The ABCs Must Precede The XYZs
Take a look at our Scripture. Now being honest, it sure sounds like something a bad dream, a real nightmare or maybe a bad drug trip! This passage of Scripture is obviously one that is symbolic in nature, and not literal. However, how in the world do we ever interpret this? It goes back to the old "hermeneutic principle", or "bible interpretation rule"--let Scripture interpret Scripture. To interpret this passage, we must go back to the Old Testament to the book of Daniel, specifically chapter seven or, as J. Vernon McGee said about Daniel "the ABC's of prophecy".
There are two key passages that deal with kingdoms that were prophetic future to Daniel. The first is found in chapter 2, with Nebuchadnezzars's frightening dream of the great statue. In a nutshell, this huge statue had a head of gold, arms and chest of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron and feet and toes of iron and clay. Each one represented kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and a far future, revived Roman Empire of the Antichrist.
While there is another dream interpreted by Daniel in Daniel 4 (the dream of the great tree), the next one dealing with "far future" is found in Daniel chapter 7. This dream, and the interpretation of it, will help us to understand Revelation 13.
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. Dan 7:1, NKJV
The book of Daniel is not written in chronological order. While the first six books all are in chronological order, the last six books of Daniel shoot back to an earlier time. The story of Daniel chapter seven, while it may have been written later, occurred in 553 BC. However, we do see the name Belshazzar occur in Daniel 5; it is when Belshazzar loses his kingdom to the Medo-Persians.
As we have studied before, prophecy comes in four forms: Near future, future, intermediate future and far future. In the book of Daniel we see three of the forms.
Daniel was a dreamer with special dreams. He dreamed dreams that came true, and were very significant. Although we can see how sometimes a dream can be a prediction of a future event (such as the dream Abraham Lincoln had the night before his assassination), we must be careful not to apply the same meaning to our dreams as they most often than not come true.
Four Winds and the Great Sea
Daniel spoke, saying, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. Dan 7:2,
The phrase "four winds of heaven" means the forces of heaven and can also indicate the completeness of the sovereignty of God, just as the directions of the compass (NESW) are complete also.
The Great Sea is the Mediterranean Sea, the term "seas" often refer to a people or peoples. Because of the sin of the world, the people of the earth are always in turmoil. Has there ever been a time of worldwide peace in the history of mankind? No. There will be no lasting, permanent peace until Jesus returns and sits on the throne of David in Jerusalem during the Millennial Kingdom.
The area around the Mediterranean has always been a hotbed of conflict, and remains so today. War after war, battle after battle, fight after fight, year after year. Both of our world wars had their beginnings in Europe, and the last great battle before Jesus comes will be in that general region. By contrast, however, while the sea of humanity is in constant conflict, the scene in heaven is one of peace and tranquillity. God is in charge, and all is well there.
Key points: Dreams may reveal the future, but for most of us that is not the case. While the "sea of humanity" here on earth is most generally in turmoil, God is in charge, heaven is at peace, and one day those who have trusted in Jesus will too.
"And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other."
Dan 7:3, NKJV
The Beasts from the Sea
Just as in Daniel 2, we see another prophecy unfold before our eyes. Let's take a look at that prophecy, by bouncing back and forth between this passage of scripture and a latter portion of scripture in Chapter 7. The four great beasts came up from the sea, that is from the Great Sea, showing us that these four beasts represent peoples from that region around the Mediterranean.
"Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth." Dan 7:17, NKJV
These four kings, or kingdoms, will come out of the region of the Mediterranean, but because they arise "out of the earth", this shows them to indeed be kingdoms of men. While the last of these kingdoms will be a world dictatorship, it's leadership will be based in Europe.
The Lion--Babylon
"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". Dan 7:4, NKJV
This verse refers to Babylon, just the same as the head of fine gold on the statue of Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 2. Most countries, even today, have a "coat of arms" or a national symbol. For instance, the United States has as it's symbol the Eagle and Russia the Bear. Babylon's national symbol was the lion; it is said that the lion is prominently displayed on the Gate of Ishtar in Babylon, which was been reconstructed by none other than infamous late Saddam Hussein.
The lion is a symbol of speed, strength and kingship. Not only was the Babylonian Empire strong, it was quick in conquests. Nebuchadnezzar's troops quickly overpowered whatever country lie in their path. The wings of the eagle on the lion further the image of speed of the conquest of the nations by Babylon.
Now this next phrase has particular meaning to me. I've always enjoyed the story of Nebuchadnezzar, not because of who he was but instead because what he became. The phrase "it's wings were plucked off" refers back to Daniel chapter 4:30 when Daniel was touched insane by God for his pride.
Nebuchadnezzar was humbled for seven years, and he walked about on all fours.
Dan 4:34 And at the 1) end of the time (wings plucked) I, Nebuchadnezzar,
2) lifted my eyes to heaven (turned to God), 3) and my understanding returned to me (lifted up on two feet, not on all fours); 4) and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. (salvation! Given a heart)
Key points: No one, no matter their background or past, is beyond salvation; prophecy is often interpreted by Scripture itself.
"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!' Daniel 5:3, NKJV
The Bear: Medo-Persia
While Babylon was strong and fast, Medo-Persia was even stronger but slower in it's movements because of the type of battle and the literal size of the armies. Gangel says in his commentary that when Darius marched against Sycthia, he amassed ¾ of a million men and 600 ships. Xerxes of Medo-Persia marched against Greece that he took 2.5 million troops with him "it looked more like a migration than an army". Gangel also notes that the mere logistics--feeding the troops, outfitting the troops, giving of orders, etc--were an amazing feat of organization. During these wars, there was a disregard for human life, what we would call war crimes today. "Arise and devour much flesh" was not just a fine play on words but was descriptive of the horrific battles of the Medo Persians.
We call this government the "Medo-Persians" because it consisted of two nations, Media and Persia. Persia was the more dominant of the two nations and that's why it is perhaps somewhat humpbacked.
"Three ribs in its mouth between its teeth" has been debated by scholars and likely refers to the major conquests against Babylonia, Lydia and Egypt.
The Leopard: Greece
"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."
Daniel 7:6 NKJV
We all know the leopard as being one of the fastest animals on the earth, even faster than a lion when in pursuit of it's prey. Yet this leopard has wings making it even faster, so fast in fact that one commentator said that it would appear to glide over the land in pursuit of prey.
The third kingdom is Greece. The Greek army, commanded by Alexander the Great and his four generals, was swift to attack. His attacks were quick and direct, and his troops so well trained, brave and motivated that his army was only numbered at 35,000. In only 8 years, Alexander's Greek army conquered over 11000 miles of territory from Greece in the west to India in the east.
Alexander the Great conquered all that was conquerable and then cried like a baby when he could conquer no more. If memory serves, he was only 28 when he had conquered all. He died at age 32, and the cause of his death was due to alcoholism. I personally think that he drank himself to death when he could no longer conquer.
The text in Daniel 2 doesn't reveal the additional detail about the four heads as Daniel 7:6 does, as these four heads represent the four generals who split up the Greek empire amongst themselves when Alexander the Great died: Lysimachus, Cassander, Seleucus and Ptolemy.
"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. Dan 7:7, NKJV
The parallel interpretation is found a few verses later:
"Thus he said: 'The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. Dan 7:23, NKJV
Again, Daniel has "night visions"--not just "a dream", but dreams of the same nature. What he saw was perhaps a little different from what you see in the text. At the end of the Greek empire, or I should say empires as the four generals split up the country after the death of Alexander the Great, the Roman empire methodically became the next great world power.
This beast was dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. From the Aramaic language, a possible rendering would be to slink (like a snake or reptile), to be burly and well muscled, tremendously strong. The very appearance of the fourth beast was terrifying to Daniel.
The "huge iron teeth" speaks of the violent nature of the Roman empire. Not only was the Roman empire nearly invincible in battle, it was a bloodthirsty nation. Rome had the gladiator battles, which were bloody fights-to-the-death. They not only punished their criminals, but enjoyed doing it.
In the movie "The Passion of the Christ", you can see the vicious nature of the Roman empire. Jesus was scourged; scourging was done with a "cat of nine tails", a whip with many long leather whips attached to it that contained goat bone, metal and glass. The purpose of a scourging was to so damage someone as to bring them to near death. In addition, the Romans crucified thieves and murderers on crosses. Normally, the crucified man on the cross would last for days before dying.
In AD 70, when Titus besieged and eventually sacked Jerusalem, Jews that tried to either flee the city or go out to look for food and were captured were crucified on crosses that were put around the walls of Jerusalem. Josephus, a Jewish historian of the era, states that 500 or more would be captured each day, beaten, tortured and crucified.
There are many other examples of Roman cruelty. The empires from Nero to Domitian were bloodthirsty, as Christian history tells us. If you read through Fox's Book of Martyrs you can see the true blood thirst of Rome. Nero burned Rome, but blamed it on the Christians and then tortured and murdered the Christians in the Coliseum. Some were fed to lions, some were burned alive, some were boiled in hot oil, some were beaten with clubs until their brains came out, some were beheaded, some had boiling tar poured on them and they were set afire. The teeth of iron showed a bloodthirst--a vicious bloodthirst by Rome.
Roman Domination
We've seen the blood thirst of Rome, and the bloodthirsty of Rome shows us the conquering, dominating nature of Rome. Let's look at the next part of the phrase, which is in three parts:
"It was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet."
Devouring--Rather than to give you the "blow by blow" detail of Roman conquest, let me give you just a few of the details. Rome began it's conquest period in the third century BC, conquering the entire Italian peninsula by 266 BC. It proceeded, over the next 350 years to spread over Europe, finally taking Britain in 84AD. The Roman Empire lasted for over 500 years total.
When the Roman army went into battle, it devoured the other armies. The other armies did not stand a chance against the well trained Roman soldiers. The violent nature of the Roman people created soldiers of great might. So when the Roman army came into town, it devoured the local government by devouring the local army in battle.
Breaking into pieces: The Roman armies not only devoured, but the broke the spirit of the local nations into pieces. Each country conquered knew that they were beaten, and knew that they were now under Roman rule.
"Trampling the residue with its feet"--what was left after Roman rule was established was "trampled under the feet" of the Roman government. All Roman laws would apply. Roman culture would apply. Roman customs would apply. Any revolts would quickly be trampled under the feet of the Roman detachments left in charge; those rebelling against Caesar would be savagely and brutally dealt with in a public way as an example.
Next week, we will examine the rest of this verse--the ten horns--and verse eight. Verse eight speaks of a future ruler that is yet to come: Antichrist. We have studied this villain of all villains before, but will answer these important question regarding Antichrist:
Who is this Antichrist?
Where will he come from?
Is he here on earth right now?
What will he be like?
Stay tuned.
