INTRODUCTION: In the annals of human history, the growth of nations, the rise and fall of empires appear as dependent to the will and prowess of man. The shaping of events seems, to a great degree, to be determined by his power, ambition, or caprice. But in the Word of God the curtain is drawn aside, and we behold, behind, above, and through all the play and counterplay of human interests and power and passions, the agencies of the all-merciful One, silently, patiently working out the counsels of His own will. 1. At what time was Daniel’s 2nd vision? Daniel 7:1 THE BIBLE SAYS: ___________________________________________________ 2. What did Daniel see? Daniel 7:2 THE BIBLE SAYS: ___________________________________________________ 3. What does water represent in prophecy? Revelation 17:15 THE BIBLE SAYS: ___________________________________________________ 4. What does wind represent in prophecy? Jeremiah 49:35-37 THE BIBLE SAYS: ___________________________________________________ NOTE: Wind represents the judgments of God as He works in and behind military and political strife and natural disasters to cause the rise and fall of nations. See, Isaiah 17:13; Jeremiah 18:12; Job 21:17-18) 5. What resulted from the strife? Daniel 7:3 THE BIBLE SAYS: ___________________________________________________ 6. What were represented by these beasts? Daniel 7:17 THE BIBLE SAYS: ___________________________________________________ NOTE: That the word kings represents kingdoms and is used interchangeably, is explained in verses 23 and 24 (King James Version). Since four universal kingdoms are introduced in chapter 2, covering all the time from Daniel until the establishment of Christ’s everlasting kingdom, we may know that this series of beasts represents the same political powers, telling the same story, but from a different perspective, so as to give other details.) 7. By what beast was the first kingdom denoted? Daniel 7:4 THE BIBLE SAYS: ___________________________________________________ NOTE: As gold was the most precious of the metals shown, so the lion as king of beasts represented Babylon. We notice that it began with wings, representing the speed of Babylon’s conquering forces under Nebuchadnezzar (See Habakkuk 1:6, 8). Then the lion’s wings were plucked; we can understand why the kingdom deteriorated in strength and moral worth when we understand the nature of the human heart. Jeremiah 17:9) 8. What beast followed, representing the second kingdom? Daniel 7:5 THE BIBLE SAYS: ___________________________________________________ NOTE: As noted in the last lesson, this kingdom was that of Medo-Persia. The bear was raised up on one side because the Persians were stronger than the Medes. The ribs represented the three provinces of the kingdom: Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt.) 9. What was the third beast like? Daniel 7:6 THE BIBLE SAYS: ___________________________________________________ NOTE: While two wings represented speed, they were not sufficient to represent the speed with which Alexander the Great led his armies in conquest. It was, however, at this apparent zenith of his career that he died at the age of 33, without leaving an heir. After years of fighting, four of his generals emerged as rulers, dividing the kingdom between them; these are represented by the four heads of the leopard.) 10. What did the fourth beast appear to be? Daniel 7:7 THE BIBLE SAYS: ___________________________________________________ 11. What did this fourth beast represent? Daniel 7:23 THE BIBLE SAYS: ___________________________________________________ NOTE: World power passed from the Greeks to the Romans with the Battle of Pydna in 168 B.C.) 12. What was denoted by the ten horns that came out of this beast? Daniel 7:24 THE BIBLE SAYS: ___________________________________________________ NOTE: The breakup of the Roman empire was not a sudden event. It took place over a period of approximately 100 years, and was completed by the year 476 A.D. Bible scholars have disputed the question of who are represented by the ten divisions; the horns may not be of a permanent nature, but may be subject to partial change. 13. What change took place in the horns? Daniel 7:8 THE BIBLE SAYS: ___________________________________________________ NOTE: The fact that the little horn came up among the ten horns places it geographically in Western Europe. 14. When was this rival horn to appear or rise up? Daniel 7:24 THE BIBLE SAYS: ___________________________________________________ NOTE: This verse places the time of this emerging power after 476 A.D. See Volume 3 of The history of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbons for more information. 15. What significant change took place among the horns to make room for this other horn? Daniel 7:24 THE BIBLE SAYS: ___________________________________________________ NOTE: “He shall be diverse from the first (horns).” This statement means the little horn would be a different kind of power from the political kingdoms preceding it. With the demise of the Roman empire in the west, the vacuum was filled by the Bishop of Rome. There was, however, a formidable obstacle to his being able to exercise his power unrestrained: three of the barbarian powers, the Heruli, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths, posed a threat to the Bishop and the religious system he represented, Catholicism. These were overthrown: the Heruli in 493 A.D.; the Vandals in 534 A.D. and the Ostrogoths, uprooted in 538 A.D. and destroyed in 553 A.D. The Bishop of Rome, otherwise known now as the Pope, began to exercise both religious and civil authority in 538 A.D. This temporal power was something the church could not do under the rule of the Roman empire, or while Italy was subject to the Ostrogoths. 16. What words did the little horn speak and to whom were the words addressed? Daniel 7:25 THE BIBLE SAYS: ___________________________________________________ NOTE: “The Pope is of so great a dignity and so exalted that he is not a mere man, but as it were God, and the Vicar of God…The Pope is as it were God on earth… Chief king of kings, having plenitude of power.” Prompta Bibliotheca Canonica Juridica Moralis Thelogica, by F. Lucli Ferraris. This book was printed in Rome and is sanctioned by the Catholic Encyclopedia. 17. What did the little horn think to change? Daniel 7:25 THE BIBLE SAYS: ___________________________________________________ NOTE: The Catholic church thinks it has changed the law of God: “Prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says, ‘remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’ The Catholic Church says, “‘No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.” And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in reverent obedience to the command of the Holy Catholic church.” Priest Thomas Enright, CSSR, President of Redemptorist College, Kansas City, Missouri, in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas and printed in the American Sentinel, June 1893, 173, a New York Roman Catholic journal. 18. How long was this little horn to be able to do these things? Daniel 7:25 THE BIBLE SAYS: ___________________________________________________ See also: Revelation 12:6; 13:5 19. How long is a day in prophetic time? Numbers 14:34 THE BIBLE SAYS: ___________________________________________________ See also: Ezekiel 4:5 NOTE: Based on the foregoing references and notes, time, times and half a time is the same as 1260 days. On the day for a year principle, that is the same as 1260 years. Historically, the Pope began to be a religious-civil totalitarian government in 538 A.D. He was removed from power in 1798 by General Berthier under the command of Napoleon, exactly 1260 years later. 20. Will the pope regain power at some point in time in the future? Revelation 13:3 THE BIBLE SAYS: ___________________________________________________ NOTE: Yes, he will. But God will end that time in short order and establish His kingdom once and for all. Daniel 7:9-11, 14, 18, 22, 27 Where do you find yourself right now? Who is the God you are serving? Is it the God of heaven, or the god(s) of this earth? If it is not the God of heaven, will you choose this day to follow the God of heaven and allow Him to rule your life completely? MY RESPONSE TO CHRIST IS □ YES □ UNDECIDED Email us at: admin@thebiblesays.net