◄ Daniel 7:1 ►
In the first year of the reign of Belshazzar over Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he lay on his bed. He wrote down the dream, and this is the summary of his account.
Study Bible
In the first year
This phrase sets the historical context for the vision. The "first year" refers to the initial year of Belshazzar's reign as king of Babylon. Historically, this period is significant as it marks the decline of the Babylonian Empire, which would soon fall to the Medo-Persian Empire. The phrase underscores the divine timing of the vision, as God reveals His plans during a pivotal moment in history.

of Belshazzar king of Babylon
Belshazzar was the son of Nabonidus and served as co-regent in Babylon. His reign is marked by the infamous "writing on the wall" incident, which foretold the fall of Babylon. The mention of Belshazzar situates Daniel's vision within a specific political and historical framework, emphasizing the transient nature of earthly kingdoms in contrast to God's eternal dominion.

Daniel had a dream
Dreams in the biblical context often serve as a medium for divine revelation. The Hebrew word for "dream" (חֲלוֹם, chalom) suggests a supernatural communication from God. Daniel, known for his ability to interpret dreams, receives a direct revelation, highlighting his role as a prophet and God's chosen instrument to convey His messages.

and visions passed through his mind
The phrase "visions passed through his mind" indicates a series of divine revelations. The Hebrew term for "visions" (חֲזוֹן, chazon) implies a prophetic insight or foresight. This suggests that Daniel's experience was not a mere dream but a profound spiritual encounter, providing him with a glimpse into God's sovereign plans for the future.

as he was lying in bed
This detail adds a personal and intimate dimension to the narrative. It suggests that God communicates with His servants in their most private and vulnerable moments. The setting of "lying in bed" implies a state of rest and receptivity, where Daniel is open to receiving divine revelation.

He wrote down
The act of writing signifies the importance and permanence of the revelation. By recording the vision, Daniel ensures that the message is preserved for future generations. This action underscores the prophetic responsibility to faithfully document and communicate God's revelations.

the substance of his dream
The "substance" refers to the core message or essence of the dream. The Hebrew word used here (רֵאשִׁית, reshith) can also mean "beginning" or "chief part," indicating that Daniel captured the most significant elements of the vision. This highlights the importance of discerning and conveying the central truths of God's revelations.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Daniel
A prophet and a key figure in the Book of Daniel, known for his faithfulness to God and his ability to interpret dreams and visions.

2. Belshazzar
The king of Babylon during whose reign Daniel received this vision. His reign marks the end of the Babylonian Empire.

3. Babylon
The empire where Daniel was held captive. It represents a place of exile and a symbol of worldly power and opposition to God's kingdom.

4. Dream and Visions
Supernatural revelations given to Daniel, which are significant for understanding God's plan for future kingdoms and His ultimate sovereignty.

5. The First Year of Belshazzar
This time marker situates the vision historically and indicates a period of transition and impending judgment on Babylon.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty in History
Daniel's vision during Belshazzar's reign reminds us that God is in control, even when earthly kingdoms rise and fall.

The Importance of Spiritual Discernment
Like Daniel, believers are called to seek understanding and discernment through prayer and study of God's Word.

Faithfulness in Exile
Daniel's example encourages us to remain faithful to God, even in environments that are hostile to our faith.

The Role of Prophecy
Prophetic visions, like those given to Daniel, serve to prepare and encourage believers by revealing God's ultimate plan.

Writing and Remembering God's Revelations
Daniel wrote down his vision, emphasizing the importance of recording and reflecting on God's revelations in our lives.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Daniel's faithfulness in Babylon inspire you to live out your faith in a secular world?

2. In what ways can you seek spiritual discernment in your daily life, similar to Daniel's approach to understanding his visions?

3. How does the historical context of Belshazzar's reign enhance your understanding of the vision's significance?

4. What parallels can you draw between Daniel's visions and the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament regarding the end times?

5. How can you apply the practice of writing down and reflecting on God's revelations in your personal spiritual journey?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 41
Joseph's interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams parallels Daniel's role in interpreting divine revelations, highlighting God's sovereignty in revealing future events.

Revelation 13
The visions in Daniel 7 have thematic connections to the beasts described in Revelation, symbolizing earthly kingdoms and their opposition to God.

Matthew 24
Jesus' teachings on the end times echo the themes of divine judgment and the establishment of God's kingdom found in Daniel's visions.
Sermons
A Vision of Human ViolenceJ.D. Davies Daniel 7:1-8
Brute RuleH.T. Robjohns Daniel 7:1-12
People
Belshazzar, Daniel
Places
Babylon
Topics
Babylon, Bed, Belshazzar, Belshaz'zar, Chief, Daniel, Dream, Lay, Lying, Matter, Matters, Mind, Passed, Related, Substance, Sum, Summary, Visions, Writing, Written, Wrote
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Daniel 7:1

     1466   vision
     5038   mind, the human
     5229   bed
     5263   communication
     7773   prophets, role

Daniel 7:1-2

     5533   sleep, physical

Daniel 7:1-7

     7735   leaders, political

Daniel 7:1-18

     1469   visions

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

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