In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.

The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it.

And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, "Get up and eat your fill of flesh!"

After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.

After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast --terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.

While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully. 1

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"Wow! What a dream!" Brian exclaimed.

"I think I understand a little bit of it!" Jamie was very excited.

"Go ahead, Jamie, tell us what you think," Elizabeth encouraged her.

"Well, the lion came first, so he must represent Babylon. The bear must be Media-Persia. The leopard would be Greece, and the terrifying beast is the Roman Empire!" Jamie explained.

"Good work, Jamie," her father said. He was pleased with her response.

"Do all of the little details have a special meaning? Like the wind, the sea, and the eagle's wings?" Brian asked.

"Let's look at each kingdom in detail."

"The four winds represent the power of G-d. The sea represents the nations of the earth.2 The lion with eagle's wings does represent Babylon. The national symbol of Babylon was a winged lion.3 The lion is the king of the beasts and the eagle is the king of the birds, a fitting description of the most powerful kingdom on earth. The dream is specifically referring to Nebuchadnezzar's period of insanity when it talks about the wings being plucked off and given the heart of a man.4 Of course, at the time Daniel received the vision, Babylon was the current world empire and Nebuchadnezzar would have already had his period of insanity. The rest of the dream was all in Daniel's future.

"The next beast was a bear. As Jamie pointed out, it represented the Medo-Persian empire, just as the silver was used in the statue to represent the Medo-Persian empire. The fact that the bear was raised up on one side symbolizes that the Persians would be stronger than the Medes. The three ribs in the bear's mouth are the three kingdoms that they conquered: Lydia, Babylon, and Egypt. The command was given to devour much flesh and the Medo-Persian Empire certainly managed to conquer and subdue a great many people."5

"Where is Lydia, Dad? I never heard of it before," Jamie asked.

"Lydia is now known as Turkey. The Medo-Persian empire was powerful like a bear and as ferocious. As the bear is not as majestic and glorious an animal as the lion, so the Medo-Persian empire was not as majestic and glorious as the Babylonian Empire. Finally the bear is not as swift an animal as the lion; this was true of the Medo-Persian empire. The Medo-Persian army did not move and conquer other nations as swiftly as the Babylonians did."

"Man, there really is an awful lot of hidden meaning in the dream, isn't there?" Brian remarked, shaking his head.

"Yes Brian. Bible teachers, rabbis, and pastors spend most of their lives studying the Bible. They pray and ask G-d to reveal the meaning of some of the more difficult passages. That is why it is so very important to ask G-d to open your spiritual eyes to the truth of His Word," Elizabeth explained.

"I see that. This is really fascinating. What is the meaning of the four wings and four heads on the leopard? " asked Brian.

"Did the Greeks have four kings?" asked Jamie.

"Boy are you sharp! Alexander the Great was emperor of the Greek Empire. His army moved with great speed and agility, like a winged leopard, as they conquered the then known world.6

"When Alexander the Great died in 323 B.C., the empire was divided between his four generals. The generals are represented by the four heads. The first, General Ptolemy, took control of Egypt and the surrounding territories. The second, General Seleucus, controlled Syria, Babylon, and lands to the East. General Lysimachus was given Thrace and the surrounding territories while General Cassander was given Macedonia and Greece itself,"7 Darryl explained.

"I'm not going to remember the names of all these guys and who got what." Brian shook his head.

"Me neither!" Jamie looked upset.

"You don't have to, the important part is to know the kingdom was divided by four men. The men were represented by the four heads of the leopard in the dream Daniel had years before it actually took place," Elizabeth reassured them.

"Oh," Jamie and Brian said at the same time. They both looked relieved.

"The fourth beast does represent the Roman Empire. The iron teeth corresponds to the iron legs in Nebuchadnezzar's statue. Later in the chapter, the beast is described as having bronze claws. I believe the claws tell us that this government will have some of the same characteristics of the former Greek Empire. Daniel doesn't tell us what kind of animal it was only that it was terrifying and frightening. When the Romans came to power they crushed, or wiped out, all other governments in their way."8

"Dad, when we talked about the statue, you told us there would be a revived Roman Empire. I've been waiting to hear more about it. Are we going to talk about it now?" Jamie asked.

Brian added, "Are the ten horns the same as the ten toes in the statue?"

"Yes, yes, to both of your questions," Darryl answered.

"What about the little horn? This is confusing." Jamie looked puzzled.

"You're not the only one who was puzzled by the vision; so was Daniel. Let's read what he had to say," her dad told them.