EXPLORE DAYS OF NOAH

Four Kingdoms, One Sovereign God
Part 3 of 4
Four Beasts, Four Kingdoms and the Ancient of Days

Nebuchadnezzar saw the splendour of earthly empires. Daniel saw their terrifying character. But above the beasts stood a throne that no earthly kingdom could overthrow.

Nebuchadnezzar saw the splendour of earthly empires. Daniel saw their terrifying character. But above the beasts stood a throne that no earthly kingdom could overthrow.

By Days of Noah | The Sovereignty of God | Research updated: 14 November 2026

"And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High..." - Daniel 7:27

Focus Scripture: Genesis 41:16 (KJV)

About this four-part series

Four Kingdoms, One Sovereign God explores God's authority over the kingdoms of history and the prophetic promises concerning His eternal kingdom.

Part One examined Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 2.

Part Two compared God's dealings with Joseph, Moses and Daniel, demonstrating His power to reveal mysteries and fulfil His Word.

Part Three returns to Babylon, but this time the dream belongs to Daniel himself. The magnificent statue of Daniel 2 gives way to four disturbing beasts in Daniel 7.

The imagery is different. The underlying question remains: who truly governs the world, and what becomes of kingdoms that appear unstoppable? 

A vision during Babylon's final decades​

No more nebuchadnezzar

Daniel's vision

Daniel 7:1 places the vision in the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon. This is important because Daniel 7 does not occur chronologically after the events of Daniel 6. The book's narrative chapters first take readers through the fall of Babylon and Daniel's service under subsequent rulers.

Chapter 7 then returns to an earlier period. Belshazzar's first year as co-regent is commonly placed around 553 BC, although precise dating depends upon how his authority alongside Nabonidus is understood. By this time, Nebuchadnezzar had died. Babylon remained powerful, but its political future was increasingly uncertain.

Daniel, who had spent much of his life in exile, received a vision concerning kingdoms extending far beyond his own lifetime.

Belshazzar and the historical record

For many years, Belshazzar's identity presented difficulties for interpreters who assumed he was an otherwise unknown independent monarch. Ancient Babylonian records provide important context.

Nabonidus was Babylon's final king, reigning from 556 to 539 BC. Belshazzar, his son, exercised royal authority during periods when Nabonidus was absent from Babylon. The Nabonidus Chronicle and related cuneiform evidence establish this broader political setting.

This does not independently verify Daniel's supernatural vision. It does demonstrate that the biblical reference to Belshazzar belongs to a recognisable historical environment.

The great sea and the four winds

Daniel 7:2-3 describes the four winds of heaven stirring the great sea. Four great beasts emerge, each different from the others. The vision is symbolic.

Daniel 7:17 explains that the beasts represent four kings, while the chapter's wider explanation also speaks of kingdoms. The sea has often been understood as representing the restless nations of the world.

Isaiah 17:12-13 uses the imagery of roaring waters to describe tumultuous peoples. However, Daniel 7 does not explicitly define every aspect of the sea or the winds. The safest interpretation begins with what the chapter itself explains. The beasts represent earthly political powers. Their appearance communicates something about their character.

The first beast - A lion with eagle's wings​

Daniel 7:4 describes a beast resembling a lion with eagle's wings. Its wings are removed, and it is lifted from the earth and made to stand like a man. Within the traditional four-empire interpretation, this beast represents Babylon.

The lion and eagle are fitting images of royal power and imperial dominance. Lion imagery was prominent in Babylonian art, including the famous glazed-brick lions associated with the Processional Way. Nebuchadnezzar's empire possessed enormous military power and royal prestige.

Some interpreters associate the removal of the wings and the beast's transformation with Nebuchadnezzar's humiliation and restoration in Daniel 4. This is a plausible literary connection.

But Daniel 7 does not explicitly identify the transformation with the events of Daniel 4. We should therefore distinguish the proposed parallel from the interpretation directly supplied by Scripture.

Nebuchadnezzar's humiliation

Daniel 4 records Nebuchadnezzar's pride and subsequent humiliation. The king experiences a dream concerning a great tree that is cut down. Daniel interprets the warning. The king later loses his royal dignity and lives in an animal-like condition until the appointed period ends. Daniel 4:25 refers to seven times passing over him. These are commonly understood as seven years, although the text uses the expression seven times rather than explicitly stating seven calendar years.

At the end of the period, Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges the sovereignty of the Most High. Daniel 4:34-37 records his restoration and praise of God. The theological lesson is unmistakable. A king who believed himself secure discovered that his authority depended upon God.

The second beast - A bear raised on one side

Daniel 7:5 describes a bear raised on one side, holding three ribs in its mouth. It is commanded to arise and devour much flesh. In the traditional futurist interpretation, this represents Medo-Persia.

The bear communicates formidable strength. Its uneven posture is often interpreted as reflecting the eventual dominance of Persia within the combined Median and Persian power. The three ribs have sometimes been associated with major Persian conquests, particularly Lydia, Babylon and Egypt. Those conquests are historical events.

However, the text does not identify the ribs by name. Consequently, this identification should remain an interpretive suggestion rather than a claimed certainty.

The Persian conquest

Cyrus the Great expanded Persian power during the sixth century BC. Babylon fell in 539 BC. Cambyses II subsequently conquered Egypt in 525 BC.

The Persian Empire eventually stretched across enormous territories, incorporating peoples with different languages, traditions and political systems. Its power was substantial, but not permanent.

Greek and Macedonian expansion would ultimately end Achaemenid imperial rule.

The third beast - A leopard with four wings and four heads

Daniel 7:6 describes a leopard with four wings and four heads. Dominion is given to it. The traditional interpretation identifies this beast with the Greek empire established through Alexander the Great. The leopard suggests speed and agility. The additional wings reinforce the impression of rapid movement.

Alexander's campaigns transformed the political geography of the eastern Mediterranean and Near East within a remarkably short period. He defeated Persian forces at Issus in 333 BC and Gaugamela in 331 BC.

By the time of his death in Babylon in 323 BC, his conquests had extended far beyond Greece.

The four heads and Alexander's successors

After Alexander's death, his empire did not remain permanently united under one successor. A series of conflicts produced several major Hellenistic kingdoms.

The traditional interpretation connects the four heads with the principal successor powers that emerged from this fragmentation.

Daniel 8:8 and 8:21-22 provide an especially relevant parallel, describing a Greek power whose great horn is broken and replaced by four notable horns. This supports the broader association between Greek imperial power and subsequent division.

However, Daniel 7 itself does not list the successor dynasties.

The exact relationship between its four heads and the later political arrangements remains a matter of interpretation.

The fourth beast - Different from all the others

The fourth beast is unlike the first three. Daniel 7:7 describes it as dreadful, terrible and exceedingly strong. 

• It possesses great iron teeth.
• It devours, breaks in pieces and tramples what remains.
• It has ten horns.

Daniel does not compare this creature to an ordinary animal. Its character is presented through overwhelming destructive power.

The Roman connection

Within the traditional futurist interpretation, the fourth beast corresponds to Rome. This aligns with the iron legs of Nebuchadnezzar's image in Daniel 2. Rome's military power, territorial expansion and political institutions provide the historical setting for this interpretation. Yet the vision extends beyond a simple account of Rome's ancient history.

The ten horns and the emergence of another horn become central to the prophetic discussion. Daniel 7:24 identifies the ten horns with ten kings arising from the fourth kingdom. Another ruler then emerges, distinct from those before him.

The little horn

Daniel 7:8 describes a little horn appearing among the ten horns. Three earlier horns are uprooted before it. The little horn possesses eyes like those of a man and a mouth speaking great things.

Later verses explain that this ruler speaks against the Most High, persecutes the saints and seeks to change times and laws. Daniel 7:25 describes the saints being given into his hand for a time, times and the dividing of time. Within the futurist interpretation, this period is commonly understood as three and a half years.

The little horn is commonly associated with the future ruler described elsewhere as the man of sin or lawlessness in 2 Thessalonians 2, and with the beast of Revelation 13.

Those connections are developed by comparing several biblical passages. Daniel 7 alone does not use the title Antichrist. Nor does it identify a modern nation, politician, religious leader or international organisation as the little horn.

Such identifications require evidence that the chapter does not provide.

The Ancient of Days takes His seat

At this point, the vision changes dramatically. Daniel 7:9-10 describes thrones being set in place and the Ancient of Days taking His seat.

• His clothing is white as snow.
• His throne is fiery.
• Thousands minister before Him.
• The judgement is set, and the books are opened.
• The contrast with the beasts is extraordinary.
• Earthly kingdoms rise from a turbulent sea. Their authority is exercised through conquest, domination and violence.
• But the Ancient of Days does not struggle for His throne. He already possesses it.

The vision moves from the instability of earthly power to the certainty of divine judgement.

Who is the Ancient of Days?

Within the immediate vision, the Ancient of Days represents the eternal God exercising sovereign judgement. The title emphasises His eternal existence and authority. Daniel 7:11-12 describes the judgement of the beast and the removal of dominion. The message is that no earthly power, however terrifying, can escape God's authority.

One like the Son of Man

Daniel 7:13-14 introduces one of the most important messianic passages in the Old Testament. Daniel sees one like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven.

He approaches the Ancient of Days and receives dominion, glory and a kingdom. All peoples, nations and languages are to serve Him. His dominion is everlasting.

The New Testament connection

Jesus repeatedly uses the title Son of Man in reference to Himself. In Mark 14:61-62, His response before the high priest draws directly upon the imagery of Daniel 7. Matthew 24:30 also refers to the Son of Man coming with power and great glory.

These passages provide a strong biblical basis for understanding Daniel 7:13-14 as messianic prophecy fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The identity of the Son of Man is therefore not merely a speculative association based on similar imagery. The New Testament itself establishes the connection.

The saints and the everlasting kingdom

Daniel 7:18 declares that the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom. Verse 27 repeats the promise of an everlasting kingdom.  The vision therefore contains both judgement and hope.

• The beasts do not have the final word.
• The persecuting ruler does not have the final word.
• The Ancient of Days judges, and the Son of Man receives everlasting dominion.

Within a premillennial interpretation, the vision anticipates the future visible reign of Christ and the ultimate establishment of God's kingdom.

The precise relationship between the heavenly scene, the future Tribulation and the Millennium requires comparison with later prophetic passages. Those questions belong primarily to the fourth article.

The vision's historical and prophetic timeline

Stage **	Event or Kingdom	Historical or Prophetic Setting
Vision received	Daniel during Belshazzar's reign	Approximately 553 BC
First beast	Babylon	Until 539 BC
Second beast	Medo-Persia	539-330 BC
Third beast	Greece and successor kingdoms	From approximately 330 BC
Fourth beast	Rome in the traditional interpretation	Ancient Rome, with a proposed future final phase
Ten horns and little horn	Final rulers and persecuting power	Future in the futurist interpretation
Heavenly judgement	Dominion removed from the beast	Future culmination
Son of Man's kingdom	Everlasting dominion	Fulfilment through Christ and His kingdom

** These stages are not all separated by equal intervals. Daniel 7 does not supply a continuous year-by-year chronology.

Conclusion: The lesson of Daniel 7

The book of Daniel does not deny the reality of political power. It shows that such power is limited. Babylon was powerful. Persia was powerful. Greece was powerful. Rome was powerful. However, none of these empires possessed the authority of the Ancient of Days.

Daniel's vision should therefore produce neither panic nor fascination with evil. Instead, it should produce confidence in God's sovereignty. The beastly kingdoms may appear overwhelming. But the vision does not end with a beast. It ends with the everlasting kingdom of the Son of Man.

Continue Your Study

Continue your study of Daniel's vision in Daniel 2 & 7, and explore the biblical passages, prophecies and related Bible commentaries describing the rise and fall of earthly empires.

Prophecies

Daniel 2 Daniel 7

 Commentaries

Daniel​​ 2 Danie​​l 7

Next in the Series

Part FOUR - The Final Kingdom: Daniel, Revelation and the End of the Age

The final instalment brings together the image of Daniel 2, the beasts of Daniel 7, the seventy weeks of Daniel 9 and the prophetic imagery of Revelation.

We will examine the future ruler, the final kingdom, the seven-year Tribulation framework, the beast's image and mark, and the promised return of Jesus Christ.

Available from: 18 November 2026

Article 3 - Historical evidence: The Nabonidus Chronicle establishes the political context of Babylon's final years, while Babylonian records identify Belshazzar as the son of Nabonidus. These sources help establish the historical setting without independently proving the prophetic origin of Daniel's vision.
Editorial note: The articles in this series are presented from a conservative evangelical, premillennial and pre-tribulation understanding of biblical prophecy. The Holy Scriptures are our final authority in all matters of faith and doctrine. Historical records, archaeological findings and theological commentaries are used to provide context, but must never be regarded as equal to God's Word. Where Scripture explicitly speaks, we affirm its authority; where interpretations differ or prophetic details remain unrevealed, we distinguish these from established biblical truth. References to historical kingdoms, modern nations, political developments or future events must not be understood as declarations of prophetic fulfilment unless clearly established by Scripture. We reject speculative predictions, sensationalism and attempts to set dates for Christ's return. Our purpose is to encourage careful study, sound biblical discernment and unwavering faith in Jesus Christ, whose eternal kingdom shall never be destroyed.