Daniel’s Vision of The Four Beasts

American history shall march along that skyline,” announced Gutzon Borglum in 1924, gazing at the Black Hills of South Dakota. Fulfilling this dream, in 1927 Borglum began sculpting the images of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Theodore Roosev … More

Dream

This chapter begins a series of dreams given to Daniel. These visions contain prophecies covering the period of the times of the Gentiles and the great tribulation. This first dream came to Daniel during “the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon (v. 1),” so actually it happened before the events of chapter 5 and 6. Daniel first saw the great sea (the Mediterranean Sea) churned by the action of four winds (v.2). Then four ferocious beasts came out of the sea (v. 3). These seem to represent the four empires that in succession rule the land bordering on the Mediterranean Sea. These would correspond to the four kingdoms of Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome.

The first beast was like a lion, except that it also had eagle’s wings which symbolizes Babylon (v. 4). The second beast is like a bear which ravaged the lion and represents Mede-Persia, the empire that conquered Babylon (v. 5). The third beast was like a leopard which had four wings and four heads and this symbolizes the Grecian Empire lead by Alexander the Great (v. 6). The fourth beast that Daniel describes apparently was a mongrel composed of parts of a lion, bear and leopard and this beast had large iron teeth (v. 7). This beast points to both Rome and the end times. On its head were ten horns. Suddenly another “little horn” overcame three of the other horns. Finally Daniel saw the “little horn” come to his doom, and the beast itself (the Roman Empire) was destroyed (v. 8). The prophecy now shifts to the end times (v. 9). Daniel saw God judging millions of people as they stood before Him (v. 10). It is believed that the slaying of the beast represents the fall of Rome (vv. 11-12). This “One like the Son of Man” is the Messiah (vv. 13-14).

Application

In order to see great things happening in and though my life I need to dream big.

Daniel 7:1-14 (English Standard Version)


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