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Author: Ron Graham

History of IsraelTimes of Israel series

Daniel’s Prophecies
—And the great world empires

Time ~ 7. Exile and Scattering
Span ~ 200 years
Books ~ Jer, Lam, Eze, Dan, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Obadiah, [Joel]
Figures ~ Jeremiah, Daniel
Begins with ~ Wars upon Israel and Judah
Ascendant empire ~ Babylon

Daniel, one of the exiles in Babylon, was given the power to interpret dreams and visions of the kings. He also had visions himself.

1 Studying Daniel’s Visions

Daniel's visions, from a Bible student's point of view, contain three levels of information:

The first level is what the Bible student needs to know in order to make sense of Daniel's prophecies. This is the information given in Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the image of metals (Dan 2), representing a succession of four great empires (Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Grecian, and Roman).

The second level is more detailed information (such as in Daniel 11), which the student can match to historical events, but only if the student is willing to study a fair bit of history.

The third level is a small amount of material that seems to defy explanation, such as the numbers of days in chapter 12. The student should be careful not to spend an inordinate amount of time on this level.

2 What Daniel Foresaw

In visions, Daniel foresaw the entire period from the Babylonian captivity until the Messiah came and established his kingdom throughout the world. God knew the future, and he would ensure that his plan unfolded over the centuries just as he willed. God revealed his plan to Daniel and other prophets long before it came to pass.

3 Bible Summary (Daniel 7-12)

Other prophets also make reference to the period from the Babylonian captivity to the coming of Messiah, but a detailed study is beyond the scope and purpose of "The Times of Israel" series.
 

4 Daniel's Prophecies Chart

EMPIRE DAN 2 DAN 7,8 DAN 9
Babylon HEAD
OF
GOLD
FIRST
BEAST
70
YEARS
EXILE
Persia BREAST
OF
SILVER
SECOND
BEAST
The Ram
“SEVEN
WEEKS”
Greece BELLY
OF
BRASS
THIRD
BEAST
The Goat
“62
WEEKS”
Rome LEGS
OF
IRON
FOURTH
BEAST
“ONE
WEEK”
(70th)

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