The final beast that Daniel sees rising from the sea is the most dreadful-“terrifying and frightening and very powerful”. Daniel’s vision of the ram and the goat gives further details of the second and third kingdoms (see Daniel 8). The four heads are predictive of the four-way division of the empire following Alexander the Great’s death. The third beast represents Greece, an empire known for the swiftness of its conquests. The third of the four beasts is “like a leopard,” except it has four bird-like wings on its back and four heads (Daniel 7:6). These three conquered nations are known to be Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt. The three ribs in the creature’s mouth symbolize nations that were “devoured” by the Medes and the Persians. This beast represents the Medo-Persian Empire the raising up of one side of the creature indicates that one of the kingdom’s parts (Persia) would be dominant. A voice tells the second beast to devour flesh until it is satisfied. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth”. The second beast in Daniel’s vision is “like a bear.
Its rise to human-like status reflects Nebuchadnezzar’s deliverance from a beastly existence and his insight into the true nature of God. This first beast is representative of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Later, the angel who interprets the dream tells Daniel, “The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth”. As Daniel watches, the wings are torn off the beast, and the creature stands erect like a man and a human mind is given to it. The first of Daniel’s four beasts is “like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle”. As Daniel watches, “four great beasts,” each different from the others, emerge from the dark waters. 3 The Antichrist's Kingdom from the Fourth Beastĭaniel’s vision of the four beasts begins with a windy night and a troubled sea: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea”.