Daniel 7 – The four beasts and the kingdom of the Son of Man

Daniel has an impressive dream.

He sees a turbulent sea.

Then four extraordinary beasts emerge from it one after another:

a lion with eagle's wings;

a bear;

a leopard with four wings and four heads;

and finally a terrifying fourth beast, impossible to compare with any known animal.

These beasts represent kingdoms that will succeed one another.

But Daniel then sees something much more important.

His gaze leaves the earth and turns toward heaven.

The Ancient of Days sits in judgment.

Then “one like a son of man” arrives.

All human kingdoms will one day disappear.

But the kingdom given to the Son of Man will be eternal — show definition INF038.

Daniel is probably about 66 years old

Daniel 7 does not take place after the lions' den.

The book of Daniel is not arranged entirely in chronological order.

The vision takes place during the first year of Belshazzar, probably around 553-552 BC.

We are therefore taken back to a time before the fall of Babylon described in chapter 5.

If Daniel was about 14 years old when he was deported in 605 BC, he would have been approximately 66 years old at the time of this vision.

This is an estimate, because the Bible does not give his exact age.

It all begins during the night.

Daniel sees the great sea stirred up by four winds.

Suddenly, four gigantic beasts emerge from the water.

They are all different.

They are not simply monsters intended to make the dream impressive.

The text itself explains their meaning:

they represent kings and kingdoms.

In the interpretation adopted in this study, they correspond to:

Babylon → Medo-Persia → Greece → Rome — show definition INF004.

This succession closely resembles that of the statue in Daniel 2.

But this time, God shows the empires in a very different way.

The first beast looks like a lion.

But this lion has eagle's wings.

The lion suggests power.

The wings may suggest speed.

This first beast represents Babylon.

Then something strange happens.

Its wings are torn off.

The beast is raised up like a man and receives a human heart — show definition INF155.

This recalls what happened to Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4.

The king had been humbled to the point of living like a beast before regaining his reason.

Daniel 7 does not explicitly say that this is the event being described.

But the parallel is interesting.

The second beast looks like a bear.

It is raised up on one side and holds three ribs in its mouth.

In the interpretation followed here, this bear represents the Medo-Persian Empire.

Daniel 8 will confirm the association between the Medes and the Persians with another image: a ram with two horns.

One of these horns becomes larger than the other.

In the same way, the bear in Daniel 7 is raised unevenly on one side.

This may suggest Persia's gradually increasing dominance within the empire.

But what do the three ribs represent?

Several explanations have been proposed.

However, the Bible does not give their precise meaning.

It is therefore better not to turn a hypothesis into a certainty.

The third beast looks like a leopard.

But it has:

four wings and four heads.

It represents the Greek world.

The four wings convey an impression of extraordinary speed.

This corresponds particularly well to the conquests of Alexander the Great.

In only a few years, Alexander overthrows the Persian power and builds a vast empire.

But he dies in 323 BC.

His empire does not remain united.

It is eventually divided among several powers that emerge from his generals.

The beast's four heads correspond well to this fragmentation of the Greek world.

Then Daniel sees the fourth beast.

This time, he cannot even compare it to any known animal.

It is:

terrifying;

powerful;

equipped with great iron teeth.

The iron immediately recalls Daniel 2.

In the statue, the fourth kingdom was represented by legs of iron.

In the interpretation adopted in this study, this fourth power represents Rome — show definition INF004.

But the vision does not stop with ancient Rome — show definition INF004.

Daniel notices something on the beast's head:

ten horns.

The explanation given to Daniel is clear:

the ten horns represent ten kings.

They still belong to the fourth kingdom.

Then a new horn appears among them.

At first, it is small.

But it grows.

Three other horns are uprooted before it.

This little horn has eyes like those of a man and a mouth that speaks arrogant words.

Daniel soon understands that this power is particularly dangerous.

It does not merely seek political domination.

It directly opposes God.

The little horn:

speaks words against the Most High;

persecutes the saints;

seeks to change the times and the law.

For a time, it even seems to be winning.

Daniel sees it making war against the saints and prevailing over them.

But there is a limit that this power cannot cross.

God has fixed the duration of its power.

Daniel speaks of a period called:

“a time, times, and half a time.”

This represents three and a half times.

Revelation expresses this duration in several forms:

3½ times;

42 months;

1,260 days.

With prophetic months of thirty days:

42 × 30 = 1,260 days.

The hostile power therefore seems extremely strong.

But it is never sovereign.

Even before it appears, God already knows the limit of its rule.

Why 1,260 days?

The book of Genesis provides an interesting example of months counted as thirty days.

In the account of the Flood, a period of five months corresponds to 150 days.

It looks like this:

150 ÷ 5 = 30 days per month.

This method of counting appears again in the prophetic periods of Daniel and Revelation:

42 months × 30 days = 1,260 days.

This does not mean that every year in the biblical calendar always consisted of 360 days.

Here it is a schematic way of calculating certain periods.

Daniel never uses the word “Antichrist — show definition INF265”.

This needs to be made clear.

But the New Testament describes a final power that has several characteristics very similar to those of the little horn.

Paul speaks of a man who exalts himself against God.

Revelation describes a beast:

with ten horns;

that speaks blasphemies;

that fights against the saints;

and whose authority lasts forty-two months.

The similarities with Daniel 7 are significant.

In the prophetic interpretation adopted in this study, the little horn therefore finds its final fulfillment in the one whom Christian theology generally calls the Antichrist — show definition INF265.

Another figure must be mentioned: Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

This Greek king of the second century BC severely persecuted the Jews and attacked their religion.

He will play an important role in Daniel 8 and Daniel 11.

Could he simply be the little horn of Daniel 7?

In the interpretation adopted here, no.

The little horn of Daniel 8 appears in the context of the Greek kingdom.

But the one in Daniel 7 appears on the fourth beast.

Antiochus therefore constitutes a kind of foreshadowing of the final persecuting ruler.

He helps us understand certain aspects of this figure without constituting its complete fulfillment.

So far, the vision seems disturbing.

Empires succeed one another.

A terrible power appears.

The saints are persecuted.

And this power seems to be winning.

Then, suddenly, Daniel no longer looks at the beasts.

He looks toward heaven.

Thrones are set in place.

The Ancient of Days takes His seat.

Thousands of beings stand before Him.

The books are opened.

The judgment begins.

The vision then reveals something essential:

the true center of power is not on earth.

Empires may fight.

Kings may conquer.

The little horn may persecute.

But none of them can prevent the heavenly court from rendering its judgment.

Daniel then sees coming:

“someone like a son of man.”

The contrast with the beasts is striking.

Human empires were represented by wild beasts.

But the final kingdom is given to a human figure.

The Son of Man approaches the Ancient of Days.

He receives:

dominion;

glory;

the kingdom.

And all peoples serve Him.

Above all, His kingdom has one fundamental difference from all those that came before it:

it will never disappear.

Centuries later, Jesus directly takes up the imagery of Daniel 7.

He speaks of the:

“Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven.”

And at His trial, Jesus declares that His accusers will see the Son of Man at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds.

For the Christian interpretation, the identification is therefore fundamental:

the Son of Man in Daniel 7 finds His messianic fulfillment in Jesus.

The One whom men rejected is the One to whom God ultimately gives the kingdom eternal — show definition INF038.

Daniel says that the Son of Man receives the kingdom.

But a little later, he also announces that:

“the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom.”

Is this a contradiction?

No.

The Messiah receives the kingdom as King.

His people share in His reign.

The reversal is then complete.

Previously, the saints were persecuted.

The little horn seemed victorious.

But after the judgment, those who were persecuted become heirs of the kingdom.

The two great visions therefore tell the same story in two different forms.

Daniel 2:

Babylon → Medo-Persia → Greece → Rome — show definition INF004 → divided phase → kingdom of God.

Daniel 7:

lion → bear → leopard → fourth beast → ten horns and little horn → Son of Man → kingdom eternal — show definition INF038.

Daniel 7 therefore does not replace Daniel 2.

It complements it.

The statue primarily showed the succession of empires.

The four beasts reveal more about their character and provide new information about the final phase of the fourth kingdom.

This is where caution is necessary.

In the prophetic interpretation adopted in this study, Rome — show definition INF004 constitutes the historical beginning of the fourth kingdom, but the prophecy extends beyond ancient Rome — show definition INF004.

A final phase is represented by the ten horns.

It is within this configuration that the little horn appears.

But Daniel gives no names that would allow us to identify these ten kings with certainty today.

It would therefore be unwise to try to turn every new alliance or political coalition into a certain fulfillment of Daniel 7.

The prophecy provides elements that will make it possible to recognize the events when they are fulfilled.

It does not authorize us to invent what it does not say.

Daniel 7 may seem very far removed from your everyday life.

Beasts.

Empires.

Kings.

Prophecies.

L'Antichrist — show definition INF265.

Yet the question raised by the chapter is very relevant today:

where do you look when the world becomes frightening?

Daniel begins by looking at the sea.

He sees violence.

The beasts.

Kingdoms fighting one another.

Persecution.

But if he stopped there, the vision would be hopeless.

So God shows him something else.

Daniel looks toward heaven.

And he discovers that earthly events do not tell the whole story.

There is an authority above the empires.

Judgment will take place.

Evil has a limit.

And the final kingdom will not belong to the beasts.

It will belong to the Son of Man.

1. Daniel is probably about 66 years old when he receives this vision.The account takes us back to a time before the fall of Babylon.

2. The four beasts represent four kingdoms.In the interpretation adopted here: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome — show definition INF004.

3. Daniel 7 complements Daniel 2.The four beasts correspond to the succession already represented by the statue.

4. The fourth beast has ten horns.They represent ten kings belonging to the final phase of the fourth kingdom.

5. A little horn appears.It opposes God and persecutes the saints.

6. Its power is limited.The 3½ times correspond to 42 months or 1,260 days.

7. In the interpretation adopted here, the little horn finds its final fulfillment in the Antichrist — show definition INF265.Antiochus IV is an important foreshadowing, but not its complete fulfillment.

8. The heavenly court has final authority.The hostile power cannot escape God's judgment.

9. Jesus takes up the figure of the Son of Man.In the Christian interpretation, Daniel 7 thus announces the messianic reign of Jesus.

10. The kingdom of the Son of Man is eternal — show definition INF038.Empires pass away; His kingdom remains.

This Teen version presents the main points of Daniel 7.

The educational version provides a deeper look at the identification of the four beasts, the little horn, the three and a half times, the heavenly court, and the Son of Man.

The academic version examines in detail the four kingdoms, the ten horns, Antiochus IV, the figure of the Antichrist — show definition INF265, the 1,260 days, the forty-two months, the links with Daniel 2 and Revelation, as well as Edward Denny's prophetic perspective.