Part Two: Medo-Persia
And behold another
beast, a second, like 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. (Daniel 7:5, KJV)
Comments on Part Two
Two features stand out
about this ferocious bear. First,
Daniel observed that one shoulder
rose higher than the other. This
feature corresponds with the fact
that the Persians became the dominant
side of the Medo-Persian Empire. (An
interesting parallel can be found in
the metal man from Daniel 2. The
chest of silver had two arms,
suggesting this kingdom could have
two armies.) Second, the three ribs
represented the carcasses of Lydia,
Egypt and Babylon. After the Medes
and Persians subdued these three
governments, they controlled the
world. Isaiah foretold the rise of
the Persians more than a hundred
years before Cyrus was born. Notice
this prophecy: “This is what the
Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I take hold to
subdue nations before him and to
strip kings of their armor, to open
doors before him so that gates will
not be shut: I will go before you and
will level the mountains; I will
break down gates of bronze and cut
through bars of iron. I will give you
the treasures of darkness, riches
stored in secret places, so that you
may know that I am the Lord, the God
of Israel, who summons you by name.
For the sake of Jacob my servant, of
Israel my chosen, I summon you by
name and bestow on you a title of
honor, though you do not acknowledge
me.” (Isaiah 45:1-4)
Part Three: Grecia
After this I beheld,
and lo another, like a leopard, which
had the back of its four wings of a
foul; the beast had also four heads;
and dominion was given to it. (Daniel
7:6, KJV)
Comments on Part Three
The third beast, the
leopard, is a swift and cunning
hunter that easily kills prey larger
than itself. The leopard in this
vision had four wings indicating its
conquest would be incredibly swift.
The leopard represented the kingdom
of Grecia, the empire that swallowed
up Medo-Persia. Historians’
marvel at the swiftness of
Grecia’s first king, Alexander
the Great. He conquered the
Medo-Persian Empire in a mere ten
years!
When considering the
geographical scope of his conquests
and the fact he did this on
horseback, there is no doubt that God
empowered Alexander to accomplish
this military feat. At the peak of
his conquests and military prowess,
Alexander died of “swamp
fever” (probably malaria) at the
age of 33. Interestingly, his
offspring did not inherit his
kingdom. It was eventually divided
between his four leading generals:
Ptolemy, Cassander, Lysimachus and
Seleucus. The four heads of the
Leopard represent these four kings.
Part Four: The Monster
Beast
After this I saw in
the night visions, and behold a
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 its feet of it; and it
was diverse from all the beasts that
were before it; and it had ten horns.
I considered the horns, and, behold,
there came up among them another
little horn, before whom there were
three of the first horns plucked up
by the roots: and, behold, in this
horn were eyes like the eyes of a
man, and a mouth speaking great
things. (Daniel 7:7,8, KJV)
Comments on Part Four
Historians generally
agree that the Grecian empire ended
with the battle of Pydna in 168 B.C.
With this victory, the Romans finally
gained control of the world. The
Roman military was known for its use
of iron and its scorched-earth
policy. Did you notice the fourth
beast has teeth of iron? This
metallic feature parallels the
“legs of iron” mentioned in
Daniel 2. Unlike King Nebuchadnezzar
who took captives to Babylon and
trained them for government service,
the Romans took few prisoners. (True
to form, when the Romans burned
Jerusalem to the ground in A.D. 70,
they took everything of value, but
few prisoners.) The term, “iron
age,” accurately describes
Rome’s extensive use of this
metal. The Romans were skillful
manufacturers of iron weapons. Their
ironclad warriors and chariots of
iron were legendary. As a world
empire, Rome endured for almost 650
years (168 B.C. to 476 A.D.), but
like its predecessors, Rome fell.
After a series of civil wars within
its borders, the empire crumbled
during the last half of the fifth
century A.D. As the Roman Empire
fractured, ten ethnic nations within
the former empire rose to power. The
ten horns of the fourth beast
represent these ten nations. Daniel
was told, “The ten horns are the
ten kings who will come from [within]
this kingdom.” (Daniel 7:24,
insertion mine) These tribal-nations
have been generally identified as the
Ostrogoths, Heruli, Franks, Vandals,
Lombards, Visigoths, Suevi,
Burgundians, Alamanni, and the
Anglo-Saxons.
Conflicting
Interpretation
Many prophetic
commentators claim the ten horns on
the fourth beast represent ten
nations that will belong to a future
European Union. (Currently, fourteen
nations belong to the EU.) This
interpretation is faulty because it
does not satisfy all of the prophetic
specifications given in Daniel and
Revelation about the ten horns. The
ten horns cannot be ten nations of a
future European Union for several
reasons. These reasons will be
explored in Part Nine of this
chapter.
Even though Daniel
observed four beasts in this vision,
he was particularly distressed and
awed by the fourth beast, because it
was different from the other beasts.
As Daniel watched this monster beast,
he noticed a little horn that began
to grow out of its forehead. As it
grew, the little horn became great
and it uprooted three of the original
ten horns by their roots. This little
horn had eyes and a mouth that spoke
very boastful things! Even though
Daniel did not comprehend the vision,
he became very alarmed as he watched
the ferociousness of the little horn.
He could see that it was grossly evil
and it wielded absolute power for a
period of time, but he did not know
what it represented.
Part Five:
“I beheld till
the thrones were cast down [arranged
or set in place], and the Ancient of
days did sit, whose garment was white
as snow, and the hair of his head
like pure wool: his throne was like a
fiery flame, and his wheels as
burning fire. A fiery stream issued
and came forth from before him:
thousand thousands ministered unto
him, and ten thousand times ten
thousand stood before him: the
judgment was set, and the books were
open. (Daniel 7:9,10 KJV, insertion
mine)
Comments on Part Five
Suddenly, while Daniel
was watching the antics of the little
horn on Earth, his attention was
directed to a glorious scene-taking
place in Heaven. Daniel saw several
thrones (notice that the word is
plural) arranged for a great
convocation. The Aramaic word remah
means “to place or
arrange” or “to set
up.” It can also mean, “to
throw,” as in throwing a ball.
The KJV translators may have chosen
to translate the words “thrones
were cast down” because they
were thinking that the thrones of the
beasts were “thrown down”
when the Ancient of Days took His
seat. The Septuagint, or the LXX, as
it is sometimes called, is a Greek
version of the Old Testament
translated by seventy-two Jewish
scholars about 280 years before Jesus
was born. The translators of the LXX
converted the Aramaic word remah to
the Greek word tithemi that
means “to set up” or
“to arrange or erect.” This
Hebrew to Greek translation,
translated two and a half centuries
after Daniel’s death, is very
helpful. The context of this passage
also gives us additional help.
Therefore, it is not surprising that
many Bible translators today reflect
the Greek translation of the remah.
The result is that Daniel saw thrones
arranged or put into place. According
to Revelation 4 and 5 (which also
describes this scene in Daniel 7),
there are a total of twenty-five
thrones. Twenty-four thrones encircle
the throne of the Father. As Daniel
watched this scene, he saw the Father
come into the previously arranged
courtroom and take His seat. (The
title; “The Ancient of
Days,” only occurs in Daniel 7
and it indicates the Father existed
before time began.) A numberless
multitude of angels rose to their
feet as the Father entered the
courtroom, and the Bible says,
“The court was seated, and the
books were opened.” What is this
court scene all about? When does it
occur? What books were opened? What
does the court scene have to do with
the terror caused by the little horn
on Earth?
The Pre-Advent
Judgment of Mankind
Reread Daniel 7:9,10
at the beginning of Part Five. God
lifted Daniel’s eyes from Earth,
while he was watching the little
horn, to see something that would
take place in Heaven’s
courtroom. God showed Daniel the
pre-Second Coming judgment of
mankind. The billions of angels can
measure the seriousness and
importance of this great convocation
in attendance. According to
Revelation 4 and 5, the Father, the
Son, the four living creatures, the
twenty-four elders and billions of
angels are all present. This
convocation began in 1798, and one of
the items on the agenda was the
judgment of human beings. Before
Jesus returns to Earth, He will judge
the people of Earth and determine who
will participate in His eternal
kingdom. For reasons that will be
presented later, this judgment began
in 1844. Presently, this great
convocation has been underway for
more than 150 years! Can you imagine
a meeting that has been in session
for 150 years! Sure, you can!
Sessions of the United States
Congress has been meeting for more
than two hundred years, and Congress
will continue to meet for as long as
the United States exists!
Warning! Prerequisites
needed: The pre-advent judgment scene
described in Daniel 7:9,10 is a topic
that requires a basic understanding
of two Bible truths. First, you have
to understand what the Bible says
about the state of man in death.
Therefore, I hope you have studied
the Five Essential Bible Truths in
the reading room. Second, the concept
of a pre-advent judgment requires a
basic understanding of the doctrine
of parallel temples. This topic is
covered in the Bible study room in
this web site. If you understand
these two doctrines as I do, my
comments about Daniel 7:9,10 will
make a lot of sense.
The All Important
Linkage
At first glance, the
courtroom scene in Heaven seems out
of context in a vision that
concentrates on four beasts and the
little horn power on Earth. God
associated these disconnected
elements in this vision to draw
attention to their timing. In other
words, the timing of certain events
on Earth is associated with the
timing of certain events in Heaven.
As we will see, the timing of the
wounding of the little horn power on
Earth and Christ’s pre-advent
judgment are inseparably linked
together. Since we cannot see events
occurring in Heaven, God associated
the great convocation scene in Heaven
with the wounding of the little horn
power on Earth. This
linkage enables students of prophecy
to determine the timing of the
Heavenly event. God is so clever! The
rise and fall of empires are
historically documented and the
timing of the little horn’s
wound is well documented. Therefore,
we can date the convocation and
judgment bar scene in Heaven, even
though we cannot see into Heaven! God
has linked prophetic events on Earth
with prophetic events in Heaven. I
like to call this linkage, “The
Heaven-Earth-Linkage Law.”
The Judgment Bar of
Christ
Perhaps the easiest
way to explain the pre-advent
judgment process is a short
illustration. When Cain was born, an
angel was given the responsibility to
accurately record everything Cain
knew, everything Cain said,
Everything Cain thought, and
everything Cain did. (Perhaps the
angel used a “heavenly
camcorder.”) Because
Heaven’s technology far exceeds
paper and ink, the record of
Cain’s life is all-inclusive. In
fact, Heaven’s record of every
life is a true reflection of that
life. (See Ecclesiastes 12:14,
Malachi 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:10;
Psalm 34:15 and 2 Chronicles 16:9)
Even before sin began,
God ordained there would be a
judgment bar imposed upon mankind to
determine who will receive eternal
life and who will receive eternal
death. (Acts 17:31; 24:25; Ephesians
1:4,5; 2 Corinthians 5:10) Since
Jesus is the Judge of mankind (John
5:22), He alone decides the fate of
each person. Even though Jesus passes
judgment upon each person,
Heaven’s assembled host closely
studies the process of judgment. The
first man to die was Abel. So, let us
assume for a moment that when the
books of record were opened in 1844,
Jesus began to investigate the
recording of the first man to die.
Because Abel’s eternal destiny
will be determined from his
life’s record, we can be sure
the record of his life is perfect and
complete. (Ecclesiastes 12:14) Before
Jesus makes a determination on Abel,
the attending host reviews
Abel’s life on the equivalent of
a big TV screen. Everyone hears Abel
speak, and they see Abel’s
motives and actions just as they
happened. After the movie of
Abel’s life ends, Jesus defends
Abel’s faith in God before the
assembly by highlighting Abel’s
actions. (James 2:26) Given the
evidence of Abel’s faith, and
the stipulation that salvation comes
through faith, Jesus declares Abel
will be granted eternal life at the
first resurrection, which occurs at
the Second Coming, and the gavel
comes down. (John 6:39-54; 1
Thessalonians 4:15-17) Eventually,
the life of Cain comes up in the
judgment process and it is given the
same treatment. After reviewing the
record of Cain on the big screen, let
us assume that Jesus has no option
but to condemn Cain for his faithless
life, and Jesus justifiably sentences
Cain to eternal death. (Revelation
22:15) This is a brief scenario
explaining how the judgment of the
dead is accomplished. (The judgment
of the living occurs during the Great
Tribulation. The living will be
tested to see who will obey God and
trust in Him. People who pass the
test will be sealed with a nature
free from sin. For further
explanation on this study, go into
the Bible study room, under “The
Sealing.”
After Jesus has judged
everyone on Earth, the Second Coming
occurs. Jesus will appear in the
clouds of glory and will resurrect
Abel and all those determined to be
righteous. He will take them to
Heaven at that time along with the
righteous living that is translated
without seeing death. (John 14: 1-3;
1 Thessalonians 4”16,17) Cain,
however, will not be disturbed from
his sleep through the Second Coming.
In fact, billions of wicked people
will sleep through the Second Coming.
The wicked who are alive at the
Second Coming will be destroyed by a
command that comes out of Jesus’
mouth and they will sleep for the
next thousand years. After the 1,000
years of Revelation 20 passes, Jesus
will return to Earth with all the
redeemed and He will resurrect Cain
and all of the wicked so that they
can face their Judge and receive
their sentence for the wages of sin.
The wicked will be put to death by
execution. (Revelation 20:5,9) After
the wicked are annihilated by fire,
sin and sinners will be no more.
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