The earlier prophetic chapters (Daniel 2 & 7) set the general outline of the future in terms of four successive kingdoms that were to dominate the world. (We later identify these as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome). In Daniel 2, almost nothing is said of the second and third world-kingdoms (2:29). They are the focus of Daniel 8 (vss. 3-8,21-23). Daniel 2 and 7 stress the great strength of the fourth kingdom, how it crushes all who oppose it, how it will be divided, and how it will vainly strive to hold together by forming marriage ties (2:40-43, cf. 7:7,19,23,24). The days of the ten kings who jointly rule the empire is the very end of time (2:44). It is when Antichrist comes to power. He uproots three of the ten and persecutes the holy ones for 3 & 1/2 years. And just as Daniel’s name means God will judge, God intervenes in the persecution and vindicates His people (7:26,27); He judges the boastful Antichrist and the terrible fourth kingdom (7:11), every individual and every nation. It is the final judgment. God then sets up His Kingdom of righteousness upon the earth. It endures forever (2:44) and His people reign forever (7:27).

Daniel 8 is a more detailed account of the future but its scope is mysteriously limited to the second and third world kingdoms. Special attention is given to the four-fold division of the third power and the climax of the vision revolves around the nefarious acts of one of its last kings. The time is that of the Christ event; the last scene of the vision is the destruction of Jerusalem. Surprisingly, the vision (vss. 2-12) ends abruptly; It reveals but a fragment of the whole picture given earlier.

This strange feature of the prophecy is completely explained by Daniel’s attending angel. Daniel 9:24 is the key text. This time period, we are told, is “cut off.” We will see in this remarkable verse a declaration by God for the end of sin within this definite period of time. Unfortunately the appointed time passes without the cooperation necessary from God’s covenant people. The Jews fail to respond to the divine summons. Consequently, they and their city and sanctuary are destroyed. This is the essence of Daniel 8: (The people of God as transgressors who have run their full course, their rebellion, God’s indignation, and the outworking of divine wrath). Hence, the abruptness of the vision has meaning. God would reject the Jewish nation. So they are no longer mentioned. They are given over to be trampled till the end of time, the terminus of the reign of the fourth beast.

Daniel 11-12 presents another scenario, a more hopeful possibility. Here, the world is portrayed as actually ending soon after the appointed time. The contrast, just like in the covenant promise, teaches that the future outcome of world history depends on the response of the people of God. It is the faithfulness of God’s people as illustrated in this scenario (11:32,33,35; 12:2,3,10) that ushers in the Messianic kingdom. The contrast clearly shows the existence of focal points in history where time may end or fail to end. This alternative, in particular, corresponds to the fact that the world was to end, or might have ended, in the first century.

The Author | The Seven Faces of Seventh-day Adventism | Christian Court

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