FOUR BEASTS

Introduction

-Something that weighs heavy on everyone’s mind is what the government will look like in the future. If government is going good, we might worry that something or someone will take over that does us wrong. Or if government is not going so good, we wonder if things will get any better in the future. I think this is especially appropriate as this year is a midterm election year. For the US, at least, we are always wondering what political party is going to take over in the different elections. Right now 2022 and 2024 are at the forefront of our sights. Who will it be? Who will lead us?

-Daniel may have been wondering something similar. For him, he often wondered and prayed about what would happen to his people Israel who were still in captivity. He wondered what world powers would be in control and what would that mean for the Jews. God decided to give Daniel a bit of a glimpse about what was going to happen over the next several centuries in his part of the world (and some even think it is a glimpse to the end times).

-We have come to a part of the book of Daniel where there is a shift in what is written. The first six chapters focused on narrative that told what happened to Daniel and his friends and how they navigated living and working and worshipping in the midst of a pagan nation from their being taken as teenagers into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar until Daniel was well into his eighties serving under Darius the Mede. But now the remainder of the book is Daniel reporting on visions that he was given by God at various times in his life. The book is not in chronological order in that in chapter 6 the Medo-Persian Empire was in control, but now we go backwards to the time when Belshazzar was king of Babylon.

-Daniel, always wondering and praying about his people, was given a glimpse into what was in store. This part of the book of Daniel is prophetic but it is written in a certain type of literary style that we call apocalyptic literature. The word apocalypse means revelation or unveiling. Things about the future that are hidden are now unveiled in a sense. Apocalyptic literature is known to contain visions that are highly symbolic that often have a heavenly mediator who explains the vision for the recipient. As one author described it:

The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Apocalyptic Literature, Introduction To)

[It is] a genre of biblical writing that reveals God’s actions and coming judgment in symbolic language. The transition from prophecy and apocalyptic is characterized by an increased use of symbolism and an increased use of heavenly mediators explaining the vision....The apocalyptic genre contains a revelation within a narrative framework. The revelation is given to a human being by an otherworldly mediator who unveils a supernatural reality, along with the means by which humanity can become a part of it

-While the literature often has some amazing, awe-inspiring, sometimes frightening imagery, it is actually given to give peace and comfort to God’s people. As has been mentioned so many times, the ultimate aim of such literature (especially here in Daniel) is that God is in control. God is in control of governments and leaders and the situations that the saints find themselves in, whether it is in a republic like the US or an empire like Babylon. We want to carefully look at the visions given Daniel, and so we will slow down the pace a bit from where we have been and give some time to the detail that is given.

Daniel 7:1–8 ESV

1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. 2 Daniel declared, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. 3 And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. 4 The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. 5 And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ 6 After this I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it. 7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.

-This first recorded vision happened while Belshazzar was king in Babylon. If you remember in chapter 5, Belshazzar was a co-regent of Babylon with his dad. He showed that he despised God by using the Jewish temple cups and plates etc. for a little party he was having for his leaders. That is when the literal handwriting on the wall occurred that spoke of his downfall that very night. And that is exactly what happened when the Medes and Persians took over Babylon.

-Several years before that incident Daniel was laying in bed and he had some visions given within his dreams. Dreams often times are weird to begin with, but what Daniel was shown that night could almost fall into the category of a nightmare. So that he would not forget what he had dreamed, and to be able to pass along God’s revelation to his people, Daniel wrote it down.

-How the vision began was that Daniel was standing by a great sea and the four winds were really whipping the sea up, causing much turmoil and turbulence. The number four often refers to the four corners of the earth, or as we know it to be the four directions of the compass (North, South, East, West). The four winds meant that the winds that were stirring up the sea were coming from all directions. Here is one symbol of turmoil and chaos.

-The other part of the symbol is the sea. It is called the great sea. One would think that being a Jew, Daniel would give that title to the Mediterranean Sea that bordered Israel. So, it is possible that what God was going to show Daniel had to do with what would happen to the land of Israel.

-However, the sea is also very symbolic in many places. Often seas were symbols of people or nations of the earth. As one author described it: The sea is symbolic of polluted, turbulent humanity as they try to exploit and govern in their own wisdom and strength. We also know that the sea or water is symbolic of chaos. When God first created the universe, it was without form and void and there was the waters of the abyss. So here the 4 winds are blowing and agitating the sea, possibly speaking of political unrest and chaos that would ensue within the nations. The peoples of the earth would be in tumult and the nations were in all sorts of commotion.

-Out of the commotion and tumult and chaos four great beasts rise in succession (one right after another) from the tumultuous sea. We are told later in the chapter what these beasts represent:

Daniel 7:17 ESV

17 ‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth.

-Kings would often stand as symbols of their kingdoms, so these beasts represented kingdoms that had arose or would arise on the scene there in the Ancient Near East and would have some sort of influence on what happened to the people of Israel.

-Now, I want to take a quick pause here and make you think about something. We know that in many ways Daniel and Revelation are tied. They are both apocalyptic literature and Revelation uses some of the same symbols that are found in Daniel (although you will also find many symbols from elsewhere in the Old Testament). We are all familiar with the book of Revelation talking about two beasts in chapter 13. Some people say that those beasts represent Anti-Christ and some sort of prophet of Anti-Christ. Well, guess what? These symbols from Revelation 13 are pulled directly from Daniel 7. Now, think about this. If the beasts in Daniel 7 represent kingdoms, what do the beasts in Revelation 13 represent? They also represent kingdoms or nations or empires. But since we are studying Daniel and not Revelation, I’ll let you do your own studying to see if you can figure out what is going on there.

-But here are these beasts, all different from one another, rising from the chaotic sea. One cannot help but make a connection with Daniel chapter 2 when Nebuchadnezzar had his dream about the statue that was made of all different materials. In that dream, each section of the statue represented a kingdom. As some scholars point out, the dream in chapter 2 was given to a Gentile king and represented how humanity may look at these kingdoms. In chapter 7 the dream is given to a Jewish prophet and the beasts represent how God looks at these kingdoms. To mankind the empires may have looked like precious metals, while to God they look like savage beasts.

-The first beast, in v. 4, is a lion with eagle’s wings. This corresponds to the head of gold in chapter 2 and it represents the Babylonian Empire. It is actually a very appropriate picture. Elsewhere in the Old Testament Nebuchadnezzar had been likened to a lion or an eagle. Interestingly enough, archaeologists has found imprints of winged lions in the ruins around Babylon. But there is a reason for the symbolism. The lion was a stately, strong, almost noble creature. The eagle was known for its grace and cunning and speed. Both were looked upon as the kings of their respective areas of nature—the lion is king of the beasts and the eagle is king of the air.

-As is seen in the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar had more centralized power than any succeeding kings and the Babylonian empire grew rapidly under his rule. As one author stated: The beast rules royally like the lion, and wings its conquering royal flight over the inhabited earth like the eagle.

-The rest of this beast’s symbolism is much harder to understand. It’s wings are plucked and it is lifted from the ground and given feet and mind like a man. Some see this as referring to the time when Nebuchadnezzar was judged and given the mind of a beast until he repented and was raised to a place of honor. Others see this as meaning that this empire would cease to be an aggressive, conquering power and would lose much influence over the earth, becoming more limited in scope and territory. This was especially true after the death of Nebuchadnezzar and I think is the most likely meaning behind the symbol.

-While the majority of scholars are in agreement about that first beast, there is some confusion over the next three. Some scholars believe that they represent the Media empire, then the Persian empire, then the Greek empire. Others see them representing the Medo-Persian empire, the Greco-Macedonian empire, and then the Roman empire. Since the beasts came in succession one after another with having some sort of influence on Israel, the latter view is the most likely.

-So, in v. 5, there is a beast that resembles a bear, and this symbolizes the Medo-Persian empire (the silver chest and arms in chapter 2). It says this beast was raised up on one side. This could possibly mean that one side of the beast was bigger than the other representing that the partnership between the Medes and the Persians was lopsided (with the Persians being the bigger side). It could also mean that one side of the animal was raised up as if it were taking a step to continue its conquest.

-It says that it had 3 ribs in its mouth, showing that it is devouring the nations. The number 3 is pretty specific. It may mean that it only conquered going in 3 directions as opposed to four. However, it more likely refers to the three major empires that it took over (that it devoured), namely the Lydian kingdom, the Babylonian Empire, and Egypt. God tells this beast to devour much flesh, and the Medo-Persian empire did take over much more area than the Babylonians ever had.

-V. 6 describes the third beast. It is said to be like a leopard. But this leopard is no ordinary leopard, it has four wings and had four heads. A leopard is already a fast animal, and when you add wings to it you know that it means that this beast is super-fast. The four wings might mean that this beast covered all the directions more swiftly than any other empire. This beast represents the same kingdom as the middle section of bronze on the statue in chapter 2—the Greco-Macedonian empire.

-Again, this is actually a very apt description of that kingdom. Alexander the Great was able to conquer the area between the Mediterranean Sea to the India/Afghanistan area in about 10-12 years. That covered are larger area in such a short amount of time than the previous empires could accomplish. Legend says that after Alexander conquered the last part of that area of land he broke down crying because he had no more lands to conquer. Just like the leopard is smaller than a bear, Alexander had a smaller army than the Persians, and yet he moved so quick he was able to conquer all the territories.

-This beast is described as having four heads. Heads are usually symbolic of rulers or governments. This is most likely prophesying what would happen to the Greco-Macedonian empire. Alexander died very young in 323 B.C. at the age of 32. After his death, there was no immediate successor. Four of his generals vied for control and ended up splitting the empire into four different areas. Antipater, later Cassander, gained control of Greece & Macedonia. Lysimachus ruled Thrace and part of Asia Minor. Seleucus Nicator governed Syria/Babylon/Middle East. Ptolemy Soter controlled Egypt and Palestine for a time. Future visions speak more about these last two parts of the empire as they often are contending for the land of Israel.

-Vv. 7-8 literally describe what we would call a different beast. This beast is so different, it can’t be likened to any known animal. It is truly some sort of monster. It was terrible and dreadful and exceedingly strong, with teeth of iron that devoured and broke in pieces, and it stomped the leftovers with its feet. It was the biggest and toughest of them all. This most likely represents the Roman empire which was represented as legs of iron in the statue of chapter 2. Rome’s empire was different than the others in that while they did have an emperor who ruled, it also had a distinctively republican civic form of government.

-This beast had 10 horns (which in v. 24 are interpreted as kings) with a little horn rising up. These horns are dealt with later in the chapter, but I will discuss the possibilities now. some think the number 10 is not literal, but symbolic of completeness, possibly meaning that the rest of human government goes forth from the beast. Some believe that they represent a 10-kingdom coalition rising from the former Roman Empire, with the little horn being Anti-Christ who uproots 3 kingdoms on his way to power (or they rebelled against him so he crushed them). Some see the Roman emperors symbolized here with Nero being the little horn seeing as he somehow was part of getting rid of the 3 previous Caesars. Still others see the horns representing the Caesars beginning with Julius, the little horn being the 10th Caesar Vespasian who was emperor in AD 70 when Jerusalem was destroyed. The three previous Caesars all died in AD 69 (one by suicide and two by their troops) making way for his rule. But we will look a little more closely later.

-I personally do not believe that this in any way talks about government at the end times. These beasts are in succession one right after another with nothing indicating some sort of thousands of years break in between them. This has to do with governments that had dealings with and power over Israel until the kingdom of Messiah would come. With the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ the kingdom has come. It might not be consummated, but it has come and is continuously growing. This kingdom was birthed during the time of the Roman empire, so it makes sense that this is what this chapter is talking about.

-And as we will find as we further study this chapter and this book, there is no empire or nation or kingdom that can overcome or subdue the kingdom of God. Once the kingdom got its start with Christ’s birth, life, death, and resurrection, God had put in place his plan for eternity. Come what may, no matter who is voted in and when they’re voted in, God’s kingdom still reigns. There is no earthly power that can conquer or subdue the kingdom because the kingdom is now internal (in the hearts of men and women) and the King is on His throne up high. So, may peace and comfort console us in the midst of a chaotic earth where the four winds seem to be stirring up trouble knowing that our King reigns forever and ever.