Are We in the Tribulation

Many people have been claiming that we are already in the Tribulation period. With all the crazy things going on in this world I can see why they would think so, but biblically we have not reached that point yet. These are only the “birth pangs”, the beginnings of what will come; during the Tribulation period things will be so much worse. Let’s take a walk through the Tribulation period, from the seals to the trumpets to the bowls or vials.

The seven seals:

seal 1: The White Horse- this horse signifies the appearance of the Antichrist and his rise to power through talk of peace, but his true goal is conquest.

seal 2: The Red Horse- this horse signifies war, this makes sense for this horse to follow the Antichrist’s rise to power. Once he has power he will bring war to all that stand against him.

seal 3: The Black Horse- this horse signifies famine, this is also logical since famine inevitably follows war. The areas that are affected have little left over and if war is brought to a country that supplies much of the food for the world, you can see how this would cause famine in many places.

seal 4: The Pale Horse- this horse signifies pestilence and death, this is a logical progression as well. War, famine, disease and death all go hand in hand.

seal 5: The martyrs under the altar- they are asking God to judge those that killed them to avenge their deaths. They are told to wait until their full number was in. God assures the martyrs that they will be avenged, but they must wait until everyone is given the chance to turn to God.

seal 6: A great earthquake will strike the earth,the sun will turn black and the moon red and stars will fall to the sky, the heavens recede and every mountain and island is moved from its place. At the opening of this seal the people of earth know that this is God’s judgment on them yet they refuse to repent and turn to Him, instead they blame God for what is befalling them.

Between the 6th and 7th seals the 144,000, 12,000 from each of the tribes of Israel are sealed with God’s seal to keep them from harm.

seal 7: When this seal is opened there is silence for half an hour in heaven. Seven trumpets were given to the seven angels that stand before God. Before they begin the next series of judgments another angel appears with a golden censer filled with incense, the angel fills the censer with fire from the altar and hurls it to the earth. This causes thunder, lightning and an earthquake.

Trumpet 1: Hail and fire mixed with blood fall to the earth and burn 1/3 of the earth, trees and grass are burned up. This is God’s judgment on the land.

Trumpet 2: A large mountain on fire is thrown into the sea, 1/3 of the sea turns to blood and 1/3 of the living creatures die and 1/3 of the ships are destroyed.This is God’s judgment on the sea.

Trumpet 3: A star falls from the sky onto the springs and rivers, the star is called Wormwood and causes 1/3 of the waters to turn bitter and many die from drinking it. This is God’s judgment on the fresh waters.

Trumpet 4: 1/3 of the sun, moon and stars are turned dark; a third of the day and night was completely dark. This is God’s judgment on the sky.

Before the final three trumpets are sounded an eagle flies by saying “woe” to those of the earth because of the final three trumpet blasts to come.

Trumpet 5: A star falls from the sky, (probably and angel) he is given the key to the abyss. When he opens it smoke rises from it and releases locusts that were given the power to sting like a scorpion. They were not allowed to harm anything on the earth except those people that did not have God’s mark on their foreheads. They were allowed to torment the earth for five months. Their king was the angel of the abyss, Abaddon or in Greek, Apollyon.

Trumpet 6: This releases the four angels that were bound at the Euphrates river, they were released to kill 1/3 of mankind. They killed with fire, smoke and sulfur.

Before the final trumpet is blown there is a time when there will be two witnesses that will prophesy in Jerusalem. They are given the power to shut off the rain and to kill anyone that tried to harm them with flame from their mouths.  They prophesy 1260 days, half the tribulation period before they are killed. Their bodies will lie on the street for 3 1/2 days and the entire world will celebrate their deaths. After 3 1/2 days they will rise from the dead and ascend to heaven. At this point there will be a massive earthquake that will cause a tenth of the city to collapse.

Trumpet 7: At the sound of this trumpet it is announced in heaven that God has retaken the world. This signifies the final judgments and the halfway point of the Tribulation period; this last 3 1/2 years will be so bad that it is called the Great Tribulation. At the end Jesus will triumph over Satan.

Bowl 1: This bowl is poured out onto the land, festering sores broke out on those that have taken the mark of the beast

Bowl 2: This bowl is poured out on the sea, the entire sea turns to blood and all creatures in it die.

Bowl 3: This bowl is poured onto the rivers and springs, they turn to blood

Bowl 4: This bowl is poured onto the sun and the sun scorched people with fire

Bowl 5: This bowl is poured onto the throne of the beast and his kingdom is plunged into darkness. There is absolutely no light, so dark that it causes physical pain.

Bowl 6: This bowl is poured out onto the Euphrates river so that it dries up to prepare the way for the kings of the east. Three spirits go out into the world to gather the world for the final battle at Armageddon.

Bowl 7: This bowl is poured out into the air. Once this has occurred a voice from the throne says “It is done!”  A worldwide earthquake larger than anything that has ever happened occurs. Jerusalem is split into three parts. nations collapse, every island is gone and all mountains are destroyed, hailstones weighing 100 lbs fall from the sky crushing people. The Antichrist’s kingdom of Babylon is destroyed.

At this time Jesus will return for the final battle with Satan where Satan will be defeated and thrown into the pit.

How will you know when the Tribulation begins?

²⁵ “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One,^[f] the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. ²⁶ After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing.^[g] The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood:War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. ²⁷ He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’^[h] In the middle of the ‘seven’^[i]he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple^[j] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.  Daniel 9:25-27

The Tribulation begins when the Antichrist makes a covenant with Israel for seven years of peace. If you look at Israel right now you will see that we are not at that point and there is not a one world ruler so we have not entered the Tribulation period yet. But I do not think that the time is far off when this will start, if you are watching world events things are lining up  for the War of Gog and Magog that is described in Ezekiel and also the destruction of Damascus in Isaiah 17. For those that do not have a relationship with Jesus, it is not too late. You can see the way the world is changing and all the things that are falling into place biblically, do you want to leave yourself in the position of going through the Tribulation?  Check out this former post I wrote and the simple prayer that you can pray at the bottom.

The Clock is Winding Down

Maranatha!

War of Gog and Magog

Ezekiel is a prophet of God that lived around 622 BC. He was among the Israelites that were exiled to Babylon during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. When Ezekiel was in his thirties, he received his calling to be a prophet for God. He was given several visions one of which was the return of the Jews to Israel after they are dispersed throughout the world. This is detailed in Ezekiel 37, and as we saw this prophecy was fulfilled in 1948 with the reestablishment of the State of Israel and the subsequent return of the Jews from all over the world to their homeland. The next vision which Ezekiel details in chapters 38-39 happen after the events of chapter 37. Since the prophecy of chapter 37 has been fulfilled in its entirety we can say that the prophecy in the next chapters will come to pass too.

Chapter 38-39 detail a coming war where Russia and her allies will launch an all out attack on Israel. Anti-Semitism is on the rise throughout the world

 ² “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. ³ On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.   Zechariah 12:2-3

If you watch the news you see that Iran is trying to create a nuclear weapon and her main goal is to destroy Israel. Where is she getting the technology to create a nuclear weapon? From Russia, which leads us right into the prophecy of Ezekiel 38.

Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh,^[a] Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, ³ and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. ⁴ I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. ⁵ Persia, Ethiopia,^[b] and Libya^[c] are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; ⁶ Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you. Ezekiel 38:1-6

Now let’s identify the nations that are mentioned here. After the flood, Noah’s descendants dispersed throughout the world. Magog was the son of Japheth, one of Noah’s sons. Magog settled between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, according to many ancient writers these people became known as the Scythians who lived in what is now southern Russia. Gog is identified as being the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. Rosh would stand for Russia, in Ezekiel 39 Rosh is identified as being from the far north

“And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh,^[a] Meshech, and Tubal; ² and I will turn you around and lead you on, bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. Ezekiel 39:1-2

Meshech and Tubal are the fifth and sixth sons of Japheth who settled south of the black sea and also a part of Russia. Now the other nations that are allied with Russia are Persia, which would include Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. Ethiopia which would include Sudan, Libya, Gomer which includes eastern Europe and Germany, Togarmah which would include Turkey, and any other nations that are allied with Russia.

 

Magog                     Russia

Meschech                 Russia

Tubal                       Russia

Persia                      Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan

Ethiopia                   Ethiopia, Sudan

Libya                       Libya

Gomer                     Austria, Germany, Eastern Europe

Togramah                 Turkey

⁷ “Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. ⁸ After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. ⁹ You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.”
¹⁰ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan: ¹¹ You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’— ¹² to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. ¹³ Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’”’
¹⁴ “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it?¹⁵ Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. ¹⁶ You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.” ¹⁷ Thus says the Lord God: “Are you he of whom I have spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them? Ezekiel 38:7-17


This is a prophecy to Gog that in the latter years, after Israel is returned to her homeland, they would lead an attack on her. We can surmise that we are living in the latter years. Israel is returned to her homeland and there is nothing in Biblical prophecy that needs to happen before this event takes place. Russia and her allies will coordinate a strike on Israel in order to destroy her. Sheba, Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and their young lions will not act to save Israel but will use diplomacy which will not work. Sheba and Dedan relate to Saudi Arabia. Tarshish which is represented by a lion is Great Britain, and all the young lions are her former colonies of which the United States is one. 
Russia will ignore the protests of the other nations since they are not backed by any kind of military threat. You may be confused and say has the United States not always backed Israel, are we not her friend and protector. At one time we were, but even here in the U. S. anti-semiticism is rising. Another reason is our economy, we don’t have the money to spend on another war, especially one against so many countries. We are also a people that is tired of war. Since 2001 we have been involved in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and we are tired of fighting wars that we can’t win and losing so many of our soldiers. Another large reason that we will probably stay out of the war is oil. If we are threatened with having our oil cut off, we will not be quick to jump into any wars that would lead to that; economically we could not afford to lose our oil. Since there will be no one that will realistically stand against them, they will see this as the perfect opportunity to destroy Israel.


¹⁸ “And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord God, “that My fury will show in My face. ¹⁹ For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, ²⁰ so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.’ ²¹ I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord God. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. ²² And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. ²³ Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am theLord.”’Ezekiel 38:18-23


When Russia and her allies launch their attack against Israel, God will be furious and He will supernaturally protect Israel. There will be a huge worldwide earthquake, God will rain down torrential rains, hailstones and fire. The world will see God supernaturally protect Israel, and many people that are skeptics will finally believe in the true God. 

“And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh,^[a] Meshech, and Tubal; ² and I will turn you around and lead you on, bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. ³ Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. ⁴ You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. ⁵ You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken,” says the Lord God. ⁶ “And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the Lord. ⁷ So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. ⁸ Surely it is coming, and it shall be done,” says the Lord God. “This is the day of which I have spoken.

⁹ “Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the javelins and spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years.¹⁰ They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them,” says the LordGod. Ezekiel 39:1-10

Ezekiel continues his prophecy on Gog. God will bring Gog against Israel, and then He will knock the weapons out of his hand and send him to fall on Israel with all his allies. God will supernaturally destroy the armies of Russia and her allies, none of their weapons will be viable against Israel. All the armies will be destroyed and the birds will eat their flesh and the animals will eat their remains. God will also punish the lands where these armies came from, living securely at home. God will send fire down on them to destroy them. Israel and the nations around the world will see God in action and will not be able to deny Him. Those in Israel will burn their weapons for seven years. Some people say that Russia is using lignostone to manufacture their weapons, with lignostone being a wood that is harder than steel. I don’t know if this is true since their are conflicting reports about this. This passage could merely mean that Israel uses the fuel that is in the crashed weapons and that there is enough for seven years. We won’t really know until the aftermath of the battle.

¹¹ “It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog.^[b] 12 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. ¹³ Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain renown for it on the day that I am glorified,” says the Lord God. ¹⁴ “They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of a search party,^[c] to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search. ¹⁵ The search party will pass through the land; and when anyone sees a man’s bone, he shall set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog. ¹⁶ Thename of the city will also be Hamonah. Thus they shall cleanse the land.”’ Ezekiel 39:11-16

 

The bodies of all the armies will be buried in a mass grave that will be called the Valley of Hamon Gog, and it will take seven months for Israel to finish this grisly burial. There will be so many dead bodies that Israel will have to hire people for the express purpose of searching for and burying all the bodies that will be strewn across the land. 

 

¹⁷ “And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, ‘Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field:

“Assemble yourselves and come;
Gather together from all sides to My sacrificial meal
Which I am sacrificing for you,
A great sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel,
That you may eat flesh and drink blood.
¹⁸ You shall eat the flesh of the mighty,
Drink the blood of the princes of the earth,
Of rams and lambs,
Of goats and bulls,
All of them fatlings of Bashan.
¹⁹ You shall eat fat till you are full,
And drink blood till you are drunk,
At My sacrificial meal
Which I am sacrificing for you.
²⁰ You shall be filled at My table
With horses and riders,
With mighty men
And with all the men of war,” says the Lord God. Ezekiel 39:17-20

 

 

Now God calls all the animals and birds to come and feast on the mighty men and princes and all others. There will be so many bodies that the scavengers will be well fed.

²¹ “I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them.²² So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward. ²³ The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. ²⁴ According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them.”’
²⁵ “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name— ²⁶ after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid. ²⁷ When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, ²⁸ then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer. ²⁹ And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord God.” Ezekiel 39:21-29


All the world will see this supernatural protection of Israel from the hoardes attacking her. Israel will finally turn back and believe in God again.

Kings of the North and South

Daniel chapter 11 continues with the vision he received in chapter 10. Technically, the first verse here shold have been at the end of chapter 10. The angel Gabriel ends chapter 10 by telling Daniel that no one supports him in his protection of Israel except Michael, who is the protector angel of Israel. He will soon go to fight against the Prince of Persia, this is not a literal ruler of Persia, but one of Satan’s princes of the earth. In the first verse of chapter 11, Gabriel is the speaker. He has taken a stand to support Darius against the Prince of Persia. As we know, Darius and Cyrus were favorable to the Jewish people and let them return to their homeland and even gave them money to rebuild the Temple. Gabriel is supporting them in their support of Israel.
11

¹ And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him.)

The Kings of the South and the North

² “Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. ³ Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. ⁴ After he has arisen, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others.
⁵ “The king of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he and will rule his own kingdom with great power.⁶ After some years, they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power^[a] will not last. In those days she will be betrayed, together with her royal escort and her father^[b] and the one who supported her.
⁷ “One from her family line will arise to take her place. He will attack the forces of the king of the North and enter his fortress; he will fight against them and be victorious. ⁸ He will also seize their gods, their metal images and their valuable articles of silver and gold and carry them off to Egypt. For some years he will leave the king of the North alone. ⁹ Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country. ¹⁰ His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army, which will sweep on like an irresistible flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress.
¹¹ “Then the king of the South will march out in a rage and fight against the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be defeated. ¹² When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be filled with pride and will slaughter many thousands, yet he will not remain triumphant. ¹³ For the king of the North will muster another army, larger than the first; and after several years, he will advance with a huge army fully equipped.
¹⁴ “In those times many will rise against the king of the South. Those who are violent among your own people will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success. ¹⁵ Then the king of the North will come and build up siege ramps and will capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will be powerless to resist; even their best troops will not have the strength to stand. ¹⁶ The invader will do as he pleases; no one will be able to stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land and will have the power to destroy it. ¹⁷ He will determine to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the king of the South. And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plans^[c] will not succeed or help him. ¹⁸ Then he will turn his attention to the coastlands and will take many of them, but a commander will put an end to his insolence and will turn his insolence back on him. ¹⁹ After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own country but will stumble and fall, to be seen no more.
²⁰ “His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. In a few years, however, he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle.
²¹ “He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue. ²² Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed. ²³ After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power. ²⁴ When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did. He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth among his followers. He will plot the overthrow of fortresses—but only for a time.
²⁵ “With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to stand because of the plots devised against him.²⁶ Those who eat from the king’s provisions will try to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall in battle. ²⁷ The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time. ²⁸ The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country.
²⁹ “At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. ³⁰ Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.
³¹ “His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.³² With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.
³³ “Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. ³⁴ When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. ³⁵ Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

Now Gabriel tells Daniel the future. There will be three more Kings in Persia before a fourth will rise. This fourth King will be very wealthy (Xerxes). He inherits the wealth of the former Kings. Xerxes will attack Greece and this will lead to the rise of Alexander the Great who will conquer much of the known world. After his death, the empire is broken into four parts and the power of this empire will be diminished. 

The King of the south holds the territory of Egypt, Lybia, Cyrene, Arabia, Phoenicia, Coelesyria, Cyprus, Ethiopia and many cities of Greece (Ptolemies) and the King of the north holds the territory of Syria, Macedonia, Greece, Thrace, Asia, Babylonia, Media all the way over to India (Seleucidae). These two kingdoms are at war for many years. To unite the kingdoms, Berenice the daughter of Ptolemy Philadelphus, King of Egypt is married to Antiochus Theos, King of Syria. The condition for this union was that Antiochus had to divorce his wife Laodice, which he did. Everything was peaceful for a time until Ptolemy died. Antiochus divorces Berenice and remarries Laodice. Laodice wanted her sons to rule, so she poisons Antiochus and has Berenice and her son killed. This act starts the war again. 
Berenice’s brother, Ptolemy Euergetes, comes to avenge his sister’s death. He was victorious and as the victor, he reclaimed the gods of the Egyptians that had been takes as plunder many years ago. This gave Ptolemy Euergetes the loyalty of the Egyptian people. He would have continued conquering if he had not had to return home to stop an uprising.
After the death of Seleucus Callinucus who died by falling from a horse, his sons, Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus attack the King of the Ptolemais Euergetes and his son Ptolemais Philopater in revenge for the land that had been stolen from them. Ceraunus was poisoned by his generals and Antiochus was proclaimed King. Antiochus was able to regain the territory that was lost and he even brought the battle to Egypt. Ptolemy Philopater, who succeeded his father as King, was incensed and starts war with Antiochus and drives him out of the Ptolemic empire. Instead of pursuing Antiochus and sealing the victory, Ptolemy makes peace with him. Fourteen years later after the death of Philopater, Antiochus attacks with a much larger army, taking advantage of the fact that Ptolemy Ephiphanes, the King was only five years old. Many joined against Ptolemy including Philip of Macedon and many Jews  that revolted from their religion and joined Ptolemy. Scopas, and Aetolian general comes with an army from Ptolemy to fight against the armies of Antiochus and they succeed. Antiochus the Great marshals his armies and defeats Scopas at Judea. Antiochus was now in control of Judea.
Antiochus tried to use his daughter Cleopatra to betray Ptolemy. He proposed a treaty between them with the marriage of his daughter to Ptolemy. This did not work out for Antiochus, because Cleopatra was loyal to her husband and warned him of Antiochus plans.
Realizing that this plan was not going to work, Antiochus turns his attention to conquering the islands in the Mediterranean and the Romans. Antiochus waged war against the Romans for three years until he was defeated. After his defeat, he returns to his own lands. He attempts to plunder the temple of Elymais, but that causes the people to revolt and kill him.
His son tries to gain plunder not in battle, but by levying taxes. He is killed by his treasurer Heliodorus. Instead Antiochus Epiphanes, a vile man, immoral, lascivious, a drunk and a man of unnatural lusts; also a violent persecutor of the church of God takes control of the kingdom. He assumes the kingdom under the guise of holding it for his nephew Demetrius. Through flattery and bribery he succeeds in taking control of the kingdom for himself. He sends out his armies to overcome all threats to his rule. Onias III was high priest in Egypt at this time, his brother Jason bribed Antiochus to remove Onias and make Jason high priest. Jason sent a priest names Menelaus to Antiochus with his tribute money. Menelaus added some money and bribed Antiochus to let him replace Jason. Antiochus, only caring for the money did so.
The King of the north comes against the south once more. Ptolemy Philometer, the 14 year old King and son of Cleopatra was approached by Antiochus IV to seek an alliance. The true reason was to take Egypt for himself. He moved through Syria and Judea with a small army and seized Egypt. He took over the richest parts of the kingdom and began to disperse the riches around the kingdom to secure their loyalty. Once he felt that his kingdom was secure, he decided to take Egypt by force. He was able to conquer Pelesium and Memphis. Antiochus was also working within Ptolemy’s kingdom. He bribed nobles and men in the King’s confidence. This way Ptolemy was betrayed. The people of Alexandria appointed Ptolemy Euergetes,  as King; he was the younger brother of Ptolemy VI. Antiochus IV tried to set the two brothers against each other, but Ptolemy VII tried to smooth things over with his brother and have them unite against their uncle.
While Antiochus was in Egypt, a rumor arose that he had been killed. Jason, the high priest that Antiochus betrayed, raised an army to attack Jerusalem. Antiochus, upon hearing this, thought that Judea was revolting against him. He marched against Jerusalem killing 40,000-80,000 people. He then raided the Temple and took all the Holy items.
Meanwhile, in Egypt, the brothers have reconciled against their uncle. This causes Antiochus to march against Egypt again. The brothers appeal to Rome for help against their uncle. The Romans demand Antiochus leave Egypt. He is humiliated and leaves, he takes out his humiliation and frustration on Jerusalem where he kills a huge number of Jews that resist him. He stops the daily sacrifice and builds a pagan altar to Zeus over the altar of burnt offerings. To further desecrate the Temple, a pig is sacrificed on the 25th of Kislev. After this Antiochus declares that everyone should give up their beliefs and become one people and worship the pagan gods only. Anyone that was found following Jewish religious practices was killed and any Torah found was destroyed. Many refused to give up their beliefs and were killed. 
This persecution caused the Jews to rebel against Antiochus. This war is described in the book of the Maccabees. This war cost Antiochus a lot of money and he had to try to get additional tribute from his lands. While Antiochus was attempting to seize money from Persia, he left his son and general Lysias in charge of the battle against Jerusalem. After several battles, the Jews were able to recapture the Temple and build a new altar and rededicate it to God. This feast of dedication was to last for eight days and was to be called Chanukah. 
Antiochus was defeated by the Persians and upon hearing of the defeat at Jerusalem he fell ill and died not long after. 
When the gentile nations around Judea heard of their victory over the Seleucids they began to kill the Jews among them. Judas Maccabee went out and defeated those that sought to kill the Jews. After his death, many wicked Jews continued the persecution of the righteous Jews. The appointed time refers to the period of the seventy weeks that Gabriel had told Daniel about which would lead to the appearance of the Messiah.

The King Who Exalts Himself

³⁶ “The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. ³⁷ He will show no regard for the gods of his ancestors or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all.³⁸ Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his ancestors he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.³⁹ He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price.^[d]
40 “At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood.⁴¹ He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moaband the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand. ⁴² He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape. ⁴³ He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Cushites^[e] in submission. ⁴⁴ But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many. ⁴⁵ He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at^[f] the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.

In the second part of this chapter refers to the end times. Much of it could be attributed to Antiochus IV, but he was not able to do as he pleases since he was defeated by the Romans, Jews and Persians. This has to be a description of another who will come. Antiochus being a type of antichrist, but this King will be the true Antichrist. 
⁵ The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. ⁶ It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. Revelation 13:5-6
³ Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness^[a] is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. ⁴ He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. 2 Thessalonians 3-4
¹² “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. ¹³ They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. ¹⁴ They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” Revelation 17:12-14
⁷ It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. Revelation 13:7

¹¹ I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rideris called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. ¹² His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on himthat no one knows but he himself. ¹³ He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. ¹⁴ The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. ¹⁵ Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”^[a] He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

king of kings and lord of lords.

¹⁷ And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birdsflying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, ¹⁸ so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.”

¹⁹ Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. ²⁰ But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. ²¹ The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. Revelation 19:11-21

Daniel’s Vision of a Man

This chapter begins after Cyrus has signed the decree that returns the Jews to their homeland. We know that Daniel either returned with the Jews or retired from public service and remained in Babylon.  In Daniel 1:21 And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.  It is not made clear whether he has returned to Jerusalem or stayed in Babylon. In any case, the signing of the decree was not the end of Daniel’s visions.

10 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar). Its message was true and it concerned a great war.^[a]The understanding of the message came to him in a vision.

² At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. ³ I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.
⁴ On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, ⁵ I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. ⁶ His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.
⁷ I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; those who were with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. ⁸ So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. ⁹ Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.
¹⁰ A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. ¹¹ He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.
¹² Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. ¹³ But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.¹⁴ Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.”
¹⁵ While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless. ¹⁶ Then one who looked like a man^[b] touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing before me, “I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I feel very weak. ¹⁷ How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe.”
¹⁸ Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. ¹⁹ “Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed,” he said. “Peace! Be strong now; be strong.”
When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength.”
²⁰ So he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come; ²¹ but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince.

In the third year that Cyrus ruled, probably around 534-533 B.C. Daniel receives a vision of a great war and the meaning is also shown to him. At the time, Daniel had been in mourning and fasting from meat and wine or pampering his body. It is not clear why Daniel is mourning, it could be that he was soul sad because of his previous visions and all they stood for. It could be because though the Jews had been given permission to return to their land, their were probably issues from the Babylonians and from the other people that had been settled in the land by Nebuchadnezzar.
On the 24th day of Nisan or Aviv, the first month of the Jewish calendar, in our calendar this usually falls around March or April. Daniel was standing on the banks of the Tigris river, he sees a man dressed in linen and gold. Daniel describes his face like lightning and his eyes like flaming torches, his arms of bronze and his voice sounding like a multitude of voices. We can assume that this man was the angel Gabriel.
Daniel must have been with other people, but he is the only one that sees the man. The others felt terror and ran and hid, so Daniel was left alone. Daniel lost all strength and felt helpless before the angel, as Gabriel spoke to him, Daniel fell into a deep sleep. Gabriel touched Daniel and told him that he has been sent to Daniel. He tells Daniel not to be afraid, that he had been sent to respond to Daniel’s prayers. Gabriel tells Daniel that he had been detained by the Prince of Persia for twenty-one days until Michael came to help him. He was not delayed by a physical person.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Ephesians 6:12
Now Gabriel tells Daniel that he has come to tell him what will happen to his people in the future. Daniel bows to the ground in anguish because of the vision, after Gabriel touches Daniel’s lips, Daniel explains that he has no strength and can barely breathe.  Gabriel speaks and tells Daniel to be strong and Daniel is strengthened.  He then tells Daniel that he will soon return to fight against the Prince of Persia, and when he leaves the Prince of Greece will come. Before he goes he will tell Daniel what is written in the Book of Truth. He also says that no one supports him against these Princes except Michael, your prince. Michael is seen as the guardian angel of the Jewish people and therefore would aid Gabriel in fighting for them.

The Seventy Weeks

After the fall of Babylon, the Medo-Persian empire arose just as Daniel had seen in his visions. Chapter 9 begins during the first year of the reign of Darius. This chapter is broken into two parts, the first is Daniel’s prayer and petition to God on behalf of Israel and the second has to do with the Seventy weeks of prophecy.

9 In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes^[a] (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian^[b] kingdom— ² in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. ³ So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.

⁴ I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:

“Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ⁵ we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. ⁶ We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.
⁷ “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame —the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. ⁸ We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you. ⁹ The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving,even though we have rebelled against him; ¹⁰ we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. ¹¹ All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.
“Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you.¹² You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. ¹³ Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. ¹⁴ The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.
¹⁵ “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty handand who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. ¹⁶ Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.
¹⁷ “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. ¹⁸ Give ear, our God, and hear;open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. ¹⁹ Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”


Daniel had always been dedicated to God. He continued to worship God even when his own life was in danger. I would think that he began to do research into the Biblical writings of the prophets, especially after receiving his visions. It seems that he was reading the writings of the prophet Jeremiah and saw that the desolation of Jerusalem was to last seventy years. The Jewish people had not followed God’s law to let the land rest every seventh year
¹⁰ “For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, ¹¹ but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove. 
Exodus 23:10-11
²¹ The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah. Chronicles 36:21
At this time the seventy years were almost up. Daniel began to pray for Israel. He prayed towards God clothed in sackcloth and ashes (this was worn to mourn and showed repentance and humility). Daniel acknowledges to God that the Jewish people had not kept the Commandments and had broken God’s laws. He tells God that the Jewish people deserved to be punished for not obeying God. Daniel then petitions God for mercy on His people.

The Seventy “Sevens”

²⁰ While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill — ²¹ while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. ²² He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. ²³ As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision:
²⁴ “Seventy ‘sevens’^[c] are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish^[d]transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.^[e]
25 “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One,^[f] the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. ²⁶ After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing.^[g] The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. ²⁷ He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’^[h] In the middle of the ‘seven’^[i] he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple^[j] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.^[k]”^[l]



During his prayer on behalf of Israel, Gabriel appears to Daniel.  Gabriel tells Daniel that he has come to explain things to Daniel. When Daniel began to pray, the Lord sent an answer because He held Daniel in high regard.
Gabriel begins to tell Daniel the prophecy for the future of Israel. Seventy “sevens” are decreed for Israel, the seven is considered a week. From the time that the decree to rebuild Jerusalem is given until the Messiah comes there will be seven “sevens” and sixty-two “sevens”. (483 years) After the sixty-two “sevens” the Messiah would be put to death.
The Jewish calendar is 360 days, so that would be (360*483= 173,880) 476 years in our standard calendar. Artaxerxes issued the decree to rebuild Jerusalem in 444 B.C.

In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, ² so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”

I was very much afraid, ³ but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire? ”
⁴ The king said to me, “What is it you want?”
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, ⁵ and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”
⁶ Then the king , with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.
⁷ I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah?⁸ And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests.
Nehemiah 2:1-8
Counting forward from this date 173,880 days would be around March 24-April 22  in 33 A.D. Jesus presented Himself to the nation of Israel on Palm Sunday, March 27 in 33 A.D. and was crucified on April 1 and rose on April 3. 
After this, the prophecy states that the city and sanctuary would be destroyed. 
Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. ² “Do you see all these things?” he asked.“Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” Matthew 24:1-2
In 70 A.D. Titus, the Roman general laid siege to Jerusalem and the Temple was burned on the 9th of Av in the Jewish calendar, the same day that the King of Babylon had originally burned the Temple in 586 B.C. The Temple had been filled with gold and when it was set on fire, the gold melted into the stones that made up the Temple walls. The Temple was dismantled to remove the gold, fulfilling Jesus words that not one stone would be left on another. 
We can see at this point that the first sixty-nine weeks have already happened. When the Jews rejected the Messiah the countdown was stopped for a time. This interlude is the church age, it lasts from the Messiah rising from the dead until the rapture. After the church has been removed from the earth the seventieth week will resume. The Tribulation period is meant for the Jewish people. God will raise up two prophets that will convert millions of Jewish people.
I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. ² But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. ³ And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” ⁴ They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.”^[a] 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. ⁶ They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.
Revelation 11:1-6
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. ² Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: ³ “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” ⁴ Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. Revelation 7:1-4

Now we reach the final seven years that make up Daniel’s seventieth week. The Antichrist will sign a treaty with Israel and the daily sacrifice will resume. After three and a half years, the Antichrist will break the treaty and desecrate the Temple. This is how it will be until the end of the time period when his destruction that is decreed for him will be done. 
But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.  Revelation 19:20

Daniel’s Vision of the Ram and the Goat

After Daniel’s vision in chapter 7, he was very disturbed. He really had no one to talk to about what he had seen, if he had tried to tell anyone they would not have understood. That was not the end of the visions that God wanted to show Daniel. God was giving Daniel insight into the end time events, which would not be understood by anyone in Daniel’s time, but only during the end times would people understand their meaning. In Daniel chapter 8, Daniel receives another vision.

Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and a Goat

8 In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had already appeared to me. ² In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susain the province of Elam; in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal. ³ I looked up,and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later. ⁴ I watched the ram as it charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against it, and none could rescue from its power. It did as it pleased and became great.

⁵ As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between its eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground.⁶ It came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at it in great rage. ⁷ I saw it attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering its two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against it; the goat knocked it to the ground and trampled on it, and none could rescue the ram from its power. ⁸ The goat became very great, but at the height of its power the large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven.
⁹ Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land. ¹⁰ It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them. ¹¹ It set itself up to be as great as the commander of the army of the Lord; it took away the daily sacrifice from the Lord, and his sanctuary was thrown down. ¹² Because of rebellion, the Lord’s people^[a] and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.
¹³ Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled —the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, the surrender of the sanctuary and the trampling underfoot of the Lord’s people?”
¹⁴ He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.”

The Interpretation of the Vision

¹⁵ While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man. ¹⁶ And I heard a man’s voice from the Ulai calling, “Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision.”
¹⁷ As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. “Son of man,”^[b] he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”
¹⁸ While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me and raised me to my feet.
¹⁹ He said: “I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath,because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end.^[c] 20 The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. ²¹ The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king. ²² The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power.
²³ “In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise. ²⁴ He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people. ²⁵ He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.
²⁶ “The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”
²⁷ I, Daniel, was worn out. I lay exhausted for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding.

Daniel’s second vision came two years after his first vision. In his vision, Daniel is in Susain, the province of Elam. This was the winter residence of the kings of Persia. It was thought that Daniel was living here and not in Babylon since Belshazzar did not have a good relationship with Daniel. This palace overlooked the U’lai river and is located in the southwestern corner of modern day Iran. In the vision Daniel sees a ram with two horns standing beside the canal. The ram had long horns, but one was longer than the other and grew later. The ram was undefeated and no one could stand against him.  This ram represents Medea Persia.   The two horns represent the two sides of the Medea Persian empire, Cyrus overthrew his grandfather, Astyages the king of the Medes and Persia, the younger kingdom rose up later. This was also represented by the Bear raised up on one side in Daniel’s last vision.                                                                                           Then Daniel sees a goat with one large horn came from the west and he seems to cross the earth without touching the ground.  The goat represents Greece, which was located west of Persia. The horn represents Alexander the Great, who was represented by the leopard in Daniel’s first vision. The goat crosses the earth without seeming to touch the ground represents the speed with which Alexander the Great was able to conquer the world during this time.   The goat furiously attacks the ram and breaks its horns, Greece and Persia had a long history of conflict, and when Alexander came to power he went out to defeat the Persians. Greece defeated Persia and became great under Alexander, but at age 33 he died and his kingdom was broken into four pieces. This is the meaning of the large broken horn and the four horns that grew up in its place.        Out of one of the horns rises a small horn. It grows in power to the south and east toward the Beautiful Land, which is Israel.  This little horn represents Antiochus Epiphanes who outlawed judaism and demanded to be worshiped as a god four times a year. He defiles the Temple by sacrificing a pig on the altar. Daniel hears a voice asking how long the sacrilege in the Temple will be allowed to continue, the answer is 2300 mornings and evenings. This period coincides with the time that the corrupt high priest Jason began to neglect the daily sacrifices until the Temple was cleansed after the Jews returned to Israel.  This little horn foreshadows the coming of the Antichrist which Daniel will talk more about in later chapters.  Daniel is confused by the vision, and then he sees the angel Gabriel standing before him. A voice commands Gabriel to tell Daniel the meaning of the vision, we can assume that it is God. Gabriel tells Daniel that the vision he had been shown was about the end times. He tells Daniel that the ram represents Medea Persia and the goat is Greece, with the large horn representing its first king and the four horns that rise up replacing the first.  Now Gabriel refers to a king that will rise up in the latter period. This can’t be a reference to Antiochus, but to the Antichrist. He will rise up, but not under his own power, we know that Satan will give him the power. He will be destroyed, but not by man, Messiah will destroy him. Gabriel tells him that this vision is for the distant future.                                 Daniel is quite overwhelmed by this vision and was in bed exhausted for many days. After he recovered he got up and continued on the king’s business. The vision was too overwhelming for Daniel to think about. 

Daniel’s Dream

The first six chapters of Daniel gave you a background of what was going on at that time and who Daniel was. Not only as a person, but why God chose him to reveal visions of the end times. Daniel was faithful to God even though it could have cost him his life. He put his faith in God to keep him safe among the Babylonians and then the Medo-Persians. His life is an example of what true faith really is. As we start the last chapters of Daniel we will be shown visions that tie in to the visions that John was given in the book of Revelation. Daniel is  told to write them down and seal the vision until the time of the end. No one would be able to understand Daniel’s vision until the time of the end, at this time men would be given understanding. I do believe that we are living in the end times and that all these visions will be played out after Jesus comes to rapture His Church.

Daniel’s Dream of Four Beasts

7 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying in bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.

² Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. ³ Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
⁴ “The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.
⁵ “And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’
⁶ “After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
⁷ “After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
⁸ “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a littleone, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
⁹ “As I looked,

“thrones were set in place,
    and the Ancient of Days took his seat. 
His clothing was as white as snow; 
    the hair of his head was white like wool. 
His throne was flaming with fire,
    and its wheels were all ablaze.
¹⁰ A river of fire was flowing,
    coming out from before him. 
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
    ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated,
    and the books were opened.

¹¹ “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking.I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. ¹² (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)

¹³ “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,^[a]coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. ¹⁴ He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.


During the first year of Belshazzar Daniel had a dream. Chronologically this came before the events in Daniel 5. When he awoke, Daniel wrote down what he had seen in the dream. Daniel saw four different beasts come up out of the sea. As we had discussed in Revelation, the sea represented the gentile nations.
The first beast was a lion that had eagles wings. The lion represented Babylon and the wings represented the speed in which Nebuchadnezzar conquered his kingdom. The wings are ripped off and the lion is made to stand on two feet and is given the mind of a man. We see this fulfilled in Daniel chapter 4, Nebuchadnezzar is arrogant; because of his arrogance God strikes him with insanity and he lives like an animal for seven years. At the end of that time, Nebuchadnezzar humbles himself before God and gives God praise and is restored to his throne. 
The second beast looked like a Bear and had three ribs in its teeth. The bear represents Medo-Persia. It is told to “get up and eat its fill of flesh”. The three ribs may represent the nations that were conquered by the Bear; Egypt, Lydia and Babylon.
The third beast is a leopard with four wings and four heads and was given authority to rule. This beast represents Greece under Alexander the Great. The wings represent speed and Alexander conquered the known world in seven years. After Alexander died, the kingdom was divided into four parts represented by the four heads of the leopard. 
The fourth beast was not identified with any animal, but was described as powerful and terrifying with iron teeth that devoured its victims. This beast is Rome and the iron teeth represent its cruelty. The ten horns represent ten kings that will arise out of the Roman empire, which possibly represent kings that will arise out of the revived Roman Empire. The little horn represents a man that will rise up through the revived Roman Empire and destroy three of the other horns or kings. He is represented by a little horn because he is not the ruler of a kingdom as the other horns are, but he rises up among them and usurps three of the kings. This little horn is the Antichrist that will arise from obscurity and control the world. 
At this point while Daniel is contemplating the little horn his attention is drawn to the heavenly throne room. God takes His seat on a fiery throne representing judgment. God is clothed in white with white hair representing holiness and purity and wisdom. Thousands attended him, probably angels and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him waiting to be judged.  The beast was slain and its body thrown into the fire, this could mean that the revived Roman Empire led by the Antichrist was destroyed and the Antichrist was thrown into the fire. The other rulers of the revived Roman Empire are allowed to live for a period of time. 
Then Daniel sees Jesus described as one like the son of man approach God. He is given authority over all the nations, his dominion will be everlasting and his kingdom will never be destroyed. 

The Interpretation of the Dream

¹⁵ “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. ¹⁶ I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this.
“So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: ¹⁷ ‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. ¹⁸ But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’
¹⁹ “Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. ²⁰ I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully.²¹ As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, ²² until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.
²³ “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. ²⁴ The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. ²⁵ He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.^[b]
26 “‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. ²⁷ Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’
²⁸ “This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts,and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”

After Daniel’s vision he was troubled. He approached an angel? possibly and asked for clarification of his vision. The angel? tells him that the four beasts represent four kings that will arise but after these the holy people will receive their kingdom and possess it forever. Daniel is most concerned about the fourth beast because it was so different than the others. He saw the little horn waging war against God’s people until the time of judgment. The angel tells Daniel that the fourth beast will conquer the whole world and the ten horns are ten kings that will arise out of this kingdom. At a later time another king that is different than the first ten will arise and subdue three kings. He will speak against God and persecute God’s people. This will be allowed for a time, times and half a time which is commonly thought to represent three and a half years of 1260 days. This would be the period after the Antichrist is killed and rises indwelt by Satan; he enters the holy of Holies and proclaims himself God. After this the second half of the Tribulation will occur or the Great Tribulation that will last 1260 days. After this time power will be taken from him by God and the holy people of God will have an everlasting kingdom. 
Daniel was deeply troubled but kept this knowledge to himself. I can empathize with Daniel, he must have been in shock knowing the horrors that would come. He had to have some measure of reassurance that in the end God would prevail and God’s people would live in his everlasting kingdom.

 

Daniel in the Lions Den

In Daniel 6 we read one of the most famous stories in the Bible, Daniel in the Lions den. This is a story of jealousy and faith. Some men were jealous of Daniel’s position of authority and through trickery and manipulation caused Daniel to be sentenced to death, but through his faith in God he was saved.

6 ^[a]It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom,² with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. ³ Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.⁴ At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. ⁵ Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

 

In the first part of this chapter we see that Daniel was a truly honest and hardworking man. He was doing such a good job that he was going to be promoted to be in charge of the entire kingdom. The other men that were ruling the kingdom were jealous of Daniel and tried to find ways to discredit him, but they could not find anything that Daniel had done that was dishonest. They decided that the only way to get to Daniel was through the laws of the God that Daniel worshipped. 

 

⁶ So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever! ⁷ The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. ⁸ Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”⁹ So King Darius put the decree in writing.


The jealous men went in to King Darius and appealed to his ego. They told Darius that they wanted him to pass a decree that for the next 30 days, no one was to worship anyone other than Darius. So Darius agreed and passed a decree. Many ancient societies would worship their rulers as beings that had been appointed by their gods. According to the laws of the Medes and Persians the Kings decree was unbreakable, even by the King himself. 


¹⁰ Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. ¹¹ Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. ¹² So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”
The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”
¹³ Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.” ¹⁴ When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed;he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.
¹⁵ Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, “Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.”
¹⁶ So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”


When Daniel heard about the decree, he did not try to hide his worship of God. He prayed according to his daily custom three times a day before an open window that was oriented towards Jerusalem. Now the jealous men were pleased that their trap worked. They immediately went to the King and reported that Daniel was breaking the King’s own law. Darius was upset that he had been tricked into making that decree and tried to find a way to save Daniel. The jealous rulers reminded the King that the decree could not be changed according to the laws of the Medes and Persians. Darius knew he had been tricked and there was nothing he could do about it, so he gave the order for Daniel to be thrown into the lions’ den. The King tells Daniel that he hopes that Daniel’s God will rescue him.


¹⁷ A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. ¹⁸ Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.
¹⁹ At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den.²⁰ When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”
²¹ Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! ²² My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”
²³ The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.
²⁴ At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
²⁵ Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth:

“May you prosper greatly!

²⁶ “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.

“For he is the living God 
    and he endures forever; 
his kingdom will not be destroyed,
    his dominion will never end. 
²⁷ He rescues and he saves; 
    he performs signs and wonders 
    in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel
    from the power of the lions.”

²⁸ So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus^[b] the Persian.

 

 

 

A stone was placed over the lions’ den so Daniel could not escape. Darius was distraught and did not eat and could not sleep. At the first light of dawn he hurried to the lions’ den and called to Daniel asking him if his God had saved him. Daniel answered the king that his God had sent an angel to shut the mouths of the lions because Daniel had faith in Him and was found innocent. Darius was overjoyed and had Daniel removed from the lions’ den and had the jealous men who had accused Daniel thrown to the lions along with their wives and children. You may think it is harsh to kill the families who did nothing, but in ancient times families were killed so no one would be able to rise up and take revenge against the King for the killing of their fathers. 

Then Darius issued another decree that all people in his kingdom must revere the God of Daniel who had rescued Daniel from the lions. Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and Cyrus. He trusted in God and was rewarded.

The Writing on the Wall

Daniel 5 takes place after the death of Nebuchadnezzar. Belshazzar became king after Nebuchadnezzar’s death.. Nebuchadnezzar was not the direct father of Belshazzar. Either he was his grandfather through his mother’s side, or he was his father in the sense of having previously occupied the throne Belshazzar now sat on. Either usage of the term father was accepted in ancient times. Belshazzar was co-regent with his father Nabonidus and he ruled Babylon from 553 B.C. to 539  B.C. when Darius the Mede conquers Babylon.

5 King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. ² While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father^[a] had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. ³ So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. ⁴ As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.

⁵ Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. ⁶ His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weakand his knees were knocking.
⁷ The king summoned the enchanters, astrologers^[b] and diviners. Then he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck,and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”
⁸ Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant. ⁹ So King Belshazzar became even more terrified and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled.
¹⁰ The queen,^[c] hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet hall. “May the king live forever!” she said. “Don’t be alarmed! Don’t look so pale! ¹¹ There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners. ¹² He did this because Daniel, whom the king called Belteshazzar, was found to have a keen mind and knowledge and understanding, and also the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means. ”

King Belshazzar was having a banquet for his nobles, he orders the gold and silver goblets that were taken from the temple in Jerusalem to be brought in for all to drink from. He praised his gods of wood and stone and mocked the true God. This sacrilege would not go unnoticed or unpunished by God. As they continued on with their revelry, a hand appears and writes on the wall. The King is stunned and frightened. He summons the astrologers and wise men to interpret the meaning of the writing. No one could read and interpret it. The Queen enters the banquet hall and informs that king that there is a man in the kingdom that Nebuchadnezzar had appointed the chief of all the wise men, he was able to interpret dreams and explain riddles. Daniel would be able to explain the writing.

¹³ So Daniel was brought before the king, and the king said to him, “Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father the king brought from Judah? ¹⁴ I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you and that you have insight, intelligence and outstanding wisdom. ¹⁵ The wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this writing and tell me what it means, but they could not explain it. ¹⁶ Now I have heard that you are able to give interpretations and to solve difficult problems. If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”
¹⁷ Then Daniel answered the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.
¹⁸ “Your Majesty, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. ¹⁹ Because of the high position he gave him, all the nations and peoples of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled. ²⁰ But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. ²¹ He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like the ox; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and sets over them anyone he wishes.
²² “But you, Belshazzar, his son,^[d] have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. ²³ Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wivesand your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand.But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.²⁴ Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.
²⁵ “This is the inscription that was written:

mene, mene, tekel, parsin

²⁶ “Here is what these words mean:

Mene^[e]: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.

²⁷ Tekel^[f]: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.

²⁸ Peres^[g]: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

²⁹ Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.

³⁰ That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians,^[h] was slain, ³¹ and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.<sup>[i]


Daniel is summoned to Belshazzar. Belshazzar asks Daniel if he can interpret the writing on the wall, and if he could he would be clothed in purple with a gold chain around his neck and be the third highest ruler in the kingdom.  Daniel told Belshazzar that he did not want his gifts, but he would interpret the writing for him.  First he tells Belshazzar that Nebuchadnezzar had incredible power and sovereignty in the land, but when he became arrogant he was stripped of his power until he acknowledged God was sovereign.  Then he turns to Belshazzar and tells him that even though he knew all this, he had not humbled himself before God. Instead he had blasphemed against God by using the goblets from the temple and praising false gods. The hand had written MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. Then Daniel interpreted the meaning of the words. Mene means that God had numbered the days of his reign and has brought it to an end. Tekel means that he had been weighed on a scale and found wanting. Peres means that the kingdom will be divided between the Medes and Persians.  Belshazzar fulfilled his promise to Daniel and robed him in purple with gold chains and made him third highest ruler in Babylon.  That night the promise was fulfilled, Belshazzar was slain and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom.</sup> 

Dream of a Tree

In this fourth chapter of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar has another dream that Daniel must interpret.

King Nebuchadnezzar,

 

To the nations and peoples of every language, who live in all the earth:

 

May you prosper greatly!

 

² It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.

³ How great are his signs,
    how mighty his wonders! 
His kingdom is an eternal kingdom;
    his dominion endures from generation to generation.

⁴ I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous.⁵ I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me. ⁶ So I commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to interpret the dream for me. ⁷ When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers^[b] and diviners came, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me. ⁸ Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.)

⁹ I said, “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Here is my dream; interpret it for me. ¹⁰ These are the visions I saw while lying in bed:I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous. ¹¹ The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth. ¹² Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed.
¹³ “In the visions I saw while lying in bed, I looked, and there before me was a holy one, a messenger,^[c] coming down from heaven. ¹⁴ He called in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches. ¹⁵ But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field.
“‘Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth. ¹⁶ Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times^[d] pass by for him.
¹⁷ “‘The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.’
¹⁸ “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means, for none of the wise men in my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”


The first portion of this chapter details the dream that Nebuchadnezzar has. The chapter begins with Nebuchadnezzar speaking, he is basically telling his story. He begins with a salutation to all people and he is telling them that the story he is about to tell is about the wonder of God.
In the beginning of his story it is all about “I”. Nebuchadnezzar was in bed and had a disturbing dream. He called his magicians, astrologers, diviners, etc to interpret it, but they could not. Finally Daniel came to the King, the King remembering that Daniel’s God had helped him to interpret the last dream implores him to interpret this new dream. In the King’s dream three was a huge tree in the middle of the land. The tree could be seen from the farthest part of the earth. It was beautiful and its fruit fed everyone. Animals sheltered under the tree and birds lived in its branches.  Then an angel came down from heaven and ordered the tree to be cut down, the branches trimmed off and its fruit scattered. The animals and birds fled from the tree. Then the stump of the tree was bound in iron and bronze. The angel decreed that the tree would live among the animals and plants and have the mind of an animal for seven years. The angel announces that this is being done so that all people would know that God is sovereign over all.

Daniel Interprets the Dream
¹⁹ Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you.”
Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries! ²⁰ The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, ²¹ with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the wild animals, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds —²² Your Majesty, you are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.
²³ “Your Majesty saw a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven; let him live with the wild animals, until seven times pass by for him.’
²⁴ “This is the interpretation, Your Majesty, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king: ²⁵ You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes. ²⁶ The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules. ²⁷ Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue. ”

Daniel was terrified when he heard the dream. He told Nebuchadnezzar that he wished that the dream referred to the King’s enemies. Daniel then begins to interpret the dream. The tree represents Nebuchadnezzar. The King was great and strong and his dominion reached over all the known world at that time. The angel was a messenger from God and he had a decree against Nebuchadnezzar. Because Nebuchadnezzar was so arrogant and did not acknowledge that God was sovereign, but instead arrogantly attributed his greatness to himself, God was going to humble him. He would be driven out of his kingdom to live among the animals of the field. He would have the mind of an animal and he would live like that for seven years. The stump that remains is a promise that his kingdom would be restored after seven years, once Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges the God of Heaven. Daniel implores the King to immediately renounce his sins and wickedness  so that maybe the dream would not have to come true. 

The Dream Is Fulfilled

²⁸ All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹ Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, ³⁰ he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”
³¹ Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. ³² You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.”
³³ Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.

 

³⁴ At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.

His dominion is an eternal dominion;
    his kingdom endures from generation to generation. 
³⁵ All the peoples of the earth
    are regarded as nothing. 
He does as he pleases 
    with the powers of heaven
    and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand 
    or say to him: “What have you done?”

³⁶ At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. ³⁷ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

Nebuchadnezzar did not take Daniel’s advice. About a year later as he was walking on the roof of the palace, he arrogantly praises himself for the beautiful palace that he had built by his own power and for his glory. As soon as he spoke those words, a voice from heaven announces the decree against him. All that he dreamed would come true. He was driven away from his palace and lived among the animals for seven years. After that time he finally acknowledges God’s majesty and glory. He has been humbled and realizes that all that he had was given to him by the hand of God. Once Nebuchadnezzar repents, his kingdom is returned to him. 
The basic theme of this chapter is Nebuchadnezzar’s arrogance to God’s punishment to Nebuchadnezzar’s restoration once he repents. In telling his story, Nebuchadnezzar is sending a warning to all peoples about what happens when you deny the one true God. It is a warning and also it is his testimony.