Daniel 7:15-27
Chapter 7
I approached one of those standing there and asked him to explain what all this meant. He responded and provided the interpretation of these things.
‘These four beasts are four kings who will rise from the earth.
But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, to possess it eternally, forever and ever.’
Then I wanted to understand the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from the others—extraordinarily terrifying, with iron teeth and bronze claws; it ate, tore into pieces, and crushed underfoot whatever remained.
I also wanted to understand the ten horns on its head, the other horn that had grown, the first three horns that fell, and this horn with eyes and a mouth that spoke arrogantly, which looked larger than the others.
As I watched, this horn fought against the holy ones and was overcoming them
until the One of Great Age arrived to deliver justice for the holy ones of the Most High, and the time came for the holy ones to inherit the kingdom.
Then I was told: “The fourth animal will be a fourth kingdom on earth, different from all the others. It will devour the earth, crush it, and destroy it.
The ten horns are ten kings who will rise from this kingdom. Another will rise after them and defeat three of the kings.
This king will insult the Most High and persecute the holy ones of the Most High. He will try to change the feasts and laws. The holy ones will be handed over to his power for a period—one time, two times, and half a time.
But judgment will come, and dominion will be taken from him; he will be destroyed and completely wiped out.
The kingship, dominion, and leadership of all the kingdoms of the world will be given to the people of the holy ones of God Most High: his kingdom will never end. All the kingdoms will serve him and be subject to him.”
Commentaries
The Visions.
In this second part of the book, the story shifts back to the time of Babylonian rule. Now, the narrator is Daniel himself, whose dreams and visions reflect a distinct apocalyptic style. Apocalypticism is a literary device often used during periods of persecution. Through symbolic and complex images, God’s intervention in history is depicted to comfort and reassure His “saints,” referring to those who remain faithful to the Lord and the Covenant amid all the suffering and challenges they face (cf. Rev 1:1-8).
First: The Four Beasts.
The four winds stir up the ocean, from whose depths four beasts emerge. As in chapter 2, four empires follow one another, now represented by the four beasts that, with their military power (winds), stir up the earth and dominate it in all its extent (the four cardinal points): the lion symbolizes Babylon; the bear, Media; the leopard, Persia; and the beast, Alexander the Great. The horns represent destructive power, and the little horn in v. 8 introduces Antiochus IV. The climax of the vision is the arrival of the fifth and final Kingdom of God, symbolized by the “human figure” to whom “the old man” grants all power over the nations (13-14). In apocalyptic literature, symbolic images are used as a means of expression to convey spiritual and invisible realities that permeate the physical world.