Daniel 7

“In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.” (v. 1)

In this chapter we look to the reign of Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel had a dream here that he could not interpret himself, a vision of the last days. We come to a new phase in the Book of Daniel. God reveals to His servants what He is going to do, as a blessing, as well as a warning. Please notice Daniels description of the Lord, and how closely it relates to the great judgment in the Book of Revelation:

“I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” (vs. 9, 10)

This was to be a solemn time, a time of judgment and a time of rejoicing, and Daniel was privy to it. In v. 13, Daniel recognizes “the Son of Man” and again I must reiterate that God reveals Himself to whom He will. This is significant for reasons not mentioned here, but it is something that we need to make note of. We saw the same thing in Dan. 3:25, when Nebuchadnezzar recognized the “fourth” person in the fiery furnace. Anyway, Daniel eventually came to know of the vision, or dream, and understood that the Son of Man had given him a glimpse of some “secret things of God.”

When the Lord reveals His “secret things” to man, it is because He wants us to see Him in a different light. We have seen the God of miracles; the God of Mercy; and the God who delivers us from all harm; but we had not seen (in this Book) the God of judgment and justice. This is something entirely different from what Daniel had known of His God up until this time. Oh, He saw the judgment of Nebuchadnezzar, and of Darius, and those kings, but here he sees the “Judge of all the earth”. Be assured that the Lord wants us to know Him. He wants us to see Him as He is, and to love Him for it. I can relate to that. I believe that from the friends I associate with, I am closer to those who know me better because they see me as I am, and still decide to befriend me! Mankind likes for others to know them. This is why relationships are able to grow close, and wives and husbands become very close, even as one body, because they know each other so well. Don’t be afraid to let people know you, but also be careful to whom you reveal yourself; we must be wise and use discretion in such matters.