◄ Daniel 7:12 ►
As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was removed, but they were granted an extension of life for a season and a time.
Study Bible
As for the rest of the beasts
The phrase "the rest of the beasts" refers to the other kingdoms or empires represented by the beasts in Daniel's vision. In the context of Daniel 7, these beasts symbolize successive world empires that have risen and fallen throughout history. The Hebrew word for "beasts" (חֵיוָה, chevah) emphasizes their ferocity and power, characteristics often associated with empires that dominate through might and conquest. Historically, these beasts are understood to represent the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman empires. Each of these empires played a significant role in shaping the ancient world and had a profound impact on the people of God.

their dominion was removed
The removal of dominion signifies the end of their power and authority. In the biblical narrative, God is sovereign over the rise and fall of nations. The Hebrew root for "dominion" (שָׁלַט, shalat) conveys the idea of ruling or having authority. This phrase underscores the transient nature of earthly power and the ultimate authority of God over human history. Archaeologically, the ruins of these ancient empires serve as a testament to their once-great power and the eventual cessation of their dominion, aligning with the biblical prophecy.

but they were granted an extension of life
This phrase indicates that although the dominion of these beasts was removed, they were allowed to continue existing for a period. The Hebrew word for "extension" (אַרְכָה, arka) suggests a prolonging or delay. This can be seen as a period of grace or continued existence without the same level of power or influence. Historically, remnants of these empires continued to exist in various forms, influencing subsequent cultures and societies. This extension of life can be seen as part of God's providential plan, allowing for the unfolding of His purposes in history.

for a season and a time
The expression "a season and a time" is a poetic way of indicating a divinely appointed period. The Aramaic words used here, "עִדָּן" (iddan) for "season" and "זְמָן" (zeman) for "time," suggest a specific, limited duration determined by God. This reflects the biblical theme that God has set times and seasons for all events under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1). In the prophetic context, it reassures believers that God is in control of history, and even the continuation of these empires serves His ultimate plan. This phrase encourages faith in God's timing and His sovereign orchestration of world events, reminding us that while human powers may seem to endure, they are ultimately subject to God's eternal purposes.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Daniel
A prophet and the author of the Book of Daniel, who receives visions and dreams from God concerning future events.

2. The Beasts
Symbolic representations of kingdoms or empires that have dominion over the earth. In Daniel 7, these beasts are part of a vision that Daniel receives, each representing a different kingdom.

3. The Vision
Daniel's vision in chapter 7 includes four great beasts, each symbolizing a kingdom that will rise and fall.

4. The Ancient of Days
A title for God, who is depicted as sovereign and eternal, presiding over the judgment of these kingdoms.

5. The Season and a Time
A period during which the dominion of the beasts is removed, but they are allowed to continue existing for a limited time.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty Over Kingdoms
The removal of dominion from the beasts illustrates God's ultimate authority over earthly powers. Believers can trust that no matter how powerful a kingdom or government may seem, God is in control.

The Temporary Nature of Earthly Power
The extension of life for a season and a time reminds us that earthly powers are temporary. Christians should focus on eternal values rather than temporal power.

The Importance of Patience and Trust
Just as the beasts were allowed to exist for a time, believers are called to be patient and trust in God's timing for the fulfillment of His plans.

Judgment and Justice
The vision underscores the certainty of divine judgment. Believers are encouraged to live righteously, knowing that God will ultimately judge all nations and individuals.

Hope in God's Ultimate Plan
Despite the presence of oppressive powers, the vision assures us of God's ultimate victory and the establishment of His eternal kingdom.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the vision of the beasts in Daniel 7:12 help us understand the nature of earthly kingdoms and their limitations?

2. In what ways can we see God's sovereignty at work in the world today, similar to how He removed the dominion of the beasts?

3. How can the temporary extension of life for the beasts encourage us to remain patient and faithful in our current circumstances?

4. What parallels can we draw between the vision in Daniel 7 and the imagery used in the Book of Revelation regarding the end times?

5. How can we apply the lessons of God's judgment and justice in Daniel 7:12 to our personal lives and our interactions with others?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Daniel 2
The vision of the statue with different materials parallels the vision of the beasts, representing successive kingdoms.

Revelation 13
The imagery of beasts in Revelation echoes Daniel's vision, symbolizing oppressive world powers.

Psalm 75
Speaks of God as the ultimate judge who brings down one and exalts another, similar to the removal of dominion from the beasts.

2 Thessalonians 2
Discusses the restraint of evil until the appointed time, akin to the extension of life for the beasts.

Ecclesiastes 3
Reflects on the concept of time and seasons, emphasizing God's control over the appointed times.
Sermons
Brute RuleH.T. Robjohns Daniel 7:1-12
Daniel's First VisionE. B. Pusey, D.D.Daniel 7:4-28
The First Two Visions of the Book of DanielT. R. Birks, M.A.Daniel 7:4-28
The Four BeastsOutlines by London MinisterDaniel 7:4-28
The Symbolical BeastsW. White.Daniel 7:4-28
The Vision of the Four BeastsWilliam M. Taylor, D.D.Daniel 7:4-28
Vision, of Four Wild BeastsT.Kirk.Daniel 7:4-28
The Real King-MakerJ.D. Davies Daniel 7:9-14
People
Belshazzar, Daniel
Places
Babylon
Topics
Allowed, Animals, Appointed, Authority, Beasts, Caused, Dominion, Extension, Granted, Measure, Pass, Period, Prolongation, Prolonged, Rest, Season, Stripped, Till, Yet
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Daniel 7:1-18

     1469   visions

Daniel 7:7-25

     4654   horn

Daniel 7:8-14

     8319   perception, spiritual

Daniel 7:11-12

     4609   beast, the

Library
Christ's Own Testimony Concerning Himself.
THERE is but one rational explanation, of this sublime mystery; and this is found in Christ's own testimony concerning his superhuman and divine origin and character.[49]49 This testimony challenges at once our highest regard and belief from the absolute veracity which no one ever denied him, or could deny, without destroying at once the very foundation of his universally conceded moral purity and greatness. Christ strongly asserts his humanity, and calls himself; about eighty times in the Gospels, …
Philip Schaff—The Person of Christ

The Christ of the Gospels. By Rev. Professor Schaff.
THE life and character of Jesus Christ is truly the Holy of Holies in the history of the world. Eighteen hundred years have passed away since he, in the fullness of time, appeared on this earth to redeem a fallen race from sin and death, and to open a never-ceasing fountain of righteousness and life. The ages before him anxiously awaited his coming as "the Desire of all nations;" the ages after him proclaim his glory, and ever extend his dominion. The noblest and best of men under every clime hold …
Philip Schaff—The Romance of M. Renan, and the Christ of the Gospels

The Apocalypse.
1. The word Apocalypse (Greek Apokalupsis) signifies Revelation, the title given to the book in our English version as well from its opening word as from its contents. Of all the writings of the New Testament that are classed by Eusebius among the disputed books (Antilegomena, chap. 5. 6), the apostolic authorship of this is sustained by the greatest amount of external evidence; so much so that Eusebius acknowledges it as doubtful whether it should be classed among the acknowledged or …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

The Captivity of Judah.
Eze., Dan., Lam. The Ten Tribes Lost. After the fall of Samaria we hear but little of the ten tribes. They were carried off into the regions of Ninevah by the Assyrians. All effort to locate them has failed and no doubt will fail. Sargon, in an inscription found at Ninevah, said that he carried away into captivity 27,290. These were perhaps leaders of Israel whom he thought might lead a revolt. He sent others back to take their place and the Israelites seemed to have mingled with the races about …
Josiah Blake Tidwell—The Bible Period by Period

Communion Again Broken --Restoration
Cant. v. 2-vi.10. The fourth section commences with an address of the bride to the daughters of Jerusalem, in which she narrates her recent sad experience, and entreats their help in her trouble. The presence and comfort of her Bridegroom are again lost to her; not this time by relapse into worldliness, but by slothful self-indulgence. We are not told of the steps that led to her failure; of how self again found place in her heart. Perhaps spiritual pride in the achievements which grace enabled her …
J. Hudson Taylor—Union and Communion

The Ecclesiastical Trial
Over the Kedron, up the slope to the city, through the gates, along the silent streets, the procession passed, with Jesus in the midst; midnight stragglers, perhaps, hurrying forward from point to point to ask what was ado, and peering towards the Prisoner's face, before they diverged again towards their own homes.[1] He was conducted to the residence of the high priest, where His trial ensued. Jesus had to undergo two trials--the one ecclesiastical, the other civil; the one before Caiaphas the …
James Stalker—The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ

Jesus at Capernaum.
Beset by an idea, gradually becoming more and more imperious and exclusive, Jesus proceeds henceforth with a kind of fatal impassibility in the path marked out by his astonishing genius and the extraordinary circumstances in which he lived. Hitherto he had only communicated his thoughts to a few persons secretly attracted to him; henceforward his teaching was sought after by the public. He was about thirty years of age.[1] The little group of hearers who had accompanied him to John the Baptist had, …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

The Danger of Deviating from Divine Institutions.
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." St. Paul was the apostle of the Gentiles. The care of the churches gathered among them devolved particularly on him. At the writing of this epistle he had no personal acquaintance with the church to which it is addressed.* Epaphras, a bishop of the Colossians, then his fellow prisoner at Rome, had made him acquainted with their state, and the danger …
Andrew Lee et al—Sermons on Various Important Subjects

Jesus Stills the Storm.
(Sea of Galilee; Same Day as Last Section) ^A Matt. VIII. 18-27; ^B Mark IV. 35-41; ^C Luke VIII. 22-25. ^b 35 And that day, { ^c one of those days,} ^b when the even was come [about sunset], ^a when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. { ^b he saith unto them, Let us go over unto the other side.} [Wearied with a day of strenuous toil, Jesus sought rest from the multitude by passing to the thinly settled on the east side of Galilee.] ^a 19 And there …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

A vision of the King.
ONE of the most blessed occupations for the believer is the prayerful searching of God's holy Word to discover there new glories and fresh beauties of Him, who is altogether lovely. Shall we ever find out all which the written Word reveals of Himself and His worthiness? This wonderful theme can never be exhausted. The heart which is devoted to Him and longs through the presence and indwelling of the Holy Spirit to be closer to the Lord, to hear and know more of Himself, will always find something …
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

The Situation after the Council of Nicæa.
The council (a) had testified, by its horrified and spontaneous rejection of it, that Arianism was a novelty subversive of the Christian faith as they had received it from their fathers. They had (b) banished it from the Church by an inexorable test, which even the leading supporters of Arius had been induced to subscribe. In the years immediately following, we find (c) a large majority of the Eastern bishops, especially of Syria and Asia Minor, the very regions whence the numerical strength of the …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

A Treatise of the Fear of God;
SHOWING WHAT IT IS, AND HOW DISTINGUISHED FROM THAT WHICH IS NOT SO. ALSO, WHENCE IT COMES; WHO HAS IT; WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS; AND WHAT THE PRIVILEGES OF THOSE THAT HAVE IT IN THEIR HEARTS. London: Printed for N. Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry, over against the Stocks market: 1679. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and "a fountain of life"--the foundation on which all wisdom rests, as well as the source from whence it emanates. Upon a principle …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Birth and Early Life of John the Baptist.
(Hill Country of Judæa, b.c. 5.) ^C Luke I. 57-80. ^c 57 Now Elisabeth's time was fulfilled that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. 58 And her neighbors and her kinsfolk heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her [mercy in granting a child; great mercy in granting so illustrious a child] ; and they rejoiced with her. 59 And it came to pass on the eighth day [See Gen. xvii. 12; Lev. xii. 3; Phil. iii. 5. Male children were named at their circumcision, probably …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Second visit to Nazareth - the Mission of the Twelve.
It almost seems, as if the departure of Jesus from Capernaum marked a crisis in the history of that town. From henceforth it ceases to be the center of His activity, and is only occasionally, and in passing, visited. Indeed, the concentration and growing power of Pharisaic opposition, and the proximity of Herod's residence at Tiberias [3013] would have rendered a permanent stay there impossible at this stage in our Lord's history. Henceforth, His Life is, indeed, not purely missionary, but He has …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

History of the Interpretation.
1. AMONG THE JEWS. This History, as to its essential features, might, a priori, be sketched with tolerable certainty. From the nature of the case, we could scarcely expect that the Jews should have adopted views altogether erroneous as to the subject of the prophecy in question; for the Messiah appears in it, not in His humiliation, but in His glory--rich in gifts and blessings, and Pelagian self-delusion will, a priori, return an affirmative answer to the question as to whether one is …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

His Future Work
The Lord Jesus Christ, who finished the work on earth the Father gave Him to do, who is now bodily present in the highest heaven, occupying the Father's throne and exercising His priesthood in behalf of His people, is also King. To Him belongeth a Kingdom and a kingly Glory. He has therefore a kingly work to do. While His past work was foretold by the Spirit of God and His priestly work foreshadowed in the Old Testament, His work as King and His glorious Kingdom to come are likewise the subjects …
A. C. Gaebelein—The Work Of Christ

Links
Daniel 7:12 NIV
Daniel 7:12 NLT
Daniel 7:12 ESV
Daniel 7:12 NASB
Daniel 7:12 KJV

Daniel 7:12 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Daniel 7:11
Top of Page
Top of Page