Daniel 7: 1 – 7
God’s View Of World Empires
1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts. 2 Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. 4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. 5 “And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’ 6 “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. 7 “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
If you have been with us since we began looking at the book of Daniel then we are now ready to look at our Precious Holy Spirit’s enhancement of His message to Daniel. Now what do I mean by this statement? The prophecy that our Holy God gave Daniel is now about to be repeated and explained in more detail.
Do you remember back in chapter 2 when Nebuchadnezzar had the dream about the statue? It measured 666, that is, a combination of height, width, and girth. This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
We learned that these 4 precious metals represented mankind’s view of the 4 world empires. Now, our Holy Ancient of Days, our Father God, has given Daniel a dream and visions in which He gives us His identification of the four world kingdoms. How does He look at these kingdoms? He looks at them as ‘beasts’.
In chapter 7 here then our Great God repeats the information that was given in chapter 2 and then expands the information to make it more clearly to us as to what will take place.
You may be saying right now, ‘that is not the case for me. In fact the more information that our Wonderful Holy Ghost gives me the more confused I get. I can see the point about how the 4 beasts represent the same four kingdoms listed in chapter 2, but when you now start talking about a horn that has eyes and a mouth that speaks now you lost me. How come John didn’t just describe these points without all the mystery?’
Well, I could take a guess as to why he did write the things the way he did, but I believe the best reason is because this is the way our Holy God wanted Him to write these things down. In the book of 2 Peter chapter 1, “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”
You might now be saying, ‘Well thanks but that still doesn’t make any of the Scripture easier for me to understand.’
It’s okay. We are going to take our time as we go through these chapters of Daniel to hopefully make it quite clear for you. So, in today’s study we are going to just cover the five kingdoms. Yes, I said five. If you look back to chapter 2 we tend to focus on the four worldly kingdoms. However, the fifth Kingdom is the best because this is going to be ruled by the King of kings and Lord of lords. Many times too often we spend too much time looking at the ones that are all going to be burned up while we miss studying the one where we will be able to enjoy realistically and personally.
In this study we are also going to begin to look at the reference to this little horn that arises out of the fourth kingdom. Remember, this significant point. With all the mentions of beasts, antichrist, etc. remember that it is all part of the 4th kingdom.
I know, I know that some bible students are saying what about the 8th kingdom etc. We will cover all that but the major point to remember is that these expanded kingdoms still are part of the 4th kingdom, which is Rome. Not to throw you for a loop but there is more to Rome than what you might be aware of. Don’t worry we will get to all this also – Okay? Let’s get started then.
1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts.
Please note the first verse, who is king of Babylon? It is Belshazzar not Nebuchadnezzar. What does this tell us? It tells us that Daniel’s dream came between chapters 4 and 5.
Also, notice how our Lord spoke to Daniel. All I say is wow! Our Holy El Shaddai – God Almighty – spoke to Daniel in a dream and produce also in this dream visions. It is no wonder of Daniel’s remarks at verse 15 - 15 “I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.”
2 Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea.
As we have addressed many who are confused when it comes to understanding the Scriptures, I want to give you something which will always aide you in figuring out what the bible teaches. The main point you want to keep first in your thoughts is this – is this word or statement somewhere else in the bible? To help make this point more realistic let us apply it here to this verse. Look at verse 2 again to see if anything is not clear – ‘2 Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea.’ Well, for me two things would not be totally clear right off the bat. What is the ‘four winds of heaven’ and what exactly is the ‘Great Sea’?
Do these terms appear anywhere else in the bible? Well, they do. For example taking the first questionable statement – the four winds of heaven – we read in the book of Jeremiah chapter 49, “36 Against Elam I will bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and scatter them toward all those winds; There shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go.”
The four winds of heaven therefore indicate heavenly activity. Who Is calling all the shots. It is Adoni Yahweh, our Holy and Awesome Father God. He stirs up the world to do exactly what He wants to come about. You know the prayer The Our Father where it says ‘Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven?’ Well, when I pray I say, I know Thy Will is going to be done on earth and in Heaven because You Are the Holy Sovereign God. You Are in control of all things. That Is how Magnificent You Are!
Now what about the ‘Great Sea’? We find this in the book of 34, “6 ‘As for the western border, you shall have the Great Sea for a border; this shall be your western border. 7 ‘And this shall be your northern border: From the Great Sea you shall mark out your border line to Mount Hor.”
Here our Precious Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High Is speaking to Moses and pointing out to him the Promised Land. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to be able to look at a map and see the sea. It is the Mediterranean Sea.
3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. 4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.
Okay, what parts need further explanation? Well, if I can speak for you a little more information is needed on these words, ‘The first was like a lion’, and ‘had eagle’s wings’. Then I want to hear more about what ‘I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it, is talking about.’
We read in the bible that a lion was the king of the wild beasts. They are noted for;
. Strength – Judges 14:18 “So the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down: “What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?” And he said to them: “If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle!”
. Boldness – 2 Samuel 17:10, “10 And even he who is valiant, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will melt completely. For all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and those who are with him are valiant men.
. Ferocity – Psalm 7: 2, “2 Lest they tear me like a lion, rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver.”
. Stealth – Psalm 10: 9, “ 9 He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den; He lies in wait to catch the poor; He catches the poor when he draws him into his net.”
Now we add the fact about ‘the eagle’
. Speedy attacks and bloodthirstiness – Job 39: 27 – 30, “27 Does the eagle mount up at your command and make its nest on high? 28 On the rock it dwells and resides, on the crag of the rock and the stronghold. 29 From there it spies out the prey; Its eyes observe from afar. 30 Its young ones suck up blood; And where the slain are, there it is.”
Our Precious Holy Spirit teaches us how to interpret symbolic prophecy here in this same chapter. Look at His description to Daniel of the four beasts.
15 “I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. 16 I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: 17 ‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth.
Now of course to be a king you have to have a kingdom, so many commentators say that in harmony with chapter 2 you have 4 evil rulers who our Holy God refers to as beasts ruling over a world empire. Many teachers give you this list;
. Head of Gold – Babylon Empire – Ruler - Nebuchadnezzar
. Chest and arms of silver – Medo-Persia Empire – Ruler – Cyrus
. Belly of Brass – Greek Empire – Ruler- Alexander the Great
. Legs of Iron – Roman Empire – Ruler - Caesar
I do not agree with this listing. I agree that we are talking about the Babylon Empire. If you visit the National Museum in London you will see the gates that enclosed the city of Babylon. On the gate you will actually see a lion with eagles wings as the nation of Babylon represented. I do not think the king that almost every biblical scholar says is Nebuchadnezzar. Our Wonderful Holy Spirit gives us who this ruler is in verse one. His name is Belshazzar - 1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed.’
Most scholars comment that they believe it is Nebuchadnezzar because of the statement – ‘I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.’ Their interpretation is that Nebuchadnezzar fulfilled this when he went nuts and later when he was brought back to sanity he was given a man’s heart. What? Man that is creative.
What does the meaning of a man’s heart say in the bible? We read in the book of Jeremiah chapter 17 verse 9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?’
Does this sound like some former sinner now converted. Now read again chapter 5 and let us just read a few verses regarding Belshazzar, “1 Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. 2 While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 3 Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.’
That sounds pretty evil and wicked to me in mocking our Holy Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High.
5 “And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’
A bear is vicious like a lion yet a little less agile. Silver is a less valuable than gold but still valuable. Notice how the bear is raised up slightly. The definition of the word ‘side’ can be taken as officer, overseer, or magistrate. Thus we see that there are two ruling powers involved here – Medo – Persia. It can thus be said, it raised up one ruler ship. One of these powers took command. Remember in Daniel you come across Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Persian. Cyrus was the chief leader. He placed Darius in Babylon while he continued to fight other battles.
Now I do not believe that Cyrus or Darius were the evil rulers for the Ancient of Days our Holy Father said this about Cyrus as we read in the book of Isaiah, “1 “Thus says the LORD to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held— To subdue nations before him and loose the armor of kings, to open before him the double doors, so that the gates will not be shut: 2 ‘ I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel. 4 For Jacob My servant’s sake, and Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me. 5 I am the LORD, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me.’
Sounds like our Holy God like Cyrus. Doesn’t it? I do not think He Is now referring to Cyrus as one of these 4 beasts.
I believe that the evil ruler was Cambyses II. Cambyses was the son and successor of Cyrus the Great. He ruled the Persian Empire from the death of his father in 530 to his own death in Ecbatane (Syria) in 522 while on his way back from Egypt with his army. He continued the politic of expansion started by his father Cyrus. First, he took part with his father to the conquest of Babylonia and was named king of Babylon after the capture of the city in 539. After becoming king of Persia, he conquered Egypt and was named Pharaoh in 526. But he had a repute of madness and despotism which led to palace struggles for the succession. it is possible that he was in fact assassinated upon order of one of his brothers, Smerdis, which he himself tried to have assassinated.
6 “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.
We are told about who the third beast is from chapter 8 verse 21, ‘21 And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king.’
Now for the purposes of chapter 8 the ruler talked about is Alexander the Great. However, I believe the evil ruler who is the most evil ruler referred to as a beast in chapter 7 is revealed in Daniel 11:21-35. Here Daniel reveals the rise and rule of Antiochus IV Epiphanies, the Seleucid king who reigned from 175-164 B.C. Daniel’s prediction involves the rise of Antiochus to power, the conflicts of Antiochus with Egypt (i.e., the king of the South), and his hostilities towards Israel.
Antiochus’ rise to power corresponded to the following predictions by Daniel, the prophet of the Most High God:
1. Antiochus would come to power after the untimely death of his predecessor.
2. He was a contemptible person, thus he was called by many Antiochus Epimanes (i.e., the madman) instead of his preferred appellation Epiphanies (i.e., God Manifest).
3. He was not an heir to the throne, indeed to him “royal majesty has not been given.”
4. Antiochus did not lead a bloody coup, but he obtained “the kingdom by flatteries.
7 “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
This fourth empire is of course the Roman Empire. It was ruled by Caesar’s who were definitely evil. There could be a lot of evil rulers such as Nero who could be listed as the fourth beast mentioned here in Daniel chapter 7. However, I believe that the evil ruler or beast is who we refer to in today’s description – The Antichrist. We will take a whole study next time in letting you know who this guy is.
