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The Book of Daniel Chapter Seven: Part One

Verse 1:

“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.”

Facts about the above verse:

1. This chapter is a transition for Daniel who, in this

chapter, was given a vision directly from God.

2. Up until now the book of Daniel follows Daniel and

his friends’ lives from their capture in Babylon unto the rise
of the Medo-Persia kingdom.

3. We have already seen Daniel’s gift of prophecy in

chapters 2, 4, and 5. We will now see that the visions of
Daniel chapters 7-12 are given directly to Daniel from God.

4. God gave Daniel not only the gift of interpreting

prophetic messages but also receiving visions, offering God’s
end time remnant, the Seventh-Day Adventist a deeper
understanding of the end time prophecies of Daniel and
Revelation, this is a gift He has also given Ellen G. White.

5. Though we are not prophets as individuals we have

the blessing of understanding these prophetic messages and
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must use this gift to share the message of the end times (the
three angels messages of Revelation 14) with others.

6. The visions Daniel receives are related to the end

times, judgment, and how it will affect God’s people.

7. The Belshazzar spoken about here is the same

Belshazzar from Daniel chapter 5.

8. This chapter was written before chapter 5.

9. When it was written chronologically is disregarded in

favour of allowing the historical portion of Daniel to stand
for itself.

10. This chapter essentially follows the same time period

as Daniel chapter 2. The main difference is that in chapter 2
God intended for the vision to teach Nebuchadnezzar his
political role in God’s master plan, whereas in this chapter
(and the following chapters) it is for God’s people to realize
their role in the divine stage.

11. This chapter and the proceeding chapters follow the

great controversy between Christ and Satan.

Verses 2 and 3:

“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. 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse
one from another.”
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Facts about the above verses:

1. All scripture language is to be taken literally, unless a

good reason exists to regard it as figurative.

The Meaning of the Symbols

2. The language here is symbolic as evident from verse

17 where it reads “These great beasts, which are four, are
four kings which shall arise out of the earth.”

3. Beasts mean kingdoms not just individual kings based

on the phrase “But the saints of the Most High shall take the
kingdom.” And also when the angel said “The fourth beast
shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth.” These beasts
are therefore symbols of four great kingdoms.

4. The way they arose is also symbolic in nature.

5. Symbols introduced include four winds, the sea, four

great beasts, ten horns, and another horn which had eyes
and a mouth and rose up in war against God and His people
(this one though is for our next study). We will see what each
of these symbols mean.

6. Winds represent strife, political commotion, and war,

as told by Jeremiah in Jeremiah 25:32 and 33. (“32 Thus saith
the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to
nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the
coasts of the earth. 33 And the slain of the Lord shall be at
that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end
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of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered,

nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.”)

7. The winds representing strife is evident in the vision

itself as kingdoms (or beasts remember) arise and fall as a
result of the blowing of the winds.

8. “Four winds” refer to political strife in all the directions

on earth as in north, south, east, and west, the political
unrest stirred. (Jer. 49:36; Dan 8:8; 11:4; Zech. 2:6; 6:5)

9. Seas represent a densely populated area or peoples,

nations, and tongues. This explanation is found in Revelation
17:15 (“15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou
sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes,
and nations, and tongues.”)

10. Diverse means diversity or different from one another.

With that declared let’s figure out what

kingdoms the beasts represent.

1. The beasts rise up one after another.

2. The last one exists until the end of time and with it the
final judgment.

3. From Daniel’s time until the time of the end (When

Christ comes in the clouds of Heaven) there are four main
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kingdoms as we learned from Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in

Daniel chapter 2.

4. When Nebuchadnezzar had the dream in Daniel

chapter 2 Daniel was sixty-five years younger and, at the
time, living under the head of gold in Nebuchadnezzar’s
statue (the reign of Babylon).

5. The beasts here must then represent the same

kingdoms represented by the statue of Nebuchadnezzar’s
dream in Daniel chapter 2.

6. As a reminder, those kingdoms were; Babylon, Medo-

Persia, Greece, and finally Rome in that order, so the beasts
here represent the same.

7. So why are we covering the same time period again?

The prophecy is revisited again and again so more detail and
characteristics can be added and the prophecy elaborated.

8. In chapter 2 only the political aspects of the world

empires are revealed. Here earthly governments and their
relationships with God’s truth are revealed. These characters
are represented by the different wild beasts.

The First Beast: the Lion with Eagle’s Wings

Verse 4:

“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
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earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's
heart was given to it.”

Facts about the above verse:

1. The lion, is the first beast Daniel saw. For use of a lion
as a symbol see Jeremiah 4:7; and 50:17, 43, 44 (“4: 7 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. 50: 17 Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have
driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him;
and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken
his bones. 50: 43 The king of Babylon hath heard the report of
them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him,
and pangs as of a woman in travail. 44 Behold, he shall come
up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation
of the strong: but I will make them suddenly run away from
her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her?
for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and
who is that shepherd that will stand before me?”)

2. This lion had eagle’s wings.

3. The symbolic use of the eagle’s wings can be found in

Habakkuk 1:6-8 “6 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter
and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of
the land, to possess the dwelling places that are not their's.
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They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their
dignity shall proceed of themselves. 8 Their horses also are
swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the
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evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves,

and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the
eagle that hasteth to eat.”

4. From these symbols we can learn that Babylon was a

strong kingdom.

5. Nebuchadnezzar’s conquests extended rapidly as he

swept over the land conquering swiftly, flying “as the eagle
that hasteth to eat.”

6. There came a time when the wings were plucked up. It

no longer rushed upon its prey as an eagle. The spirit of the
lion was gone.

7. This happened near the close of its history when it

grew weak with luxury and wealth.

8. It is believed this happened during the reign of

Nebuchadnezzar’s successors not during Nebuchadnezzar’s
reign itself.

9. The winged lion is a perfect representation of

Babylon. Did you know, the winged lion is found on
Babylonian objects of art?

10. The winged lion is one of the forms of the beast often
pictured in combat with Marduk, the patron god of the city
of Babylon.

11. The lion being lifted up, standing erect like a man
symbolized the loss of lion-like qualities. And to have a
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man’s heart suggests cowardice and timidity. In its declining

years Babylon grew weak and enfeebled, as previously stated
through wealth and luxury.

12. Some also see this lifting up as a representation of the

humanizing of the king of Babylon when Nebuchadnezzar
became humiliated as a beast, though it doesn’t accurately
represent the kingdom in its closing years using that
representation.

The Second Beast: The Bear Lifted on One Side

Verse 5:

“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.”

Facts about the above verse:

1. Just like how the metals deteriorated in value from

gold, to silver, to bronze, to iron, finally iron mixed with clay
in Nebuchadnezzar’s statue of Daniel chapter 2. We do the
same here.

2. As we will see in history, each beast that followed

reflected decreasing value or prominence, but increasing
ferocity or strength. It follows a similar pattern to the metals
of Daniel chapter 2.
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3. The bear is inferior to the lion.

4. Medo-Persia fell short of Babylon’s wealth,

magnificence, and brilliance.

5. The bear raised up on one side because the kingdom

was composed of two nationalities, the Medes and the
Persians. The raising up of the bear (and the ram’s horns in
the next chapter) was fulfilled by the Persians. Persia arose
later but was the stronger of the two nationalities. (we’ll get
more in detail about this in Daniel chapter 8:3)

6. The kingdom of Medo-Persia, though two separate

realms, are always represented by a single beast.

7. The three ribs represent three provinces, Babylon,

Lydia, and Egypt, which were defeated by Medo-Persia.

8. “Arise devour much flesh” naturally referred to the

way Medo-Persia overthrew the three provinces.

9. The Medo-Persians were well represented by a bear

as they were cruel, rapacious, robbers and spoilers of people.
(Isaiah 13:17, 18 “17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against
them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall
not delight in it. 18 Their bows also shall dash the young men
to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the
womb; their eyes shall not spare children.”)
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10. The Medo-Persian Empire continued to reign from the

time of overthrowing Babylon by Cyrus to the battle of
Arbela in 331 B.C. It spanned a period of 207 years.

The Third Beast: The Leopard with Four Wings of

a Fowl

Verse 6:

“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.”

Facts about the above verse:

1. The Leopard symbolized the third kingdom of Grecia,

not to be confused with Greece as Greece preceded the fall
of Persia.

2. The Grecia of Daniel was the semi-Greek Macedonian

empire of Alexander the Great.

3. Not until Alexander’s day could reference be made to

the “first king” of a Greek empire who was “a mighty king”
with “great dominion” Daniel 11:3

4. In 336 B.C. Alexander succeeded to the throne of

Macedonia, a semi-Greek state on the northern border of
Greece.
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5. At the time of his ascension, Alexander’s father Philip

had already united most of the city-states of Greece under
his rule by 338 B.C.

6. Alexander’s first task was to calm the revolts in his

own kingdom.

7. Once he accomplished peace in his own realm he set

himself onto the task of conquering the Persian Empire. This
originated with a plan by his father.

8. Alexander departed with only 35,000 men bought for

only 70 talents of cash and one month of provisions only.
Though meager in supplies the campaign unfolded in a
chain of triumphs.

9. City after city fell. The Persians took their stand near
Arbela, and were defeated leaving Alexander king of the
Persian realm at 25 years old.

10. By 329 B.C. Alexander pushed north and east

eventually taking what is now Samarkand in Turkistan, and
two years later invaded northwest India. It is here his troops
refused to press further forcing Alexander to return to Persia
and Mesopotamia to organize the administration of his
territories.

11. In 323 B.C. He made his capital in Babylon, which still

held some of the glory and splendor it did in
Nebuchadnezzar’s day.
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12. The wings here, just like on the first beast of the lion
represent speed of conquest.

13. The leopard itself is a swift footed beast but in this

instance that wasn’t a good enough representation to
symbolize the speed in which this nation conquered. It
needed four added wings to truly show the speed in which
Grecia conquered.

14. The Grecia Empire, under Alexander the Great had no

parallel in history to represent the suddenness and rapidity
that Alexander conquered.

15. In less than a decade Alexander came into possession

of the greatest empire the world had yet known. There is no
other example in ancient times of such rapid movements of
troops on so large and successful of a scale.

16. Alexander attributed his success to his understanding

of various arms, advantages of campaigning in winter,
pursuing to the uttermost, marching divided but fighting
united (one battalion dealing with impediments the other
traveling light), great organization (he only had two major
breakdowns in ten years), and never putting anything off.

17. The beast had also four heads because the Grecia
Empire maintained its unity a little longer than Alexander’s
lifetime.
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18. Alexander died at the age of 33 in a “swamp fever”

now believed to be known as malaria caused by a drunken
stupor.

19. His death occurred the same year he set up his capital
in Babylon.

20. After his death his empire was divided to his four
generals symbolized by the four heads of the leopard.

21. The Inheritance of his generals:

 Cassander had Macedonia and Greece in the west.
 Lysimachus had Thrace and Parts of Asia on the
Hellespont and the Bosporus in the north.
 Ptolemy had Egypt, Lydia, Arabia, Palestine, and Cœle-
Syria in the south.
 Seleucus had Syria and all the rest of Alexander’s
dominions in the east.

22. By 301 B.C. the division of the kingdom of Alexander

into four parts was completed by his generals.

23. Alexander the Great, essentially, had no successor of

his own which is why his kingdom was left to his four best
generals.

24. The control of the four generals was not immediate

following his death. There was a great deal of a power
struggle (for about 12 years) between partial successors and
other generals with many areas of Alexander’s kingdom
changing rulers with instability several times before his four
strongest generals gained control.
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25. Alexander’s generals maintained power for about 20

additional years before one general (Lysimachus) was
eliminated and, territory by territory they began to lose
control to the Iron Monarchy of Rome.

The Fourth Beast: The Dreadful Beast Which Has

No Comparison

Verse 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.”

Facts about the above verse:

1. There is no beast in nature that compares. Not even

an added hoof or wing will do this beast justice. This power
is too different from anything found in the animal kingdom.

2. This beast corresponds to the fourth kingdom of the

statue in Daniel in chapter 2. The iron legs, which represents
Rome.

3. There is no specific turning point when Grecia’s power

was passed over to Rome. The power shift was gradual.
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4. Sometimes many years passed between Rome’s

victories over the different realms however one date can be
certain by 30 B.C. Rome had fully absorbed Alexander the
Great’s entire kingdom under her iron rule.

5. Daniel 2:40 offers clues as to the iron legs of the

statue representing Rome and, seeing as how this prophecy
just reiterates and expands on that of Daniel chapter 2 it is
only fitting that this one represents Rome also.

6. Rome fittingly is represented by the iron portion of

the statue in Daniel chapter 2 and how precise is Rome
represented by this ferocious beast.

7. Those which Rome didn’t crush to pieces she sold to

slavery. In her determination to destroy, Rome surpassed
the previous ruling kingdoms in might and ferocity.

8. Rome inspired dread and terror beyond reckoning

when she was in power.

9. The world has never seen an equal to this beast which,

again, represents Rome.

10. It devoured as with iron teeth, and broke into pieces

all which stood in its way. It ground nations to dust beneath
its brazen feet.

11. It had ten horns, which are explained in verse 24 to be

ten kingdoms, which arise out of the empire. As we already
learned in Daniel chapter 2, Rome was divided into ten
kingdoms of Rome.
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12. These ten horns represent the invasion of Rome by

numerous Germanic tribes. These tribes are what broke up
Rome’s power into the ten toes in Nebuchadnezzar’s statue
in Daniel chapter 2 weakening the iron with miry clay and are
here represented as the ten horns on the fourth beast.

13. Though the names of the tribes are covered in “A

History of The Book of Daniel Chapter 2: Part 2”, we will
review them here:
 Ostrogoths- was uprooted due to political differences.
 Visigoths- settled in what is now known as Spain.
 Franks-settled in what is now known as France.
 Vandals- was uprooted due to political differences.
 Suevi- settled in modern day Portugal.
 Alamanni- settled in what is now known as
Switzerland.
 Anglo-Saxons settled in what is now known as Britain.
 Heruli- was uprooted due to political differences.
 Lombards- settled in roughly modern-day Hungary.
 Burgundians- settled in what is now known as Poland.
 Huns. This tribe never settled before it was eliminated
but did invade along with the other listed tribes.

14. For the above tribes listed as “uprooted due to

political differences” was due to their opposition to the
teachings and claims of the papal hierarchy.

15. The defeat of the Ostrogoths and the dethronement

of their leader and destruction of their army, caused them to
pass out of Italian history, in fact out of history altogether.
This explains Daniel’s words; they were “plucked up by the
roots” (Daniel 7:8)
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16. The four beasts: the lion, bear, leopard, and the
nondescript beast are connected quite similarly to the first
beast of Revelation. 13:1-5 “And I stood upon the sand of
the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven
heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and
upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2 And the beast
which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the
feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the
dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
3
And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death;
and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world
wondered after the beast. 4 And they worshipped the dragon
which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the
beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to
make war with him? 5 And there was given unto him a mouth
speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was
given unto him to continue forty and two months.” This is a
composite of the beasts in Daniel 7 and the dragon, or Satan
(Revelation 12:9) gave it its power.

17. In Revelation this beast represents Rome.

18. It is interesting how John compiled all the beasts of

Daniel 7 into one beast. This is because, though Rome is the
last kingdom in power before Christ’s second coming, it still
holds practices, customs, and beliefs from all three previous
kingdoms.

19. Examples of remnant practices we still use today is

Babylon’s sexagesimal system of counting time (as we
touched on in Daniel chapter 3 study guide), we still have
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some language originating from Greek, in fact the names of

the weekdays originate from names of Greek and Roman
gods. We still use Roman numerals to count. These are just
some examples of ancient practices still used today.

20. As far as physical existence of ancient cities; Greece

still exists with its original name.

21. The name “Persia” was on the modern map until 1935,
when it was changed to “Iran”

22. And Babylon, or as Genesis 11:1 says “the land of

Shinar”, is Iraq today. That is why Saddam Hussein
considered himself a direct descendant of King
Nebuchadnezzar. When he took part in the reconstruction
“One frequent inscription [on the bricks] reads: “This was
built by Saddam Hussein, son of Nebuchadnezzar, to glorify
Iraq”.”

23. Because remnants of the previous kingdoms still

linger, when “the stone that is cut out without hands” from
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in chapter 2 strikes the statue’s
feet “and that it break in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay,
the silver, and the gold” (Daniel 2:45) that is to destroy all
lingering remnants of all of the ancient kingdoms.

24. Next we will study the great judgment.

25. In Chapter 7 Part 3 we’ll study about the little horn

which came up amidst the ten speaking blasphemies.

26. Keep reading for these studies.

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