Symbol | Text | Decoded |
|---|---|---|
| Metals in Daniel 2—gold, silver, brass, iron | Daniel 2:38-40 | Four successive world empires beginning in Daniel’s day |
| Head of gold in Daniel 2:38 | Daniel 2:31-32 | Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom—Babylon |
| Toes of image in Daniel 2:41 | Daniel 2:41 | A divided kingdom |
| The rock cut out without hands in Daniel 2:34 | Daniel 2:44, 45 | God’s eternal kingdom |
| The tree in Daniel 4:10 | Daniel 4:20-22 | King Nebuchadnezzar |
| The cutting down of the tree in Daniel 4:14 | Daniel 4:24, 25 | King Nebuchadnezzar’s loss of his throne to temporary insanity |
| The band of iron and brass around the tree’s stump in Daniel 4:15 | Daniel 4:26 | Nebuchadnezzar’s empire preserved |
| The mysterious writing on the wall of Belshazzar’s banquet hall in Daniel 5:5 | Daniel 5:26-28 | God’s judgment pronounced upon Babylon |
| Four winds in Daniel 7:2 | Jeremiah 49:36, 37 (See also Revelation 7:1, 2) | Winds equal devastation and destruction. The number four symbolizes the directions of the compass—North, South, East, and West. |
| Sea in Daniel 7:2 | Revelation 17:15 | Multitudes, peoples, nations |
| Beasts in Daniel 7:3 | Daniel 7:17, 23 | Empires or kingdoms |
| The lion, bear, leopard, and dragon-like beast in Daniel 7:3-8 | Daniel 7:4-7 | Four successive world empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome |
| Ten horns in Daniel 7:7-8 | Daniel 7:24 (first part) | Ten kings or kingdoms—divisions of power |
| Little horn in Daniel 7:8 | Daniel 7:24, 25 (last part) | A diverse or different power; one that is not political, but religious in nature |
| Eyes like a man in Daniel 7:8 | Ephesians 1:18 | Eyes equal understanding or wisdom. Eyes like a man indicate a system based on human, rather than divine, wisdom |
| Clouds of heaven in Daniel 7:13 | Matthew 16:27; Revelation 1:7 | Angels |
| A prophetic day | Genesis 29:27; Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6; Luke 13:32 | One year |
| Time, times, and half a time in Daniel 7:25 | Revelation 12:6, 14 | 1,260 prophetic days or 1,260 literal years |
| Son of man in Daniel 7:13 | Luke 19:10; Luke 21:27 | Jesus Christ |
| Ram in Daniel 8:3 | Daniel 8:20 | Media-Persia |
| He goat in Daniel 8:5 | Daniel 8:21 | Greece |
| Prince of the Host in Daniel 8:11 | Daniel 9:25, 10:13, 12:1; Isaiah 9:6 | Jesus Christ |
| Transgression in Daniel 8:12 | 1 John 3:4 | Sin is the transgression, or breaking, of God’s law |
| Transgression or abomination of desolation | Daniel 11:31, 32 | Open rebellion against God, His word, and His law—the Ten Commandments |
| 2300 prophetic days in Daniel 8:14 | Ezekiel 4:6; Numbers 14:34 | 2,300 literal years |
| Seventy weeks in Daniel 9:24 | Ezekiel 4:6; Numbers 14:34 | 490 literal years |
| Messiah the Prince in Daniel 9:25 | Matthew 1:21 | Jesus Christ |
| The covenant in Daniel 9:27 | Matthew 26:28 | God’s plan of salvation through the blood of Christ |
| The prince of the kingdom of Persia in Daniel 10:13 | John 12:31 | The prince of this world, or Satan |
| King of the South in Daniel 11:5 | Exodus 5:2 | Spiritual Egypt, anti-God powers, atheistic powers |
| King of the North in Daniel 11:7 | Revelation 14:8, 9; 18:1-5 | Spiritual Babylon, or false religious powers which, under the guise of religion, deceive with false teachings |
| Tidings from the east in Daniel 11:44 | Matthew 24:27 | The message of Christ’s soon return |
Using symbolic images and prophetic pictures, God encodes thousands of years of history in the Holy Writ. The code is however clearly explained in Scripture.