THE FOUR BEASTS OF DANIEL 7 - WHO ARE THEY? - AN IMPORTANT KEY TO END TIME PROPHECY

There is an important Bible prophecy in Daniel chapter 7, which gives us a foundation for understanding the book of Revelation and end time events. God has given us the information needed to understand who the antichrist is. Sadly, many professed Christians today have been deceived by 'new theology' from the Jesuits and therefore do not have a proper understanding of the beasts of Daniel 7, nor end time events.

Image credit - shadowrenderer

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Many people in the churches today, especially Evangelical churches, believe the four beasts of Daniel 7 to be nations that are ruling today, like America, England and Russia etc. But we will show you on this page how the 'modern' belief is wrong, and why Daniel 7 must be understood from an HISTORICAL point of view.

Daniel 7:23 ...'Thus he said, the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth.'

What does the above Bible verse say regarding the fourth beast? Well, first of all, it confirms that these beasts represent kingdoms. But it also confirms that the fourth beast was to be the fourth kingdom upon the earth. Now how can these beasts be current nations today, when the fourth beast was to be the fourth kingdom upon the earth? There have been hundreds of nations throughout history. So we can see a big problem with this current belief in the Evangelical churches straight away. It is not possible that the four beasts are current nations, when many nations have already passed away in history and the fourth beast was specifically to be the fourth kingdom upon the earth.

So what does it mean by saying it was to be the 'fourth kingdom upon the earth'? And which kingdom was the first?

In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar was given a dream by God, which the prophet Daniel interpreted through knowledge from the Lord. In this dream Nebuchadnezzar saw a great image, made of Gold, Silver, Bronze, Iron and Clay. In his interpretation of the dream, the prophet Daniel said the following regarding the head of God. Pay careful attention:

Daniel 2:37-38 ...'Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.'

How I love the fact that God gives us all the information we need to understand the truth! Praise God! Nebuchadnezzar, as we know was king of Babylon. Now were there nations BEFORE Babylon? Yes there were. But look at what God told Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar regarding Babylon - God had made Babylon to 'rule over ALL.' In other words, Babylon was the world's first so called 'world super-power.' Babylon was the first kingdom that ruled the world. And this is what God is showing us in Daniel 7. These four beasts represent the first four world 'super-powers' who would rule the whole world. There is no denying this fact. God has stated it clearly.

Please understand this important fact. The first kingdom to 'rule the world' was Babylon. This means the current nations of today CANNOT be the four beasts, because the fourth beast has to be the fourth kingdom to rule the world since Babylon. It is impossible to apply this to the nations of today. So we just need to go from Babylon to find out who was the 'fourth kingdom upon the earth.' And who was the fourth? ROME!

Also make note that these kingdoms do not rule at the same time. Which is why the beasts are said to be 'the FIRST ... the FOURTH' etc. They are consecutive kingdoms. Just as God showed in Daniel 2.

Many people do not realize that Daniel 7 is a further illustration of Daniel 2. In Daniel 2, God gives us a brief identity of the first four 'world ruling kingdoms.' But in Daniel 7, God gives us further illustration to identify those kingdoms even more. So let us go through these beasts to identify who they are.

FIRST BEAST - BABYLON - Daniel 7:2-4 ...'Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. 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.'

What is the first thing we see regarding these four beasts? They arise from the 'sea' upon which the 'four winds of heaven' blow. Now wind in Bible prophecy denotes strife and war (Jeremiah 25:32-33). And the sea is symbolic of 'peoples and nations' (Revelation 17:15). So these four world kingdoms were to arise from strife and war among the peoples and nations. So let us take a look at the first beast:

The first beast is a lion. What is the lion commonly regarded as? The 'greatest of beasts.' What is Gold commonly regarded as? The 'greatest of metals.' And what was Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon regarded as by God? "The king of kings" (Daniel 2:37) - the 'greatest of kingdoms.' Now look at what God prophesied to Israel through Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 4:6-7 ...'Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.'

Who came from the north as a judgment against Israel and Judah? Babylon, as Jeremiah 25:9 and other verses of Jeremiah confirm. And what does God liken Babylon to in Jeremiah 4:7 above? A LION. So when we use scripture to interpret itself, instead of just making wild assumptions, then we can come to the truth.

This lion also has wings. And what do wings represent? Speed. This denotes the speed at which Babylon conquered under Nebuchadnezzar. But a change takes place. Its wings are plucked. It no longer flew like a bird of prey upon its victims. It also changes from a lion to a man. The boldness and spirit of the lion were gone. A man's heart, weak and faint had taken its place. This is emphatically the case of what happened in the transfer of rule from Nebuchadnezzar to Belshazzar, who in weakness and fear shut himself up in the city of Babylon, and with whom the Babylonian kingdom came to an end.

What kingdom was Daniel living under when God proclaimed Nebuchadnezzar as that 'head of God'? Babylon. And what kingdom was Daniel living under during this dream of the four great beasts? Babylon. So it also stands to reason that this first beast is STILL Babylon, as the evidence above confirms.

SECOND BEAST - MEDO-PERSIA - 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.'

Just as the metals became inferior in the great image of Daniel 2, as it progressed from the kingdom of Babylon, these animals also become inferior as we progress through the kingdoms from Babylon. And that is because we are dealing with the same kingdoms. So now we have a bear that is 'raised up on one side.' This is a very striking symbol applied to the bear so that we can be without fault in identifying which kingdom it is. Which kingdom came after Babylon in the great image of Daniel 2? Medo Persia. And what was this kingdom composed of? TWO NATIONS - the Medes and the Persians, with one nation, the Persians taking the higher, leading role in this kingdom. Thus why the bear is 'raised up on ONE SIDE.'

The three ribs in the mouth of the bear shows that the bear has just devoured something. So what did the Medo-Persian empire devour in order to become the next 'ruling kingdom of the world'? This most probably points to the Medes and Persians conquering Babylon, Lydia and Egypt. Yes, there were other nations around, even when Babylon was ruling. But Babylon was the kingdom controlling the world. And when Medo-Persia conquered these, then it became the next 'kingdom upon the earth' to rule the world.

THIRD BEAST - GREECE - 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.'

So now we have a leopard with four wings. What is the leopard known for? SPEED. And whereas the lion (Babylon) had two wings, this leopard has FOUR wings, denoting even greater speed. And this matches perfectly with the incredible swiftness at which Alexander the Great conquered the world for Grecia. But the leopard also has four heads. The heads of the beast would denote the ruling powers of that kingdom. And when Alexander's life was cut short, his Grecian empire was divided between his four generals - Cassander had Macedon and Greece in the west; Lysimachus had Thrace and parts of Asia in the north; Ptolemy received Egypt, Lydia, Arabia, Palestine in the south, and Seleucus had Syria and all the rest of Alexander's dominions in the east.

Why didn't the Grecian empire of Alexander break up into smaller fragments after his death? Why did it divide into just four divisions? Because God had said it would happen that way and Bible prophecy is as sure as the night and day. When God says it will happen a certain way, it will happen.

FOURTH BEAST - ROME - Daniel 7:7-8 ...'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. 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.'

This 'fourth' kingdom was to be so terrible in it's conquests and rule that no beast in the animal kingdom could describe it. Hence Daniel simply sees a 'terrible beast.' How accurately Rome fitted the iron legs of the great image in Daniel 2. And how accurately it fits to the beast before us. In the dread and terror which it inspired, and in its exceeding strength, the world never has seen its equal. It devoured, as with iron teeth, and brake in pieces; and it ground the nations into the very dust! And as we know, it was the Roman Empire which ruled cruely over the Jews and had our Saviour nailed to the cross! Surely, a 'terrible beast' Rome was!

But the description does not end there. As we can see from the verses, the beast had ten horns and also another 'little horn' that came up among the other ten. Now Daniel was troubled by this fourth beast and wanted to know the truth about it. And we can read a further explanation of this beast and it's horns:

Daniel 7:19,23-25 ...'Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others ... 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. 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. 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.'

So this beast was 'diverse' from all the others. Why is that? We will find out. First, let us consider, as Daniel did, the horns of this beast. We are told in the verses above that the ten horns would be 'ten kings' [or kingdoms] that would arise from this beast kingdom. And what happened to the Roman Empire when it fell? It split into the original ten nations of Europe - Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Alemannians, Sueves, Anglo-Saxons, Heruli, Lombards, and Burgundians. But what about the 'little horn' which was to come up among these ten horns/kings? Who is the little horn?

Well, what 'king' or ruler came to power after the Roman Empire fell and split into the original ten nations of Europe? What 'king' or ruler arose to power among the ten nations of Europe? There is only one answer and history testifies to this fact. The 'king' or ruler that came to power after the fall of Pagan Rome and among the ten nations of Europe was the BISHOP OF ROME. The Pope and Papacy is that 'king', that 'little horn' that arose to power after the fall of Pagan Rome.

This is why Daniel says the fourth beast is 'diverse' from the others. All the other beasts before it were Pagan kingdoms. But Rome, although it started out as a Pagan kingdom, became a professed Christian one. And so we transition from Pagan Rome to PAPAL Rome.

Let us look at the characteristics of the little horn to prove the identity:

1 - The fourth beast from which the little horn comes from is the 'fourth [world] kingdom' upon the earth (Daniel 7:23). This is the same kingdom as the iron legs on Nebuchadnezzar's image, which is ROME. So the little horn comes from the nation of the old Roman Empire - The Papacy arose from the Roman Empire.

2 - The little horn comes up AMONG the other ten horns of the 'Roman' beast (Daniel 7:8). Meaning the little horn power comes into existence during the time that the Roman Empire split into the ten kingdoms of Europe and rises to power after the split - The Papacy rose to power after the Roman Empire split up into the ten original kingdoms of Europe, and rose AMONG those nations.

3 - The little horn is a 'LITTLE' horn (Daniel 7:8). Meaning it is specifically a 'little' kingdom - The Papacy is based at the Vatican in Rome, and is it's own country, and is the smallest country in the world.

4 - The little horn is 'different' from the other ten horns (kingdoms) of Europe (Daniel 7:24) - The Papal power was different from the other kingdoms of Europe in that it was a combined religious and political kingdom.

5 - The little horn has three of the other horns 'plucked up by the roots' (Daniel 7:8). Meaning the little horn kingdom had 3 of the original kingdoms of Europe completely destroyed - The Papacy had 3 of the original kingdoms of Europe (Heruli, Vandals and Ostrogoths) destroyed. As these were Arian tribes that opposed the teachings of Papal Rome, like the false trinity god.

6 - The little horn 'speaks great things against God' (Daniel 7:25) - The Papacy has made great boasts and spoken very proud things throughout history that is against God (see THIS PAGE)

7 - The little horn persecutes the saints of God for a time, times and half a time (Daniel 7:25). Meaning the little horn kingdom persecutes the true believers in Jesus Christ for 1260 (prophetic) days. Which are 1260 literal years. (See THIS PAGE concerning the day for a year rule in prophecy) - The Papal Church of Rome persecuted God's people and reigned over the kings of the earth for 1260 years between 538 AD and 1798. During this time, the Papacy had tens of millions of God's true people killed.

8 - The little horn 'thinks to change times and laws' (Daniel 7:25). Meaning this kingdom thinks it has the authority to change God's set times and laws - The Papal Church has thought to change God's set time, which is the 7th day sabbath and replaced it with SUN-day sabbath (1st day). Also the Papal Church has thought to change God's laws by doing away with the 2nd commandment to do with idols - amongst other things.

Now why do you think the various churches of the world do not teach this truth anymore? Because the Pope(s) and Papal Church of Rome does not want people to see the truth about the Papacy being that 'antichrist' power who is opposed to God and His truth. The Protestant reformers knew this truth. But after the reformation, the Jesuits were commissioned with inventing new teachings concerning Bible prophecy to throw the world off the trail and make people believe the antichrist is someone or something else. And many of the churches of the world today have been deceived by Jesuit new teachings, which places much of Bible prophecy in the future, instead of the past. And without that grounding on historical truth, it leaves people wandering after all sorts of new, false teachings.

Just look at the image of Daniel 2. What element was to continue right through to the end? The ROMAN (iron) element! And what did Pagan Rome turn into? PAPAL ROME! And what power is leading the world today into great deception? PAPAL ROME! If people could see the truth regarding the Daniel 2 image and these four beasts of Daniel 7, they would see that the end time 'antichrist' power is Papal Rome!

And with this foundation of truth, we will then be able to see the truth concerning the 7 headed beast of Revelation 13, which the world was to 'wonder after.' That 7 headed beast being PAPAL ROME - Please now read our page WHO IS THE SEVEN HEADED BEAST OF REVELATION?

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32)