Introduction

Through Daniel's vision of 4 beasts, this prophecy traces the history of a series of empires through which Satan rules the earth, extending from the time of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon up to the Beast empire at the start of the Millennial Reign. Satan's Beast empire and its leader, the Antichrist, are defeated by the Messiah of the Millennial Reign and the faithful of God, and the faithful will reign forever.

Discussion

1. The chiastic design of Daniel 7

We will use the NIV translation for this commentary. We have retranslated parts of the text.

2. A Commentary on Daniel 7

1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying in bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.

Daniel saw this vision of the four beasts in the first year of Belshazzar (c. 550BC), the last king of the Babylonian Empire (see Daniel 5). This prophecy is a summary of the vision that he saw.

This Vision is structured as a series of 2 chiasmi.

Notes on the imagery used in this vision:

• The animals - lion, bear, leopard, the fourth beast - represent Satan's empires over millennia, the empires through which he controlled the world. We see no reason these particular animals were chosen to represent the first three of these empires, but, as in the case of the metals of Dan. 2, the diminishing prestige or perceived strength associated with these animals may correspond to the reduction in the Satanic spiritual power of the bloodline leadership of these empires (see details in the commentary on the metals of Daniel 2 [1]).
• These visions of beasts are regarding short but significant periods of the history of the empires they represent - the visions do not apply to the entire history of the empires.
• Some of the images used in this vision:
  • "wings" (vs 4,6) and "horns" (vs 7) represent kings, presumably because wings and horns are centres of strength on birds and on animals.
  • "heads" (vs 6) and "the sides of the body" (vs 5) represent sub-divisions of a kingdom.
  • "teeth" (vs 5,7) represent military power.

2 Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.

The four great beasts represent four great empires that sequentially emerge out of humanity (the "sea", in prophecy, represents multitudes of people - for ex., see Rev. 17:15) at times of great upheaval and tribulation ("four winds of heaven churning up the seas" - see similar image in Jer. 49:36,37). These particular empires are the kingdoms from which Satan ruled the earth over the millennia.

4 “The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.

The beast that looks like a lion represents the Neo-Babylonian Empire (626BC-539BC) (see also Dan. 2:37,38), and the vision in this verse represents a short but significant period during Nebuchadnezzar's reign (see Daniel 4). Babylon's king Nebuchadnezzar (represented by the "wings of an eagle") was deposed ("torn off") for a time (see Dan 4:33), and when he returned to office, he was transformed from being a worshipper of Satan and his demons to a servant of the God of Israel (see Dan 4:34-37). As a result, the Babylonian Empire went from being ruled by Satan (a "lion/beast") to being controlled by God (a "human being") through the reformed king (the king is the "mind of a human") (a kingdom ruled by God is also represented by a human in Isaiah 11:6).

Note that this worship of the God of Israel did not extend beyond Nebuchadnezzar's reign (see Dan 5:1-4). Also note that this verse is not a prediction, as this event took place before this vision - Nebuchadnezzar was a predecessor of Belshazzar.

5 “And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’

The second beast, the bear, represents the Medo-Persian Empire (539BC-333BC) (see also Dan. 8:3-4). The image in this verse is regarding the early growth spurt of this kingdom, as it developed into an empire, when God gave Cyrus the power to defeat Babylon and other great nations (Isaiah 45:4-7). The two sides of the bear represent the two sub-division of the empire - the Medes and the Persians - and the bear is raised up on one side to indicate that Persia became the dominant kingdom (see also Dan 8:3). The "three ribs" between the "teeth" indicate that the Medo-Persians had initially only conquered insignificant regions, such as the lands of the Umman-manda (that is, the "teeth" represent military power and the "three ribs" represent a few "bony" kingdoms), when God gave Cyrus the power to defeat "meatier" nations like Babylon ("Get up and eat your fill of flesh!").

6 “After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.

The third beast, the leopard, represents the Greek Empire (333BC-146BC) (see also Dan. 8:5-8), and this verse is regarding an early period of this empire when it was divided into 4 kingdoms (see also Daniel 8:8). Through Alexander's conquests, the Greek empire extended from Greece and Egypt in the west to India in the east, but on his sudden death in 323BC, his generals (the Diadochi) warred over his empire, as he had left behind no clear successor. After the battle of Ipsus in 301BC, the empire was permanently divided into 4 kingdoms: to the west, Cassander ruled Greece and Macedonia; to the north, Lysimachus ruled Thrace and Asia Minor; to the south, Ptolemy Soter controlled Egypt and Palestine; and to the east Seleucus Nicator controlled Syria, Babylonia and regions farther east up to India. The four "heads" represent these four divisions of the Grecian empire and the four sets of "wings" represent the four kings who founded these kingdoms.

7 “After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns.

The fourth beast of this vision represents empires controlled from Rome (the Roman Empire and the Roman Catholic Empire - 146BC-2027AD) (see also Dan 2:40-43). After the fall of the Roman Empire (c 480AD), the Satanic bloodlines that controlled the empire extended their reign by controlling the rest of Europe and its offshoots (like the USA) through the Roman Catholic Empire (see appendix in [2] for details on these bloodlines and empires).

For most of their reign these empires controlled from Rome were not particularly "frightening and powerful" compared to the empires that preceded them, but this passage (vs 7) is regarding a time near the end of the Roman Catholic Empire's reign, when it creates the terrifying, world conquering alliance of 7 nations, the Beast of Rev 13:1-3. The "iron teeth" represent the military might that the Beast uses to tyrannically control all the people of earth. The ten horns represent the 10 kings that control the Beast (see also Rev. 17:12). No specific animal represents this Beast in this prophecy, but according to Rev 13:2, this Beast will be a composite of the other animals - leopard, bear, lion.

8 “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully.

The Antichrist (the 2-horned beast out of the earth of Rev 13:11, see also Dan. 8:23-25), is called the little horn, as he comes from the little kingdom of the Vatican. He deposes three of the ten kings, so that each of the seven nations/"heads" of the Beast has only one king over it. The Antichrist is a controller and promoter of the Beast (Rev 13:11-17); the "mouth" represents a worldwide broadcasting system for his propaganda and the "eyes" indicate that he has an international surveillance network.

9 “As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. 10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.

The reign of the Beast is a period of spiritual battle for the souls of men, between God's army and that of Satan, and the side that wins over a 2/3 majority of souls wins this battle (see also Rev 13:11-18, cf. Rev 12:4). At the end of the reign of the Beast, there is a time of judgement in which God and other heavenly judges decide which side wins - apparently Satan trusts the righteous God to be an impartial judge (see also Rev 20:1-6). The side that wins will rule the earth forever. At this time this council will also choose from among the dead those who are worthy, according to the "books" (a record of their lives), of being raised at the First Resurrection to reign with Christ (see Rev 20:4-6).

God is called "Ancient of Days" to indicate that He is from eternity, His "white hair and clothes" represents His righteousness (Pro. 16:31, Rev. 19:8) and the "fire" around Him represents His purifying judgement. He is seated on a chariot-throne with wheels to indicate that He surveys the whole world in the performance of His judicial duties (see also Ezekiel 1:15-28). The angels in heaven are in attendance around Him ("Thousands upon thousands") (Rev. 5:11) and the dead stand before him to be judged ("ten thousand times ten thousand" represents an uncountably large number).

11 “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. 12 (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)

The Antichrist continues his blasphemous propaganda, even after his reign over the world ends (Rev 18). But when the Antichrist leads the Beast into an attack against the Messiah and the New Israel (Rev. 19:19, Ezekiel 39), they are defeated and thrown into the Lake of Fire (see Rev 19:20). This utter destruction of the Beast empire occurs shortly after its loss of world power to the Messiah, unlike the other empires of Satan - Babylon, Persia and Greece - that had continued to exist long after they were superseded by succeeding powers.

13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

Immediately after the reign of the fourth beast, the 10-horned Beast Empire, comes to an end (April 2027), the Messiah of the Millennial Reign is crowned king of the world (see also Rev 19:11-16). The Messiah, the Archangel Michael incarnate, at this time is a human being or "son of man" on earth (see Isaiah 9:6, Matthew 24:27); he is taken taken up into heaven to be crowned "king of kings" under God and Christ, and then returned to earth to begin his reign. We take the "clouds of heaven" to be a mechanism for short-term transport between the spiritual and physical dimensions (as opposed to more permanent mechanisms like death or incarnation) (see Psalm 104:3, see also Matt 24:30, Rev 1:7). Through this Messiah, Christ will rule the earth and will later rule his Heavenly Kingdom for eternity (as opposed to the temporary reign of Satan on earth) (see also Rev. 11:15).

15 “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. 16 I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this.
“So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: 17 ‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. 18 But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’

One of the angels (of vs 10) gives Daniel a short summary of the meaning of this disturbing dream: The wicked will rule the earth for Satan through a series of cruel, beastly empires ("kings"), but, after that, the Messiah and the faithful of God ("holy people") take control over the earth for Christ through the New Israel, and the earth will enjoy an age of peace and prosperity forever (see Isaiah 9:7).

19 “Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. 20 I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully.

Daniel inquires about the fourth beast that controlled the earth with its great military strength ("iron teeth") and spiritual power ("bronze claws" - cf. Zech. 6:1) (see Rev 13:2). This beast had tyrannical control over righteous people around the world ("crushed and devoured its victims"), and destroyed those who tried to resist ("trampled underfoot") (see Rev. 13:14-17). Daniel also asked about the 10 horns of vs 7 (the 10 leaders of the Beast) and the little horn of vs 8 (the Antichrist). Chiasmus 2 (vs 22-27) below is the reply to the questions of this subunit.

21 As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and overpowering them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.

The Antichrist and the Beast were given the power to test, torment and entice the faithful of God during a period of spiritual warfare (see also Dan. 11:32-36, Matt. 24:9-14). After that time God makes a judgement (vs 9,10) and grants victory to the Messiah and the righteous of God, and they will reign for Christ throughout the Millennial Reign. As in the case of the heavenly war in Rev 12:4,7-8, the winner of this battle between the forces of God and Satan will be determined by the percentage of people that sell their souls to Satan (see also Rev. 13).

23 “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. 24a The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom.

In this explanation on the fourth beast, the 10-horned Beast, the angel says that it is a kingdom that will tyrannically control the whole earth for a time (Rev 13). The 10 horns represent the 10 leaders of the Beast (see also Rev 13:1, Rev. 17:12-13).

24b After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. 25a He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws.

The Antichrist will depose 3 of the 10 kings and he will lead the Beast. He will use his "mouth" (see vs 8) to broadcast blasphemy against God throughout the earth (Rev 13:5-6) and he will use the Beast to oppress the righteous. He will try to change regimes ("times" refers to "regimes" as seen in the parallelism of Dan 2:21) and laws in an effort to acquire more control.

25b The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.

The Antichrist will have all power to torment the righteous of the world for a time, times and half a time. We take this to mean 3 1/2 units of time (1+2+1/2), but what is the unit? Since the torment of the righteous begins well into the 42 month reign of the Beast (Rev 13:5), after the 5th Seal is opened (Rev 6:9-11), we believe the unit is 1/2 year (note that the unit for a similarly specified time in Dan 12:7 is a millennium), so that this Period of tribulation for the saints extends for 1 3/4 years. The end of this period coincides with the start date of the Millennial Reign, which is c. 8 April 2027 (the first day of Nisan) according to our parse of Isaiah 59-63 [3]. The start date of this period of tribulation for the saints will be 1 3/4 years prior, the first day of Tammuz in 2025AD, around 29 June 2025. So the Antichrist will torment God's holy people from c. 29 June 2025 to c. 8 Apr 2027.

26 “‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever.

After this period of tribulation, the divine council will declare the Antichrist and the Beast to be the losers in this battle, and they will no longer control the earth.

27 Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’

Satan's reign on earth ends after this defeat, and God and Christ will rule the earth with a 'sceptre of iron' (Rev. 2:27) through the Messiah of the Millennial Reign and the New Israel. This New Israel will consist of the people of God - a righteous remnant of the Israelites (Jer. 50:20) and Christians from around the world who were faithful even unto death (Rev. 20:4).

28 “This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”

Although this is ultimately a message of hope and joy, Daniel was troubled at all that mankind must endure, particularly in the days of the Antichrist, before the blessed Millennial Reign.

References