Daniel Chapter Seven: Part Two

Prelude

The first part of “Daniel Chapter Seven” is found in my book “The Divine Order of The End Times” in “Chapter 8: The Beast and Then The Horn.” I won’t rewrite that chapter here, but I will reiterate the main ideas as I proceed with this blog. (It’s best to read the seventh chapter of Daniel before proceeding.)

I want to prelude this article by giving you a brief testimony. I was born again at six years old. I’m now in my sixties. I was raised with the modern view of eschatology. I also attended a Bible college that taught the dominate modern view of the end times. I bring this to your attention so you’ll understand that I’m not new to this subject, and I’m probably familiar with most dissenting views. The modern view of a pretribulation, double return of Christ I am not in agreement with and haven’t been for years. The pretribulation doctrine is full of holes and hard to understand. It just plainly doesn’t stand up to good Bible study guidelines. That said, I hope you’ll take the time to consider this article.

I have no desire to be argumentative, and I’m not looking for disciples. Searching the scriptures together in brotherly love is enjoyable and edifying, but that seems to be more difficult to find. Everybody wants to be “right”, pride seems to dominate, and the joy of sharing the Bible in fellowship suffers immensely. My concern is that the Body of Christ is less prepared for the return of our Lord than we think we are, and I believe that is a very dangerous place to be. Having a grasp of modern history and the brutality that comes with those who war for world domination, I’m keen to the danger the Christian community faces. My writings on eschatology are merely my way of showing concern and, hopefully, make the Body of Christ more prepared.

An Important Point

A very important point, and the first thing I want to bring to your attention, is the beasts in chapter seven are all alive in the earth at the same time: “As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time” (Daniel 7:12).

The fourth beast was “slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame” (Daniel 7:12), but the other beasts lives were “prolonged for a season and a time.” Therefore, they must have been in the earth at the same time as the fourth beast.

If you’re wondering what that means, “prolonged for a season and a time,” we get a glimpse at the end of the millennial reign when Satan is freed from the “bottomless pit.” “Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea” (Revelation 20:7, 8). We can see here a “season”, the thousand year reign of Christ, and a “time,” when Satan is released from his prison and deceives the nations again. There’s nothing new under the sun, and the same deceptions that Satan uses now he’ll use then.

“As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away” (Daniel 7:12). What does this tell us? It tells us that they became inoperative, powerless, and defeated. It also indicates the seed of the beasts are still in the earth. How can that be? During the millennial reign there will be those that have not taken part in the “first resurrection.” In-other-words, they are still dominated by a sin nature.

That is why the scriptures say: “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6), and “And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations— ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’— as I also have received from My Father” (Revelation 2:26, 27). Why rule with a “rod of iron”? Because there are those that haven’t participated in the “rapture” and are still subject to the sins of the flesh. We shall reign with Christ, as under rulers to Christ, so the nations can’t do the evil that we see in the earth today.

Back to my point. All four beasts are active in the earth at the same time. They’re all end-of-the-age manifestations. They are deceptive beliefs of “deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). It’s how the whole world turns against the Christian community and gives itself over to the Anti-Christ.

The “four winds of heaven” (Daniel 7:2) are “[1]principalities, [2]powers, [3]rulers of the darkness of this age, and [4]spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). They stir up the Great Sea. The “Great Sea” (Daniel 7:2) are “peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues” (Revelation 17:15).

The Four Beasts

Knowing that all four beasts are active at the same time, and knowing that the root of their belief will sprout after the millennial reign, causes me to look at these beast differently than I was originally taught.

I’m aware that the dream of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had (Daniel 2) has been transposed to these beasts. There may be some correlation, but I don’t see it. When we read of the dream, the scripture always refers to the end of one kingdom with the rise of another with something said such as, “After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another” (Daniel 2:39; emphasis mine). One ends and then another starts. Also, the scripture specifies in the days of the last kingdom, the iron and the clay kingdom, is when the stone destroyed the image. In fact, the stone struck the feet and not the head because the Kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon isn’t in power any longer. In the vision of the beasts, as we have seen, they’re active at the same time. We also know they’re active in the last days just prior to Jesus’ return. We should, I would think, to be able to find clues to what these beasts represent.

I’m not dogmatic, but this is what keeps coming to me when I read of the beasts. As I said, I won’t go into great detail about this, just a recap.

The Lion: For me the most important statement about this creature is: “A man’s heart was given to it” (Daniel 7:20). This cries of secular humanism. The popularity of Darwin’s book, “On the Origin of Species,” became a catalyst for humanism, spreading through western societies almost unabated. We’ve gotten to the place now where great countries like Canada and England are arresting evangelical preachers for quoting unpopular scriptures. The U.S.A. has begun the same decline.

The Bear: A powerful creature that is told to, “Arise, devour much flesh!” (Daniel 7:5). There’s never, in the history of humanity, been anything that has devoured as much flesh as the Marxist: marxism, socialism, communism, progressivism, or whatever we’re calling it today. It’s estimated up to 100,000,000 people have been murdered because of Marxist doctrine since the Bolshevik revolution. And that doesn’t include those killed in war. Even if it was half that number, it would be an incredible amount for a hundred year period.

The Leopard: This beast has “four heads, and dominion was given to it” (Daniel 7:6). Four heads is divided authority. “Dominion given to it” suggest it has no real authority of its own. The leopard describes the United Nations to a tee for me. A leopard is also muti-spotted, so is the U.N. Many nations are members. Four wings? It can travel quickly and/or its influence is throughout the whole earth.

The Horned Beast: The horned beast “was devouring breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet” (Daniel 7:7). This beast for me is a bit more complicated because it morphs from ten horns to eight horns. This idea isn’t written in stone, but I think of Islam. Violent, destructive, powerful. A conquering force that divides, murders, terrorizes, and manipulates. Men, women, children, and societies are trampled and devoured by this beast. Of course, not all Muslims condone violent activities, but legalistic Islam demands conformity or death and is set on world domination.

However it plays out, it’s through this beast that the Anti-Christ comes.

The Horns

But the Anti-Christ doesn’t come with his own forces. He usurps authority by overthrowing three horns. The horns are positions of power and influence.

Do I know who the horns are? Nope. I’m not sure it will be evident until the beast is revealed, but here’s a couple of thoughts.

One thought is what some refer to as the “illuminati” or “shadow government.” There is no doubt there are very powerful people outside of official governments that wield great influence over politics. You’ll have to decide your position on the subject. Nonetheless, such a group may take up with someone they feel will advance their power and fortunes in exchange for obedience and political connections. I don’t believe this is as far fetched as it may appear. Recent history of the Nazis and the communist will support the theory. In fact, in every govenment there are those that will do whatever it takes for power and wealth.

Another thought is simply ten nation state leaders that take up with the Anti-Christ for the same reasons that the “illuminati” would.

The Pompous Beast

We can compare Daniel chapter seven with the beast that rises from the waters in Revelation chapter thirteen.

In Revelation chapter thirteen we see a beast that has seven heads and ten horns. On the horns are ten crowns. On his heads a blaspemous name.

In Daniel, all the heads totaled equal seven: there is the lion with one head, there is the bear with one head, there is the leopard with four heads, and there is the last beast with one head. A total of seven heads. The Revelation beast has seven heads.

The Revalation beast also has a body that is a combination of the beasts in Daniel: A leopard’s body, a lion’s mouths, and a bear’s paws.

The forth beast in Daniel spoke pompous words against God and the saints, he also made war against the saints. The same with the beast in Revelation.

It appears to me that the Beast’s/Anti-Christ’s influence is such that forth beast in Daniel morphs into a confederation of all the beasts of Daniel. It is different from all the other beasts and yet similar as we see this in the book of Revelation. No doubt the goal of all the beast is world domination. What better way to attain that goal but through an Axis Power.

Again looking in Daniel chapter seven, we see a thread of commonality among the first three beasts. Humanism and Marxism are a great pair. They have similar attributes and goals. And the United Nations is a Marxist-Humanist organization. In recent years we’ve seen increased cooperation between the progressives and the Muslims. Strange, but true.

As a side thought: how does this affect our thinking about the harlot sitting on the seven mountains/heads in Revelation chapter seventeen? It makes more sense to me and easier to understand.

A considerable portion of the Bible is devoted to the end times. God doesn’t want us to be ignorant or unprepared. I hope this article was food for thought and that you received something from it.

Stay strong and prepared.