THE FOUR BEASTS

CHAPTER SEVEN OUTLINED

INTRODUCTION:  First Year of Belshazzar (7:1,2).

DISCUSSION

I. VISION OF THE FOUR BEASTS (7:3-8).

A. A lion with eagle’s wings.

B.  A bear with three ribs in its mouth.

C.  A leopard with four wings and four heads.

D.  A diverse beast-–strong, great iron teeth, ten horns (a little horn from among the ten).

II. THE ANCIENT OF DAYS (7:9,14).

A. The judgment of the fourth beast  (7:10b-12).

B.  The coronation of the Messiah (7:13,14).

III. INTERPRETATION OF THE FOUR BEASTS (7:15-18).

IV. SPECIFIC INFORMATION CONCERNING THE FOURTH BEAST (7:19-27).

V. DANIEL DISTURBED BY THESE THINGS (7:28).
 
THE FOUR BEASTS EXPLAINED

INTRODUCTION

"In the first year of Belshazzar..."  The year is about 552 B.C.  Most conservative scholars believe that Belshazzar was co-regent with his father, Nabonidus, for about 12-14 years.  Daniel would be 70 to 75 years old. 

"Daniel had (saw, Aramaic) a dream and visions...he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matter."  This is the first record of dreams experienced by Daniel.  To this point the dreams have been those of Nebuchadnezzar.  Now they are being revealed to Daniel by the Most High God.  We have moved from the Historical section of Daniel to the Apocalyptic section.  "If we can't tell the difference between history and apocalypse, we're in real trouble.  There is no one, not anyone, who interprets all scripture literally.  And it's sheer nonsense to say that figurative language renders the meaning of a passage open to every conceivable interpretation.  This isn't so.  If that were the case then God wouldn't use ANY figurative speech at all!" (Jim McGuiggan, Daniel, p.107).

The Four Winds...(vv. 1-3).  This represents the power of God stirring up the nations (sea).  At various times God has stirred the hearts of rulers and nations to do His will (Isaiah 10:5-16; 29:6; 45:1-7; 2 Chronicles 36:22,23; Ezra 1:1-4, etc.).  "As the wind is invisible but it clearly affects things, so it is of God who is invisible but affects things in the universe" (McGuiggan).

God does not overrule the will of man and force him to think what he does not want to think.  But by His providence God uses men to bring about His will (book of Esther, life of Joseph, history of Israel, etc.). 

Sea...The Great Sea probably is referring to the Mediterranean, which was symbolic of the Gentile powers hostile to God and His people (Isaiah 8:7ff; Jeremiah 46:7-9; 47:2; Isaiah 17:12,13ff; Revelation 17:1-15).  The four beasts arising out of the sea represent the unsettled, agitated state of the world.

DISCUSION

I. THE VISION OF THE FOUR BEASTS (Daniel 7:3-8).

  A. First...A Lion...Eagles Wings.

The lion and eagle are both symbols of Babylon (Jeremiah 49:19; 50:17,44; 48:40; 49:22; Ezekiel 17:3,12).  The wings represent the speed and rapidity of the Babylonian conquest.  That they were plucked is symbolized in the events of the life of Nebuchadnezzar as recorded in Daniel 4 when his lust for conquest and his proud nature were taken from him until he learned that “God rules in the kingdoms of men and giveth it to whomsoever He will.”  Or perhaps, to the demise of the kingdom that began with the death of Nebuchadnezzar.

B. Second...a Bear With Three Ribs In Its Mouth.

 
This represents the Medo-Persian Empire.  The bear is more slow and ponderous than a lion but is just as dangerous.  Being raised up on one side would indicate the dominance of one over the other.  Persia, under the leadership of her first king, Cyrus the Great, proved to be the greater power, and in time it was simply known in history as the Persian Empire.  The ribs in its mouth represent nations it has conquered.  Some believe these were Egypt, Lydia and Babylon in particular.

Rise and devour...Persia’s empire lasted about 200 years (539-333 B.C.).  She devoured many nations but could never “swallow” Greece.

C. Third…A Leopard...Four Wings...Four Heads.

Alexander the Great and the Grecian empire are symbolized by the Leopard.  Due to the Persian attempts to conquer Greece,  there was great animosity between Persia and Greece.  The leopard...a swift, agile, powerful animal, was appropriate to symbolize Alexander the Great and his swift armies.  In a little more than ten years Alexander had conquered from Greece to Egypt, to what is now Afghanistan, to the Himalayas and the Indus River bordering India. The four wings on the leopard are symbolic of the great rapidity of his conquest. Compare that Babylon had just two wings. “Dominion was given to it...” indicates that Alexander was a man of destiny, singled out by divine providence to have world dominion in his hands.  The four heads represent a four way division which took place in the Greek empire following Alexander’s death.  It was divided among his four generals since he did not have any sons to be heirs.  He did have a son by Roxana, but she and the boy were both murdered.

The four heads were: 
Ptolemy who governed Egypt
Seleucus who governed Syria
Cassander who governed Macedonia
Lysimachus who governed Thrace.

D. Fourth...Terrible and Powerful, Exceedingly Strong, A Diverse Beast.

No beast in all of nature is sufficiently fierce and terrible to symbolize this empire.  Using its great iron teeth it broke things into pieces.  What it didn't devour, it stamped with its feet, grinding it into dust.

Though not identified by name, history proves this fourth kingdom to be the Roman Empire.  Rome was singularly voracious, cruel and destructive--even vindictive as a world power.  She was not concerned about raising the conquered nations to any high level of development.  Her designs were only exploitation and imperialism.

The ten horns symbolize a multiplicity of powerful rulers.  The number ten symbolizes completeness, and here represents the first ten rulers of the Roman kingdom, which carry us through to the end of the Jewish period of Bible history (see chart).

Concerning the "little horn,"  Leupold suggests: "If one replaces three, it becomes comparatively quite a bit larger than any one of the others.  Yet the little one does not grow as strong as the whole empire--the ten” (p. 299).  Daniel notes that the little horn has the eyes of a man and speaks great things.

Thrones were placed (ASV footnote, cast down).  What these other thrones represent is not material to the point of the vision.  Edward Young believes them to be the thrones of angels that serve God in judgment (cf. Psalms 89:8; Isaiah 6:2; Revelation 1:4; 4:4; 8:2; Matthew 13:36-50).

 
II. THE ANCIENT OF DAYS (Daniel 7:9,10a).

This designation of Jehovah is found in no other book of the Bible.  That He is described as “Ancient of days” is suggestive of One with great wisdom, dignity, and eternality. It suggests “One who has lived ever since anyone can remember, and longer than anyone can remember.  The Eternal One who knows the deeds and acts of men and thus is well qualified to judge.  This designation suggests wisdom, honor and reverence” (Butler, 263).  This recognition could also be given to the Son as well, for He is described as “Everlasting Father” (Isaiah 9:6), and as the Ruler whose “goings forth are from old, from everlasting” (ancient of days, ASV footnote; Micah 5:2).  But here in Daniel the designation “Ancient of Days” refers strictly to the Father.

Daniel is permitted a visible representation of God similar to what John saw in Revelation 1, 4 and 5. 

The Throne of God--This throne, and He who sat upon it, is the particular one that commands the attention of Daniel.  Its fiery flames emphasize His splendor, majesty, power, and judgment.  The Wheels suggest the mobility of God's throne, His omnipresent nature.  His throne is not bound to any one place, but He rules universally (Note Ezekiel 1).

A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him--This represents the truth and justness of His judgments that were rendered on the “little horn” and the “beast.” See parallels in Revelation 20.  Thousands of thousands--myriad upon myriad of heavenly beings minister to him: angelic beings, cherubims, seraphims, the four living creatures, the twenty-four elders--all the host of heaven (cf. Isaiah 6; Ezekiel 1; Revelation 4, 5).

III. JUDGMENT OF THE BEAST(S) (Daniel 7:10b-12).

The Roman Empire, the fourth beast, is clearly the chief object of God's judgment and is judged first.  He is designated for destruction for his obstinance against God.  “The Aramaic original, correctly rendered, says, the body was given “to the burning of fire.”  “This form of the statement does not point so much to annihilation as to perpetual punishment, especially since other Scripture passages indicate with ample fulness the eternal character of the sufferings of the damned” (Leupold, Exposition of Daniel, p. 306).

The other beasts are judged and stripped of their authority, but are allowed to continue for a short time.  Keep in mind that the full force of the object of judgment is to come on the fourth beast, who is singled out and utterly destroyed.  Whereas, the first three beasts are judged, and their kingdoms dissipated by being absorbed by another kingdom following; but Rome was destroyed by being torn, rent asunder, and given over to barbaric hoards, not to another world kingdom.

IV. THE CORONATION OF THE MESSIAH (Daniel 7:13,14)

"One like unto the Son of man..." Jesus is referred to as “the Son of man” 85 times in 81 verses in the New Testament.  This name carries with it the idea of Divinity, while at the same time showing an identity with humanity.

 
Homer Hailey (The Messiah of Prophecy To the Messiah on the Throne, p.197),  observes: “The expression, ‘Like unto a son of man,’ emphasized the fact that though He appeared in the likeness of a man, He was not a man.  He was the glorified Son of God.  The victorious man who in His resurrected state, though recognizable as the man Jesus, could appear and disappear before the eyes of His beholders.” 

He is pictured coming "with the clouds, to the Ancient of days..." to receive His kingdom.  He is not described as leaving or coming from the Ancient of days to the earth to receive His kingdom.  This breaks the premillennial idea of the establishment of a kingdom during the millennial reign all to pieces! 

“There was given Him dominion, glory, and a kingdom” -- Dominion means power, authority, the right to rule.  Even the Messiah is subject to the Father, and His is a given authority (Matthew 28:18; John 3:35; 1 Corinthians 15:27).  Jesus prayed in John 17:4,5, just before His death, “I have glorified thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which thou hast given me to do. And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.”  The glory is that which is appropriate to one at the head of such an empire.  The kingdom is that which all the prophets pointed to (Isaiah 9:6,7; Psalm 2; Ezekiel 37:24-28) and which was established on the first Pentecost after His resurrection (Acts 2).

“All the peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him”--His is a universal kingdom embracing all nations (Isaiah 2:2,3).

“His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” -- It is a perpetual kingdom.  His rule will not be surrendered by death or conquest to any other.  The other kingdoms represented by the four beasts would have an end, but this is permanent, perpetual and eternal.  His kingdom will not suffer from discord, nor will He fear usurpers; there is no internal or external power that can invade or overthrow it (Daniel 2:44,45; Matthew 16:18,19; Hebrews 12:28; Luke 1:33;  Revelation 11:15).

V. THE FULFILLMENT OF THIS CORONATION PROPHECY.

It is nothing short of amazing that very few commentators say anything about the fulfillment of this prophecy.  Even the ancient Jewish rabbis taught that this was pertaining to the Messiah.  As the Jewish teachers missed the fulfillment in the New Testament, evidently so have many denominational writers.

When did Christ go to the Ancient of Days?  Let the Scriptures speak:

“So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken unto them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God” (Mark 16:19).

“And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.  And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven”  (Luke 24:50,51).

 
“And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.  And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:9-11).

“Brethren, I may say unto you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us unto this day.  Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins he would set one upon his throne (2 Samuel 7:12-17; Psalm 132:11); he foreseeing this spake of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he left unto Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.  This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all are witnesses. Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear.  For David ascended not into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet (Psalm 110:1).  Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified” (Acts 2:29-36).

When Jesus was resurrected “he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God”  (Acts 1:3).  Jesus then ascended TO THE ANCIENT OF DAYS and there was given Him DOMINION, GLORY, AND A KINGDOM...He came TO the Ancient of Days, whereas the Premillennialists have him coming FROM the Ancient of Days TO THE EARTH to receive His kingdom.

Jesus told a parable about His return to the Father to receive the kingdom.  He said “A certain nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return” (Luke 19:11-27).  Christ is the nobleman; He ascended to heaven after His resurrection, to the Ancient of days, to receive a kingdom; but His people said, “We will not have this man to reign over us”; and then to return (His second coming and judgment of His servants).

When one considers THE PROPHECY (Daniel 7:13,14), THE PARABLE (Luke 19:11-27), THE ASCENSION PASSAGES (Mark 16:19; Acts 1:9-11), and the PREACHING ON PENTECOST (Acts 2:29-36), there can be no doubt as to the time of the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy of the Coronation of Christ (7:13,14)!

The kingdom of God was established when Jesus came the first time--in the days of His flesh He preached the good news of the kingdom (Mark 1:14,15), told men they must be born again to see it (John 3:3-5), was crucified according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God (Acts 2:23; Jehovah was not taken by surprise nor caught off guard), and was buried and resurrected as prophesied (Psalm 22; Isaiah 53). 

Jesus is NOW reigning at the right hand of God (Acts 2:34; Hebrews 1:3,8; 8:1, etc).  When He comes the second time (Hebrews 9:28), it will be to deliver the kingdom back to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:22-28; Ephesians 5:25-27).  Premillennialism is absolutely wrong!

 
There will never be a another world empire like the four described in the visions of Daniel 2 and 7.  The "stone cut out of the mountain without hands" saw to that!  The kingdom of Christ is the only universal kingdom to exist on earth until the end of time.  It is a spiritual kingdom.  God never intended that it be a political, physical, earthly kingdom as per the premillennial agenda.  (See my “Studies in Premillennialism,” The Kingdom).

VI. THE FOURTH BEAST, THE TEN HORNS,  AND THE “LITTLE HORN.”

There are many widely varying interpretations on the vision of the four beasts in Daniel 7.

1.  Liberal Critics see the four beasts as Babylon, Media, Persia and Greece.  They do this because of their bias against the ability of Daniel, through inspiration, to predict with such accuracy events so far into the future.  They hold that the writer of Daniel was a person who lived during the time of the Maccabees (circa 165-140 B.C.), was writing about past events, and not predicting the future, thus eliminating Rome as the fourth beast. In the Liberal view, Antiochus Epiphanes is the “little horn” of chapter 7.  However, in Daniel 8, the second and third beasts are specifically named as Media and Persia (v. 20) and Greece (v. 21).  Antiochus was a Greek, not a Roman, and was a terror to the Jews 100 years before the Romans came on the Palestinian scene.  The understanding of the four heads of the leopard and the he-goat with the great horn broken and four horns coming up in its stead comport with the historical evidence.  The Liberals are prejudiced against Daniel and dishonest in their handling of the Scriptures.  “In short, The Roman Empire would necessarily be eliminated from the book of Daniel” (Rex Turner, Daniel A Prophet of God, p. 132). This view is unhistorical and totally in error.

2.  Premillennialists see the beasts as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome but do not see the “stone cut out of the mountain without hands”!  According to their theory, the kingdom of Christ was not set up because He was rejected by the Jews; thus, the prophecy of Daniel is a failure and ends up being postponed for 2,000 years!  But in order for them to have the kingdom of Christ on the earth they must restore the sacrifices and trappings of the law of Moses, restore the earthly kingdom of David, see a third temple built in Jerusalem, and have the Romans again ruling the Mediterranean and Israel! The first century, the Romans, Judaism all over again!  Unbelievable!  Fantastic!  Absurd! Incredible!

3.  The Roman Catholic church and the papacy is the view held by many.  The focus of the O.T. prophets was to announce the advent of Christ and to convince the world that he was the Messiah.  There may be a reference to the papacy in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, but Roman Catholicism was a later development, not coming about until the 6th century A.D., too late for the events described in Daniel’s prophecy.

4. The following chart will help to explain the position of this writer. 
 
THE LITTLE HORN THAT WORE OUT THE SAINTS

 Ten Historically Recognized Emperors    Ten Rulers Identified by Rex Turner,Sr.
Augustus (30 B.C.-A.D.14) Pompey (63 B.C.) - “It was evident that...the Roman mind was turning to a one-man deliverer, for Pompey next became prominent” (Albert Hyma, Ancient History, p 115) . 
Tiberias (A.D. 14-37) Julius Caesar (49-44 B.C.) - “... was in the process of making himself emperor when he was assassinated” (Paul T. Butler, Daniel, p 259).
Caligula (A.D. 37-41) Augustus
Claudius (A.D. 41-54) Tiberias
Nero (A.D. 54-68) Caligula
   The “three plucked up by the roots” Galba (June, 68-Jan, 69) Otho (Jan 15-April 15, 69) Vitellius (April 15-Dec 22, 69).These have been called “barracks emperors.”  In one year these three ruled and were successively slain or committed suicide to keep from being assassinated (Butler, p 260). Claudius
 Nero
     Galba
Vespasian (A.D. 69-79)      Otho
Titus (A.D. 79-81)      Vitellius
Domitian (A.D. 81-96): The “little horn” Vespasian: The “little horn”

It is my personal view that Rex Turner, Sr. is correct in beginning the count of the ten horns with Pompey for the following reasons: (1) This makes Vespasian the correct king in line to have put down three kings.  Vespasian was called back to Rome from the Jewish wars to solidify the government and was made emperor in the process.  (2) Domitian is too far removed from Galba, Otho and Vitellius to have had any power over them. (3) Domitian was not the persecutor that the late-daters of the book of Revelation make him out to be.  He certainly did not “wear out the saints” as described by the vision in Daniel.

 
Vespasian, as the commander of the Roman armies, led the siege against Jerusalem and the Jews, destroying the temple and the Holy City, thus “wearing out the saints” (Jews, from Daniel’s O.T. perspective).  Josephus, the Jewish historian, records that the Roman army crucified so many Jews that they ran out of wood to make the crosses; that over 1,100,000 men, women, and children died in the siege from starvation, pestilence and disease, by the sword, and in Eusebius’ words, “by countless other forms of death.”  Plus, 97,000 were taken as slaves to Rome and paraded through the streets as trophies of the victorious Roman army.

The “wearing out of the saints” lasted  “until a times, time, and a half time” were accomplished.  How long is this?  Time=1, times=2, half time=1/2 ; thus 3½ .  But is it 3½ days, weeks, months, years, centuries?  If we are correct in interpreting this “wearing out of the saints,” this took place in the destruction  of Jerusalem which began in Galilee at the beginning of A.D. 67 and continued until September 5, A.D. 70 then we have the three and one half years.  Thus the time, times, and ½ time are the 3 ½  years that Jerusalem was under siege by the Roman Legions as prophesied by the Lord in Matthew 24, as well as in the prophecies of Daniel 7 and 9.

But the “saints” would also receive the kingdom.  These are the Israel of the New Covenant; these are the righteous who fled from Jerusalem as per the Lord’s instructions when they saw “the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet” (Matthew 24:15), and the city surrounded by the Roman legions (Luke 21:20-22). They were to flee to the mountains.  Eusebius says that the saints fled to the region east of the Jordan in the region of Pella.  The kingdom of the little horn would be anti-God vocally, physically, and legally--speaking against God, seeking to change times and laws.  Subsequent Roman emperors launched vicious persecutions against the kingdom of Christ seeking to destroy it totally.

However, “the judgment is set”--God has already decided the fate of the fourth beast.  His dominion would be taken away, consumed, destroyed to the end.  Thus the fourth beast, Rome, that dominated the world with great ferocity from 63 B.C. to A.D. 476, came to an ignominious end, never to rise again.  “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him” (v. 27).

CONCLUSION

This vision was very upsetting to Daniel, troubling and depressing to him; but he kept the matter in his heart awaiting the day when he could make these things public when written in his book.

       Emanuel Daugherty