DANIEL 7
Lions and Leopards and Bears, Oh My

Revelation 13 starts off with John viewing a vision of a sevenheaded beast rising out of the sea. Before reading about this vision, we are going to look at a very similar vision seen through Daniel’s eyes in Daniel 7. Although they are different in some ways, the Spirit of God was conveying a unified message to these two men. By the time John saw his vision, a good bit of Daniel’s prophetic vision was already history. However, both of the visions were for the purpose of enlightening us to the same things related to the Antichrist in the end of time. Rather than seeing one beast with seven heads as John did, Daniel saw a series of four beasts, each of them distinct one from the other. In the first verse, we notice that this vision took place before the fall of ancient Babylon. The reason this is an important point is because the first beast he saw represented Babylon.

Daniel 7:1-4

1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.

2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.

3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

The lion perfectly describes Babylon, particularly with Nebuchadnezzar at the helm. Nebuchadnezzar was the gold head on the great figure in the second chapter of Daniel. However, in Daniel 3, he was given the heart of a beast and made to eat grass like an oxen for seven years, and his hair grew to be like eagle feathers. Afterwards, he was lifted back up and given a man’s heart again and returned to his former glory after giving glory to God.

Daniel 7:5

And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.

The bear is the Persian Empire after it has fought with and then united with the Medes under Cyrus the Persian. The three ribs in the mouth of the bear represent the combined armies of Babylon, Egypt and Lydia (Turkey) which were conquered by the Medo-Persian Empire.

Daniel 7:6

After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.

The leopard is the Grecian Empire led by Alexander the Great. This beast symbolizes the swiftness of Alexander’s conquests. The four heads are the four generals that divided the kingdom after Alexander’s youthful demise.

Daniel 7:7-8

7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

The fourth beast represents the empire of the Antichrist, which will arise in the end-times. Many have assumed that the fourth beast represented the ancient Roman Empire that arose after the Greeks, and/or a revised Roman Empire that the Antichrist will rule over. That is not the case at all. The iron of the teeth is the only thing from this description that could possibly be applied to the Roman Empire, and only if those teeth symbolized the conquering power of Rome that it derived from a strong military.Nothing else about the fourth beast fits Rome. The fact of the matter is that the teeth do not represent the strength of Rome or revised Rome at all but rather the vicious, bloodthirsty and beast-like nature of the Antichrist as he devours in war. Many of the people he rules over in his ten-nation empire will be so destitute of the truth, the life and the love of God that they too will be like brute beasts. Those who reside in the Beast Empire—who do not share the attributes of the beast and still have some humanity left in them—will be among those devoured by the iron.

As we continue, we are going to pay close attention to the fact that whenever the beast or his end-times kingdom are mentioned, the focus is on death and destruction and the destructive abilities of the beast. In contrast, although Rome was a very successful conquering empire, it did bring stability and unity to its part of the world without bringing total destruction and brutality as the Antichrist will do. The ten horns—which represent ten nations—exist today, while the ten kings that will rule over them may or may not now be alive, and they certainly have not as yet joined their kingdoms together as one nation. These are not ten nations of a past or future Roman Empire, but rather, the nations of the future Antichrist Empire, which will be located in the Middle East. Verse 8 in the scripture above states that three of these nations will fall to the Antichrist, and the others will give their power over to the beast whether willingly or through fear.

If Daniel’s fourth beast was Rome, it seems reasonable that God would have portrayed it as the beast that slew the Messiah, but He doesn’t do that. Nor does He give any other conclusive evidence that leads us to believe that this is indeed Rome. Furthermore, we are talking about “The Revelation of Jesus Christ,which God gave unto John, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass” (Revelation 1:1). Jesus never said that the beast had anything to do with the Roman Empire or a revision of the Roman Empire, and John had nothing to say either even though Rome was the reigning empire at the time he gave his end-times prophecies. Daniel’s prophecies always jump from Greece to the end-times beast just like his seventieth week is separated by thousands of years from the first sixty-nine weeks. Daniel 2:40 declares that the iron legs and iron mixed with clay feet are all a part of the fourth kingdom, which is the kingdom of the Antichrist. Each of his prophecies makes that leap from the Greek to the Antichrist empire. Each subsequent prophecy gives a little more detail, allowing us to finally realize that it is the area of the Greek Empire the Antichrist will rule over.

After the Antichrist is revealed in verses 7 and 8, verses 9-14 show the real Christ rapturing the Church, overcoming the Antichrist, and sitting for the final judgment. These things are not presented in a clear and concise manner, and they appear in a mixed order. The slaying of the Antichrist and the final White Throne Judgment, which happen about a thousand years apart, are shown in reverse order here, followed by the Rapture. When we get to the second half of Daniel 7, the explanation Daniel receives from the angel will help to straighten things out. Verse 12 tells us that the first three beasts lose their kingdoms, but yet, have their lives prolonged for a season. Babylon survives as the nation of Iraq, Persia as Iran and Greece as Greece. The area that each of these empires control is what is important to us in this prophecy, particularly the area that Greece covered.

Daniel 7:9-16

9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire.

10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

11 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.

12 As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.

13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him.

14 And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, 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.

15 I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.

16 I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.

After asking for an explanation of what he had just seen, the individual Daniel was speaking to gave him a whole two-sentence reply that left Daniel a little less than satisfied. He was told that the beasts represent four kings that rise out of the earth, and then the saints of God would rule. Daniel immediately requested more information about the fourth beast. Before we look at that, though, we are going to consider the four kings.We have already identified four kingdoms, but what about the kings?

If these beasts represented the mortal kings that ruled each empire, there are many to choose from in each empire. However, the most significant ruler of the Babylonian Empire would be Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar presided over the fall of the Syrian Empire at about 609 b.c. and established the Babylonian Empire as the reigning world power. In 586 b.c., Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians and many of the people were scattered. Daniel was among a group of highly skilled and intellectual Jews who were taken captive into Babylon which eventually fell to Cyrus the Persian in 539 b.c.The Medo-Persian Empire became the great empire of the world under Cyrus. He allowed many of the Jews to return to their land with the vessels of the temple of God, and he even gave wealth from the king’s treasure to help rebuild the temple. The third king would be Alexander the Great who led the Greeks to complete victory over the Persian Empire at about 330 b.c. Greece then became the great ruling power in the Middle East. The fourth king is the Antichrist who will rule over a ten-nation empire made up of nations that were a part of these other empires in the past.

The great mortal kings of these empires lived short lives and were replaced by successive kings until their empires crumbled and vanished. Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus actually gave honor and service to God, but each of the empires was eventually judged and defeated by the empire that followed. Each empire was guilty of various sins which were topped off by mistreatment of the Jews. In Daniel 8 we saw the spirit rulers that work in the realm of the invisible as they war in the spirit realm to bring changes in the natural world. More than likely these are the kings to which we need to pay attention. However, when we read about the Antichrist, he seems to be a hybrid—a cross between flesh and spirit just like Jesus. In Revelation 11:7 and in Revelation 17, the Antichrist is called the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit, but yet, he walks the earth as a man. His ability to survive is similar to that of the two witnesses except he doesn’t display the same type of powers as they do.What we do know is that he does come from the pit, and he is empowered and protected by Satan as he deceives and makes war.

Daniel 7:17-18

17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.

18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.

Any attempt to make Rome a part of these four (not five) beasts is an exercise in futility.We end up missing the main points that are being made in the prophecies if we turn the fourth beast into some kind of revised Roman Empire. Revelation 17 will make this much clearer. Rome does fit into the picture but not as one of these four beasts. Rome is one of the heads of the seven-headed dragon.

Revelation 12 is recorded in more of a conversational style which sometimes makes it a little more difficult to get a feel for the timing of events. Daniel 7 is another example of how recording things that way can be confusing. As Daniel first records things concerning the fourth beast, it is difficult to get a good sense of how things are actually progressing. But when he asks for a clarification about the fourth beast, he seems to slow down and describe things just exactly as he saw them. A terrible fourth beast—after devouring everything in his path, even three of the nations that are supposed to be on his side— goes after the people of God. He prevails against them until the Ancient of Days comes, and the kingdom is given to the saints. After asking the question, the response Daniel gets provides even more detail, but to fully understand the whole thing, we need to look at all of the elements of this chapter.

For instance, in Daniel’s initial description of the vision, in verses 13 and 14, he speaks of the Son of Man coming in the clouds. The only problem is that He is not coming to earth; He is coming in the clouds as He approaches heaven, and then He is taken before the presence of God. After arriving there, He is given dominion over all people.What’s happening is that He is returning to heaven with the saints whom He has just raptured out of the earth. They will remain there while the Wrath of God is dispensed on the earth, and when it is time to return for the Battle of Armageddon, Jesus will already have the authority to rule all the earth, which is granted to Him after completing the Rapture.We are witnessing the tail end of the Rapture in the verses above, but when we look at the next four verses, we see the beginning of the Rapture when Jesus comes to rescue His people and put a stop to the Great Tribulation, which is spinning out of control. Jesus said in Matthew 24:22 that He would keep the days of Tribulation short for the elect’s sake; otherwise, no flesh would survive. That means that the dominion and kingdom Jesus receives from God would only include the saints if no flesh survived. But God has other plans. He is going to pour His wrath out after we are gone, and when we return, there will be nations of heathen to rule over for a thousand years.

Daniel 7:19-22

19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;

20 And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.

21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;

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.

The remaining verses constitute the final explanation Daniel received concerning his vision. The Antichrist is the little horn that arises after the first ten. Again, he is shown ruling over only ten nations. Verse 24 makes it clear that the original ten horns are present before the Antichrist arrives. This is important because it shows us that the ten-nation alliance the Antichrist rules over will come together before he ever shows his face. He does not form the alliance himself, and he must subdue three of the kings that give the force of their kingdoms into this alliance in order to either take over the alliance or to hold it together after he does take charge.

He is shown devouring the earth. That does not mean he rules over a one-world government. To the contrary, he is destroying governments and people, targeting Israel and Christians above all. Daniel 9:26, in speaking of the Tribulation, says there will be desolations to the end of the war. The Antichrist will drag the whole world into war and will devour and destroy many nations and the resources of those nations through war. In Revelation 6:8, after the fourth seal has been opened, we see that one fourth of mankind has been destroyed by war and famine and also the beasts of the earth. This is no ordinary war, though; the Antichrist will lead millions of devoted followers who have been waiting for someone strong enough to lead them in a holy jihad against Israel and all other infidels.

Verse 25 reveals the Antichrist prevailing against the saints of God. This happens not because people were left behind in the Rapture but because the Rapture has not yet occurred. Jesus tells us that He will return for His elect after the Tribulation. In Verse 22, Daniel makes it clear that Jesus does not return as the Ancient of Days, who was in the beginning with God and was God, until after the Antichrist makes war against them.

Again, in verse 25, a time, times and the dividing of times is three-and-one-half years, or forty-two months, as described in Revelation 13:5. In the same verse, the Antichrist thinks to change time.He will no doubt desire to set the calendar back to year one, signifying his arrival on the scene. The laws that he changes will be a combination of governmental and spiritual laws that reflect the god and religion he serves.

Verse 23 shows us that the kingdoms, which are represented by the beasts, are more important than the kings who rule over them. It is not important to identify any single king for each of these kingdoms or convey any type of special significance to them until we get to the fourth kingdom and the little horn that rises to lead that kingdom in world war, thus causing the final Tribulation and trying of mankind. In verse 26, the term “the judgment shall sit” refers to the entire judgment of the last days, beginning with the time God separates His righteous from all sinners in the Rapture continuing through the Wrath of God and ending with the White Throne Judgment a thousand years later. Between verses 26 and 27, we see the Beast Empire destroyed when the saints return with Jesus at Armageddon and their subsequent rule in the Millennial Reign.

Daniel 7:23-27

23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.

27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.

Many people today are expecting the Antichrist to rule over a one-world government, but that is not the case at all. There are certainly many forces at work, not only now but all during history, that have been trying to bring about a one-world government. Many Christians point to verses like the ones above where it mentions the whole earth in the same breath as the Antichrist to make their case. However, the beast is not described in terms of reigning over the whole earth, but rather stomping, breaking and devouring it. The first seal of the Book of Revelation reveals a rider on a white horse and wearing a crown. The simple presence of a crown does not tell us that he will rule the world, just that he will be a ruler of something. The only nations we know he will rule over are the ten nations that will form a Middle East alliance that purposes to overthrow and destroy Israel. When the Antichrist arrives, it will be a perfect marriage between the nations that both surround and detest Israel and the one who will finally lead them to victory over Israel. The Antichrist will overthrow some nations, but rather than actually ruling over those nations, he will be on a path of destruction like a giant devastating hurricane. However, Israel will be one exception. The Antichrist will destroy the people, but he wants the temple and the land for his own evil purposes.

Rather than coming in meekness and compassion and to destroy the works of the devil as Jesus did, the Antichrist will come in pride-filled arrogance and loathing and to destroy the works of righteousness through a world war conflict. Just as Nazi Germany, was the base from which Hitler launched his destruction, the Middle East Empire of the beast will be a base of destruction for the Antichrist. Any nation that clings to righteousness will be a primary target for the Antichrist. Many scriptures suggest that there will be good nations in the end-times that will stand up against the Antichrist. There will also be those that God will judge even beyond the time of wrath by eliminating them as nations altogether. If we consider the different types of nuclear, chemical and biological warfare that some Middle East nations—along with the terrorists that they support—and other aggressor nations are working on, it’s not hard to see how all of mankind can be wiped out in a very short time if God does not intervene.

Part of God’s purpose in allowing the Tribulation is to send a resounding wake-up call to unsaved Jews, sleepy Christians and those people who live in the Middle East who serve another God. As those people begin to see the unbridled terror of their religious leader who claims to be their god, many will begin calling upon Jesus Christ and the God who loves them. Many millions of them will pay for that decision with their lives.As the rest of the world observes not only the brutality of the Antichrist in the Middle East but the general mayhem that will grip the earth as nations rise up against each other, along with a sense of hopelessness coupled with lawlessness in many cities around the globe, the Church will be a beacon of light to guide many to salvation. Many—perhaps most of those who perish during the Tribulation, particularly in the Middle East—will be Christians, but not all. With wars, famine and pestilence adding to the death toll, death will hit hardest in areas where there is war or where poverty already keeps people on the precipice of eternity every single day. But because people will see and know that the end has arrived, millions will be saved around the world. If only one quarter of the people who remain on the earth are born again at the appearing of Jesus in the clouds, that would mean over a billion Christians will be caught up into the clouds to be with Jesus. Assuming a starting point of six billion (our current world population), and one quarter of those dying during the Tribulation, that would leave about three billion people for the wrath that follows.

Think about it!

­Is there a connection between the end times empire of the beast and ancient Greece?

­Even if Daniel had no knowledge of the beginnings of Rome, why did God skip over it completely without even a cursory mention of it?

­Is the beast the anti-Christ?

­Is he described more as a ruler or a worrior

~Selah~And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Daniel 2:44

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