Who are the four beasts of Daniel 7 – part 1?

All clues must fit

I’ve had a rethink since I preached my series in the book of Daniel and I am beginning to see that the four beasts in Daniel’s dream in chapter 7 represent four future kingdoms¹ not four kingdoms that parallel Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel chapter 2. Most Bible expositors take Daniel’s dream of the four beasts to be Babylon (lion), Persia (bear), Greece (leopard), and the fourth terrifying beast with ten horns to be the Roman Empire. Whilst it does seem to fit these ancient kingdoms somewhat there is no getting around that two of these beasts had already arisen at the time of Daniel’s dream leaving only the remaining two beasts to be in the future relative to Daniel. So a principle when deciphering Bible prophecy is that all the clues must fit. Dan. 7:17 is quite clear that all four beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth.

Further to this point is that the vision that Daniel had also included the “Little Horn” arising out of the ten horns which is clearly the end times Antichrist. He is the “Little Horn” –another one of his titles. Also in Dan. 7:25, it is explained to Daniel that this horn or king will wage war against the saints and that they will be handed over to him for time, times, and half a time (final 3 ½ years). Clearly, the fourth terrifying beast morphs into a final end-times beast seen by Daniel as coming up out of the sea.

If one also examines carefully Dan. 7:2, the vision of the four beasts occurs after the churning of the great sea (Mediterranean Sea). Zechariah explains that these four spirits or strong winds are four chariots one with red horses, one with black horses, the third with white horses, and the fourth dappled.² Sound familiar to the first four horse seal judgments in Rev. 6:1-8? And that’s the thing! Revelation is a compilation vision of much that has gone before from Daniel, Zechariah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and so forth. But my point is that these four horses are the first four judgments that occur in the first half of the 70th week. See my series of articles on the first four seal horse judgments for more explanation.

The four beasts of Daniel morph into one four-headed beast

Daniel’s dream was of four beasts but in Rev. 13:1-3 John saw a four-headed beast with the same seven heads and ten horns and a body that looked like a leopard. In Daniel’s vision, the four beasts have their own separate identity and life whereas in John’s vision the singular beast has the characteristics of the former beasts and yet is a different one. This is because the fourth terrifying beast with ten horns (ten rulers over the earth) is the very last beast empire before the final beast empire empowered by the dragon himself. This final conglomerate seven-headed beast arises in the final 3 ½ years starting when the Antichrist arises out of the abyss at the midpoint of the final 70th week. Daniel’s four beasts contain seven heads in total amongst them (lion -1, bear – 1, leopard – 4, terrifying fourth beast – 1). John’s beast also contains the same seven heads in Rev. 13:1, with ten horns and crowns on each one of those ten horns. This gives further evidence to the fact that Daniel’s four beasts are not ancient historical kingdoms but future kingdoms which morph into the one terrifying end-times beast. The fact that the main body of the end-times beast is a leopard is significant too as this means that it is mainly driven by the leopard empire. Rev. 13:3 says that one of the seven heads has a fatal head wound that has been healed and that the whole world is astonished. The confusing thing is that in the Bible the beast is both a person and an end times empire as well. So here the head that dies and comes back to life is the Antichrist who was, is not and yet will come.³

So who are the four beasts in Daniel’s vision if they do not refer to ancient empires of the past?

The lion is Great Britain

Traditionally Great Britain’s chief animal symbol has been the lion. In Daniel’s dream the lion stands up on its two feet like a man and it has the heart of a man. Interestingly King Charles III is the man who speaks for the British monarch with the name “Charles” deriving from the German “Karl” which means “free man.” David Cohen in his book, “The Antichrist and a Cup of Tea” presents the argument that the former Prince of Wales is the Antichrist with the main reason being the symbology on his coat of arms. I would reason that he is part of the final beast system as the “man” who speaks but I do not believe he is the Antichrist. Often Charles is the first to speak at international groups and conferences such as the WEF. The Antichrist himself however will not appear until the 5th trumpet so he cannot be Charles. But the point is that the conglomerate beast consists of the mouth of the lion but there are other parts as well.

In Daniel’s vision of the first beast it had the wings of an eagle which were torn off. Great Britain became an all reaching empire having rule over 1/5 of the world’s population starting in 1607. In 1776 however, the United States of America (the eagle) separated from Great Britain forming its own entity.⁴ This fits very well so far. Who said the United States wasn’t in the Bible? I also think that it is highly likely that America is Mystery Babylon and the city which gets destroyed in 1 hour in Revelation 18:17 is New York likely by a nuclear attack. Nouriel Roubini (Dr. Doom) predicts that the first nuclear strike will be against New York if a war is started with Russia.⁵ See my blog “Who is Mystery Babylon?” for more info on this.

The bear is Russia

There can be no doubt that the bear is symbolic of Russia. Who can forget the bear mascot of the 1980 Summer Olympic games held in Moscow? In Dan. 7:5 the bear holds three ribs in its mouth and is raised up on its side. Today we see the ferocious Russian bear as it invades the Ukraine under the guise of gaining back what it considers its own territory. Maybe the fact that the bear is raised on its side is a prophecy that it is looking to its side with the view to conquering territories to its side such as Ukraine, Poland⁶ and Moldova⁷ (the three ribs). At any rate one rib in the mouth and two to go. Here we possibly see prophecy in action as we move towards the end in preparation for the Little Horn when he arises. Vladimir Putin has just come out saying that the West cannot have all its own way and that “Russia won’t let it itself be destroyed.” The bear is ferocious and it’s not going anywhere. Putin has warned that the coming decade would be the most dangerous, unpredictable, and crucial time since the end of WWII. I couldn’t agree more Mr. Putin.

Conclusion to part 1

So far we have looked at Daniel’s first two beasts. See part 2 where I discuss the second two beasts and the final terrifying conglomerate beast of Revelation 13:1-2. This is the beast that has morphed from the four other beasts and is in power for the final 3 ½ years of the age as we know it. It has characteristics of the other four yet is a beast in its own right empowered by the dragon himself.