Bible

Today in the Bible room, we continue reading the summary of the book of Daniel with Session 3, chapters 7 through 9.

____________________________________

Daniel – Session 3 of 4

Chapter 7. Night

Daniel has night visions and then writes down what he sees:

• It is the first year in the reign of King Belshazzar in Babylon;
• Daniel is dreaming and then recording the main details;
• He sees four beasts rising up out of the Great Sea;
• The first was a lion with wings, then a bear, then a leopard;
• In his night vision Daniel sees the fourth beast, very strong;
• It has very large, iron teeth, and ten horns;
• From among the horns another, smaller horn rises up;
• This small horn has eyes of a man, and bragging speech;
• Then Daniel sees the Ancient of Days sitting on His throne;
• In front of a crowd of millions the books are opened;
• The beast that has the bragging horn is killed;
• The other beasts are spared for now, but they are powerless;
• In his night vision, Daniel sees the Son of Man coming;
• He comes in front of the throne and receives His kingdom;
• His kingdom will last forever, will never be destroyed;
• After his visions Daniel starts looking for the interpretation;
• One of those who are standing by tells him;
• The four beasts are four kings who have served on earth;
• The saints of the Most High will be part of the kingdom;
• The fourth beast will be leader for a fourth kingdom on earth;
• This kingdom will rule violently over all the earth;
• Then another will take over ruling the earth for a given time;
• This leader will speak bragging words, persecute the saints;
• He will attempt to change all the laws of the earth;
• He will be overthrown and the saints of God will rule forever;
• Troubled, Daniel will never forget the night visions he has seen. 

Chapter 8. Future

Daniel tells about a vision he had concerning the future:

• It occurs in the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar;
• In the vision he sees a ram with two horns, one a little larger;
• The ram is powerful and takes control as he wills;
• Then a goat with a large horn comes from the west;
• He attacks the ram, breaks his horns, and destroys him;
• The goat increases in power until finally his horn is broken;
• And then he grows four new horns, and one becomes larger;
• This evil horn becomes great, controls everything, and prospers;
• And he will rule for 2300 days, then he will be removed;
• The angel Gabriel comes to explain things to Daniel;
• Everything Daniel has seen is all about a time in the future;
• In his vision the two horns on the ram are Media and Persia;
• The goat represents Greece; the large horn is the first king;
• This king will be powerful and sinister and destructive;
• Gabriel assures Daniel that all this is about the distant future;
• Daniel is so stressed by what he sees he becomes ill for days.

Chapter 9. Confession

Daniel begins a serious time of confession, fasting and prayer to the Lord:

• It is the first year in the reign of King Darius in Chaldea;
• Daniel had read the prophecy of Jeremiah about the captivity;
• He knew the captivity was about to end after seventy years;
• On behalf of his people, Daniel confesses their sins;
• He says they should all be ashamed for their wicked behavior;
• They have ignored the words of the Lord’s prophets;
• Their disobedience has brought the curse of the law of God;
• And it has brought the disaster which they are now suffering;
• Daniel prays: O Lord hear. O Lord Forgive your people;
• While Daniel is still praying Gabriel appears before him;
• He tells Daniel he is giving him a miracle of understanding;
• He tells him how long it will be for Jerusalem to be rebuilt;
• And how long it will be before the Messiah comes.

End of Session 3 of 4 of the book of Daniel.