Christ in the Old Testament

Daniel 7:14

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. (NIV)

Today’s Reading: Daniel 7:1-14

We are going to camp in Daniel 7 for a few days. Yesterday we quickly covered Daniel 2 which describes the rock that was cut out not by human hands – the Messiah. Preceding the rock was a statue that was made up of gold, silver, brass, iron and clay. We have another dream – this time Daniel’s own dream – that follows a similar pattern as Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2. Instead of a statue constructed of various metals, we see the sea filled with various animals or beasts. I think it’s worthwhile to get our head around what we know about these dreams and what we have yet to find out.

The first observation is that these two dreams are describing the same events from two different perspectives. Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2 describes these world events from man’s perspective and Daniel’s dream in Daniel 7 describes these same world events from God’s perspective. The kingdoms are represented in Daniel 2 by the materials that make up the statue whereas the same kingdoms are represented in Daniel 7 by beasts.

I agree with the scholars who believe that most of these kingdoms have already come and gone. These kingdoms occurred after the fall of Jerusalem when the throne of David was last occupied. Jesus described this period of time as the “times of the Gentiles”:

“Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Luke 21:24).

So what are these kingdoms? It seems that they are as follows:

• Gold/Lion – Babylon
• Silver/Bear – Medo-Persia
• Bronze/Leopard – Greece
• Iron/Fourth Beast – Rome

As we have discussed many times, God is primarily concerned with Israel. All of the events in the Bible are either happening in Israel or in some way or another connected to Israel. These dreams are no different. There are other world powers during this period of time but they aren’t relevant to the story of Israel. These kingdoms ruled over Jerusalem and so these are the kingdoms that are relevant to God.

After the Roman Empire – represented by the Iron and the Beast – things get a little controversial. The stone cut without hands represents the kingdom of God as we discussed yesterday. However, when that kingdom comes is not certain and likely we won’t know until the other side of heaven. Jesus clearly came to earth the first time to make his claim as King of Kings and to usher in the kingdom of God that is represented by the stone cut without hands.

So did the stone already crush the feet of the statue and bring all the kingdoms to an end? Or is that yet to happen when Jesus returns a second time? Is the kingdom of God exclusively spiritual in nature and already here or is there a physical kingdom of God still to come? Have the kingdoms represented by the ten toes and ten horns already come, are they here now, or are they coming in the future?

It’s fun to speculate, but it’s largely irrelevant whether we interpret these things correctly or not. There are two things that are consistent in Daniel 2 and Daniel 7:

1. There are earthly powers that seek their own power and stand in opposition to God and His people.
2. God will be ultimately victorious and His people will live in peace for all eternity.

Daniel 7:14 says:

“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.”

We know the end of the story. Jesus will be worshipped by all nations and peoples of every language. He will reign forever and nothing will be able to destroy his kingdom. It will unfold exactly as God plans.

We are not in control and that’s ok because we aren’t called to be in control. We are called to live the lives that have been given to us in a manner pleasing to God:

“Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them” (1 Cor 7:17).

As we work through Daniel 7 over the next few days, let’s enjoy the process and have fun thinking about what these prophecies mean. But let’s not get lost in the future and what it may bring. Let’s focus on each day and be obedient to our calling and live as Jesus would have us live.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matt 6:33).

Today’s Prayer: Thank you Lord for the gift of prophecy for it helps me know that you are in control. Help me live today seeking first your kingdom and your righteousness.