The Identification of the Four Kingdoms (Dan 7); The “One like the Son of Man” (Dan 7:13-14); The Identification of the Ram and the Goat (Dan 8)

The Identification of the Four Kingdoms (Dan 7) 

            In Daniel seven we find Daniel having a dream in which four great beasts came up out of the sea; these four beasts represent four kingdoms, the same four kingdoms discussed or recapitulated in chapter two according to John F. Walvoord.[1] Walvoord states that “Daniel traces the course of four great world empires, namely, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome.” [2]The first beast (v.4) seems to be very likely Nebuchadnezzar; the beast here turns from aggressive animal to kindly human representing the King’s change of heart due to God’s mighty hand in his life.[3] The second beast (v.5) could either represent Darius (Median Empire) or Belshazzar according to Dummelow, Stephen R. Miller favors the Medo-Persian (Median) view because of the three ribs in the beast mouth, this seems to represent the “conquests of the empire.”[4] The third beast says Walvoord represents Greece. The leopard with four wings representing lightning speed fits with Alexander the Great and his conquering vast territories in as little as ten years.[5] Dummelow has the fourth beast as the “conquering Greek empire of Alexander the Great.[6] This is incorrect. Walvoord and Miller agree that the fourth beast represents the kingdom of Rome. This beast was unlike anything Daniel had ever seen, in fact it remained unnamed. Miller tells us that Rome was unrivaled in its thirst for conquest and that “nations were crushed under the iron boot of Roman legions…”[7]

           

The “One like the Son of Man” (Dan 7:13-14) 

            There is debate as to what exactly “One like the Son of Man” refers to in Daniel 7:13, 14. Miller outlines three views. One is that it refers to Michael the archangel.[8] Verses 21, 25 negate the idea of the son of man being a mere angel. The second view as outlined by Miller is that it represents the “people of God, the Jewish nation.”[9] Miller, citing Baldwin expresses that the phraseology refers to the “son of man” and not the “son of Israel/Jacob.”[10] This makes sense; God would not have had the writer make such an unclear distinction between a man and a nation and as Miller, states only God will be worshiped, not the Jewish nation. The last view is that Christ is the only one that could be referred to as the son of man. Miller tells us that the New Testament Apostles and Christ Himself confirm this truth.[11] Now, Walker would have us believe that this passage has nothing to do with Christ; in fact he believes that it is the nation of Israel and that it will be given authority. He writes,

“One like the son of man” in Daniel 7:13 is not to be regarded as a title for an expected eschatological figure, as has generally been assumed; rather, it is to be understood simply as indicating a "human-like" figure (identified later in Dan. 7 as "the saints of the Most High") to whom will be given "dominion and glory and kingdom" following the imminent destruction of the last of the beast-like figures. Thus, Daniel 7:13-14 does not contain any reference to Jesus the Christ nor is it, in any strict sense, a "messianic" passage.[12]

As already been asserted, this cannot be so, only Christ will be given “dominion and glory and kingdom.”

The Identification of the Ram and the Goat (Dan 8) 

            The two-horned ram, as outlined in Daniel eight, represent the Kings of Media and Persia. Towner notes that it is generally accepted that the word “kings” is singular and thusly the Median and Persian parts are truly one entity – the Persian Empire.[13] Towner and Miller agree that the symbol of ram for the Medo-Persian Empire was fitting in that it was able to conquer almost everything it faced in the West, North, and South. The Goat, representing Greece and its leader Alexander the Great, was depicted as a fierce and foreboding foe to the Persian Empire. It was filled with rage and sought nothing more than victory over the entire world. But Alexander thought himself a god, and it would be his downfall.          

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[1] John F. Walvoord. “Chapter 7 Daniel’s Vision of Future World History.” www.walvoord.com, http://www.walvoord.com/article/248 (accessed April 4, 2013).

[2] Walvoord.

[3] John R. Dummelow. Commentary of The Holy Bible by Various Writers (New York: The McMillian Group, 1920), 536. http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005459394;view=1up;seq=11;q1=four%20beasts;start=1;size=10;page=search;num=i.

[4] Stephen R. Miller. The New American Commentary: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture – Daniel (Nashville: B&H Publishing, 1994), 198.

[5] Walvoord.

[6] Dummelow, 537.

[7] Miller, 201.

[8] Miller, 207.

[9] Miller, 208.

[10] Miller, 208.

[11] Miller, 209.

[12] William O. Walker. 1985. “Daniel 7:13-14.” Interpretation 39, no. 2:176-181. ATLASerials, Religion Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed April 5, 2013).

[13] Sibley W. Towner. 1984. Daniel. n.p.: John Knox Press. eBook Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed April 5, 2013).