Chapter 7: Daniel’s World Empires
The great prophet Daniel gives us two views of world empires that would deal with Israel both in antiquity and in the latter days:
In Dan. 2:37-42 the prophet is tasked with interpreting King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream: “You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold. But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile.”
(Rome and revived Rome are considered 1 empire or kingdom)
- Head of gold: Babylon
- Chest and arms: Medo-Persia
- Belly and thighs: Greece (Alexander)
- Legs of iron: Rome/Constantinople
- Feet and toes: first view of revived Rome
Are Britain and America left out of Daniel’s List of Empires?
Britain – Established Palestine as a homeland for Jews in 1917
America – Supported statehood (May 14, 1948) and became Israel’s chief protector
Daniel 7:2-7 introduces 4 more kingdoms in the form of four beasts coming up out of the sea (the people of earth Rev. 17:15: “Then he said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.”)
Daniel 2:34-35 “You watched while the stone was cut without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces… And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.”
Daniel 7:1-3 “In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts. 2 Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.”
Daniel 2 – KINGDOMS Daniel 7 -BEASTS
Daniel 7 confirms Ezekiel 38, Britain and America
First Beast: Dan. 7:4 – Lion (symbol for Britain) with eagle’s wings (symbol for America) – standing on two feet with its wings plucked, represents Britain, America and colonies that had lost their power and question the second beast as to why it is attacking Israel, Ezek. 38:13.
Second Beast: Dan. 7:5 – Bear (symbol for Russia) on its side with three ribs in its mouth represents Russia (Magog), Iran (Persia), Turkey (Gomer) who are in league to attack Israel to take plunder, Ezek. 38:1-6.
Third Beast: Dan. 7:6 – Leopard with four wings represents a four nation African coalition represented in Ezekiel 38:5 NIV as the nations of Cush (Ethiopia, Sudan, and Somalia) and Puht (Libya), Ezek. 38:1-6.
Fourth Beast: Revived Rome was first introduced in Dan. 2:40. But now, in Daniel 7:7, the prophet tells of the final Gentile world kingdom of revived Rome. A beast so wicked there is no animal comparison, trampling the residue (earth) with its feet.