Daniel Chapter 7

Vision of the four beasts

By I Gordon

Introduction

Thank God for the visions and dreams given in the book of Daniel! Only God can declare the end from the beginning and that is what He has done in this wonderful book! Now, Daniel Chapter 7 provides us with some fantastic insights. Chapters 1-6, which we have already looked at, were largely historical and chronological. Chapters 7-12 are prophetic. Let's have a look!

Four ugly beasts!

Dan 7:1-7 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream. Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea. “The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it. “And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’ “After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule. “After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left.

So we see that Daniel was given a prophetic dream that consisted of four beasts arising out of the sea. Now, if you know your prophecy and you know your types, then you will also know that the "sea" or "waters" is used prophetically in the Bible to speak of the gentile nations (see Isa 17:12-13, Rev 17:1,15). So this vision is of four kingdoms that would arise from out of the gentile nations. We have seen these nations before. Yes we have! The same four kingdoms were presented to us in Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel Chapter 2. The link between chapters 2 and 7 can be seen in the following table:

Chapter 2 Image	Chapter 7 Image	Interpretation
Head of Gold	Lion with eagles wings	Babylonian Empire (606-538 BC) - Known for it's use of gold and the swiftness of it's conquests (eagles wings) until it's wings were torn off and the heart of a man was given to it (Nebuchadnezzar's conversion).
Silver Chest and Arms	Bear raised up on one side	Medes and Persian Empire (538-331 BC) - The Persians were more powerful than the Medes and were known for their use of silver
Thighs of Bronze	Leopard with four wings and four heads	Greek Empire (331-168 BC) - Emphasizing it's swift conquests and the split between four generals after the death of Alexander.
Legs of Iron	Powerful beast with iron teeth	Roman Empire (168 BC - 476 AD) - Known for their use of iron and the iron represented their immense strength

The fourth beast comes in two stages!

7-8 It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns. “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully.

You may remember from chapter 2 that the legs of iron represented the Roman empire, but there was also a final stage - the ten toes! And we see the same thing here in chapter 7. While the Roman empire officially ended in 476 AD, the Bible clearly shows that there will be a revival of the Roman Empire in the last days.

Chapter 2 Image	Chapter 7 Image	Interpretation
10 toes of iron and clay	Beast with iron teeth and ten heads	Revived Roman Empire - Still to come!

This ten division stage of the Roman Empire is also pictured in the book of Revelation, this time represented by ten horns -

Rev 17:3, 12-13 “I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns... The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast.

Now note how Revelation says that these ten kings (the revived Roman Empire) will give their authority to another. The passage above also speaks of this person - one who will rule with great boasting and blasphemy - the antichrist. We'll see more about this man later in this chapter.

The Return of the King!!!

9-14 “As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened. “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.) “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

The "Ancient of Days" in this passage is a reference to God the Father. His throne was flaming with fire noting His intense purity. Thousands upon thousand attend Him! Note also this this pictures "one like a son of man" approaching the Ancient of Days. Jesus used this term of Himself more than any other. He was the Son of David representing His right to rule in the Davidic Kingdom. He was the Son of God indicating His divine origin. But He was also the son of man showing his birth and association with humanity. And note that He was given authority, glory and power. This is what was prophecied in Psalm 2 where it states:

"Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery." (Psalm 2:8-9)

His Kingdom shall never end! This was also spoken of in many of prophetic passages such as Isaiah 9:6-7 (my comments in bold italics):

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given (the son of man), and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (the son of God). Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom (the son of David), establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this."

How the fourth Beast comes to an end!

15-28 “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. I approached one of those standing there and asked him the true meaning of all this. “So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: ‘The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth. But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’ Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom. “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time. ”‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’ “This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”

Before the Lord Jesus returns to set up His kingdom however, there will be a period of time (3 1/2 years) where one called "the horn" will make war against the saints and defeat them. This "horn" will rule over the earth and will speak boastfully against the Most High God. This "horn" is the Antichrist. His rule will last for a "time, times, and half a time". That is, a year, two years plus 1/2 a year (3 1/2 years). We know that this is the length of time from other passages such as Daniel 9:27, 12:11, Rev 12:6).

The passage above shows that the Antichrist will arise at the time of the fourth beast (the revised Roman Empire still to come in the last days.) But from the above passage we can see that the fourth Kingdom comes in different phases. All of the different kingdoms, including the different stages of the fourth kingdom, can be seen in the following taken from Arnold Fructenbaum's book "The footsteps of the Messiah".

Kingdom 1. The Babylonian Empire

Kingdom 2. The Medo-Persian Empire

Kingdom 3. The Hellinistic (Greek) Empire

a) The United Stage

b) The four Division Stage

Kingdom 4. The Fourth Empire

a) The United Stage (vs 23a)

b) The One World Government Stage (vs 23b)

c) The Ten Division Stage (vs 24b)

d) The Antichrist Stage (vs 24b - 26)

Kingdom 5. The Messianic Kingdom (vs 27)

This terrifying last worldly kingdom ruled by the antichrist will come to an end though. We read that "the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever". Other passages give us more clarity on how this occurs:

2 Thes 2:8 'And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.'

Rev 19:11-20 'I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns... Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.'

Then, as we read in Daniel above, 'the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints.' What a day that will be!

Maranatha...

Come Lord Jesus!