The original posting in this seven part series was the
content of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream which was revealed and interpreted by
Daniel the prophet of God. This revelation provides us with an overview or
summary of the kingdoms of this world up to the very end of the age but does
not provide a great deal of detail of all that will transpire. Subsequent dreams and visions of Daniel will
provide us with additional details that are necessary to understand the course of
this present age and its consummation. We will move now to chapter seven of
Daniel to recover Daniel’s own night vision of the four beasts which will
assist in the further progressive unveiling of the secrets given to Daniel by
the Lord.
In
this vision which was apparently given to him in the form of a dream Daniel saw
four great beasts coming up from the sea. They were diverse one from
another. “The first he saw was as a lion with eagles wings. Daniel beheld until
the wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon
the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.”(Daniel 7:4). These
phrases describe the dealings of God with Nebuchadnezzar explained in previous
chapters. It must be understood that these ancient kings and rulers were
regarded as deity. But under the hand of
God and his dealings we see that a humbling of the king was accomplished and so
the explanation of him being given the heart of a man has been realized. (See
chapter four of Daniel to discover the details).
“And behold Daniel beheld another beast, a
second, like unto a bear, and it lifted up on one side and had three ribs in
its mouth and between the teeth of it: and they said thus, arise and devour
much flesh.”(Daniel 7:5) This is a
representation of the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians which overthrew and
defeated Babylon. It was a coalition kingdom and the three ribs in its mouth
represent the three previous empires in the region which include Egypt, Assyria
and Babylon. The Medio-Persian Empire
prevailed for at least the next two centuries.
“After this I beheld, and lo another, like a
leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a foul; and the beast, had
also four heads; and dominion was given it.” (Daniel 7:6). This is a representation of the
conquest and subsequent kingdom of Alexander the Great coming out of the
western regions with armies of Macedonians and Greeks totally devouring the
Medes and Persians(about 332 BCE).
Alexander’s life was short-lived as he died of a fever in his early
thirties but he was strengthened by his four major generals (the four heads)
among who were divided the spoils and territories of the vast kingdom from west
to east. The divisions of the kingdom are significant historically.
After this I saw in the night visions, a
fourth beast dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great
iron teeth: and it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with
the feet of it: and it was diverse from all of the beasts that were before it:
and it had ten horns.” (Daniel 7:7).The prophecy given here skips over the
extensive and lengthy Roman Empire and takes us to the very end of the age
where we observed in the dream of the image given Nebuchadnezzar at the very
end of the age will be represented by the ten toes partly of iron and partly of
miry clay. That metaphor is paralleled
in the verse as it “had ten horns.” This
description of the beast is confirmed in Revelation 13 in the first few verses
where we see the beast rising up out of the sea having seven heads and ten
horns.
“I considered the horns, and behold, there
came up among them another little horn, from whom there were three of the first
horns plucked up by the roots: and behold, in this horn were eyes kike the eyes
of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” (Daniel 7:8) This is the final kingdom of this world’s
system. It is the consolidation of the
entire world under a system of collective tyranny having ten regional units of
government and a centralized monetary and political system to be ultimately
ruled over for a brief period by the Antichrist. He is seen here as having the
eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things in blasphemy against the true
and living God. I identify the ‘little horn’ as the present nation state of
Israel which is destined to be enlarged into the borders of the original Promised
Land and emerge as the center of this future NEW WORLD ORDER now under an
ongoing and progressive agenda to unify the world under a single political and
monetary system. Lucifer’s goal is to
unify the world and bring it to a state of devotion, submission and worship of
himself through the agency of an antichrist.
“I beheld and
the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; until the
Ancient of days came and judgment was given the saints of the most High; and
the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. Thus he said, 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 poesies. And the ten
horns out of his kingdom are ten kings that shall arise and another shall arise
after them: and he shall be diverse from the first, and shall subdue three
kings.” (Daniel 7:21-24).
We
discover then form this prophecy that there is an emerging worldwide kingdom
which shall dominate the earth for a brief period at the very end of the age
and it will be controlled by Lucifer and his earthly agency which is
represented by Antichrist. It will be a
time of great suffering, persecution and martyrdom for those who are found
faithful in Christ. Yes, the church is going through the three and one-half
year period of tribulation preceding the coming of the Lord to bring judgment
upon the earth and all of those who have made a covenant with the evil one via
the mark of the beast. Many more details will be added as we proceed through
the remainder of Daniel’s prophesies. Stay tuned.
David Lance
Dean See
website, blogs and books:
authordavidlancedean.com
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