|
Daniel
7—The Four Beasts Out of the Sea
by
Lyn Mize
The
seventh chapter of Daniel contains an exciting prophecy concerning the
generation in which we live. The
prophecies in this chapter have been unfolding before our very eyes since the
Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the date that
Israel
was established as a nation on
May 14, 1948.
The first three verses of the vision are as follows:
Dan
7:1-3 (KJV) 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. 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.
The
traditional interpretation of the four great beasts of Daniel 7 makes it
parallel with the dream of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2, and the great image of
gold, silver, brass and iron mixed with clay, which symbolize the empires of
Babylon
,
Medo-Persia
,
Greece
and
Rome
.
Theologians have written volumes on the four great beasts of chapter 7 in
futile attempts to mold the four empires of Daniel 2 into the prophecies of
chapter 7.
It is important to recognize that Daniel 7 is not a prophecy of the four world
empires of
Babylon
,
Medo-Persia
,
Greece
and
Rome
.
However, the prophecies of Daniel 7 do link up with the revival of the
Roman empire
in the form of the ten toes on the image that Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream.
The beast with ten horns in Daniel 7:7 represents the same as the ten
toes on the image in Daniel 2, but the other beasts of Daniel 7 do not
correspond to the Babylonian, Medo-Persian and
Greek Empires.
The
image of Daniel 2 represents 2600 years of Gentile domination while the 4
beasts of Daniel 7 represent the last hundred years of Gentile domination.
The book of Daniel follows the Semitic style of apocalyptic writing by
first giving a prophetic overview of the entire period and then focusing in on
the details of the last hundred years.
The last hundred years lead up to the Antichrist and his empire, the Ten-Horned
beast.
It
is important to note that Daniel had this dream and these visions during the
first year of Belshazzar.
Belshazzar was a later king of
Babylon
who ruled from 555 to 539 B.C., during
Babylon
's decline and fall.
Belshazzar was killed the night a hand
appeared to him and his court and wrote a message on the wall.
Daniel later interpreted this message.
This was the same night that the great city
Babylon
fell to the Persians led by Cyrus.
Daniel was told by the angel interpreting his dream that the four great
beasts would arise in the future (Daniel
7:17).
This excludes
Babylon
as one
of the beasts.
It
is also significant that no one has been able to fully reconcile Daniel's dream
in this chapter with the four world empires of
Babylon
,
Medo-Persia
,
Greece
and
Rome
. The
only link is the Ten-Horned Beast, which equates with the ten toes of iron and
clay on the great image Nebuchadnezzar saw.
Therefore, it becomes necessary to look for another interpretation of the
visions in order to ascertain the identities of the Lion, the Bear, and the
Leopard. It is commonly accepted
that the Ten-Horned Beast is the revived
Roman empire
in the form of the European Union.
Common sense dictates that we should look for the powerful countries symbolized
by these three beasts, since the vision itself is parallel to actual historical
events. The Lion and the Bear are
easily recognized with only a limited knowledge of world politics.
The Leopard is not so easily recognized, but will be understood after it
has been explained.
In
Daniel's vision, these "four great beasts came up from the sea" at the time
that "the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea."
Throughout Scripture, the sea represents the Gentile nations of the
world, and the four winds striving upon the sea portray a tumultuous time among
the nations. It is a time of war,
commotion and upheaval among the Gentiles.
This is a clear and concise description of the 20th century:
two world wars have occurred, innumerable conflicts between nations,
ethnic cleansing, riots, famines, earthquakes, massive storms, floods and human
misery and suffering. The 20th
century has been a time of tumult, strife and conflict among the nations,
unparalleled in the history of mankind.
In the book A History of the World in the
Twentieth Century by J.A.S. Grenville, the
author describes the twentieth century as "history's bloodiest century."
The
first beast to come up out of the sea is described as follows in the prophecy:
Dan
7:4 (KJV) 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.
Secular
sources will confirm that the Lion is an international symbol for
Great Britain
.
Virtually any Political Science Department at any university will
confirm that the lion is a symbol for
Great Britain
. It was in 1914 that the First
World War began, and the
United Kingdom
and the
British Empire
played an important role. At the
turn of the 20th century,
Great Britain
was the dominant power in the
world. The British navy had
dazzled the world and ruled the waves for three centuries, and the
British Commonwealth's
domain was so vast that it was commonly stated that the sun never set on the
British Empire.
It was the British that defeated Napoleon at
Waterloo
, and Rommel at
El Alamein.
The Lion was a world power, but it had not yet become a beast.
A beast is a symbol for an enemy of
Israel
, God's chosen people.
Great Britain
was blessed by God with great
authority around the globe. God
used
Great Britain
to assist the Jews in their
return to the
Holy Land,
and in the establishment of the State of Israel.
The
League of Nations
gave a mandate to the British to rule over
Palestine
.
This was an opportunity for a tremendous blessing for
Great Britain
, but it was only realized in a
very limited extent.
General
Allenby's entrance into
Jerusalem
and the Balfour Declaration played a
significant role in
Israel
's realization of statehood, but
Great Britain
gradually shifted its support
away from the Jewish people. The
period from 1917 to 1948 was a time of great conflict in the
land
of
Palestine
between the Jews and the Arabs.
Satan and the rulers of darkness in the spiritual realm exerted much
pressure and influence on
Great Britain
to alter its role in the
restoration of the Jewish people.
Great Britain
became antagonistic towards the
Jews and did much to hinder the establishment of the state of
Israel
.
The Jewish people came close to total annihilation.
Fortunately, God's prophetic Word prevailed, and God led a few Jewish
men to meet in Tel Aviv on
May 14, 1948.
They established the new and independent state of
Israel
.
God has intervened on numerous occasions since that time in order to
preserve the state of
Israel
.
The present-day existence of
Israel
can only be described as
miraculous.
Israel
has been, and continues to be,
the prophetic fulfillment of the burning bush:
always in the fire, but never consumed.
God's
judgment has fallen on
Great Britain
since that fateful time when it
turned against God's chosen people.
A beast is symbolic of an enemy of God's people.
Thus, the lion as a beast represents
Great Britain
in its opposition to the Jews.
The eagle's wings represent the widespread power of
Great Britain
, but its wings are plucked.
In the years since
World War II
,
Great Britain
's political, economic and military power
has been weakened just as God stated in this prophecy about the Lion.
It
is also significant that the Lion was lifted up from the earth, made to stand
on two feet like a man, and was given a man's heart.
It is not coincidence that
Great Britain
ceased its opposition to
Israel
after it became an independent
state, and
Great Britain
has been favorable towards
Israel
right along with
America
since that time.
Thus,
Great Britain
is currently no longer a beast
since it is no longer hostile towards
Israel
.
Unfortunately, this will change in the near future when
Great Britain
becomes one of the horns on the
Ten-Horned beast. The Ten-Horned
beast will trample down the "residue" (i.e., the remainder, Vs. 7) of the four
beasts. This remainder will
consist of the Bear and the Leopard, since the Lion was changed into a man and
ceased to be a beast. This brings
us to the next beast that arises out of the sea, and that is the Bear.
The
bear of verse 5 is the Great Russian Bear, symbolized frequently in political
cartoons, newspapers and news magazines as a large bear.
The prophecy about the bear is as follows:
Dan
7:5 (KJV) 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.
Scripture
does not say that the bear will conquer or destroy the Lion like the two world
empires of
Babylon
and Medo-Persia.
The Lion is still in existence, but it lacks power, authority and a
malevolent attitude toward the Jews.
The bear is to follow a course similar to the Lion's in its position of great
power and influence.
Russia
is also well-known for its
hatred of the Jewish people, and its opposition to
Israel
.
The Russian stance against God's elect people, the Bible and even God
Himself is common knowledge. God
in His omniscience allowed
Russia
's rise from an obscure and
sluggish giant to a position of military superiority in the world.
It
was the Russian bear that raised itself up on the north side of
Israel
for the purpose of devouring
much flesh.
Russia
devoured much throughout the
world, but there were three prominent Baltic countries that were swallowed up
by the bear:
Lithuania
,
Estonia
and
Latvia
.
They were annexed by the Russians in 1940 and these countries completely
lost their national identity. Although
they lost their identity as independent countries, they were not completely
assimilated by the bear because they maintained their ethnic and cultural
heritage. These three ribs in the
mouth of the bear were a constant source of problems for the Russian leaders,
because of their resistance to assimilation by the communistic regime.
In
its opposition to
Israel
,
Russia
spent staggering amounts of
money for the express purpose of destroying
Israel
.
Russia
not only provided weapons to the
Arabs in their wars against
Israel
, but she also provided military
leaders to counsel the Arabs in their struggle to destroy
Israel
.
Russia
and the Arab countries have
failed to realize the futility of fighting against God's elect people.
History
now records the breakup of the Russian bear, along with the destruction of its
communistic government and its economy.
It is very important to note that the bear has not been changed from a beast
into a man. This is true because
the bear is yet to fulfill the prophecy of Ezekiel 38 and 39.
This prophecy will be fulfilled in the first half of the seven-year
tribulation.
Russia
will invade
Israel
, but will be destroyed by God
in the mountains of
Israel
.
This will be a climactic event during the tribulation.
Prior
to the invasion of
Israel
by
Russia
and its allies, two other beasts
will rise up out of the sea. The
next to rise up is depicted "like a Leopard."
This beast is described as follows:
Dan
7:6 (KJV) 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
beast "like a leopard" is the most difficult one to identify of the four great
beasts out of the sea. This beast
has not yet risen, but the time is imminent for this beast to make its
appearance and exert its authority.
Current events in the
Middle East
peace process interspersed with terroristic activities
are setting the stage for the Leopard to rise up.
According
to the American Heritage Dictionary, the word leopard is defined as follows:
leop·ard
(lµp“…rd)
n.
1.a. A large,
ferocious cat (Panthera
pardus) of
Africa
and southern
Asia,
having either tawny fur with dark rosettelike markings
or black fur.
b.
Any of several felines, such as the cheetah or the snow leopard.
c.
The pelt or fur of this animal.
2.
Heraldry.
A lion in side view, having one forepaw raised and the head
facing the observer. [Middle
English, from Old French leupart,
from Late Latin leopardus,
from Greek leopardos
: Greek le½n,
lion; see LION + Greek pardos,
pard; see PARD.]
Definition
number 2 above is the key to the identification of the third beast in Daniel 7.
The sphinx matches this description perfectly, and the sphinx is the
international symbol for
Egypt
.
Egypt
's significant role in the
prophetic events of the last days confirms that
Egypt
is the beast "like a leopard."
The
identification of the "four wings of a fowl" on the back of the leopard only
requires a map of the
Middle East.
The four Arab countries of
Syria
,
Iraq
,
Jordan
and
Saudi Arabia
appear as the wings of a bird,
and they are attached to the back of
Egypt
at the
Sinai Peninsula.
It
should now be clear that the third great beast out of the sea will be an Arab
coalition of
Egypt
,
Syria
,
Iraq
,
Jordan
and
Saudi Arabia
.
The statement "the beast had also four heads" means that when the
coalition forms one of these nations will have no leader.
The hostile actions of Saddam Hussein, and
his megalomaniacal attitude make
Iraq
a prime candidate for the wing
without a leader.
Iraq
currently does not have a
leader, as Hussein has become a prisoner and sentenced to death for crimes
against humanity. He is to be executed in the next several
mont
hs depending upon the result of his
appeal.
In
Desert Storm, the other Arab leaders made tentative plans to rule
Iraq
as a protectorate if Saddam
Hussein had been killed or removed from power.
These plans were made to prevent another tyrannical dictator from
seizing power in
Iraq
or allowing Hafez
Assad of
Syria
to annex
Iraq
as part of his kingdom. Of
course, the latest war with
Iraq
has the
USA
as occupiers with no definite
leader in charge. The current plans by the
USA
to be out of
Iraq
by summer of 2007 will leave
Iraq
in a position to be one of the
headless wings on the back of the Leopard when the Leopard rises to power via
the oil weapon.
The
last statement in the prophecy about the leopard with the four wings on its
back states, "and dominion was given to it."
This simply means that this beast will have dominion or power over the other
nations of the world. The oil that
these five countries possess could easily give them power or dominion over the
other nations in the world, including the
United States of America
.
These five Arab countries have about 60% of the world's known oil
reserves, and
America
,
Europe
and
Japan
are all dependent upon their
oil.
Saudi Arabia
alone could destroy the
economies of
America
,
Europe
and
Japan
by simply turning off its oil
pumps.
Saudi Arabia
and the
USA
are currently allies, and
Saudi Arabia
looks to
America
for protection from the
terrorists. This situation could
change quickly if the
USA
or
Israel
should destroy
Damascus
,
Syria
in accordance with the prophecy in Isaiah
17. Although the Arabs quarrel
with each other, they unite when one of its members is attacked by an outsider.
America
and
Israel
are definitely outsiders, and
all the Arab countries could unite against both of us when
Damascus
becomes a ruinous heap as the result of
military action from either of us. A terrorist attack on the
USA
or
Israel
that can be traced back to the
Syrian regime will definitely result in
Damascus
becoming a ruinous heap. Both
Israel
and the
USA
has informed Basshar
Assad about this course of action if there is
another terrorist attack against
Israel
or the
USA
. Common sense dictates that
this eventuality is only a matter of time, and not a very long time.
Damascus
is the heart of terrorism and another
terrorist attack against the
USA
or
Israel
is a virtual certainty in the
coming months.
The
total annihilation of
Damascus
would certainly result in a coalition of
Arab countries with
Egypt
as the leader.
Egypt
is always the leader and primary
spokesman for the Arab world. The coalition would be primarily against the
USA
,
Israel
and
Europe.
The fourth beast out of the sea appears to be very close to rising up.
Israel
is like a powder keg in a
burning building, and it is only a matter of time before some major event
happens that will cause the total destruction of
Damascus
and the Arab coalition to form.
Regardless
of the details surrounding the rise to power of the beast "like a leopard,"
some major event in the near future will cause
Egypt
,
Syria
,
Iraq
,
Jordan
and
Saudi Arabia
to form a confederation and
utilize their oil resources to exert influence in world politics.
This power or influence will most likely revolve around the Arabs hatred
of the Jews, and their desire to destroy
Israel
.
The negative impact on the West will be critical, and this will cause
the formation of the Ten-Horned beast with the Antichrist as its leader.
Antichrist has to first become leader of
Babylon
the Great (i.e., the
USA
) before he unites the
USA
and a coalition of ten countries
in the European Union to form the Ten-Horned Beast described as follows:
The
fourth beast to rise up out of the sea will be the infamous Ten-Horned beast.
This beast is described in the following verse:
Dan
7:7 (KJV) 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.
The
Ten-Horned beast has been thoroughly documented and explained in numerous books
and commentaries. It is the
consensus of most prophecy scholars that the European Union is the Ten-Horned
beast described in both Daniel and Revelation.
A few prophecy scholars believe that the Ten-Horned beast will consist
of ten regions in the world, but this interpretation is highly unlikely.
The word horn in Scripture is
used to refer to a nation, and the leader of that nation, and Scripture
alternates between the two meanings.
The
European Union currently has twenty-five members with others in line to join
the union in the near future. This appears to be too many members to be reduced
to ten in a very short time. There is, however, a group of nations in
Europe
that have formed a special group called Schengen,
which allows open borders and utilizes the European Currency Unit (ECU) as a
medium of monetary exchange. There are currently 13 members of the EU that are
members of Schengen as follows:
Countries
that have already implemed the Schengen Agreement are as follows:
·
Belgium
(March 26, 1995)
·
France
(March 26, 1995)
·
Germany
(March 26, 1995)
·
Luxembourg
(March 26, 1995)
·
Netherlands
(March 26, 1995)
·
Portugal
(March 26, 1995)
·
Spain
(March 26, 1995)
·
Italy
(October 26 1997)
·
Austria
(December 1 1997)
·
Greece
(March 26, 2000)
·
Denmark
(March 25, 2001)
·
Finland
(March 25, 2001)
·
Sweden
(March 25, 2001)
It
is important to note that there are thirteen EU countries in the
Schengen Agreement and more members are scheduled to join in 2008.
Thirteen is the perfect number to fulfill the following verse of Scripture.
When Antichrist comes on the scene, he will pluck up three countries by the
roots, leaving a total of ten. This is seen in the following verse:
Dan
7:8 (KJV) 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.
Verse
7 above describes the power and authority of the Ten-Horned beast, but verse 8
describes how it went from 13 horns to 10 horns after the little horn plucked
up three of the first horns. The
phrase "little horn" is a Hebrew idiom for a nation that has had its power
broken. The literal meaning of the phase means a shattered or broken horn. A
horn represents power and the power has been broken or shattered, making the
nation a “little horn”. The leader
of this “little horn” is the Antichrist.
He is the one with "eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great
things." He is also "in this horn"
(i.e., the little horn), which means that Antichrist is in this nation that
becomes broken, and then this nation comes up among the other 13 horns to pluck
up three. At present, it appears that the thirteen horns is fulfilled in the
coalition of nations called Schengen. Time will
tell if this is the correct understanding of this prophecy.
It
can now be seen now that this “little horn” is the headquarters of the
Antichrist, and his headquarters is that Great City Babylon, which "reigns over
the kings of the earth." From the
Scriptures Antichrist is the once and future leader of
Babylon
the Great. Antichrist is a broken or
little horn because his power has been shattered or broken. It will also be
true that the power of
Babylon
the Great will be broken or shattered.
This means that
Babylon
the Great will suffer a devastating event
that will break its government and most likely the economy of this great and
powerful nation. Antichrist will take over the leadership of this nation and
quickly restore its power. He will then link up this nation with the ten-horned
beast to become a very powerful empire.
There
have been seven Gentile empires exercising world-wide influence.
These empires are
Egypt
,
Assyria,
Babylon
,
Medo-Persia
,
Greece
,
Rome
and New Babylon (i.e., the
USA
).
Antichrist was leader over the seventh world empire for approximately
1000 days, but his reign was cut short by a mortal head wound that has the
whole world convinced that he is dead.
When he comes "back from the dead," he will not be content to reign over just
New Babylon. He will unify New
Babylon with the European Union, and become ruler over the whole empire.
This will happen when Antichrist first arises, and reveals that his
mortal head wound has been healed.
When the Antichrist has come to power over
Babylon
the Great and the ten-horned beast, he
will trample down the leopard. The trampling down of the leopard by the
ten-horned beast is described in Isaiah 19.
Egypt
will become a nuclear wasteland
under the reign of Antichrist over the ten-horned beast. The following verse
describes the power and authority of Antichrist, which is given him by Satan.
Rev
13:2 (KJV) 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.
Some
may have difficulty seeing and understanding how this will come about, so a
possible scenario of the circumstances surrounding this merger between the
European Union and the
USA
will be given.
It should first be understood that any world power with the strength and
authority described in verse 7 above will have to include the
USA
and the European Union.
A
possible scenario for the fulfillment of Daniel 7:7-8 is as follows:
It
appears that the current leader of New Babylon is the "prince of the covenant"
described in Daniel 11:22. If our
understanding is correct, this means that Antichrist, "the vile person," of
Daniel
11:21
will be the very next leader of New Babylon.
Verse 21 states that he will not be given the honor of the kingdom (i.e., he
will not be made president again), but he will "obtain the kingdom by
flatteries" (i.e., smooth deception).
It
is important to note that Antichrist will take over the kingdom at the same
time that he sweeps away the “prince of the covenant” like a flood.
The big question is how the Vile Person will be able to take over the
kingdom
of
New Babylon
and become its absolute dictator. This
could happen in several ways, but the key is that the prince of the covenant
will be swept away very quickly by the Vile Person. This will be done with the
consent of the people, so the Prince of the Covenant must be very unpopular
with the people of New Babylon. The current leader of New Babylon has become
very unpopular with the majority of the people, so it appears that conditions
are ripe for the Prince of the Covenant to be swept away like a flood.
Scripture
confirms that
Babylon
the Great will have its power shattered in
order to become a little horn. This could happen via an economic crash as a
result of a major terrorist attack against
Babylon
(i.e., the
USA
). The Scripture seems clear
that the leader and the government will be swept away at the same time, and the
Vile Person will take over the helm of government with the consent of the
people. This could happen via the Emergency Powers Act or the Shadow Government
that has been in place for many years. Either way the Vile Person (i.e.,
Antichrist) will usurp power and become the dictatorial leader of the
USA
. It is believed that all three
branches of government—Executive, Legislative and Judicial—will be swept away
at the same time. The means the current constitutional form of government would
cease and Antichrist would become the dictatorial leader of
Babylon
the Great. The
Republic
of
America
will cease to exist at the time that
Antichrist rises to power at the behest of the people. It is a historical fact
that republics often devolve into dictatorships over time. The
Roman
Republic
and the
Weimar
Republic
are two well-known republics that wound
up with emperors. The
USA
is heading in the same direction
rapidly, but the Prince of the Covenant will not be its leader, as is confirmed
by Scripture.
The
Emergency Powers Act provides the President with the authority to declare a
national emergency. This
declaration would suspend constitutional government, and replace it with a
dictatorial form of government with one person in charge.
Many Christians are familiar with the Emergency Powers Act, but they are
not aware that the person who would be placed in power is not the President.
The person who would be placed in virtual t |