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The Vision of the Four Beasts
v. 1. In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, who was coregent with his father Nabonidus and the grandson and adopted son of Nebuchadnezzar, according to the most reliable secular accounts, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head, distinct images of his mind, quite distinct from confused pictures, upon his bed, that is, during the night; then, immediately or soon after it transpired, he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matters, setting forth the main facts in due order and omitting matters of secondary importance, such as details pertaining to the appearance of the beasts.
v. 2. Daniel spake and said, in introducing his narration of the strange experience which befell him, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven, from the four main points of the compass, strove upon the great sea, storming along against one another upon the face of the ocean.
v. 3. And four great beasts, monstrous beings, came up from the sea, world-powers rising out of the agitation of the political sea of the heathen world, diverse one from another, one after the other issuing from the great deep.
v. 4. The first was like a lion and had eagle's wings, emblem of kingly power and authority; I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, taking from the beast the ability to fly. And it was lifted up from the earth, to which it was confined after having been deprived of its unrestrained motion, and made stand upon the feet as a man, standing upon its hind feet in an upright position, and a man's heart was given to it, so that it partook of the mind and the feelings of a human being.
v. 5. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, appearing later in point of time, and it raised up itself on one side, so that it leaned over sideways, as it lifted the shoulder on that side to move forward; and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it, a part of a prey which had been seized by it, of animals which it had overcome; and they said thus unto it. Arise, devour much flesh, being given to conquest and plunder.
v. 6. After this I beheld, and, lo, another, a third animal coming on the scene somewhat later in history, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl, enabling it to move with great rapidity; the beast had also four heads, indicating that its authority would be divided among four sovereigns; and dominion was given to it, great authority and power in the world.
v. 7. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, coming on the scene as the last world-power, dreadful and terrible, of awe-inspiring fierceness, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth, symbolizing the lust of conquest and destruction; it devoured and brake in pieces, greedily feeding on whatever it could get into its power, and stamped the residue, whatever it could not devour, with the feet of it, bent upon annihilating all that stood in its way. And it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it, so that the entire animal kingdom could furnish no beast to which it was similar; and it had ten horns, giving further impression of power and ferocity.
v. 8. I considered the horns, observing them very closely, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, springing up as the eleventh and, at first, insignificant in size, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots, to make room for the newcomer; and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, symbols of understanding, although not possessing the characteristics of divinity, and a mouth speaking great things, full of proud and blasphemous boasting.
v. 9. I beheld, still engaged in close observation, till the thrones were cast down, by a great act of judgment, and the Ancient of Days, symbol of the eternal and majestic God, did sit, whose garment was white as snow and the hair of His head like the pure wool, both symbols of unsullied purity and holiness; His throne was like the fiery flame, flashing as though composed of a fiery mass, and His wheels as burning fire, symbolical of the fiery zeal with which the Lord punishes the transgressors, but also purifies His people and prepares them for the future glorification.
v. 10. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him, to devour the sinful and hostile forces of the world and to purify the children of the Kingdom. Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him, an uncounted number of holy angels ready to do His bidding. The Judgment was set, everything was made ready for the trial, and the books were opened, namely, the books of record, in which the deeds of men were entered, to serve as the basis of the sentence to be pronounced upon men by the heavenly Judge.
v. 11. I beheld them because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake, for it was due to the boasting of the ruler represented by the last horn that the judgment and destruction came upon the world; I beheld even till the beast was slain, namely, the fourth, the fierce and destructive beast, and his body destroyed and given to the burning flame, whose devouring fiery streams issued from the throne of the eternal Judge.
v. 12. As concerning the rest of the beasts, the three which were first described, they had their dominion taken away, their power was also taken away in the general judgment; yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time, rather, "for the duration of their life was fixed," as to the season and time; God had determined beforehand how long their power should last.
v. 13. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, riding upon them as on a celestial chariot, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. It is on the basis of this passage, which describes the formal inauguration of the Messiah as King of His eternal kingdom, that Jesus applied the name "Son of Man" to Himself so frequently in the gospels.
v. 14. And there was given Him dominion and glory and a kingdom, divine authority over the domain of the earth, that all people, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. The description clearly shows that the Son of Man is a person distinct from the Father, and that the fact of His eternal dominion and power is a direct argument for His deity. Cf Rev_11:15; Rev_19:16.