In addition to very clearly depicting the modern nations of the world, daniel s vision also foretells of the events leading up to the return of jesus christ. The prophet daniel had a significant vision regarding the general course of history from his time to the ultimate victory of the messiah and his. Living in the times of the fourth beast servants news. The seventh chapter of the book of daniel records an unusual vision that he received in the first year of the babylonian king belshazzar 555556 b. The truth about daniels four beasts visit sydney australia. In chapter 7, god gave daniel a vision of four beasts. The bald eagle is a national symbol of the united states of america. In about 165 bce, an anonymous jew composed the book of daniel. The vision of the four beasts and the little horn found in daniel 7 reveals more information about the same four empires that are first described in nebuchadnezzars dream of a great image. It seems improbable that a second century writer would fabricate such a story or allow it to pass without comment in a situation where the preservation of the purity of the jewish faith was considered. Bible commentators have long agreed that daniels four beasts are the babylonian, persian, greek and roman empires.
Only daniel could interpret the writing, a message of coming judgment from god. Daniels vision of the four beasts not only foretold the creation of the worlds modern nations, but also warns believers of the development of a single world government. And looking at the kjv verse above does give one pause. The 4 beasts seen in daniel dream is god revealing to a believer, daniel, the world timeline and governments to come in a godly perspective. These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth emphasis mine. As daniel watches, four great beasts, each different from the others, emerge from the dark waters verse 3. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted up from the ground. Daniels prayer, and the vision of the seventy weeks 9. In chapter 7 of his book, daniel has a vision of four beasts coming up from the sea 7. The first beast becomes the third beast, which becomes the fourth beast. The bible tells us in chapter 7 of the book of daniel, that god gave daniel a vision of four beasts rising from the sea. Daniels image, the four beasts and the king of assyria a great deal of new insight is being revealed concerning biblical prophecy for the end of days.
Furthermore, they hold the view that the ram and the goat correspond to the medopersian empire and the greek empire, respectively. Much conservative christian prophecy concerning the second coming of christ is based upon this book and in particular upon king nebuchadnezzars dream and daniels dream of 4 beasts. The great image and the four beasts 6 the four kingdoms of men now we come to the interpretation of the dream. Just as the four metals represent the four successive world kingdoms beginning with babylon in daniels day and passing to medopersia, greece and rome, so the four beasts represent the. Di lella, professor of old testament, and the late louis f. Daniel 7 the seventh chapter of the book of daniel tells of daniels vision of four worldkingdoms replaced by the kingdom of god. In internet travels i have had folks try to suggest that a beast is defined in daniel as a kingdom, or a king, in an effort to advance their belief in john darbys the antichrist is the beast of revelation, actually switching the identity between verse 1 and 5. The nice thing about this book is that every time daniel has a vision, he then interprets the vision. Four wings indicate the expansion of the empire of alexander the great, and four heads show its subsequent fourfold division under four of his generals. As with all of scripture, the book of daniel is profitable for our study 2 ti 3. Conservative christians generally believe that daniel was captured by the babylonians circa 605 bce, spent the rest of his life in babylon, and wrote the book circa 540 bce. The mysterious image of daniel, the four beasts vision, and the book of revelation reveal a new, startling dimension to the ageold prophecy in the light of current world events. Who are the four beasts of daniel 7 bible prophecy. Daniel 7 the seventh chapter of the book of daniel tells of daniel s vision of four worldkingdoms replaced by the kingdom of god.
Daniel 7 new century version ncv daniels dream about four animals. Daniel spake and said, i saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. These four beasts, from daniels apocalyptic vision in chapter 7, are the same as the four empires represented in the statue nebuchadnezzar sees in his dream, except that dream was actually a relatively staid and buttoneddown one, compared to this vision. Daniels great image, the four beasts and the king of. Lion babylonian empire bear medopersian empire leopard greek empire 4th beast roman empire this explanation of the four beasts prophecy is easily derived. We have been studying the book of daniel and have been seeing how daniel sets an example for us to be christs ambassador as he was used by god to serve in babylon. Daniels vision of the four beasts 2 daniel declared. The main difference between the types of heavenly beings known as.
In chapter 7 the lord tells us the fourth beast would dominate the kingdoms of this world right up until the return of jesus christ. The four beasts represented the kingdoms of babylon, medopersia, greece, and rome. The book of daniel the anchor yale bible commentaries. In daniel 7, the prophet daniel saw a series of four beasts rising from the sea, the last of whom had ten horns dan.
The prophecy in daniel 7 is rich in biblical symbolism, which is the key to its unraveling. There are four beasts in chapter 7a lion, bear, leopard, and a dragon. The contemporaneous beasts view of daniel 7 by chris white daniel 7 is considered by some to be the most important chapter in the book of daniel, others even consider it the most important chapter in the entire old testament for reasons which we will get into later, but certainly one of those reasons is because of its prophetic significance. Daniel, distressed by the dream, seeks the help of a nearby angel for an answer to what he has seen. He saw visions as he was lying on his bed, and he wrote down what he had dreamed. The image of daniel 2 contains four metalsgold, silver, brass, and iron. In verse 17 we are told, those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth. The four beasts of daniel 7 were the first four kings of the medopersian achaemenid empire. Four beasts and the ancient of days daniel 7 youtube. The four beasts of daniel chapter 7 are four end time superpowers. In daniels dream, he sees the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea.
A fresh perspective on the 4 beasts vision of daniel chapter 7. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. Therefore, since this vision was given to daniel in the time of babylonian kingdom, the first beast can not be the babylon because the word shall implies future, and so on. The 4 beasts vision of daniel chapter 7 are commonly explained as follows. The vision of the four beasts is found in chapter 7. Daniels four beasts nebuchadnezzar was not the only one to have a vision of the future course of world history. I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the. Therefore, johns beast is the same as the fourth beast of.
This volume on the book of daniel has been prepared by two distinguished biblical scholars from the faculty of the catholic university of america. In fact, several popular bible editions actually interpret daniel 7 in their margin notes as the same four kingdoms mentioned in daniel 2. The first of daniels four beasts is like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle daniel 7. The anchor bible series offers new, bookbybook translations of the old and new testament and the apocrypha, with commentary. Daniels four beasts bible symbols in the prophecy of daniel. The little horn that subdued three kings was alexander the great, who defeated darius iii. Please wash your hands and practise social distancing. An indepth look at the four great beasts of daniel 7. In fact it is so easily derived that anyone with a basic grasp of history could have easily reached this arrangement. In my vision at night i looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. In the vision the wind was blowing from all four directions, which made the sea very rough. Daniel 78 new international version niv daniels dream of four beasts. I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.
Four beasts come out of the sea, the ancient of days sits in judgement over them, and one like a son of man is given eternal kingship. As with nebuchadnezzars dream, the theme of this vision is the rise and fall of gentile world power. Each of these beasts represents a biblical world kingdom. The lion was symbolic of the kingdom of babylon and the mans heart was that of its most notable king, nebuchadnezzar, who is written about considerably in the first four chapters of daniel. A beast like a bear, raised up on one side, with three ribs between its teeth. The fourth beast was darius i the great, who founded the darian dynasty composed of ten kings. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. This fact will become obvious as we continue our study of the beasts, and the other identities. Much of what the lord tells us in the book of daniel has to do with a mysterious fourth beast.
In daniel 7 the prophet records a night vision that god gave him concerning four world empires, symbolized as four beasts daniel 7. Daniel saw four winds stirring the mediterranean sea, bringing upheaval to the nations 7. An angelic guide interprets the beasts as kingdoms and kings, the last of whom will make war on the holy ones of god, but he. The identities of the beasts in daniel and revelation rev. An angelic guide interprets the beasts as kingdoms and kings, the last of whom will make war on the holy ones of god, but he will be destroyed and the holy ones will be given eternal dominion and power. Reformer john calvin was familiar with the works of other scholars and declared in his commentaries on the book of daniel, volume 2, it is clear that the four monarchies are here depicted. As daniel watches, the wings are torn off the beast, and the creature stands erect like a man and a human mind is given to it. In the first year of belshazzar king of babylon, daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream 2 daniel said. In chapter 7, daniel has a vision of four beasts coming up out of the sea, and is told that they represent four kingdoms. In the seventh chapter of his book, daniel records how he had an unusual vision while he slept one night, many years after the kings original dream. The four empires are the same as nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream in daniel 2, although in that dream they are pictured as various metals in a statue. The 4 beasts of daniel and revelation christian truth center.
Daniels vision begins with a raging, dark sea of ominous characterthe wind roaring upon it and the waves tossing with angry intent. Nebuchadnezzars dream is god revealing to a nonbeliever, nebuchadnezzar, the world timeline and governments to come in mans perspective. Are they the same as the cherubims or seraphims in isaiah 6 and ezekiel chapters 1 and 10. Daniels beasts and the beasts of revelation, chapter from. After daniel was given the interpretation for the kings dream, he went on to have several prophetic visions of his own. In my vision in the night i looked, and suddenly the four winds of heaven were churning up the great sea. The first beast, a lion with eagles wings, is americanled nato the new world order. Do the four animals in daniel 7 represent kingdoms. The book of revelation is a prophecy about romes persecution against the lords church. The second beast its described to look like a bear. The lion, the bear, the leopard, and the terrible beast. The seventhday adventist church shares the traditional view that the four kingdoms of daniel, as paralleled in chapters 2 and 7, correspond to the neobabylonian empire, the medopersian empire, the greek empire and the roman empire. Jun 27, 2014 book of daniel four beasts thebookofdanielfourbeastsworldempiresofdanielsdream.
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