The Fourth Beast of Daniel 7 (part 1)
The trickiest part of understanding Revelation lies in the 7 symbols of Revelation. Contrary to popular assumption, Revelation is mostly NOT a symbolic book, there are only 7 main symbols, and the Bible decodes each of them. Probably the trickiest symbol is the 7-headed beast of Revelation 17.
Revelation 17:7-11 But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. “Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.
From this image all sorts of interpretations have proceeded, some good and some bad. This is where the currently popular 7-Mountain dominionism doctrine comes from (which I personally disagree with). 7-mountain dominionism is a "post-millennial" doctrine, which asserts Jesus won't return until he has "conquered," through the Church, the 7 main spheres of dominion in the world. Although Jesus will clearly dominate every sphere of dominion, the 7 mountains of Revelation 17 are clearly defined in the Bible, and have nothing to do with spheres of dominion, they are physical empires that have dominated the world. This is decoded in Revelation 17 itself, but primarily in Daniel 7.
Daniel 7:7-8 NKJV
“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.
The angel interprets the vision of the beast with 10 horns for Daniel...no guessing or interpreting is really necessary, because the Bible says what it means and means what it says:
Daniel 7:16-20, 23-25 I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: ‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’ “Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows.... “Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast shall be A fourth kingdom on earth, Which shall be different from all other kingdoms, And shall devour the whole earth, Trample it and break it in pieces. The ten horns are ten kings Who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones, And shall subdue three kings. He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time.
This is what John clearly saw in Revelation 17. Revelation cannot be understood apart from an understanding of Daniel. Daniel is the Old Testament book of Revelation. It is important to be confident that Jesus plan to return, as told in Daniel, Revelation, and the other more than 150 Chapters that describe it in detail, is knowable, because Jesus, Paul, and Peter were clear that we should know it and "be ready."
Most, even many teachers, are not confident that Jesus' plan is knowable and clear! The early Apostles and disciples would disagree with this stance:
I Thessalonians 5:4-6 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.
There is much confusion in the world because many mix together different teachings from eschatological (end times study) frameworks which are fundamentally incompatible. Rather than study the word and history, we tend to rely on popular teachers and what sounds good. Right now, teachers are teaching from four main eschatological frameworks. It is really important to nail down which one you subscribe to so that you can start sorting out teaching you are hearing and line it up with what the word really says and means. This is how you get clarity: study with the assistance of the Holy Spirit and expectantly ask Him to make it plain to you.
Right now, many dispensational premillennialists (pre-trib rapture believers) are adopting a lot of post-millennial (those who believe the world will keep getting better and better until Jesus returns) eschatology. Post-millennialism is making huge strides right now, which seems ironic to me, given the obviously deteriorating state of the world. But the Bible actually states that this will be a huge dynamic at the end time...that many will mistakenly say "no harm will come to us" even though God's word is clear that Great Tribulation is coming and God wants people prepared, not deluded:
Amos 9:10 All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, Who say, ‘The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.’
It is very important, as the events of Revelation unfold, that God's people know which eschatological "well" they are drinking from. Each end time teacher has (hopefully) a clearly defined eschatology they are teaching from, otherwise what the hearer receives is total confusion, because the eschatologies are mostly incompatible with each other, due to the fundamental theology behind them. As long as you understand the view point of the teacher, you can receive from any teacher, but you really want to know why they are saying what they are saying.
The four frameworks:
"Historic Premillennialism". Historic= what the early church believed. Pre-millennialist=Jesus comes back before the 1,000-year reign of Christ in Revelation 20. This framework takes a literal interpretation of the Bible, and a non-symbolic approach to the scripture. Those with this view believe the Bible says what it means and means what it says. I am a "historic premillennialist." I believe in a literal interpretation of Revelation and the 150 Chapters that support a chronological view of Matthew 24, the Book of Revelation, and the return of Jesus to literally take over the world to renew it over 1,000 years, called the millennial reign. Historic premillennialists, who also are "futurists" (believe the events of Revelation take place in the future), believe all the events of Revelation take place in the literal main and plain way they are organized in the Bible. The first disciples, operating in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, knew that tribulation was part of the experience of following Jesus and that greater was He in them, than He who was in the world. IHOP-KC is based on a historic premillennial eschatology.
"Amillennialists" believe the events described in Revelation (and 150 other chapters that support it) are mostly symbolic, and that there is no actual millennial reign of Jesus. St. Augustine was one of the major proponents of this view, which makes most of what it means to follow Jesus and have Him establish His kingdom symbolic of what happens in our hearts. This disregards the 150 chapters that vividly describe Jesus violently taking over the earth, the geographic locations described, and the numerous chronologically organized events of Revelation. Many Catholic and other mainline liturgical denominations are generally ammillennial in their eschatology.
"Dispensational premillennialists" (also "futurists") generally believe that Jesus will remove his Bride before the tribulation and THEN Jesus sends judgment on the earth, and THEN the millennial reign begins. This is born out of a "dispensational" theology that says the operation of the Holy Spirit through believers is different now than it was for the first followers of Jesus, and that God has a different relationship with Jews than Christians. Basically, the idea that the Church lacks the supernatural qualities of the indwelling Holy Spirit necessary to make it through the tribulation drives the belief that God wouldn't leave His helpless Bride on earth through the intensity. This was first proposed by John Nelson Darby in the early 1800s, although some charismatic denominations have adopted the pre-tribulation rapture stance. Generally baptists and Bible churches would be dispensational premillennialists.
Post-millennialists, who are also "preterists" (believe the events of Revelation have mostly already happened with the fall of Jerusalem in 70 ad) believe we are in the millennial reign right now, and that once the church makes the earth ready in righteousness, Jesus will return. This is the eschatology of many connected with the charismatic movement, including many of the teachers associated with Bethel Church in Redding, CA.
Revelation 17:7-11 But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. “Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.
From this image all sorts of interpretations have proceeded, some good and some bad. This is where the currently popular 7-Mountain dominionism doctrine comes from (which I personally disagree with). 7-mountain dominionism is a "post-millennial" doctrine, which asserts Jesus won't return until he has "conquered," through the Church, the 7 main spheres of dominion in the world. Although Jesus will clearly dominate every sphere of dominion, the 7 mountains of Revelation 17 are clearly defined in the Bible, and have nothing to do with spheres of dominion, they are physical empires that have dominated the world. This is decoded in Revelation 17 itself, but primarily in Daniel 7.
Daniel 7:7-8 NKJV
“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.
The angel interprets the vision of the beast with 10 horns for Daniel...no guessing or interpreting is really necessary, because the Bible says what it means and means what it says:
Daniel 7:16-20, 23-25 I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: ‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’ “Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows.... “Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast shall be A fourth kingdom on earth, Which shall be different from all other kingdoms, And shall devour the whole earth, Trample it and break it in pieces. The ten horns are ten kings Who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones, And shall subdue three kings. He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time.
This is what John clearly saw in Revelation 17. Revelation cannot be understood apart from an understanding of Daniel. Daniel is the Old Testament book of Revelation. It is important to be confident that Jesus plan to return, as told in Daniel, Revelation, and the other more than 150 Chapters that describe it in detail, is knowable, because Jesus, Paul, and Peter were clear that we should know it and "be ready."
Most, even many teachers, are not confident that Jesus' plan is knowable and clear! The early Apostles and disciples would disagree with this stance:
I Thessalonians 5:4-6 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.
There is much confusion in the world because many mix together different teachings from eschatological (end times study) frameworks which are fundamentally incompatible. Rather than study the word and history, we tend to rely on popular teachers and what sounds good. Right now, teachers are teaching from four main eschatological frameworks. It is really important to nail down which one you subscribe to so that you can start sorting out teaching you are hearing and line it up with what the word really says and means. This is how you get clarity: study with the assistance of the Holy Spirit and expectantly ask Him to make it plain to you.
Right now, many dispensational premillennialists (pre-trib rapture believers) are adopting a lot of post-millennial (those who believe the world will keep getting better and better until Jesus returns) eschatology. Post-millennialism is making huge strides right now, which seems ironic to me, given the obviously deteriorating state of the world. But the Bible actually states that this will be a huge dynamic at the end time...that many will mistakenly say "no harm will come to us" even though God's word is clear that Great Tribulation is coming and God wants people prepared, not deluded:
Amos 9:10 All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, Who say, ‘The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.’
It is very important, as the events of Revelation unfold, that God's people know which eschatological "well" they are drinking from. Each end time teacher has (hopefully) a clearly defined eschatology they are teaching from, otherwise what the hearer receives is total confusion, because the eschatologies are mostly incompatible with each other, due to the fundamental theology behind them. As long as you understand the view point of the teacher, you can receive from any teacher, but you really want to know why they are saying what they are saying.
The four frameworks:
"Historic Premillennialism". Historic= what the early church believed. Pre-millennialist=Jesus comes back before the 1,000-year reign of Christ in Revelation 20. This framework takes a literal interpretation of the Bible, and a non-symbolic approach to the scripture. Those with this view believe the Bible says what it means and means what it says. I am a "historic premillennialist." I believe in a literal interpretation of Revelation and the 150 Chapters that support a chronological view of Matthew 24, the Book of Revelation, and the return of Jesus to literally take over the world to renew it over 1,000 years, called the millennial reign. Historic premillennialists, who also are "futurists" (believe the events of Revelation take place in the future), believe all the events of Revelation take place in the literal main and plain way they are organized in the Bible. The first disciples, operating in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, knew that tribulation was part of the experience of following Jesus and that greater was He in them, than He who was in the world. IHOP-KC is based on a historic premillennial eschatology.
"Amillennialists" believe the events described in Revelation (and 150 other chapters that support it) are mostly symbolic, and that there is no actual millennial reign of Jesus. St. Augustine was one of the major proponents of this view, which makes most of what it means to follow Jesus and have Him establish His kingdom symbolic of what happens in our hearts. This disregards the 150 chapters that vividly describe Jesus violently taking over the earth, the geographic locations described, and the numerous chronologically organized events of Revelation. Many Catholic and other mainline liturgical denominations are generally ammillennial in their eschatology.
"Dispensational premillennialists" (also "futurists") generally believe that Jesus will remove his Bride before the tribulation and THEN Jesus sends judgment on the earth, and THEN the millennial reign begins. This is born out of a "dispensational" theology that says the operation of the Holy Spirit through believers is different now than it was for the first followers of Jesus, and that God has a different relationship with Jews than Christians. Basically, the idea that the Church lacks the supernatural qualities of the indwelling Holy Spirit necessary to make it through the tribulation drives the belief that God wouldn't leave His helpless Bride on earth through the intensity. This was first proposed by John Nelson Darby in the early 1800s, although some charismatic denominations have adopted the pre-tribulation rapture stance. Generally baptists and Bible churches would be dispensational premillennialists.
Post-millennialists, who are also "preterists" (believe the events of Revelation have mostly already happened with the fall of Jerusalem in 70 ad) believe we are in the millennial reign right now, and that once the church makes the earth ready in righteousness, Jesus will return. This is the eschatology of many connected with the charismatic movement, including many of the teachers associated with Bethel Church in Redding, CA.
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