Introduction

Daniel 7 gives us the prophecy of four beasts which represent kings—people often interpret this to mean kingdoms, but I double checked an interlinear Bible[1] and the word used in Daniel 7:17 is actually king, not kingdom.[2] If you search the internet, you'll find a host of theories about who the 4 beasts represent. Most Bible scholars (specifically those who are believers) interpret these entities to be the kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. We're going to discuss the leading theory, as well as other possibilities. God loves a double prophecy so what if there are two filfillments in this prophecy (like the ones that point first to David, then to Messiah)?

The Vision

The vision Daniel has is described in Daniel 7:2-8. The main elements are 4 beasts rising from the sea—note there is a beast that rises from the sea in Revelation 13:1-2 as well and the description of this beast is a conglomoration of the 4 beasts described in this vision. The vision also includes the four winds of heaven, which are discussed in various other places in the Bible and a little horn, which may or may not be the same as the little horn in Daniel 8. We are told no scripture is of private interpretation (2 Peter 1:20), meaning we should be able to discern the meaning of these symbols through scripture. Not only are we given an interpretation in Daniel 7, but all of the elements of the vision are discussed elsewhere in prophetic passages of scripture.

The Four Winds

The first thing Daniel seas are the four winds of heaven striving upon the sea. This paints the picture of stormy seas, which we know the Most High has the power to create (Jonah 1) or calm (Luke 8:22-25). The four winds of heaven are discussed in quite a few prophetic passages as well. In Jeremiah we see judgment brought upon the nation of Elam through the 4 winds, which causes a scattering of those people. Zechariah also mentions people being scattered like the 4 winds in a vision he sess. Ezekiel prophesies about the 4 winds breathing life into the dead bones of the House of Israel to create an army. In Matthew 24 and Mark 13:27, Messiah talks about the elect (or believers) being called together from the four winds. Revelation 7 places 4 angels at the 4 corners of the earth holding back the 4 winds.

We can easily see that the 4 winds usually accompanies discussion of people being scattered. We know that the people of God were scattered and will eventually be brought back together before everything is said and done. Another interesting take away from the other passages is that in Revelation 7, we see a time where angel's are holding back these winds; it would seem the vision Daniel sees where the winds are striving, occurs after the 4 angels allow the winds to be loosed.

The First Beast

All 4 of the beasts are described as coming up out of the sea; I point this out as a reminder that in Revelation 13, we see a single beast consisting of elements from each of these 4 beasts rise out of the sea. Later in Revelation we learn that waters (or a sea) represent peoples, nations and tongues (Revelation 17:15).

The first beast Daniel sees is like a lion but has eagle's wings. The first thing that popped in to my head upon reading this description are the mythological creatures of the sphinx and the griffin. A sphinx was said to have the head of a human, the body of a lion and sometimes the wings of an eagle[3], while a griffin had the head and wings of an eagle and hindpart of a lion.[4] Both were popular in the art of that region around the time of Daniel.

Note that the Lion was the symbol of the Tribe of Judah, so much so that Messiah is sometimes called the Lion of Judah. Lions are typically seen as powerful and strong. Eagle wings are discussed in various parts of the Bible, generally in conjuction with safety and protection. In Revelation 12 we see a woman‐we'll talk about who she is in a future episode—given wings to help her find shelter from persecution. Perhaps this king (or kingdom) is given protection by God or is mimicking God's protection.

The wings of the animal are not torn off, but rather plucked. This would likely make flying more difficult, but the creature is lifted up and then forced to walk around like a man, with a man's heart. One way to look at this is to assume the beast now has compassion and a conscious. However, the Bible tells us the heart is wicked always (Jeremiah 17:9). The loss of wings and aquistion of a heart sounds like a backwards spitiual transfer to me.

The Second Beast

The Third Beast

The Fouth Beast

The Little Horn

References & Footnotes

1. An interlinear Bible is one that shows the original language (Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic) along side the Enlgish translation (or whatever language you're reading in). It is helpful for those of us who are not fluent in the original languages but would like to see how the translation we have came to be. If you use a digital resource, often the original language word is selectable, and will take you to a lexicon that not only defines the word, but shows other usuages of the word in scripture as well. I typically use Blue Letter Bible
2. "Strong's H4430. מֶלֶךְ". Blue Letter Bible; visited September 16, 2024
3. Adam Augustyn. "Sphinx". Encyclopedia Britannica. May 20, 2024; visited Spetember 16, 2024
4. Adam Augustyn. "Griffin". Encyclopedia Britannica. September 1, 2023; visited Spetember 16, 2024