30 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO Daniel 7 This chapter contains Daniel's vision of the four beasts, The time, place, manner, writing, and declaration of the vision, Daniel 7:1, the rise of the beasts, and the description of them, Daniel 7:2, the judgment of God upon them, especially the last, and the delivery of universal monarchy to his Son, Daniel 7:9, the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon,.... Daniel having finished the historical part of his book, and committed to writing what was necessary concerning himself and his three companions, and concerning Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Darius the Mede, proceeds to the prophetic part, and goes back to the first year of Belshazzar's reign,...
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary - Matthew Henry
The six former chapters of this book were historical; we now enter with fear and trembling upon the six latter, which are prophetical, wherein are many things dark and hard to be understood, which we dare not positively determine the sense of, and yet many things plain and profitable, which I trust God will enable us to make a good use of. In this...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night,.... He declared he had had a vision by night, and this was the substance of it: and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea: the east, west, north, and south winds, broke out from each of their quarters, and rushed in upon the great sea; either the Mediterranean, so called...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And four great beasts came up from the sea,.... Which are afterwards interpreted of four kings or kingdoms, Daniel 7:17, which rose up in the world, not at once, but successively, and out of the sea or world, through the commotions and agitations of it; and these are the four monarchies, Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, and Roman; compared to...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
The first was like a lion,.... That which rose up first, the kingdom of the Babylonians, as the Syriac version expresses it; or the Assyrian monarchy, founded by Nimrod, increased by the Assyrians, and brought to its height under Nebuchadnezzar by the Babylonians and Chaldeans; this is said to be like a "lion" for its strength and power, for its...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And, behold, another beast, a second, like to a bear,.... Another monarchy, and which succeeded the former, and rose up upon the ruins of it, the Medo-Persian monarchy; and so the Syriac version prefixes to this verse, by way of explanation, "the kingdom of the Medes'' like to a bear, less generous and strong than the lion; more rough and uncivil,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
After this I beheld, and, lo another, like a leopard,.... Another beast, another monarchy, a third monarchy succeeding the Persian monarchy, and which rose up on the ruins of that; Darius king of the Persians being beaten by Alexander king of Macedon, who was the instrument of setting up the Grecian monarchy here intended; compared to a leopard, a...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast,.... Not in another night, as Jarchi; but in the same night, and in the same visions of it; only after he had seen the other three successively, then last of all he saw this fourth beast; and more being said of this than of the rest, shows that this was the principal thing in the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
I considered the horns,.... The ten horns of the fourth beast; these the prophet particularly looked at, took special notice of them, carefully observed them, their number, form, and situation, and pondered in his mind what should be the meaning of them: and, behold; while he was attentive to these, and thinking within himself what they should be,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
I beheld till the thrones were cast down,.... On which the governors of the above monarchies sat; and those of the ten kings, signified by the ten horns; and also that of the little horn. The prophet kept looking on the objects before him, till he in his dream, and the visions of the night, saw all those empires and kingdoms demolished, and all...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him,.... Or, "a river of fire" (s); which denotes the copious judgments of God, the abundance of them; the full flow of his wrath, and the fierceness of it; and also its rapidity, which cannot be resisted and stopped: thousand thousands ministered unto him; attended upon him, waiting his orders, and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake,.... Or, "from the voice" (t); from the time it was heard, the prophet continued looking to see what would be the issue of all this; especially from the time he heard the little horn speak such blasphemous things against God, and Christ, and his people, which were so...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
As concerning the rest of the beasts..... The other three which represent the Babylonian, Persian and Grecian monarchies: they had their dominion taken away; not at this time when the fourth beast, or Roman empire, is destroyed, but long ago; and not together, but successively; the dominion was taken away from the Babylonians, and given to the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
I saw in the night visions,.... Very probably the same night in which he had the dream and vision of the four beasts; but this that follows, being a new object presented, is introduced and prefaced after this manner; as well as, being something wonderful and worthy of attention, has a "behold" prefixed to it: and, behold one like the Son of man...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom,.... That is, a large, powerful, and glorious kingdom; not but that he had a kingdom before, but now it will be more extensive, and appear in greater glory: this will be fulfilled when the kingdoms of this world shall become his, and all nations shall serve and worship him, Revelation...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body,.... Or "sheath" (a); the soul being in the body as a sword in its scabbard; where it was "cut" (b) and pierced, as the word signifies; and was wounded, distressed, and grieved at the vision seen; not at the sight of the Son of man, and the glorious and everlasting kingdom given to him; but...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
I came near unto one of them that stood by,.... To one of the angels that attended, either the throne of judgment, or, the Son of man in his approach to his divine Father: and asked him the truth of all this; the substance of these visions; what these images, presented to his view, were shadows and representations of; so type and truth, shadow and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
These great beasts, which are four, are four kings,.... Or kingdoms, as the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions; and so Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Saadiah; so the fourth beast is called the fourth kingdom, Daniel 7:23 or a succession of kings in four kingdoms or monarchies, comparable to beasts for their strength, cruelty, and tyranny:...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
But the saints of the most High,.... Or, "of the most high Ones" (d), Father, Son, and Spirit, separated by God the Father in election, and in that sense his servants, or sanctified ones, Jude 1:1, and redeemed by the Son, and sanctified with his blood, or their sins atoned by it, and to whom he is made sanctification, and so his saints, Hebrews...