©Kris Gerbrandt
Chapter 7:2-7 (ESV) - Daniel declared, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ After this I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
Question to consider: What do you think represents the ‘great sea’ in this dream?
Later in this chapter, we find out that the four beasts in this dream represent four kings which would rise up, “These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth.” (verse 17) These same four kingdoms were represented by the different materials in the statue of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2. More than likely the “great sea” in this passage was a reference to the Mediterranean, for the four nations represented by the beasts came from this region or were associated with it.
It’s also possible that the sea represented the Gentiles which were stirred up over the earth to battle one another for dominance. The first nation to arise was like a lion with a set of wings. The two wings would have been the nations of the Assyrians and Chaldeans, and the lion was Nebuchadnezzar. The plucking of the wings would be a description of his descent into madness when he truly became a beast. It would have been the LORD who lifted him to his feet and gave him the mind of a man.
The next king to rise up would be that of the Medes and Persians. Being raised up on one side showed the dominance of the Persians in the alliance, and the three ribs could be symbolic of their three main conquests: Babylon, Egypt, and Lydia. Luther attributed the three ribs to their three greatest kings: Cyrus, Darius, and Xerxes. The devouring of much flesh spoke to their cruelty and thirst for power.
The third beast, the leopard, would have been a reference to Alexander the Great of Greece. The four wings and nature of the beast described the swiftness with which Greece conquered the world. The four heads could describe the four emperors who inherited the land upon the death of Alexander: Casander, Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy.
The fourth beast with the iron teeth and ten horns would represent the Roman empire which was exceedingly cruel and crushed their enemies. The ten horns would be ten emperors. In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the ten horns were depicted as ten toes, and the kingdom was depicted with both iron and clay to show its destruction being brought about from internal division rather than an external enemy.
This dream, of course, came to Daniel during the period of the first beast so it is incredible to think of the detail with which the kingdoms were presented when the Greeks and Romans were not to become great for many years.
Dear heavenly Father, You are the Most High God of heaven and earth. You control the four winds and allow kingdoms to rise up and fall. May we put our faith and trust in You to bring us to the end of the age. Amen.