Daniel 7 Beasts

Yahweh's Judgment on Israel:

[Hos 13:7-8 LSB]  So I will be like a lion to them; Like a leopard I will lie in wait by the wayside. [8]  I will encounter them like a bear robbed of her cubs, And I will tear open the chest enclosing their heart; There I will also devour them like a lioness, As a beast of the field would rip them open.

Daniel chapter 7 takes up the model presented in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and reworks it in different symbolic terms, making more explicit the role of divine judgment and the Jewish identity of the eternal kingdom that succeeds Gentile rule.  Newsom, Carol A.. Daniel: A Commentary (The Old Testament Library) (pp. 211-212). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition. 

Daniel 7 is focused on the expectation of an eternal dominion by the earthly representatives of Yahweh.

[Dan 7:18 LSB]  ‘But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come.’

The sea is often referred to as a symbol of chaos, and/or the multitudes of mankind.

[Dan 7:3 LSB]  And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another.

Something really interesting to notice is that the first and third beasts are types of "feline-birds"... meaning, "lion with eagles wings" and "leopard with bird wings".  If we equate both of these back to the statue in Daniel 2 we find that the first and third (Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus) were both authorized by Yahweh. 

Nebuchadnezzar - (Dan 2:37–38; 4:1–3 [3:31–33]; 5:18–22).

Cyrus - (Isa 44:24–45:8; Ezra 1:1–4), and later the Persians - (Ezra 6:1–12; Neh 2:1–8).

There's another similarity also - the first, "lion with eagles wings" is more noble than that of a "leopard with birds wings".  So, again in Daniel 7, we notice a progression of types as seen in the statue of Daniel 2.

Beasts two and four are a different story though.  They're both characterized as violent.  While Darius the Mede wasn't noted as being particularly violent, the nation of Media is portrayed in Scripture as violent (Isa 13:17; Jer 51:11, 28).  The fourth kingdom in both Daniel 2 & 7 are excessively violent and here in Daniel 7 they both have threatening teeth.

These four beasts (kings) will all arise, in the future, prior to the return of King Yeshua:

[Dan 7:17 LSB]  ‘These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth.

Three of them will survive, after the return of Yeshua, for yet another purpose of Yahweh:

[Dan 7:12 LSB]  As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was given to them for an appointed season of time.

The First Beast

[Dan 7:4 LSB]  The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; and a heart of a man was given to it.

Babylon has been described as a lion elsewhere in Scripture:

[Jer 4:7 LSB]  A lion has gone up from his thicket, And a destroyer of nations has set out; He has gone out from his place To make your land a desolation. Your cities will be turned into ruins Without inhabitant.

[Jer 50:17 LSB]  Israel is a scattered flock; the lions have banished them away. The first one who devoured him was the king of Assyria, and this last one who has broken his bones is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar also described as "a great eagle":

[Eze 17:3 LSB]  and you will say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “A great eagle with great wings, long pinions, and a full plumage of many colors came to Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar.

Again, speaking of the Chaldeans (Babylon):

[Hab 1:8 LSB]  Their horses are swifter than leopards And sharper than wolves in the evening. Their horsemen come galloping; Their horsemen come from afar; They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour.

The plucking of the wings have been seen as a removal of power.  Others have said it seems to be alluding the humanization as seen in the rest of the verse.  In either event, it is certainly reminiscent of what happened to Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4, when his period of madness was restored to reason.

The Second Beast

[Dan 7:5 LSB]  And behold, another beast, a second one in the likeness of a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, ‘Arise, devour much meat!’

"Raised up on one side" seems to mean that the bear was in a threatening stance.

In biblical tradition bears were particularly associated with ferocity and often paired with lions (1 Sam 17:34–37; 2 Sam 17:8; 2 Kgs 2:24; Hos 13:8; Amos 5:19; Prov 28:15; Lam 3:10).

The bear has already dug in to his lunch as he has three ribs in his mouth when he's told to "Arise, devour much meat!"

The Third Beast

[Dan 7:6 LSB]  After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.

Not surprisingly, leopards are noted for their speed...

[Hab 1:8a LSB]  “Their horses are swifter than leopards...

They're also patient predators:

[Jer 5:6 LSB]  Therefore a lion from the forest will strike them down; A wolf of the deserts will devastate them; A leopard is watching their cities. Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces Because their transgressions are many; Their acts of faithlessness are mighty.

[Hos 13:7 LSB]  So I will be like a lion to them; Like a leopard I will lie in wait by the wayside.

The four heads and four wings is likely pointing to the beasts universality.  In Daniel 2 the third kingdom is said to "rule over the whole earth", here the third beast is explicitly given dominion... "and dominion was given to it".

The Fourth Beast

The legs or iron in Daniel 2 represented the divided kingdom suggesting that it referred to the two major successors to Alexander’s kingdom, the Ptolemaic and Seleucid dynasties.

Here in Daniel 7 we seem to be focusing in on the Seleucid dynasty.

We'll not find a specific animal assigned, just a "fearsome and terrifying and extraordinarily strong" beast that was "different from all the" previous beasts.

[Dan 7:7 LSB]  After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, fearsome and terrifying and extraordinarily strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.

The iron teeth that "devour and crush" remind of the destructive power of the fourth kingdom in Daniel 2.

The main difference to notice about this fourth beast is the absence of any controlling Divine authority, or presence.

What is most important in the description, however, is the shift from the divine control over the first three beasts, represented through the use of the divine passive and direct command—and the fact that this different beast acts autonomously, signified by active verbs: eating and crushing and trampling.   Newsom, Carol A.. Daniel: A Commentary (The Old Testament Library) (p. 225). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition. 

"and it had ten horns"

Horns are a common figure for royal power in the Bible (e.g., Ezek 29:21; Zech 1:18 [2:1]; Ps 132:17).

We'll see these ten horns again later in Revelation.

[Rev 13:1 LSB]  And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.

The ten horns can also be related back to Daniel 2 and the 10 toes.  This will be an end-time confederation of 10 kings.

The Little Horn

It's the "little horn" we should be most concerned with:

[Dan 7:8 LSB]  While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great boasts.

The details associated with the “little horn” throughout ch. 7—its blasphemy and arrogance, its war against the holy ones, and its attempt to change “the times set by decree”—point to Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the persecutions of 167–164 B.C.E.  Newsom, Carol A.. Daniel: A Commentary (The Old Testament Library) (p. 225). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition. 

While there are many "types" or "foreshadows" of the coming Antichrist none are better patterned than that of Antiochus.  He is the ultimate foreshadow for the coming Antichrist.  He is THE pattern we're to be watching for.

Here in verse 8 we seen him referred to as "little" yet by the time we get to verse 20 we read:

[Dan 7:20 LSB]  and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head and the other horn which came up and before which three of them fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth speaking great boasts and which was larger in appearance than its associates.

"...and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it"

Notice that it's not specifically said that the little horn does the pulling.  However, we see in verse 24:

He will "make low three kings".

The point is that three will need to get out of his way.

The last point to note from this verse is that "this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great boasts".

The final sentence in v. 8 describes the little horn. Like the first beast, it has features like those of a human. But whereas the first beast had a human mind, a positive feature, the horn has “eyes” and “a mouth speaking arrogantly” (cf. 11:36). In Israelite wisdom tradition, body parts, including the mouth and the eyes, are used as indicators of character and elements that must be properly directed and controlled. The mouth of the wicked or of the fool is often associated with duplicity, conflict, violence, and destruction (Prov 10:6, 11, 32; 11:11; 15:28; 18:6; 19:28; cf. Obad 12). Although the eyes in the horn are not specifically characterized, haughty eyes are a figure of arrogance (Prov 6:17; 21:4; Isa 2:11; 5:15). Moreover, the figure of the boastful king has a prototype in the depiction of Sennacherib in Isa 37:23, where his loud voice and haughty eyes are specifically paired as a trope of his arrogance. Antiochus is also characterized as speaking boastfully in 1 Macc 1:24.  Newsom, Carol A.. Daniel: A Commentary (The Old Testament Library) (p. 226-227). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition. 

Notice that these four beasts also represent four kingdoms.  The simplest way to look at is:  You can't be a king without having a kingdom.  In other words, they're kind of interchangeable.

[Dan 7:23 LSB]  Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it.

The Antichrist will meet his final demise at the Battle of Armageddon:

[Dan 7:11-12 LSB]  Then I kept looking because of the sound of the great boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was killed, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire. [12]  “As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was given to them for an appointed season of time.

[Rev 19:19-20 LSB]  Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war with Him who sits on the horse and with His army.  [20]  And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who did the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.

These are all clues that speak to us concerning the coming Antichrist.  It's here in Daniel 7 that we find the passages that relate to the kingdoms of Daniel 2.  It's also here that we find the Antichrist (the little horn) emerging from the fourth.  There are more details that I will put together soon!

Sorry Nicolae Carphathia... you've been cut.  We've no need for a Roman Antichrist.