Abstract

The essay reconstructs Daniel 7:1-18 through the Japanese Shamanistic Cosmos. In Japanese Shamanistic practices, there is a three-part structure to the cosmos: the human world, the other world, and the bridge connecting the two. For the essay, the structure was superimposed onto Daniel 7, causing a rereading of the dream of Daniel through Japanese Shamanism. The world of Daniel, the dreamer, becomes the human world. The dream itself, and the four beasts that reside in it, are the other world and kami (spirits). Finally, God is seen as the bridge connecting the human world and other world, the mediator that enables the possibility for dialogue between worlds. By using this Japanese cosmos structure, it shows that dreams in the Bible allow both characters and readers to cross into other worlds, breaking away from the human world that defines most of the literature. While the essay narrows in on the dream of Daniel, the method can, and should, be applied to all dreams of the Bible, in order to shine light on the complexity of the spiritual and other worlds.