In Daniel 7 we return to a prophetic section.
This chapter is parallel to chapter 2—both focus on a panorama of prophecy which concludes with the Kingdom of God, the Most High in total control.
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Small Group Questions |
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Engage—connect with each other 1. What excites you about the future? What worries you about the future? 2. How often do you think about the coming the end of time? What do you anticipate most about the coming of Christ? Examine and Explore—what the passage says before you decide what it means, then begin to discuss the implications of this passage 3. In the first half of the chapter, Daniel records his dream then seeks an interpretation. What does he seem to focus on? 4. What elements of the dream worry Daniel? Why? Encounter—read God’s Word to get to know Him 5. Notice the descriptions of God and His throne, Daniel 7:9-10. What is emphasized? 6. Notice the descriptions of Christ, Daniel 7:13-14. What is emphasized? Embrace—What is the one thing you need to know or do? What is your next step in response to this passage? 7. How does knowing that God will accomplish His plan in the end, encourage you? 8. What should our current attitude be and what should our current motivation and actions be, if we are on the winning side? |
In Daniel 2,7-8. the “little horn” symbolizes Julius Caesar, who transformed the Roman Republic into a monarchic Empire, in the 1st century BC, who was known as a master of politics (even in his demise, cp. Discovery Channel Who Killed Julius Caesar ?):
Gold = Babylon
Silver = Medes & Persians
Bronze = Greece (Alexander the Great –> 4 successor kingdoms)
Iron = Roman Republic (“different from all the others”, i.e. Republic vs. kingdom)
Iron + Clay = Roman Empire (Senate Optimates party [Iron] vs. Imperial Populares party [commoner clay])
little horn which “grew up” to “look larger than the others” = Julius Caesar, the “master of intrigue”, who was strong “not by his own power” i.e. by the Devil (Rev 12), and whose successor Caesars would “wage war against the Saints”, until Constantine