A Beastly Vision

     God will use Daniel again to interpret a vision that Nebuchadnezzar’s son, Belshazzar, has. As next in line to the throne, the interpretation recorded in Daniel 5 ultimately spells Belshazzar’s downfall and the end of the kingdom of Babylon. It is overtaken by the Medes-Persians, the next stage in the succession of oppressive kingdoms in the Middle East according to the Neb’s statue image of the oppressors.
            But during the first year of Belshazzar’s reign, Daniel receives his own dream, recorded in Daniel 7. He sees four great beasts coming from the sea. The sea symbolizes the people on earth. Each beast is different from the other. The four beasts come and go in succession, much like the statue of the Times of the Gentiles. The vision reveals a lion-like creature with eagle’s wings, a bear raised up on one side with three ribs in its mouth, a leopard with four wings of a bird and four heads, and then a fourth beast.
            The only description given of the last beast is that it is “dreadful, terrible, and exceedingly strong, with huge iron teeth, devouring and breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.” As Daniel is looking at the ten horns, “there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.”
            The Chronos Lesson: God the Creator put certain spiritual laws into motion in this earth. Much like the physical laws, they govern how things work on earth. One of these principles is the inherent power in God’s spoken word. He speaks, and the earth comes into being. He speaks, and the earth brings forth life.  Jesus affirmed this principle when He taught His disciples how to pray, declaring that God’s will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Of course, it is our responsibility to ensure that we have God’s Word, as confirmed in the Scriptures, for what we are declaring.
            As we’ve said before, God’s complete mystery-plan is contained in the Bible. The purpose of these Old Covenant prophetic records is to plant the seeds of His will in hidden form in the early Days, in order to bring forth the prophesied Seed under the New Covenant (the latter Days). Since we are living in the time when many of these prophetic shadows are being fulfilled or revealed, it is our responsibility as wise servants to search the Scriptures to find these pivotal prophetic pieces. Hopefully, by now, you know that we do this by following the Spirit-inspired connections already in the Word.             That’s why we’re taking the time to go through His Word from start to finish in this series. It is time to see and understand God’s times and seasons.
            In this case, we’re meant to connect the four beastly creatures to the similar description recorded in Revelation 13. We are not supposed to guess as to what John was seeing in the vision given by Jesus Christ. We’re supposed to know the Word and follow the connections by the leading of the Spirit, just as the foundational apostles did in the first century of the Church.
            We’re meant to place the rise of the final Beast in the proper sequence, just before the last Day, the Day of the Lord. We’re meant to see that the Bride is already in Heaven with Christ to rule over the earth for that Day before the mark of the beast and the command to worship his image is imposed. We’re safely seated before the throne of God to execute His justice, for we’re not appointed to the wrath of that Day. We’re appointed to execute it.
            Throughout the centuries believers have always had a part to play in God’s unfolding plan. For example, Hebrews 6 lists the elementary doctrines of our faith that were lost for a season and have had to be restored to the Church. The last doctrine to be restored is for our age—the surety of resurrection and judgment.
              We are the generations that shall see the heavens being rolled back to reveal our Lord coming in the clouds. Our earthly assignment remains the same until that Day: to preach the Gospel, make disciples, and continue doing the works that Jesus did on the earth. This series is designed to spur you on to finish the race (Acts 20:24).