Danielchapter 7

Speaks with:Daniel 7×9 Revelation 13×7 Daniel 2×3 Revelation 20×3 Luke 2×3 Revelation 7×2

Daniel's Vision of the Four Beasts — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Summary

Chapter summary

The book's pivot, a night vision in the first year of Belshazzar. Four winds strive on the great sea, and four beasts come up: a lion with eagle's wings that are plucked; a bear with three ribs in its mouth; a leopard with four heads; and a fourth, dreadful and terrible, with iron teeth and ten horns, among which a little horn rises speaking great things. Then the throne room: 'one that was ancient of days did sit: his raiment was white as snow,' with a fiery stream and thousands ministering. 'There came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man… and there was given him dominion': Jesus' own answer to the high priest. The kingdom is given to the saints.

Context

Prophecy · Daniel — Daniel overview

A. 1–8 Four beasts out of the great sea, and a little horn
B. 9–14 The Ancient of Days and one like a son of man
C. 15–22 The interpretation: the saints possess the kingdom
D. 23–28 The fourth beast, times and law changed, and the end

The outline

A.Four beasts out of the great sea, and a little hornvv. 1 to 8
Read vv. 1 to 8 →
B.The Ancient of Days and one like a son of manvv. 9 to 14
Read vv. 9 to 14 →
C.The interpretation: the saints possess the kingdomvv. 15 to 22
Read vv. 15 to 22 →
D.The fourth beast, times and law changed, and the endvv. 23 to 28
Read vv. 23 to 28 →

Threads

Each of these runs on past this chapter. The passage you have just read is marked.

The Son of man coming with clouds

Pattern

Daniel saw one like the Son of man come with the clouds of heaven and receive an everlasting kingdom. Jesus took the scene as his own title and, on trial before the high priest, answered with this very verse. Revelation opens with the same words: behold, he cometh with clouds.

The Son of man was the Lord's own most frequent name for himself, and Daniel 7 is where the name carries a throne. His trial answer claims the vision outright, and the court heard the claim, for the high priest rent his clothes.

Daniel 7:13-14 you are here
One like the Son of man before the Ancient of days
He is given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom that shall not pass away.
Matthew 24:30
The tribes see the Son of man in the clouds
Matthew 26:64
The answer given to Caiaphas
Under oath, Jesus answers the high priest with Daniel's scene: hereafter shall ye see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven.
Mark 14:62
I am: and ye shall see the Son of man
Revelation 1:7
Behold, he cometh with clouds

The world behind this chapter

Daniel 7

When

Babylon's last years, under the co-regent · The first year of Belshazzar, c. 553 BC — earlier than chapters 5 and 6, which the book places after it

Where

A night vision given to Daniel himself, no longer a scene at court

Who first heard it

Exiles who needed to know what came after Babylon, and who would be standing at the end

The history

The book turns here. Chapters 1–6 are stories about Daniel; from chapter 7 on they are visions given to Daniel, and the mood changes from court drama to something far larger.

The imagery came out of a shared ancient vocabulary. In the myths of Israel's neighbors, the sea was chaos — the place monsters came from — and a great sea churned by four winds throwing up beasts was a picture any listener in Babylon would have read instantly as history going wrong.

The beasts are drawn from the world Daniel could see. A lion with eagle's wings was Babylon's own art: the Ishtar Gate and the palace throne room were covered in striding lions, and winged human-headed bulls guarded Assyrian and Babylonian doorways. A bear heavy on one side, a leopard with four wings, and finally something with iron teeth that no animal name fits.

Then the scene changes completely. Thrones are set, the Ancient of Days sits, books are opened, and one like a son of man comes with the clouds of heaven and is given a kingdom that will not pass away. In the ancient world, coming on the clouds was language for deity, and this figure receives worship from all peoples.

What it meant to them

The exile's problem was that history seemed to be a conveyor belt of predators, each worse than the last, and Israel was always underneath. This vision says the predators are real, they will keep coming, and they are all on a leash — the court sits, the books open, and dominion is taken away from them.

The promise at the end is the one that carried: the kingdom is given to a human figure who receives it from God Himself, and it is shared with "the saints of the most High." For a people whose kingdom had been taken, that was everything. Jesus later used "the Son of man" as His own title more than any other.

Sources cited

John Calvin, Commentaries on the Book of the Prophet Daniel
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Chuck Missler, Learn the Bible in 24 Hours

Every work MannaFest builds on →

The text of this chapter

This page carries no textual note on Daniel 7. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →

Connections from this chapter

v. 13 · Named here · Same theme

Son of Man vision (Daniel 7:13-14)

person/daniel→

MannaFest topical index

This page draws on C. F. Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.

Study this chapter

What

Judgment Kingdom of God

Daniel 77 verses
- Daniel 7:7After this, as I watched in my vision in the night, suddenly a fourth beast appeared, and it was terrifying—dreadful and extremely strong—with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed; then it trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the beasts before it, and it had ten horns.
- Daniel 7:8While I was contemplating the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like those of a man and a mouth that spoke words of arrogance.
- Daniel 7:13In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence.
- Daniel 7:17‘These four great beasts are four kings who will arise from the earth.
- Daniel 7:18But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and possess it forever—yes, forever and ever.’
- Daniel 7:20I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn whose appearance was more imposing than the others, with eyes and with a mouth that spoke words of arrogance.
- Read Daniel 7: 1 more there →
Revelation 133 verses
- Revelation 13:1Then I saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads rising out of the sea. There were ten royal crowns on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.
- Revelation 13:2The beast I saw was like a leopard, with the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
- Revelation 13:5The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for 42 months.
- Read Revelation 13 →
Daniel 23 verses
- Daniel 2:39But after you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule the whole earth.
- Daniel 2:40Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; for iron shatters and crushes all things, and like iron that crushes all things, it will shatter and crush all the others.
- Daniel 2:44In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.
- Read Daniel 2 →
Revelation 203 verses
- Revelation 20:4Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
- Revelation 20:10And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
- Revelation 20:11Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.
- Read Revelation 20 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

Luke 23 verses
- Luke 2:1Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the whole empire.
- Luke 2:19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
- Luke 2:51Then He went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But His mother treasured up all these things in her heart.
- Read Luke 2 →
Revelation 72 verses
- Revelation 7:1After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back its four winds so that no wind would blow on land or sea or on any tree.
- Revelation 7:13Then one of the elders addressed me: “These in white robes,” he asked, “who are they, and where have they come from?”
- Read Revelation 7 →
Daniel 112 verses
- Daniel 11:3Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.
- Daniel 11:36Then the king will do as he pleases and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must be accomplished.
- Read Daniel 11 →
Revelation 122 verses
- Revelation 12:3Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads.
- Revelation 12:14But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle to fly from the presence of the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.
- Read Revelation 12 →