Daniel
7
- In the first year of Belshazzar king of
Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was
lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.
- Daniel said: "In my vision at night
I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the
great sea.
- Four great beasts, each different from the
others, came up out of the sea.
- "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 man, and the
heart of a man was given to it.
- "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!'
- "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.
- "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 whatever was left. It was different from all the former
beasts, and it had ten horns.
- "While I was 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 man and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
- "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.
- A 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.
- "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.
- (The other beasts had been stripped of their
authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)
- "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.
- He was given authority, glory and sovereign
power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion
is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one
that will never be destroyed.
- "I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit,
and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me.
- I approached one of those standing there
and asked him the true meaning of all this. "So he told me and gave me
the interpretation of these things:
- 'The four great beasts are four kingdoms
that will rise from the earth.
- But the saints of the Most High will receive
the kingdom and will possess it forever -- yes, for ever and ever.'
- "Then I wanted to know the true meaning
of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying,
with its iron teeth and bronze claws--the beast that crushed and devoured
its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left.
- I also wanted to know about the ten horns
on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them
fell -- the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes
and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
- As I watched, this horn was waging war against
the saints and defeating them,
- until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced
judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they
possessed the kingdom.
- "He gave me this explanation: 'The
fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different
from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it
down and crushing it.
- The ten horns are ten kings who will come
from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the
earlier ones; he will subdue three kings.
- He will speak against the Most High and
oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints
will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time.
- "'But the court will sit, and his power
will be taken away and completely destroyed forever.
- Then the sovereignty, power and greatness
of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints,
the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and
all rulers will worship and obey him.'
- "This is the end of the matter. I,
Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I
kept the matter to myself."
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