Sermon - Daniel 7:1-7 - The Beasts - Littleby Baptist Church - June 21, 2020


The second half of Daniel has a lot of meat in it. We will talk about history, the weak kings of Babylon, the persecution in Jerusalem, and the coming Messiah. I encourage you to spend some time each week reading and re-reading the chapter we are going through.

Daniel chapter seven is the start of the apocalyptic section of the book and it contains the first of the four apocalyptic visions. This chapter is said to provide the clearest picture of the coming of Jesus that is found in the Old Testament.

Daniel said:

Daniel 7:13

13 I continued watching in the night visions, and suddenly one like a son of man was coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him.”

Jesus said:

Mark 14:61-62

61 But he kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest questioned him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 “I am,” said Jesus, “and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.””

Daniel’s first apocalyptic vision included the coming of Jesus the Messiah as the Son of Man to stand before the Ancient of Days and ties to Jesus saying you will see Him sitting at the right hand of the Father. This chapter interweaves with lots of other verses throughout the Bible, we will hit some of them but no where near all of them.

Daniel 7:1

In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream with visions in his mind as he was lying in his bed. He wrote down the dream, and here is the summary of his account.”

It is believed that Daniel was 68 years old when he received this vision which was before he was summoned to Belshazzar in chapter 5.

Daniel 7:2-3

Daniel said, “In my vision at night I was watching, and suddenly the four winds of heaven stirred up the great sea. Four huge beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.”

The four winds represent God at work. Whether it was through His angels actively working to bring about the beasts or kingdoms by making specific things happen or this could be more of a reference of God being in control over all things and they simply happen according to His will. Either way, we know that the God of heaven has the power to establish worldly kingdoms as He wills.

The great sea in scripture tends to reference the Mediterranean Sea. This makes sense from a geographically explanation as the kingdoms that are referenced in this vision all border the Mediterranean. The great sea may also be reinforcing the fact that God pulls the huge beasts or worldly kingdoms out of the darkness of the sea. Basically, saying that God created each of the kingdoms. In this case the literal use of the great sea being the Mediterranean and the figurative use of it referring to God creating the kingdoms, could both be correct. God created each of these kingdoms or beast and whether they were pulled out of the dark of the sea or rose up out of the countries surrounding it does not really matter. Either way, God is behind it all.   

Four huge beasts are four world powers, four earthly kingdoms. Each one emerging from the great sea as the four winds stir up the great sea. Each beast emerges from the great sea as God works to bring it forth.

Before we get into the description of the huge beasts, lets look back to chapter 2 to refresh our memories about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.  

Daniel 2:31-33

“31 “Your Majesty, as you were watching, suddenly a colossal statue appeared. That statue, tall and dazzling, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was terrifying. 32 The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its stomach and thighs were bronze, 33 its legs were iron, and its feet were partly iron and partly fired clay.”

This was Daniel interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, which was prophecy for the future and ties with some of what we are looking at in chapter 7.

The first beast.

Daniel 7:4

“The first was like a lion but had eagle’s wings. I continued watching until its wings were torn off. It was lifted up from the ground, set on its feet like a man, and given a human mind.”

Jeremiah 50:17

“Israel is a stray lamb, chased by lions. The first who devoured him was the king of Assyria; the last who crushed his bones was King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.”

The first of the huge beasts was like a lion with eagle’s wings… Nebuchadnezzar is referred to as a lion by Jeremiah and in Ezekiel he is referred to as an eagle.

Ezekiel 17:3

You are to say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: A huge eagle with powerful wings, long feathers, and full plumage of many colors came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar.”

The huge eagle in Ezekiel is Nebuchadnezzar who came to Lebanon, or Jerusalem, and conquered in.

Looking back at Daniel 7:4 the wings being torn off would represent the judgement Nebuchadnezzar received because of his pride. He later stood up as a man and was given his human mind back, when he acknowledged God as sovereign.

The first beast and the statues head of pure gold, are Babylon under the leadership of king Nebuchadnezzar.

Daniel 7:5

“Suddenly, another beast appeared, a second one, that looked like a bear. It was raised up on one side, with three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up! Gorge yourself on flesh.’”

The second beast is the chest and arms made from silver that Nebuchadnezzar dreamt about. They represent the Mede and Persian Empire, a bear like nation, in that it was strong and fierce. It was raised up on one side, meaning that while the Medes existed before the Persians, it was the Persians that rose to the occasion and drove the conquest of the other nations.

Isaiah 13:17-22

17 Look! I am stirring up the Medes against them, who cannot be bought off with silver and who have no desire for gold. 18 Their bows will cut young men to pieces. They will have no compassion on offspring; they will not look with pity on children. 19 And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them. 20 It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; a nomad will not pitch his tent there, and shepherds will not let their flocks rest there. 21 But desert creatures will lie down there, and owls will fill the houses. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will leap about. 22 Hyenas will howl in the fortresses, and jackals, in the luxurious palaces. Babylon’s time is almost up; her days are almost over.”

Today the ruins of Babylon are found about 50 miles from Baghdad in Iraq.

God used the Medes and Persians to bring judgement against Babylon, who is one of the three ribs the bear had in its mouth. The other two ribs represent Lydia and Egypt. All three were conquered by the Mede-Persia Empire which ultimately strengthened the empire so that it could continue to grow through conquest. This beast was told to ‘Get up! Gorge yourself on flesh.’ The Mede-Persian Empire was created and given power for a purpose. That purpose was to devour other kingdoms and extended its territories. If we believe that God appoints rulers and guides the worldly kingdoms, then the bear fulfilled God’s purpose for it, as it conquered nation after nation.

Daniel 7:6

“After this, while I was watching, suddenly another beast appeared. It was like a leopard with four wings of a bird on its back. It had four heads, and it was given dominion.”

This third beast is the stomach and thighs of bronze from Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The leopard with four wings is Macedonia under the leadership of Alexander the Great, who conquered Babylon, parts of Europe, and a good portion of Asia. Each of the beasts or kingdoms before the Greek nation of Macedonia grew substantially, but Macedonia grew faster than the others.

This third beast had four heads, which represent the four kingdoms that Macedonia was divided into after Alexander’s death. Macedonia and Greece were one. Thrace and Bithynia were the second. Egypt was the third and Syria was the fourth.

The four heads were given dominion over their portion of the nation as a reminder that is not Alexander who was responsible for the growth of the kingdom. It is not logical to expect that he could lead thirty thousand men to be triumphant over the hundreds of thousands that the Medes and Persians had. It was only by the will and power of God that Alexander was able to accomplish what he did. God gave the third beast the ability to rule and He gave it to the four who came after it.

Daniel 7:7

“After this, while I was watching in the night visions, suddenly a fourth beast appeared, frightening and dreadful, and incredibly strong, with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and it trampled with its feet whatever was left. It was different from all the beasts before it, and it had ten horns.”

The fourth beast is the legs of iron with its feet of partly iron and partly fired clay from Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and as Daniel said it was different than the first 3.

Revelation 13:2

The beast I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority.”

The fourth beast is a mix of the other three. It is more powerful than all that came before it. It devours with its iron teeth, it crushes everything in its way with its incredible strength, and tramples everything that lay before it. The dragon mentioned here is the devil and he gave the fourth beast his power.

When you lump the first three beasts or kingdoms together, they lasted a couple of hundred years. This fourth beast has already lasted longer than the other three combined and its reign is not over yet. The fourth beast starts with the Roman Empire as it pounded those who stood against it into submission, but it does not stop there. The kingdom that is represented by the fourth beast, is still in place today. We are living in the time represented by this fourth beast. One thing to note in this verse is that the beast has 10 horns, which means that their will be 10 kings in place as we head into the time when the antichrist takes over. We will get into the fourth beast more next week.

This vision was given to Daniel before the second beast took over Babylon. We have the benefit of history to explain a portion of what we have looked at, but there are still parts of the vision that have yet to play out and we still have a lot to look at.

For now, remember that God is in control. He has given dreams to kings and prophets, He has given us the interpretations, He has given kings and kingdoms dominion to rule, and He has brought all of us here today to study His words.

Our God is the One Constant in the universe, and He reigns over all.


God Bless,

Robert

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