God Gives Daniel a Vision Regarding Rise and Fall of Kingdoms

God gave Daniel a view of the future through prophetic visions. In this study we will look at a second vision that God gave to show Daniels the rise and fall of kingdoms that would extend into the future beyond the birth of Jesus. History verifies these have taken place as God predicted. In this study God's word reveals the meaning of symbols He uses in prophecy.

When was Daniel's second vision given?
"In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters." Daniel 7:1.

What did the prophet first see?
"Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea." Daniel 7:2.

What was the result of this strife?
"And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another." Daniel 7:3.

What did the beasts represent?
"These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth." Daniel 7:17.

In symbolic language, what is represented by winds?
[Whirlwind, commotion, war, strife, scattering, confusion, etc.] Jeremiah 25:31-33; 49:36,37.

What is symbolized by the term waters?
"And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." Revelation 17:15.

What was the first beast like?
"The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it." Daniel 7:4.

By what was the second kingdom symbolized?
"And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh." Daniel 7:5.

By what was the third universal empire symbolized?
"After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it." Daniel 7:6.

How is the fourth kingdom represented?
"After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were
before it; and it had ten horns." Daniel 7:7.

What was denoted by the ten horns?
"And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings." Daniel
7:24.

I encourage you to compare this prophetic vision with the first one recorded in Daniel 2. May God bless you as you search the scriptures.