©Kris Gerbrandt
Chapter 7:1 (ESV) - In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter.
Question to consider: Which of the kings was Belshazzar?
This verse marks the beginning of the second half of Daniel in which he wrote the apocalyptic dreams given to him. It begins with a dream during the reign of Belshazzar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar who defiled the vessels taken from the Jerusalem temple and ultimately saw the fall of his grandfather’s kingdom to the Medes and Persians.
We will get into the contents of the dream tomorrow, but it basically expands on the dream given to Nebuchadnezzar in chapter two. When most people read the word “apocalypse” they think of strange visions of far-future calamities which mark the end of the world. The word actually means revelation, and such a dream describes or gives clarity to a mystery of God. In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in chapter two, a revelation was given to the Gentile king, Nebuchadnezzar that there would be four kingdoms of men (including his own) before an everlasting kingdom arose from heavenly origin. The kingdom would begin as a small rock which expanded into a large mountain that filled the earth.
I would argue that the second half of Daniel deals with dreams that reveal further details of this heavenly kingdom which will be everlasting and include people from every tribe and nation. Not only will they deal with the historical events that lead up to this kingdom, but they will reveal the time of its beginning along with the judgment that would come at the end of all ages to put an end to sin and death once and for all.
If you remember in the account of Belshazzar, Daniel showed respect but did not warm to him like he did Nebuchadnezzar or Darius whom he blessed and greeted with a desire for their eternal life. I believe that his attitude toward Belshazzar originated with the knowledge that Daniel gained from this dream.
Dear heavenly Father, as we enter into the second half of Daniel, I pray that You help with our understanding of the dreams and the kingdom which they describe. Amen.