Following the Rules
Because this study on
Daniel 7 conforms to the four rules
discussed at the end of Chapter 1, a
few words about the timing of verses
9 and 10 are necessary. First, the
position of verses 9 and 10 within
Daniel 7 is important. Even though
the timing of the convocation scene
described in verse 9 is not
explicitly stated in Daniel, Rule One
provides an important clue. The
courtroom scene in Heaven (verse 9)
has to occur after the little
horn has uprooted three horns in
verse 8, because verse 9 occurs
chronologically after verse 8.
Remember, events have to occur in the
order they are given. Furthermore,
the courtroom scene in verse 9 has to
occur before the monster beast
is burned in the fire in verse 11
(Second Coming) because verse 9
occurs chronologically before verse
11. In other words, if the little
horn uproots the three horns by A.D.
532, the judgment scene has to occur after
A.D. 532, but before the Second
Coming because the sequence of events
within the vision requires it.
Remember, Rule One
states, “Each apocalyptic
prophecy has a beginning and ending
point in time and the events within
the prophecy must occur in the order
in which they are given.” This
rule is demonstrated in Chart 3.4.
Part Six:
I beheld then
because of the voice of the great
words which the horn spake: I beheld
even till the beast was slain, and
his body destroyed, and given to the
burning flame. As concerning the rest
of the beasts, they had their
dominion taken away: yet their lives
were prolonged for a season and
time.” (Daniel 7:11,12, KJV)
Comments on Part Six
While watching the
courtroom scene unfold in
Heaven’s temple, Daniel’s
view is redirected back to Earth
because he hears great words
(blasphemous words) coming from the
little horn. The little horn in
Daniel 7 is one of the seven heads in
Revelation 13:1. Because verse 11,
occurs after verse 10 (1844) the
great words spoken by the little horn
in verse 11 have to occur after 1844!
Rule One says the events occur in the
order in which they are given.
Therefore, the little horn power will
be restored to a position of
authority after its fall in 1798 and
Revelation 13:1 confirms this!
The healing of the deadly wound will
be covered in more detail later. As
Daniel watched the little horn on
Earth, he saw the little horn and the
monster beast destroyed in a lake of
fire. (Daniel 7:11) This fiery
destruction represents the fact that
at the Second Coming, God will
destroy the little horn as well as
all of the beasts in Daniel 7. (See
Daniel 2 and Revelation 19:20,21.)
The Sequence Ends
Daniel 7:12 mark the
end of this apocalyptic sequence,
but it is not the end of the vision.
We know this apocalyptic sequence is
ended because the chronological order
of events ends. According to Rule
One, an apocalyptic sequence has a
beginning point in time and an ending
point in time and the events occur in
the order in which they are given.
This apocalyptic sequence began with
the lion (Babylon – 605 B.C.)
and ends with the beasts being
destroyed in a lake of fire at the
Second Coming. (See also Revelation
19:20,21.) Even though we have come
to the end of the apocalyptic
sequence in Daniel 7, the vision
given to Daniel has not ended. This
vision continues with commentary and
details that amplify our
understanding of the apocalyptic
sequence. Carefully study the
sequence of events in Chart 3.4:
The
Apocalyptic Sequence
Two observations
should be made about Chart 3.4.
First, look at the chronological
order of the verses in the top row.
For now, let us assume the courtroom
scene described in verses 9 and 10
began in 1798. If we apply Rule One
to this sequence of events, the
boasting of the little horn in verse
11 has to occur after 1798
because verse 11 comes after verse
10. Indeed, according to Revelation
13:1-3, the boasting of the little
horn in verse 11 will occur during
the Great Tribulation. Second, verse
12 tells us that even though the
other beasts lose their authority and
dominion, they are not destroyed
until the Second Coming. In other
words, even though powerful kingdoms
come and go, the descendants of these
kingdoms remain on Earth until Jesus
comes. Earth will not self-destruct
before Jesus comes. Remember how the
gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay
were ground to powder at the same
time. “Then the iron, the
clay, the bronze, the silver and the
gold were broken to pieces at
the same time and became
like chaff on a threshing floor in
the summer. The wind swept them away
without leaving a trace….” (Daniel
2:35, italics mine) When Jesus
returns to Earth, all the wicked
people of Earth will be annihilated
by the sword (a verbal command) that
comes out of His mouth, and the
Antichrist and his government will be
thrown into a lake of fire.
(Revelation 19:15-21) This lake of
fire is not to be confused with the
fire that falls from Heaven at the
end of the thousand years and
purifies Earth. (Revelation 20:14,15)
Commentary by the
Angel on the Vision
The commentary given
to Daniel about verses 4 through 12
is crucial to our understanding of
this vision. Before we examine the
angel’s explanation, we need to
consider how the third rule of
interpretation applies to this
vision. Rule Three states,
“Apocalyptic language can be
literal, symbolic or analogous. To
reach the intended meaning of a
prophecy, the student must consider:
(a) the context; (b) the use of
parallel language in the Bible and
(c) relevant statements in the Bible
that define that symbol if an element
is thought to be symbolic.” We
know the four beasts are symbols
because Daniel was told the four
beasts represent four kings (or
kingdoms) that will appear on Earth.
(Daniel 7:17) The Bible clearly
defines the monster beast saying, “…
The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom
that will appear on Earth…”
(Daniel 7:23) When God uses a
symbol, He tells us the meaning of
the symbol within its context. Since
Rule Three addresses three types of
language in apocalyptic prophecy, we
have to test various possibilities
until all the pieces
“harmoniously come
together” into their rightful
places.
Part Seven:
“I saw in the
night visions, and, behold, one like
the Son of man came with the clouds
of heaven, and came to the Ancient of
Days, and they brought him near
before him. And there was given him
dominion, and glory, and a kingdom,
that all people, nations, and
languages, should serve him: his
dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away, and his
kingdom that which shall not be
destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13,14,
KJV)
Comments on Part Seven
Many people think
these two verses occur after the
Second Coming however this is not the
case. Christ receives the kingdom of
Earth from the Father before the
Second Coming! This fact is confirmed
in Revelation 11 and 19. Therefore,
verses 11 and 12 break the
chronological order of the sequence
that began in verse 1 by reverting to
an earlier date. Technically, because
of this break in chronology, a new
apocalyptic prophecy begins with
verse 13, and it consists of two
verses. Because this passage is so
short, I prefer to say these two
verses amplify the context of verses
9 and 10, because either way, the
result is the same. Verses 13 tell us
that Jesus approached the Father after
the Ancient of Days took His seat in
1798.
The question,
“Why did Jesus approach the
Father?” cannot be answered from
the details given in Daniel 7:13 and
14. No vision is complete within
itself. However, the vision in
Revelation 4-6 parallels this scene
and John tells us more of the story.
The first item of business at this
great convocation is to find some
worthy person who is qualified to
bring the drama of sin to a
successful conclusion. In John’s
vision, an investigation is conducted
throughout the whole universe to see
who is worthy to do the job. Jesus
alone is found worthy because Jesus
meets the necessary criteria. He
lived a life of perfect obedience to
God’s law, a life free of sin.
(1 Peter 2:22) He paid the penalty
for sin with His own blood (Hebrews
9:15), and He demonstrated the depths
of God’s love for mankind as no
one else could do. (John 13:16;
10:30) No one else in all the
universe meets these qualifications,
and after being found worthy by the
numberless host of angels, Jesus
approached the Father to be coroneted
as King of kings and Lord of lords.
A fiery retinue of
angels (Daniel says, “the clouds
of Heaven”) escorted Jesus to
the Father. The Father must have
beamed as He bestowed upon His Son
the authority and recognition
necessary for the task at hand. This
glorious scene is not the Second
Coming. The Bible says that Jesus
went before the Ancient of Days, but
there is no indication that He came
to Earth because the courtroom scene
is conducted in Heaven’s temple!
After He was found worthy by
Heaven’s host, the Father gave
every power and prerogative of God to
Jesus and the Father stepped aside so
that Jesus might resolve the greatest
problem ever known to God: Sin. At
this point in time (1798) the Father
physically gave Jesus all that He had
promised. The Earth became His
inheritance. (See Hebrews 1:2)
Jesus Exalted Again!
Some people have
asked, “What do you mean when
you say that Jesus went before the
Father to receive all of the
attributes of God.”
“Hasn’t Jesus always had
the attributes of God?” Yes,
Jesus is co-eternal with the Father,
and as God, He had all the attributes
of God until sin began. A brief
explanation of the humiliation and
exaltation of Jesus is necessary.
When Adam and Eve
sinned, Jesus generously offered to
bear the penalty for sin on behalf of
humanity. To receive man’s
punishment, Jesus had to suffer the
Second Death and die in our place,
and even more, He had to give up His
divine prerogatives and become
subject to the Father and the
requirements of the plan of
salvation. The humiliation of Jesus
should parallel the humiliation of
sinners. When a person becomes a
child of God through rebirth, he
joyfully submits to the authority of
God. While living in our shoes, Jesus
had to live a life of perfect faith
and dependence upon the Father in
order to be a sinless substitute for
man. (Hebrews 5:7,8) On the day, that
Jesus surrendered Himself to the
Father; Jesus became known as,
“The Son of God.” The word
“son” means,
“subjected one” or
“one in submission.” In
other words, Jesus – who is
fully God, co-eternal with God and
equal with the Father in every way
(Philippians 2:6) – willingly
became subject to the Father and the
plan to save sinners. (Psalm 2:7-12)
To save man, Jesus had to give up His
divinity in order to die. When Jesus
lived on Earth, He explained His
submission to the Father on numerous
occasions by saying that He came to
do His Father’s will – not
His own. (John 6:38) Concerning His
life, death and resurrection, Jesus
said, “No one takes it [my
life] from me, but I lay it down
of my own accord. I have authority to
lay it down and authority to take it
up again. This command I received
from my Father.” (John
10:18, insertion mine)
From the day, that
Adam and Eve sinned until the day
that Jesus was coroneted (in 1798);
Jesus was subject to the Father (as
His Son) and to the terms and
conditions set forth in the plan of
salvation. When the time came to
begin judging the inhabitants of
Earth and exonerating the government
of God against the lies of Lucifer,
an investigation was conducted to see
who was worthy to do such a work.
Only Jesus was found worthy for the
job, and the Father granted sovereign
power to Jesus to conclude the drama
of sin in whatever way Jesus deems
best. Thus, the Father stepped aside
after the coronation of the Son, and
the Son took command of the universe.
(Ephesians 1:9-23) Since 1798, Jesus
has ruled over Heaven and Earth as
King of kings and Lord of lords. At
the end of sin’s drama, after
Jesus has destroyed death itself,
Jesus does something that boggles the
mind. Notice Paul’s words: “Then
the end will come, when he [Jesus]
hands over the kingdom to God the
Father after he has destroyed all
dominion, authority and power [on
Earth]. For he [Jesus] must
reign until he has put all of his
enemies under his feet. The last
enemy to be destroyed is death. For
he [the Father] has put
everything under his feet. Now when
it says that ‘everything’
has been put under him, it is clear
that it does not include God himself,
who put everything under Christ. When
he [Jesus] has done this [e.g.,
resolved the sin problem], then
the Son himself will be made subject
to him who put everything under him,
so that God may be all in all.” (1
Corinthians 15:24-28, insertions
mine) With these expansive issues in
mind, notice how the coronation of
Jesus fits into the apocalyptic
sequence in Chart 3.5:
The Apocalyptic
Sequence
Everything that Jesus
“set aside” to redeem man
was restored to Him at this
convocation. The exaltation of Jesus
in 1798 was based on His infinite
love for man and His superior
achievements on behalf of the Father
and the plan of salvation. Therefore,
Jesus was given everything the Father
could give. Additionally, the Father
gave Earth to Jesus as His personal
inheritance in 1798. (Psalm 2:7-12;
Hebrews 1:1,2)
Even though Daniel did
not understand the promotion of
Jesus, this awesome scene was
embedded in this particular prophecy
because of its timing. No one living
on Earth in 1798 saw the exaltation
of Jesus, but we can see into Heaven
through the eye of prophetic faith.
Few people understand the coronation
of Jesus in 1798, not to mention the
humiliation Jesus experienced to save
the human race. Even though Jesus was
coroneted as King of kings at the
beginning of the convocation in 1798,
Jesus does not take possession of
Earth until two additional events
occur. First, Jesus has to determine
who will live in His kingdom. This is
the reason the judgment was set and
the books were opened. Second, Jesus
will not inherit an Earth that groans
under the curse of sin. Only after
Jesus annihilates the wicked and
purifies Earth with fire, will He
create a new Heaven and a new Earth.
Earth will become the headquarters of
His kingdom. After being found worthy
to receive the authority of the
Father, Jesus began several processes
in Heaven’s courtroom. He began
breaking the seven seals, and after
the third seal was broken, Jesus
began to pass judgment upon humanity.
(The seven seals will be presented in
our study on Revelation 4-6.)
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