We have to remember as Daniel switches gears into the prophetic, that he is using language that was common in the ancient world. He is using apocalyptic language...or language that revolves around the end of empires and the end of time. These visions are not generally meant to give us an exact timetable about how to figure out when the world is going to end, but affirm for us over and over, that though human evil is strong in the world...God is always in control.
7:1-8 - I'll give some basic ideas about these symbols (Again, not an exact science here)...
The Sea - we see that the waters of the sea are violent and turbulent and they give the impression of chaotic times ahead. The Babylonians had a creation myth revolving around Tiamat (Also know as "The Sea") who tried to destroy her children when they killed her husband/their father. In Babylonian mythos, Marduk (The chief God of Babylon) defeated his mother "the Sea" in battle and created the world with parts of her body. Though he defeated her, he had to enclose the sea because she violently continues to fight back. So the Babylonians associates the sea with chaos. Daniel uses this imagery to highlight the terrible things that will be coming to the world in the future.
4 Beasts - These beasts can be interpreted in various ways revolving around the Babylonians Medes, Persians, Greeks, Romans and future kingdoms. The imagery that we need to focus on is the fact that the beasts are all mutant hybrids of various created beings. They are vile abominations and their very nature goes to war against God's created order. They represent the chaotic and sin-filled human systems that have plagued the world since the first sin.
7:9 - The Ancient of Days is picture here as an old and wise judge sitting on a throne of justice. It is verses like this that lead people to picture God as an old man with a long gray beard. Hopefully you know that God is not human...God is not an old man...God is not weak in any form or fashion...this is apocalyptic imagery used to highlight the ancient and wise nature of God. God is no more an old man, then the Greek Empire was literally a leopard with 4 sets of wings. This is symbolism. What you need to understand is that no matter how evil the systems of the world become, God is in control and will make sure that justice is given in the end.
7:13 and 14 - As is always clear from prophetic scripture, God wins out in the end. That is what really matters...it does not matter when it is going to be - Jesus says we will not know the day or the hour in which the end will come. What we do know is that we can put our trust in the FACT that God will prevail. Daniel says that a son of man who is like the ancient of days will come and bring an eternal kingdom that will never be overthrown. Does that sound familiar to anyone? The word became flesh and dwelt among men. Jesus is the son of man, who not only is like God, but is God...who came to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to bear in the world. A kingdom bought and paid for by his blood and a kingdom that cannot be overcome.
7:18 - Though they may seem weak in the eyes of the world, it is the saints - the humble servants of God who will actually inherit the kingdom of God. Through selflessness and faithfulness, we show a strength that is unassailable to the world.
8:3 - The ram with two horns (as later interpreted by the angel Gabriel) is the Medo-Persian Empire which displaces the Babylonians and takes control of the middle east soon after this vision.
8:5 - The powerful goat with one horn is the Greek Empire led by a single powerful ruler - Alexander the Great...who conquered much of the known ancient world.
8:8 - The vision is so historically accurate it is almost scary...remember, this is written hundreds of years before any of this happens...Alexander the Great dies at the ripe old age of 33 (My age - eek!) and his sons are quickly slaughtered and his empire is split between his four most powerful generals (four horns - get it!).
8:9ff - One of the four new rulers rises up and becomes greater and more powerful than the others. Antiochus Epiphanies is most likely the little horn that grows to be large. He was the head of the Seleucid Empire which became great and powerful due to his political savvy and deceptive nature. He tried to eradicate Judaism by getting the Jewish elite to become more like the Greeks. He sacrificed pigs to Zeus on the altar of the Lord and allowed sick sex rituals to take place in the Temple.
8:14 - What is the 2300 mornings and evenings all about? Scholars are not quite sure. It could either means a literal 2300 days or 2300 morning and evening sacrifices that would take place in Judaism, which would take place over the span of 1150 days. Interestingly enough, both of those interpretations work in conjunction with huge events in Antiochus' desecration of the temple and the subsequent Jewish rebellion and rededication of the Temple.
8:17 - I always find it interesting that ever single biblical occasion where an angel shows up, people get really scared and fall on their faces. They must be incredible beings to behold. Yet, we must remember that they are simply beings that were created by our awesome God. How much more terrifying and awe-inspiring is the presence of the one and only God? Maybe one of the reasons that God does not show Himself to us, is that we could not handle it?
9:3ff - We have already seen throughout the book of Daniel, how faithful Daniel remained to God no matter what was happening around him. Yet here we see that he stands as an intercessor for his people...the people of Israel...crying out to God for forgiveness and mercy. We must always remember that faith is not something that is to be lived out on an individual basis...faith is something that is supposed to be worked out int he context of community. Are you and I taking responsibility for the failures of the worldwide Church? Are we crying out to God for forgiveness...or are we looking for excuses so that we can blame others for the failings of the Church?
9:24ff - This "seventy" number is generally understood to be seventy-sevens or seventy weeks of years, which actually comes out to be 490 years. Gabriel is confirming Jeremiah's prophecy of a 70 year exile, but also saying that the return to Jerusalem will only be the beginning of a judgement that will last nearly 500 years. When Antiochus sacrifices pigs (unclean animals) on the altar of God, the Jews referred to that act as the abomination of desolation or an abomination that is so vile that it only brings desolation. Now check out Daniel 9:27 - the abominations that makes desolate. After the Jewish people rebelled against Antiochus and eventually earned their freedom, they were able to rededicate the Temple to God. And shortly after that, one who was like a Son of Man came to earth...born of a virgin...born in Bethlehem the hometown of King David...and he came so that we might have life and have it to the full...he came to put an end to the abomination of desolation and make it so that we could become part of his eternal kingdom.
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