Daniel 7:15-28

An Angel Tells Daniel What His Dream Means

15 "My spirit was troubled. The visions that passed through my mind upset me.

16 I approached an angel who was standing there. I asked him what all of those things really meant. "So he explained everything to me. He told me what it meant. He said,

17 'The four large animals stand for four kingdoms. The kingdoms will appear on the earth.

18 But the holy people of the Most High God will receive the kingdom. They will possess it forever. It will belong to them for ever and ever.'

19 "Then I wanted to know what the fourth animal stood for. It was different from the others. It was the most terrifying of all. It had iron teeth and bronze claws. It crushed those it attacked and ate them up. It stomped on anything that was left.

20 "I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head. And I wanted to know about the other horn that grew up later. It caused three of the ten horns to fall out. It appeared to be stronger than the others. It had eyes. And its mouth was always bragging.

21 "I saw that the horn was at war with God's people. It was winning the battle over them.

22 But then the Eternal God came. He decided in favor of his holy people. So the time came when the kingdom was given to them.

23 "Here's how the angel explained it to me. He said, 'The fourth animal stands for a fourth kingdom. It will appear on earth. It will be different from the other kingdoms. It will eat up the whole earth. It will stomp on it and crush it.

24 The ten horns stand for ten kings. They will come from the fourth kingdom. " 'After them another king will appear. He will be different from the earlier ones. He'll bring three kings under his control.

25 He'll speak against the Most High God. He'll treat God's people badly. He will try to change the times and laws that were given by God. God's people will be handed over to him for three and a half years.

26 " 'But the court will open. And the power of that king will be taken away from him. It will be completely destroyed forever.

27 Then the authority, power and greatness of all of the kingdoms on earth will be handed over to the people of the Most High God. His kingdom will last forever. Every ruler will worship and obey him.'

28 "That's all I saw. My thoughts deeply troubled me. My face turned pale. But I kept those things to myself."

Daniel 7:15-28 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DANIEL 7

This chapter contains Daniel's vision of the four beasts, The time, place, manner, writing, and declaration of the vision, Da 7:1, the rise of the beasts, and the description of them, Da 7:2-8, the judgment of God upon them, especially the last, and the delivery of universal monarchy to his Son, Da 7:9-14, the interpretation of the vision at the request of Daniel, being greatly affected with it, Da 7:15-18, a particular inquiry of his about the fourth beast, concerning which a full account is given, Da 7:19-27, all which caused in him many thoughts of heart, and reflections of mind, Da 7:28.