Where it comes to Bible study, it’s much easier to get caught up in the details than it is to keep the big picture in mind. And the same thing was true for Daniel. He had a dream that was as fascinating as it was frightening, a vision of four beasts, which symbolized four great kingdoms that would rule the Ancient Near East in succession (Daniel 7:17).

In fact, this vision was remarkably similar to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream that Daniel had described and then interpreted for him (2:31-35). Daniel had explained that the statue in the dream, being made of four different metals, corresponded to Nebuchadnezzar’s own kingdom and three others that would succeed it (2:37-40).

Of course, looking back through history, it’s pretty easy to recognize the beasts of Daniel’s dream and the segments of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue as the Babylonian Empire, the Medo-Persian Empire, Alexander the Great’s Greek Empire, and the Roman Empire. But it was the last of these beasts, these kingdoms, that Daniel wanted to know more about. He wondered what its ten horns signified, and who that little horn might be that uttered such great boasts (7:19-20). Commentators, of course, disagree about the meaning of these details, in much the same way that scholars argue about the exact meaning of John’s visions in the Revelation – after all, he also saw a beast with 10 horns (Revelation 13:2).

But knowing exactly what would happen in the future wasn’t the main point of Daniel’s vision. And it wasn’t the main point of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, either. No, the key part of Daniel’s vision wasn’t any of the four beasts, but the fact that God, the Ancient of Days has given the Son of Man eternal dominion over all the kingdoms of the world (Daniel 7:14).

And come to think of it, that was the main point of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream too. For he saw a stone striking the feet of the statue, pulverizing it, and then growing into a mountain that filled the whole earth (Daniel 2:35). Daniel explained that this stone pointed to an everlasting kingdom that would be established in the days of the last of the four empires (Daniel 2:44).

And that’s the main point of the whole book of Daniel, and the whole book of Revelation, and really of the whole Bible: no matter what may happen throughout human history, Christ is in control. And He will eventually put down every king or kingdom that dares to defy His sovereign rule.

So, however interesting all the details of prophecies and visions might be, and no matter how fierce and terrible any of the opponents of the Church might seem, “the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come” (Daniel 7:18). That’s the truth on which the angel kept trying to get Daniel to focus – and that’s the main thing we need to keep in mind as well.

Daniel 7:9-14 (NASB)

9 “I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow, And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire.
10 “A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, And the books were opened.
11 “Then I kept looking because of the sound of the boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire.
12 “As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was granted to them for an appointed period of time.
13 “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him.
14 “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations, and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.