6/13/26 Daniel 7 – The Fourth Beast Reprised

¹⁹ “Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left.

As we get into the next part of our series Daniel has the same attitude we would & do about this series of visions. Here he gets into deeper details to give his audience a further understanding. He in essence in V19-20 repeats what was stated previously in way of the details of the appearance of the beast & its’ devastation & the numerics of the horns (a symbol of power) & more details of this smaller horn.

First notice that the beast is not given a gender. The beast is an it. It takes out 3 of the horns and the added context of what was trampled into submission, what was left. The areas of the 3 horns will be ransacked & destroyed by this proverbial machine. So with this we see a connection tying the bast to the horns. This entity is driven by a figure that Daniel calls a horn which has this label because it is exclusive, note there are only 10 of them. But we cannot lose the perspective that this also is about the vision in Ch. 2 of the statute which is also divided by 4 & given qualities tied to metals. This 4^th kingdom is the Roman empire, split into an east wing & west wing.

Daniel 7:19. The fourth beast has “bronze claws,” accenting ferocity and destructive power. While iron teeth denote crushing strength, bronze claws portray an ability to seize and tear—imagery befitting Rome’s rapacious expansion. Many have concluded that this 4^th kingdom is the effect of the Roman empire in a much later sense and there are more clues to the tie between the beast & the little horn. The shock of this combination is why Daniel asks for more.

²⁰ I also wanted to know 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. ²¹ As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, ²² until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.

10 horns on the head, as in it is led by these ten. I have spoke of this before but it my conclusion that the emergence of these 10 in scripture has befuddled theologians for centuries can be in this age easily revealed but the problem is the solution falls in what is now called a conspiracy theory even though it is documented. The 10 horns is not the UN, the 10 horns is not the EU. This horn looks imposing & has a platform to be heard.

The little horn has a big mouth, & it pushes itself which fits the age.

The prophecy of the war against the saints is what is most unsettling. The term saints is oft confused as the church. The problem is the church is the NT & not clearly revealed in the OT. The church is the awakening of those outside of Israel as to who is the Lord, who is sovereign & how salvation is achieved, through the life death resurrection of the Son of God.

In Daniel’s visions, the “saints” represent the faithful remnant of Israel rather than the church or a single denomination. The term refers specifically to believing members of Israel^[1], though interpretations of exactly who comprises this group have generated scholarly discussion.

Daniel envisions Israel—both the surviving remnant and all converts—as the saints, since the church and the current age of grace never appear in Daniel’s prophecies or in Old Testament prophecy generally^[2]. In the Old Testament context, Israel itself was called saints, as were Gentile proselytes who joined the faith1. This differs from New Testament usage, where saints are sinners declared righteous through hfaith in Christ2.

The saints occupy a central role in Daniel’s eschatological vision. A horn wages war against the holy people and defeats them until the Ancient of Days judges in their favor (Dan 7:21–22), and sovereignty and power over all earthly kingdoms will ultimately pass to them (Dan 7:27).

The war against Israel will continue until the Lord steps in & draws it to a close. Look at how this is phrased. This is the only author who uses the term the Ancient of Days. This is a label used 3x in this chapter denoting the eternal existence of our Lord who pronounces the innocence of the nation which can only come through Jesus, the Son of God.

Daniel continues with what he was given of the 4^th beast, rather than the rabbit trail of the judgement of the saints in the spiritual court where the accuser is after them day & night, relentlessly seeking their death. He continues:

²³ “He 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. ²⁴ The 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. ²⁵ He 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.

Let’s consider the differential of the 4^th from the others. Notice it devours the whole earth in the same fashion as the 3 who fell trampling & crushing. So what is the differential? Didn’t the previous 3 beasts rape, plunder & destroy those who opposed them? Didn’t they trample those in their path until the Lord drew to a close their reigns? We have to ask what was different in how it looks. The common denominator is conquest. Conquest is done through military force, in this age we are seeing that military force is not the only way. The advent of super technology, of swarming illegals into cultures & the buying off of politicians to protect provide & give privilege to them to gain positions of power to topple those cultures.

Economic warfare is nothing new but now since the world is interconnected it is a possibility for any country not self-sustained to have resources cut off from exterior providers. Conquest can come from more than mere military force. This little horn will emerge from the ten. Who are the ten? I alluded to this previously, I have taught this previously. This is the Club of Rome, who gave a publication of their plan to divide the world into 10 regions.^[3] From this the small horn will emerge, this nation, this leader will be a man of acclaim the problem is too many in this age are looking for him instead of the return of the Son of God to take his bride with him into the presence of the Father.

[1] J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary: The Prophets (Daniel) (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991), 123–124.

[2] Alan B. Stringfellow, Insights on the Book of Daniel: A Verse-by-Verse Study (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2020).

[3] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/387827375_The_Club_of_Rome_and_the_10_Kingdoms_Unraveling_Intent_Emergent_Phenomena_and_Prophetic_Interpretations_in_Global_Governance