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From: Daniel 7:2-14

Daniel’s Vision

[2] Daniel said, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of hea-
ven were stirring up the great sea. [3] And four great beasts came up out of the
sea, different from one another. [4] The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings.
Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground
and made to stand upon two feet like a man; and the mind of a man was given
to it. [5] And behold, another beast, a second one, like a beat It was raised up
on one side, it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth, and it was told,
‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ [6] After this I looked, and lo, another, like a leopard
with four wings of a bird on its back and the beast had four heads, and dominion
was given to it. [7] After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast,
terrible and dreadful and exceedingly strong, and it had great iron teeth, it de-
voured and broke in pieces and stamped the residue with its feet It was different
from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. [8] I considered the
horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before
which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots and behold, in this
horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things. [9]
As I looked, thrones were placed and one that was ancient of days took his seat;
his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne
was fiery flames, its wheels were burning fire. [10] A stream of fire issued and
came forth from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand
times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment,and the books
were opened.

[11] I looked then because of the sound of the great words which the horn was
speaking. And as I looked, the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given
over to be burned with fire. [12] As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was
taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. [13] I saw in
the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a
son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.
[14] And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, na-
tions, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

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Commentary:

7:1-12:13. Up to the end of chapter 6, Daniel has been the interpreter of kings’
dreams; now his own dreams are interpreted for him by an angel or heavenly be-
ing: the interpreter explains dreams (chaps. 7-8), the meaning of Scripture (chap.
9), and a vision (chaps. 10-12); and Daniel himself notes it all down.

Daniel had announced to Nebuchadnezzar the end of time as part of the interpre-
tation of his dream (cf. 2:28); now Daniel is told when it will happen (cf. 12:5-12);
for him (cf. 2:28); he is given a more specific revelation in which the figure of the
tyrannical Antiochus IV (described here symbolically) is depicted as the epitome
of evil and his death will mark the end of the present age (cf. 11:45-12:1). Earlier,
Daniel’s wisdom was seen as a divine gift to be used for the benefit of foreign
kings; now it is depicted as coming from a revelation in which God speaks to
Daniel through heavenly messengers and tells him about the meaning of human
history—a revelation that he must commit to writing, as a source of comfort and
hope for the chosen people. “Revelation has set within history a point of refe-
rence which cannot be ignored if the mystery of human life is to be known. Yet
this knowledge refers back constantly to the mystery of God which the human
mind cannot exhaust but can only receive and embrace in faith. Between these
two poles, reason has its own specific field in which it can enquire and under-
stand, restricted only by its finiteness before the infinite mystery of God” (John
Paul II, “Fides Et Ratio”, 14).

7:1-28. This chapter marks the end of the part of the book written in Aramaic;
in it we again find elements seen in chapter 2 (where the Aramaic part began);
these include: the arrangement of history into four periods (symbolized there by
metals, here by beasts) and the establishment of an everlasting kingdom at the
end. Thus, the chapter closes the Aramaic section and acts as a kind of intro-
duction to the chapters (in Hebrew) in which Daniel receives and writes down di-
vine revelations. Chapter 8 is written in Hebrew and it explains chapter 7; and
this pattern continues: chapter 9 is explained by chapter 10; and 11 by 12. Da-
niel first outlines his dream or vision, and it is then interpreted by an angelic
being. In this chapter the content of the dream is given in vv. 1-14, and its inter-
pretation in vv. 15-28. Vision and interpretation constitute a single event, an ac-
count of which Daniel writes down, as he mentions at start (cf. v. 1) and finish
(cf. v. 28). Daniel’s “signature” at beginning and end confirms the truth of his
vision and the truthfulness of what he has written for the reader.

7:1-14. In chapter 5 the picture drawn of Belshazzar suggested that he stood fi-
guratively for the sacrilegious King Antiochus IV. It is not surprising, then, that
this dream of Daniel’s is set in the first year of Belshazzar’s reign, given that the
climax of the prophecy (the little horn) concerns Antiochus IV. God is going to
intervene definitively when irreligion is at its worst. There are two scenes in the
vision — the beasts coming out of the sea (vv. 2-8) and the divine court and judg-
ment (vv. 9-14).

7:2-8. The Great Sea (the Mediterranean: v. 2), out of which the beasts arise,
stands for the world of gloom and chaos. Although earlier prophets did use ani-
mals as symbols for empires (a crocodile for Egypt, cf. Ezek 32; an eagle or a
monster for Babylon, cf. Ezek 17:3; Jer 51:34), the winged beasts of Daniel’s vi-
sion are reminiscent of Mesopotamian statues. The lion with eagle’s wings stands
for Nebuchadnezzar a proud man, he was brought low and later given back his
reason (4:16, 34); the empire of the Medes is depicted as a bear ready to attack,
and that of the Persians as a leopard, fleet of foot. The fourth beast resembles no

animal, but its teeth of iron show it to be the Greek empire of Alexander the Great
and his successors (cf. 2:40). Of those successors, (symbolized by the horns),
attention is focused on Antiochus IV, the horn with eyes that speaks blasphemy
(cf. vv. 8, 25). The gravity of those challenges to God’s authority will be underlined
in Revelation 13:5 in its description of the beast that is given power by the dragon.
The worst sin of the powers of the world is their opposition to God and his laws.
Interpreting the words of this passage as a prophecy in the strict sense, that is,
as a prediction of something that will happen in the future, some Fathers read the
last of the horns as being the Antichrist of whom the Revelation to John will have
much to say (cf. Rev. 13:11-18; 17:16; 19: 19-21).

7:9-14. Divine judgment is passed on the kingdoms in this scene. God is depic-
ted as being seated on a throne in heaven, his glory flashing out and angels all
around. Judgment is about to take place, and it will be followed by execution of
the sentence. The books (v. 10) contain all the actions of men (cf. Jer 17:1; Mal
3:16; Ps 56:8; Rev 20:12). The seer is shown history past (not laid out according
to chronology:all the empires are included in one glance), and he notes that a
more severe sentence is passed on the blasphemous horn than on the other
beasts. They had their lives extended (v. 12), that is, their deprivation of power
did not spell the end; but the little horn is destroyed forthwith. “Following in the
steps of the prophets and John the Baptist, Jesus announced the judgment of
the Last Day in his preaching (cf. Dan 7:10; Joel 3-4; Mal 3:19; Mt 3:7-42)”
(”Catechism of the Catholic Church”, 678).

The one “like a son of man” who comes with the clouds of heaven and who, after
the judgment, is given everlasting dominion over all the earth, is the very antithe-
sis of the beasts. He has not risen from a turbulent sea like them; there is nothing
ferocious about him. Rather, he has been raised up by God (he comes with the
clouds of heaven) and he shares the human condition. The dignity of all mankind
is restored through this son of man’s triumph over the beasts. This figure, as we
will discover later, stands for ‘the people of the saints of the Most High’ (7:27), that
is, faithful Israel. However, he is also an individual (just as the winged lion was an
individual, and the little horn), and insofar as he is given a kingdom, he is a king.
What we have here is an individual who represents the people. In Jewish circles
around the time of Christ, this “son of man” was interpreted as being the Messiah,
a real person (cf. “Book of the Parables of Enoch”); but it was a title that became
linked to the sufferings of the Messiah and to his resurrection from the dead only
when Jesus Christ applied it to himself in the Gospel. “Jesus accepted Peter’s
profession of faith, which acknowledged him to be the Messiah, by announcing
the imminent Passion of the Son of Man (cf. Mt 16:23). He unveiled the authentic
content of his messianic kingship both in the transcendent identity of the Son of
Man ‘who came down from heaven’ (Jn 3:13; cf. Jn 6:62; Dan 7:13), and in his re-
demptive mission as the suffering Servant: ‘The Son of Man came not to be served
but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many’ (Mt 20:28; cf. Is 53:10-12)”
(”Catechism of the Catholic Church”, 440).

When the Church proclaims in the Creed that Christ is seated at the right hand
of the Father, she is saying that it was to Christ that dominion was given; “Being
seated at the Father’s right hand signifies the inauguration of the Messiah’s king-
dom, the fulfillment of the prophet Daniel’s vision concerning the Son of man; ‘To
him was given domination and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and
languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall
not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed’ (Dan 7:14). Af-
ter this event the apostles became witnesses of the ‘kingdom [that] will have no
end’ (Nicene Creed)” (”Catechism of the Catholic Church”, 664).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Luke 21:29-33

Discourse on the Destruction of Jerusalem and the End of the World

[29] And He (Jesus) told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees;
[30] as soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the
summer is already near. [31] So also, when you see these things taking place,
you know that the Kingdom of God is near. [32] Truly, I say to you, this genera-
tion will not pass away till all has taken place. [33] Heaven and earth will pass
away, but My words will not pass away.”

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Commentary:

31. The Kingdom of God, announced by John the Baptist (cf. Matthew 3:2) and
described by our Lord in so many parables (cf. Matthew 13; Luke 13:18-20), is
already present among the Apostles (Luke 17:20-21), but it is not yet fully mani-
fest. Jesus here describes what it will be like when the Kingdom comes in all its
fullness, and He invites us to pray for this very event in the Our Father: “Thy King-
dom come.” “The Kingdom of God, which had its beginnings here on earth in the
Church of Christ, is not of this world, whose form is passing, and its authentic de-
velopment cannot be measured by the progress of civilization, of science and of
technology. The true growth of the Kingdom of God consists in an ever deepening
knowledge of the unfathomable riches of Christ, in an ever stronger hope in eter-
nal blessings, in an ever more fervent response to the love of God, and in an ever
more generous acceptance of grace and holiness by men” (”Creed of the People
of God”, 27). At the end of the world everything will be subjected to Christ and
God will reign for ever more (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:24, 28).

32. Everything referring to the destruction of Jerusalem was fulfilled some forty
years after our Lord’s death — which meant that Jesus’ contemporaries would be
able to verify the truth of this prophecy. But the destruction of Jerusalem is a
symbol of the end of the world; therefore, it can be said that the generation to
which our Lord refers did see the end of the world, in a symbolic way. This verse
can also be taken to refer to the generation of believers, that is, not just the par-
ticular generation of those Jesus was addressing (cf. note on Matthew 24:32-35).

[The note on Matthew 24:32-35 states:

32-35. Seeing in the destruction of Jerusalem a symbol of the end of the world,
St. John Chrysostom applies to it this parable of the fig tree: “Here He also fore-
tells a spiritual spring and a calm which, after the storm of the present life, the
righteous will experience; whereas for sinners there will be a winter after the
spring they have had [...]. But this was not the only reason why He put before
them the parable of the fig tree, to tell them of the interval before His coming; He
wanted to show them that His word would assuredly come true. As sure as the
coming of spring is the coming of the Son of Man” (”Hom. on St. Matthew”, 77).

“This generation”: this verse is a clear example of what we say in the note on
Matthew 24:1 about the destruction of Jerusalem being itself a symbol. “This ge-
neration” refers firstly to the people alive at the time of the destruction of Jerusa-
lem. But, since that event is symbolic of the end of the world, we can say with
St. John Chrysostom that “the Lord was speaking not only of the generation then
living, but also of the generation of the believers; for He knows that a generation
is distinguished not only by time but also by its mode of religious worship and
practice: this is what the Psalmist means when he says that ‘such is the gene-
ration of those who seek Him’ (Psalm 24:6)” (”Hom. on St. Matthew”, 77).]

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.