Apocalyptic Visions

Chapter 7

¹In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and a vision of his mind in bed; afterward he wrote down the dream. Beginning the account, ²Daniel related the following:

“In my vision at night, I saw the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea. ³Four mighty beasts different from each other emerged from the sea. ⁴The first was like a lion but had eagles’ wings. As I looked on, its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted off the ground and set on its feet like a man and given the mind of a man. ⁵Then I saw a second, different beast, which was like a bear but raised on one side, and with three fangs in its mouth among its teeth; it was told, ‘Arise, eat much meat!’ ⁶After that, as I looked on, there was another one, like a leopard, and it had on its back four wings like those of a bird; the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it. ⁷After that, as I looked on in the night vision, there was a fourth beast—fearsome, dreadful, and very powerful, with great iron teeth—that devoured and crushed, and stamped the remains with its feet. It was different from all the other beasts which had gone before it; and it had ten horns. ⁸While I was gazing upon these horns, a new little horn sprouted up among them; three of the older horns were uprooted to make room for it. There were eyes in this horn like those of a man, and a mouth that spoke arrogantly. ⁹As I looked on,

¹¹I looked on. Then, because of the arrogant words that the horn spoke, the beast was killed as I looked on; its body was destroyed and it was consigned to the flames. ¹²The dominion of the other beasts was taken away, but an extension of life was given to them for a time and season. ¹³As I looked on, in the night vision,

¹⁵As for me, Daniel, my spirit was disturbed within me and the vision of my mind alarmed me. ¹⁶I approached one of the attendants and asked him the true meaning of all this. He gave me this interpretation of the matter: ¹⁷‘These great beasts, four in number [mean] four kingdoms will arise out of the earth; ¹⁸then holy ones of the Most High will receive the kingdom, and will possess the kingdom forever—forever and ever.’ ¹⁹Then I wanted to ascertain the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from them all, very fearsome, with teeth of iron, claws of bronze, that devoured and crushed, and stamped the remains; ²⁰and of the ten horns on its head; and of the new one that sprouted, to make room for which three fell—the horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke arrogantly, and which was more conspicuous than its fellows. ²¹(I looked on as that horn made war with the holy ones and overcame them, ²²until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was rendered in favor of the holy ones of the Most High, for the time had come, and the holy ones took possession of the kingdom.) ²³This is what he said: ‘The fourth beast [means]—there will be a fourth kingdom upon the earth which will be different from all the kingdoms; it will devour the whole earth, tread it down, and crush it. ²⁴And the ten horns [mean]—from that kingdom, ten kings will arise, and after them another will arise. He will be different from the former ones, and will bring low three kings. ²⁵He will speak words against the Most High, and will harass the holy ones of the Most High. He will think of changing times and laws, and they will be delivered into his power for a ^atime, times, and half a time.^a26Then the court will sit and his dominion will be taken away, to be destroyed and abolished for all time. ²⁷The kingship and dominion and grandeur belonging to all the kingdoms under Heaven will be given to the people of the holy ones of the Most High. Their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them.’” ²⁸Here the account ends.

I, Daniel, was very alarmed by my thoughts, and my face darkened; and I could not put the matter out of my mind.

Chapter 8

¹In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me, to me, Daniel, after the one that had appeared to me earlier. ²I saw in the vision—at the time I saw it I was in the fortress of Shushan, in the province of Elam—I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai River. ³I looked and saw a ram standing between me and the river; he had two horns; the horns were high, with one higher than the other, and the higher sprouting last. ⁴I saw the ram butting westward, northward, and southward. No beast could withstand him, and there was none to deliver from his power. He did as he pleased and grew great. ⁵As I looked on, a he-goat came from the west, passing over the entire earth without touching the ground. The goat had a conspicuous horn on its forehead. ⁶He came up to the two-horned ram that I had seen standing between me and the river and charged at him with furious force. ⁷I saw him reach the ram and rage at him; he struck the ram and broke its two horns, and the ram was powerless to withstand him. He threw him to the ground and trampled him, and there was none to deliver the ram from his power. ⁸Then the he-goat grew very great, but at the peak of his power his big horn was broken. In its place, four conspicuous horns sprouted toward the four winds of heaven. ⁹From one of them emerged a small horn, which extended itself greatly toward the south, toward the east, and toward the beautiful land. ¹⁰It grew as high as the host of heaven and it hurled some stars of the [heavenly] host to the ground and trampled them. ¹¹It vaunted itself against the very chief of the host; on its account the regular offering was suspended, and His holy place was abandoned. ¹²An army was arrayed iniquitously against the regular offering; it hurled truth to the ground and prospered in what it did.

¹³Then I heard a holy being speaking, and another holy being said to whoever it was who was speaking, “How long will [what was seen in] the vision last—the regular offering be forsaken because of transgression; the sanctuary be surrendered and the [heavenly] host be trampled?” ¹⁴He answered me, “For twenty-three hundred evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.” ¹⁵While I, Daniel, was seeing the vision, and trying to understand it, there appeared before me one who looked like a man. ¹⁶I heard a human voice from the middle of Ulai calling out, “Gabriel, make that man understand the vision.” ¹⁷He came near to where I was standing, and as he came I was terrified, and fell prostrate. He said to me, “Understand, O man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.” ¹⁸When he spoke with me, I was overcome by a deep sleep as I lay prostrate on the ground. Then he touched me and made me stand up, ¹⁹and said, “I am going to inform you of what will happen when wrath is at an end, for [it refers] to the time appointed for the end.

²⁰“The two-horned ram that you saw [signifies] the kings of Media and Persia; ²¹and the buck, the he-goat— the king of Greece; and the large horn on his forehead, that is the first king. ²²One was broken and four came in its stead—that [means]: four kingdoms will arise out of a nation, but without its power. ²³When their kingdoms are at an end, when the measure of transgression has been filled, then a king will arise, impudent and versed in intrigue. ²⁴He will have great strength, but not through his own strength. He will be extraordinarily destructive; he will prosper in what he does, and destroy the mighty and the people of holy ones. ²⁵By his cunning, he will use deceit successfully. He will make great plans, will destroy many, taking them unawares, and will rise up against the chief of chiefs, but will be broken, not by [human] hands. ²⁶What was said in the vision about evenings and mornings is true. Now you keep the vision a secret, for it pertains to far-off days.” ²⁷So I, Daniel, was stricken, and languished many days. Then I arose and attended to the king’s business, but I was dismayed by the vision and no one could explain it.

Chapter 9

¹In the first year of Darius son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans—²in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, consulted the books concerning the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord that had come to Jeremiah the prophet, were to be the term of Jerusalem’s desolation—seventy years. ³I turned my face to the Lord God, devoting myself to prayer and supplication, in fasting, in sackcloth and ashes. ⁴I prayed to the Lord my God, making confession thus: “O Lord, great and awesome God, who stays faithful to His covenant with those who love Him and keep His commandments! ⁵We have sinned; we have gone astray; we have acted wickedly; we have been rebellious and have deviated from Your commandments and Your rules, ⁶and have not obeyed Your servants the prophets who spoke in Your name to our kings, our officers, our fathers, and all the people of the land. ⁷With You, O Lord, is the right, and the shame is on us to this very day, on the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, all Israel, near and far, in all the lands where You have banished them, for the trespass they committed against You. [ . . . ]

¹⁷“O our God, hear now the prayer of Your servant and his plea, and show Your favor to Your desolate sanctuary, for the Lord’s sake. ¹⁸Incline Your ear, O my God, and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolation and the city to which Your name is attached. Not because of any merit of ours do we lay our plea before You but because of Your abundant mercies. ¹⁹O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen, and act without delay for Your own sake, O my God; for Your name is attached to Your city and Your people!”

²⁰While I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and laying my supplication before the Lord my God on behalf of the holy mountain of my God—²¹while I was uttering my prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had previously seen in the vision, was sent forth in flight and reached me about the time of the evening offering. ²²He made me understand by speaking to me and saying, “Daniel, I have just come forth to give you understanding. ²³A word went forth as you began your plea, and I have come to tell it, for you are precious; so mark the word and understand the vision.

²⁴“Seventy weeks^b have been decreed for your people and your holy city until the measure of transgression is filled and that of sin complete, until iniquity is expiated, and eternal righteousness ushered in; and prophetic vision ratified, and the Holy of Holies anointed. ²⁵You must know and understand: From the issuance of the word to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the [time of the] anointed leader is seven weeks; and for sixty-two weeks it will be rebuilt, square and moat, but in a time of distress. ²⁶And after those sixty-two weeks, the anointed one will disappear and vanish. The army of a leader who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary, but its end will come through a flood. Desolation is decreed until the end of war. ²⁷During one week he will make a firm covenant with many. For half a week he will put a stop to the sacrifice and the meal offering. At the corner [of the altar] will be an appalling abomination until the decreed destruction will be poured down upon the appalling thing.”

Chapter 10

¹In the third year of King Cyrus of Persia, an oracle was revealed to Daniel, who was called Belteshazzar. That oracle was true, but it was a great task to understand the prophecy; understanding came to him through the vision.

²At that time, I, Daniel, kept three full weeks of mourning. ³I ate no tasty food, nor did any meat or wine enter my mouth. I did not anoint myself until the three weeks were over. ⁴It was on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, when I was on the bank of the great river— the Tigris—⁵that I looked and saw a man dressed in linen, his loins girt in fine gold. ⁶His body was like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and legs had the color of burnished bronze, and the sound of his speech was like the noise of a multitude.

⁷I, Daniel, alone saw the vision; the men who were with me did not see the vision, yet they were seized with a great terror and fled into hiding. ⁸So I was left alone to see this great vision. I was drained of strength, my vigor was destroyed, and I could not summon up strength. ⁹I heard him speaking; and when I heard him speaking, overcome by a deep sleep, I lay prostrate on the ground. ¹⁰Then a hand touched me, and shook me onto my hands and knees. ¹¹He said to me, “O Daniel, precious man, mark what I say to you and stand up, for I have been sent to you.” After he said this to me, I stood up, trembling. ¹²He then said to me, “Have no fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your mind to get understanding, practicing abstinence before your God, your prayer was heard, and I have come because of your prayer. ¹³However, the prince of the Persian kingdom opposed me for twenty-one days; now Michael, a prince of the first rank, has come to my aid, after I was detained there with the kings of Persia. ¹⁴So I have come to make you understand what is to befall your people in the days to come, for there is yet a vision for those days.”

¹⁵While he was saying these things to me, I looked down and kept silent. ¹⁶Then one who looked like a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to him who stood before me, “My lord, because of the vision, I have been seized with pangs and cannot summon strength. ¹⁷How can this servant of my lord speak with my lord, seeing that my strength has failed and no spirit is left in me?” ¹⁸He who looked like a man touched me again, and strengthened me. ¹⁹He said, “Have no fear, precious man, all will be well with you; be strong, be strong!” As he spoke with me, I was strengthened, and said, “Speak on, my lord, for you have strengthened me!” ²⁰Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Now I must go back to fight the prince of Persia. When I go off, the prince of Greece will come in. ^21cNo one is helping me against them except your prince, Michael. However, I will tell you what is recorded in the book of truth.”^c[ . . . ]

Chapter 12

¹“At that time, the great prince, Michael, who stands beside the sons of your people, will appear. It will be a time of trouble, the like of which has never been since the nation came into being. At that time, your people will be rescued, all who are found inscribed in the book. ²Many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, others to reproaches, to everlasting abhorrence. ³And the knowledgeable will be radiant like the bright expanse of sky, and those who lead the many to righteousness will be like the stars forever and ever.

⁴“But you, Daniel, keep the words secret, and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will range far and wide and knowledge will increase.”

⁵Then I, Daniel, looked and saw two others standing, one on one bank of the river, the other on the other bank of the river. ⁶One said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the water of the river, “How long until the end of these awful things?” ⁷Then I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the water of the river, swear by the Ever-Living One as he lifted his right hand and his left hand to heaven: “For a time, times, and half a time; and when the breaking of the power of the holy people comes to an end, then shall all these things be fulfilled.”

⁸I heard and did not understand, so I said, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these things?” ⁹He said, “Go, Daniel, for these words are secret and sealed to the time of the end. ¹⁰Many will be purified and purged and refined; the wicked will act wickedly and none of the wicked will understand; but the knowledgeable will understand. (¹¹From the time the regular offering is abolished, and an appalling abomination is set up— it will be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. ¹²Happy the one who waits and reaches one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.) ¹³But you, go on to the end; you shall rest, and arise to your destiny at the end of the days.”