The Terrifying Beasts: Daniel 7:1-8
The more we rely upon God, the less likely we are to be consumed by our own power.
The remaining chapters in the book of Daniel change flavor from the previous stories. The rest of the book contains visions God gave to Daniel about God’s perception of the world. That’s a key point. Many people look to the second half of Daniel to glimpse into the future. However, one of the main things to be learned from the second half of Daniel is not what will come, but rather how God sees the ebb and flow of human society.
As an example, exam the vision of the four beasts. The four winds stirred up the ocean. Life is turbulent. The only thing that can be counted on is change. The world is constantly in flux; we are forced to continue to adapt.
Out of this flux comes the beasts. Like Nebuchadnezzar’s vision of the statue composed of four elements, Daniel sees a vision of four beasts. Like Nebuchadnezzar’s dream where the elements of construction lose value as the vision continues, the beasts likewise decrease in quality as the vision continues.
The first beast is a lion with eagle’s wings, which sounds like a griffon. Both lions and eagles are majestic animals. Furthermore, this beast is shown to become like a man. There is a regal humanity in the presentation of the beast, much like the gold head from Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
The second beast is a bear, raised up on one side. It is told to devour. Much like the silver in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was less significant than the gold, bears are not as majestic as lions and eagles. Whereas the lion became a man, the bear devours. Even so, the bear is still doing the command of God. The bear is told to go a devour and it does.
The third beast is a leopard, which is smaller and less powerful than a bear. This leopard also has wings and four heads, probably signifying the four kingdoms the Greek Empire becomes after reaching its zenith of importance.
The last beast is terrifying, so terrifying we aren’t given a picture of what it looks like. The only thing we’re told is the beast is destructive. It devours with its iron teeth and smashes what remains with its feet. This beast also had ten horns.
There’s a common theme in the presentation of the beasts. As the beasts diminish in significance, their propensity to devour and destroy increases. Hear God’s perspective of humanity. As human empires grow in power, they frequently grow more phenomenal at bringing destruction. That’s one way an empire displays its strength. This is nothing more than a theme learned in the Tower of Babel story from Genesis. As human beings grow in power, our destructiveness towards one another expands as well. The lesson is clear. The more we rely upon God, the less likely we are to be consumed by our own power.
