Daniel 2, 7, 8

• The first beast Daniel sees is the winged lion. This lion is Babylon and specifically King Nebuchadnezzar like the head of gold.
• We know this Babylon because the winged lion was a symbol of Babylon, being carved in their buildings.
• We also know that the lion is meant to represent King Nebuchadnezzar because in Daniel 7:5 we read, "...I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it." This is a parallel to when God stripped Nebuchadnezzar of his power and status and was forced to live like a beast. When he repented and acknowledged God, he was freed and given his humanity back to him. Just like the lion.
• Just like how the head of gold specifically represented Nebuchadnezzar, so does this lion.
• The winged lion was a representation of power in Babylon, like Nebuchadnezzar, yet, it/he was easily destroyed by a higher power, God.

The Lion

• The second beast we see is a bear that is standing on its left leg. It has three ribs in its mouth and is told to eat its fill of flesh.
• The bear is Medo-Persia which we know for three reasons. The Medes and Persians were not equal in strength. The Persians were stronger than the Medes hence the lopsidedness.
• We also know that Medo-Persia had defeated three kingdoms before it, hence the three ribs in its mouth.
• At its time, Medo-Persia was capable of destroying and conquering all of its enemies. We see all of this from Daniel 7:5, "And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, 'Get up and eat your fill of flesh!"

The Bear

• The third beast is a four-headed leopard with two sets of wings. This leopard was given authority to rule by God. This leopard is Greece under Alexander's rule.
• Alexander was the greatest king Greece ever had, leading the Greek army to many victories around the Mediterranean and farther. This is seen by the four wings on its back, almost as if it could soar to great heights with those wings.
• The four heads of the leopard also represented the four generals of Alexander, who took over his kingdom after he died.
• As it says in Daniel 7:6, the leopard was given the authority to rule. Its the same for Alexander. He was able to conquer all the territories he set his sights on.
• "After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule." (Daniel 7:6)

The Leopard

• Another thing about the leopard, is that they are very aggressive and tough creature, which aligns with the nature of the Greeks.

The Beast

• The final beast was the most terrifying one of all. It was much grander and stronger than all the ones before it. This beast is the Roman Empire.
• Daniel 7:7 says, "After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast-terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns."
• The iron teeth that destroyed anything they touched is a parallel to that of the iron legs in Daniel 2 that also represented Rome. This fourth beast was larger than the other beasts which paralleled to how Rome had covered a lot of territory and was the most powerful kingdom of the four.

The Horn

• These ten horns represent ten kings from the area that Rome controlled. Of the ten, three get defeated by the small horn that rises up out of Rome. The small horn that rises up from Rome has man-like intelligence and blasphemes God, even going so far as to destroy His truths and saints.
• We see all this in Daniel 7:8, "While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully." and Daniel 7:24-25, "The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time."
• This horn is the Antichrist. It claims to be God and even distorts the truth to make it seem as such, but in reality, it is meant to deceive. This horn is also a religious power, which we can guess from how it manages to oppress the saints of God. From all this, we see that the Antichrist, the horn, is none other but the Roman Catholic Church, which has placed its leader as a replacement to God, distorted the truth, become a religious power, and risen up from the weakened Rome.

Daniel 8

Roughly two years after his previous dream, Daniel is presented with another vision. This vision is of a ram with two horns, one bigger than the other, that conquers everything in its path. This ram is then defeated by a goat with one large horn that glides towards it easily. The ram is no match for the goat and falls to its strength. The large horn breaks into four different horns, and finally a small horn similar to the previous one rises up and blasphemes against God before it is destroyed by God after a while.

Daniel 8