Deeper Commentary
The Beasts of Daniel 7
The four metals of the image of Daniel 2, followed as they were by the feet and ten toes part of iron and clay, are matched by the four beasts of Daniel 7, culminating in the beast with ten horns, which is also destroyed by the second coming of Christ. It is emphasized that Nebuchadnezzar 'saw' the image, or literally, he had a vision of it (Dan. 2:26,31,34,41,43,45). The same word is used in Daniel 7 of how now Daniel 'saw' or 'had a vision of' the four beasts (Dan. 7:1,2,4,6,7,9,11,13,21). The Daniel 7 vision or 'seeing' was perhaps from God's perspective, Heaven's view of the same realities which Nebuchadnezzar saw from an earthly perspective. There are many verbal similarities, as well as the general outline similarity between the four kingdoms. Thus the intention of the Daniel 2 image was to show how God ‘sets up kings’ who ‘rise up’ (Dan. 2:21,31,39), and the same word is used of how both the lion and the bear are ‘set up’ or ‘raised up’ (Dan. 7:4,5); indeed, all four beasts “are four kings which shall arise out of the earth” (Dan. 7:17). The kingdoms of Daniel 2 reigned over the earth, and that clearly refers to the eretz promised to Abraham, Israel, rather than the entire planet. Daniel 7 makes the point that these kings or kingdoms will arise out of that same ‘earth’ which they later dominate. Clearly we are not to look for any identification of the beasts or kings from outside the land promised to Abraham.
The ten horns likewise represent “ten kings” which shall “arise” (Dan. 7:24); and although it is not stated specifically, we are to assume that they arise also out of the same area, the “earth” / land. We should therefore be looking for a group of four kings / kingdoms, out of which arise ten kings / kingdoms; and out of them arises one “little horn” in particular. Revelation’s take on the beasts adds more detail- there are also seven heads, a false prophet acting as publicity agent for the beast, a whore riding the beast, sitting on seven hills / kings. The four beasts / kings are initially in conflict, striving with each other upon the sea, and arising from that comes the fourth beast entity, the composite beast including elements of all the previous ones. And from that there arises the ten horns and one little horn. We should not, however, think of these situations as having to be chronological developments, i.e. first the four, then the fourth beast, then the ten horns, then the little horn. It may work out like that, but not necessarily. The precise details need not concern us ahead of time; the picture is of a series of leaders and powers involved in the domination of the land promised to Abraham. The fact is, the beasts will all exist together in the last days, just as the metals of the image will. These various entities will “arise” from the land. And this is what we see happening already- in the last few years there has been what is called the Arabic, and particularly Sunni, sahwa, ‘awakening’. Powers and kings have risen up out of the scrubland and desert of the eretz, united in their hatred of Israel, but bitterly divided against each other.
We are for sure in the stage of the winds / ruach / Angel controlled nations ‘striving’ with each other- the eretz is full of conflict as never before, not just between Israel and her neighbours, but between those neighbours. There are currently four non-Jewish nations within the eretz- Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. But they exist just on paper as lines on the map; there are other significant entities within the area, e.g. Kurdistan, the Islamic State, Gaza, parts of Egypt and Turkey [depending how one defines the northern border of Israel], parts of Saudi Arabia [depending how the eastern border is defined]. In total they make ten kingdoms, but the number ten may not be literal. We would then be awaiting for the “little horn” to arise- a charismatic, antiChrist leader, or perhaps another very small entity. For the horn is called the little horn, and yet it is the most powerful in the very last days. However, the Hebrew and Aramaic words translated “little” can mean ‘short’ in terms of time as well as size. The idea may be that it lasts a very short time indeed, maybe literally days or hours in the very last day, and is the human representative of the beast / horns who personally challenges the Lord Jesus and is destroyed by the brightness of His coming.
The Origins of the Beasts
The empires of Daniel 2 dominate the earth. The Hebrew eretz can refer either to the entire planet, or to the land- the land promised to Abraham, the land of Israel, from the Euphrates to the river of Egypt. The dominion of the four beasts is therefore over the same area. Daniel saw the beasts arising out of the great sea. This could be a reference to the laver, which is also called a 'sea' (1 Kings 7:23-26,39). This was a huge circular bowl for washing which was set upon 12 bronze oxen, representing the 12 tribes of Israel. They were arranged in four groups of three, facing north, south, east and west, in imitation of the camp of Israel in the wilderness. The beasts therefore arise out of the territory promised to the twelve tribes of Israel.
Rev. 17:15 interprets waters or seas as "peoples". The beasts therefore arise out of the peoples who are to be found in the land of the 12 tribes of Israel. The interpretation is confirmed by the words of the Angel in Dan. 7:17, who says that the four beasts who arise out of the sea are four king[dom]s which "shall arise out of the earth / land".
Another possibility regarding the "great sea" is that it refers to the area of Babylon's dominion. The vision of Daniel 7 clearly parallels that of Daniel 2, which was intended to explain what would happen after the Babylonians. The arena of the "great sea" was to be dominated by other kingdoms apart from Babylon. In confirmation of this, we find the word rab ["great"] used about the greatness of Babylon ("great Babylon", Dan. 4:30; Joel 2:2,11). But rab is also translated "master" (Dan. 1:3), "lord", "captain", "chief" (Dan. 2:10,14,48), "master" (Dan. 4:19; 5:11). We could understand the "great sea" as the sea of nations ruled over by the master, the lord of the sea, the king of Babylon- and Daniel is seeing this vision in the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon (Dan. 7:1). As in the Daniel 2 vision, Daniel is explaining that the leadership of Babylon will not last, other kingdoms will arise to also dominate the sea of nations which was then under Babylon's sole control. This again pushes us towards understanding the entire vision as specifically concerning the area over which Babylon had dominion, and not the whole planet.
7:21 Let’s not get caught up with the idea that Israel shall survive and defeat the invaders in her own strength. The beast must dominate Israel. Jerusalem will be taken. Dan. 7:7,21 speaks of how the beast made war with the saints and prevailed against them- Israel- until the Ancient of days came; in Dan. 7:23 he devours the whole land [as a beast] and shall tread it down. The beast of Revelation is so powerful in the earth / land that "the world" wondered at it and at the whore riding it (Rev. 13:3; 17:6,7), feeling unable to make war with it. This of itself requires the demise and degrading of America, Europe and the West generally. Dan. 11:41,45 are likewise clear about the latter day King of the North: “He shall also come into the glorious land… He shall plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him”.
Dan. 7:21,22 speak of how the "saints" will be persecuted by the beast, and then "the saints" will 'possess the Kingdom'. The "saints" are Israel, the same Hebrew word is used in Ex. 19:5 to describe them as a holy or saintly nation, a nation of saints, sanctified ones. If we understand the Kingdom as primarily the land promised to Abraham's seed for them to 'possess', then this makes sense. That land will be dominated and trodden down by the beast, and then the remnant of Abraham's seed will triumphantly possess it eternally; and that mountain, or Kingdom, will then grow to fill the whole planet.
The little horn devours, treads down and breaks in pieces "the earth" (Dan. 7:23); that has little meaning if applied to the whole planet. The context speaks of destruction and persecution of "the saints", God's people in His land. The reference is surely to the specific land of Israel.
Controlling Angels
The four beasts are "diverse from one another" (Dan. 7:3), just as the four metals of the image of Daniel 2 do not naturally bond with each other. The four beasts are controlled by four spirits in Heaven who 'strive' with each other (Dan. 7:2). God makes His Angels spirits (Ps. 104:4; Heb. 1:7). Each of those kings or empires had a representative Angel in Heaven. It's not that the Angels themselves strive with each other, they are all obedient to God (see my The Real Devil chapter 2 http://www.realdevil.info/2-1.htm) but they play out before the court of Heaven the situation on earth. Later in Daniel we find Angels likewise representative of kings and kingdoms (Dan. 10:13,20). The comfort is that God is aware of all that happens on earth, and in fact He orchestrates it. The situation on earth is therefore not ultimately spinning out of control. My point in this context is that the four beasts strive with each other and do not naturally bond with each other. This is the same situation as we find in the feet and toes made part of iron, part of clay, mixed with each other but not cleaving to each other. Just as the image stands erect in the last days in order for it to be destroyed, so the sequence of beasts which we have in Daniel 7 are not simply a historical outline of a sequence of empires. Each of them exists in some form in the last days, and are united together in their brief domination of the earth / land promised to Abraham. The first three beasts stand 'before' the fourth one, the original meaning 'in the presence of', rather than previously in chronological terms (Dan. 7:7). The fourth beast has its body destroyed, although the other beasts are also present there and have their lives prolonged "for a season" (Dan. 7:11,12). The historical interpretation of the beasts is not irrelevant, however. The final entity dominating Israel will incorporate aspects of all the previous systems which have dominated the land promised to Abraham.
The Fourth Beast
The fourth beast with the ten horns equates with the legs or iron and ten toes of the image of Daniel 2. This entity will be in existence at the time of Christ's return, because it is to be destroyed by His coming. And we have that same picture in Revelation. Historically, the legs of iron represent Rome, but the beast is not a historical entity, it exists in the last days. So although there are parallels and outline similarities between the metals of the image and the beasts, this is not to say that they are all one and the same. The final beast has elements of all the previous beasts, it is a composite entity including all the elements of the previous systems which have dominated the land and people of Israel. Just as the image stands complete in the last days, so the final beast stands complete. The whore sits on many waters, representing various languages and peoples; and yet she sits upon the beast (Rev. 17:1,3,15). The latter day beast is therefore not one nation but an
amalgam of peoples.
As the entire image was "terrible" (Dan. 2:31), so the fourth beast system is described with the same word (Dan. 7:7). As the image appeared “excellent” (Dan. 2:31), so the strength of the fourth beast was ‘excellent’ (s.w. Dan. 7:7). Dan. 7:7 emphasizes that this final beast is altogether more aggressive than any previous beast / dominator of the land: "Dreadful, terrible, strong exceedingly... it was different from all the beasts that were before it". The original word translated “dreadful” suggests whoever sees it slinks away in fear- its strength and advantage over others is “exceeding”. This is the same awe we find in Rev. 13, where the world looks on at the beast, marvelling at this entity and feeling that nobody can even begin to make war with him. This speaks of an entity that is more aggressive and fear-inspiring than the aggressive Babylonians, Assyrians or abusive Nazis. It implies too the eclipse of the West as the dominant world power block and power broker. The current IS may develop into an entity which fits this bill- a reign of terror involving cutting off children's heads and parading their actions on videos, live crucifixion of any who don't agree with them, but with a stranglehold advantage over any critics... The same radical difference between this final beast and all previous ones is brought out by the way in which John, after all he had earlier seen, was in shock at the way the beast drunk the blood of the saints, i.e. the people of God, Israel in their land (Rev. 17:6). The whole world likewise is in shock horror at this beast (Rev. 13:3; 17:8). The entity currently known as the IS hasn't yet struck so much fear into everyone, but the time is surely coming. Dan. 12:1 puts it this way: "There shall be a time of trouble such as never was" for God's people, and they will be saved from it by the standing up of Jesus for His people, the resurrection of the dead and the destruction of the "king of the north". The "time of Jacob's trouble" from which he shall be saved (Jer. 30:7) must be understood in the context of how the phrase "time of trouble" is used in the Bible to describe times of Israel's invasion and suffering at the hands of their neighbours (Is. 33:2; Jer. 2:27,28; 8:15; 11:12,14; 14:8,19; Ez. 7:7). "There shall be a time of trouble such as never was" therefore suggests a time of abuse of Israel such as has never been seen. And this includes the Nazi holocaust, the death camps of Europe, the Babylonian and Assyrian atrocities... It's purely wishful thinking to hope that the IDF and Israel's military technology will stave this off. It will not. Jerusalem is to be taken and the women raped (Zech. 14:2). The beast is to dominate the earth / land of Israel.
The "iron teeth" of the beast (Dan. 7:7) can be connected with the way that "Damascus" tore the Israelites with teeth of iron (Am. 1:3). Damascus is a key player in the future Islamic state which is to be established in the land promised to Abraham. There will be an element of the historical Syrians in the entity which finally dominates Israel. And we can clearly see that in the IS. The same figure of a beast with huge teeth closing in upon Israel is to be found in Joel 1:6, describing the Babylonian and / or Assyrian invasion of the land. Teeth like lions are also mentioned in the picture of men with long hair arising like aggressive locusts out of the earth / land to torture to death those who live there for five months (Rev. 9:4-8). This very much sounds like the long haired jihadist fighters of the IS briefly dominating the land at the end. But they are part of the beast system, which includes this element of teeth because it is a composite figure including all elements of Israel's persecutors.
The beast will "devour" the land (Dan. 7:7), just as the historical Babylon 'devoured' Jerusalem with fire (Jer. 30:16; Lam. 4:11; Ez. 15:5; 19:12; 23:25; Hos. 8:14; Am. 1:4; 2:5) and the Assyrians devoured the land (Jer. 50:17; Hos. 11:6; 13:8; Joel 1:4,19,20; 2:3,5,25). All these verses use the same word translated 'devour' in Dan. 7:7. Clearly enough, the 'devouring' of the fourth beast is a summation of all previous 'devourings' of God's land and people. Even in Old Testament times, this idea of a singular beast embodying all Israel's enemies was not unknown. For Ez. 34:28 looked forward to the day when "Neither shall the beast of the land devour them [any more]". Mal. 3:11 likewise speaks of how "the devourer" will be rebuked by God when finally Israel respond to the Elijah prophet (Mal. 3:1). This again suggests that the final devouring of Israel will be whilst the Elijah prophet is making an ongoing appeal for their repentance and acceptance of Jesus. Once they do so, the devourer is rebuked and Jesus returns to His desperately repentant people.
The beast stamps on others (Dan. 7:7); the same word is used for how Egypt did this to God's people and others within the land promised to Abraham (Ez. 32:2). Although Egypt doesn't figure in the sequence of metals in the image of Daniel 2, the beast incorporates aspects of all Israel's previous dominators- and they include Egypt. We can therefore expect the beast entity to include features of Nazi, Catholic and other historical persecutors of God's people, even though those entities weren't part of the Daniel 2 image. This is why the historical interpretations of 666 and the beast which apply them to Nero's Rome and various Catholic persecutions are not per se incorrect. They were true for their time. But the final persecuting entity will include them all within what it is and what it does.
The Remnant
It is specifically stated that the beast "stamped the remnant" after it had torn and destroyed the land. This could refer to the remnant or “rest” of the beasts (7:12 s.w.). But it may mean that as a result of all the persecution and destruction of the majority of Jews in the land, the surviving remnant of God’s people is stamped underfoot, or subjected to despite. The very same metaphor is used of how the city of God will be "trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled". Those "times" may well refer to the period of 1260 days, three and a half years, spoken of in the prophecies of the tribulation. This trodden down and abused remnant are those who will finally repent and accept Jesus. There are prophecies of how this "remnant" (same word translated "residue" in Dan. 7:7 AV) will finally repent (Is. 10:20-22; 28:5). Is. 11:11,16 speaks of the latter day gathering of this "remnant" from areas throughout the land promised to Abraham- as if there will be a literal taking captive of the surviving Jews left in the land, scattering them throughout the 'land' promised to Abraham. The
chronology fits well- the beast briefly dominates the land, the majority of Jews living there are killed, a remnant remains, who are stamped underfoot whilst Jerusalem likewise is trodden underfoot, and this leads to their repentance and therefore the return of the Lord Jesus to save them from the IS. It's worth noting that the word "remnant" is used repeatedly of the remnant of Judah who were in captivity in Babylon at Daniel's time and the remnant of them who returned to the land. This would've been how his first audience naturally understood the term- referring to Jewish people who had been taken out of their land by their neighbours (Ezra 3:8; 4:3,7,9; 6:16; Neh. 10:28; 11:1,20; Esther 9:16 "the remnant of the Jews that were in the king's provinces").
Then shall come to pass the word of Zech. 12:8: "He that is feeble among them [s.w. Dan. 11:41 about how many in the land of Israel will be overthrown or made feeble] in that day shall be as David". The suggested allusion is to David overcoming the Palestinian Goliath, who all else feared to make war with as he spoke his blasphemy against God and Israel- exactly the language of Rev. 13:4-8.
The Beasts all Exist Together
There is a clear parallel between the four winds which strove with each other upon the sea, and the four beasts who came up out of the sea. The impression is that these beasts all exist at the same time, and their conflict with each other leads to the final appearance of a beast which represents all of them; and this entity dominates the earth / land promised to Abraham, and God’s people upon it. The appearance of this entity will therefore be brought about by massive conflict within the land promised to Abraham- and this is what we are seeing before our eyes. The only uniting issue between the powers in that area is a common hatred of Israel and desire to take Jerusalem. This will be the basis of the final beast arising. We can perhaps look to the development of four distinct power groups within the land promised to Abraham, giving rise to ten ‘kings’ or leaders, the horns of the beast, the ten toes of the image. The period of conflict between those groups could be very brief. We need not, therefore, think that the Lord’s coming isn’t near because we can’t currently identify those four
entities or ten leaders. What we are seeing before our eyes is the winds blowing on the sea, striving between the peoples of the land / earth promised to Abraham, leaving millions dead and the entire region in bitter division. And this, according to Daniel 7, will give rise to the emergence of the final entity of abuse, probably an Islamic State, likely on the pattern of the entity now known as the Islamic State.
The beast of Revelation 13 has elements of all the other beasts. And so does the fourth beast of Daniel 7. It had iron teeth and brass nails (Dan. 7:19), alluding to the brass of the third kingdom and the iron of the fourth kingdom. It had “eyes of a man” and a human eye on its horn, (Dan. 7:8,20), just as the first beast, the lion, had a human heart and stood up like a man (Dan. 7:4). The bear, the second beast, had three ribs in its mouth, representing its conquest of three other powers; the fourth beast features a little horn which conquers three other horns (Dan. 7:8). The bear also ‘devoured much flesh’ (Dan. 7:5); the fourth beast ‘devours’ the land (Dan. 7:7). The third beast, the leopard, had four heads (Dan. 7:6), rather like the fourth beast also has ten horns; and Revelation 13 explains that these are later located on seven heads. The fourth beast of Daniel 7 is therefore a composite beast; the other beasts merge into an entity which includes all of them, even though they still exist separately- for in the final Divine judgment, the fourth beast entity is destroyed, but the beasts have their dominion taken away although their lives are “prolonged for a season and time” (Dan. 7:12). This may mean that the final entity is destroyed, but the individual components of it continue to exist “for a season and time”. The only other reference in Daniel to a period being “prolonged” is when the same word is used in Dan. 4:27 regarding the possibility of the king of the kingdom prolonging his life by repentance; it could be that the delay or prolonging is in order they repent. This may also explain why the first beast, representing Babylon, is pictured as having a man’s heart being given to it after its wings [power] are cropped. The historical king of Babylon had a beast’s heart (Dan. 4:16), but his understanding [a human heart] returned to him on his repentance (Dan. 4:34). So this feature of the first beast may be a hit at a repentance after the pattern of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 4.
The Revival of all the Beasts
On one hand, the metals of the image in Daniel 2, and the sequence of beasts which parallel them in Daniel 7, speak of a series of kingdoms in history which dominated Israel. And yet on the other hand, they must all exist in the last days, under the headship of a latter day Babylon. I suggest this will be fulfilled by the latter day entity which dominates Israel including elements of all the previous empires which dominated Israel. The other prophecies in Daniel contain more detail about these various empires in their historical fulfilment. Elements of those prophecies will therefore also have some application in a latter day sense; various characteristics of those empires will be seen in the final entity which dominates Israel. It will be not only Assyria redivivus but also Persia, Greece and Rome redivivus. This kind of thing is seen elsewhere in the Scriptures- for often Israel’s enemies are described in terms of their previous oppressors, especially Egypt. Take Is. 52:4: “My people went down into Egypt to live there, and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause”. It was the Egyptians who oppressed Israel in Egypt, but they are here called the Assyrian- because at Isaiah’s time, the Assyrians were the threat to Judah, but they are cast by Isaiah in terms of the Egyptians of previous centuries.
Daniel 7 depicts the various metals of the image as various beasts. The final beast of the last days incorporates all the elements of the previous beasts. But her head will be Babylon, replete with a latter day Nebuchadnezzar. Note that the first three of the empires of Daniel’s image had Babylon as their capital. It is appropriate that the latter day revival of the image and beast has Babylon likewise as its capital. It surely cannot be accidental that in Babylon today, “the ancient temple of Ishtar has been rebricked, replastered and whitewashed… carved into the bricks are reliefs of oxen and a mythical beast called the mushrishu, with the head of a serpent, body of a fish, front legs of a lion, and back legs of an eagle” (Chattanooga New Free Press, April 5, 1987). Latter day Babylon chooses to identify itself as an amalgam of beasts!
The various beasts and metals must all be in existence at the time of Christ's return in order for him to destroy them by his coming. The little stone hits the image on its ten toes- corresponding to the ten horns of the fourth beast of Dan.7. The ten horns must in a sense be in existence at the time of Christ's coming. But so also is the fourth beast, corresponding to the legs of iron- because it is at the coming of Christ that “the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame” (Dan. 7:11). Likewise at this same time, “the rest of the beasts… had their dominion taken away” (Dan. 7:12). The other beasts, corresponding to the earlier metals in the image, are ‘alive’ at the coming of Christ. Just as the image stands complete, so all the beasts are alive in order to receive judgment. The horns are presented as part of the fourth beast; their destruction is part and parcel of the fourth beast’s destruction.
Daniel sees the four beasts (corresponding with the four metals of the image of Daniel 2) all come up together after the waves of the sea are troubled (Dan. 7:3), connecting with the Lord's description of the last day powers around Israel in the same way (Lk. 21:25). The fact they all come up together shows that he was not only seeing a continuous historic vision. The way he sees the beast representing Babylon come up when historical Babylon at the time of the vision had already 'come up' shows it was not a historical description of those powers. The beasts all exist again in the last day, just as all the metals of the image exist together in order to be destroyed together by the Lord’s return. Yet the 'traditional' interpretation of the beasts as depicting the various empires which dominated Israel in the past still holds true; the point is, the final beast incorporates elements of all those powers which once dominated Israel. It is in this sense that the whole image of Dan. 2 stands complete in the last days; the latter day Nebuchadnezzar has beneath him all the elements of Israel's previous persecutors.
Dan. 7:19 describes the fourth beast as having the iron and brass metals of the image of Dan. 2 in it. The fourth beast had feet and teeth, we are specifically told. The lion, representing the head of gold, had feet (Dan. 7:4); the bear, representing the breast of silver, had powerful teeth. The fourth beast has “claws of brass”, but brass referred to the third empire in the sequence of empires in the parallel Daniel 2. The point being, that the fourth beast has elements of the previous beasts in it. And likewise, the final entity which dominates Israel at the time of the Lord’s return in glory will have within it elements of all the previous dominators. Thus the fourth beast had all the characteristics of the other beasts. By it being destroyed through its ten horns being smitten by Christ's return, it is as if the image of Dan.2 is standing erect and complete in the last days, being hit on the ten toes (cp. the ten horns of the beast) by Christ's return.
Various Possible Outcomes
The four beasts are described as “diverse” from each other (Dan. 7:3). The Aramaic word translated “diverse” is used 21 times, and every time it distinctly means to be changed from one state to another. It is used about ‘altering’ a king’s word (Ezra 6:11; Dan. 3:28), the face of a man being ‘changed’ from one appearance to another (Dan. 3:19; 5:6). The idea is not simply that there were four beasts which were different from each other; it’s surely axiomatic that four different beasts are going to be different from each other. The beasts of Daniel 7 are clearly related to the metals of the image in Daniel 2; but this is not to say that the same thing is being said simply through different symbolism. That would be relatively pointless. There is an extension of the ideas and a modification of the way in which the final end [the establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth] will be achieved. I have suggested in the appendix that Daniel’s prophecies were conditional; a sequence of four kings could have arisen after Nebuchadnezzar, culminating in the establishment of the Kingdom on earth. Daniel’s long life spanned the 70 years captivity of Judah and the reign of at least four kings; the prophets repeatedly state that the intention of that captivity was that the captives might “know that I am Yahweh”; the experience was to be God’s pleading with His people to repent (Ez. 20:36). Daniel wrote his visions for others to read, indeed it is specifically mentioned that he spoke out loud the Daniel 7 vision (Dan. 7:1). The visions were part of that pleading with the captives to accept God’s perspective and join in on the side of His Kingdom. But Israel, as a whole, would not. Most of them preferred the soft life in Babylon and did not return at the time of the restoration. They would not “know Yahweh” nor did they repent- instead, as Ezekiel 18 makes clear, they blamed their captivity upon the sins of their fathers being visited upon them by an unjust God. Because of this lack of response, the possible outworking of the visions changed.
The passing of power from Babylon to the Medes could have continued according to the Daniel 2 vision; four kings could have arisen (note they are called ‘kings’ and not ‘kingdoms’ in Dan. 7:17), and the Kingdom of God would have been established at the end of the 70 years captivity. But there were delays because of the Jews’ lack of response. Hence Daniel’s sorrow and shock throughout the book as he saw the final outworking being delayed. Therefore the fact the beasts are ‘changed’ or ‘altered’ is seamlessly in context with this idea of delayed and recalculated outcomes of the prophecies. This would explain why the further visions of the beasts in Daniel 8 suggests that in the time of the third kingdom [the Greeks], a charismatic leader would arise [clearly having Antiochus Epiphanes in view] who would be destroyed by the coming of God’s Son and the establishment of His Kingdom on earth. But that scenario also didn’t work out, and Antiochus Epiphanes became a prototype of the final antichrist, requiring a gap between that part of the prophecy and the last days. Perhaps this is why Daniel’s first vision in Daniel 7 is of the first three beasts, and then “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast” (Dan. 7:7)- as if the vision of the first three beasts was separate to that of the fourth beast. Likewise at the end of Daniel 11, the king of the north is clearly Antiochus Epiphanes throughout the chapter; but 11:40- 12:5 clearly envisages him standing up against “Michael” and being destroyed at the time of the resurrection of the dead. This didn’t happen, and so there arose a hiatus in fulfillment. This is not to say that God’s word is falsified; rather is it proved ultimately true in a way which takes on board human freewill. For otherwise, the very existence of God’s prophetic word would be deterministic of human behavior to an extent that human freewill is taken away by the very existence of the Divine word.
It’s noteworthy that the vision of Daniel 7 is presented as seven separate visions, each introduced by the rubric “I saw” (7:2,4,6,7,9,11,13). Revelation is an expansion upon Daniel’s visions, and there we find seven visions which are in turn subdivided into seven visions and some of those subdivisions even are subdivided into seven visions. Admittedly, these can be defined in various ways, but some of the more obvious ones are: 7 visions:
1) Revelation 4 - 8:1
2) Revelation 8:2 - 11
3) Revelation 12 - 14
4) Revelation 15, 16
5) Revelation 17, 18
6) Revelation 19
7) Revelation 20
The seven visions of conflict explaining the Establishment of God’s Kingdom between Rev. 11:15-13:8:
1. The woman with child: the birth of Jesus, 12:1-2
2. The great red dragon: the enemy of Peace, 12:3-6
3. The war in heaven: the Cross, 12:7-12
4. The dragon, the woman, and her children: the struggle of God’s people, 12:13-17
5. The seven-headed beast from the sea: the power of Rome, 13:1-4
6. The war against the saints: persecutions, 13:5-10
7. The beast and his mark: corruption of the emperor and the dragon’s agents, 13:11-18
Then there are the Seven Visions of Mt. Zion, Rev. 14:1-20; the Seven Bowls of the Wrath of God, Rev. 15:1-16:21;the Seven Visions of the Fall of Babylon, Rev. 17:1-19:10 ; the Seven Visions of Recompense, Rev. 19:11-21:5.
The point is that the outline scenario of Daniel 7 is repeated in more detail in Revelation. But the primary reference remains the same- a prediction of a final time of trouble within the land promised to Abraham, which will come to term in the return of Christ to earth to establish His Kingdom upon the ruins of Israel’s enemies.
The Four Beasts and the Cherubim
It’s apparent that the four beasts are full of allusion to the cherubim vision seen by Ezekiel- also whilst in captivity in Babylon, just as Daniel was. The cherubim were likewise four separate living creatures [beasts] which somehow were also one. The four beasts of Daniel 7 become comprehended in the fourth beast and in the one composite beast of Revelation 13, which includes all elements of the previous beasts within it. Note that the Hebrew / Aramaic for “beast” means literally a living one- the living creature of the cherubim vision. The cherubim featured the faces of lion, ox, man and eagle (Ez. 1:10), and lion, ox and eagle feature in the descriptions of the four beasts; the ‘man’ element is found in that the lion has the heart of a man, and the little horn of the fourth beast has the eyes of a man. The first living creature has wings which are lifted up from the earth (Dan. 7:4)- which is precisely the language of the cherubim wings being lifted up from the earth in Ez. 1:19,21; 10:16,19. As the first beast is made to stand on its feet (Dan. 7:4), so the cherubim caused Ezekiel to stand on his feet (Ez. 2:2; 3:24). The second creature had a “side” which was “lifted up” (Dan. 7:5), as the cherubim likewise had ‘sides’ which were ‘lifted up’ (Ez. 1:8,20). The third beast had four wings as each of the living creatures / cherubim did (Dan. 7:6; Ez. 1:23). The first and fourth beasts / living creatures have feet (Dan. 7:4,7) as the cherubim do (Ez. 1:7). The description of how these living creatures / beasts will be judged by the Lord Jesus includes language also used in Ezekiel’s cherubim visions- One seated upon a throne, wheels of burning fire (Dan. 7:9).
Ezekiel’s vision was surely well known to Daniel. The connection is surely that throughout the course of human history, especially the course of Gentile domination of the land of Israel, the glory of God shone through it all, it was all going according to His purpose; and the various beasts were in fact manipulated by the living creatures of the Angel cherubim. Daniel 7 says this in different terms by opening with the statement that the four spirits / Angels of Heaven were responsible for the uprising of the four beasts (Dan. 7:2,3). Events were not just taking their course, with everything spinning out of control; but rather, God through the Angels was powerfully in control. And His glory shone through the apparent cruelty, shame and randomness of the events that appeared to be happening to His land and people.
The great comfort is that these four beasts are reflected in Hos. 13:7,8, where God threatens that He will be to Israel like a lion, a leopard, a bear and a wild beast. All these beasts are significant because of what they do to Israel; that is the territory and arena of their domination. But they are all acting as it were on God's behalf, like the four beasts of the cherubim. There is no radical evil, evil out of control in the cosmos, with God's people at risk from being dominated by it. God is completely in control, and even the terrible things done to Israel by the beasts are under His total control.
Who is the Beast?
If we are looking for a power or ideology within the land promised to Abraham which focuses upon the destruction of Israel, then we do not have far to look. Islam explicitly encourages Moslems to attack Israel and force Jews to either convert to Israel or be killed: Consider these passages from the Hadith: "You will fight against the Jews and you will kill them until even a stone would say: Come here, Muslim, there is a Jew (hiding himself behind me); kill him" (Book 41.6981). Book 19.4366 likewise: "I will expel the Jews and Christians from Arabia and will not leave any but Muslim". The 'Arabia' here is often interpreted as the Arabian Peninsula, but that was probably not in Mohammed's perceptual geography. By 'Arabia' he meant 'the lands where the Arabs live', and that area includes Israel, inhabited as it is by several million Palestinian Arabs.
The Eclipse of the West
However we interpret the fourth beast and its horns, the point has to be accepted that it is radically different to any entity or empire which has ever dominated the earth / land of Israel before. It was "terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong... 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" (Dan. 7:7). It is this same beast which led John in Revelation to be staggered and amazed. For such an entity to dominate Israel in the last days, the current geopolitical situation must change. The West will be powerless to stop it. The historical support of Israel by the West, and their continual involvement on the ground in the Middle East to avert catastrophe and protect their interests there... will end. This could be because of their financial collapse, or an oil / energy stranglehold over them, or the uprise of domestic forces allied with Islam which leave them powerless to get involved; or maybe they genuinely turn against Israel.
Or perhaps the beast entity is in possession of military technology, just as Goliath was, which leads to the sense that nobody can make war with this beast: "Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?" (Rev. 13:4). And if 'all' that is required for peace is to let these guys have their way with Israel... well, that will be a price which will seem cheap compared to the unleashing of nuclear, germ, chemical or some other kind of technology against the West. "Who is like unto the beast?" suggests that it is felt that nobody is comparable with the beast in order to make war with it; there is a superiority of military ability which is perceived which results in recognizing that this entity cannot be challenged. The language is very much of David and Goliath. The current dependency of Israel upon military technology to maintain the upper edge over their enemies must therefore come to an end. All those scenarios are well on the way to development. Nuclear technology is already in the hands of Iran, and can spread easily to irresponsible hands. It would also be typical of Russian foreign policy to spite the West by arming the West's enemies with such technology. Without the West as the power broker in the Middle East, such an entity will surely arise. The release of the restrained horsemen on the banks of the Euphrates may refer to this restraining influence being removed (Rev. 9,16). The growth of the IS shows the potential for it, if nothing else. So the very prediction of such an entity arising in the land promised to Abraham has some radical implications for the West.
Judah’s invasion by the Babylonians is clearly a type of the latter day invasion by the Islamic entity or state. The Biblical record emphasizes Judah’s sense of betrayal, in that her lovers and friends [i.e. other nations] had not come to her aid as they had promised and as she had hoped (Lamentations is full of such language). This has its counterpart today, in that Israel depends upon the West to be the power broker deflecting any major strike against them by the Islamic powers around them. But that factor will be removed, the promises and undertakings will not come true- because the Biblical picture is of a huge state in power over Israel without opposition.
The Horns on the Beast
The ten horns represent ten kings- the reference may be to individual leaders rather than to nations (Dan. 7:24). They arise out of the head of the beast, maybe implying they share the same overall ideology or thinking. That ideology would be that of hatred of Israel and a common desire to destroy her- which rather suggests Islam. That is the only appropriate ideology within the earth / land promised to Abraham which could be the candidate for the fulfilment of this prophetic requirement.
The overall picture presented by the descriptions of the horns is of conflict with each other, whilst at the same time dominating the earth / land of Israel. The little horn ‘subdues’ [to abase / humiliate / degrade] three of the horns, and according to Rev. 17:16, the ten horns hate the whore, the individual riding the beast entity, and bitterly destroy and burn her. And the fortunes of the entire entity ebb and flow- one of the wounds has a deadly wound but revives, the beast itself has a deadly wound from a sword but revives (Rev. 13:3,12,14), the beast was, is not and yet is (Rev. 17:8), and we are beginning to see this ebb and flow of the fortunes of the entity developing in the land / earth. This is precisely the picture that has more recently unfolded in the land promised to Abraham- a series of increasingly powerful and aggressive leaders and powers, morphing together from the perspective of Israel and God’s people into a system of abuse such as has never been seen and never will be. And yet from another viewpoint, they are bitterly divided against themselves.
The tendency is to want to clearly identity each of the ten toes / ten horns of the fourth beasts, the wings of the lion, the three ribs in the mouth of the second beast, the four wings and four heads of the third beast, the three horns who are plucked up by the little horn of the fourth beast, and then in Revelation we have seven heads found on the beast, as well as the ten horns, who in Revelation “hate the whore” and burn her; and the whore who rides the beast sits on seven hills or kings. Each of these attributes [toes, horns, wings, heads] refer to kings / kingdoms. Looking at the scenarios through half closed eyes, as it were, not sweating the details, we have the impression of a latter day entity dominating the earth / land promised to Abraham, which is comprised of a bewildering array of smaller powers and charismatic leaders who are often pitted against each other. This is exactly the position we see developing in that geographical area. We don’t need to interpret the fine details ahead of time- that is not how prophecy functions. When it all happens, then it will be clear. What we are seeing is the general picture developing- an array of aggressive powers, some strong and some weak, broadly grouped into four groups, matching the four beasts who will exist in the last days. They are all united around a desire to dominate Israel. It’s not hard to imagine how they will destroy each other, which is God’s preferred method of judging His people’s enemies.
The Little Horn
The changing of times and laws by the antichrist figure of Dan. 7:25 sounds like the radical Islamist desire to impose the Islamic calendar and sharia law in the land promised to Abraham, which they see as their caliphate; and for sure, if Israel becomes part of an Islamic state, then the keeping of the Jewish calendar will be outlawed. The implementation of sharia law and changing legal structures to reflect it, is a major theme in their program. It’s clear that the three and a half year domination of Jerusalem and changing of the Jewish law and calendar had an initial fulfilment in the abuses of Antiochus Epiphanes, who desecrated the temple. There was a three and a half year period from the edict of Antiochus in June 168 BC to the rededication of the temple in December 165 BC. The little horn of Daniel 8 comes out of the Greek kingdom, but the horn of Daniel 7 out of the fourth kingdom. I suggest that this is because the prophecy could have been fulfilled totally at the time of Antiochus- Messiah could have come and destroyed him. But the various required preconditions weren’t met, and so there was another possibility of it coming true out of the Roman kingdom [another possibility is that the four beasts and metals refer to Babylon-Media-Persia-Greece rather than Babylon-Medo Persia-Greece-Rome]. Revelation uses the same imagery to describe the antiChrist of the last days, who will incorporate some elements of the previous historical fulfilments of the little horn in men like Antiochus Epiphanes.
Dan. 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon- This was about 10 years before the fall of Babylon. As with all Bible prophecy, there was a short term initial fulfilment which guaranteed that the larger picture would likewise finally come true.
Daniel had a dream on his bed: then he wrote the dream and told the conclusion of the matters- The entire vision of the beasts of Daniel 7 is summed up in Dan. 7:1: "the rosh of the words" (AV "sum of the matter"). And the rosh surely refers to the individual of Ezekiel 38:2 who will lead the latter day armies against Israel. The whole system of beasts is summed up in an individual rosh or leader, just as the metals of the image in Daniel 2 are in the form of a man with the face of Nebuchadnezzar. The little horn of Daniel 7 is actually called "the beast": "I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame" (Dan. 7:11).
Dan 7:2 Daniel spoke and said, I saw in my dream and, behold, the four winds of Heaven broke forth upon the great sea- This again is a deconstruction of Babylon's religion; the Enuma Elish describes the god of Babylon, Bel (or Marduk) using four winds to destroy sea monsters and become god of gods. This narrative is subverted so that Yahweh is to be recognized as God of all gods.
Dan 7:3 Four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from
another- This again is a subversion of the entire narrative of
Babylon, for the walls of the Ishtar Gate were decorated with identical
great beasts, who were said to defend Babylon. They would all come to
their end before Israel's God. The nations represented by the beasts come
from the earth, the eretz or land promised to Abraham
(:17). The imagery of the sea may therefore simply be because there is a
deconstruction going on- as explained on :2, the god of Babylon was
supposed to have dominated the monsters of the sea in order to become the
supreme god.
Wild beasts were the threatened punishment upon Israel for their sin. So we are to expect the dominion of these beasts to be over the land and people of Israel. And this is what the metals of the image of Dan. 2 speak of likewise- dominion over the earth / land of Israel. Indeed, the ancient world often spoke of the arising of beasts as punishment for breaking a covenant (evidence provided in G.W. Buchanan, The Book of Daniel p. 167). And Israel had broken covenant; and these were the judgments to come upon them. The point is, the dominion of these beasts was to be over Israel; that is the focus of the vision, not Europe nor the rest of the planet.
Daniel saw this vision at the very end of the Babylonian empire, in the reign of Belshazzar (:1), whom Dan. 5 presents as the last king of Babylon. But he sees the beasts, including the first beast [which is clearly based upon historical Babylon] arising from the sea. Yet Babylon had already arisen at the time of the vision, and was waning in power. This underlines the fact that the essential fulfilment of this vision is in the last days, for all the beasts exist together then just as all the metals in the image exist, to be broken by the Lord's return. Whatever historical fulfilments there were, the vision speaks of entities arising in the very last days to abuse God's people and be destroyed by the coming of His Son.
7:4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings- Both lion and eagle are symbols of Babylon (Jer. 49:19-22 cp. Lam. 4:19; Hos. 8:1; Hab. 1:8). They are also associated with Islam; Ali, Mohammad's on in law, is called "The lion of God, always victorious". The plucking of the wings could refer to Nebuchadnezzar's loss of power. Jer. 49:19-22 specifically calls Nebuchadnezzar the lion, and his soldiers the eagles. The primary potential fulfilment of the vision was in matching the four metals of Daniel 2, which spoke primarily of four kings rather than kingdoms which were to arise. A lion with eagles' wings would have appeared like a sphinx, a monster assumed to be a demonic being. The point is that all that was considered demonic and radically evil was all the same under Divine control and manipulation; there is no radical evil in creation. This is why the New Testament uses the language of demons when describing the Lord's miracles, which clearly showed that whether or not demons actually exist, they are of no power compared to God.
I saw until its wings were plucked- Maybe a reference to the mental illness of Nebuchadnezzar, or the decline of the empire after his death. I have suggested several times on Dan. 2-6 that the various monarchs had the opportunity to repent and restore the Jews, and to resign their own kingdoms under the Kingdom of God they were allowing to be re-established in the form of the kingdom of Judah. But they all failed in this. The lifting up of the plucked lion would therefore refer to how after Nebuchadnezzar's final repentance, the kingdom could have been lifted up and glorified. Whether or not Nebuchadnezzar maintained his repentance to the end of his days we don't know, but his kingdom and successors didn't. And so their kingdom likewise had to fall.
And it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand on two feet as a man; and a man’s heart was given to it- The lifting up from the earth / ground may simply mean that this beast becomes like a man. The first beast, representing Babylon, had "the heart of a man". It was the embodiment of an individual person- Nebuchadnezzar. The latter day Babylon likewise will be centred around a person- the antiChrist figure of the last days, who in turn will profess to be the incarnation or embodiment of the false prophet Mohammed. What happened here is the reverse of what happened to Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4:16,33). It could be that we have here a potential prophecy, of what could have happened after Nebuchadnezzar's repentance after his years of mental illness, living as a beast. The beasts are represented as having human features because like the metals of the image, the primary possibility of the prophecies was that Nebuchadnezzar would be followed by a series of kings rather than kingdoms, which would climax in the revelation of Messiah and the re-establishment of the Kingdom. That didn't happen, but it was the potential, which Judah's spiritual indolence disallowed.
Nebuchadnezzar in his madness became as a beast- with a body like a beast, hair like an eagle, and nails like those of a beast (Dan. 4:33). This language is all used about the beasts in the later prophetic parts of Daniel's prophecy. They had features of eagles (Dan. 7:4), bodies of beasts (Dan. 7:11), and remarkable nails or claws (Dan. 7:19). Nebuchadnezzar became like such a beast because the latter day beast would be the embodiment of him, just as the image of Daniel 2 had the face of Nebuchadnezzar and was in the form of a man. The beast is epitomized by a man- "the number of the beast...is the number of a man" (Rev. 13:18).
Dan 7:5 Behold, another beast, a second, like a bear; and it was raised up on one side- The original could mean "half crouching", or standing on its hind legs, ready to pounce in attack. The historical application could be to the Medes arising and then the Persians, hence it appears to have two sides to it.
And three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth: and they said thus to it, Arise, devour much flesh- "Arise" is a command to the beast to stand up as a man, on two feet. As noted on :4, these beasts are all epitomized in a man, the latter day antiChrist figure who is based upon Nebuchadnezzar. The "three ribs", the remnant of other beasts devoured by this beast, encourage it to stand up as a man and devour even more flesh; to do to others, as had been done to them. The three ribs could refer to the conquering of Lydia, Egypt and Babylon by Medo-Persia; or to the three great Assyrian cities of Nineveh, Calah, and Resen which they sacked. But it's hard to understand how their remnants encouraged Medo-Persia to devour others. The relevance to Lydia, Egypt and Babylon was therefore but a primary fulfilment; the vision, like that of Daniel 2, speaks primarily of the last days, in the same way as the entire image of Dan. 2 [the basis of Dan. 7] stands complete in the last days.
Dan 7:6 After this I saw, and behold, another, like a leopard, which
had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast had also four heads; and
dominion was given to it- The four heads could suggest a looking to
expand in all directions. The historical application would be to the
kingdom which succeeded Babylon. But I have explained that just as the
image of Dan. 2 stands complete in the last days, so all the beasts
likewise exist on the eve of the Lord's return (:12). They can refer to
different aspects of the latter day entity which dominates the land
promised to Abraham. The fact Daniel saw them successively arise is on one
level just the furniture of the vision, and doesn't have to mean that
there will be a chronological sequence of entities in the last days. There
will be an element of four wings and heads in this particular
manifestation of the latter day beast.
Historically, the leopard could refer to the lightning speed of the Persian troops, if the bear is understood as Media. The four heads / wings would then refer to the first four Persian kings, from Cyrus to Xerxes. Or it could refer to the lightning speed of the Greek ascendancy to power in the region under Alexander the great and his four generals, Ptolemy, Seleucus, Philip, and Antigonus; who may each be represented by the four wings and heads. Unless the generals are represented by the heads, and the wings speak of the four divisions of the Greek empire: Greece, Western Asia, Egypt, and Persia / India. The problem with all these historical interpretations is that they fail to meet the required criteria- that the vision of the beasts, like that of the image in Dan. 2, concern domination of the eretz promised to Abraham and not areas far outside of it such as Greece and India. The similarities are at best vague, and the main fulfilment will become clear in the latter domination of the eretz by an entity which includes all these previous elements. It should also be remembered that in Rev. 17:13, horns represent kings, and heads represent mountains or kingdoms. Whether the four heads can represent Persian kings or parts of the Greek empire is therefore questionable, especially as the Greek conquests were not established as kingdoms under a king. The decorum of the symbolism requires that the wings and the heads are different in their meaning; four wings would suggest two pairs of wings. It may simply be allusive to the double winged beasts which were the classic symbols of Babylon and Assyria, as if to say that there were elements of their abuse of Israel in this beast.
Dan 7:7 After this I saw in the night visions, and, behold, a fourth
beast, awesome and powerful, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron
teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces- This is what the little stone
of Dan. 2:34,45 does. This entity tries to execute judgment which only God
should, and which He will do in the return of His Son to earth. This
playing God is a significant factor in the judgment of these latter day
entities.
And stamped the residue with its feet: and it was diverse from all the beasts that preceded it; and it had ten horns- This beast was a composite beast, including the elements of the former beasts. It would have appeared very similar to Marduk, god of Babylon. Just as the image of Daniel 2 stands complete in the last days, headed up by a latter day Nebuchadnezzar, so this final beast is Babylon revived.
The difference between devouring and then stamping the rest with its feet could suggest that this entity was not content merely with conquering, but destroyed [stamped upon] the rest which it could not conquer. This is hard to fit to any particular historical entity, but it complements the general impression we get of the latter day entity conquering the eretz of Israel and then causing destruction to the surrounding peoples. Such a scenario can easily be imagined given the current nature of things in the Middle East. The stamped bits of beast, as it were, would then correspond with the brief final part of the Dan. 2 image, a mixture of metal mixed with clay. That is how the Middle East will end up, and the Lord's return will be in judgment upon that final phase of the Dan. 2 image and the mess left by the fourth beast.
Dan 7:8 I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them
another horn, a little one- As explained in the introduction to this
chapter, this appears to speak of an individual who arises, the
antiChrist, who deposes others in order to establish himself as the
personal epitomy of the fourth beast, which in turn is the composite of
all the beasts. It is this individual who faces off against the real
Christ at His second coming and is judged by His appearance on earth (:9).
The horn / king was "little", and the original may mean one who has been
diminished. The one made little arises or 'comes up' to be the greatest,
an imitation Christ. It could be that this individual has been humiliated
in some previous conflict, but now arises again. This could be associated
with the way the beast received a deadly wound but was healed (Rev.
13:3,12).
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- The plucking up of three horns (= kings, Dan. 7:24; 8:20; Rev. 17:12) by such a dominant individual is hard to conclusively prove as having been historically fulfilled. It has a latter day application which is yet to become clear. This individual king is as it were the personification of the beast. He arises in the last days and will be alive at the time of the Lord's return. This simply doesn't fit a Pope being given three states in Italy. The horns are kings, not kingdoms. Mountains or kingdoms are heads not horns (Rev. 17:9). The destruction of the little horn simply cannot refer to the supposed "loss of temporal power of the papacy" in 1870. This individual is destroyed by the Lord's return and not some generations previously. And he is destroyed by the Lord's return, not some European individual of bygone centuries.
Dan 7:9 I saw until thrones were placed, and One who was the ancient
of days sat: his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head like
pure wool; His throne was fiery flames, and its wheels burning fire-
There is an abrupt change from the earthly realities of :8, which are
recorded in prose, to this poetic [in Aramaic] description of the Divine
throne and judgment. This abrupt change is intentional; to get the point
over, that the situation on earth is going to be dramatically, suddenly
changed by the Lord's return. The thrones were "placed" or as AV "cast
down". The kings and kingdoms of men are to be destroyed by the Lord's
coming, just as the little stone destroys all the metals. The kingdoms of
men become those of the Lord Jesus (Rev. 11:15). The ambiguity between
'placing / imposing' and 'throwing down' is because the placing of God's
throne is upon the casting down of human thrones. The "thrones" plural may
be an intensive plural referring to the one great throne, sat on by "Him"
singular (:10). Or the plural may be because it is the thousands of
elohim, the judged and persecuted people of God, who now as it were
sit on the Lord's behalf to judge their persecutors.
Dan 7:10 A fiery stream came forth from before Him- The original
for "stream" is only elsewhere used about "the river", Euphrates. Now the
forces represented by that river are to be judged. But the equivalent
Hebrew idea is repeatedly used for how the nations were to flow as a river
to Jerusalem (Is. 2:2; 60:5; Jer. 31:12; Mic. 4:1). The harder side of God
strangely attracts. As the judgments flow out of Zion, so the peoples flow
towards it. When God's judgments are in the earth / land, its inhabitants
come to learn righteousness (Is. 26:9).
Thousands of thousands ministered to Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him- These are not myriads standing before Him to receive judgment, but the myriads of the seed of Abraham who now as it were sit with Him in judgment upon their persecutors. 'Standing before' is being used as a parallel to 'ministering'.
The judgment was set, and the books were opened- The Lord Jesus returns to earth with the Angels. They play a part in the final judgment. The placing of thrones (:9) and the sitting of the judgment is likely metaphor, part of the idea of the thrones / kingdoms of the world being subsumed beneath God's throne / Kingdom. I discussed on :9 that the "Him" may refer to the Lord Jesus personally, but it could be that the plural "thrones" mean that God's people now sit in judgment upon their persecutors, with their representative Angels now physically with them.
Dan 7:11 I saw at that time because of the voice of the great words
which the horn spoke; I saw even until the beast was slain, and its body
destroyed, and it was given to be burned with fire- The destruction
of the beast is spoken of immediately after introducing the little horn.
That horn or leader is presented as the personification of the
beast, the whole evil system of its day and previous generations all
represented in one person. Thus the words of the horn call forth the
beast's destruction; it will be the ultimate case of being condemned for
the sake of words (Mt. 12:37), and the Lord applies that principle as
warning to us all. The language suggests that it was the words of the horn
which led to the beast's destruction. There will be teaching and claims
made by the horn which are the most blasphemous ever; there was something
dramatically noteworthy about them. The
Dan 7:12 As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away:
yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time- Just as all
the metals of the image exist together when the little stone [Messiah]
comes to earth and destroys them, so all the beasts likewise exist
together at the time of His coming. The taking away of all human dominion
surely speaks of their being subsumed beneath God's eternal kingdom. But
their lives bring prolonged for a period, a season [a period until a
Jewish feast?] and a time [a year?], may be in order to give them the
chance of repentance. The original word for "Prolonged" only occurs
elsewhere in Dan. 4:27, where Daniel urges Nebuchadnezzar to repent so
that there might be a lengthening or prolonging of his life. This
connection should serve to guide us in interpreting this prolongation of
their personal lives after their political destruction; it will be in
order to help these terrible abusers of God's people to repent. Such is
God's earnest desire to bring all men unto repentance, and we should share
in that Spirit today.
Dan 7:13 I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the
clouds of the sky One like a son of man, and he came up to the ancient of
days, and they brought him near before Him- Those who bring the "son
of man" [Jesus] before the "ancient of days" [God] are surely the Angels.
They received Him out of the sight of the disciples in Acts 1 and as it
were introduced Him to Heaven. This 'coming of the Son of Man' is clearly
understood as the second coming (Mt. 24:27,30,37,39 etc.). Just as at His
ascension, the Lord was introduced to the Father and in the court of
Heaven, given all dominion; so at His second coming He is likewise given
from God the moment and authority to now take this dominion unto Himself
in actual terms on earth.
Dan 7:14 There was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all
the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an
everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that
which shall not be destroyed- This is the equivalent of the little
stone becoming God's eternal Kingdom on earth in Dan. 2:44. The purpose of
the Kingdom becoming God's is so that people from all nations, languages
etc. should serve Him. It is not merely a taking power for the sake of it.
The language here is therefore at the basis of the great commission, to
even now make this same appeal to all nations. The Kingdom of God is a
case of now but not yet. We proclaim it worldwide right now, in the spirit
in which it shall be proclaimed at the Lord's return. Because the Kingdom is to spread world-wide, we should therefore
spread the Good News of this coming Kingdom world-wide. In prospect- and
no more than that, let it be noted- the Kingdom has been established in
that the Lord Jesus Christ has all power in Heaven and earth (Mt. 28:18). This is the
language of Dan. 7:14 concerning the future Kingdom. The believer must
live the Kingdom life now, as far as possible (Rom. 13:12,13). At the
establishment of the
Kingdom, we will be spreading the Gospel throughout this planet. In this
life too we should live in the spirit of the Kingdom in this regard.
And asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things- We see here the basic principle, that God's truth is revealed to those who wish to know it. It is not immediately apparent; hence the Lord used parables so that those who wanted a quick obvious message wouldn't find it. But those who asked Him for the interpretation received it. This is why some find the Bible hard to understand- exactly because they do not truly seek to understand it, nor can they humble themselves to recognize that without Divine help, we cannot of itself properly understand the Divine words we read or hear.
Dan 7:17 These great animals, which are four, are four kings, who
shall arise out of the land- They dominated the land / eretz
from which they arose. Their provenance was from the eretz. They
are to be understood as powers which arise from within the territory of
the land promised to Abraham, and come to dominate it. This makes many of
the continuous historical interpretations of the beasts at best primary
fulfilments. The major fulfilment is yet to come, and the situation within
the eretz now helps us see that this can realistically happen
soon. We note the beasts were "four kings" rather than 'kingdoms'. This
would look ahead to four such rulers arising in the last days. Perhaps
there was a potential fulfilment in three or four kings arising after
Nebuchadnezzar, climaxing in the re-establishment of Israel's Kingdom; and
Daniel lived through the reigns of that many monarchs. But du to lack of
repentance, that scenario didn't happen. The fulfilment is therefore in
the last days. Seeing all the beasts exist together at the time of the end
(:12), we need not think that there must be a chronological sequence of
four leaders who arise. They are aspects of the same entity, viewed from
different angles. The fact Daniel has to describe them in chronological
order and saw them perhaps one after another doesn't mean that they have a
chronological fulfilment. This is the tendency of Greek, linear thinking.
But here we are reading Hebrew apocalyptic, which places little stress
upon linear chronology.
Dan 7:18 But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom,
and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever- Daniel would
have understood these "saints" as God's people, Israel, who would be the
ones persecuted in the last days by the beast system (:25). "Come inherit
the Kingdom prepared for you" perhaps alludes here. The same term is used
of how Darius "took the kingdom" (Dan. 5:31). Maybe even there, "the
kingdom" refers to the kingdom of Israel. Because the prophetic theme in
Daniel is that the various metals and beasts had dominion over the kingdom
of Judah and the land promised to Abraham, and this was to be surrendered
to Messiah at His appearing. Eternal possession naturally alludes to the
promises to Abraham, that his seed would inherit the eretz for
ever (Gen. 17:8; 22:17,18). That eretz was "the kingdom" they
would eternally inherit.
Dan 7:19 Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which
was so different from all of them, exceedingly terrible, whose teeth were of
iron, and its nails of brass; which devoured, broke in pieces, and stamped
the residue with its feet- The brass claws weren't mentioned in the
initial description. Iron and brass were metals within the image of Dan.
2. The idea is that this beast is a composite of all the previous beasts,
just as the image as a whole is a composite of all the different metals
which were within it. "The residue" is literally 'the remnant' and is used
of the remnant of Judah who had survived the Babylonian invasion (Ezra
6:16 "the rest of the children of the captivity"; Esther 9:16; Is.
10:20-22; 11:11,16; 28:5). But the more immediate reference in the context
is to the "rest" or remnant of the previous beasts (:12 s.w.). The fourth
beast tramples those who remain of the other beasts and those who remain
of the Jews, and parts of them (the iron and brass) as it were stick to
this fourth beast, becoming part of it. This produces the brief element of
the image upon which the Lord returns- a weak mixture of clay and iron
shards which has been trampled down. For breaking in pieces and trampling
would be the only way to actually produce such a situation. We can expect
an absolute bloodbath in the eretz promised to Abraham, and the
scene for that is now set.
Dan 7:20 And concerning the ten horns that were on its head, and the
other horn which came up, and before whom three fell, even that horn that
had eyes, and a mouth that spoke great things, whose appearance was more
aggressive than its fellows- This horn can be understood as vaguely
relevant to Antiochus
Epiphanes, and also Vespasian in AD70 (see on :24). The prophecies had
various primary fulfilments over time, each of which pointed forward to
the major fulfilment which is yet to come, where the latter day horn will
have all the features of its previous historical incarnations. The great
and blasphemous things spoken by this horn would be associated with the
changing of Divine times and seasons by the same horn which we read of
later.
Dan 7:21 I saw, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed
against them- "The saints" can refer to both natural and spiritual
Israel; natural Israel will be trampled along with many adherents to the
earlier beasts (see on :19). The same word is used of Angels; those who
represent God's people in the court of Heaven. The original translated
"war" more carries the sense of "battle" than an ongoing war; the
reference may be to the "battle" of Armageddon (Zech. 14:3 s.w.). This is
the basis of Rev. 11:7; 12:17 and Rev. 13:7, where the beast makes war and
prevails against God's people; but by doing so the beast effectively makes
war against the Lamb, the returned Lord Jesus (Rev. 17:14; 19:19).
Dan 7:22 Until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the
saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the
kingdom- These are the same "saints" who are prevailed against in
:21. I have mentioned at several points in expounding Revelation that it
could well be that those of God's people slain during the final
tribulation are resurrected separately, and are used to judge their latter
day abusers.
Dan 7:23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on the
land- The land in view is that promised to Abraham. This is parallel
with the fourth power in the image vision reigning over "all the earth" or
land.
Which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole land, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces- In :19, the fourth beast devours, treads down and breaks in pieces "the remnant", both of Israel and of the earlier beasts, just prior to being destroyed by the Lord's return to earth. All the beasts are therefore in existence together in the last days. Any attempt to find historical fulfilments of these things is therefore doomed, and at best only vague fulfilments can be suggested. Instead of devouring persons, "the remnant", here the fourth beast devours and abuses "the whole land". This is clearly the land promised to Abraham. No very satisfying fulfilment of this can be found in the various historicist interpretations. It is the "land" which is from where the beasts arise, it is that same land where they have dominion and are devoured by the fourth beast. It is the picture of a total bloodbath in the entire eretz promised to Abraham, and the scene is now set for that to happen. It is the sheer scale of the evil, aggression, torture and bloodletting which makes this final beast "different" from all others in history. The same word is used in Daniel for how the face of Nebuchadnezzar was "changed" because of the extreme wrath he felt towards the Jews (Dan. 3:19). Whilst all the beasts 'differed' from each other (:3), there was something radically different in how this beast was different to all of them (:7,19). Any attempt to apply this to historical Rome fails to account for this radical difference required by the text.
Dan 7:24 As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall ten kings
arise: and another shall arise after them; and he shall be different from
the former, and he shall put down three kings- The language used in
Dan. 7 about "the little horn" matches that of Dan. 11:36-45 about "the
king of the north", who was Vespasian in the AD70 context. The shadowy
primary fulfilments help us to imagine the kind of latter day fulfilment
which is the primary burden of these prophecies. Vespasian directed war
against the Jews and Jerusalem in particular for three and a half years,
from the battle of Ptolemais in April AD67 to September AD70 when
Jerusalem fell (Josephus, The Jewish War 3.29; 6.407; 435). He
was made emperor in AD69, a year which saw three emperors in one year:
Galba, Otho, and Vitellius. One cannot deny an initial fulfilment here;
but Vespasian was in Palestine and Egypt all that time, and it is hard to
say that he 'put them down' in the terms required by the language here. So
we have to accept that this was but a primary fulfilment, looking ahead to
a greater one when antichrist is established in the last days, presiding
over the three and a half year tribulation of Israel and the Jews. Kenneth
Gentry points out that if Julius Caesar is counted as the first emperor of
Rome, then Vespasian would have been the tenth emperor, the tenth
horn who was also the little horn (Kenneth L. Gentry Jr., Before
Jerusalem Fell: Dating the Book of Revelation (San Francisco:
Christian Universities Press, 1997) pp. 154–159). But this horn, different
from the others just as the fourth beast differs from the other beasts
(:7,19) is something radically different and unprecedented in human
history. It points, as noted on :24, to a radically abusive destruction
within the eretz promised to Abraham; it will truly be the
unprecedented time of Jacob's trouble (Jer. 30:7; Dan. 12:1). The Nazi
holocaust will pale into insignificance before it.
Dan 7:25 He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear down
the saints of the Most High; and he shall think to change the times and
the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and
half a time- The little horn seeks "to change times and laws"; but we go straight on to read that God's people are given into his power for "a time and times and the dividing of time" (Dan. 7:25
AV). It could therefore be that the time period of time, times and half a time [three and a half years?] is in fact defined and chosen by the little horn, as part of him seeking to establish "times". This could explain why there is some variableness in this period- Daniel 12 mentions 1260,1290 and 1335 days. If Israel repent, or other preconditions are met, then the time of intended abuse is changed.
Israel were to be punished "seven times" for their sins (Lev.
26:18,21,24,28 etc.). Perhaps those seven times are halved to three and a
half times, due to God's desire to shorten the days of this awful
tribulation. It may be that the little horn power or ruler decrees a time
of abuse for the remaining Jews. Or it may be that the new caliph seeks to
change some tenets of Islam, as he already is doing by shifting the focus
of Islam from Mecca (which is in Saudi Arabia, who are officially against
the Islamic jihadists currently)- to Jerusalem. Or it may be that they seek to change GMT time to Mecca time- something radical Moslems already live by, and seek to spread to the entire planet. Indeed, the biggest clock in the world has been built in Mecca in a bid to enforce Mecca time on all Moslems rather than GMT. The Mecca Clock Tower has been designed in purposeful contrast to Big Ben.
The little horn of Daniel 7 is the beast of Revelation 13:
Daniel 7 |
Revelation 13 |
"... a mouth speaking great things" (verse 8) "And he shall speak great words against the most High ..." (verse 25) |
"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies . . . And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven" (verses 5,6) "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them" (verse 7) |
Notice that the little horn of Daniel 7 is actually called "the beast": "I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame" (Dan. 7:11).
The little horn is also to be connected with the “King of the north” of Daniel 11, which is historically based upon Antiochus and the leaders of the northern part of the Greek empire, from Syria. The fact the Islamic jihadists and their leadership have emerged from Syria is maybe significant in this context:
Daniel 7 |
Daniel 8 |
Daniel 11 |
|
1. |
The little horn |
The little horn |
"The king" |
2. |
At the end |
At the end |
At the end |
of the times |
of the times |
of the times |
|
of the Gentiles |
of the Gentiles |
of the Gentiles |
|
3. |
Very aggressive |
Very aggressive |
Very aggressive |
4. |
"A look more stout than his fellows" |
Magnifies himself |
Magnifies himself |
5. |
A mouth speaking |
Speaks marvellous |
|
great things against |
things against the |
||
the Most High |
God of gods |
||
6. |
Makes war against the saints and prevails |
Destroys the holy people |
|
7. |
Destroyed by the |
Destroyed by the |
|
Ancient of days |
Prince of princes |
We note further that the little horn of Daniel 8 is connected with the beast of Revelation:
". . . it cast down some ... of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them" |
"And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven and did cast them to the earth" |
(Daniel 8:10) |
(Revelation 12:4) |
Dan 7:26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away- The "they" refers to "the saints", who shall judge the world. The saints refer to natural and spiritual Israel as well as the Angels. 1 Cor. 6:2,3 seems to have this passage in mind: "The saints shall judge the world. And if the world is to be judged by you... You shall judge Angels". This could therefore mean that the "saints", the Christian believers, shall along with Angels judge as Angels. For that is the idea here in Dan. 7, which was clearly in Paul's mind. The 'taking away' of the dominion is the same word as in Dan. 2:21- God "removes kings". The image vision shall come ultimately true at the hands of God's once oppressed people.
His dominion, to consume and to destroy it to the end- Just as the fourth beast consumed and destroyed, so it shall be consumed and destroyed. This is a major theme of Revelation- the judgments poured out upon the earth / land of Abraham by the latter day abusers are then given to them. Babylon drinks her own cup.
Dan 7:27 The kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the
kingdoms under the whole Heaven, shall be given to the people of the
saints of the Most High: His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all
dominions shall serve and obey Him- "Under the whole Heaven" now
moves the focus further than "the land" which has been in view so far in
this chapter. The kingdoms of the entire world shall be given to the
saints. "The people of the saints" may suggest that "the saints" are
Angels, and their "people" are those amongst natural and spiritual Israel
whom they have represented before the court of Heaven. This is the moment
when the kingdoms of this world become those of God and His Christ (Rev.
11:15). This is fair evidence that the Kingdom of God shall be established
on earth, for it is on planet earth that present human kingdoms and
"dominions" [empires] exist.
Dan 7:28 Here is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my thoughts
much troubled me, and my appearance was changed: but I kept the matter in
my heart- I suggested on :15 that Daniel was troubled and upset, to
the point of his appearance changing, because he realized that the
prophetic program was no longer to restore the Kingdom of God in Judah
during his lifetime. "But I kept the matter..." may suggest that like
Moses, he considered that possibly God's purpose may yet be changed by
fervent prayer and repentance.
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