Daniel 7 - 1-6

Daniel 7:1-6
The Rule of Satan
By Brother Mike (12-23-16; 33 minutes)

1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters .
2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea .
3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another .
4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it .
5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh .
6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it .

INTRODUCTION

In Daniel 7:1-6 we look at the first three beasts which came out of the sea. The first beast was like a lion, the second beast was like a bear, and the third beast was like a leopard. Each of these beasts represent different aspects of Satan's worldwide rule up until Judgment Day on May 21, 2011. The lion represents the rule of Satan with respect to the spreading of the gospel. We will see that before the cross, Satan's rule was great in keeping the gospel from spreading to the world. But, after the cross, his rule was greatly diminished as the gospel then began to explode into all the nations of the world. The bear, on the other hand, represents Satan's rule with respect to his great ability to kill human beings throughout history. And, finally, the leopard represents Satan's mobility or access to rule worldwide.

Verse 7:1:

1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters .

In this verse, we are told that Daniel had a dream and visions while he was upon his bed. This we are told took place in the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon. Apparently, Belshazzar was the son of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 5:18) who had conquered Jerusalem in 587 BC, and we are told in the secular record that Belshazzar's reign began in 550 BC and ended in 539 BC when Cyrus, the king of Persia, deposed him in one night (Dan 5:30). So, when Daniel saw this dream and visions was near the end of the 70 year period of desolations upon Judah from 609 BC to 539 BC which were prophesied by Jeremiah, the prophet (Jer 25:11), and which period we know was a type of the Great Tribulation that we had experienced from May 21, 1988 to May 21, 2011, which was a period of spiritual desolations upon all of the churches worldwide (see The Final Tribulation , Wheat and Tares , and The End of the Church Age ... and after ). We would expect, then, that these visions may have to do with this Great Tribulation period.

Now, we are told that Daniel wrote down the dream, and told the sum of the matters, which we will begin reading about in the next verse.

Verse 7:2:

2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea .

The first thing that we make note of in this verse is that Daniel saw his vision by night, which is more literally translated, with the night. The night in the Bible is often symbolic of a time of spiritual judgment or tribulation, and this matches well with the fact that his vision is a vision of Satan's rule or dominion worldwide as we shall see. Furthermore, we are told that the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. The word, here, translated as heaven is plural, so it should read, and, behold, the four winds of the heavens (plural) strove upon the Great Sea. Now, in that there are four winds symbolizes that these winds are worldwide (see number 4 ), and, in that they strove or broke out upon the great sea symbolizes that judgment or tribulation (represented by the winds) from the heavens came upon the world as the sea represents the world: for just as fishermen do their fishing in the sea, so, also, do the fishers of men do their fishing in the world. So, we see how the sea is comparable to the world. And, further support for the sea symbolizing the world is found in Psalm 98 where we read,

Ps 98:7 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein .

Even the wicked people of the world can be symbolized by the sea as we read in Isaiah 57, which reads,

Isa 57:20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt .

So, what we have first revealed in this 2nd verse of Daniel 7 is judgment or tribulation being brought upon the world, and, as we shall see, this tribulation or judgment is being brought about by Satan. This will be further explained as we continue with our study on Daniel chapter 7.

Verse 7:3:

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

We are told in verse 17 of Daniel 7 who these four beasts are. We read,

17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth .

Now, each of these great beasts, or four kings, represent Satan's rule over the world. There are four of them because Satan's dominion or rule is being viewed as worldwide (see number 4 ). And, they are diverse one from another because they each reveal different aspects of Satan's rule.

Verse 7:4:

4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it .

Here, we are told that the first beast or king was like a lion. A lion is a predator that hunts by night, and is the king of its realm because there is none other mightier who preys on others. Indeed, it symbolizes Satan who preys on people because he is mightier than any who prey upon others as he seeks to control, devour and destroy those who were made in the image of God, especially the holy people, the elect. We are reminded of Satan coming as a lion in 1Peter 5:8 where we read,

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour . . .

And, again, in 2Timoth 4 we read,

2Ti 4:17 Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion [Satan] .

Next, we are told that this lion, Satan, had eagle's wings. Eagles wings symbolize Satan's power to rule before the time of the cross in being able to roam or soar freely about the earth with a superior vantage point for attacking prey. These eagle wings gave Satan a tremendous ability to frustrate the gospel, and keep the gospel primarily contained within the nation of Israel and restrained from the rest of the world. But, at the cross, Satan's eagle's wings were plucked so that he lost much of his ability to keep the gospel from spreading, but, instead the gospel began to go out to the whole world with much success as Satan's eagle's wings had been plucked, which is a picture of his having been bound at the cross for the duration of the Church Age from Pentecost in 33 AD until May 21, 1988 when the Church Age ended (see biblical calendar and its proofs ). We read about Satan being bound for the duration of the Church Age in Revelation 20 where we are told that he was bound for a thousand years. We read,

1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand .
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years ,
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season .

To see that the thousand years is symbolic of the complete duration of the Church Age from Pentecost in 33 AD to May 21, 1988 and not a literal thousand years to be manifest at some time in the future as Premillennial Dispensationalists would have it, read study on Revelation 20 - Part 1 .

Now, we are told that Daniel watched until the eagle's wings of the lion-beast, Satan, were plucked off, which, as already stated, took place at the cross when Satan was bound in the bottomless pit in the sense of not being able to any longer restrain the gospel from going forth to all the nations of the world as he was able before the cross, and we are told that Daniel beheld until the lion-beast was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. This all took place when Satan was released from the bottomless pit on May 21, 1988 (see verse 7 of Revelation 20 - Part 1 ) and exalted to become the man of sin, the antichrist, the false Christ who was lifted up from the earth to be given rule over all the churches worldwide as a means whereby Yahweh brought spiritual judgment against all the churches because of all their transgressions, and this spiritual judgment against all the churches is known as the Great Tribulation, which lasted from May 21, 1988 to May 21, 2011 when spiritual Judgment Day began (see biblical calendar and its proofs ),

1Pe 4:17 For the time [was come] that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God ?

We read about the man of sin - that is, Satan who is the false Christ and antichrist (see Who is the antichrist? ) - being seated to rule in the temple (all the churches) in 2Thessalonians 2 where we read,

3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come [the day of Christ], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin [ the antichrist , false Christ, Satan] be revealed, the son of perdition ;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God [in the churches], shewing himself that he is God .
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things ?
6 And now ye know what withholdeth [namely the holy Spirit] that he [the man of sin, the antichrist , the false Christ who is Satan] might be revealed in his time .
7 For the mystery of iniquity [Satan working in the churches] doth already work: only he who now letteth [the holy Spirit] will let, until he [the holy Spirit] be taken out of the way [out of the midst of all the churches] .
8 And then shall that Wicked [the man of sin, the antichrist , Satan] be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming :
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders ,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved .
11 And for this cause God shall send them [all the churches] strong delusion, that they should believe a lie [namely that Christ is being worshipped in all the churches when actually Satan is the one being worshipped] :
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness .

Well, you are encouraged to listen to my audio message on these verses entitled 2Thessalonians 2:1-11 - The Man of Sin . There you will find that the man of sin is the antichrist, the false Christ, Satan who was used as a tool of judgment against the churches as he has deceived them with false teachings and gospels, and has made them think that they are worshipping Christ when, in fact, they are worshipping the false Christ, the man of sin, the antichrist who is Satan himself.

Verse 7:5:

5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh .

Here, we find that another second beast or king which came up from the sea was like to a bear. A bear, like a lion, is a predator, and, in comparison to a person, is very strong and powerful. It is a picture of the power and strength of Satan as he preys on people. The Bible paints a picture of Goliath who was a giant philistine warrior from his youth as being like the bear and the lion that David defeated while he was shepherding sheep. We read in 1 Samuel 17,

33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine [Goliath] to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth .
34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock :
35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him .
36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God .
37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee .

So, Goliath, the giant, is compared to being like the lion and the bear that king David defeated, and we know that, spiritually speaking, Goliath is a picture of Satan who was defeated by king David who himself was a picture of Christ. We see, then, how the picture of a bear, or a lion, can be used to symbolize the strength and power of Satan as he preys on people.

But, the picture of a bear and lion can also be used to represent a wicked ruler over the poor, for we read in Proverbs 28,

Pr 28:15 As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people .

Of course, the wickedest ruler throughout time over the poor people has been Satan. Hence, once again, we see him being represented by a lion and a bear.

Now, we read that this bear-beast, Satan, or king, raised up itself on one side. Actually, the Hebrew literally reads, and it was raised up [or set up] to one side [or part]; it does not say that it raised itself up on one side as the King James has it translated, but simply that it was raised up to one side [or part]. Or, it could be translated in a way that the Young's Literal Translation translates it; that is, it was raised up to part one in which case it would be telling us that this second bear-beast or king was raised up to part one, namely it was raised up to the first beast, which would symbolize that it was given the same authority as the first lion-beast or king. The Young's Literal Translation translates this portion of our verse like this:

5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and to the same authority [as the first beast] it has been raised . . .

Next, our verse reads, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. Here, the three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it symbolizes that it is Satan's purpose (see symbolic meaning of number 3 ) to prey on, devour and destroy, the flesh of humankind. This has been accomplished throughout history by Satan's involvement in wars, terrorist attacks, murders, abortions, holocausts, famines, pestilences, persecutions, drug addictions, and just about anything that leads to the destruction and death of lots of human beings. Indeed, Satan has a hatred toward all human beings because they were created in the image of God, and they remind him of the God who cast him out of heaven, and who will soon destroy him on the last day due to his rebellion. So, this bear-beast, king, and Satan with three ribs in its mouth between its teeth is a picture of the rule of Satan in this world as he purposes to kill lots of human beings. And, in that all the other beasts tell the bear-beast to arise and devour much flesh reveals that they are all in agreement with it, and they help empower the bear-beast to accomplish his task of killing human beings. Of course, since each of these beasts typify the one and the same Satan, it is really Satan himself doing all of this.

Verse 7:6:

6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it .

So far, we have seen that both the lion and the bear typify a different aspect of Satan's rule. Here, as we look at this leopard-beast, it should not be surprising to us that it also typifies an aspect of Satan's rule. After all, we already concluded that the four beasts coming out of the sea represent the universal or worldwide rule of Satan in that the four beasts are four kings, and the four kings symbolize worldwide rule (see the number 4 ). Indeed, each of these four beasts or kings paints a different picture or aspect of Satan's rule in the world. The lion-beast painted the picture of Satan's rule before the cross as the lion had Eagle's wings, which great rule empowered Satan to be able to restrain the gospel primarily to the nation of Israel, and, then the lion-beast had its eagle's wings plucked at the cross, which greatly reduced its ability to restrain the gospel to the nation of Israel as on Pentecost in 33 AD the gospel began to go out to the whole world unlike any time in history until the leopard-beast was made to stand up with the feet of a man, and it was given the heart of a man, and it began to rule all the churches worldwide as the man of sin, the son of perdition. The bear-beast, on the other hand, painted the picture of Satan's rule in the world in so far as his power to devour the flesh of humans by killing them in all types of different ways. And, then, this third leopard-beast, which had four wings of a bird on its back, and four heads, and which was given dominion simply pictures Satan's worldwide rule. In that this leopard-beast had four wings of a fowl (a bird) means that it had four wings of a human because the term bird in the Bible is often used to symbolize a human (see the term bird in verse 2 of Revelation 18 - Part 1 ). And, since four wings symbolizes universal or worldwide mobility or access because wings symbolize mobility or access and the number four symbolizes worldwide (see the number 4 ), we are being told that Satan had worldwide mobility or access even as a man does. Furthermore, in that the leopard-beast had four heads symbolizes that it is worldwide (see the number 4 ), and in that the head is what rules over the body, the four heads symbolize worldwide rule. Hence, we read that this leopard-beast was given dominion, and we know that this dominion was worldwide.

CONCLUSION

So, what has been painted for us in Daniel verses 1-6 is a picture of Satan's rule in the world. The first lion-beast revealed that the rule of Satan before the cross with respect to the spreading of the gospel was great as he was able to restrain the gospel from the world for the most part, but, then, after the cross, or after he had his eagle's wings plucked off, his rule in so far as the gospel was concerned was greatly reduced as he was no longer able to restrain the gospel from going out to the world, as at Pentecost in 33 AD, the gospel began to go out to the whole world with thousands all of a sudden being saved. Then, on May 21, 1988 when the Church Age ended, Satan was raised up to become like a man to reign as the man of sin in all the churches until Judgment Day began on May 21, 2011.

Now, the second bear-beast with three ribs between its teeth revealed that the rule of Satan included the power to destroy human flesh, which continues to be accomplished through wars, terrorism, murders, abortions, holocausts, famines, pestilences, persecutions, drug addictions, and just about anything that leads to the destruction and death of lots of human beings. Indeed, Satan is not out for the good of humankind, but would like to see them all dead, especially the people of Yahweh.

And, finally, the third leopard-beast with the wings of a bird and four heads revealed that Satan had free mobility or access to rule throughout the world.

Now, in our next study, we will look at this fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns . . . Until then, may the LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.