Unleashing the Beast

T HE K INGDOM OF THE B EAST / 27

dominate the world and impact the nation of Israel. Both men used descriptive language and characterized the kingdoms they saw as beasts that would arise. In Daniel 7:2, 3, the prophet saw four great beasts rising out of the sea. The first was a ferocious lion. He was followed by a roving bear, who in turn was followed by a cunning leopard. The fourth beast was so different from the previous three that it is often called a non-descriptive beast. This final beast was a mysterious creature with seven heads and ten horns. Daniel was told that these four great beasts were four kingdoms that would arise from the earth (Daniel 7:17, 23). History itself has interpreted the meaning. The lion was ancient Babylon. The bear represented the Medes and Persians that overthrew the Babylonians in Babylon. After the Medes and Persians, the Grecians, under the leadership of Alexander the Great, swallowed up all the previous empires and added other kingdoms and regions to its tally of nations. The fourth empire in the succession was the Roman Empire. This was the empire that ruled in the time of Christ and the first century apostles. Thus the four major empires in Daniel's ancient prophecy were: 1. The Babylonian Empire 2. The Medio-Persian Empire 3. The Grecian Empire 4. The Roman Empire Some common elements link these empires of history and prophecy: