This part of the book of Daniel takes place around seventy years after Daniel was taken to Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar’s first attack on Jerusalem. Daniel was an old man, probably in his late eighties or early nineties. He was still serving the king of Babylon, but now the king was Belshazzar, grandson of King Nebuchadnezzar.

Daniel had a couple of disturbing dreams in today’s reading. They were prophetic and they were amazingly accurate in the centuries that followed.

Beasts From the Sea

In his first dream Daniel saw four beasts that came up from a wind-churned sea. The first was a lion with wings like an eagle. Its wings were torn off and it stood up like a human being and received a human mind.

The lion represented Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar dominated the nations like a lion for a while, and then was reduced to a time of madness. In a sense, his wings were clipped for seven years. When he returned to his senses he acknowledged that he was only a man, not a god as he once believed in his arrogance and power. Nebuchadnezzar died and was eventually succeeded by his grandson Belshazzar.

Belshazzar reigned until the Medes and Persians overthrew Babylon.

The Second Beast

The second beast represented the empire of the Medes and Persians. It was a bear with one side that was raised above the other. After the Medes defeated Babylon, the Medes staged a revolt against the more powerful Persians. but the Persian king Cyrus put it down. The Medes were then absorbed into the Persian Empire.

The three ribs in the teeth of the bear may represent the three major conquests of the Medo-Persian Empire: Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt. For a time they were unstoppable as they rolled through the ancient world.

“[The bear] was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’” Daniel 7:5

The Third Beast

The third beast was a leopard with four wings on its back and four heads and it was given authority to rule the world.

This beast represented Greece under Alexander the Great. He developed a swift and ferocious way of warfare that allowed him to conquer the known world in an incredibly short span of time. He was only 32 years old when he reached the limits of the lands he could conquer. Legend has it that he sat down and cried when he realized he had nothing left to fight for. He died in the land of the Chaldeans from a sudden illness.

Alexander’s untimely death eventually led to his empire being divided up among four generals who became the heads of the Greek Empire. They ruled until the Romans overcame them.

The Fourth Beast

The fourth beast was terrifying and powerful. It was not identified with a particular animal but had large iron teeth and the ability to crush and trample its victims. At first it had ten horns, but after a while another little horn emerged and uprooted three of the other horns. This horn had human eyes and a boastful mouth.   

There are three possible interpretations for this beast and its little horn. The first and most obvious is that the beast represented the Roman Empire that was founded in 27 AD by Caesar Augustus and crushed all other empires. The Roman Empire lasted a thousand years and was one of the most influential empires of all time, but it also produced many boastful and oppressive Caesars.

A second interpretation for this beast is that it represented Antiochus Epiphanes, the Greek ruler who crushed Judea between 175-164 BC. He was a boastful and cruel beast of a man who tried to  destroy the Jews.

The third possible interpretation for the beast with the little horn is that it represents the Anti-Christ who is yet to come. The New Testament has much to say about this beast and evil he will do in the world.

Maybe They All Fit

It’s possible that the fourth beast actually represents all three of these terrible, anti-God rulers. Anyone who lived under Rome and Antiochus would say that the description of the beast fit them both. The description of the Anti-Christ in the New Testament also fits this beast.

All we know for sure is that:

“He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.” Daniel 7:25

Daniel’s Second Dream

Two years after the first dream Daniel had another one, with two more animals.

This time he found himself outside of Babylon, beside the Ulai Canal in Persia. He looked up and saw a ram with two horns, one larger than the other, charging to the north, south and west. It did whatever it pleased and nothing could stand against it. This ram was the empire of the Medes and Persians, and as we saw before, the Persians eventually became greater than the Medes.

Next came a goat with one great horn between its eyes. It rushed in so fast from the west that its feet never touched the ground. The goat charged at the ram, struck it and shattered its two horns. At the height of the goat’s power, its horn broke off and was replaced by four smaller horns.

The goat was Greece and the one great horn was Alexander the Great. He developed a type of warfare that was unstoppable to his enemies, putting his soldiers into phalanxes of 256 men, 16 men wide and 16 men deep. They stood shoulder to shoulder with shields held so closely together they were nearly impenetrable. Then they rushed the opposing army in a pitched battle and went straight for the leaders. Using this method and other daring military tactics Alexander conquered the world.

The final part of Daniel’s dream involved the four horns that grew after the great horn, Alexander, was broken off. Four generals divided the Greek Empire following Alexander’s death and from one of their households came Antiochus Epiphanes. He did everything Daniel described in Daniel 8:9-12.

The Anti-Christ

Daniel 8:15-27 is believed to be a prophecy about Antiochus, but also foreshadows the Anti-Christ who is yet to come. They share the same terrible qualities. The angel Gabriel said this about the Greek leader who was going to devastate the Jews:

“A fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise. He will become very strong, but not in his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people. He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human hands.” Daniel 8:23-25

Antiochus did unspeakable things in Judea that led to a seven-year revolt and the Jewish alliance with Rome in 160 BC. Antiochus died mid-way through the revolt — not by human hands, but by a horrible intestinal condition. Antiochus has been called the Anti-Christ of the Old Testament.

Here is what the Apostle Paul says about the future Anti-Christ:

“And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing.” 2 Thessalonians 2:8-10

“He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:4

The Writing on the Wall

King Belshazzar threw a banquet for a thousand of his nobles, wives and concubines. While they were drinking wine the king decided to bring out the gold and silver goblets Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem. They filled the goblets and drank to their gods of gold, silver, bronze, wood, and stone and as they were drinking a hand appeared and wrote, ”MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN” on the wall.

Daniel was the only person in the kingdom who could tell Belshazzar what the words meant.

“Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” Daniel 5:26-28

That very night Darius the Mede slew Belshazzar and took over the Babylonian kingdom.

Some prophecies are fulfilled very quickly; others take centuries. But we know from reading our Bibles that we should take every prophecy seriously. They will surely come to pass.