Daniel 7
Charles Spurgeon · Citado em PreceptAustin
Daniel 7:7-14
Spurgeon comments on fire goes before Him… : Like an advance guard clearing the way. So was it at Sinai, so must it be: the very Being of God is power, consuming all opposition; omnipotence is a devouring flame which burneth up His enemies round about. God is longsuffering, but when He comes forth to judgment He will make short work with the unrighteous, they will be as chaff before the flame. Reading this verse in reference to the coming of Jesus, and the descent of the Spirit, we are reminded of the tongues of fire, and of the power which attended the gospel, so that all opposition was speedily overcome. Even now where the gospel is preached in faith, and in the power of the Spirit, it burns its own way, irresistibly destroying falsehood, superstition, unbelief, sin, indifference, and hardness of heart. In it the Lord reigneth, and because of it let the earth rejoice. (note) Court sat - Speaks of judgment (Da 7:22, 26-note). Books were opened - Books related to judgment. Archer notes that… apparently this scene is a court of judgment for more than the beast alone, for after the heavenly court convened for the examination and conviction of the guilty ( dina yetib , "the court was seated"), then an entire set of books of record was opened, presumably containing the sins of the little horn and his adherents (cf. Rev 20:12, 13, which indicates the contents of these books, even though it depicts the later judgment at the end of the Millennium). So the stage is set for bringing the wicked and unrepentant to justice. (Gaebelein, F, Editor: Expositor's Bible Commentary OT 7 Volume Set: Books: Zondervan Publishing) Daniel 7:11 "Then I kept looking because of the sound of the boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire. sound: Da 7:8,25 2Pe 2:18 Jude 1:16 Rev 13:5,6 Rev 20:4,12 slain: Da 7:26 Da 8:25 Da 11:45 2Th 2:8 Rev 18:8 Rev 19:20 20:10 Daniel 7 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: The Fate of the Antichrist Daniel 7:10 “A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, And the books were opened. Daniel 7:26 ‘But the court will sit for judgment, and his (Da 7:24, 25) dominion will be taken away, annihilated (Lxx of TH - aphanizo - caused to disappear) and destroyed forever. Daniel 11:45 “He (king of Da 11:36) will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him. 2 Thessalonians 2:8+ Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay (analisko) with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; Revelation 19:20+ And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown (ballo) alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. JUDGMENT PASSED: END OF FOURTH KINGDOM & ALL GENTILE KINGDOMS Then - This expression of time marks sequence in this night vision. Daniel now turns to the aspect of this Night Vision which gave him the most concern and consternation (cp Da 7:15-note, Da 7:28-note). In Da 7:19-note the prophet is addressing his "interpreter" and his query focuses on the fourth beast and the little horn that arose from the fourth kingdom. It is notable that 8 of the 28 verses in Daniel 7 relate directly to the little horn. Since Da 7:10 described a court scene, the implication there is judgment about to be announced, which flows into the statement of the "little horn" being destroyed and given to the burning fire (clearly representing a "judgment"). Donald Campbell agrees writing that "Next, the scene shifts to one who is to be judged, the beast, or Antichrist. His body is to be "given to the burning flame," an obvious parallel to the prophecy (Rev 19:20+) that describes the beast being cast into the lake of fire." (Campbell, D. Daniel God's Man in a Secular Society) The sound of the boastful words ("the big words" from the man with the "big mouth"!) - This refers to the Antichrist's speaking - clearly one of the ways this evil man will be identifiable in the last days will be by his boastful, arrogant speech. His ability to speak will undoubtedly contribute to his rise to power (much like other dictators such as Hitler with his speeches mesmerizing and duping the masses in Germany!) And remember for the first 3.5 years he does not fully reveal his evil character and intentions. His full revelation awaits his taking his seat in the Temple of God and foolishly displaying himself to be God (see 2 Thes 2:3,4-note), which is related to the abomination of desolation (Mt 24:15+, Mk 13:14+, Da 9:27, Da 12:11) This passage refers to the same mouth uttering great boasts in Da 7:8 where "boasts" was added appropriately by the translators of the NAS. Boastful - The Aramaic adjective rab related to the Hebrew rab which means great, large, boastful. Rab is used in 21 verses in the Aramaic OT, most often in Daniel (Ezra 4:10; 5:8, 11; Dan 2:10, 14, 31, 35, 45, 48; 4:3, 9, 30; 5:1, 11; 7:2f, 7f, 11, 17, 20) and is rendered in NAS as boastful(1), captain(1), chief(3), great(15), large(2), larger(1). The horn which was speaking (cp Da 7:8, 11, 20, 25) - The little horn from Da 7:8, the man of many names - the Antichrist (1 John 2:18+), the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction (2Th 2:3+), the beast (Rev 13:3-5+), the king (Da 11:36). Until the beast was slain - The interpretation of this phrase is not as easy as it might seem at first glance. Although the text does not specifically identify this beast as the fourth beast, this description seems to relate to the "DT" Beast, the fourth kingdom in Daniel's night vision (See below for further discussion of the Symbolism of the term "Beast"). But even as the slaying of Belshazzar (Da 5:30) signaled the end of the Babylonian kingdom, the winged lion beast, it seems reasonable to link the destruction of the fourth beast with the slaying of its "king", who in Daniel 7 is clearly the Little Horn. The Little Horn is himself referred to specifically as the beast in the Revelation and is described as thrown alive into the fire… And the beast (aka "Little Horn" of Daniel 7) was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. (Rev 19:20+) Tony
Daniel 7:7-14
Spurgeon comments: Ask of me. It was a custom among great kings, to give to favored ones whatever they might ask. (Esther 5:6 Matthew 14:7) So Jesus hath but to ask and have. Here He declares that His very enemies are His inheritance. To their face He declares this decree, and "Lo! here", cries the Anointed One, as He holds aloft in that once pierced hand the sceptre of His power, "He hath given me this, not only the right to be a king, but the power to conquer." A kingdom - The Son in an incredible display of amazing grace, gives the kingdom to the saints of the Most High (Da 7:18, 22, 27) At the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet John describes the same event Daniel sees in his vision… Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world (Note: In Daniel 7 terms this would be the Fourth Kingdom with elements of the preceding 3 kingdoms) has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever. (Rev 11:15-note) Tony
Daniel 7:7-14
Spurgeon comments: Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him. Personally shall they pay their reverence, however mighty they may be. No matter how high their state, how ancient their dynasty, or far off their realms, they shall willingly accept Him as their Imperial Lord. All nations shall serve Him. The people shall be as obedient as the governors. The extent of the mediatorial rule is set forth by the two far reaching alls, all kings, and all nations: we see not as yet all things put under Him, but since we see Jesus crowned with glory and honour in heaven, we are altogether without doubt as to His universal monarchy on earth. It is not to be imagined that an Alexander or a Caesar shall have wider sway than the Son of God. "Every knee shall bow to him, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Php 2:11-note) Hasten it, O Lord, in Thine own time. His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed (cp a similar declaration/affirmation by two pagan kings, one or both of whom may have been converting to the worship of the Most High God! - Da 4:34-note, Da 6:26) - The Kingdom of Christ becomes the fifth and the last Kingdom, the one that came about when the Stone cut out without hands (Da 2:34-note) crushed the fourth kingdom (and the "remnants" of the preceding 3 Gentile kingdoms) and became a great mountain and filled the whole earth (Da 2:35-note). A C Gaebelein comments that… That (fifth) kingdom is not now on earth. It cannot be here till the fourth beast with its ten horns and the eleventh little horn with all its blasphemies have been on the earth. It cannot come until He comes again. The second Coming of Christ terminates Gentile rule and establishes the kingdom on the earth. In other words the vision here is an expansion of Nebuchadnezzar's dream concerning the smiting stone, crushing first then filling the whole earth as a mountain. (The Prophet Daniel: A Key to the Visions and Prophecies of the Book of Daniel) This fifth kingdom then is the long awaited Messianic Kingdom (the glorious promised Millennial Kingdom) which which believing Jews have been looking and longing for as described in Luke who writes that… While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. (Luke 19:11, cp Acts 1:6) (Note: Beloved, how different would be our life choices, our use of each precious day allotted to us, etc, if indeed we awoke each day and supposed that the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was going to appear immediately! May the Father give us abundantly of His Spirit that we might so live in the light of eternity in the grace of Christ. Amen) This glorious kingdom is the one for which God's saints have prayed for so long… Thy kingdom come (aorist imperative - Did you realize you were praying a command?). Thy will be done (Also aorist imperative - a command), on earth as it is in heaven. (Mt 6:10-note) When we pray Thy kingdom come, we are praying for the glorious day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns as King of kings and Lord of lords to set up His millennial (1000 year - see Millennium) kingdom on earth in which righteousness will be the rule of the day. Indeed the Kingdom is inseparable from the King and to pray for His Kingdom to come is to pray for its consummation. This is the kingdom to which we are citizens and its fulfillment should be the longing of our hearts and our prayers. Maranatha. Our Lord, come! As an aside, it is ironic that many amillennialists (those who do not believe Jesus will reign in a literal kingdom on earth for 1000 years) pray this prayer for the millennial kingdom to come! Spurgeon has a good exhortation related to the petition in Mt 6:10… “Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:9, 10). Let not your prayers be all concerning your own sins, your own wants, your own imperfections, and your own trials, but let them climb the starry ladder and get up to Christ Himself. Then, as you draw nigh to the blood-sprinkled mercy seat, offer this prayer continually, “Lord, extend the kingdom of Your dear Son.” Such a petition, fervently presented, will elevate the spirit of all your devotions. Mind that you prove the sincerity of your prayer by laboring to promote the Lord’s glory. (Daily Help) *** Out of seven petitions the first three concern the name, kingdom, and will of God. The Lord must occupy the highest place in our prayers, and indeed in our whole lives. The four petitions for ourselves rise by degrees from "bread" up to "deliverance from evil" teaching us that we ought not to grovel in prayer, but to increase in spirituality while we plead. (The Interpreter) Compare the exclamation of the early church "Maranatha" which means "Our Lord, come", "O Lord come!" or "Our Lord has come." (1Co 16:22). Would it be that we heard this same cry more often from the modern church! The theme of Daniel 7:14 is echoed in the great "millennial" hymn by Isaac Watts (cp Ps 72:8-note), Jesus Shall Reign. Dear saints of the Most High God, the Sovereign Over All sing it out loudly with tears of joy and anticipation for indeed, His Kingdom shall soon come… Jesus shall reign where'er the sun Does his successive journeys run; His kingdom stretch from shore to shore, Till moons shall wax and wane no more. Behold the islands with their kings, And Europe her best tribute brings; From north to south the princes meet, To pay their homage at His feet. There Persia, glorious to behold, There India shines in eastern gold; And barb’rous nations at His word Submit, and bow, and own their Lord. To Him shall endless prayer be made, And praises throng to crown His head; His Name like sweet perfume shall rise With every morning sacrifice. People and realms of every tongue Dwell on His love with sweetest song; And infant voices shall proclaim Their early blessings on His Name. Blessings abound wherever He reigns; The prisoner leaps to lose his chains; The weary find eternal rest, And all the sons of want are blessed. Where He displays His healing power, Death and the curse are known no more: In Him the tribes of Adam boast More blessings than their father lost. Let every creature rise and bring Peculiar honors to our King; Angels descend with songs again, And earth repeat the loud amen! Great God, whose universal sway The known and unknown worlds obey, Now give the kingdom to Thy Son, Extend His power, exalt His throne. The scepter well becomes His hands; All Heav’n submits to His commands; His justice shall avenge the poor, And pride and rage prevail no more. With power He vindicates the just, And treads th’oppressor in the dust: His worship and His fear shall last Till hours, and years, and time be past. As rain on meadows newly mown, So shall He send his influence down: His grace on fainting souls distills, Like heav’nly dew on thirsty hills. The heathen lands, that lie beneath The shades of overspreading death, Revive at His first dawning light; And deserts blossom at the sight. The saints shall flourish in His days, Dressed in the robes of joy and praise; Peace, like a river, from His throne Shall flow to nations yet unknown. Daniel 7 Commentary- Part 3