Act II · Milestone 2 of 5
Daniel 7 — Four Beasts
The same four kingdoms of Daniel 2, now with faces, teeth and a speaking horn — and above them all, a courtroom that opens its books before the kingdom is given away.
Daniel 7 · about 16 minutes
2Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.
3And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
4The 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.
5And 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.
6After 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.
7After 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.
8I 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.
9I 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.
10A 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.
13I 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.
14And 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.
17These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
22Until 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.
25And 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.
27And 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.
Watch the scene first
Night, and a storm. Four winds strive on a great sea, and out of it four beasts come up, each stranger than the last: a lion with eagle's wings; a bear raised up on one side with three ribs in its teeth; a leopard with four wings and four heads; and a fourth beast with iron teeth, dreadful and terrible, with ten horns. Then a little horn comes up among the ten, plucks up three of them by the roots, and it has eyes like a man's eyes and a mouth speaking great things. And while it is speaking, the scene changes: thrones are set, the Ancient of days sits, and the books are opened.
Same story, bigger screen
Daniel 2 gave you the outline in metal; Daniel 7 gives you the same outline in character. The angel states the rule of interpretation for you — "these great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth" — and the sequence lines up exactly with the statue. Lion: Babylon, whose own palace walls carried winged lions; its wings plucked and a man's heart given to it is Nebuchadnezzar's humbling written into the emblem. Bear raised on one side: Medo-Persia, with the Persian side dominant and three ribs for its three great conquests. Leopard with four wings and four heads: Greece, moving at Alexander's speed and dividing four ways at his death. Fourth beast, unlike all the others, with iron teeth and ten horns: Rome, and after it the divided nations of Europe — the toes of chapter 2 with names on them.
The little horn, by the text's own specifications
The chapter gives eight identifying marks, and they are meant to be checked. It rises among the ten — that is, in Western Europe. It rises after them — so after AD 476. It uproots three of them. It is "diverse" from the others — not merely another state, but a power of a different kind. It has eyes like a man and a mouth speaking great things — a seeing, speaking, claiming power. It makes war with the saints and prevails against them. It thinks "to change times and laws." And it holds them for "a time and times and the dividing of time." Only one power in history answers to all eight: the religio-political power that rose out of the ruins of Western Rome and ruled through it. Two things must be said in the same breath: this identifies a system, never an individual believer — the final call of the book is "Come out of her, my people," and that call is addressed to people God calls His own.
A time and times and the dividing of time
Three and a half prophetic times are 1260 prophetic days, and by the Bible's own key — a day for a year — 1260 years. Revelation states the same span three ways: 1260 days, forty-two months, and time, times and half a time. Historicist readers date it from AD 538, when the last of the three opposing powers was cleared away and the decree issued five years earlier became effective, to 1798, when a French general entered Rome and the pope was carried away to die in exile. Revelation 13 calls that same moment a deadly wound — and expects you to have learned the arithmetic here first.
The courtroom is the point of the chapter
The beasts exist to frame the scene in verses 9-14. Thrones are set, the Ancient of days takes His seat, a fiery stream issues, ten thousand times ten thousand stand before Him, "the judgment was set, and the books were opened." Then one like the Son of man comes with the clouds of heaven — and notice where He goes. Not to earth: "he came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him," and there He is given dominion and glory and a kingdom. This is a judgment that convenes before the kingdom is handed over — the pre-advent judgment that Daniel 8 will date and that Revelation 14 will announce as "the hour of his judgment is come." And the verdict is comfort, not dread: "judgment was given to the saints of the most High." The court finds for them.
Christ in the frame
"Son of man" is Jesus' favorite name for Himself, and He took it from this scene. At His own trial He quoted this verse back to the high priest — "hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven" — which is a Prisoner quietly informing His judge that their roles are about to reverse.
Check what you saw
Two questions on this scene. Answers show an explanation either way.
What does Daniel 7 add to Daniel 2's outline?
How long does the horn power hold sway over 'the saints'?
Talk it through
- —Why do the beasts come 'up from the sea' while the Son of man comes with clouds?
- —What changes when judgment, not conquest, is the turning point?
Good prompts for a study group, or for the reflection journal on the Today page.