Paul McKenzie

Memory Verse, Tuesday, November 18, Daniel 7, part 3

"After this I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it." (7:6)

"Lions and leopards and bears, Oh My!"

We've heard a lot about the "Lion". In the previous chapters of this marvelous book we were given real-time fulfillment during Daniel's lifetime. God had His man ruling alongside the first tyrant, revealing a contrast between light and darkness, and the Light overcame in the end.

The Bear and the Leopard are shown briefly here. We hear about some of God's dealings with the kingdom of "the Bear" in Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther, as well as Isaiah. The bear was just gaining prominence when the purposes of God were fulfilled with Daniel, and He was about to take Him home. But not before the great prophetic timelines were revealed to him.

We see the Leopard briefly in this vision, and will see much more of it in the latter chapters of this book. It has four wings and four heads, and most realize that this is about Alexander the Great, his lightning-fast domination of the world and the continued dominion of his four predecessors. We will see how God will concentrate especially on the Northern and Southern kingdoms in chapter 11, since they concern His "glorious land": the land of Israel.

There is a story in the great histories written down by Josephus, where, when Alexander came to Jerusalem, he left it alone because the leaders of the city showed him Daniel's book, and pointed out the passages that referred to him.

It is also said that Cyrus of Persia was shown Isaiah's mention of him, which inspired him to send the Jews back to their homeland, all expenses paid. I guess when you see your name spoken of over a century ago by God to be the one to fulfill His prophecy, you're going to do it!

So, we see the truth of Proverbs 21:1 again: "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will." And in Daniel we are seeing where He is turning these hearts, which will all lead to the coming of His Son into the world, first as a Lamb, and then as a Lion.

In the short period Alexander needed to overrun the world, he "Hellenized" it so that by the time Jesus came into the world, the whole empire spoke Greek. In this way the Gospel could be understood by all in the future Roman Empire, because, for the most part, they were now all "bilingual", required to know both their language and the Greek language.

The last part of this vision takes us into the last kingdom of this earth, and moves us from that time to the end time. But before we "dig in", we can spend the day contemplating the great Sovereignty of God.

There is nothing that surprises Him. And there is nothing you can do to surprise Him. "Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether." (Psalm 139:4) I hope your next words are "Jesus, I repent of my sins and call upon Your mercy to save me!"

And if you are saved, I hope it is: "Our Father in heaven, Holy is Your name! Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven!" Then "set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth." (Colossians 3:2)

Today if you hear His voice, harden not your heart.

*ESV used unless noted*

Memory Helps:

Again, here is chapter 7:

Chapter 7: "First HEAVEN-LY Vision:

The Four Beasts,
The Ancient of Days: King of HEAVEN, and
The Son of Man comes from HEAVEN"

We have been spending a lot of time on these "four beasts". I gave you a nice little subtitle to it if you want to remember what types of beasts with a play on the old "Wizard of Oz" scene. We can add to that with this: "Lions and Leopards and Bears and the Beast!" "Oh My!"

You can be standing with Daniel on a "Heavenly cloud" watching the water stir up and seeing first the lion roaring out with plucked wings, with the big paws of the bear holding onto his tail, three ribs in his slobbery mouth, and the four-headed, four-winged leopard jumping on the bear's back. But they are all in fear because this really ugly Beast is coming up after them! (If this helps, think 2-3-4: 2 plucked wings, 3 ribs and four wings and heads.)

And of course, to remember that this is verse three, add your "Ma" to the mix.