The following is an interpretation of a vision seen by Daniel that I seem to hold somewhat differently to some others.

I differ from main stream theology which tends to consign prophecy to the age in which it was written, or thereabouts, rather than see it as a glimpse of the future.

I express my belief relying on the human rights protected by NZ legislation.

This short piece relates to the Old Testament Book of Daniel.

Chapters 7 and 8 are two interconnected visions that Daniel received. The following relates only to Chapter 7.

Rather than attempt to interpret in detail, I paraphrase loosely. I make no claim for detail accuracy, rather I seek the overall gist of the prophecy.

There are four animals. Three are similar and the fourth is quite different. They appear in chronological order.

The first is lying on its side. A ballast is added to make it stand upright. That ballast is a keel. Masts are added to the boat to carry square sails, made of strips of material sewn together in stripes. The sails are taken down and replaced by an engine. The bare masts remain.

The second animal is tipped onto its side. Now viewed from below, this animal has steel gears meshed together, with levers like ribs that are gear selectors for the changing of ratios.

Chronologically the boat is the slowest form of travel and the motor vehicle the faster.

The third animal has four wings. Two form the main planes, either side of the fuselage. The second two are the tail planes. The four heads are engines attached to the two main planes.

Chronologically the third animal is the fastest of these three.

The fourth animal is not a form of transport but is much much faster than these previous three.

It has 10 buttons. They are the numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0. These buttons have two functions, numbers and one other. The second function substitutes in one button for three of the buttons which are substituted out, making 8 buttons in total. These 8 carry the letters of the alphabet.

These buttons, then, are the key pad of a smart phone to which its holder is tethered.