Daniel 7:6
After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
The leopard is the Grecian or Macedonian empire, the third great world empire following Babylon and Medo-Persia and followed by Rome, raised up under Alexander the Great after the fall of Persia. Its four wings denote the extraordinary swiftness of Alexander's conquests, and its four heads denote the later division of his empire into four parts under his successors. Dominion was given to it in its appointed place to show whether it would fulfill the purpose of God, but like the empires before it it had its period of test and failed, and its glory faded and its power departed. As a fierce beast of prey it pictures the way earthly governments prevail and maintain dominion by war and physical force to compel the conscience. Its principles are the opposite of the kingdom of Christ, who as the Lamb of God and Prince of Peace implants truth and righteousness and uses no brute force.
Leopard Identified as Greece
The leopard is the Grecian, or Macedonian, empire, the third of the world's great empires traced by the prophecy, following Babylon and Medo-Persia and followed by Rome, founded by Alexander the Great after Persia's fall. It was especially swift and fierce under his rule, and the four wings of a fowl upon its back denote the extraordinary speed of his conquests. Its four heads represent the later division of the empire into four parts under Alexander's successors. Dominion was given to it in succession with the other empires, and Greece was permitted to occupy its place on the earth that it might be determined whether it would fulfill the purposes of the Watcher and the Holy One; like each empire before it, it had its period of test, failed, and its glory faded and its power departed.
Vision Received and Connected
Daniel received this as part of the visions and dreams in which God gave him understanding of the mysteries of the future. The spirit of prophetic power rested upon him because he honored God and clung to Him with unwavering trust, with firmness, self-denial, and purity of motive, in fulfillment of the promise that God will honor those who honor Him. God taught him to read the mysteries of the future and to record for coming generations, through figures and symbols, events covering the history of this world till the close of time.
It belongs to the wonderful prophecies recorded in Daniel 7-12, given to Daniel as God's ambassador as revelations of the mysteries of ages to come. Its full meaning was not understood even by Daniel himself, for it was not given him to understand all that God had revealed of the divine purpose. The words were to be shut up and the book sealed even to the time of the end, with the blessed assurance that at the end of the days, in the closing period of this world's history, Daniel would rest and then stand again in his lot and place.
It is a figurative delineation of events leading down to the close of this earth's history, directly fulfilled by historical events in their order in prophetic history. It is to be diligently studied as one of the great waymarks of truth showing bearings in prophetic history. Its correct application must be carefully guarded against misapplication and misinterpretation bringing confusion rather than genuine light. Great light on its correct application was received while special prophecies were in process of fulfillment and the message of time was proclaimed, and experimental knowledge in the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels' messages guards against being led into false paths concerning it.
It belongs to the vision of four beasts, which are represented by lifelike images and are presented in connection with the work of the Papacy. Its description of the little horn is nearly identical to the prophecy of the leopard-like beast in Revelation 13, and that parallel identifies the papacy as the power that succeeded to the authority once held by ancient Rome. The four empires held dominion successively as Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome, and the later beast inherits the power they held. Its historical fulfillment is explained through Rome's loss of dominion, when the little horn's dominion was taken away as Berthier entered Rome on February 10, 1798, and the Pope was taken prisoner on February 15. This beast imagery belongs to the powers that arise when church and state are united, for such powers become cruel and crush those who oppose them.
Force Contrasted with Christ
The leopard is pictured as a worldly, earthly kingdom under the symbol of a fierce, ferocious beast of prey. The symbol means that earthly governments prevail by physical force and maintain their dominion by war. They are powers of this earth that seek advantage through war and destruction, using brute force to compel the conscience.
Their principles and development are the opposite of the kingdom of Christ and of His pure church and peaceful kingdom. Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away sin and the Prince of Peace, and His government employs no brute force to compel the conscience. He implants truth and righteousness as a principle to counterwork error and sin. The Jews were therefore wrong to look for the kingdom of God to be established in the same way as the kingdoms of the world, by external measures, methods, and plans to promote righteousness.