The prophecy of daniel is a series of five visions occurring over a period of about 70 years. In the dreams described in the bible there is often a message that the dreamer gets from god. Only through the light of the new testament can we understand these mysteries given to daniel, some of which arent made clear until the final pages. The great image and the four beasts 6 the four kingdoms of men now we come to the interpretation of the dream. The five visions of daniel daniel 2, 7, 8, 9, 1012. Dreams from god were vivid and coherent, and they had a definite message. Take me to the king, and i will interpret his dream for him. Tom doyle is the president of uncharted ministries, an accomplished author, popular international speaker, pastor, missionary to the unreached, and a veteran tour guide to israel and the middle east. God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel 2 the second chapter of the book of daniel tells how daniel interpreted a dream of nebuchadnezzar ii, king of babylon.
Daniel also understood visions and dreams of every kind. Daniel bridges the entire 70 years of the babylonian captivity ca. Chapter 11 prophecies in daniel, part i prophetic dreams. Jump to table of contents the bible book of daniel has long been a favourite. From daniel and his three friends, we will learn the power of faith and commitment b. Join me as i discuss how the dream of nebuchadnezzar. The prophet daniels dreams and visions of the last days this is a short simple explanation of the dreams and visions recoded in the book of daniel concerning the last days. The following chart provides a list of these divinely inspired messages from god recorded in the book of daniel.
Daniels dreams and visions daniel is gifted in telling people the meaning. However powerful kingdoms seem in the eyes of men, it is god who. Daniel 2 niv nebuchadnezzars dream in the bible gateway. Daniel is way terrified by all these visions of god and arrogant, talking horns. The balance of daniels book contains four visions concerning world powers, but also other visions of future events and an appearance of gods angel. People in the time of the bible believed that god could speak to people through dreams. The second half of the book describes some of daniels extraordinary visions. Putting into a book a reproducible process for congregations to use to become captivated by gods vision is a difficult task. All the versions are at one with the massoretic text to. For example, in a dream, the prophet daniel saw a series of beasts that symbolize political empires from. Witness faith and visions come to pass in the book of. Daniel also has vivid, symbolic visions about the future of israel, world kingdoms, and the kingdom of godexposing us to some of gods longterm plan for the world. Through dreams and visions given to danielnot fully understood in their own daygod reveals that his sovereign rule will continue until the end, when all of his purposes will be fulfilled.
He will eventually bring about the glorious rule of his heavenly kingdom and it will ultimately overcome all earthly kingdoms and rulers of this world. The dream that king nebuchadnezzar had in the book of daniel was given by god, and we see that god gave daniel the interpretation. There are many interpretations for daniels visions, but three major themes emerge in the book. So god is not able to communicate with us face to face. In the final part of his book daniel will describe dreams and visions. The bible describes prophets as receiving messages from god in two ways. Understanding dreams and visions is an integral part of the book of daniel. Daniels prayer, and the vision of the seventy weeks 9. Dreams of gods plan the statue and the four beasts. As for these four children, god gave them knewledge and skill in all learning and wisdom. Daniel could also tell the meaning of dreams and visions. There are many other points to be made on davids throne for which we do not have time in this lesson, but will develop in a study just on davids throne. So he approaches one of gods attendants an angel of some sort to get the scoop on whats going on. He is the author of dreams and visions, killing christians, and standing in the fire greg webster is cofounder of new vantage publishing partners, a book development and marketing firm, and.
His visions offer hope that god will bring all nations under his rule. Daniels prophetic dreams and visions the church of jesus christ. Daniel 2 new international version niv nebuchadnezzars dream. Daniel is also well known for the prophetic dreams and visions god gave him, recorded in the book of daniel. The cracked door hearing god through dreams and visions. This book talks about how god is reaching the moslem world through dreams and visions. The story of daniel motivates faithfulness despite exile in babylon.
Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these. The visions he has now will give more details concerning the events he foresaw in nebuchadnezzars original dream. This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. We are to rely on the holy spirit and the word of god to confirm and interpret dreams and visions given to us by god. Title according to hebrew custom, the title is drawn from the prophet who throughout the book received revelations from god. However, god promised to restore the davidic reign, it is the reign daniel expects hosea 3. But these were not everyday vague, illogical dreams. God has conveyed important messages to people in a variety of ways. Correlation of dreams and visions in the book of daniel images from chapter 2 beasts from chapter 7 beasts from chapter 8 world kingdoms head of gold like a lion with eagles wings babylon 606539bc chest and arms of silver like a bear ram with two horns medopersia 539331bc belly and thighs of bronze like a leopard with four wings.
The first three verses of the chapter are very significant. The prophet daniel s dreams and visions of the last days this is a short simple explanation of the dreams and visions recoded in the book of daniel concerning the last days. Can there ever be faith again in the midst of darkness, rebellion, and gloom. The balance of daniel s book contains four visions concerning world powers, but also other visions of future events and an appearance of god s angel. God has revealed, in the books of daniel and revelation, the worldruling. The visions featured in the book of daniel deal with the history of the jewish people from the babylonian exile to the maccabean revolt. Dreams are also called gods secret weapon or the sleep language of.
God has already spoken to us in sixtysix books, 1189 chapters, 31,173 verses, and 807,361 words. Last month we examined the fourth chapter of daniel, which is the account of nebuchadnezzars other dream which became a reality. This indicates that somehow they were separated off into a. Contemporary english version god made the four young men smart and wise. Daniel asks for time to ask god the interpretation 2. There is much for believers to learn in this book, and it will take you to a new level of understanding what the spirit wants to communicate to you through the language of dreams. Those were ordinary dreams and also special dreams.
Daniels dream of four beasts in the first year of belshazzar king of. Daniel 2 tells how daniel interpreted a dream of nebuchadnezzar ii, king of babylon. Daniels prophetic dreams and visionsold testament seminary student study guide. But there is a god in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Todays dreams and visions with the completion of the bible, god does not have to use dreams and visions as much as he did before. Daniels prophecies cover a broad range of human history, as he predicted the rise and fall of the greek and roman empires and the rise of a powerful king who will do as he pleases. The holy spirit impressed their minds, revealing heavens truth to them. There are fewer than 25 dreams and visions in the bible. The king saw a gigantic statue made of four metals, from its gold head to its feet of mingled iron and clay.
God spoke to israel in visions of the night and said, jacob, jacob. The dreams and visions of the book of daniel are, in fact, shortrange and longrange prophecies. The real jesus explodes the myths of these critics and the movies, books and television. They give forevisions of the power struggle of men, dynasties, and political empires from daniels time down through history until the time of the end. Over 2,500 years ago king nebuchadnezzar of the babylonian empire delivered a message that is still relevant for each of. The first vision is a dream of the king that is interpreted by daniel.
You need to understand these before you try understanding the book of revelation and other prophetic writings that are about the events of the last days the time in. This remarkable piece of scripture has encouraged the faithful for centuries. Or, as the words might be more accurately rendered, these lads, the four of them ezekiel 1. Yes, god has spoken through dreams to select individuals but there is something more important in the christian life than seeking dreams. While the best known daniel is the hero of the book of daniel who interprets dreams and receives apocalyptic visions, the bible also briefly mentions three other individuals of this name. They point to several key events in the future history of the jews. Through the vision of a magnificent, aweinspiring statue, god. Since 80% of the moslem world dont read the dreams become an effective avenue for sharing the good awesome and it shall come to past afterward, that i will pour out my spirit on all flesh. Nearly the entire book of revelation is a vision john had while exiled on the island of patmos. Thus the lord god showed me, and behold, he was forming a locustswarm when the spring crop began to sprout. As with all of scripture, the book of daniel is profitable for our study 2 ti 3. The reason that dreams and visions are prophetic is because they are to do with the visual and seeing aspects of what god is saying. We suffer because human kingdoms have rebelled against god and have become beasts.
Through the events, visions and dreams in the book of daniel we see how god encouraged israel and revealed to them that no matter how bad it gets in this world, god is not finished. The book of daniel is a great revelation of future events, particularly those things that shall happen in the last days. In my vision at night i looked, and there before me were the four winds. The book of daniel and the book of revelation complement one another, but revelation brings more revelation and details and projects further into the future. The book of daniel is about how god shows his everlasting wisdom, power, and faithfulness through one of israels greatest prophets. Hearing god through your dreams is a book that offers solidly biblical, fresh, and creative guidelines to understand what the lord is saying through our dreams.
When they came in and stood before the king, 3 he said to them, i have had a dream that troubles me and i. Dreams, visions and messages in the book of daniel. In addition to interpreting the two dreams of king nebuchadnezzar and the writing on the wall for king belshazzar, daniel also received several messages from god. Faithfulness despite persecution chapters 1, 3, and 6.