{"id":1,"date":"2024-11-12T22:05:24","date_gmt":"2024-11-12T22:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/?p=1"},"modified":"2025-01-22T12:55:03","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T18:55:03","slug":"fulfilled-prophecy-in-daniel-2-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/posts\/fulfilled-prophecy-in-daniel-2-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Fulfilled Prophecy in Daniel 2 &#038; 7"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The hiker who ascends the lofty mountain and pauses to view the landscape below him can see in one panoramic view the entire forest and its relationship to the landscape around it. The interpreter of the book of Daniel is like this hiker. The student of this book receives a panoramic view of the forest of prophecy and how this forest relates to the theological landscape of God\u2019s sovereign plan. In essence, when one studies the book of Daniel the individual is looking at the big prophetic picture. As John Whitcomb states, \u201cThe book of Daniel stands at the very pinnacle of Old Testament prophetic writings, under girded by the massive foundation stones of the books of Moses, most of the prophets, and the poetic books.\u201d <sup><a href=\"#footnote_0_1\" id=\"identifier_0_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"John C. Whitcomb, Daniel, Everyman&rsquo;s Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody, 1985), 9.\">1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>Daniel 2 and 7 especially present this sweeping view of prophecy\u2019s direction. These two chapters hold a significant role in understanding the book of Daniel, and this role is demonstrated by the three-fold structure of the book. Chapter 1 serves as an introduction, chapters 2-7 focus mainly on the Gentile nations, and chapters 8-12 focus mainly on the nation of Israel. The foundation for this understanding rests on the differences in the languages of the book, both Hebrew (1, 8-12) and Aramaic (2-7). <sup><a href=\"#footnote_1_1\" id=\"identifier_1_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"See Whitcomb, Daniel, 17-19; John F. Walvoord, Daniel: The Key to Prophetic Interpretation (Chicago: Moody, 1971), 15; Robert D. Culver, Daniel and the Latter Days, rev. ed. (Chicago; Moody, 1977), 107-14; J. Dwight Pentecost, &ldquo;Daniel,&rdquo; in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament (Wheaton: SP Publications, 1985), 1324, 1327-28.\">2<\/a><\/sup> In the second section, chapter 2 relates to both history and prophecy and forms a parenthesis with chapter 7. Both chapters are parallel despite the differing details. The rest of this unit also contains parallels. Chapters 3 and 6 relate to the Gentile persecution of the Israelites as demonstrated by the fiery furnace and the lions\u2019 den. Chapters 4 and 5 discuss the visions of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar and Daniel\u2019s interpretation of these visions. <sup><a href=\"#footnote_2_1\" id=\"identifier_2_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Leon Wood, A Commentary on Daniel (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973), 18-19. Wood holds to a two-fold division of the structure of Daniel. He notes this in one sentence on page 15. However, he spends two pages explaining the three-fold division and refers to it as an &ldquo;equally valid division&rdquo; (ibid., 18).\">3<\/a><\/sup> Daniel 2 and 7 are broad in their topics and lead to the central focus of chapters 4 and 5, in which Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar learn of God\u2019s sovereignty. This theological concept of God\u2019s sovereignty over kings and kingdoms is the theme of the book. Nebuchadnezzar especially expressed this theme in 4:17 and 34-35. Each account or vision demonstrates God\u2019s control and direction of the affairs of men to bring about His desired plan. Stephen Miller correctly states, \u201cEvery page reflects the author\u2019s [Daniel\u2019s] conviction that his God was the Lord of individuals, nations, and all of history.&#8221; <sup><a href=\"#footnote_3_1\" id=\"identifier_3_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Stephen R. Miller, Daniel, New American Commentary 18 (Nashville: Broadman &amp; Holman, 1994), 50.\">4<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>Daniel 2 presents Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s dream of a golden image. The first section of the chapter discusses the king\u2019s demand for an interpretation of his dream (vv. 1-23). The second section presents the interpretation of the dream (vv. 24-47), and the final section presents Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s reaction (vv. 46-47). The details of the king\u2019s dream are as follows (vv. 31- 35):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Head of gold<\/li>\n<li>Chest and arms of silver<\/li>\n<li>Middle and thighs of bronze<\/li>\n<li>Legs of iron<\/li>\n<li>Feet of part iron and clay<\/li>\n<li>Uncut stone that crushes the image<\/li>\n<li>Iron, clay, bronze, silver, gold that become chaff and are blown away by the wind<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Daniel interpreted the dream in verses 36-45. The head of gold is Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire. Verses 37-38 state, \u201cYou, O king, \u2026 are the head of gold.\u201d In prophecy, kings and kingdoms are often linked. The Babylonian Empire was not very successful after Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s death falling to the Medo-Persian Empire about twenty-three years later. <sup><a href=\"#footnote_4_1\" id=\"identifier_4_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Gleason L. Archer, Jr., &ldquo;Daniel,&rdquo; in The Expositor&rsquo;s Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985), 7:46.\">5<\/a><\/sup><sup>\u00a0<\/sup>Daniel recorded in chapter 5 this take over by Medo-Persia. This new kingdom is the one referred to in 2:39 as \u201canother kingdom inferior to\u201d Nebuchadnezzar. Just as silver is secondary to gold and the chest is secondary to the head, the Medo-Persian Empire was secondary to the Babylonian Empire. <sup><a href=\"#footnote_5_1\" id=\"identifier_5_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Wood, Daniel, 68.\">6<\/a><\/sup> The Medo-Persian Empire was inferior to the previous kingdom because its king did not have absolute power. He was bound by the \u201claw of Medes and Persians that no injunction \u2026 can be changed\u201d (6:15). The new empire lasted for about 208 years, dating from 539-331 B.C. <sup><a href=\"#footnote_6_1\" id=\"identifier_6_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Miller, Daniel, 93.\">7<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>Daniel continued his interpretation in verse 39 by stating that a third kingdom would follow the second one. This new kingdom was Greece, which lasted from about 331 to 31 B.C. Alexander the Great formed the kingdom but died in 323 B.C. His kingdom was divided into four sections with each one being ruled by one of his generals, a point discussed in the seventh chapter. <sup><a href=\"#footnote_7_1\" id=\"identifier_7_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Archer, &ldquo;Daniel,&rdquo; 7.\">8<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0 This kingdom did not have the authority or the power of the previous kingdom.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel moved to the next kingdom, the one \u201cstrong as iron\u201d (v. 40). This empire was symbolized by iron, which has less value than the other metals. Rome followed the Grecian Empire, and the description was appropriate for Rome. Miller notes, \u201cRome ruled the nations with an iron hand and like a huge iron club shattered all who resisted its will.\u201d <sup><a href=\"#footnote_8_1\" id=\"identifier_8_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Miller, Daniel, 95.\">9<\/a><\/sup> He dates the Roman Empire from 146 B.C. to A.D. 395 when it split into the European and Western Empires. <sup><a href=\"#footnote_9_1\" id=\"identifier_9_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Ibid.\">10<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>Up to this point in the chapter, all the prophecies have been fulfilled. This literal fulfillment enables us to interpret the rest of the chapter in a literal manner. The feet of iron and clay will be a future aspect of a Roman Empire but will not be completely unified. Iron and clay do not form a tight bond. The uncut stone will be the coming of Christ, who will crush the future Roman Empire and establish a world-wide kingdom that we refer to as the Millennial Kingdom (vv. 43-45).<\/p>\n<p>Daniel 7 presents Daniel\u2019s dream of the four beasts. The first section of the chapter discusses Daniel\u2019s dream (vv. 1-14), the second section provides the interpretation of the dream (vv. 15-27), and the third section indicates Daniel\u2019s reaction to the dream (v. 28). The details of Daniel\u2019s dream are as follows (vv. 2-8):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A lion<\/li>\n<li>A bear<\/li>\n<li>A leopard<\/li>\n<li>A dreadful beast<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The lion of verse 4 had wings of an eagle, but the wings were \u201cplucked off.\u201d The lion then stood up as a man. The plucking of the wings corresponds to the insanity and humiliation of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4. The lion standing and having \u201cthe mind of a man\u201d symbolizes Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s return to sanity. Wood points out, \u201cA humanitarian interest came to play a major role in his life, rather than the former \u2018beastly\u2019 lust for power.\u201d <sup><a href=\"#footnote_10_1\" id=\"identifier_10_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Wood, Daniel, 182.\">11<\/a><\/sup> The second beast of verse 5 was a bear that \u201cwas raised up on one side\u201d and \u201chad three ribs in its mouth.\u201d As seen in chapter 2, the Medo-Persian Empire followed the Babylonian Empire. The Persian aspect of the empire was stronger than the Median aspect. This difference explains the bear\u2019s awkward stance. The three ribs represent the three great conquests of King Cyrus and his son, Cambyses. These conquests are as follows: <sup><a href=\"#footnote_11_1\" id=\"identifier_11_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Miller, Daniel, 199; Whitcomb, Daniel, 95; Wood, Daniel, 183.\">12<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lydia in Asia Minor in 546 B.C.<\/li>\n<li>The Babylonian Empire in 539 B.C.<\/li>\n<li>Egypt (by Cambyses) in 525 B.C.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The third beast was a leopard \u201cwith four wings of a bird on its back\u201d and four heads (v. 6). The empire that defeated the Persians was the Grecian Empire. The symbol of a leopard with four wings indicates the great speed of the Greeks to world power. Alexander the Great began his invasion of the Persian Empire in 334 B.C. with an army of 35,000 men. He took just ten to eleven years to conquer the known world and reach India. He died at the age of 32 or 33 in Babylon of a fever in June, 323. <sup><a href=\"#footnote_12_1\" id=\"identifier_12_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Whitcomb, Daniel, 95; Wood, Daniel, 210-11.\">13<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0 Following Alexander\u2019s death, the empire was divided among his four generals, which fulfilled the symbol of the leopard\u2019s four heads. The divisions of the empire were as follows. <sup><a href=\"#footnote_13_1\" id=\"identifier_13_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Whitcomb, Daniel, 95; Miller, Daniel, 200.\">14<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Babylon and Northern Syria\u2014Antigonus and later by Seleucus I Nicator<\/li>\n<li>Egypt\u2014Ptolemy I Soter<\/li>\n<li>Macedonia\u2014Cassander<\/li>\n<li>Thrace and Bithynia\u2014Lysimachus<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The fourth beast is described as \u201cterrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong\u201d (v. 7). The great strength is indicated by the iron teeth that provide an unbreakable weapon. This beast symbolizes the Roman Empire that defeated the Greeks. The iron of this animal parallels the iron of the legs and feet of chapter 2. Archer points out that \u201cthe mention of iron in the teeth suggests the legs and toes of iron in the image.\u201d <sup><a href=\"#footnote_14_1\" id=\"identifier_14_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Archer, &ldquo;Daniel,&rdquo; 87.\">15<\/a><\/sup> Verse 8 moves from the historical fulfillment of the Roman Empire (from our perspective) to the prophetic fulfillment of the future Roman Empire.<\/p>\n<p>When we consider the prophecies of chapters 2 and 7, we can see the parallels between the two chapters. They are as follows:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Babylon\u2014Head, Gold, Lion<\/li>\n<li>Medo-Persia\u2014Chest, Silver, Bear<\/li>\n<li>Greece\u2014Midsection, Bronze, Leopard<\/li>\n<li>Rome\u2014Legs and feet, Iron and Iron\/Clay, Dreadful Beast<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Comprehending the interpretation of Daniel 2 and 7 assists the biblical student to understand the broad scope of prophetic revelation, the \u201cprophetic forest.\u201d As one comprehends the past, the individual can comprehend the future. These two chapters contain portions of revelation that already have been fulfilled. Much of the symbolism in these chapters has found a literal fulfillment in an historical reality. This interpretative connection provides the reader with a framework to understand the unfulfilled portions in the two chapters. If the majority of Daniel 2 and 7 find their reality in political kingdoms, this connection leads the interpreter to believe that the unfulfilled portions of chapters 2 and 7 will also be fulfilled in the future by literal political kingdoms. Finally, these two chapters demonstrate the sovereignty of God over past kings and kingdoms. This truth reassures interpreters that God has control over future political kings and kingdoms. This truth echoes throughout the entire book of Daniel. Recognizing the sovereignty of God gives us security; recognizing the power of God gives us peace.<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"footnotes-header\">Works Cited<\/h3><ol class=\"footnotes\"><li id=\"footnote_0_1\" class=\"footnote\">John C. Whitcomb, Daniel, <em>Everyman\u2019s Bible Commentary<\/em> (Chicago: Moody, 1985), 9.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_0_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_1_1\" class=\"footnote\">See Whitcomb, Daniel, 17-19; John F. Walvoord, <em>Daniel: The Key to Prophetic Interpretation<\/em> (Chicago: Moody, 1971), 15; Robert D. Culver, <em>Daniel and the Latter Days<\/em>, rev. ed. (Chicago; Moody, 1977), 107-14; J. Dwight Pentecost, \u201cDaniel,\u201d in <em>The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament<\/em> (Wheaton: SP Publications, 1985), 1324, 1327-28.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_1_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_2_1\" class=\"footnote\">Leon Wood, <em>A Commentary on Daniel<\/em> (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973), 18-19. Wood holds to a two-fold division of the structure of Daniel. He notes this in one sentence on page 15. However, he spends two pages explaining the three-fold division and refers to it as an \u201cequally valid division\u201d (ibid., 18).<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_2_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_3_1\" class=\"footnote\">Stephen R. Miller, Daniel, <em>New American Commentary<\/em> 18 (Nashville: Broadman &amp; Holman, 1994), 50.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_3_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_4_1\" class=\"footnote\">Gleason L. Archer, Jr., \u201cDaniel,\u201d in <em>The Expositor\u2019s Bible Commentary<\/em> (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985), 7:46.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_4_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_5_1\" class=\"footnote\">Wood, <em>Daniel<\/em>, 68.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_5_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_6_1\" class=\"footnote\">Miller, <em>Daniel<\/em>, 93.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_6_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_7_1\" class=\"footnote\">Archer, \u201cDaniel,\u201d 7.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_7_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_8_1\" class=\"footnote\">Miller, <em>Daniel<\/em>, 95.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_8_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_9_1\" class=\"footnote\">Ibid.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_9_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_10_1\" class=\"footnote\">Wood, <em>Daniel<\/em>, 182.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_10_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_11_1\" class=\"footnote\">Miller, <em>Daniel<\/em>, 199; Whitcomb, <em>Daniel<\/em>, 95; Wood, <em>Daniel<\/em>, 183.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_11_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_12_1\" class=\"footnote\">Whitcomb, <em>Daniel<\/em>, 95; Wood, <em>Daniel<\/em>, 210-11.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_12_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_13_1\" class=\"footnote\">Whitcomb, <em>Daniel<\/em>, 95; Miller, <em>Daniel<\/em>, 200.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_13_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_14_1\" class=\"footnote\">Archer, \u201cDaniel,\u201d 87.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_14_1\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The hiker who ascends the lofty mountain and pauses to view the landscape below him can see in one panoramic view the entire forest and its relationship to the landscape around it. The interpreter of the book of Daniel is like this hiker. The student of this book receives a panoramic view of the forest [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":670,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[25,134],"series":[],"faith-pulpit-author":[88],"class_list":{"0":"post-1","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-eschatology","8":"tag-attributes-of-god","9":"tag-prophecy","10":"faith-pulpit-author-alan-d-cole","12":"post-with-thumbnail","13":"post-with-thumbnail-large"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1567,"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1\/revisions\/1567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=1"},{"taxonomy":"faith-pulpit-author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faith-pulpit-author?post=1"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}