The Book of Daniel Unlocked

by W. S. Auchincloss

CHAPTER VII. [Hebrew.]

B.C. 541.

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.

The known world.

3. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

Symbolical of Four powerful dynasties.

B.C. 490.

4. The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings:

Medo-Persian empire.

I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked,

Persia defeated by Greece at Marathon.

and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given unto it.

Was transformed by Greek art and civilization.

5. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear,

The Hellenes, or Greece and her colonies in their palmy days

and it raised up itself on one side,

faced in the direction of Persia

and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it:

3 columns of strength, viz:—Athens, Sparta and Thebes. The vision made its appearance 21 years before the Alliance was formed. The ribs therefore, had not knit in place when the heavenly visitor made known the fact of their future union. The alliance lasted 93 years, see Thucydides III. 69.

and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh

destroy hundreds of thousands in your Persian and civil wars.

6. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard,

The Macedonian Empire

which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.

Philip king of Macedon subjugated the disunited Greek States at the battle of Chaeronea in B.C. 338, and Alexander the Great conquered a kingdom extending from Greece to India in B.C. 336.

7. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible,

Roman Empire.

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

a republic, not a kingdom

from all the beasts that were before it; and it had 10 horns.

verse 24, the rulers following the Jugurthine war.

8. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn,

the family of the Caesars

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 a man, and a mouth speaking great things

the triumvirate ended with the battle of Actium Sept. 3rd, B.C. 31. Divine honors were accorded to Augustus. He took 3 censuses of the Roman Empire and possessed the most intimate knowledge of its resources, the last inventory was found in his own handwriting. Suetonius, Aug. XVI.——Livy CXXXII.

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.

Divine forbearance had reached its limit, the voice of the prophets went unheeded, and the desolation spoken of by Moses was about to fall on the Jews.

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,

“while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight,” Acts I. 9

and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

“I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”—Acts VII. 55.

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.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”—Isa. IX. 6 and 7.

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.

The Spiritual kingdom of the Messiah.

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;

Nero the descendant of Augustus began the first persecution in A.D. 65.

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

in the person of his descendants

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 unto his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

This formula summarizes that which has gone before. It starts with the Medo-Persian kingdom of Cyrus, established in the year B.C. 558, as typified by the lion in verse four, and reaches over to the year A.D. 39 when the Gentiles were admitted to Messiah’s kingdom as promised in verse 18. For full explanation see Note B.

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.