A
COMPARISON OF REVELATION CHAPTERS 4 & 5 WITH DANIEL 7
Bro. Michael
Jacob
The scene shown in Daniel
7 and Revelation 4&5 are one and the same.
1 . THE ANCIENT OF DAYS
APPEARS SITTING UPON THE THRONE
Rev. 4:2 shows Deity, or
the Ancient of Days sitting upon a throne. " And behold a throne was set in
heaven, and ONE sat upon the throne".
Daniel 7 goes further and
gives a description of the Ancient of Days who is on the throne. " And I beheld
till the thrones were set 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" (Dan 7 :9).
2 . THE SCENE ABOUT THE
THRONE .
Rev 4:5, describes this
throne of Deity "And out of the throne proceeded lightening and
thundering and voices : and there were seven lamps of fire burning before
the throne which are the seven Spirits of God". The description is of a judgment
throne. Dan. 7, portrays the scene about the throne even more vividly.
"His throne was like a fiery flame, and His wheels are burning fire. The fiery
stream issued and came forth before Him......" (Dan. 7 : 9 - 10).
3. THE THRONES WERE SET
:
This statement in Dan 7 :
9-10 shows that there were other thrones included in the setting. Rev. 4:4
reveals that these other thrones are occupied by 24 Elders. "And round about the
throne were four and twenty (thrones) and upon them (thrones), I saw four and
twenty elders clothed with white raiment : and they had on their heads crowns of
gold"
4. THE TEN THOUSAND
TIMES TEN THOUSAND ATTENDING ANGELS.
Rev. 5:11 records the
attending angels. "And I beheld and heard the voice of many angels round about
the throne and the beast and the elders : and the number of them was ten
thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands" Daniel describes the
same picture, and the numbers tally with those of Rev 5.
" Thousand thousands
ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him : The
judgment was set and the books were opened"(Dan7:10).
5. THE PURPOSE OF THE
JUDGMENT THRONE
" The Judgment was set and
the books opened", The chief difference between accounts of Daniel and the
Revelation is this :
(a) In Daniel, the
narrative swiftly covers the whole apocalyptic revelation down to the
destruction of the Beast and giving lo the saints the kingdom.
(b) In contrast,
practically the entire Book of Revelation is an elaboration of the details given
in Daniel 7. The 4th and 5th Chapters of Revelation thus narrate only the
preliminary scenes of the judgment
6. JUDGMENT AND
DESTRUCTION OF THE BEAST KINGDOMS :
Dan. 7 therefore continues
the judgment scene, showing its results. It reveals how the Beast is taken and
delivered to destruction. " I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body
destroyed and given to the burning flame..... and they shall take away his
dominion, to consume and to destroy it to the end" (Dan 7 : 11, 26).
The essential purpose
therefore of the judgment throne is to take over and destroy the dominion that
Satan has held over the earth and return it to the rightful heirs, the Saints of
God.
7. THE KINGDOM GIVEN TO
THE SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH.
But who is to accomplish
this? Who can open the book with the title deed to the earth? Who is able to
disposes the usurpers? Daniel tells us "I saw in the night visions, and behold,
one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient
of days and they brought Him near before Him " (Dan 7 : 13).
This verse carries a
two-fold picture.
(a) Christ is presented
before the Ancient of days. He takes the book of the title deed out of the hand
of Him who sits on the throne (Rev 5 : 5 -7). There are at least three books
which will be opened during the judgment (Dan 7 : 10). There is the book of
life. There is the book of the deeds of the wicked (Rev. 20 :12). There is the
book of remembrance of the works of the righteous (Malachi 3:16). However, at
this time we are concerned with the book with the title deed to the earth, which
the Son of Man has in His hand. This book is sealed, but the Lion of the Tribe
of Judah has been found worthy to open the book and to loose the seals.
(b) Christ comes in the
clouds of heaven to fulfill the purposes unfolded in the loosing of the seals.
WHY WAS THE
BOOK SEALED?
As we have seen, this
revelation of the dispossession of Satan was given to the prophet Daniel. But in
his (Daniel's) day, the time had not yet come for the prophecy to be fulfilled.
For that reason the words of the book were sealed up till the time of the end.'
Christ had not come as redeemer at that time. He had not yet paid the ransom. He
was not yet, " the lamb that had been slain".
"And He said , Go thy way
Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end"
(Daniel 12:9).
In the vision in
Revelation chapters 4 and 5, we see the book reappear for unsealing. With the
loosing of the seals, Christ will dispossess the usurpers, and turn over the
kingdom to the saints.
"And there was given Him
dominion, and glory, and a kingdom-"(Daniel 7:14)
" And the kingdom, and
dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom - shall be given to the people of the
most high" (Daniel 7:27).
And thus we find that
Daniel 7 and Revelation chapters 4-5 are parallel accounts of the judgment
scene.
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