Daniel 7-8

Contemporary English Version

Daniel's Vision of the Four Beasts

7 ^1-2 Daniel wrote:

In the first year of King Belshazzar^[a] of Babylonia, I had some dreams and visions while I was asleep one night, and I wrote them down.

The four winds were stirring up the mighty sea, ^3 (A) when suddenly four powerful beasts came out of the sea. Each beast was different. ^4 (B) The first was like a lion with the wings of an eagle. As I watched, its wings were pulled off. Then it was lifted to an upright position and made to stand on two feet, just like a human, and it was given a human mind.

⁵ The second beast looked like a bear standing on its hind legs.^[b] It held three ribs in its teeth, and it was told, “Attack! Eat all the flesh you want.”

⁶ The third beast was like a leopard—except that it had four wings and four heads. It was given authority to rule.

^7 (C) The fourth beast was stronger and more terrifying than the others. Its huge teeth were made of iron, and what it didn't grind with its teeth, it smashed with its feet. It was different from the others, and it had horns on its head—ten of them. ^8 (D) Just as I was thinking about these horns, a smaller horn appeared, and three of the other horns were pulled up by the roots to make room for it. This horn had the eyes of a human and a mouth that spoke with great arrogance.

Judgment

Daniel wrote:

¹¹ I watched closely to see what would happen to this smaller horn because of the arrogant things it was saying. Then before my very eyes, the fourth beast was killed and its body destroyed by fire. ¹² The other three beasts had their authority taken from them, but they were allowed to live a while longer.^{[e] 13 (G)} As I continued to watch the vision that night,

The Meaning of Daniel's Vision

¹⁵ Daniel wrote:

I was terrified by these visions, and I didn't know what to think. ¹⁶ So I asked one of those standing there,^[h] and he explained, ¹⁷ “The four beasts are four earthly kingdoms. ^18 (I) But God Most High will give his kingdom to his chosen ones, and it will be theirs forever and ever.”

¹⁹ I wanted to know more about the fourth beast,^[i] because it was so different and much more terrifying than the others. What was the meaning of its iron teeth and bronze claws and of its feet that smashed what the teeth and claws had not ground and crushed? ²⁰ I also wanted to know more about all ten of those horns on its head. I especially wanted to know more about the one that took the place of three of the others—the horn that had eyes and spoke with arrogance and seemed greater than the others. ^21 (J) While I was looking, this horn attacked God's chosen ones and was winning the battle. ^22 (K) Then God Most High, the Eternal God,^[j] came and judged in favor of his chosen ones, because the time had arrived for them to be given the kingdom.

²⁸ That was what I saw and heard. I turned pale with fear and kept it all to myself.

Vision of a Ram and a Goat

8 Daniel wrote:

In the third year of King Belshazzar of Babylonia,^[l] I had a second vision ² in which I was in Susa, the chief city of Babylonia's Elam Province. I was beside the Ulai River,^{[m] 3} when I looked up and saw a ram standing there with two horns on its head—both of them were long, but the second one was longer than the first. ⁴ The ram went charging toward the west, the north, and the south. No other animals were strong enough to oppose him, and nothing could save them from his power. So he did as he pleased and became even more powerful.

⁵ I kept on watching and saw a goat come from the west and charge across the entire earth, without even touching the ground. Between his eyes was a powerful horn,^{[n] 6} and with tremendous anger the goat started toward the ram that I had seen beside the river.^{[o] 7} The goat was so fierce that its attack broke both horns of the ram, leaving him powerless. Then the goat trampled on the ram, and no one could do anything to help. ⁸ After this, the goat became even more powerful. But at the peak of his power, his mighty horn was broken, and four other mighty horns took its place—one pointing to the north and one to the east, one to the south and one to the west.

⁹ A little horn came from one of these, and its power reached to the south, the east, and even to the holy land.^{[p] 10 (O)} It became so strong that it attacked the stars in the sky, which were heaven's army.^[q] Then it threw some of them down to the earth and trampled on them. ^11-12 It humiliated heaven's army and dishonored its leader^[r] by keeping him from offering the daily sacrifices. In fact, it was so terrible that it even disgraced the temple and wiped out true worship. It also did everything else it wanted to do.

¹³ Then one of the holy angels asked another, “When will the daily sacrifices be offered again? What about this horrible rebellion? When will the temple and heaven's army no longer be trampled in the dust?”

¹⁴ The other answered, “It will be 2,300 evenings and mornings before the temple is dedicated and in use again.”

Gabriel Interprets the Vision

¹⁵ Daniel wrote:

I was trying to figure out the meaning of the vision, when someone suddenly appeared there beside me. ^16 (P) And from beside the Ulai River,^[s] a voice like that of a human said, “Gabriel, help him understand the vision.”

¹⁷ Gabriel came over, and I fell to the ground in fear. Then he said, “You are merely a human, but you need to understand that this vision is about the end of time.”

¹⁸ While he was speaking, I fell facedown in a deep sleep. But he lifted me to my feet ¹⁹ and said:

Listen, and I will tell you what will happen at the end of time, when God has chosen to show his anger. ²⁰ The two horns of the ram are the kings of Media and Persia, ²¹ the goat is the kingdom of Greece, and the powerful horn between his eyes is the first of its kings. ²² After this horn is broken, four other kingdoms will appear, but they won't be as strong.

²³ When these rulers have become as evil as possible, their power will end, and then a king who is dangerous and cannot be trusted will appear. ²⁴ He will gain strength, but not on his own, and he will cause terrible destruction. He will wipe out powerful leaders and God's people as well. ²⁵ His deceitful lies will make him so successful, that he will think he is really great. Suddenly he will kill many people, and he will even attack God, the Supreme Ruler. But God will crush him!

²⁶ This vision about the evenings and mornings is true, but these things won't happen for a long time, so don't tell it to others.

²⁷ After this, I was so worn out and weak that it was several days before I could get out of bed and go about my duties for the king. I was disturbed by this vision that made no sense to me.