Last updated on October 5, 2024
According to the vision of the “four beasts” by the prophet Daniel, there will be four kingdoms that will rule the world.
The Vision
Daniel 7:2 Daniel declared: “In my vision in the night I looked, and suddenly the four winds of heaven were churning up the great sea. 3Then four great beasts came up out of the sea, each one different from the others:
4The first beast was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and given the mind of a man.
5Suddenly another beast appeared, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. So it was told, ‘Get up and gorge yourself on flesh!’
6Next, as I watched, another beast appeared. It was like a leopard, and on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
The Fourth Beast
7After this, as I watched in my vision in the night, suddenly a fourth beast appeared, and it was terrifying— dreadful and extremely strong— with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed; then it trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the beasts before it, and it had ten horns. 8While I was contemplating the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like those of a man and a mouth that spoke words of arrogance.
Interpretation
An angel gave the prophet Daniel the interpretation of his vision of the four beasts.
Daniel 7:17 “Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth”.
In this vision of the Prophet Daniel, the “four beasts” that he saw, the four kings or kingdoms are four types of government systems. This interpretation is spirit-based. I will explain what this means later in this blog.
The four kingdoms that will rule on Earth are:
1) Lion with wings of eagle – the first kingdom.
2) Bear with three ribs in his mouth – the second kingdom.
3) Leopard with four heads and four wings – the third kingdom.
4) A terrible-looking beast with iron teeth and ten horns- the fourth kingdom.
The angel gave the prophet Daniel more details about the fourth beast that he saw in his vision.
Daniel 7:23 “Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast shall be A fourth kingdom on earth, Which shall be different from all other kingdoms, And shall devour the whole earth, Trample it and break it in pieces.”
Parallel Prophecy
In chapter two of the book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon saw a “statue” in his dream that the prophet Daniel interpreted for him. The interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is the same exact interpretation for the four beasts that the prophet Daniel saw in his vision.
So, there are two visions that are pointing to the same exact prophecy. One was given to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the other was given directly to the prophet Daniel. They are both prophesying about the four kingdoms that will rule on Earth.
All we need to do now is apply what we know about King Nebuchadnezzar’s “dream” to what we now know about the vision of the “four beasts” of the prophet Daniel to get a bigger and clearer picture of this prophecy.
Here is what we know:
| Daniel’s Four Beasts Symbolisms | Nebuchadnezzar’s Statue Symbolisms | Spiritual Kingdoms or realms | Spirit-based interpretation: Types of Ruling Systems or Governments | |
| First Kingdom | Lion | Head Of Gold | Babylon | The Leader is both the political and the religious head. A Theocratic System. |
| Second Kingdom | Bear | Chest Of Silver | Medo-Persia | The leader is an authoritarian, whether a monarch, dictator, or a communist party. |
| Third Kingdom | Leopard | Thighs of Bronze | Greece | The leader is chosen by the people through a fair election process. This is the Democratic System. |
| Fourth Kingdom | Terrible-looking Beast | Legs of Iron and Feet of Iron and clay | Beast | A combination of the first three ruling systems. With 10 nations-unions political spheres. It will be a multi-polar world. |
Spiritual-based Interpretation
Babylon is the first kingdom that will rule the world. It is symbolized by the lion with an eagle’s wings in the prophet Daniel’s vision. When a nation’s leader is in charge of that nation’s religious and political affairs, that nation is said to be under the spiritual realm of Babylon (Fashioned after King Nebuchadnezzar’s style of governing).
Medo-Persia is the second kingdom that will rule the world. It is symbolized by the bear with three ribs in its mouth. When a nation is ruled by an authoritarian, that nation is under the spiritual realm of Medo-Persia. (The two dominant forms of authoritarian governments are Absolute Monarchy and Communism)
Greece is the third kingdom that will rule the world. It is symbolized by a leopard with four heads and four wings in the prophet Daniel’s vision. Any nation that chooses a leader through a fair democratic election is under the spiritual realm of Greece. (Democracy started in Greece)
The terrible-looking beast is the fourth kingdom that will rule the world. It is symbolized by a beast with ten horns in the prophet Daniel’s vision.
The fourth beast in the prophet Daniel’s vision is not yet fulfilled. We will look into the fourth beast in a separate blog in the future God willing.
Conclusion
The “dream of the statue” seen by King Nebuchadnezzar in chapter two of the Book of Daniel points to the same prophecy as the “four beasts” that the prophet Daniel saw in a vision in chapter seven. Both Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and Daniel’s vision speak of the prophecy concerning the “four kingdoms” or ruling systems that will dominate the earth.
The first three systems mentioned in these visions have already appeared on Earth: Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. Babylon’s rule (theocracy) is characterized by a leader who controls both political and religious affairs. Medo-Persia governs through authoritarianism, and Greece through elected leadership (democracy). The fourth kingdom is yet to come—it will be the Beast government system. We will explore the Beast system in future posts, God willing.
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