The 4 Beast Kingdoms of Daniel Chapter 7: Still Future: They All Rise Up TOGETHER On The Run Up to the Coming War With Iran/Iraq
By Dr Paul MacDonald RN MA Dipl
Most Bible expositors agree that the 4 beasts of Daniel 7, which are described in that passage as being 4 kingdoms, are the"successive" kingdoms of Babylon, with Persia, then Greece, and finally Rome.
But, is this view correct? Below are our objections to this view, and why Rome is NOT the 4th Beast of Daniel 7.
The 4 Beasts of Daniel 7 Still Future
“These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will (future) arise from the earth” (Daniel 7:17).
An objections is raised that since the verb in this verse, “will arise,” is in the future tense, then Babylon cannot possibly be the first of these 4 kingdoms because the prophecy was given to Daniel near the end of Babylon’s rule as an empire (14 years before the end of the Babylonian kingdom, Daniel 7:1).
They “will arise” would imply that the first kingdom had not yet risen!
The 4 Beasts: They'll All Rise Together as a Single Unit
The answer is that the prophecy of the 4 kingdoms is given as a single unit. It is not predicted that any particular Kingdom “will arise,” but that all four kingdoms “will arise.”
What Will Take Place in the Future (Daniel 2:29)
Verse 29 says
“As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts turned to what would take place in the future; and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will take place.” Notice the phrases “what would take place in the future,” and “what will take place.”
The Statue Made Up of 4 Parts
Daniel was shown a 4-part statue representing 4 Kingdoms, and told it represented “what will take place.”
Even though the prophecy was given during the tenure of the Babylonian Empire, the prophecy goes on to identify Babylon as the first of those 4 kingdoms (verse 38).
Again, the verb clause “what will take place” is correctly used because it refers to the 4-kingdoms, not in an individual sense, but as a single unit in world history.
Daniel 7 does the same thing with the vision of the 4 Beasts-Kingdoms, when verse 17 says they “are four Kings who will arise from the earth.”
The Beast Kingdoms of Daniel 7 Are All Contemporary and Rise Up at the Same Time
Daniel 7:7 says of the fourth Beast-Kingdom that “it was different from all the beasts that were before it…”
On the basis of this verse the objection to the 4-successive kingdom understanding is that the word “before” does not refer to time (i.e., “before” and “after”) but rather means “in front of” (i.e., “stood before the judge”).
In other words, using the correct sense of the term “before,” if the first 3 kingdoms were ‘before’ the 4th, then they were ‘in the presence’ of the 4th, and thus were contemporary with the 4th.
This would supposedly rule out Babylon, and Persia, since they existed before the time of the Grecian Empire (the 3rd).
It is true that in the original language “before” in Daniel 7:7 means “in the presence of” or ’in front of.’
But it is also true that the Bible records that the first 3 Kingdoms, though “their dominion was taken away,” they were (all together/at same time) granted “an extension of life”.
Dominion of the 4 Beasts Taken Away and Absorbed into Gods Kingdom on Messiahs Coming
They existed ’without dominion’ right up to the time of the 4th kingdom.
This is further pointed out in chapter 2. There it is said of the 4th Kingdom that “it will crush and break all these in pieces [the first 3 kingdoms].”
That is, the first 3 kingdoms lose their ruling-empires (dominion) as they are conquered and their territorial “dominion” is taken away one-by-another in succession, but they continue to exist as distinct peoples and cultures under the domain of their conquerors.
The Absorbing of Those Left Over
Note: They are not obliterated, but they are "ABSORBED" by the successive conquering kingdoms one after the other. The first, Babylon, was absorbed by the Persians. The Persians in turn were conquered, yes, but absorbed by the Greeks. In that sense, they all stood “before,” or “in the face of,” their Conquerer.
This 4th kingdom
This absorbs what remains of them and rules over them all. The proof of this is that the fourth kingdom, in its latter-day stage as the Revived Assyrian Empire, will include Babylon, Persia (Iran), and Greece.
When the Kingdom of God comes, and (the great stone) strikes the end stage (feet/toes) of the Revived Assyrian Empire, then Babylon, Persia, and Greece will be “crushed all at the same time.” (Daniel 2:35)
Babylon, Persia, and Greece will indeed be “before” (in the presence of) the fourth kingdom at the end time.
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