The Cloud Rider

“After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.”
Daniel 2:39-40

“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.”
Daniel 7:3-7

“The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king. The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power.”
Daniel 8:20-22

The book of Daniel contains three distinct prophecies, each different from the others, but all somewhat similar. They concern the future of Babylon and the world empires coming afterward (see the prophecy chart for Daniel 2, 7 and 8 below).

In Daniel chapter 2 the prophecy comes to Nebuchadnezzar “in the second year of his reign” (Daniel 2:1; around 604 BC) as a series of dreams about a mysterious stature. Nebuchadnezzar does not share his dreams, yet demands his advisors to explain them. Daniel has the secret revealed to him in a vision and he explains to the king that the different parts of the stature represent a series of world empires to come. The head of gold is Babylon itself; the silver represents the next kingdom (Medo-Persia), a bit weaker than Babylon. The third, the bronze part of the body, would rule the whole earth (Greece/Alexander the Great) and Rome, the final kingdom, strong as iron “will crush and break all the others.”

In chapter 7 Daniel himself “in the first year of Belshazzar” (ca. 553 BC) has a dream of four beasts: a lion, a bear, a leopard, and an unidentified beast, powerful with iron teeth. As in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the beasts represent the same four kingdoms. The first kingdom is Babylon . The second represents the empire created by the pact between Media and Persia under the leadership of Cyrus; it conquered Babylon in 539 BC. Like a strong bear its power was great, but not as overwhelming as Babylon had been. The greater power of Persia as compared to the Medes is revealed in the bear raising itself up on one side. The leopard depicts the third kingdom, Greece , and the rapid conquest by Alexander the Great of Western Asia. The leopard moves at great speed, just like Alexander’s rapid victories. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC and his empire was divided among his four generals, represented by the four heads and four wings. The fourth kingdom is not identified by a specific beast, but was historically fulfilled by the Roman Empire.

Finally, in Daniel 8 “in the third year of King Belshazzar”(ca. 551 BC) Daniel has another vision of a ram and a goat. As explained in the text itself, the ram represents the empire of the Medes and the Persian, the longer horn is symbolic of the stronger power of Persia. The goat represents the Greek expansion under Alexander the Great (the prominent horn) and attacks and destroys the ram. As it begins to grow, at the very height of its power, this large horn is broken off (as Alexander died in 323 BC at the zenith of his power, only 33 years old).

The three dreams/visions share many similar elements and together prophesy the defeat of Babylon by the combined empire of Media and Persia , and the latter rise of the Greeks under Alexander the Great. Daniel foresaw that the kingdom after Alexander would separate into four main divisions all of which would ultimately fall to the rising power of the Roman Empire.

Analysis of the prophecy:

• The prophecy is unambiguous (with the exception of Rome , the world empires are mentioned by name), historically fulfilled, and clearly realized beyond control of the Israelites.
• As with Isaiah the date of authorship is subject to debate. The case for dating Daniel in the sixth century BC is rather convincing and trying to reassign its date about 450 years later is quite a stretch– you decide!