The book of Daniel contains vivid prophecies about events happening from Daniel’s time and far beyond it. God gave these prophecies to Daniel to record but not fully understand. The visions were meant for generations living in the “latter days” leading up to Jesus Christ’s second coming. So what do they mean for our world, and for you and me? Why were the prophecies given and why are they relevant to us today?

The reason is simple: to provide proof to future generations that God is not only aware of, but involved in world affairs. They provide motivation to do as God instructs in the Bible. They give assurance that even in tumultuous times, there is a greater work in progress that will be completed on God’s timetable. So let’s take a brief look at a prophecy in Daniel 7.

In this vision, God gave Daniel a look into the mighty powers that would come after the Babylonian Empire. The imagery adds characteristics to the players in these political roles. They are all portrayed as powerful beasts like a lion, a bear, and a leopard. The fourth is unlike the others portrayed only as a "dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong." It is completely different from the other three, and it had 10 horns (Daniel 7:4-7). In biblical prophecy, horns represent kings, emperors, rulers of another kind or, sometimes more broadly, a nation or political entity.

The plot thickens even more. Among the 10 horns of this fourth beast, a little horn sprouted that kept expanding and growing in power. That little horn was the beginning of a power that mixed secular power with religious dominance. The world awaits a final appearance of this power. This last rise, like its predecessors, will be a powerful political system supported by a powerful religious system affecting the lives of many. This article goes more in-depth on this prophecy.

Daniel believed God and lived life accordingly; so should we

As we well know, the quality of our lives can depend on who governs, and how. Daniel was a captive taken from Jerusalem to Babylon to serve the Babylonian king and his successors. Amazingly, Daniel remained faithful to God, despite the pressure to incorporate paganism into his religion (Daniel 6). Sound familiar? It should! God blessed him greatly for this faithfulness and gave him understanding of dreams and visions (Daniel 1:8-9, Daniel 1:17; Daniel 2:30).

If you haven’t lately, read the entire book of Daniel and look for those examples of what that kind of reliance on God actually looks like. God the Father has a plan to bring humanity into His divine family (1 John 3:1-2; Hebrews 2:1-18). The process by which we grow the character required to enter His Family is not always what we would choose, but we can be comforted by keeping the bigger picture in mind. In order for us to ultimately receive eternal life, our Father in heaven must be assured of our hearts. Therefore, we are tested at many levels: in simple choices we make every day all the way to the most life-altering trials and decisions (Deuteronomy 8:2; Jeremiah 17:9-10; 1 Peter 1:6-7).

This may seem overwhelming if we look at our journey and see only failed attempts to achieve perfection. Since we are actually humanly incapable of perfection, let us instead focus more helpfully on repentance and constant effort to be faithful in this physical training ground. True repentance means that God will not keep record of our sins (Acts 3:19). Remember that our God doesn’t leave us without help unless we turn away from Him. If we are willing to not only accept His Son as our Savior but to also put conscious effort into learning how to honor Him with our very existence—not by how we may imagine or invent, but by how He has instructed through Holy Scripture—He will open our understanding as we have need (1 Peter 1).

Daniel did not fully understand what the vision he was given meant, but he didn’t need to. God gave Daniel the knowledge that he needed to accomplish the work that He had given him in his lifetime. So many prophecies were for the benefit of future generations—our generation. If we are alert and watching as God tells us to be, and follow Daniel’s example of faithfulness to God rather than counterfeit religion, we will be spiritually ready to rely on God, whatever troubles may come.

With greater access than ever to recorded history, we can look back to see proof of how God has been working out His plan on a grand scale. He has been doing so through the lives of individuals all along the way (1 Peter 1:10-12). This encourages us to be patient with those things we do not yet understand. It may be that we personally don’t need to understand every passage of Scripture in order to accomplish the work that God has given us in this life.

God understands our limitations, and Himself takes credit for giving understanding to certain individuals (Luke 24:45). He also takes away understanding from those who allow their consciences to become dull (Ephesians 4:17-19). We should ask for it, but like Daniel, we may have to “go [our] way until the end” to have a more complete understanding of why things happen as they do (Daniel 12:13). That is exciting. I want to know the rest of the story, don’t you?

For further study on these and related topics, see also:

"Israel’s Amazing Story: Fulfillment of Bible Prophecy"

"The Four Empires of Daniel’s Prophecies"