Daniel and the End Times
The book of Daniel offers a fascinating and detailed account of the end times. From the great statue to the Beasts, to the Messiah who will come and bring everlasting righteousness, to the King who exalts himself and persecutes the saints, the prophetic visions in this book are unparalleled in their scope and significance. Through it all, Daniel points to the return of Christ and the establishment of God's everlasting kingdom.
The great statue
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Head-gold-Babylon
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Chest-silver-Persia
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Thighs-bronze-Greece
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Legs-iron-Rome
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Feet-iron and Clay-Rome and the World
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Stone-Jesus-will crush the statue
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God’s eternal Kingdom will be set up
31 “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. 32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. 36 “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. 37 Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; 38 in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold. 39 “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. 40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. 41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. 42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay. 44 “In the time 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 crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.
Beasts out of the sea-kings out of the Earth
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1st beast-Lion with eagle’s wings-Babylon
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2nd beast-Bear with 3 tusks-Persia
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3d beast-Leopard with 4 wings and 4heads-Greece
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4th beast-Terrifying strong beast with iron teeth and bronze claws-different from others-Rome
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10 horns-3 horns plucked-1 small horn appeared with human eyes, arrogant, seems greater than others
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Wars with saints and prevails
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God’s judgement
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The 4th beast will devour the whole Earth, trample it down, break to pieces like clay
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10 horns come out of 4th beast
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1 small horn will put down 3 horns-kings, speak against God, try to change God’s feasts and law, will overpower saints for 3.5 years
2 Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea. 4 “The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it. 5 “And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’ 6 “After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule. 7 “After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns. 8 “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully. 9 “As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. 10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened. 11 “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. 12 (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.) 13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.15 “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. 16 I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this. “So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: 17 ‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. 18 But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’ 19 “Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. 20 I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. 21 As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom. 23 “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. 24 The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. 25 He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time. 26 “ ‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. 27 Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’
The “prince who is to come”
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1st year of Darius 522 BCE + 70 weeks=32BCE (Crucifixion)
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70 weeks decreed for jews and Jerusalem to finish transgression and to atone sin and to bring in everlasting righteousness and to seal the vision and the prophet and to anoint the most holy
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Time of the word to restore Jerusalem (Ezra 7:11-28) 7th year (458 BCE?)
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(Artaxerxes I (465-424 BCE) “arta”-truth, “Xerxes”-"ruling over heroes" or “king of kings”)
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Until the messiah-7 weeks; for 62 weeks (434-24 BCE?) Jerusalem will be rebuilt in trouble times
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After 64 weeks Messiah will be cut off
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The city and the sanctuary will be destroyed, its end will come as a flood
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There will be war and desolation until the end
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The “prince who is to come” will force a covenant on many for 1 week
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In the middle of the week he will stop the sacrifice and offering and set up horrible abomination on the wing (of the temple?) until complete destruction is poured out on the desolator
25 “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. 26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. 27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.
The King Who Exalts Himself
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the king will exalt and magnify himself above every god
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he will speak against the God of gods
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he will be successful until the time of wrath is completed
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he will honor a foreign god of fortresses with gold, silver and precious stones
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he will have dominion over many
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he will invade the beautiful land (Israel)
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many countries will fall
36 Then 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. 37 He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers, nor for the desire of women, nor for any other god, because he will magnify himself above them all. 38 And in their place, he will honor a god of fortresses—a god his fathers did not know—with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches. 39 And he will do so to the strong fortresses with foreign god whom he knows, he will increase his glory and will have dominion over many and will divide land for a price. 40 At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships, invading many countries and sweeping through them like a flood. 41 He will also invade the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall. But these will be delivered from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the leaders of the Ammonites. 42 He will extend his power over many countries, and not even the land of Egypt will escape. 43 He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and over all the riches of Egypt, and the Libyans and Cushites will also submit to him. 44 But news from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will go out with great fury to destroy many and devote them to destruction. 45 He will pitch his royal tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain, but he will meet his end with no one to help him.
Michael, the great prince, the End
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Michael, the one who is like God, will rise up, the great ruler
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The time of distress like never before since the beginning of nations
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Everyone written in the book of life will be delivered
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Many who sleep in the dust (the dead) will awake, some to everlasting life, some to everlasting shame and contempt
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The wise who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever
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Many will roam to and from and knowledge will increase (Amos 8:11-12)
1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. 4 But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.”
The saints are shattered
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It will be for 3.5 times-years when the power of the saints is finally shattered until all is finished
7 The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, times and half a time. When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed.”
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From the time of the abomination of desolation will be 1290 days, blessed is the one who reaches the end of 1335 days (Second coming?)
11 “From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. 12 Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.
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