The Book of Daniel
Revelation 13 characterizes the end time by the arrival of a "beast" described in metaphorical terms as having seven heads and ten horns, and upon its horns ten diadems, and upon its heads blasphemous names. It is like a leopard and its feet are like the feet of a bear, and its mouth like the mouth of a lion. The end time beast described by Revelation has been emulated or prefigured by previous beasts described in the Book of Daniel 7: 2 to 7: 8. These verses prophesy the appearance of four different beasts based upon a vision experienced by the prophet Daniel several centuries before Christ. During this vision Daniel sought its explanation from one present in the vision itself and received the reply presented in Daniel 7: 17-27. Daniel was told that these four great beasts stood for four kingdoms that shall arise on the earth and was given further explanation of the fourth beast in particular.
The first beast was like a lion, but with eagle's wings. During the vision the wings were plucked; it was raised from the ground to stand on two feet like a man, and given a human mind. This could be interpreted as representative of the Babylonian Empire. The representation of this empire as a winged lion, a common motif in Babylonian art, symbolizes the bestial power hostile to God. The two wings that were plucked represent Nabuchodonosor and Baltasar. Daniel 4: 13 & 30 explain how Nabuchodonosor fulfills the remaining remarks.
The second beast looked like a bear; it was raised up on one side and among the teeth in its mouth were three tusks. It was given the order - "Up, devour much flesh." This beast could be interpreted to represent the Median Empire (Isaiah 13: 17-18 ; Daniel 5: 28, 31 & 6: 1, 25-28). Its three tusks and the order given to it symbolize its destructive nature.
The third beast looked like a leopard that had wings on its back like those of a bird and four heads. To this beast dominion was given. This beast could be interpreted to represent the Persian Empire. The leopard symbolizes the swiftness with which Cyrus the Persian established his kingdom. The "four heads" correspond to the four Persian kings of Daniel 11: 2.
The fourth beast was different from all the others, terrifying, horrible and of extraordinary strength; it had great iron teeth with which it devoured and crushed, and what was left it trampled with its feet. It had ten horns of which three were torn away and replaced by a little horn, which had a man's eyes and an arrogant mouth. Per Daniel 7: 23-25 "The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be greater than all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns of the same kingdom shall be ten kings: and another shall rise up after them, and he shall be mightier than the former, and he shall bring down three kings. And he shall speak words against the High One, and shall crush the saints of the most High: and he shall think himself able to change times and laws, and they shall be delivered into his hand until a time, and times, and half a time."
It can be said that the fourth beast represents a part of "The Greek Empire" resulting from the conquests of the Macedonian Alexander the Great, which began around 334 BC. This conquest resulted in the first western or European Empire to expand over the Mid East areas including Babylonia.
Daniel 2: 31-45 description of the Babylonian king's vision of a statue of various metals destroyed by a rock further supports the contentions made herein concerning these beasts. These metals consisted of gold in the statue's head representing the Babylonian Kingdom (625 to 562 BC), silver in the statue's chest and arms representing the Median Empire which subsequently ruled Babylonia (Isaiah 13: 17-18, Daniel 5: 28, 31 & 6: 1, 25-28), bronze in the statue's belly and thighs representing the Persian Empire which subsequently ruled Babylonia (539 to 331 BC) and iron and clay in the statue's legs and feet representing a Greek or Hellenistic Empire which subsequently ruled Babylonia (312 to 137 BC). The statue's feet made of both iron and clay were shattered when hit by the cited rock causing the statue to crumble.
The House of Seleucus that inherited part of the Greek Empire established by Alexander the Great ruled this Hellenistic kingdom. It became known as the Seleucid Kingdom and was populated by Hellenistic subjects as well as the indigenous Asiatic peoples. The loyalty of these Asiatic for the House of Seleucus was often weak necessitating annual military campaigns to keep them subdued. This house was particularly challenged by the Parthian Asiatic who did eventually succeed in gaining control at the decline of the Seleucid Kingdom. It can then be said that the iron in the statue's feet represented the Hellenistic subjects loyal to this house and the clay represented the indigenous Asiatic who were not.
Nevertheless, under Antiochus III (Nicator) The Great, the House of Seleucus had regained much of its dominion as established initially by its first king - Seleucus I Nicator. It also became the most powerful champion of Hellenism against the emerging Roman challenge for domination. All of Greece looked to this king and his great army to defend it against Rome. At the Battle of Magnesia (in Turkey) in 190 BC, however, the army of this king suffered a shocking and traumatic defeat by a Roman army that fragmented his kingdom and made it henceforth subservient to Rome.
At this battle the Seleucid army was not only defeated, but also practically annihilated and at a small cost to the Roman army. It is estimated that for each Roman soldier killed there were one hundred Seleucid soldiers killed. These figures are even more alarming when a comparison of experience is made between the two armies. Rome was emerging as a power while the Seleucid kingdom had existed for over one hundred years, during which it has conducted annual military campaigns.
The Roman victory over the Seleucid army is so impressive that it is reminiscent of the Hebrew victories over their opponents after their exodus from Egyptian bondage. Their victories, of course, could be readily accredited to divine intervention, since they had been slaves and had little experience in warfare. The Roman Army had some experience in the Punic Wars against Carthage that preceded the Battle of Magnesia. Its victories in these wars and steady growth likewise were quite impressive. Roman influence had emerged from the wilderness of the age to form a solid civilization that could be easily described as a "rock not made of hands". These observations and Rome's victory at the Battle of Magnesia represent a clear fulfillment of prophecy. Thus, the statute's feet loosely held together with clay and iron are representative of the loosely knit Seleucid Empire that was shattered by the Roman "rock".
The fragmentation of this kingdom initiated an erosion of its size until all that remained under Seleucid rule was essentially Syria and Mesopotamia, which nevertheless included Babylonia. As a consequence the Seleucid Kingdom became known as Syrian since its activities were somewhat confined to Syria around its capitol at Antioch, Syria. That too was eventually lost when the Roman statesman Pompey occupied Antioch in 64 BC. Strangely enough, the Roman Empire did not really advance into Mesopotamia until 113 AD under Emperor Trajan. However, its stay was very short and it did not rule over "Babylonia", which was then in ruins. Centuries before Babylon had been effectively abandoned as a result of the transfer of the capital of the Seleucid Kingdom to a newly formed city to the north called "Seleucia on the Tigris" (known today as Baghdad). This transfer was made by King Seleucus I Nicator (312 to 281 BC) for tactical advantage to better control his kingdom. Nevertheless, it drained Babylon of its identity and resources as a center of government and commerce, casting it into a ruin from which it never recovered.
The Roman Empire was not therefore part of the statue or one of the beasts described in Daniel 7: 2 to 7: 8 which represented kingdoms which dominated Babylon. However, it can be envisioned as the rock that shattered the statue. Indeed, the formation of the Roman Empire was quite remarkable. It was formed out of the relatively primitive West to become one of the most highly developed empires of its age. In addition, the formation of the Roman Empire was especially opportune for the concurrent birth and growth of the Christian church during the two hundred year period of peace known as "Pax Romana".
In this sense it can be imagined that it was formed by supernatural guidance and assistance as was the rock formed out of the mountain that shattered the statue. It can then be postulated that this rock really represents both a physical force, the Roman Empire, and a spiritual force, Christianity, which struck at the statue. The Roman Empire struck in that it shattered the Greek kingdom as well as the prestige of its gods in the land of Babylon as symbolized by the statue. Christianity struck in the sense that it eventually abolished idolatry as symbolized by the statue within the Greek world and the Roman Empire, as well as in the lands of Babylon.
With this insight it can be concluded that the meaning of the Babylonian king's vision supports the contended meaning of Daniel's vision. There is similarity that is consistent between these two meanings and the history of this region. This similarity is sufficient to logically conclude that Daniel's vision is probably interpreted as contended. Since this interpretation implies that these visions duplicate each other in part, the purposes of these two visions must be examined as well as the meanings.
The purpose of the king's vision can be analyzed by noting the end results of that vision. The most obvious result was that the king came to revere Daniel, his companions, and his God. The king subsequently placed Daniel in a high post as ruler of the province of Babylon and chief prefect over the wise men of Babylon. Such reaction was probably due to Daniel's ability to tell the king his dream, which he had forgotten, as well as his ability to tell the king the meaning of the dream.
In his high post Daniel and his companions were able to acquire further recognition and respect for their God. The reigning Babylonian king Nabuchodonosor (Daniel 3: 96) and Median king Darius (Daniel 6: 1, 25-28) subsequently ordered this respect. This recognition and respect, in turn, served to force the peoples of this kingdom away from idolatry. This God said He was the only God. Recognition and respect for this God then required breaking ties with the worship of other gods. In addition, the breaking of the statue symbol of idolatry by the rock further supports God's purpose in providing this vision to the king.
The end results of Daniel's vision can be determined in part by inspection of the vision that describes the emergence of four great beasts. During this vision Daniel sought its explanation from one present in the vision itself and received the reply presented in Daniel 7. He was told that these four great beasts stood for four kingdoms that shall arise on the earth and was given further explanation of the fourth beast in particular. As such, these beasts serve to further identify the four kingdoms represented in the king's vision as gold, silver, bronze and iron/clay parts of the statue. Further identification of these kingdoms is therefore an end result and a purpose of Daniel's vision. With this identification those who followed Daniel in subsequent generations and were acquainted with his vision could further identify specific kingdoms as they emerged as those represented by each beast.
Having done so, they could then prepare for the persecution forecasted for the fourth kingdom that was directed at the Jews as the "holy ones of the Most High". In addition, when they eventually experienced that persecution, they could acquire hope and comfort from the prophecy fulfillment, particularly the triumph of the holy ones of the Most High at the end of this persecution. Thus, their faith would be strengthened and they would be more able to endure this persecution for the Most High.
The persecution prophesied for the fourth kingdom was fulfilled under the subsequent Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-163 BC). His persecution of the Jews during the years 167 to 164 BC was so extensive that the worship of Yahweh and all of the Jewish rites were forbidden under pain of death. In addition, he desecrated the Jewish temple by erecting in it an altar to the Greek god Zeus Olympios and required sacrifices to be made at the feet of an idol of this god in his own image. Idolatry raises its head again. It can then be concluded that another purpose of Daniel's vision was to counter this idolatry with faith and hope.
Thus, both the Babylonian king's vision and Daniel's vision both served to counter idolatry in the past. The king's vision was given to him in terms that tended to flatter him and thus cause him to revere Daniel. Specifically, the Babylonian kingdom was represented by the noblest of metals - gold while the subsequent kingdoms were represented by less noble metals. Nevertheless, the king's vision also depicted the idolatry of these kingdoms as part of the statue. As narrated in the Book of Ezekiel, God was very displeased with the idolatry of the time. Thus, the king's vision also portrayed the destruction of idolatry in the destruction of the statue.
Daniel's vision was less flattering in that it depicted these kingdoms as beasts. This could be interpreted as a reflection of God's real feeling about these idolatrous kingdoms. They were as beasts on account of their idolatry which blinded them to God's providence and caused them to prey on one another as do beasts of the wild. This form of representation, then, would convey to Daniel and the Jews God's displeasure with these kingdoms and enable them to better counter the idolatry that they represented.
Although written centuries before, the Book of Daniel was not distributed to the Jewish people until the time of their persecution under Antiochus IV from 167 BC to 164 BC. This delay in distribution subsequently caused some to believe that it had been written at that time and is therefore erroneously regarded as a prophetic book. This position is refuted by the instructions given in Daniel 12: 4 "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time appointed: many shall pass over, and knowledge shall be manifold."
Thus, the book was written earlier, sealed, opened and distributed in some unknown quantity during this persecution to provide prophetic encouragement that it will soon end with victory for those who remain faithful. Such encouragement could not be rendered through public meetings and speeches for obvious reasons. Achieving this goal required distribution of written material with this encouragement.
Daniel's vision, however, also relates to the future. In Daniel 8: 17 the angel Gabriel tells Daniel "Understand, O son of man, for in the time of the end the vision shall be fulfilled." The vision to which he is referring is Daniel's vision of the four beasts. These four beasts are incorporated into the one beast described in Revelation 13, meaning that this beast will act similar to all four of the beasts in Daniel, but particularly as the last of the four beasts about which more is said. Our analysis has indicated it to be the Greek Empire of Alexander the Great.
