletian divided the empire into east and west parts because he felt that it could no longer be ruled by one man. Diocletian set up one capital for himself to rule the east and chose a soldier named Maximian to rule the west. He grouped the empire's provinces into four divisions called prefectures for more centralized rule. He appointed two deputies over each division to help administer the empire. *Daniel 2:41, "And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.

It was different from all the beasts that were before it and it had ten horns. *Daniel 7:23-24, "Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise."

*Isaiah 53, "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."

In 1 A.D., during the days of Augustus Caesar, God sent His only begotten Son into this world clothed in the appearance of flesh. At the age of thirty Jesus Christ began His ministry declaring the "Kingdom of God" was at hand. In 33 A.D. Jesus was crucified, died the death of a sinner, and was buried in a borrowed tomb. After three full days God raised His Son from the dead. After fifty days were accomplished God sent the Holy Spirit into the earth and Christianity began to spread from Jerusalem into all the world.

In 313 A.D. Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, making Christianity legal. After his death in 337 A.D. the only living, growing force in the western provinces of Rome seemed to be the Christian Church. After Rome fell in 476 A.D. the king of the Franks gave the city and nearby lands to the pope in 756 A.D.

*Daniel 2:44, "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." Jesus Christ, the stone cut out of the mountain without hands that crushed the feet of the image and broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold.

*Revelation 17:9-12, "And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast."

The 'little horn' of Daniel chapter seven brings us one step further into God's plan for the ages. This is the first time that God reveals this creature; therefore, you will need to make a separate chart for this particular image.

There is also a judgment concerning this 'little horn.' *Daniel 7:11, "I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame."

Let's look at the scriptures in Revelation chapter 13 and compare them with the imterpretaion of Daniel chapter seven.

*Daniel 7:23-26, "Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him."

By comparing these sciptures we can conclude that the 'little horn' of Daniel chapter seven is the beast referred to in Revelation chapters thirteen and seventeen. *Daniel 7:24, "And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings."

We will look at this 'beast' further into the study, for the present, simply chart your observations and the interpretations.

*Ezekiel 43:1-7, "Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house. And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me. And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places."

Ezekiel's vision of the new heaven and the new earth gives us a promise that there will be a time when God Himself will dwell in the midst of Israel. There is a time coming when all these things that are recorded in Daniel will come to pass. A time coming when the Ancient of Days will come, judgment will be given to the saints, and the saints will possess the kingdom. When Jesus Christ, the Son of man will come in the clouds of heaven and His dominion shall be an everlasting dominion that will not pass away nor will His kingdom be destroyed.

Let us prepare our hearts in hope of that day by continuing to live according to His commandments. Not as stubborn and rebellious people but as children of the kingdom of God. Because the kingdom is within us and wheresoever we set the soles of our feet we are revealing the glory and nature of God.

*Daniel 26-27, "But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him."

&Please bear in mind we are only observing and literally interpreting what we have seen contained in the scriptures. Please do not take anything out of context but rather place each observation and interpretation on your Daniel study chart. Make sure each portion of study is accomplished with much prayer. Don't forget the Holy Spirit is our teacher and He will never ever lead you astray.

Please read through Daniel chapter eight which is the next chapter we will study. As you go through the study of the book of Daniel all things will begin to focus as long as you stay focused on Him Who gives us wisdom and discernment.