In the dream, Daniel sees the winds of the earth blowing on the ocean and out of the midst of the waters rose up four very powerful beastly creatures.

• The first is a lion which stood on its hind feet and it was given a man’s heart.
• The second is a bear with three ribs sticking out of its mouth and it was told to arise and devour much flesh.
• The third is a four-headed, winged leopard and dominion was given to it.
• The fourth is like no other having iron teeth and ten horns and Daniel described it as dreadful, terrible and exceedingly strong. This last beast had a “little” horn come up from the midst of the ten horns and three of the horns were plucked up. And the little horn had eyes like a man and a mouth speaking great things.

But Daniel was troubled and wanted to know what it meant, so he asked one of the angels in the dream. The angel said, “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.”

A Quick Look at Antichrist History
The four kingdoms have already been identified by Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in other places in Daniel (as we shall see) and by history itself. The four kingdoms which rose out of the earth to fight against the everlasting kingdom of God’s son are: Babylon (the lion), Persia (the bear), Greece (the leopard) and Rome (the indescribably horrible beast). These are the kingdoms of significant history. They are the powers that matter in God’s plan of redemption and the struggle for the souls of this earth. But anyone who knows about history may object that the Roman Empire has been gone now for over a thousand years and since that time there have been other movements and powers that have shaped world history. But not so fast.

A quick look at history tells us that the scepter of Rome has never completely faded away from the face of the earth. The Charlemagne and the Habsburgs in Europe continued the title of the Holy Roman Emperor from 800 A.D. until the First World War ended the monarchy in 1918. Kaiser Wilhelm carried the title Caesar (Kaiser). Napoleon’s vision of a new empire was bolstered by his forcing the Papacy to bestow on him the title of Holy Roman Emperor. Papal Rome has continued in the spirit to dominate the beliefs of the people throughout the West. The dream of chapter two describes the partly strong and partly weak condition of the Roman Empire. The interpreter tells us the kingdom would be divided and that it would not be able to get it all together until the Antichrist came.

”And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdues all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
    And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
   And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
   And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
   And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed ..” Dan. 2:40-44

Take some time to re-read the second chapter and especially ponder the words about the fourth empire which is Rome. Consider whether or not it still exists both in spiritual and material realm. Chapter seven shows a further connection between Rome and the Antichrist which is still yet to come in prophecy. Out of this fourth beast come ten horns. In verse 24 we are told that these ten horns are ten kings, later in Daniel we discover that they give over their power totally to the Antichrist (the little horn). The coming of the Antichrist is prophesied in II Thessalonians 2:3 and (Revelation 13 & 17). It is clear that the Antichrist must come out of the fourth beast; therefore it is reasonable to assume that the fourth beast is still alive and well. Deep within that beast is the drive and determination to dominate the world. Hitler came out of that Roman Spirit, Napoleon came out of it.

Another will come who will use the powers of Europe and other “Roman” devotees to fulfill the vision of the Antichrist.  Chapter seven can be edifying to the end-times saint because it shows

how Daniel’s prophecies have been fulfilled and now all that remains is for the arrival of the Antichrist.

All Four Beasts Have Come Just as Prophesied

Babylon was the kingdom in power when Daniel had his dream of Chapter seven. It was the most glorious of all kingdoms to come and the image of a lion standing on its legs like a man and being given the heart of a man reminding us of King Nebuchadnezzar who was made like a beast but then restored and given a heart of a man.

 

Persia lay just around the corner. Symbolized by a bear the Persians would take the Babylonian possessions and make it a cohesive empire. They set up systems of governors and provinces which could be ruled from a central location. They were renowned for their ruthlessness. Thus: the picture of a bear with ribs in its mouth devouring much flesh.  

Greece
In 340 B.C. Alexander the Great took a band of Greeks over the Hellespont into Asia Minor and within three short years had taken over the Persian Empire. By 332 B.C. Alexander the Great had taken over the known world. Thus: the picture of a leopard with wings. With lightning speed he had subdued the world. But upon his death at Babylon in 332 B.C. the kingdom was divided to the four winds. His generals made four separate kingdoms portrayed in the symbol of the four headed leopard. 

 

Rome
Rome vaulted to world dominance during the last two centuries before Christ. It marched the antichrist spirit throughout the world and lived up to the prophecy of stamping the world under its feet. No nation or land could withstand the force of its will. Daniel’s dream has come to pass, though it took six hundred years for the first part of it to be fulfilled. Now we wait on just the last part about the ten horns of the Roman Empire and the “little horn”. We can take heart because Daniel’s amazing vision of the kingdoms of history has already come true, so we know the rest is shortly to come to pass also.