Daniel 7:1
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.
Daniel received the dream and wrote its sum because God honored his firmness, self-denial, purity of motive, and unwavering trust. God gave him understanding in all visions and dreams and put the spirit of prophetic power upon him. While he was receiving instruction from men in court duties, God taught him to read the mysteries of the future.
The verse begins the wonderful prophecies recorded in chapters seven to twelve, given to Daniel as God's ambassador as revelations of the mysteries of ages to come. It records for coming generations in figures and symbols a delineation of historical events covering the history of this world till the close of time. The four beasts represent the successive empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, and the prophecy traces their rise and progress. Every nation is permitted to occupy its place on earth so it may be determined whether it will fulfill the purposes of the Watcher and the Holy One. Each empire has its period of test, each fails, its glory fades and its power departs, and history repeats itself with each in turn.
The beast in Revelation 13 has the characteristics of those four beasts and inherits the power they held in succession. The little horn represents the Roman Church, even before it acquired civil power. Its description of blasphemy and war against the saints links it to the leopard-like beast of Revelation 13, and both symbols are identified with the papacy. The prophecy includes the little horn's loss of dominion, with its 1260 days applied to 1798 when Berthier entered and took Rome on February 10 and the Pope was taken prisoner on February 15. The working of the man of sin is plainly revealed as among the last features in this earth's history.
The visions were not fully understood even by Daniel himself, were ordered to be shut up and sealed even to the time of the end, and belong to the closing period of this world's history. The verse carries the blessed assurance that Daniel would rest and stand in his lot and place at the end of the days. Its direct fulfillment in history in order shone out clearly as the sun at noonday and gave great light to those who studied it and bore the message of time to the people. It is to be diligently studied and carefully guarded as a great waymark of truth showing bearings in prophetic history, not to be torn down and replaced with theories that bring confusion rather than genuine light, and its correct application belongs with the experience of those who acted a part in the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels' messages and now give the third angel's message to the world.