Dan 7:1 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.

The four beasts. Introduction to the vision: Chapters 7 through 12 are visions which Daniel had; in chronology, the events of chapters 7 and 8 belong between chapters 4 and 5; what happens in chapter 9 happens about at the same time as chapter 6; and the visions of 10-12 take place after the events of chapter 6. The first of the four visions of chapters 7-12 is the most comprehensive; the other three visions deal with aspects of this first vision. Daniel could have given us more detail; but the Holy Spirit only wanted him to write the main facts - though we might have wanted to know more detail!

Dan 7:2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.
Dan 7:3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

General: the origin of the four beasts. The Great Sea is likely the Mediterranean; "To the Hebrews the sea was both dangerous and mysterious, a restless element but not beyond the Lord's power to tame." (Baldwin). And, the sea is sometimes used as a picture of Gentile nations (Psalm 74:13; 89:9; Isaiah 57:20). Every one of the empires that will be mentioned by Daniel bordered on the Mediterranean Sea. Some see the winds as a picture of the sovereign power of God striving with men (Psalm 35:5; 48:7; 107:25; Isaiah 27:8; 41:16). Strauss suggests the four winds might be satanic forces, as mentioned by Revelation 7:1. Four great beasts (large, ferocious animals) emerge; each one is distinct from the other. "The lion devours, the bear crushes, and the leopard springs upon its prey."

Dan 7:4 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 first beast: a lion with eagle's wings. This beast is quite majestic (lions and eagles are "kings" of their realms); but it is both humbled and "humanized".

Dan 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 second beast: a bear. The bear is much less majestic; it is slow, ponderous, and crushing. This one is imbalanced in some way; and it has a voracious appetite for conquest.

Dan 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 third beast: a leopard. A leopard is known for its sudden, unexpected attacks; this one is especially swift (with four wings), and has four heads.

Dan 7:7 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.
Dan 7:8 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: a dreadful, horned beast, with one conspicuous horn. This beast in indescribable, and uniquely horrific in its power and conquest.  The ten horns may actually be two five-pointed antlers, rather than ten separate horns. A little horn is conspicuous for its dominance, its intelligence, and its boastful talk.

Dan 7:9 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.
Dan 7:10 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.
Dan 7:11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spoke: I beheld [even] till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.
Dan 7:12 As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.
Dan 7:13 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.
Dan 7:14 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.

The Ancient of Days is seen, and the conspicuous horn is conquered by the Son of Man. The KJV has a bad translation of verse 9 (thrones were cast down); they are instead established. In this vision of heaven, Daniel sees many thrones but only one Occupant. Is he blind to the 24 elders, representatives of the church, because the church is an unrevealed mystery to him? (Ephesians 3:1-7). The Ancient of Days is obviously God; whether it is specifically the Father or the Son is debated; most believe it is the Father, the figures stressing His eternal character (such as white hair). The distinction made in verse 13 between the Ancient of Days and the Son of Man argues best that this is God in the Person of the Father, not the Son.  "We ought not to imagine God in his essence to be like any appearance to his own Prophet and other holy fathers, but he put on various appearances, according to man's comprehension, to whom he wished to give some signs of his presence."

The fiery flame represents a brilliant manifestation of God's splendor, and the fierce heat of His judgment. There is something "lava-like" in the stream of fire pouring from the throne; it is a river of vast destructive power. Isaiah 66:15-15 describe the judgment of God in terms of fire: For behold, the LORD will come with fire And with His chariots, like a whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword The LORD will judge all flesh; And the slain of the LORD shall be many.

What are the wheels of God's throne? Many say that eastern thrones were often on wheels; but it is just as likely that they are pictures of the endless activity of God. The multitude (thousand thousands) observing this judgment are either angels, or saints, or both. Which books are opened? The Bible describes several of God's "books": The book of the living (Psalm 69:28), the book of remembrance     (Malachi 3:16), and the Book of Life (Philippians 4:3, Revelation 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27; 22:19.

The horn speaks pompous words; the final human dictator we commonly call the Antichrist will be characterized by his boastful, blasphemous speech (Revelation 13:5-6). Because of the distinction between the fourth beast and the horn, some have conjectured that the beast of Revelation 13 is not the Antichrist but his state. If so, it is a small distinction. To a large extent, a man does represent and personify an entire government or system; when we think of Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, the figures of Hitler as an individual and Nazi Germany as a state are virtually the same.

The fourth beast is slain; the others may continue, but without dominion of their own. When Jesus sets up His kingdom, the empire of the Antichrist will be completely crushed, yet there will be nations which continue into the Millennium. The Son of Man (a favorite self-designation of Jesus, used more than 80 times in the gospels), receives all dominion previously held by the beasts; and His reign will be permanent. The reign of Jesus does not last 1,000 years. It is permanent. However, Jesus will rule over this earth, before it is remade, with Satan bound, for 1,000 years.

Dan 7:15 I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of [my] body, and the visions of my head troubled me.
Dan 7:16 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.

Interpretation of the dream. Daniel's reaction to the vision and request for understanding. Daniel had seen all this, and in more detail than he describes for us. He did not really understand all that he saw, and was troubled because of his lack of understanding.

Dan 7:17 These great beasts, which are four, [are] four kings, [which] shall arise out of the earth.
Dan 7:18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.

Summary of the vision: four kings are conquered by God, and their kingdoms are given to the people of God. This vision covers the same material as Nebuchadnezzar's vision in chapter 2; but from God's perspective, not man's. Nebuchadnezzar saw the present and future world-empires in the form of a stately and noble man; here God shows how He sees them: as ferocious and wild animals. After all, animals have no conscience. When man writes his own history, there is much self-congratulation, and we would seem to be on the verge of paradise. When God writes human history, a different vision is presented. These beasts are so different in essential character than the representative of Jesus' kingdom: the Lamb (Revelation 5:5-6, 8-10). The image of Nebuchadnezzar stressed the continuity of the world empires; the vision of the beasts shows their diversity.

The winged lion represents Babylon; the lion and the eagle are both used by Jeremiah as pictures of Nebuchadnezzar (49:19-22), and Babylon's winged lions can be seen the British Museum today. The majestic figures of the lion and eagle are fitting symbols for the "head of gold".

The bear represents the Medo-Persian empire, which was dominated by the Persians; most think the three ribs are their three great conquests: Babylon, Egypt and Lydia. The slow, crushing armies of the Medo-Persian empire were well known; they simply overwhelmed their opponents with superior size and strength. In verse 5, the bear is told: Arise, devour much flesh! "The command to arise and devour much flesh indicates the extreme cruelties often practiced by the Persians, and the wide extent of their conquests." Liberal commentators have a vested interest in identifying the bear with only the Median state, and not the Medo-Persian empire. They assign the third beast to the Persian Empire, and the fourth to Alexander's Greek empire, so as to remove (even for a second century author) any element of predictive prophecy. Their analysis doesn't fit.

Reasons why the second kingdom could not be exclusively the Median empire:

1. The Median empire did not follow the Babylonian in historical sequence, but was contemporary with it, even rising to strength before the Neo-Babylonian period.

2. The Median empire never had a world position that would rank it with the Persian, Grecian or Babylonian empires.

3. The motivation for the interpretation is solely to remove any reference to Rome - and predictive prophecy.

The leopard represents the Greek empire; Alexander the Great's rapid conquest (the entire civilized world by age 28), and the four-way division of the empire after his death are shown. The four heads: Casander, Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy; these inherited Alexander's domain in the years after his death. Ironside relates the story of Josephus where Alexander came to Jerusalem, and being shown the book of Daniel by the high priest (whom Alexander had previously seen in a vision), he spared Jerusalem and granted it religious toleration. Talbot even suggests interpretations for the leopard's spots (Alexander's variations in character? The many nations and tongues under his control?); isn't it enough simply to notice that a leopard has spots?

The fourth beast represents the Roman empire; the largest, strongest, most unified and enduring of them all.  "There is an unmistakable correspondence between these horns and the ten toes of the dream image (chapter 2), and the mention of iron in the teeth suggests the legs and toes of iron in that image." Then, the saints of the Most High receive the kingdom - but isn't Rome gone already? What happened? This is what prompts many look for a either a spiritualized interpretation fulfilled in history, or a revival, in some form, of the Roman empire in the last days, one that will literally fulfill the prophecy of the ten horns and the little horn as well. But notice: the saints of the Most High receive the kingdom; it is given to them by God at the return of Jesus. They do not go out and get the dominion over all these earthly kingdoms.

Dan 7:19 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;
Dan 7:20 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 spoke very great things, whose look [was] more stout than his fellows.
Dan 7:21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
Dan 7:22 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.

Daniel's specific request to know about the conspicuous horn. There is much of interest in all these four creatures; but Daniel is especially interested in the fourth, most terrible beast, and especially about its conspicuous horn. The beast is of interest to Daniel because of its great destructive power; the conspicuous horn because of its fight against God's people. If this horn is the Antichrist, and he fights against the saints, does this mean that the church will be here to be a target of the Antichrist during the tribulation? Not necessarily; saints can indicate the church or a Jewish remnant in the tribulation (Revelation 12:17; 13:7).

Dan 7:23 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.
Dan 7:24 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.
Dan 7:25 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.
Dan 7:26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy [it] unto the end.
Dan 7:27 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.

The meaning of the conspicuous horn and its defeat. These ten kings do not have a literal fulfillment in historical Rome; if they are literal, they are still in the future. The only way to say this has been fulfilled is to spiritualize these prophecies. Many, like Calvin, merely spiritualize; he insists that what happens in this chapter was fulfilled in history up unto the time of Jesus' first advent, and supposes that the ten horns merely represent a multiplicity of kings under the Roman emperor, and believes that the conspicuous horn is Julius Caesar, and the other Caesars who succeeded him. And for Calvin, the books were opened (verse 10) refers to the preaching of the gospel!  "We need not be too anxious about the number, as we have already explained it." (as merely denoting multiplicity) But if there are ten toes (Daniel 2), ten horns (Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 and 17) associated with the rule of this final world ruler, who are we to "spiritualize" what God has said in at least four different places? The same "spiritualizing" problems apply if one believes that this is fulfilled in the early church and the passing of the Roman Empire (unlike Calvin who saw fulfillment before the first advent of Jesus).

The conspicuous horn must be the Antichrist, arising out of a confederation of ten nations which is in some way a revival of the Roman empire. He speaks pompous, blasphemous words, perhaps like the Fascist Creed of Italy (cited in Talbot):  "I believe in Rome Eternal, the Mother of my fatherland; and in Italy, her first born; who was born of her virgin womb by the grace of God; who suffered under the barbarian invader, was crucified, slain, and buried; who descended into the sepulcher, and rose from the dead in the nineteenth century; who ascended to heaven in her glory in 1918 and 1922 (by the march on Rome); who is seated at the right hand of Mother Rome; who will come thence to judge the quick and the dead; I believe in the genius of Mussolini; in our Holy Father, Fascism, and in the communion of its martyrs; in the conversion of the Italians; and in the resurrection of the Empire! Amen."

He persecutes: it speaks of cruel and systematic pressure, coming from the word "to wear away" or "to wear out," as friction would wear clothes or shoes. "To wear out the saints means to harass them continually so that life becomes a wretched existence." "Such continual and protracted pressure far more effectively breaks the human spirit than the single moment of crisis that calls for a heroic decision. It is easier to die for the Lord than to live for him under constant harassment and strain" (Archer) "The Bible predicts no peace-loving world ruler for the last days. We can expect nothing more than greedy commercialism and political imperialism under the most beastly and barbaric type of warfare."

He wants to change times and law; perhaps as at the French Revolution, where radicals wanted to institute a ten-day work week, and declared 1792 (the year of the Revolution) as "year 1". Seventh-Day Adventists have historically taught that it was the Papacy which "changed the times and law" by moving the Lord's day from Saturday to Sunday.

His power over the saints is limited; it will last for three-and-one-half years, time and times and half a time is a phrase used in Revelation (11:2-3, 12:6 and 13:5) to refer to one half of the last seven year period of man's rule on this earth (the seventieth week of Daniel). And, it is in the day of this persecuting, blasphemous ruler that Christ will establish His kingdom, for His people. Because the fourth kingdom is immediately succeeded by the kingdom of Jesus, no event in the past answers in the smallest degree to this prediction.

There are three options in interpreting the kingdom being established here:

1. There is no fulfillment; Daniel is in error

2. The fulfillment is symbolic in church history

3. The fulfillment is literal, and yet future

Certainly, the church did not cause a sudden and catastrophic fall of the Roman Empire. Verse 27 must be describing the millennial earth, not our current age or heaven. The kingdom and dominion of the earth certainly does not belong to the righteous now; if it is the eternal state, then what dominion would be there to serve and obey Jesus? Again, notice that the kingdom and dominion . . . shall be given to the people, the saints; it is something received, not achieved. The church does not convert the world to Jesus' kingdom and give the kingdom to Jesus; He gives it to them.

Dan 7:28 Hitherto [is] the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.

Daniel's troubled reaction to the vision and its interpretation. Many things might trouble Daniel at this vision - such as the ferocity of the attack that would come against his people from the conspicuous horn.