(11-14) The conspicuous horn is conquered by the Son of Man.
I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, one like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed.
a. They had their dominion taken away: This great passage describes the transition from human dominion on earth to divine dominion. This happens as the Son of Man comes and exercises dominion over the earth. The Son of Man succeeds the reign of the fourth beast.
b. The sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking: Here the “little horn” of the fourth beast again speaks pompous words. The final human dictator we commonly call the Antichrist will be characterized by his boastful, blasphemous speech (Revelation 13:5-6).
i. Because of the distinction between the fourth beast and the horn, some conjecture that the beast of Revelation 13 is not the Antichrist but his government or administration. If this is so, it is a small distinction. To a large extent, a man does represent and personify an entire government or system. When we think of Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, the figures of Hitler as an individual and Nazi Germany as a state are virtually the same.
c. I watched till the beast was slain… the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: The fourth beast is destroyed and the others may continue, but without dominion of their own. When Jesus sets up His kingdom, the empire of the Antichrist will be completely crushed, yet some nations will continue into the Millennium.
d. One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven: The title Son of Man was a favorite self-designation of Jesus, used more than 80 times in the four Gospels. He receives all dominion previously held by the beasts and His reign will be permanent.
e. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away: The reign of Jesus does not last 1,000 years – it is permanent. However, Jesus will rule over this earth before it is remade, with Satan bound for 1,000 years.
B. Interpretation of the dream.
1. (15-16) Daniel’s reaction to the vision and request for understanding.
I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things:
a. Was grieved in my spirit: Daniel saw all this, and in more detail than he describes for us. He did not really understand all that he saw, and was troubled because of his lack of understanding.
b. Grieved in my spirit within my body: This shows that our spirit indeed dwells within the body. It is true that the spirit is more important than the body (1 Timothy 4:8), but the state of the body generally has an effect on the state of the spirit.
i. Clarke says that the phrase my spirit within my body has the sense of “within its sheath or scabbard.” From this, Clarke says: “Which I think proves, 1. That the human spirit is different from the body. 2. That it has a proper subsistence independently of the body, which is only its sheath for a certain time. 3. That the spirit may exist independently of the body, as the sword does independently of its sheath.”
2. (17-18) Summary of the vision: four kings are conquered by God, and their kingdoms are given to the people of God.
Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth. “But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.”
a. Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth: The divine interpretation of the dream shows that this vision covers the same material as Nebuchadnezzar’s vision in Daniel 2, which also described the rise of four empires, which are succeeded by the kingdom of God.
i. Yet Daniel’s vision was different, seeing the kingdoms from God’s perspective, not man’s. Nebuchadnezzar saw the present and future world empires in the form of a stately and noble statue of a man. Here God showed how He regarded them: as ferocious and wild animals who devour and conquer without conscience.
ii. When man writes his own history, there is often much self-congratulation and man seems to be on the verge of paradise. When God writes human history, a different vision is presented.
iii. Jesus is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5). Yet He primarily represents Himself not as a ferocious animal but as a lamb (Revelation 5:5-6 and 5:8-10).
b. The saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom: When the day of the fourth beast is over, then God’s people receive the kingdom. Yet we know the Roman Empire is long gone – and it doesn’t seem that the saints have received the kingdom.
i. This is what prompts many to look for either a spiritualized interpretation fulfilled in history, or some kind of restoration of the Roman Empire in the last days, one that will literally fulfill the prophecy of the ten horns and the little horn as well.
ii. Shall receive the kingdom: The saints receive the kingdom. God gives them the kingdom at the return of Jesus. They do not gain dominion over all these earthly kingdoms before the return of Jesus.