Plucking the Eagle's Wings

America: God's Prophetic Vineyard

Daniel's Vision of Empires—a More Plausible Prophecy

I think that a more plausible theory is found in Daniel 7:1-7. The Hebrew prophet Daniel received a vision while he was a captive in ancient Babylon. Using the symbolism of animals, the vision portrays several empires that would rule in the future. Some conclude that one small passage may refer to the United States. "Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse from one another. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. And behold another beast, a second, like a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it and they said thus to it, `Arise, devour much flesh!' After this I beheld and to another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl. The beast also had four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions and behold, a fourth beast dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet. It was diverse from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns." (Daniel 7: 2-7) Notice that these beasts rule in succession: the lion, the bear, the leopard, and finally, the non-descriptive beast with ten horns. Traditionally, scholars point to Daniel 2 and 8 to demonstrate that the four successive empires m Daniel's prophecy are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. According to this interpretation, the lion represents ancient Babylon; the bear, Medo-Persia; the leopard, Greece; and the fourth beast, the Roman Empire. The animals in the vision represent specific kingdoms. The entrance to Babylon was flanked with large, winged lions made of stone. Large bears roamed the mountains of ancient Persia. The swiftness of the leopard represented the Greek Empire's incredible ability to conquer when lead by Alexander the Great. In Daniel's vision, the leopard had four wings on its back. When Alexander the Great died, his kingdom was divided between his four generals, signified by the leopard's four wings. The final beast with iron

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