The four beasts of Daniel 7

“Daniel said, ‘In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.” Daniel 7:2-3
Many people get to about this point in Daniel and stop reading, thinking that it is too difficult to understand. Indeed, Daniel himself didn’t understand what it meant (Dan. 8:27). But the prophecy is possible to understand, and we will find that it is full of detail, showing its divine origins.
The first beast Daniel saw was like a lion with wings like an eagle (Dan. 7:4). The winged lion was a symbol of the Babylonian empire. Its two wings were torn off, and then it was lifted from the ground and given the heart of a man – referring to Nebuchadnezzar’s fall into insanity and later restoration (Dan. 4).
The second beast was like a bear, raised up on one side, with three ribs in its mouth (Dan. 7:5). This refers to the Medo-Persian empire, a lopsided kingdom where the Persians became stronger than the Medes (see Dan. 8:3 where the two horns refer to the two parts of the kingdom).
The third beast was like a leopard, with four wings and four heads (Dan. 7:6). This represents the Greek empire, which under Alexander the Great conquered the known world at a phenomenal rate. After his death, his kingdom passed into the hands of his four generals (the four heads).
Finally, Daniel doesn’t liken the fourth beast to anything; he simply says it was “terrifying and frightening and very powerful” (Dan. 7:7). This beast had iron teeth and crushed all in its path – referring to the Roman empire juggernaut that conquered the world. But then Daniel adds, it had ten horns, and then another little horn sprung up. This ‘little horn’ refers to the Antichrist, who we’ll read about more tomorrow. It would seem from the Scriptures that the Roman empire will be revived, in some aspect, in the last days.