The Statue and Beasts of Daniel's VisionsBible World
7:3Daniel 7:3
And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
Four diverse great beasts rise from the sea, which stands for the restless tides of nations in their rise and fall. They are four successive empires, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Fierce beasts of prey are used to picture worldly kingdoms because they seek dominion by war, destruction, and physical force. Each kingdom was given its place and period of test to fulfill the purpose of God, but each failed, its glory faded and its power departed. In contrast to these beast-like powers, Christ's kingdom grows by God-implanted life and truth and righteousness without brute force to compel the conscience, so His church is to reject carnal weapons and coercion.
Beasts, Sea, and Kingdoms
The sea from which they ascend is the surging tide of human nations, ever changing in its rise and fall. From that restless deep come up four great beasts, each one diverse and distinct from the others.
Those four different beasts are four successive world empires, Babylon first, then Persia, also called Medo-Persia, then Greece, then Rome.
Worldly kingdoms are shown by the Holy Spirit under the figure of fierce beasts of prey because they are ferocious in character. They seek power and prevail by physical force, maintaining dominion by war and by brute force, and their course is marked by war and destruction.
Succession, Papacy, and Fulfillment
Four successive kingdoms—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome—were each permitted to occupy its place on earth so it might be determined whether it would fulfill the purposes of the Watcher and the Holy One. Each had its period of test, each failed, its glory faded and its power departed, with history repeating itself in each. Together these empires held the power later inherited by the beast of Revelation 13, which reflects their characteristics. That later beast imagery is connected with the papacy, which succeeded ancient Rome in its power and authority.
In the prophetic presentation described here, the beasts represent the Papacy. As powers arising from the sea, the great apocalyptic beasts represent the deadly union of church and state, which persecutes and crushes those who oppose it. The little horn in Daniel 7 represents the Roman Church, showing that a horn can symbolize a church even before it gains civil power. In historical application the chapter is connected with 1798: at the close of the 1260 days Berthier entered and took Rome on February 10 and the Pope was taken prisoner on February 15, marking the taking away of the little horn's dominion.
The verse is part of the prophecies of Daniel to be diligently studied as great waymarks of truth showing bearings in prophetic history, to be carefully guarded against misapplied Scripture and confusing theories. It is a figurative delineation of historical events fulfilled directly and in order down to the close of this earth's history, shining clearly as light for the message of time. That fulfillment ends with the plainly revealed working of the man of sin and grounds the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels' messages.
Sealed Prophecy and Christ's Kingdom
The four beasts belong to the revelations of the mysteries of ages to come given to Daniel as God's ambassador and recorded in chapters seven to twelve, revelations which were not fully understood even by Daniel himself. God taught Daniel to read the mysteries of the future and to record them for coming generations through figures and symbols, showing events covering the history of this world till the close of time. That understanding in visions and dreams was given with knowledge, skill, learning and wisdom, with blessing and approval and the spirit of prophetic power, because of firmness, self-denial, purity of motive, and unwavering trust and clinging to God while being instructed in court life.
The revelations were ordered to be shut up and sealed even to the time of the end, to be understood in the closing period of this world's history, with the blessed assurance that Daniel would rest and then stand in his lot and place at the end of the days. The prophecies of Daniel are therefore to be diligently studied as great waymarks of truth showing bearings in prophetic history, to be carefully guarded against misapplied Scripture and confusing theories, shining clearly as light for the message of time. The prophecy of Daniel 7:3-8 is illustrated through large images of beasts, with the Bible used to establish what the prophecy teaches.
Earthly governments maintain their dominion by war and by brute force to compel the conscience, promoting righteousness by external measures, methods and plans, with principles of development opposite to those that rule the kingdom of Christ. The Jews looked for the kingdom of God to be established in the same way as the kingdoms of the world. In contrast, Christ's kingdom is a new creation founded by the Prince of Peace, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world, growing by the unfolding of God-implanted life with no dependence on human power, implanting the principle of truth and righteousness to counterwork error and sin, with no employment of brute force to compel the conscience. In contrast to these beast-like kingdoms, Christ's church is to reject carnal weapons and coercion.
Four diverse great beasts rise from the sea, which stands for the restless tides of nations in their rise and fall. They are four successive empires, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Fierce beasts of prey are used to picture worldly kingdoms because they seek dominion by war, destruction, and physical force. Each kingdom was given its place and period of test to fulfill the purpose of God, but each failed, its glory faded and its power departed. In contrast to these beast-like powers, Christ's kingdom grows by God-implanted life and truth and righteousness without brute force to compel the conscience, so His church is to reject carnal weapons and coercion.
Beasts, Sea, and Kingdoms
The sea from which they ascend is the surging tide of human nations, ever changing in its rise and fall. From that restless deep come up four great beasts, each one diverse and distinct from the others.
Those four different beasts are four successive world empires, Babylon first, then Persia, also called Medo-Persia, then Greece, then Rome.
Worldly kingdoms are shown by the Holy Spirit under the figure of fierce beasts of prey because they are ferocious in character. They seek power and prevail by physical force, maintaining dominion by war and by brute force, and their course is marked by war and destruction.
Succession, Papacy, and Fulfillment
Four successive kingdoms—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome—were each permitted to occupy its place on earth so it might be determined whether it would fulfill the purposes of the Watcher and the Holy One. Each had its period of test, each failed, its glory faded and its power departed, with history repeating itself in each. Together these empires held the power later inherited by the beast of Revelation 13, which reflects their characteristics. That later beast imagery is connected with the papacy, which succeeded ancient Rome in its power and authority.
In the prophetic presentation described here, the beasts represent the Papacy. As powers arising from the sea, the great apocalyptic beasts represent the deadly union of church and state, which persecutes and crushes those who oppose it. The little horn in Daniel 7 represents the Roman Church, showing that a horn can symbolize a church even before it gains civil power. In historical application the chapter is connected with 1798: at the close of the 1260 days Berthier entered and took Rome on February 10 and the Pope was taken prisoner on February 15, marking the taking away of the little horn's dominion.
The verse is part of the prophecies of Daniel to be diligently studied as great waymarks of truth showing bearings in prophetic history, to be carefully guarded against misapplied Scripture and confusing theories. It is a figurative delineation of historical events fulfilled directly and in order down to the close of this earth's history, shining clearly as light for the message of time. That fulfillment ends with the plainly revealed working of the man of sin and grounds the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels' messages.
Sealed Prophecy and Christ's Kingdom
The four beasts belong to the revelations of the mysteries of ages to come given to Daniel as God's ambassador and recorded in chapters seven to twelve, revelations which were not fully understood even by Daniel himself. God taught Daniel to read the mysteries of the future and to record them for coming generations through figures and symbols, showing events covering the history of this world till the close of time. That understanding in visions and dreams was given with knowledge, skill, learning and wisdom, with blessing and approval and the spirit of prophetic power, because of firmness, self-denial, purity of motive, and unwavering trust and clinging to God while being instructed in court life.
The revelations were ordered to be shut up and sealed even to the time of the end, to be understood in the closing period of this world's history, with the blessed assurance that Daniel would rest and then stand in his lot and place at the end of the days. The prophecies of Daniel are therefore to be diligently studied as great waymarks of truth showing bearings in prophetic history, to be carefully guarded against misapplied Scripture and confusing theories, shining clearly as light for the message of time. The prophecy of Daniel 7:3-8 is illustrated through large images of beasts, with the Bible used to establish what the prophecy teaches.
Earthly governments maintain their dominion by war and by brute force to compel the conscience, promoting righteousness by external measures, methods and plans, with principles of development opposite to those that rule the kingdom of Christ. The Jews looked for the kingdom of God to be established in the same way as the kingdoms of the world. In contrast, Christ's kingdom is a new creation founded by the Prince of Peace, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world, growing by the unfolding of God-implanted life with no dependence on human power, implanting the principle of truth and righteousness to counterwork error and sin, with no employment of brute force to compel the conscience. In contrast to these beast-like kingdoms, Christ's church is to reject carnal weapons and coercion.