Vision Of The Four Beasts (Muslim, Not European)
Daniel 7 describes a “night vision” with four bizarre beasts; each one emerges out of the sea (peoples and nations). Most scholars agree that these four kingdoms correlate precisely with the four kingdoms in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Yet, the theme (like Daniel 2) is primarily an end-time passage.
“The first was like a lion
1. and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it. And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear
2. 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!’ After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard
3. 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. 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
4. 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,” (Daniel 7:4-7).
THE BRONZE
The bronze nails in Daniel 7:19 point to a Grecian, not Roman, Antichrist. “Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet,” (Daniel 7:19).
We have textual evidence for the Grecian nature of the Antichrist kingdom. “Its nails of bronze” must be alluding to the correlation of the ten toes to the Grecian Empire. This is deduced because bronze as is accepted by biblical scholars represents Greece, the third metal component of the statue in of Daniel 2. No one argues that bronze is not Greece. Yet the Grecian Empire was primarily Middle Eastern and not European. While many are convinced that the legs of iron in the statue of Daniel 2, represents the Roman Empire, few consider the fact that the legs extend from out of the bronze thighs, which again is the Grecian Empire. Comparing the Islamic Empire with the Grecian Empire, we see that they are nearly identical. Yet the Roman Empire when compared to the Grecian Empire is significantly different with only minor overlapping. While the Grecian Empire extended all the way to India, the Roman Empire’s furthest Eastern expansion barely reached the Euphrates River.
Although many argue that iron is Roman, this is a false assumption. Scripture does not validate Iron as Roman. But even if we accepted that Iron did represent Rome, it would also have to be admitted that the passage at the least is alluding to a Greco-Roman Antichrist specifically from the Grecian parts of the Roman Empire. Regarding the other metals, there is no dispute.
So, when we view the iron, we cannot isolate it by itself. The bronze is in it—this would agree with Ibin-Ezra’s position and others who saw a combined Greco-Roman Antichrist.
When we view Daniel 7, the fourth kingdom, we cannot separate it from verse 19 (nails of bronze). Out of these will come ten kings, represented in the vision by ten horns. “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,” (Daniel 7:7).
These are the same ten horns that we have already seen in Revelation 17. The ten kings will be conquered by another king—an eleventh (the little horn)—who is the Antichrist, the ruler over the entire fourth kingdom. “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 man and a mouth that spoke boastfully… Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire,” (Daniel 7:8, 11).
Having seen that the fourth kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Daniel 2) and the fourth beast (Daniel 7) are the same, we may also confidently conclude that the fourth beast is the Islamic Empire. While the fourth beast represents the Islamic Empire initiated by Mohammed in the seventh century, the ten horns and the “little horn” or the eleventh horn, represent the future and final phase of the Islamic Empire that will fulfill the Biblical prophecies concerning the Antichrist and his empire.
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Revelation 17 And The Beasts Of Daniel
Revelation 17 gives us an insight into the identification of the eleventh horn: the final Antichrist Empire. First, we see that at the time it was written, five of the empires had already fallen. This concluded 8 horns, and 2 more after the Grecian:
1. The Egyptian Empire
1 horn plucked by Assyrian
2. The Assyrian Empire
1 horn plucked Babylonian
3. The Babylonian Empire
1 horn plucked by the Persian
4. The Persian Empire
1 horn plucked by the Grecian
5. The Greek Empire
4 horns plucked by the Roman
6. The Roman Empire
1 horn plucked by the Islamic
7. Islamic Empire
1 horn plucked by the West
——
10 horns
8. Eighth (revival of the seventh) 11th horn to be plucked by Jesus Note that Alexander’s empire broke into 4 kingdoms.
DANIEL 2 AND DANIEL 7—ONE AND THE SAME
The first obvious reason to consider that the fourth kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar’s Statue and the fourth beast of Daniel’s night vision are one and the same is simply because all of the other kingdoms in each respective passage correlate perfectly. Thus, it also follows to reason that the fourth kingdoms, like all of the other previous kingdoms, would likewise correspond. Second, in both cases, it is the specific element of iron that is highlighted as a significant aspect of their physical makeup. And third, both kingdoms are said specifically to crush and trample all of the three empires that came before them. Consider the striking similarities between the two descriptions. In Nebuchadnezzar’s Statue, we see, “a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others,” (Daniel 2:40).
In Daniel’s night vision, we see “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,” (Daniel 7:6).
Clearly, we are dealing with the same kingdom. But the final reason to see both fourth kingdoms as one and the same is found in the nature of the decline of both. Both kingdoms are destroyed utterly and completely upon Christ’s return. In Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream, we see that when the rock—representing the Kingdom of God—strikes the statue and destroys the final empire, all of the other empires are crushed and blow away like dust. “A rock [the Kingdom of God] was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth,” (Daniel 2:34-35)
Notice that the first three empires and the fourth are broken “at the same time.” After the fall of the fourth empire, all of the other three cease to exist, as well. Likewise, in Daniel 7:11-12, we are told that when the destruction of the fourth beast will be complete and absolute. “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the [fourth] beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowe
d to live for a period of time,” (Daniel 7:11-12).
Many have misinterpreted this verse to mean that after the fourth beast kingdom is destroyed by God, then the other three kingdoms will be stripped of their authority but will be allowed to continue living for a period of time. However, the verse is simply comparing the manner of decline that the first three empires undergo as opposed to the sudden, utter destruction that the fourth beast would experience. In other words, while the first three empires each lived on in the empires that followed them, the death of the fourth empire would be utterly complete when Christ returns. No lingering remnants of life would exist “But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever,” (Daniel 7:26).
The fourth empire would not gradually decay and sputter out as those that preceded it. Nor would it be absorbed into another empire that conquered it. This was precisely the case with the other three empires. For instance, when Cyrus took Babylon, he stripped the Babylonian king of his authority. But the Babylonian citizens and culture in many ways lived on under Medo-Persian rule.
The same can be said of the Medo-Persian Empire after it was defeated by Alexander, and likewise for the Greek Empire after the Romans conquered it. An important aside, it should also be pointed out that the Roman Empire experienced a very slow death.
As such, it most certainly may not be said—as Preterists claim—that the fourth beast, which would be utterly and decisively destroyed, could find its ultimate fulfillment in the historical Roman Empire. This passage is quite damning to Preterism. The empire that this passage is speaking about will find its complete and absolute cessation under the judgment of God at the end of this age. And not just the last kingdom, but all four—they will all be destroyed at the same time. This proves that the final empire will encompass the previous three. After this time, the Kingdom of God and all the kingdoms of the earth will be given to the saints of the most high. “Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him,” (Daniel 7:26-27)
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Unlocking Daniel 8 And The Little Horn
THE VISION OF THE RAM AND THE GOAT
The next snapshot of the final Antichrist Empire again comes from the Book of Daniel. This vision, in fact, was given to Daniel quite sometime after the vision of the four beasts. “In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had already appeared to me,” (Daniel 8:1).
This time, Daniel sees two animals; the first is a ram with two horns. “I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later. I watched the ram as he charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against him, and none could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased and became great,” (Daniel 8:2-4).
Next, we are introduced a goat with one large horn: “As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at him in great rage. I saw him attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him; the goat knocked him to the ground and trampled on him, and none could rescue the ram from his power. The goat became very great, but at the height of his power his large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven,” (Daniel 8:5-8). These verses refer to the dominance of the Medo-Persian Empire, “Ram with two horns”, by Alexander the Great’s Macedonian Greek Empire, “Goat”. After this, the goat with only one horn is broken symbolizing Alexander the Great’s death. Then his generals fought until only four remained alive. These four eventually called a truce and divided the empire into four segments: the north, south, east, and west, each division named after its respective ruler as follows:
So the four horns represent the four divisions of Greece after Alexander. This correlates with the third beast of the last vision—the four-headed leopard.
What is interesting about this passage is that it is so prophetically precise that many liberal or atheist scholars have fought tooth and nail to disprove its timing, insisting that the prophecy was written well after these events occurred.
After the clash between the ram and the goat, we are introduced to another horn, similar to the little horn of Daniel 7. This horn is also described as “another horn” which started small: “And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered,” (Daniel 8:9-12).
Scholars universally point to Antiochus IV Epiphanies of the Seleucid division, as the fulfillment of this passage. However, while this is true, Antiochus was also a type. His power and influence grew “to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land”—Israel. This clearly refers to the End-Times Antichrist. He said: “I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end. The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king. The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power. In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men and the holy people. He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power,” (Daniel 8:19-25).
It is clear that the “little horn” is the End-Time Antichrist, who causes one-third of the angels to fall, “And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground, and trampled upon them. Yea, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the host; and from him the continual burnt-offering was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down,” (Daniel 8:10-11). Antiochus cannot be the one cast down with heavenly stars (fallen angels).
But here is the most important aspect of this prophecy: The little horns of Daniel 7 and Daniel 8 both point to the Antichrist. These are simply two snapshots taken from different angles. One snap-shot pictures the Antichrist emerging forth from out of the fourth Beast, while the second snap-shot portrays the Antichrist as emerging forth from the Seleucid division of the Greek Empire. But those who argue that the fourth Beast is the Roman Empire are forced to take the obviously inconsistent position that the “little horn” in Daniel 7 is the Antichrist, while the little horn in Daniel 8 is not. They are forced to do this because their mistaken assumption that the Antichrist will come from Europe is not supported by the Antichrist emerging from out of the regions of the Seleucid division of the Greek Empire. And so what do they do? As usual, they take a pick and choose approach. They accept the passages that seem to support their positions and then disregard or ignore those that do not. Many force a migration of Antichrist from Greece to western Europe.
When one sees the Antichrist emerging forth from the fourth Beast of Daniel 7 to be an Islamic Empire, as well as from the little horn of the Sh
aggy Goat which is The Seleucid division of the Greek Empire, then all of the pieces fit together as smoothly as and as easily as greased frog skin. And that is certainly something that the European Roman Empire theorists can never claim.
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Unlocking Daniel 11 And The Little Horn
The secret to unlocking much of the Bible is to look at the duality and type fulfillments. I cannot stress this enough. When you read Scripture, try to find repeated themes and you will discover how rich the Word of God really is. We find this in Daniel 11:21-35 which focuses on the Antichrist (King of the North). In Daniel 11, the King of the North, just like the “little horn” in Daniel 8 expresses a brutal persecution of the Jewish people and sets up the final abomination that causes desolation:
“His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. (v. 31) With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant (v. 32), but the people who know their God will firmly resist him. Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. (v. 33) When they fall, they will receive a little help (v. 34), and many who are not sincere will join them. Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time. (v. 35) Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. (v. 36) He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. (v. 37) But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. (v. 38) Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain. (v. 39) “At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. (v. 40) He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. (v. 41) He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. (v. 42) He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the [1]Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. (v. 43) But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. (v. 44) And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him. (v. 45)” (Daniel 11:31-45)
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