*Daniel 4:25c / *Dan. 4:25c -
Regarding Daniel 4:25c: "the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will", this means that the human rulers of the world are ultimately determined by God: "the powers that be are ordained of God" (Romans 13:1c). This can include God's judgment against sinful nations (cf. Isaiah 3:12).
It can also include God's mercy (2 Peter 3:9b). For example, Trump's election could have been a miracle from God to delay the coming of the future Antichrist's social policies in the U.S. for a few years, whereas Hillary would have set them up perfectly. She even said something like: "There are some people who will have to change their beliefs", in the sense that Christians, from the point of view of "political correctness", have to change their beliefs against homosexuality and abortion. Trump, on the other hand, has done the exact opposite. For example, he recently removed Obama-era rules which required Christians in the medical field to support abortions.
Trump's election might be thought of as a "Jonah 3 Option", in that God showed mercy to the ancient city of Nineveh at the time of Jonah 3, even though Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire, would still eventually be destroyed later on (Zephaniah 2:13).
(See Nahum below)
For in the U.S., the "Jonah 3 Option" could be followed in only a couple of years from now by an "Athaliah Option", that is, a President Kamala Harris who will very calmly and smoothly usher in a thoroughly anti-Christian, yet "politically correct" agenda at the federal level. Or, a warring President Elizabeth Warren could do so, with gusto. Or they could join together, with one as President and the other as Vice President.
(See also paragraphs 5-8 of the last section of Matthew 5:39 below. And see Mark 13:9 and sections 2-4 of Romans 1:26 below)
Also, before that, Trump and his security and military advisors in the next couple of years may inadvertently help to prepare the way geopolitically and militarily for the future Antichrist.
(See the "Career" and "War" sections of Revelation 13:5 below)
Après Trump, le déluge.
Also, if Trump, by the efforts of liberals, is somehow legally thrown out of office before his term is over, or if he is violently removed by a radical group like Antifa, it is unclear if the Democrats will be any better off under a President Pence. For while he can sometimes seem like Milquetoast, he has a spine of iron. He is a fulfillment of Teddy Roosevelt's dictum to: "Speak softy, but carry a big stick", so that Democrats will rue the day that they get rid of Trump before his term is over. Also, after the Trump/Pence term is over, do the Democrats really want to have to deal with the possibility of a future Presidential-candidate Christie, who could pull a Teddy vs. Jimmy at the Republican convention in 2020 and succeed? For Christie could eat-alive any Democratic candidate, so long as he is able to continually project to the general population his basic niceness and common sense, instead of a basic meanness and irritability.
Also, it is suspicious that Trump's enemies are now trying to shame him into going overseas to visit the troops in combat situations. It is like they are planning to do something bad to him over there. So he needs to resist going over there at all costs.
--
*Daniel 4:35 / *Dan. 4:35 -
God is not willing to use His power to turn Christians into robots. So it is possible for them to wrongly employ their free will without repentance, to the ultimate loss of their salvation (Hebrews 10:26-29, Hebrews 6:4-8, Matthew 25:26,30).
(See the "NOSAS" section of Hebrews 3:6 below)
--
*Daniel 5:24-31 / *Dan. 5:24 / *Dan. 5:25 -
The meaning of the handwriting on the wall (Daniel 5:24-28) was fulfilled at the fall of ancient Babylon in the sixth century BC at the hands of Darius the Mede that same night (Daniel 5:30-31).
~
(Re: Does it refer to 2,520 years, the same as seven times, in relation to Jerusalem's history?)
No, for in Daniel 5:25 the original Chaldean word (H4484) transliterated as "MENE" simply means "numbered" (Strong's Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary), as Daniel 5:26 explains. And in Daniel 5:25 the Chaldean word (H8625) transliterated as "TEKEL" (Daniel 5:25) means "to balance" (Strong's), as Daniel 5:27 explains. And in Daniel 5:25,28 the Chaldean word (H6537) transliterated as "UPHARSIN" (Daniel 5:25) and as "PERES" (Daniel 5:28) means "to split up" (Strong's), as Daniel 5:28 explains. There is no reference to 2,520, and no reference to seven times, in Daniel 5:24-28. Also, the seven times in, for example, Daniel 4:16, refer to seven literal years during the life of Nebuchadnezzar, an ancient king of Babylon. No Bible verse even suggests that what happened to him has any application to Jerusalem down through history.
--
*Daniel 7 / *Dan. 7 -
Here the first three beasts (Daniel 7:3-6) represent the ancient empires of Babylon (lion), Medo-Persia (bear), and Greece (leopard). The fourth beast, or fourth "king"/"kingdom" (Daniel 7:17,23), represents the ancient Roman empire. And the ten horns/kings which come out of it (Daniel 7:7,24) could represent ten major kingdoms/nations today which came out of the former territory of the Roman empire, which consisted not only of Western Europe, but also the Middle East and North Africa. These ten nations could be Germany, the U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, Algeria, and Syria. The ten part-iron/part-clay toes of Daniel 2:42 could represent the same thing as the ten horns of Daniel 7:7. The Europeans could be the iron, and the Arabs and Turks could be the clay. In Daniel 2:43 the inability of the iron to mix with the clay could represent how, for example, there are many Turks living in Germany, but they remain separated in ghettoes within German cities. Similarly, there are many Arab Algerians living in France, but they remain separated in ghettoes within French cities.
But despite this social separation, which could endure indefinitely, the people of Western Europe on the one hand, and the people of the Middle East and North Africa on the other, could still one day put aside their political separation and become united into one federation. For Daniel 2:42 refers to the ten as a singular "kingdom". The person who will bring this about could be the future Antichrist.
The arising of the "little" horn (Daniel 7:8, Daniel 8:9) which is "diverse" from the ten major nations (Daniel 7:24) could mean that the future Antichrist will arise from a little country. And the little horn arising from "among" the ten major nations (Daniel 7:8) could mean that the Antichrist's country's territory used to be part of the Roman empire. And before that, it was part of one of the four Diadochian Greek kingdoms which succeeded the Greek empire of Alexander the Great (Daniel 8:8-9,21-25). The territory of these four kingdoms stretched from Greece over to Iran, and down into Egypt. So the Antichrist could come from the Middle East. He could be an Arab who will come from the little country of Lebanon, from the modern city of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:4).
The Antichrist could start out by claiming to be a Baathist. After becoming the leader of Lebanon, he could peacefully gain control of a Baathist federation of three of the ten major nations (Daniel 7:24): Egypt, "toward the south" of Lebanon (Daniel 8:9), and Iraq and Syria, "toward the east" of Lebanon (Daniel 8:9). This federation could also include the minor nation of a United Palestine, that is, a defeated Israel, "the pleasant land" (Daniel 8:9).
This Baathist federation could be put together in our future by an Iraqi Baathist General (the future Antichrist's precursor) who could completely defeat and occupy Israel and Egypt with a huge Iraqi Army (Daniel 11:15-17; in verse 17 the original Hebrew word translated as "daughter" is "bath"), but who could then mysteriously disappear (Daniel 11:19) shortly before the Antichrist arises on the world stage (Daniel 11:21-45). Years later, when the Antichrist gains control of all ten of the major nations, he could appoint kings over them (Revelation 17:12) who will defer to him (Revelation 17:13), like how when Napoleon gained control of different nations, he appointed kings over them who would defer to him.
(See the "Career" and "War" sections of Revelation 13:5 below)
~
(Re: How can you pinpoint the Antichrist as being a *Baathist?)
It is a possibility, because of Daniel 11:15-17 (in verse 17 the original Hebrew word translated as "daughter" is "bath"), and because the Antichrist could be an Arab who will come from Lebanon, from the modern city of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:4). Also, Baathism calls for the political unification of all Arab countries, which would be the perfect platform for an initial rise to power by the Antichrist among the Arabs. Also, Baathism is socialist, and so the Antichrist could distribute the huge Arab oil wealth to the Arab masses (Daniel 11:24), turning the masses to his side in every Arab nation.
~
(Re: What is your evidence for those ten nations?)
They are ten major nations which came out of the former territory of the Roman empire, which consisted not only of Western Europe, but also the Middle East and North Africa.
~
(Re: How can the fourth beast be Rome, when it did not encompass the whole earth, as in Daniel 7:23?)
The future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") will be given power over the whole earth by Lucifer (Satan, the dragon) for a literal 3.5 years (Revelation 13:4-18, Revelation 12:9, Daniel 7:25). And in Daniel 7 the Antichrist is considered to be part of the fourth beast (Daniel 7:23-25).
~
(Re: Is the third, leopard beast the same as the leopard beast in Revelation?)
No, for the leopard beast in Revelation also partakes of Daniel's first, second, and fourth beasts. For it has the mouth of a lion, the feet of a bear, and ten horns (Revelation 13:1-2, Daniel 7:3-7). Also, the leopard beast in Revelation has seven heads, whereas the leopard beast in Daniel had four heads (Daniel 7:6, Revelation 13:1-2).
~
(Re: Are the seven heads of Daniel's four beasts the same as the seven heads of Revelation's beast?)
No, for the four beasts in Daniel 7:3-7 represent the ancient empires of Babylon (lion), Medo-Persia (bear), Greece (leopard), and Rome (fourth beast). And the four heads of the Greek empire (Daniel 7:6) represent the four Diadochian Greek kingdoms which the Greek empire broke up into after the death of Alexander the Great (Daniel 8:22). But the seven heads of the beast in Revelation 13:1 and Revelation 17:3 represent the empires of ancient Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and (possibly) Islam. So the four beasts in Daniel 7 represent the same thing as four of the seven heads in Revelation, but the heads in Daniel 7 are not entirely the same as the heads in Revelation. If they were entirely the same, it would have been said, at the time of the apostle John and the Roman empire in the first century AD, that "six are fallen" instead of "five are fallen" (Revelation 17:10). For in Daniel 7 the first three beasts before the Roman empire had a total of six heads, not five.
~
(Re: Did the prophet Daniel see Islam?)
No, for he first saw up to the Roman empire (Daniel 7:23), which is the sixth empire in Revelation 17:10, the one which existed at the time of the apostle John in the first century AD. Daniel's vision then skipped over Islam and showed the future Antichrist's empire (Daniel 7:24-25, Revelation 13:5-18). Islam, since the latter half of the seventh century AD, could be the seventh empire of Revelation 17:10, the one which was "not yet come" by the time of John, whereas the Antichrist's empire will be a different, still-future, eighth empire (Revelation 17:11).
(See the "Not Islam" section of Revelation 13:4 below. And see Revelation 13:1 below)
~
(Re: Are not the ten horns the ten Greek kings from Alexander to Antiochus IV, so that Antiochus IV is the little horn?)
Can you list the names of the people whom you are referring to as "the ten Greek kings"?
Also, note that the little horn is an eleventh horn, different from, and arising subsequent to, the first ten horns (Daniel 7:24).
Also, if you interpret the fourth beast in Daniel 7, the one with the ten horns (Daniel 7:7), as being ancient Greece, then how do you interpret the first three beasts of Daniel 7?
Especially, how do you interpret Daniel 7:6? For the fourth beast is different from all of the other beasts (Daniel 7:19). And it is the third beast which is Greece, because...
(See Daniel 7:6 below)
Also, how did Antiochus IV fulfill Daniel 7:21 "until" the never-fulfilled time of Daniel 7:22?
Also, can you quote from history books what Antiochus IV did, and show how he fulfilled every verse in Daniel which refers to the little horn?
For example, how did Antiochus IV take control of three of the ten horns (Daniel 7:8)?
Also, how did he fulfill Daniel 7:25? Compare the never-fulfilled Revelation 13:5-7.
~
(Re: Why would God *repeat Daniel 2 in Daniel 7?)
God has no problem with repetition (Deuteronomy 9:4-6, Acts 11:10, Philippians 3:1b). And Daniel 7 adds information not in Daniel 2, even though it starts out by referring to the same four empires as Daniel 2.
--
*Daniel 7:1 / *Dan. 7:1 -
Even though the prophet Daniel did not see the vision in Daniel 7 until the time of Belshazzar, king of Babylon (Daniel 7:1), who was not even the first king of the ancient empire of Babylon, the first beast in Daniel 7 can still represent that empire.
(See section 2 of Daniel 7:17 below)
--
*Daniel 7:4 / *Dan. 7:4 -
This refers symbolically to the ancient empire of Babylon, and what happened at one point during the life of its king Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:16,33-34).
--
*Daniel 7:5 / *Dan. 7:5 -
This refers symbolically to the ancient empire of Medo-Persia. The three ribs in its mouth represent its taking control of the territory of the three empires which preceded it: Babylon, Assyria, and Egypt. And the bear raising itself up on one side refers to how the territory of all three of these empires lay to the west of Medo-Persia.
--
*Daniel 7:6 / *Dan. 7:6 -
This and Daniel 8:21-22 refer to the same four Diadochian Greek kingdoms which succeeded Alexander the Great.
--
*Daniel 7:7 / *Dan. 7:7 -
Here, while the original Chaldean/Aramaic word (qodam or qedam: H6925) translated as "before" is used in Daniel and Ezra in the sense of something being before something else in place, not in time, the word itself corresponds to a Hebrew word (qedem or qedmah: H6924) which can also refer to a time before (Job 29:2, Psalms 77:5, Nehemiah 12:46, Jeremiah 30:20).
So Daniel 7:7 can mean that at that point in the vision, the first three beasts were before the fourth in place, and this signified that they would be before it in time. And they would be before it in their sequence. For the prophet Daniel says that he did not see the third beast in Daniel 7:6 until after he had seen the second beast in Daniel 7:5. And he did not see the fourth beast in Daniel 7:7 until after he had seen the third beast in Daniel 7:6. Similarly, Daniel 7:23 can mean that the fourth beast would be the fourth empire which would be seen on the earth in time. And it would come after the ancient Greek empire referred to in Daniel 7:6, for...
(See Daniel 7:6 above)
~
(Ten horns)
See Daniel 7:24 below.
--
*Daniel 7:9 / *Dan. 7:9 -
(*Ancient of days)
Daniel 7 does not necessarily refer to the Ancient of days and the Son of man (who is Jesus Christ: Matthew 16:13) as being different people. For the description of the Ancient of days in Daniel 7:9 matches the description of the Son of man in Revelation 1:13-14. And the judgment of people occurring in front of the throne of the Ancient of days in Daniel 7:9-10 matches the judgments of people occurring in front of the throne of the Son of man in 2 Corinthians 5:10 and Revelation 20:11-15 (cf. John 5:22).
Also, when Daniel 7:13 says that the Son of man came "to" the Ancient of days, the original Chaldean word (ad: H5705) translated as "to" corresponds to a Hebrew word (ad: H5704) which can be translated as "when" (Psalms 71:18, Jonah 4:2). So Daniel 7:13b can refer to "when" the Ancient of days will come, which will be when the Son of man comes with the clouds of heaven (Daniel 7:13), which will be at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming to the earth (Matthew 24:30), which will be when He (the Ancient of days) will come to the earth immediately after the future Tribulation to set up the Millennial aspect of His Kingdom on the earth with the physically resurrected Church (Daniel 7:21-22, Matthew 24:29-31, Revelation 19:7 to 20:6, Revelation 5:10, Revelation 2:26-29). So when Daniel 7:13b says: "they brought him near before him", this can refer to angels bringing the future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the beast) before the returned Jesus Christ/Son of man/Ancient of days to be judged and given to the burning flame (Daniel 7:11b, Revelation 19:20).
The Son of man can be the Ancient of days because the Son of man is "from everlasting" (Micah 5:2c, John 8:58, John 17:5).
(See John 1:1 below)
~
When Daniel 7:9 refers to God's throne as having wheels, it is referring to the same thing as in Ezekiel 1, when God's throne is on a chariot.
(See Ezekiel 1(space) above)
--
*Daniel 7:10b-11a / *Dan. 7:10b -
Daniel 7:10b could refer to the judgment of only the Church at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming (Psalms 50:3-5, cf. Mark 13:27; 2 Corinthians 5:10, Matthew 25:19-30, Luke 12:45-48), which judgment will occur, along with the marriage of the Church to Jesus (Revelation 19:7), shortly before Jesus defeats the future Antichrist, the individual-man aspect of the beast, by casting him into the lake of fire (Daniel 7:11b, Revelation 19:20).
So Daniel 7:11a could refer to the future Antichrist, the voice of the horn, shortly before his destruction in Daniel 7:11b and Revelation 19:20, speaking great blasphemies against YHWH God (cf. Revelation 13:6, Daniel 11:36), to try to build up the morale of the world's armies, which will have gathered together to fight YHWH (Revelation 19:19, Revelation 16:14).
~
The books opened in Daniel 7:10b could be records of the actions of some people by which they will be judged (2 Corinthians 5:10), just as the books opened some 1,000 years later in Revelation 20:12a will contain the actions of other people by which they will be judged (Revelation 20:12b).
--
*Daniel 7:11b / *Dan. 7:11b -
Regarding the preceding context... (See Daniel 7:10b above)
Daniel 7:11b refers to the future Antichrist, the individual-man aspect of the beast, being cast into the lake of fire at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming (Revelation 19:20). In Daniel 7 the Antichrist is considered to be part of the fourth beast (Daniel 7:23-25).
--
*Daniel 7:12 / *Dan. 7:12 -
This does not require that the prior beasts did not have their dominion (their empires) taken away before the future Antichrist's destruction in Daniel 7:11b and Revelation 19:20, but can mean that they are different from the Antichrist in that they had a post-empire existence, in the sense that Babylon, even after its defeat as an empire in the sixth century BC, continued on as a thriving city for centuries (and it has even been rebuilt in our own time, in Iraq). And Medo-Persia continues on today as the Kurds and Iran. And Greece continues on as a nation. And Rome continues on as Italy. Also, Iraq, the Kurds, Iran, Greece, and Italy could all continue to exist as distinct nations (not empires) during the future Millennium of Revelation 20:4-6, which will not begin until after the future Antichrist's destruction in Revelation 19:20, at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming in Revelation 19:7 to 20:3.
--
*Daniel 7:13 / *Dan. 7:13 -
(Ancient of days)
See Daniel 7:9 above.
--
*Daniel 7:17 / *Dan. 7:17 -
(*Kings)
Daniel 7:23 shows that the four "kings" in Daniel 7:17 are four "kingdoms"/empires, which is similar to Revelation 17:10, where the seven "kings" are seven empires, represented by the seven heads of the beast in Revelation 17:3. It is the ten horns of Revelation's beast which represent ten individual-human kings, who "have received no kingdom as yet" (Revelation 17:12), and who will receive power as kings only when the future Antichrist, the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast", does (Revelation 17:12b).
(See Daniel 7:24 below)
~
In Daniel 7:17 the original Chaldean/Aramaic verb (quwm: H6966) translated as "shall arise" is in the imperfect aspect, which refers "to an action, process or condition which is incomplete" (blueletterbible.org). That is, it does not have to refer to something entirely in the future, but can refer to something which has already begun. So the first beast/empire (Babylon) can have already existed at the time that the prophet Daniel saw the vision in Daniel 7.
--
*Daniel 7:21,25 / *Dan. 7:21 -
This, like Daniel 12:7b, refers to the future, literal 3.5-year worldwide reign of the Antichrist, the individual-man aspect of the beast (Revelation 13:4-18), which reign will occur during the second half of the future Tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24.
--
*Daniel 7:22 / *Dan. 7:22 -
(Ancient of days)
See Daniel 7:9 above.
--
*Daniel 7:24 / *Dan. 7:24 -
(*Horns / *Kings)
Just as in Daniel 7:17 the four "kings" were four kingdoms/empires, the Roman empire being the fourth (Daniel 7:23); and just as the two horns in Daniel 8:3 which Alexander the Great broke in Daniel 8:7 were the two kingdoms of the Medes and Persians (the Medo-Persian empire) (Cyrus and Darius had already been dead for about 200 and 150 years, respectively, by the time of Alexander's conquest); and just as the four horns in Daniel 8:8 were four kingdoms (Daniel 8:22); so in Daniel 7:24 the ten horns/"kings" can be ten major kingdoms/nations which exist today, and which arose into prominence from the former territory of the Roman empire. "And another shall rise after them" (Daniel 7:24) can refer to the country of Lebanon, from which the future Antichrist could arise and bring to prominence on the world stage. The Antichrist could come from Lebanon's modern city of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:4).
(See Ezekiel 28(space) above)
--
*Daniel 7:25 / *Dan. 7:25 -
(A time and times and the dividing of time)
See Daniel 7:21 above.
-
Next entry / Prior / Table of Contents
Nov 24, 2018
Regarding Daniel 4:25c: "the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will", this means that the human rulers of the world are ultimately determined by God: "the powers that be are ordained of God" (Romans 13:1c). This can include God's judgment against sinful nations (cf. Isaiah 3:12).
It can also include God's mercy (2 Peter 3:9b). For example, Trump's election could have been a miracle from God to delay the coming of the future Antichrist's social policies in the U.S. for a few years, whereas Hillary would have set them up perfectly. She even said something like: "There are some people who will have to change their beliefs", in the sense that Christians, from the point of view of "political correctness", have to change their beliefs against homosexuality and abortion. Trump, on the other hand, has done the exact opposite. For example, he recently removed Obama-era rules which required Christians in the medical field to support abortions.
Trump's election might be thought of as a "Jonah 3 Option", in that God showed mercy to the ancient city of Nineveh at the time of Jonah 3, even though Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire, would still eventually be destroyed later on (Zephaniah 2:13).
(See Nahum below)
For in the U.S., the "Jonah 3 Option" could be followed in only a couple of years from now by an "Athaliah Option", that is, a President Kamala Harris who will very calmly and smoothly usher in a thoroughly anti-Christian, yet "politically correct" agenda at the federal level. Or, a warring President Elizabeth Warren could do so, with gusto. Or they could join together, with one as President and the other as Vice President.
(See also paragraphs 5-8 of the last section of Matthew 5:39 below. And see Mark 13:9 and sections 2-4 of Romans 1:26 below)
Also, before that, Trump and his security and military advisors in the next couple of years may inadvertently help to prepare the way geopolitically and militarily for the future Antichrist.
(See the "Career" and "War" sections of Revelation 13:5 below)
Après Trump, le déluge.
Also, if Trump, by the efforts of liberals, is somehow legally thrown out of office before his term is over, or if he is violently removed by a radical group like Antifa, it is unclear if the Democrats will be any better off under a President Pence. For while he can sometimes seem like Milquetoast, he has a spine of iron. He is a fulfillment of Teddy Roosevelt's dictum to: "Speak softy, but carry a big stick", so that Democrats will rue the day that they get rid of Trump before his term is over. Also, after the Trump/Pence term is over, do the Democrats really want to have to deal with the possibility of a future Presidential-candidate Christie, who could pull a Teddy vs. Jimmy at the Republican convention in 2020 and succeed? For Christie could eat-alive any Democratic candidate, so long as he is able to continually project to the general population his basic niceness and common sense, instead of a basic meanness and irritability.
Also, it is suspicious that Trump's enemies are now trying to shame him into going overseas to visit the troops in combat situations. It is like they are planning to do something bad to him over there. So he needs to resist going over there at all costs.
--
*Daniel 4:35 / *Dan. 4:35 -
God is not willing to use His power to turn Christians into robots. So it is possible for them to wrongly employ their free will without repentance, to the ultimate loss of their salvation (Hebrews 10:26-29, Hebrews 6:4-8, Matthew 25:26,30).
(See the "NOSAS" section of Hebrews 3:6 below)
--
*Daniel 5:24-31 / *Dan. 5:24 / *Dan. 5:25 -
The meaning of the handwriting on the wall (Daniel 5:24-28) was fulfilled at the fall of ancient Babylon in the sixth century BC at the hands of Darius the Mede that same night (Daniel 5:30-31).
~
(Re: Does it refer to 2,520 years, the same as seven times, in relation to Jerusalem's history?)
No, for in Daniel 5:25 the original Chaldean word (H4484) transliterated as "MENE" simply means "numbered" (Strong's Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary), as Daniel 5:26 explains. And in Daniel 5:25 the Chaldean word (H8625) transliterated as "TEKEL" (Daniel 5:25) means "to balance" (Strong's), as Daniel 5:27 explains. And in Daniel 5:25,28 the Chaldean word (H6537) transliterated as "UPHARSIN" (Daniel 5:25) and as "PERES" (Daniel 5:28) means "to split up" (Strong's), as Daniel 5:28 explains. There is no reference to 2,520, and no reference to seven times, in Daniel 5:24-28. Also, the seven times in, for example, Daniel 4:16, refer to seven literal years during the life of Nebuchadnezzar, an ancient king of Babylon. No Bible verse even suggests that what happened to him has any application to Jerusalem down through history.
--
*Daniel 7 / *Dan. 7 -
Here the first three beasts (Daniel 7:3-6) represent the ancient empires of Babylon (lion), Medo-Persia (bear), and Greece (leopard). The fourth beast, or fourth "king"/"kingdom" (Daniel 7:17,23), represents the ancient Roman empire. And the ten horns/kings which come out of it (Daniel 7:7,24) could represent ten major kingdoms/nations today which came out of the former territory of the Roman empire, which consisted not only of Western Europe, but also the Middle East and North Africa. These ten nations could be Germany, the U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, Algeria, and Syria. The ten part-iron/part-clay toes of Daniel 2:42 could represent the same thing as the ten horns of Daniel 7:7. The Europeans could be the iron, and the Arabs and Turks could be the clay. In Daniel 2:43 the inability of the iron to mix with the clay could represent how, for example, there are many Turks living in Germany, but they remain separated in ghettoes within German cities. Similarly, there are many Arab Algerians living in France, but they remain separated in ghettoes within French cities.
But despite this social separation, which could endure indefinitely, the people of Western Europe on the one hand, and the people of the Middle East and North Africa on the other, could still one day put aside their political separation and become united into one federation. For Daniel 2:42 refers to the ten as a singular "kingdom". The person who will bring this about could be the future Antichrist.
The arising of the "little" horn (Daniel 7:8, Daniel 8:9) which is "diverse" from the ten major nations (Daniel 7:24) could mean that the future Antichrist will arise from a little country. And the little horn arising from "among" the ten major nations (Daniel 7:8) could mean that the Antichrist's country's territory used to be part of the Roman empire. And before that, it was part of one of the four Diadochian Greek kingdoms which succeeded the Greek empire of Alexander the Great (Daniel 8:8-9,21-25). The territory of these four kingdoms stretched from Greece over to Iran, and down into Egypt. So the Antichrist could come from the Middle East. He could be an Arab who will come from the little country of Lebanon, from the modern city of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:4).
The Antichrist could start out by claiming to be a Baathist. After becoming the leader of Lebanon, he could peacefully gain control of a Baathist federation of three of the ten major nations (Daniel 7:24): Egypt, "toward the south" of Lebanon (Daniel 8:9), and Iraq and Syria, "toward the east" of Lebanon (Daniel 8:9). This federation could also include the minor nation of a United Palestine, that is, a defeated Israel, "the pleasant land" (Daniel 8:9).
This Baathist federation could be put together in our future by an Iraqi Baathist General (the future Antichrist's precursor) who could completely defeat and occupy Israel and Egypt with a huge Iraqi Army (Daniel 11:15-17; in verse 17 the original Hebrew word translated as "daughter" is "bath"), but who could then mysteriously disappear (Daniel 11:19) shortly before the Antichrist arises on the world stage (Daniel 11:21-45). Years later, when the Antichrist gains control of all ten of the major nations, he could appoint kings over them (Revelation 17:12) who will defer to him (Revelation 17:13), like how when Napoleon gained control of different nations, he appointed kings over them who would defer to him.
(See the "Career" and "War" sections of Revelation 13:5 below)
~
(Re: How can you pinpoint the Antichrist as being a *Baathist?)
It is a possibility, because of Daniel 11:15-17 (in verse 17 the original Hebrew word translated as "daughter" is "bath"), and because the Antichrist could be an Arab who will come from Lebanon, from the modern city of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:4). Also, Baathism calls for the political unification of all Arab countries, which would be the perfect platform for an initial rise to power by the Antichrist among the Arabs. Also, Baathism is socialist, and so the Antichrist could distribute the huge Arab oil wealth to the Arab masses (Daniel 11:24), turning the masses to his side in every Arab nation.
~
(Re: What is your evidence for those ten nations?)
They are ten major nations which came out of the former territory of the Roman empire, which consisted not only of Western Europe, but also the Middle East and North Africa.
~
(Re: How can the fourth beast be Rome, when it did not encompass the whole earth, as in Daniel 7:23?)
The future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") will be given power over the whole earth by Lucifer (Satan, the dragon) for a literal 3.5 years (Revelation 13:4-18, Revelation 12:9, Daniel 7:25). And in Daniel 7 the Antichrist is considered to be part of the fourth beast (Daniel 7:23-25).
~
(Re: Is the third, leopard beast the same as the leopard beast in Revelation?)
No, for the leopard beast in Revelation also partakes of Daniel's first, second, and fourth beasts. For it has the mouth of a lion, the feet of a bear, and ten horns (Revelation 13:1-2, Daniel 7:3-7). Also, the leopard beast in Revelation has seven heads, whereas the leopard beast in Daniel had four heads (Daniel 7:6, Revelation 13:1-2).
~
(Re: Are the seven heads of Daniel's four beasts the same as the seven heads of Revelation's beast?)
No, for the four beasts in Daniel 7:3-7 represent the ancient empires of Babylon (lion), Medo-Persia (bear), Greece (leopard), and Rome (fourth beast). And the four heads of the Greek empire (Daniel 7:6) represent the four Diadochian Greek kingdoms which the Greek empire broke up into after the death of Alexander the Great (Daniel 8:22). But the seven heads of the beast in Revelation 13:1 and Revelation 17:3 represent the empires of ancient Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and (possibly) Islam. So the four beasts in Daniel 7 represent the same thing as four of the seven heads in Revelation, but the heads in Daniel 7 are not entirely the same as the heads in Revelation. If they were entirely the same, it would have been said, at the time of the apostle John and the Roman empire in the first century AD, that "six are fallen" instead of "five are fallen" (Revelation 17:10). For in Daniel 7 the first three beasts before the Roman empire had a total of six heads, not five.
~
(Re: Did the prophet Daniel see Islam?)
No, for he first saw up to the Roman empire (Daniel 7:23), which is the sixth empire in Revelation 17:10, the one which existed at the time of the apostle John in the first century AD. Daniel's vision then skipped over Islam and showed the future Antichrist's empire (Daniel 7:24-25, Revelation 13:5-18). Islam, since the latter half of the seventh century AD, could be the seventh empire of Revelation 17:10, the one which was "not yet come" by the time of John, whereas the Antichrist's empire will be a different, still-future, eighth empire (Revelation 17:11).
(See the "Not Islam" section of Revelation 13:4 below. And see Revelation 13:1 below)
~
(Re: Are not the ten horns the ten Greek kings from Alexander to Antiochus IV, so that Antiochus IV is the little horn?)
Can you list the names of the people whom you are referring to as "the ten Greek kings"?
Also, note that the little horn is an eleventh horn, different from, and arising subsequent to, the first ten horns (Daniel 7:24).
Also, if you interpret the fourth beast in Daniel 7, the one with the ten horns (Daniel 7:7), as being ancient Greece, then how do you interpret the first three beasts of Daniel 7?
Especially, how do you interpret Daniel 7:6? For the fourth beast is different from all of the other beasts (Daniel 7:19). And it is the third beast which is Greece, because...
(See Daniel 7:6 below)
Also, how did Antiochus IV fulfill Daniel 7:21 "until" the never-fulfilled time of Daniel 7:22?
Also, can you quote from history books what Antiochus IV did, and show how he fulfilled every verse in Daniel which refers to the little horn?
For example, how did Antiochus IV take control of three of the ten horns (Daniel 7:8)?
Also, how did he fulfill Daniel 7:25? Compare the never-fulfilled Revelation 13:5-7.
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(Re: Why would God *repeat Daniel 2 in Daniel 7?)
God has no problem with repetition (Deuteronomy 9:4-6, Acts 11:10, Philippians 3:1b). And Daniel 7 adds information not in Daniel 2, even though it starts out by referring to the same four empires as Daniel 2.
--
*Daniel 7:1 / *Dan. 7:1 -
Even though the prophet Daniel did not see the vision in Daniel 7 until the time of Belshazzar, king of Babylon (Daniel 7:1), who was not even the first king of the ancient empire of Babylon, the first beast in Daniel 7 can still represent that empire.
(See section 2 of Daniel 7:17 below)
--
*Daniel 7:4 / *Dan. 7:4 -
This refers symbolically to the ancient empire of Babylon, and what happened at one point during the life of its king Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:16,33-34).
--
*Daniel 7:5 / *Dan. 7:5 -
This refers symbolically to the ancient empire of Medo-Persia. The three ribs in its mouth represent its taking control of the territory of the three empires which preceded it: Babylon, Assyria, and Egypt. And the bear raising itself up on one side refers to how the territory of all three of these empires lay to the west of Medo-Persia.
--
*Daniel 7:6 / *Dan. 7:6 -
This and Daniel 8:21-22 refer to the same four Diadochian Greek kingdoms which succeeded Alexander the Great.
--
*Daniel 7:7 / *Dan. 7:7 -
Here, while the original Chaldean/Aramaic word (qodam or qedam: H6925) translated as "before" is used in Daniel and Ezra in the sense of something being before something else in place, not in time, the word itself corresponds to a Hebrew word (qedem or qedmah: H6924) which can also refer to a time before (Job 29:2, Psalms 77:5, Nehemiah 12:46, Jeremiah 30:20).
So Daniel 7:7 can mean that at that point in the vision, the first three beasts were before the fourth in place, and this signified that they would be before it in time. And they would be before it in their sequence. For the prophet Daniel says that he did not see the third beast in Daniel 7:6 until after he had seen the second beast in Daniel 7:5. And he did not see the fourth beast in Daniel 7:7 until after he had seen the third beast in Daniel 7:6. Similarly, Daniel 7:23 can mean that the fourth beast would be the fourth empire which would be seen on the earth in time. And it would come after the ancient Greek empire referred to in Daniel 7:6, for...
(See Daniel 7:6 above)
~
(Ten horns)
See Daniel 7:24 below.
--
*Daniel 7:9 / *Dan. 7:9 -
(*Ancient of days)
Daniel 7 does not necessarily refer to the Ancient of days and the Son of man (who is Jesus Christ: Matthew 16:13) as being different people. For the description of the Ancient of days in Daniel 7:9 matches the description of the Son of man in Revelation 1:13-14. And the judgment of people occurring in front of the throne of the Ancient of days in Daniel 7:9-10 matches the judgments of people occurring in front of the throne of the Son of man in 2 Corinthians 5:10 and Revelation 20:11-15 (cf. John 5:22).
Also, when Daniel 7:13 says that the Son of man came "to" the Ancient of days, the original Chaldean word (ad: H5705) translated as "to" corresponds to a Hebrew word (ad: H5704) which can be translated as "when" (Psalms 71:18, Jonah 4:2). So Daniel 7:13b can refer to "when" the Ancient of days will come, which will be when the Son of man comes with the clouds of heaven (Daniel 7:13), which will be at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming to the earth (Matthew 24:30), which will be when He (the Ancient of days) will come to the earth immediately after the future Tribulation to set up the Millennial aspect of His Kingdom on the earth with the physically resurrected Church (Daniel 7:21-22, Matthew 24:29-31, Revelation 19:7 to 20:6, Revelation 5:10, Revelation 2:26-29). So when Daniel 7:13b says: "they brought him near before him", this can refer to angels bringing the future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the beast) before the returned Jesus Christ/Son of man/Ancient of days to be judged and given to the burning flame (Daniel 7:11b, Revelation 19:20).
The Son of man can be the Ancient of days because the Son of man is "from everlasting" (Micah 5:2c, John 8:58, John 17:5).
(See John 1:1 below)
~
When Daniel 7:9 refers to God's throne as having wheels, it is referring to the same thing as in Ezekiel 1, when God's throne is on a chariot.
(See Ezekiel 1(space) above)
--
*Daniel 7:10b-11a / *Dan. 7:10b -
Daniel 7:10b could refer to the judgment of only the Church at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming (Psalms 50:3-5, cf. Mark 13:27; 2 Corinthians 5:10, Matthew 25:19-30, Luke 12:45-48), which judgment will occur, along with the marriage of the Church to Jesus (Revelation 19:7), shortly before Jesus defeats the future Antichrist, the individual-man aspect of the beast, by casting him into the lake of fire (Daniel 7:11b, Revelation 19:20).
So Daniel 7:11a could refer to the future Antichrist, the voice of the horn, shortly before his destruction in Daniel 7:11b and Revelation 19:20, speaking great blasphemies against YHWH God (cf. Revelation 13:6, Daniel 11:36), to try to build up the morale of the world's armies, which will have gathered together to fight YHWH (Revelation 19:19, Revelation 16:14).
~
The books opened in Daniel 7:10b could be records of the actions of some people by which they will be judged (2 Corinthians 5:10), just as the books opened some 1,000 years later in Revelation 20:12a will contain the actions of other people by which they will be judged (Revelation 20:12b).
--
*Daniel 7:11b / *Dan. 7:11b -
Regarding the preceding context... (See Daniel 7:10b above)
Daniel 7:11b refers to the future Antichrist, the individual-man aspect of the beast, being cast into the lake of fire at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming (Revelation 19:20). In Daniel 7 the Antichrist is considered to be part of the fourth beast (Daniel 7:23-25).
--
*Daniel 7:12 / *Dan. 7:12 -
This does not require that the prior beasts did not have their dominion (their empires) taken away before the future Antichrist's destruction in Daniel 7:11b and Revelation 19:20, but can mean that they are different from the Antichrist in that they had a post-empire existence, in the sense that Babylon, even after its defeat as an empire in the sixth century BC, continued on as a thriving city for centuries (and it has even been rebuilt in our own time, in Iraq). And Medo-Persia continues on today as the Kurds and Iran. And Greece continues on as a nation. And Rome continues on as Italy. Also, Iraq, the Kurds, Iran, Greece, and Italy could all continue to exist as distinct nations (not empires) during the future Millennium of Revelation 20:4-6, which will not begin until after the future Antichrist's destruction in Revelation 19:20, at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming in Revelation 19:7 to 20:3.
--
*Daniel 7:13 / *Dan. 7:13 -
(Ancient of days)
See Daniel 7:9 above.
--
*Daniel 7:17 / *Dan. 7:17 -
(*Kings)
Daniel 7:23 shows that the four "kings" in Daniel 7:17 are four "kingdoms"/empires, which is similar to Revelation 17:10, where the seven "kings" are seven empires, represented by the seven heads of the beast in Revelation 17:3. It is the ten horns of Revelation's beast which represent ten individual-human kings, who "have received no kingdom as yet" (Revelation 17:12), and who will receive power as kings only when the future Antichrist, the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast", does (Revelation 17:12b).
(See Daniel 7:24 below)
~
In Daniel 7:17 the original Chaldean/Aramaic verb (quwm: H6966) translated as "shall arise" is in the imperfect aspect, which refers "to an action, process or condition which is incomplete" (blueletterbible.org). That is, it does not have to refer to something entirely in the future, but can refer to something which has already begun. So the first beast/empire (Babylon) can have already existed at the time that the prophet Daniel saw the vision in Daniel 7.
--
*Daniel 7:21,25 / *Dan. 7:21 -
This, like Daniel 12:7b, refers to the future, literal 3.5-year worldwide reign of the Antichrist, the individual-man aspect of the beast (Revelation 13:4-18), which reign will occur during the second half of the future Tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24.
--
*Daniel 7:22 / *Dan. 7:22 -
(Ancient of days)
See Daniel 7:9 above.
--
*Daniel 7:24 / *Dan. 7:24 -
(*Horns / *Kings)
Just as in Daniel 7:17 the four "kings" were four kingdoms/empires, the Roman empire being the fourth (Daniel 7:23); and just as the two horns in Daniel 8:3 which Alexander the Great broke in Daniel 8:7 were the two kingdoms of the Medes and Persians (the Medo-Persian empire) (Cyrus and Darius had already been dead for about 200 and 150 years, respectively, by the time of Alexander's conquest); and just as the four horns in Daniel 8:8 were four kingdoms (Daniel 8:22); so in Daniel 7:24 the ten horns/"kings" can be ten major kingdoms/nations which exist today, and which arose into prominence from the former territory of the Roman empire. "And another shall rise after them" (Daniel 7:24) can refer to the country of Lebanon, from which the future Antichrist could arise and bring to prominence on the world stage. The Antichrist could come from Lebanon's modern city of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:4).
(See Ezekiel 28(space) above)
--
*Daniel 7:25 / *Dan. 7:25 -
(A time and times and the dividing of time)
See Daniel 7:21 above.
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Nov 24, 2018
