book of daniel

Daniel 2

Great image (v31) had:
- 1. head of fine gold
- 2. breast and arms of silver
- 3. belly and thighs of brass
- 4. legs of iron
- 5. feet of part iron, part clay

1. Babylon (v38)
2. Medes-Persia (v39, 5:28, 8:20)
3. Greece (8:21)

4. Rome
- based on history and the NT, Greece was overthrown by Rome (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece#Hellenistic_Greece)
- v40: like iron (harder than gold, silver, or brass), Rome broke everything in its way
- two legs could represent Rome split into western and eastern kingdoms (Rome and Constantinople)

5. Rome divided into 10 kingdoms (10 toes)
- it had iron as a hint that part of it is same as Rome
- clay could be "barbarians" (non-Roman nations) that settled and gained power
- v41-43: kingdom shall be divided, partly strong, partly broken, and not cleave one to another

- the Roman empire is said to have fallen and split into roughly (some say exactly) 10 kingdoms. It happened as many events so it's hard to tell how accurate it is.
http://www.thewordonendtimes.com/Beginning-of-Sorrows/The-Roman-Empire-Divided-and-Ten-Kings-Arise.aspx
http://www.danielbibleprophecy.org/ten_divisions_of_rome.html

Daniel 7

Four beasts:
1. Lion with eagle's wings (v4)
- wings were removed and made to stand as a man, and a man's heart given to it
2. Bear (v5)
- raised up one one side, three ribs in mouth
3. Leopard (v6)
- four wings, four heads
4. Fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong (v7)
- had iron teeth, devoured and broke in pieces
- different from other beasts
- 10 horns
- another little horn came up, 3 original horns plucked
- little horn has eyes like eyes of man and a mouth speaking great things

1. Babylon
- eagle's wings reference to pride of Nebuchadnezzar (4:30)
- stand as man and man's heart reference to Nebuchadnezzar humbling to the creator (4:34)

2. Medes-Persia
- raised on one side probably means one side (Persia) is stronger than the other
- three ribs could mean three kings defeated by it (8:4 "westward, northward, southward")

3. Greece
- leopard reference to speed (8:5 "touched not the ground")
- four wings, four heads - 8:22 four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation
- four wings could mean they are all proud and wicked (8:23 "transgressors come to the full")

4. Rome and Rome-divided
- v7 "strong exceedingly", "great iron teeth", "devoured and brake in pieces" reference to iron legs (2:40)
- 10 horns is same as 10 toes in Daniel 2

the little horn = papacy (pope)
- some time after Rome divided was when the Roman Catholic church gained supreme power. The church gained political and military power and was a means for Rome to continue its influence in the divided kingdoms (http://www.endtimes-bibleprophecy.com/page6.htm)
- "eyes like eyes of man" (v8) - appears truthful, but is not
- "he shall speak great words against the most High" (v25) - he will blaspheme the most High
- "made war with the saints and prevailed against them", "shall wear out the saints of the most High" (v21, 25) - as history shows, the church prevailed against the saints
- "think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand" (v25) - the pope has power to make and change laws as he did with the sabbath and is also infallible
- "until a time and times and the dividing of time" -- ???

- 3 horns plucked (v8, 24) - three kingdoms (Heruli, Vandal, Ostrogoth) that did not accept the authority of the catholic church was exterminated (according to links above)


5. Everlasting kingdom (7:9-14)
- 2:34 the stone cut without hands (from YHWH) hit the image at its feet, meaning it will destroy all earthly empires at the time of the 10 kingdoms
- 2:44 "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed" - these kings referring to the iron and clay feet
- 7:11, 21-22, 26-27 - these verses seem to suggest that the horn will have its way until the ancient of days comes and throws it into the burning flame, and immediately following that is the arrival of the everlasting kingdom

-- my interpretation (before getting to Revelation) is that we are still living under the fourth beast, as the pope is still in power and the 10 post-Rome kingdoms are still in power and giving their power to the church, and this will continue until the end

Daniel 9 (seventy weeks) and 11 are confusing and could be dual prophecies, but I find these explanations reasonable even though I don't agree with his other ones:

Daniel 9
http://www.herealittletherealittle.net/index.cfm?page_name=Daniel-70-Weeks-Chart

Daniel 11
http://www.herealittletherealittle.net/index.cfm?page_name=Daniel11

Daniel 8:14 - 2300 evenings and mornings.
Daniel 9:27 - mid of the last 7 of the 70 x 7 is = 486.5
2300 - 486.5 = 1813.5 Close enough to drag Napolean into the mix.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/esc/esc09.htm

Do you mean Napoleon I removing the pope's powers? If so, seems insignificant because that was very brief and can hardly be considered "cleansing of the sanctuary".
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporal_power_(papal)

I'm skeptical of whether Dan 8:14 is a prophecy of years until the end, but one thought I have is - the little horn in 8:9 was around 175 BC (Antiochus IV Epiphanes).
2300 - 175 = 2125 AD

Some say the 2300 evenings and mornings were days, the Maccabean revolt duration cf verse 26.

boyscout wrote:

Some say the 2300 evenings and mornings were days, the Maccabean revolt duration cf verse 26.

That's what I think.

Daniel 2:43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

Iron resembles control, dictatorship and power exemplified by the Roman Empire.
cf Leviticus 26:19; Deuteronomy 4:20, 28:23; Psalm 2:9

Clay resembles men. An iron and men kingdom could be a democratic nation controlled by dictatorship government.
cf Isaiah 29:16, 45:9, 64:8; Jeremiah 18:1-6; Romans 9:19-21

I don't know why 'enash is translated to men. It could be man and thus the seed of man who is the Seed.

So this verse could be referring to democratic nations with dictatorship governments held together by religious power.

Example? The United States of America.