Who’s In Charge Here?
A blunt exposition of Daniel 7: an apocalyptic parade of violent beasts and the enthronement of the Son of Man
My newsfeed is grim.
Putin rains death on Ukrainian cities. Trump and Musk bicker like schoolyard brats. Xi circles Taiwan like a vulture. Israeli hostages rot in Gazan tunnels. Abortion mills slay helpless millions. Marriage lies in the gutter.
Who’s in charge of this world?
Western churches lie empty. Our pastors are worldly and weak. Millions die daily without Christ. Our sinful doubts and passions wage war against our soul.
Who’s in charge of God’s people? Of our souls?
In 550 BC Jerusalem was in ruins, God’s Temple was burned to ash, and Jewish exiles groaned in Babylonian exile.
They too cried out, Who’s in charge?!
The Book of Daniel answers this question, and chapter 7 most clearly of all.
Daniel is divided into two equal parts:
Chapters 1 to 6 record six historical events concerning God’s people in exile. Chapters 7 to 12 describe four visions given to Daniel. The histories explain the visions; the visions explain the histories.
Daniel 7 is the book’s “centre of gravity”, a Himalayan peak of the Bible. It is the key to history and one of the greatest and clearest revelations of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ repeated self-designation as the Son of Man draws its meaning from Daniel 7.
Daniel 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying in bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.
This takes us back to 552 BC, between chapters 4 and 5. Daniel’s dream-vision is apocalyptic, an unveiling of what is transpiring behind the scenes via dazzling symbolic pictures and numbers.
Daniel 7:2-3 Daniel said: ‘In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
The sea represents earthly empires: turbulent, restless, and dangerous: “Oh, the raging of many nations – they rage like the raging sea!” (Isaiah 17:12).
Four bloodcurdling chimera – fantastic composite beasts – emerge from the sea, which has been churned up by “the four winds of heaven.” ruach (רוח) can refer to wind, breath, or spirit. That these winds derive from heaven points to the Spirit of God stirring up the nations in judgment (Rev. 7:1). Nothing in creation and human affairs, including the awesome events of this chapter, happen outside of God’s government and judgment. “He’s got the whole world in his hands.”
The beasts are now paraded in a ghastly carnaval des animaux. The human empires that they represent are explained by both Nebuchadnezzar’s statue (ch. 2) and the chapters which follow.
1. The Winged Lion: Babylon
Daniel 7:4 The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.
Babylon’s Ishtar Gate was emblazoned with gold-glazed lions. The lion represents power, the eagles’ wings speed: Nebuchadnezzar had invented blitzkrieg.
The lion’s wings are ripped off and it is given the heart and mind of a man. This refers to the humbling and restoration of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4, and to the humbling of Babylon in general in chapter 5.
2. The Lopsided Bear: Medo-Persia
Daniel 7:5 And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, “Get up and eat your fill of flesh!”
Media was the larger part of the Medo-Persian coalition, hence the bear’s lop-sidedness. (Echoed by the mismatched horns of the Medo-Persian ram in 8:3, 20.) It munches on three ribs, referring to what would be Persia’s famous conquests of Asia Minor (546), Chaldea (539), and Egypt (525).
3. Four-headed and four-winged Leopard: Greece
Daniel 7:6 After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
In 338 Philip of Macedon forcibly unified the Greek peoples. After his assassination in 336 his twenty-year-old son succeeded him. Alexander the Great conquered Asia Minor, Persia, Egypt, and as far east as India. When he died aged 33 (in Nebuchadnezzar’s palace of all places) his vast empire was divided between four generals. Cassander took Macedonia and Greece; Lysimachus Asia Minor; Seleucus Asia and Palestine; and Ptolemy Egypt. (Cleopatra would become the most famous of the Ptolemaic pharaohs.) These are the four heads of the winged Leopard.
4. A “Different” Beast
Daniel 7:7 After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot the residue. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
This beast is specifically “different” and unlike any earthly animal. It is “exceedingly strong” and distinctly “terrifying and frightening.” Its huge iron teeth devour and break up its victims before it viciously tramples the residue. An animal’s horns are its strength and this beast has no less than ten. They represent – like the Leopard’s heads – sub-realms.
Daniel 7:8 While I was pondering/thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully/pompously.
The human eyes of the little horn, which displaced three others, point to human sapience and shrewdness. Its big mouth boasts of its strength.
Does this beast describe the stern and indomitable legions of Rome, which displaced the Greeks as the great Mediterranean power and pushed into northwest Europe? Yes and no.
God’s vision denies this “different” beast a distinctive form so as not to tie it to any particular earthly empire. Its large number of horns – sub-realms – point to Rome and beyond: to every godless power that would ever come until Christ returns.
The pompous little horn represents Satan himself, “the man of lawlessness . . . doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God” (2 Thes. 2:3–4).
He is perpetually “waging war against God’s holy people and defeating them” (Dan. 7:21) – if it were not for the presence of a vastly greater power:
One Like a Son of Man
Daniel 7:9–10 As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. 10A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.
While on earth wild beasts rampage and howl, in heaven thrones are calmly arranged. These denote sovereign rule and judgment.
The divine title “Ancient of Days” is unique to this chapter. It points to God’s eternity – he transcends the passing parade of human powers. His snow-white clothing represents his holiness and his wool-white hair his wisdom.
His fiery throne represents his pure and invincible rule and judgment. It is wheeled like a chariot because he rules everywhere.
From him a torrent of molten lava punishes and destroys all wickedness. Millions serve him, hundreds of millions watch in awe.
The court is seated for judgment and books of evidence are opened.
Daniel 7:11–12 Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. 12(The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)
There is no battle. The beast is effortlessly slain and burned. Yet in God’s judgment turmoil on earth is permitted to continue – for a time.
Daniel 7:13–14 In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
While gazing towards God’s presence we see a human figure. After beastliness, humanity. Humanity at its best, the imago dei unmarred. One like a Son of Man coming within the clouds that enwrap the ineffable glory of God’s presence. He is presented to the Ancient of Days to be crowned with universal and eternal rule.
Jesus most often referred to himself as the Son of Man. This points to his humanity and humility. Above all the title identifies him with the Universal and Eternal King of Daniel’s vision (Mark 13:24-27).
At Jesus’ trial, when the High Priest demanded outright, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”, Jesus replied “I am, and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:62).
Thus after suffering for the sins of his people God would raise Jesus from the dead, to “powerfully appoint him the Son of God” (Rom. 1:4). And at his return “the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done” (Mat. 16:27).
Who’s in charge here?
Utopian dreams of historical advancement, of ever-advancing human freedom and rationality, are only ashes in the mouths of Hegelian theorists. The successive reigns of vicious empires and cruel spiritual powers have never ceased.
But ultimate authority has been given to the Son of Man. In all things he “works for the good of those who love him.” He will set all things right and God’s people will reign with Him: “The holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it for ever – yes, for ever and ever” (Dan. 7:18).
Frightening and bestial powers will come and go under God’s good and sovereign rule, but he has enthroned his Son over all, and forever.
Thank you Campbell, there are such wonderful words of encouragement and hope here, as you say, reminding us that these wars and rumours of wars will keep coming until Jesus' triumphant return. And He is returning! Praise be to God for that peace which passes all understanding.
I just need to ask about the Hegelian's, who were they? I am thinking it is not to do with the Hellenic world, as in Greece?