The Crazy Beast! The Vision of Daniel 7 (Part 2)

In the last article, we examined the strange vision from Daniel 7. Here, we look at what this vision means.

Daniel is worried about the fourth beast because it’s horrifying. It has iron teeth, bronze claws, and it “crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left” (Dan 7:19). He’s curious “about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully” (Dan 7:20).

Daniel looks again at this image, as if the angel had paused it on a screen, and at the same time the action on the second screen replays the scene from Daniel 7:11—perhaps in slow motion. Daniel sees the “little horn” waging war against the people of the Most High and winning—until the Ancient of Days raps His gavel and puts a stop to it all. Then, God’s people possessed the kingdom (Dan 7:21-22).

What does it all mean? The angel answers in two parts: (a) the rise of the “little horn” from among the ten (Dan 7:23-25), and then (b) the little horn’s demise (Dan 7:26-27).

The rise of the “little horn” (Daniel 7:23-25)

The angel explains:

²³He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. ²⁴The 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. ²⁵He 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 (Daniel 7:23-25).

The beast represents a mighty kingdom of darkness. It’s identical to the fourth kingdom from Daniel 2, which the angel described as strong as iron—“and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others” (Dan 2:40). This does not mean there are only four kingdoms that matter in human history. Instead, it suggests there are four kingdoms that will have a particular impact on the people of Israel. God could have discussed a particular Chinese dynasty, but it would have meant nothing to Daniel. In context, this is a message of hope to the people of Israel as they’re in exile in a foreign land. China would have meant nothing to them. This indicates our interpretive options are limited to a nation which has relevance to the people of Israel.

This fourth kingdom has three phases, each separated by large periods of time but having traceable connections.¹

Evil Kingdom Phase 1. The historical Roman Empire. It is “different” from all the other kingdoms because of the extent and ferocity of its realm (“devour … trample … crush,” Dan 7:23).

Evil Kingdom Phase 2. This is the age between (a) Jesus and the apostles, and (b) the last days. This makes sense because the ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom (Dan 7:24). They are future developments after the Evil Kingdom Phase 1 leaves the stage.² Many bible interpreters lose their audience trying to identify the ten kingdoms. The angel doesn’t tell us what they are, so we should drop the attempt. It is idle speculation that accomplishes nothing—no matter how ingenious it may be.

We can say these ten kings (or kingdoms—the kings in Daniel’s visions are always synonymous with their realms) are a second phase of the historical Roman Empire because one could trace their origins back to it. This line need not be direct. For example, (a) South Korea’s existence derives from Japan’s defeat in the second world war, (b) the present-day Federal Republic of Germany comes from Otto Von Bismark’s unification of 39 independent nation states into the German Confederation in the late 19^th century, and (c) the United States derives from the British Empire.

Neither example is a straight line from past to present, but each nation only exists today because of its historical ancestor—the same way a Tesla derives from a Model T Ford. The “10 horns” of Evil Kingdom Phase 2 may be like that—which means they could be any nation in the Western world. The number ten may also be symbolic, which would obviously complicate quests to identify them.

Evil Kingdom Phase 3. This is the time of the antichrist and the last days. We know this because “after them [that is, after the period of the 10 kings] another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings” (Dan 7:24). This mysterious “little horn” is the antichrist, who John later reminds us is on the way (1 Jn 2:18). The angel tells Daniel the little horn will “put down” (RSV) three of the ten nations and arise from somewhere among them (“came up from among them,” Dan 7:8).³ He’s different from the others because (Dan 7:25):

• First, he will speak against God. Earlier, Daniel saw that he had “a mouth that spoke boastfully” (Dan 7:8). This is blasphemy. The apostle Paul later calls this individual “the man of lawlessness” who “will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God” (2 Thess 2:4; cp. Rev 13).
• Second, he will oppress believers. This is a long and deliberate campaign that wears believers down (NASB) or wears them out (KJV).⁴ The apostle John later saw a vision of antichrist—a horrid beast which combined imagery from all four monsters from Daniel’s visions (Rev 13:1-4). “It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation” (Rev 13:7).
• Third, he will try to change set times and laws. The antichrist will pervert and twist public morality, virtue, and decency into a lie.⁵ Some also believe this refers to anti-religious sentiment in general—a pure secularism⁶ and a “new table of religious festivals.”⁷ It’s both.

God gives His people over to this evil figure’s power for a set period (“3.5 times”) that the angel doesn’t define here but is probably three-and one-half years (cp. Dan 12:5-7, 11).⁸ The significance here is not the length of the evil king’s reign, but its sudden crash after a rapid acceleration.⁹ It speeds up quickly (“a time, times …”), and then hits a wall and crashes with no warning (“half a time”).

The little horn’s fall (Daniel 7:26-27)

Why does antichrist’s kingdom crash and burn so suddenly?

Because, the angel explains, “the court will sit, and [antichrist’s] power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever” (Dan 7:26). This is an elaboration on Daniel 7:14. We know the evil empire’s fall will be sudden and violent—remember the stone that smashes the statue from Daniel 2? The apostle John tells of an angel picking up a huge boulder and throwing it into the sea: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again” (Rev 18:21). This is when God avenges the blood of His servants, and the heavenly chorus sings: “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever” (Rev 19:2-3).

Daniel’s vision is the divine courtroom where the Ancient of Days declares: “Enough is enough!” John’s apocalypse tells us that, as antichrist’s evil kingdom smolders in ruins, Jesus the King returns to this sphere with the armies of heaven to do battle with His sinister counterpart. “He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God” (Rev 19:13). This is the blood of God’s enemies, tramped and splattered like so many grapes in a vat. The prophet Isaiah explained: “I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground” (Isa 63:6). John warns that Christ “treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty” (Rev 19:15).

Then, the angelic guide tells Daniel, “His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him” (Dan 7:27).

What does all this mean?

Daniel’s vision tells us six things:

1. A singularly evil figure will rise from a nation which derives, in some way, from the historical Roman Empire.
2. This antichrist will then subdue three nations which stem from the historical Roman Empire.
3. He will persecute God’s people, twisting public decency and morality against everything God says is good—a program of pure secularism that is rabidly anti-religious.
4. Antichrist will rise rapidly then experience a sudden and spectacular crash (“time, times, and half a time,” Dan 7:25). Revelation 18-19 tells us this “crash” is God’s violent overthrow of Babylon (Rev 18:21-24) and Jesus’ second coming (Rev 19:11-21).
5. Antichrist will be “slain and his body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire” (Dan 7:11; cp. Rev 19:19-21).
6. The Son of Man will take His seat as King and make all things new (Dan 7:13-14, 28; cp. Rev 21-22). “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Mt 13:43).

To Daniel and the exiles then, God’s message was: “The kingdoms of this world will surely fall, and I’ll judge them, and I’ll make everything right.”

To churches great and small today, God makes the same promises—even as we’re now several episodes further along in His story. His truth is still marching on.