Daniel 7:23, commentary and pictures

The four beasts are four successive kingdoms — Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome — so the fourth beast is the fourth kingdom, Rome. It is a fourth kingdom upon earth, diverse from and distinct from all the other kingdoms, marked by devouring the whole earth and treading it down and breaking it in pieces. It belongs among the apocalyptic beasts that arise from the union of church and state and cruelly crush those who oppose them.

The little horn of the prophecy is the Roman Church, even before it possessed civil power. The papacy succeeded to the power and seat and authority of the ancient Roman Empire and inherits the power held by the preceding empires. The little-horn prophecy is nearly identical to the description of the leopard-like beast in Revelation 13 and points to the papacy.

The verse is part of the wonderful prophecies of Daniel 7-12 revealing the mysteries of ages to come, figuratively delineating historical events leading to the close of earth's history. It was given to Daniel as God's ambassador while he was honored with responsibilities of state and the secrets of kingdoms bearing universal sway. Even Daniel himself did not fully understand it, for the words were to be shut up and the book sealed even to the time of the end. Its application depends on careful study and on guarding established prophetic waymarks against mistaken interpretations that create confusion.

The passing away of the fourth kingdom is connected with Christ's coming and the establishment of His kingdom, which is not merely a spiritual work through the gospel, the outpouring of the Spirit, or providence. The prophetic times were calculated rightly while the events expected at their close were misunderstood. At the end of the days, in the closing period of this world's history, Daniel will rest and then stand in his lot and place. Here the vision is invoked as a warning about the judgments and conditions facing the world.