For many decades scholars have put forth that the four beasts Daniel saw in his vision are: The Babylonian Empire, The Medo-Persian Empire, The Grecian Empire, and The Roman Empire. If the beasts he saw in his vision are not empires of the past, but empires in modern history, or empires of the last days, then which empires, or nations, would the four beasts describe?
The Era of the Visions
Daniel 7:2-3 – "Daniel said, 'I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another."
The four winds of Daniel may well be equivalent to the Four Horsemen of Revelation 6 and the four winds of Zechariah 6, both of which appear in the end times just before Yeshua comes to set up his millennial reign! That Daniel's vision belongs to the era just prior to Yeshua's coming in power is verified by Daniel 7:7, 13 and 14. The vision of the beasts takes place at the same time as the Great White Throne of Revelation 20:11 is set up.
The Lion
Daniel 7:4 – "The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it."
What modern nation, whose symbol is a lion, has had dealings with the modern nation of Israel? England, or Great Britain, of course. And the wings of an eagle belong to the United States, which started out as colonies of Britain, but were "plucked off" during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), in response to King George III's undesirable policies.
The Bear
Daniel 7:5 – "And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, 'Arise, devour much meat'!"
What modern nation, whose symbol is a bear, has had dealings with the modern nation of Israel? The bear, like the lion, is easy to identify – it is modern day Russia. Russia has displayed some of the worst anti-Semitic hatred in modern history, engaged in a holocaust of over fifty million people, and has annexed many other nation-states at the end of World War II thus fulfilling the scripture "arise and devour much meat!" of Daniel 7:5. Russia is also responsible for bringing communism into the world. Communism is very left leaning, as opposed to fascism which is right leaning and democracy which is more centrist leaning. Could this left leaning be fulfillment of the scripture "raised up on one side" of Daniel 7:5?
The Leopard
Daniel 7:6 – "After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it."
What modern nation, whose symbol is a leopard, has had dealings with the modern nation of Israel? Again, the leopard, like the lion and bear, is easy to identify – it is Germany. Another word for leopard is panther, or in the German, panzer. Germany had Panzer Tanks, Panzer Troops, and Panzer Flying Divisions.
The four wings most likely refer to France whose symbol is the rooster. However, the four wings may not refer to France at all, but may imply two sets of wings, or perhaps two nations that aid the leopard. In this scenario, then the four wings would be identified as Italy and Japan, both of whose air power resources backed Hitler in World War II.
The four heads of Europe (or four Reich's) would then be: The Holy Roman Empire – 800 to 1806; The German Empire – 870 to 1919; The Third Reich of Hitler – 1933-1945; and The European Union – 1951 to present.
The Dreadful Beast
Daniel 7:7-8 – "After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying . . ."
The Fourth Beast will also be one that has dealings with the modern nation of Israel. Today, the United Nations is at the forefront of the efforts to institute the One World Government. Already the United Nations determines how nations educate their children, intervenes in international and national military conflicts, oversees the world's financial systems, and makes final determinations in legal matters involving disputes among nations. In so doing, it will devour, crush, and trample down any nation that stands in the way of its efforts to be the supreme ruling authority. And, just as the One World Religion will draw from many beliefs to form a "unity", so too will the Dreadful Beast, the One World Government.
Conclusions
Daniel appears to have seen modern empires, not historical empires, in his vision, as the vision takes place just prior to the setting up of the Great White Throne of judgment at the end of days. The first three empires appear to be the English Empire, the Russian Empire, and the German/European Empire consisting of the four European heads. The fourth empire may be an extension of the United Nations which will morph into the One World Government under the control of the antichrist, or Satan.
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