Lesson 2, Part 1 - Daniel 7 – The
Four Beasts
Read Daniel 7: 1-14,
which covers the dream/vision Daniel has during the first year that Kind
Belshazzar is in rule of Babylon. Daniel 7: 15-28 covers the interpretation of
Daniel’s dream.
Notice in Daniel 7: 1-14 the four great beasts and how the
Bible describes them. This is very important to notice and compare it with what
we read back in Daniel 2. In Daniel 7:1-14 it says that the first beast was
like a lion and had eagles wings. The second like a bear, the third beast like
a leopard, the fourth beast had Iron teeth and was exceedingly strong. It also
had ten horns. Then from the ten horns another little horn came up among them,
before whom three of the first ten horns were plucked out by the roots. And
there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking
pompous words.
So questions to ask would be….what does a beast represent in
prophecy? What does the sea represent in prophecy? “The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom
upon the earth” – Daniel 7:23. “The
waters are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” – Revelation
17:15
So the answers are….beasts represent kingdoms or nations.
Water represents multitudes of people or large populations.
Ok as we know from verse 17 and 18 that the four beasts of
Daniel 7 represent the four world kingdoms. Babylon is the first kingdom found
in Daniel 2:38,39 and also represented as a lion here in Daniel 7:4. Babylon is
also pictured as a lion in Jeremiah 4:7, 50:17,43 and 44. More questions to
ask….What do the Eagles wings mean? What do the four winds in verse 2
represent?
Once again the Bible gives us the answers clear as day. The
wings of eagles represent speed as found in Jeremiah 4:13 and in Habakkuk
1:6-9. The winds represent strife,
commotion, and destruction found in Revelation 7: 1-3.
Next question to ask would be what kingdom does the bear
represent and what do the three ribs in it’s mouth symbolize? For this answer
we have to read Daniel chapter 8. In chapter 8 notice that the beasts parallel
those in chapter 7. Daniel 8:20 specifically names Medo-Persia as the kingdom
that precedes the rough goat, or Greece, of verse 21. It is the second world kingdom,
the same power as the bear in Daniel 7. The empire was made up of two groups of
people. The Medes and Persians. The
Medes came up first in Daniel 7:5 by the bear coming up on one side, but the
Persians eventually became stronger in Daniel 8:3 by the ram’s second horn
which grew higher or taller. The three ribs in it’s mouth represent the three
principal powers conquered by Medo-Persia….which were Lydia, Babylon, and
Egypt. Another reason how the Bible and history match eachother. Amazing isn’t
it!!
Greece, the third kingdom (Daniel 8:21), is represented by a
Leopard with four wings and four heads according to Daniel 7:6 like we have
been reading. Time for more questions…..what do the heads represent? What does
the four wings represent? The answers are
in history and in the Bible. The four heads represent the four kingdoms into
which the empire of Alexander the Great was divided when he died. The four
generals who headed these areas were Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and
Seleucus. The four wings (instead of two like the lion) represent super-speed,
which was true of Alexander’s conquests. Also read Jeremiah 4:11-13.
The Roman empire is the fourth and last world kingdom which
is represented by a horrible monster with iron teeth and 10 horns in Daniel
7:7. Another question to ask would be….what do the horns represent? Well like I
listed in our last post in Daniel 2 the 10 horns represent the 10 kings or kingdoms
into which pagan Rome was eventually split (Daniel 7:24). Remember these are
the same as the 10 toes of the image described in Daniel 2: 41-44. The
Barbarian tribes swept in and carved out land niches for their people. 3 of
those kingdom’s were rooted up. By A.D
476, Rome had divided into ten parts. I will list them with their today
modern counterparts. Alemanni (Germans), Franks (French), Saxons (English),
Visigoths (Spanish), Burgundians (Swiss), Lombards (Italians), Suevi
(Portuguese), and the Heruli, Vandals, and Ostrogoths (These three now extinct
as they were rooted up). The current nations of Europe developed from these
tribes of the divided Roman Empire. Some were strong, some weak.
Read Daniel 7: 15-28. Here God gives Daniel the
interpretation of the dream. Notice verses 21-28. This little horn was making
war against the Saints (God’s true people, which are the ones who keep his
commandments, including the 7th Day Sabbath according to the 3
Angels message in Revelation 14 which we will cover in later lessons/postings).
This beast/power will prevail against the Saints until God comes back during
his second coming. Focus on verses 23-27 specifically.
Daniel 7: 23-27 below:
Verse 23 “ The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on
earth. Which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the
whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces”.24 “The ten horns are ten kings
who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He shall
be different from the first ones. And shall subdue three kings”.25 “He shall
speak pompous words against the Most High. Shall persecute the saints of the
Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be
given into his hand for a time and times and half a time”. 26 “But the court
shall be seated, And they shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy
it forever”. 27 “Then the kingdom and
dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the
people, the saints of the Most High. His Kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And
all dominions shall serve and obey Him”.
Lets recap a bit. Ok often in Bible prophecy, we find that
God covers the same periods of time, using different symbols. This is true in
both of the two key books of the Bible that deal with time prophecies – Daniel
and it’s companion – The book of Revelation, which we will cover in later
lessons/postings. So it’s not surprising that God would return to this great
panoramic view of time from Babylon to the second coming of Christ. In Daniel 7
we have God giving Daniel a vision at night, and showed him the exact same
sweep of time from Babylon to the second coming of Christ, but this time,
though, God gave to Daniel different symbols for the world’s kingdoms that
Nebuchadnezzar had seen in his dream in Daniel 2. In stead of the statue with
different metal sections, God showed Daniel the same kingdoms, but this time,
each one was represented by a different animal – or beast like we just read
above.
Instead of Babylon being represented by the statue’s head of
gold, Babylon this time was symbolized by a Lion with eagle’s wings. According
to earth history the kingdom of Babylon reigned supreme on the earth from 605
B.C to 539 B.C.
Medo-Persia, rather than the statue’s chest and arms of
silver, was now a bear with three ribs in it’s mouth. Medo-Persia ruled from
539 B.C. to 331 B.C.
Greece, instead of the belly and thighs of brass, was now a
four-headed Leopard with four wings. Interestingly, when Alexander the Great
died his empire was divided between his four top generals. This kingdom ruled
from 331 B.C to 168 B.C.
Rome, instead of being the legs of iron, was now a fearsome
beast with iron teeth and ten horns. The great kingdom of Rome ruled from 168
B.C to A.D. 476. When it then ended, the kingdom divided into ten parts. In
Daniel 2, those parts were represented by the ten toes of the image. In Daniel
7, they are represented by the ten horns of the fourth beast.
So up
through this point, the two prophecies run completely parallel to each other.
But when the prophecy of Daniel 7 came to Rome, God gave Daniel much more
detail than before. The ten horns of the fourth great beast represented the ten
pagan, godless fragments of the Roman Empire that became today’s nations of
Europe. But Daniel 7 moves the prophetic panorama forward into new territory.
Notice Daniel’s description of what he say at this point in his vison of the
beasts: “ After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast,
dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was
devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with it’s feet. It was
different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I was
considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up
among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots.
And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking
pompous words” (Daniel 7:7-8).
Below is a
listing of the kingdoms being described in Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 that run
parallel to each other….meaning the same thing.
Daniel 2 Kingdom Daniel 7 Head of
Gold Babylon (605BC-539BC) Lion with Wings
Chest of Silver Medo-Persia (539BC-331BC) Bear with 3 ribs in mouth
Chest of Silver Medo-Persia (539BC-331BC) Bear with 3 ribs in mouth
Belly &
Thighs of Brass Greece (331BC – 168BC) Leopard with 4 wings and 4 heads
Legs of
Iron Rome (168BC – 476AD) Dragon beast with 10 horns
Little Horn (Still Rome) (A.D 538 – 1798)
(*Received deadly wound in 1798)
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