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Church of God, In Truth
Who are the Three Beasts of Daniel 7?
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Who are the Three Beasts of Daniel 7?
WHO ARE THE THREE BEASTS OF DANIEL 7?
AND FOUR GREAT BEASTS CAME UP FROM THE SEA, DIVERSE ONE FROM ANOTHER (Daniel 7:3)
Throughout the years in God’s Church, we have learned that approximately one-third of the Bible is prophecy. We have also learned that the Bible speaks in symbols, signs and analogies. Many of the prophecies in God’s Word have not come to pass yet. A prophecy is a statement about future events. These events take place in the Last Days! An example of prophecy can be found in the book of Daniel. Daniel was instructed by an angel--"But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand" (Dan.12:4,9-10). Daniel was also instructed to seal the book for it would not be understood until the Last Days--the time of the end. Notice only the wise will understand the meaning of prophecy.
In studying prophecy, there are four basic truths that we must consider to understand its meaning and come to a knowledge of truth. They are:
Prophecy has not been given to men to make them prophets!
Prophecy in God’s Word is for the purpose of confirming His Word!
Prophecy is to enable men who walk by faith to know and recognize truth!
Prophecy is an important part of God’s revelation to His people.
Who are God’s people? His people are those who are preparing to become the Bride of Christ. They are the Firstfruits chosen by God to do His Word--they are the Elect! "For many are called, but few are chosen" (Matt. 22:14). ".......and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful" (Rev. 17:14).
The Apostle Peter in his second letter taught about the inspired authenticity of prophecy; "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:19-21). Peter and his companions derived their convictions of Christ from the way in which Christ’s life fulfilled Old Testament prophecies! Evidence of this is found in Peter’s second sermon in the book of Acts. "But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled" (Acts 3:18). We can see Peter is stressing the fact that Old Testament prophets foretold of Christ’s work. It is because of prophecy that Paul the Apostle said, "For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape" (I Thes. 5:3). Paul assumes that those specified as ‘they’ will be known by those who are wide awake, having the oil of truth. Otherwise, it would not be possible to identify these events or signs. It is the prophesied events and signs that will herald in ‘The Day of the Lord’ and the time of sudden destruction.
Are we able to identify who Paul is referring to when he says, "peace and safety"? Are world leaders with prestige and authority talking about ‘peace’ while meaning ‘safety’ for all? In the Apostle Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, he gave some added information with more detail about those he designated in his first letter as ‘they’. They is a plural noun meaning more than one. More than one leader or person is involved in this talk of peace and safety! In the second letter Paul refers to two distinct world wide ideologies. One is ecclesiastical and the other is evil and Satanic in origin. Distinction is made between the two ideologies in light of the present world developments. "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand" (II Thes. 2:1-2). Paul affirms that Christ’s return was not imminent in that era. The people were urged to stand firm and not be shaken by liars, etc. The distinction or ideologies are spoken of in light of events happening in that time frame or era.
As we approach the end time, there are three necessary factors that must be recognized in order to accurately date prophetic fulfillment. These factors are Time, Place and Event. The time of the occurrence is important. The place where it happens is important. To these two add the predicted event! All these factors must occur at an exact junction of time and place. If any one of these three factors are missing, that particular prophecy is not in the process of fulfillment! This is similar to being given a formula in a Math problem. Once you know the formula, it can be applied to a new problem. Remember the formula -- time + place +event = prophecy fulfilled.
Now let’s look at a prophecy that is being fulfilled today. Let’s begin where Daniel was told: "...Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand" (Dan. 12:9-10). It is through the writings of Daniel, the prophet, that we who watch are informed of end time events. If we have been watching or reading world news, we know we are now at the time of the end of this age, the end of the 6000 years allotted to man! We cannot ignore or close our eyes and ears to the prophecies that are going on around us today!
I am going to assume that you have read Who Is the Beast? copyrighted in 1960 by Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong. This book has enlightened many readers as to Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. As a reminder, read Daniel 2:1-5; "And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him. Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriac, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill" (Dan. 2:1-5). Verses 6-13 makes clear the magicians, astrologers and sorcerers could not interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. "Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his" (Dan. 2:16-20). Daniel’s prayer found favor in God’s eyes, and he was given the meaning of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Daniel went into the king and said, " But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass" (Dan. 2:28-29). Notice in verse 31 what Daniel saw in his dream-- a great IMAGE ! Daniel did not call the image he saw a beast. He recognized this great image to be four world ruling kingdoms! "Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay" (Dan. 2:31-33). Go to verse 36, "This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay" (Dan. 2:36-43). The gold, silver and brass metals that made up the image, represented world ruling kingdoms. These kingdoms are now a part of history! The fourth part made up of iron is beginning to form and take shape today--our time! The ten toes represent unity, yet they are divided! This fourth beast consists today of five Communist thinking nations and five democratic thinking nations lead by Germany. Given the formula: time + place + event = prophecy fulfilled , we can identify this beast. The fourth beast is the European Union.
Next we will turn to Daniel’s dream and vision in Chapter 7. As we study, keep in mind the basic truths and apply the formula as we did in Daniel 2 and other scriptures. We now read of four ‘Great Beasts’ (not a standing image) that come up from the ‘sea’. Each being different from one another. "In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. 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 saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things" (Dan. 7:1-8). Daniel finds himself troubled and distressed by what he visioned in his dream. "I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet" (Dan. 7:15-17, 19). Daniel was determined to have an understanding of the fourth beast and wanted to find out why it was different from the rest. Thus the angel said, "...The fourth beast shall be 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 pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time" (Dan. 7:23-25). In this dream of Daniel’s we are given a portrayal of coming events that troubled Daniel! "I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me" (Dan. 7:15). Daniel was not troubled over King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream that represented four ruling world empires (Dan. 2:37-40). Daniel was familiar with that vision. This vision in Daniel 7 that he had just seen was beyond his comprehension!
Most scholars assume that because these four beasts represent four kings (heads of nations) rising from the sea, they must therefore be the identical kingdoms of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream! The scholars conclusion is that the four beasts are the same (image) four great world empires in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
As we take a closer look at history, it is noted that once a world empire conquered the nations, a period of world peace prevailed. The four beasts in Daniel’s dream did just the reverse. The least offensive was the lion. The bear devoured much flesh! The leopard was given dominion and had four heads. Last was the fourth beast! Daniel said, "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be 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 pieces" ( Dan.7:7,23).
When comparing Daniel 2 with Daniel 7, it is evident that Daniel knew the empires (Images) God had revealed to him in Daniel 2, were different than the four beasts (kingdoms or nations) of Daniel 7. Daniel did not recognize these four beasts! If these two chapters meant the same thing and Daniel repeated the symbolism of Daniel 2, the two chapters would be consistent and in harmony. Daniel 7 and Daniel 2 are clearly speaking about a different time, event and place. In view of the above, what forces are at work within those kingdoms of Daniel 7? Do these forces extend and apply to this present age? According to Daniel’s instructions, Daniel was to, "... Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand" (Dan. 12:9-10). We are living in the period of history that is graphically described in Daniel 7.
John, in the book of Revelation, pre-wrote history also. He was shown the same fourth beast that Daniel saw rising out of the sea! "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority" (Rev. 13:1-2). Both Daniel and John saw this same beast ‘rising out of the sea'. "Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea" (Dan. 7:2). The sea in scripture represents people, an unorganized mass of mankind (Isa 60:5; Matt 13:47-50 and Rev. 13:1). The wind which ‘strove upon the great sea’ represents a political, economic, religious and military striving. It is the wind that agitated the sea into turmoil!
The key to understanding the four beasts of Daniel 7 verse 3 and Revelations 13 is to know that three of these kings or nations are not the same as the images in Daniel chapter 2. Daniel did not recognize these images of chapter 7; otherwise he would not have been so disturbed by the dream. Daniel would have recognized the image as the same beasts of Daniel 2, since he certainly would not have been grieved about the dream and its meaning.
With the above foundation laid, who are the four beasts of Daniel 7? Throughout Church history we have been taught that the four beasts represent world governments. However, the beasts of Daniel 7 are not the same as the world governments that are represented in Daniel chapter 2. The exception is the fourth beast. At this time the fourth beast is consistent with Daniel 7, Daniel 2 and Revelation 13. It is the identity of the lion, bear, and leopard that are in question, not the fourth beast. Notice Daniel 7:7,23, "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be 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 pieces." Daniel 2:40; " And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise."
When examining these beasts in prophecy we learn:
The four beasts rise out of the sea.
The sea in symbolism means masses of people.
The wind which strove upon the sea represents political, economic, religious and military forces.
These first three beasts are represented by the lion, bear and leopard! Daniel said, "...I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another" (Dan. 7:2-3). The three beasts will be rising at the same time as the fourth beast. John in Revelation said, "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him" (Rev. 13:1-4)? This is the same beast Daniel saw. "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be 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 pieces" (Dan. 7:7.23).
Prior to this fourth beast rising to full power over all nations, are we going to see China, Russia, and the Muslim nations rising to power? Already we are beginning to see agreements and co-operation with one another. The fourth beast "that was diverse from all the beasts that were before it" is now in the process of forming the European Union. "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast" (Rev. 17:12).
Each of these beasts are nations with economic and commercial empires at stake! They do not want to lose their power! "And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all" (Rev. 18:9-14).
REMEMBER THERE ARE THREE NECESSARY FACTORS THAT MUST BE RECOGNIZED IN ORDER TO ACCURATELY DATE, PROPHETIC FULFILLMENT: TIME; PLACE; AND EVENT! (Formula T+P+E= PROPHECY FULFILLED).
THE TIME IS RIGHT. THE PLACE IS RIGHT. THE EVENT WILL OCCUR AS PROPHESIED!
James Russell
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