DWDP: Decoding the Book of Daniel – Unveiling Prophecy, Empires, and the Antichrist's Reign

Embark on a historical and prophetic exploration with me, Dr. Robert Jackson, as we unravel the complexities within the Book of Daniel. Discover the significance behind the book's bilingual text, distinguishing messages to the Jews from those to the Gentiles, and stand in awe of Daniel's exceptional character, setting him apart in a lineage of faith heroes. In this episode, we touch the heart of biblical prophecy, dissecting the dreams that connect modern believers with divine destiny, even where the Gospel's light is dim. Experience the awe-inspiring narrative, where ancient empires unfold to reveal a future marked by the rise, reign, and fall of the Antichrist.

Venture further into the visions of Daniel and grasp the profound implications of the fourth beast's symbolism, foretelling a time of upheaval and defiance against the Most High. We'll dissect the harrowing prediction of the Antichrist's dominion and the transformation of times and law, paving the way to the Messiah's return. Amidst these revelations, we celebrate the unshakable and eternal Kingdom of God, destined to triumph over all earthly powers. Join us next week as we continue this epic saga, exploring the splendor of the Ancient of Days and the sovereignty of the Son of Man — a testament to God's ultimate reign.

https://www.jacksonfamilyministry.com

https://bobslone.com/home/podcast-production/

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Welcome to More Than Medicine, where Jesus is more than enough for the ills that plague our culture and our country. Hosted by author and physician, dr Robert Jackson.

Speaker 2: 0:16

Papa, can you tell me a story? Do you really want me to tell you a story? Well, you go, get your brother and your sisters and I will tell you a story. Welcome to Devotions with Dr Papa. Gather around, grab your bibles and let's look into the written word, which reveals to us the living word, which is our Lord Jesus Christ.

Speaker 2: 0:42

Well, we're in chapter 7 of our study in the book of Daniel. Let's back up a little bit and let's do a little bit of historical review. I want us to understand that the book of Daniel is divided into two sections. Chapters 2 through 6 are historical. We learn things about the kings of Babylon that we would not otherwise know. We learn about Nebuchadnezzar, we learn about Belshazzar and Cyrus the Mede that, historically, we would not know apart from the historical portion of the book of Daniel. And, of course, we learn about Daniel and his three friends, events in their lives that we would not otherwise know. That's the historical part of the book of Daniel. And then chapters 7 through 12 are the prophetic portion of the book of Daniel and, by virtue of the dreams that Daniel has, we have revelation, prophecy. Daniel reveals to us things that we would not otherwise know. Now let's look at a little more information that you might not know. If you study the book of Daniel in the original language, you'll find that it's written in two different languages. Chapter 1 and chapters 8 through 12 are written in Hebrew. Chapters 2 through 7 are in Aramaic, which is the ancient language of Syria, which is substantially identical with the Chaldean language, which was the ancient language of Babylon. Thus, it can be seen that those things which are spoken concerning the Jews are written in Hebrew. Other things spoken concerning the Gentiles are written in their languages.

Speaker 2: 2:41

The other thing I want us to take note of is that Daniel is one of the few spotless characters in the Scriptures. We know that God revealed to us the faults in Abraham's character as he lied about who his wife Sarah was. We see the faults in David's character as he had an adulterous relationship with Bathsheba, and there are many other characters in the Bible that we look up to, but the Bible also reveals to us the flaws in their character. Well, daniel is one of the very few characters in the Scripture whose character was essentially flawless. Now, was Daniel a sinless person? Of course not. Daniel was made with feet of clay, just like you and me. But the Bible does not reveal to us any blatant or flagrant moral imperfections in his life. There was not even a hint of sin that was charged against him. Even his enemies, when they tried to undermine Daniel, could not find anything that they could charge against him except in regards to his religious practices. And he's not mentioned by name In the great faith chapter of Hebrews 11, yet many theologians believe that he is referred to as the one who stopped the mouths of lions in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 33.

Speaker 2: 4:11

The prophecy of Daniel covers quote, the time of the Gentiles, from Nebuchadnezzar all the way up to the time of Antichrist. It's probably better defined as the time when Israel is without her king, because you and I understand that when Antichrist has finished his savagery during the tribulation, that he who is faithful and true, the true Messiah, appears on the scene. He will judge Antichrist and the false prophet. They will be cast into the lake of fire. Those Jews who become believers during the tribulation will then enter into the thousand year reign along with Jesus, who will be their true king. And, you see, israel will no longer be without her king. Israel then serve him, who is their true king, for a thousand years during the millennial reign, and he who is faithful and true will sit upon the throne of David and will rule from Jerusalem for a thousand years. And how do we know about these things? Well, daniel is one of the prophets who lets us know about these things.

Speaker 2: 5:33

So let's look in Daniel, chapter seven. Let me begin by reading a few of the verses in Daniel seven and we'll understand one of the dreams that Daniel had in the first year of Bel Shazzar, king of Babylon. Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind as he lay on his bed. Then he wrote the dream down and related the following summary of it All right, let's stop there.

Speaker 2: 6:01

Do folks have dreams today like Daniel's dream many years ago, this dream that he's going to record for us? Well, the answer is yes and no. Let me define what I mean. Daniel's dream was a revelation by God of the future, and the dreams that Daniel had and, of course, the dreams that Daniel interpreted in chapters two through six, are a part of the canon, they're a part of the rule, they're a part of scripture, and nobody has dreams like that any longer because the scriptures are complete. But that doesn't mean that people do not have dreams given by God today, and what I mean by that is this I know many people in the Middle East and the Far East who have dreams, and their dreams involve things like seeing a person entirely in white, brilliant white, that gives them a message that confirms the Gospel story.

Speaker 2: 7:06

Or they'll see blood falling like rain and covering them. Or they'll receive a message from someone in blazing white that tells them to go to a certain location and someone will answer all of their questions. And when they go to that location in obedience to the dream, they'll meet a missionary or a Christian evangelist who answers their questions about the Gospel and they will become a true believer. You see, there are people in far-flung parts of the world who receive a message from God through a dream that then leads to their conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ, to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So, yeah, people do have dreams today. Now, they're not like the dreams that the prophets of old had, but they are dreams and they're sent from God and it leads to a confirmation of the Gospel and it leads them to faith in Christ. Do people in the West have dreams like that? I don't think so, and the reason why is because on every street corner in America there's a church. On every radio station there's an evangelist. On every part of the Internet there's somebody like myself teaching the Bible. The Bibles are freely available in the West. That's not true in the Middle East and the Far East, and that's why God uses dreams to lead people to Christian folks or to confirm the Gospel in the Far East and the Middle East. Here in the West, not so much because the preaching of the Gospel and the Scriptures are freely available in the West. So let's go back to our story now. We're in chapter seven and verse two. Daniel said.

Speaker 2: 8:45

I was looking in my vision by night and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea and four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man. A human mind also was given to it. And behold, another beast, a second one resembling a bear, and it was raised up on one side and three ribs were in its mouth, between its teeth. And thus they said to it arise, devour much meat. After this, I kept looking and behold another one like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads and dominion was given to it.

Speaker 2: 9:36

After this, I kept looking in the night vision and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong, and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet, and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. While I was contemplating the horns, behold another horn. A little one came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it. And behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boast.

Speaker 2: 10:13

All right, so this is the vision of the four beasts that Daniel had in chapter seven. If you go over to verse 15, the vision is interpreted. So let's read the interpretation and then I'll come back and discuss it. As for me, daniel, my spirit was distressed within me and the visions in my mind kept alarming me. I approached one of those who were standing by and began asking him the exact meaning of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things.

Speaker 2: 10:44

Now, let's stop there a minute. I want you to understand that in chapters two through six, when the kings of Babylon had a dream, god sent Daniel to interpret their dreams. In chapter seven through 12, when Daniel had a dream, god sent an angel to interpret Daniel's dreams for him. There's a little bit of a difference there and you need to understand it. These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth, but the saints of the highest one will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come. Then I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, in which devoured, crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet All right. So let's stop there a minute, because if I read everything there, we'll run out of time before I even get to explain things to you. So let's back up.

Speaker 2: 11:49

In verse 4, the lion with two wings is Babylon. It corresponds to the head of gold that was described in chapter 2, and it's the head of gold empire that was described or depicted in chapter 2. And you remember that from our former lesson. And then we move to verse 5, and we see the bear, the bear that was raised up on one side, indicating that, of course, he had two sides, and this corresponds to the two arms in the breast of silver, in the dream that Nebuchadnezzar had back in chapter 2. He was raised up on one side, implying that he had two sides, corresponding to the two arms in the breast of silver, but in his mouth he had three ribs, which corresponds to the three kingdoms that were subdued when the Medes and the Persians rose to world power. What were those three kingdoms? Well, the Medes and Persians subdued Babylon, egypt and Lydia. So the three ribs that were in the mouth of the bear, the bear representing media and Persia, those three ribs represented Babylon, egypt and Lydia.

Speaker 2: 13:13

Well then, verse 6 describes the next beast that came up out of the earth, and that beast is Greece, represented by a leopard with wings, and the leopard had four heads. Now, the leopard corresponds to the belly of brass that was in the big, tall, towering creature that was in chapter 2, and this also agrees with the four horns of the he goat that we will talk about in chapter 8, which we will get to in a couple of lessons. And then verse 7 describes the next kingdom, which is the Roman Empire, and it's described as being dreadful and a terrible empire with ten horns and this corresponds to the ten toes of chapter 2, which were made of iron and clay. Well, the Bible tells us that there are three horns that are plucked out by a little horn. A little horn with eyes like a man, a mouth that has utter's great boast.

Speaker 2: 14:17

Well, who in the world shall be the ruler before Messiah returns? Because this little horn is described as being a great ruler before Messiah returns. And who can that be except Antichrist? Verses 19 through 27 in chapter 7 gives us specific details about Antichrist, and it says that he shall rule the world with absolute authority. It tells us that he shall blaspheme the Most High God. Daniel 7 tells us that he shall change the calendar. The speculation is that he shall change it from AD to probably correspond with either his birth or the beginning of his reign. The Bible specifically tells us that he shall rule for time, times and half a time, which means three and a half years, until the ancient of days, the true king, the Messiah, returns.

Speaker 2: 15:25

And we believe that the little horn of chapter 7 corresponds to the little horn of chapter 8, to which we will get in a subsequent lesson, and we will explain that little horn in greater detail. Now there's one kingdom that is not being discussed in this chapter at detail, and that is the kingdom of God. Now you remember all the way back in chapter 2 that when Daniel describes the various kingdoms, in the dream that Nebuchadnezzar had, there was a kingdom that was suddenly cut from stone, and he describes it this way. He says A stone was cut out without hands and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

Speaker 2: 16:40

Later on, daniel gives an explanation of this kingdom, which is a divine kingdom. It's the kingdom of God. In the days of those king, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever, in as much as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold.

Speaker 2: 17:13

The great God has made known to the king he's talking to Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the future, so that the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy. So in this dream, in chapter seven, the dream of four world governments which are yet in the future, there's one government that's not mentioned and that's the divine kingdom of God, illustrated by a stone that's cut out, not with human hands, a stone that crushes and overcomes all the other kingdoms, that turns them into chaff and that's blown away like chaff on the summer threshing floors, and the wind carries them away so that not a trace of them is found. But the stone that struck the statue becomes a great mountain and it fills the whole earth. And I'm telling you, brothers and sisters, that the kingdom of God does fill the whole earth. They are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ on every continent. They are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ in every community. They are believers who worship the true king in every nook and cranny of this globe, and they are missionaries, people who love the true king, who are carrying the message of the gospel to every city, every community, every tribe, every ethnic group, every language, so that the true king can be worshiped.

Speaker 2: 18:45

Now I'm coming to the end of my time today and I want you to know that next week we're going to talk about the ancient of days. We're going to go to Daniel, chapter 7, and we're going to read verses 9 through 13. And then we're going to read the presentation of the Son of man in verses 13 through 14. And we're going to see the wonderful God. We talked about the world governments today. Next week, we're going to talk about the wonderful God and he who is the only person in Scripture who is ever described as wonderful. You're listening to more than medicine. You're listening to devotions with Dr Papa, and I'm your host, dr Robert Jackson. Stay tuned next week when we will look at the wonderful God.

Speaker 1: 19:40

Thank you for listening to this edition of More Than Medicine. For more information about the Jackson Family Ministry, dr Jackson's books or to schedule a speaking engagement, go to their Facebook page, instagram or their webpage at JacksonFamilyMinistrycom. This podcast is produced by Bobslung Audio Production at Bobslungcom.