In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel beheld a dream and visions of his head upon his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, saying the main things of these (Daniel 7:1).
In the vision Daniel saw at night, he beheld the four winds of the heavens stirring up a great sea (Daniel 7:2). The sea represents humanity. Out from the sea of people rise four beasts, each one different from the others (Daniel 7:3). These four beasts represent four worldwide empires.
The first beast was like a lion with the wings of an eagle. Daniel watched until the wings were plucked off, and it was lifted from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man. This beast was given the heart of a man, which represents the Babylonian empire under Nebuchadnezzar, (Daniel 7:4).
The second beast is described as a lopsided bear. The bear is raised on one side, representing the Medo-Persian Empire. It devoured much flesh (Daniel 7:5). On the night of the handwriting on the wall during Belshazzar’s drunken party with his lords, Belshazzar was killed, and the Babylonian nation fell into the hands of the Medes and Persians (Daniel 5:30–31).
The third beast was like a leopard with four wings on its back. The beast also had four heads (Daniel 7:6). This represents the nation of Greece under Alexander the Great and his four generals who split the empire upon his death.
The fourth beast was dreadful, terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth. It devoured and broke into pieces, trampling the residue with its feet. It differed from the other beasts in that it had ten horns (Daniel 7:7). This beast first represents the Roman Empire, then the revived Roman Empire with its ten kings. Among the horns was a little horn speaking pompous words. This little horn ripped out three of the first horns by their roots (Daniel 7:8). This little horn describes the rise of the man of lawlessness whom Satan sets up to rule the world under his authority (Revelation 17:12).
Daniel continued to watch as thrones were set up and the Ancient of Days was seated (Daniel 7:9). This describes events in heaven after the rapture of the Church, when the resurrected saints sit on the throne with Christ (Revelation 4:3–4). Out from the throne comes a stream of fire, signifying the coming Tribulation period in which God’s wrath is poured out upon the earth (Matthew 24:21). After the stream of fire, tens of thousands of saints are seen ministering to God, representing the Millennial Kingdom into the judgment at the Great White Throne of the works of all the unbelievers (Daniel 7:10; Revelation 20:11). The little horn speaking pompous things was slain and his body destroyed (Daniel 7:11). This describes the return of Christ to setup His kingdom upon the earth. At this time, He will cast the beast into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20). The rest of the nations will be allowed to reside for a little while longer (Daniel 7:12). In the Millennial Kingdom, the Nations of the earth will be given to Christ. He will crush them with a rod of iron, but will not destroy them (Psalm 2:8–9).
Daniel’s vision culminates with the coming of one like the Son of Man, coming in the clouds of heavens. He is given dominion over all the kingdoms, peoples, nations, and languages. His dominion is a dominion of an age. It will not pass away (Daniel 7:14). At the end of the Millennial Kingdom, when all enemies have been put under Christ’s feet, He will deliver the kingdom into the hands of the Father, at which time new heavens and a new earth will be created in which righteousness settles down and feels at ease (1 Corinthians 15:24–25; 2 Peter 3:13).
Daniel’s vision takes us from the Babylonian Empire, through the remaining three worldwide kingdoms until eternity, when God’s plan for this world is completed. This gives us the history of mankind from 1894 BC to a time in our future that may be only about 1007 years away. The history of mankind has already been written. We know which nations will rise and fall. We are currently in a period not directly revealed in Daniel’s vision, between the last beast and the rise of the little horn who speaks pompous things. The Roman Empire, the last beast of Daniel’s vision, will be revived, and the ten kings will rise once the Church has been removed from the earth (2 Thessalonians 2:3).
