‘These four great beasts are four kings who will arise from the earth.
Parallel translations
- WEB These great animals, which are four, are four kings, who shall arise out of the earth.
- KJV These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
- NKJV ‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth.
- NASB ‘These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth.
- NLT “These four huge beasts represent four kingdoms that will arise from the earth.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The four great beasts represent four kings or kingdoms that will rise on the earth. History unfolds under God's sovereign oversight, not blind chance.
Overview
The interpreter explains that the four beasts are four successive kingdoms arising from the earthly, fallen order. Most interpreters identify these with Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, paralleling the statue of chapter 2. The vision assures the faithful that however fearsome earthly empires appear, they are temporary and accountable to the God who sets up and removes rulers.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Dan 7:3–4Then four great beasts came up out of the sea, each one different from the others:
- Ps 17:14from such men, O LORD, by Your hand—from men of the world whose portion is in this life. May You fill the bellies of Your treasured ones and satisfy their sons, so they leave their abundance to their children.
- Rev 13:1Then I saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads rising out of the sea. There were ten royal crowns on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.
- Dan 2:37–40You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory.
- Dan 8:19–22and said, “Behold, I will make known to you what will happen in the latter time of wrath, because it concerns the appointed time of the end.
- John 18:36Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world; if it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is not of this realm.”
- Rev 13:11Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. This beast had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Daniel sees the stone cut without hands that shatters the kingdoms, and 'one like a son of man' given everlasting dominion — titles and visions Jesus claims as his own.
How Daniel 7:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.