SCRIPTURE: DANIEL 7
DANIEL’S DREAM OF 4 BEASTS (vs. 1-14)
First Beast – It was like a lion having wings of an eagle with heart of a man. (v. 4)
Second Beast – It looked like a bear with three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. (v. 5)
Third Beast – It looked like a leopard with four wings on its back like those of a bird. It had four heads given authority to rule. (v. 6)
Fourth Beast – It is a very terrifying, frightening and powerful beast having large iron teeth and 10 horns. It crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. (v. 7)
There was another little horn that came up. 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. The horn slain the beast and destroyed its body and threw it into the blazing fire. (v. 8-11)
Then there 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. (vs. 13-14)
THE INTERPRETATION OF THE DREAM (vs. 15-28)
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.
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. (v. 23)
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 law. The saints will be handed over to him for a year, two years and half a year. (24-25)
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. (vs. 26-27)
THOUGHTS:
Daniel had a vision of 4 huge beats each representing a world empire.
- First Beasts – the lion with eagle wings presents Babylon
- Second Beast – the bear is Medo-Persia
- Third Beast – the leopard is Greece with Alexander the Great conquering the civilized world. The 4 heads of leopard is the 4 divisions of the Greek Empire after Alexander the Great.
- The Fourth Beast – animal with 10 horns. The horns correspond to 10 kings who will reign shortly before God sets up his everlasting kingdom. The little horn is the Anti-Christ.
The fourth beast points to both Rome and the end times. During end times, there will be judgment. Millions of people will stand before the Almighty God and give an account of their lives. The “One who looked like a man” is the Messiah. The clouds of heaven portrayed the Son of Man as divine with his majesty and presence. The holy people of the Most High are the true Israel made up of faithful believers. Jesus Christ is coming to usher in the Kingdom of God and all believers are its citizens. God told Daniel that persecution would still continue but He has promised to give His Kingdom to His holy people.