These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
The four great beasts are four kings, meaning four kingdoms, that arise out of the earth. They are four successive empires, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. In order they correspond to the gold, silver, brass, and iron of Nebuchadnezzar's image.
Their rising from the sea marks them as nations of the Old World, in contrast to the two-horned beast that rises in a previously unknown part of the world. The beasts represent powers arising from the union of church and state that cruelly persecute those who oppose them. The wider prophecy portrays the little horn as the Roman Church before it gained civil power.
The little horn parallels the leopard-like beast of Revelation 13 and points to the papacy, which succeeded ancient Rome in power, seat, and authority. The papal power inherited in turn the authority previously held by each of those empires. The prophecy is a figurative outline of historical events unfolding in order toward the close of earth's history, whose meaning is established by careful study and by recognizing events that fulfill prophecy. It is explained through historical events, including the chapter's 1260-day period ending in 1798, when Berthier entered Rome and the Pope was taken prisoner, marking the removal of the little horn's dominion.
The verse belongs to the prophecies of Daniel 7 to 12 that reveal the mysteries of ages to come given to Daniel as God's ambassador. Even Daniel did not fully understand them, and they were ordered to be shut up and sealed until the time of the end, the closing period of this world's history, when Daniel after resting will stand again in his lot and place. God gave Daniel this revelation because he honored God with firmness, self-denial, purity of motive, and unwavering trust. God gave him knowledge and skill, understanding in all visions and dreams, and the spirit of prophetic power to read the mysteries of the future, so that through figures and symbols he recorded for coming generations events covering the history of this world till the close of time.
The four great beasts are four kings, meaning four kingdoms, that arise out of the earth. They are four successive empires, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. In order they correspond to the gold, silver, brass, and iron of Nebuchadnezzar's image.
Their rising from the sea marks them as nations of the Old World, in contrast to the two-horned beast that rises in a previously unknown part of the world. The beasts represent powers arising from the union of church and state that cruelly persecute those who oppose them. The wider prophecy portrays the little horn as the Roman Church before it gained civil power.
The little horn parallels the leopard-like beast of Revelation 13 and points to the papacy, which succeeded ancient Rome in power, seat, and authority. The papal power inherited in turn the authority previously held by each of those empires. The prophecy is a figurative outline of historical events unfolding in order toward the close of earth's history, whose meaning is established by careful study and by recognizing events that fulfill prophecy. It is explained through historical events, including the chapter's 1260-day period ending in 1798, when Berthier entered Rome and the Pope was taken prisoner, marking the removal of the little horn's dominion.
The verse belongs to the prophecies of Daniel 7 to 12 that reveal the mysteries of ages to come given to Daniel as God's ambassador. Even Daniel did not fully understand them, and they were ordered to be shut up and sealed until the time of the end, the closing period of this world's history, when Daniel after resting will stand again in his lot and place. God gave Daniel this revelation because he honored God with firmness, self-denial, purity of motive, and unwavering trust. God gave him knowledge and skill, understanding in all visions and dreams, and the spirit of prophetic power to read the mysteries of the future, so that through figures and symbols he recorded for coming generations events covering the history of this world till the close of time.