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Vision of the Four Beasts

¹ In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a ^(C1)dream and visions ^(F1)in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he ^(C2)wrote the dream down and told the ^(F2)following summary of ^(F3)it.² Daniel ^(F1)said, "I was ^(C1)looking in my vision by night, and behold, the ^(C2)four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.³ "And four great ^(C1)beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another.⁴ "The first was ^(C1)like a lion but had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and set up on two feet like a man; a human ^(F1)mind also was given to it.⁵ "And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and they said this to it: 'Arise, devour much meat!'⁶ "After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, ^(C1)like a leopard, which had on its ^(F1)back four wings of a bird; the beast also had ^(C2)four heads, and dominion was given to it.⁷ "After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a ^(C1)fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ^(C2)ten horns.⁸ "While I was thinking about the horns, behold, ^(C1)another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the previous horns were plucked out before it; and behold, ^(F1)this horn possessed eyes like human eyes, and ^(C2)a mouth uttering great boasts.

The Ancient of Days Reigns

⁹ "I kept looking
Until ^(C1)thrones were set up,
And the Ancient of Days took His seat;
His ^(C2)garment was white as snow,
And the ^(C3)hair of His head like pure wool.
His ^(C4)throne was ^(F1)ablaze with flames,
Its ^(C5)wheels were a burning fire.

¹⁰ "A river of ^(C1)fire was flowing
And coming out from before Him;
^(C2)Thousands upon thousands were serving Him,
And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him;
The ^(C3)court ^(F1)convened,
And ^(C4)the books were opened.

The Son of Man Presented

¹³ "I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, with the clouds of heaven
One like a son of man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient of Days
And was presented before Him.

¹⁴ "And to Him was given ^(C1)dominion,
Honor, and ^(F1)(C2)a kingdom,
^(C3)So that all the peoples, nations, and populations of all ^(F2)languages
Might serve Him.
^(C4)His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
^(C5)And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.

The Vision Interpreted

¹⁵ "As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within ^(F1)me, and the ^(C1)visions ^(F2)in my mind kept ^(C2)alarming me.¹⁶ "I approached one of those who were ^(C1)standing by and began requesting of him the ^(F1)exact meaning of all this. So he ^(C2)told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things:¹⁷ 'These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth.¹⁸ 'But the ^(F1)(C1)saints of the Highest One will ^(C2)receive the kingdom and take possession of the kingdom forever, ^(F2)for all ages to come.'

¹⁹ "Then I desired to know the ^(F1)exact meaning of the ^(C1)fourth beast, which was different from all ^(F2)the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet,²⁰ and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three of the horns fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts, and ^(F1)which was larger in appearance than its associates.²¹ "I kept looking, and that horn was ^(C1)waging war with the ^(F1)saints and prevailing against them,²² until the Ancient of Days came and ^(C1)judgment was ^(F1)passed in favor of the ^(F2)saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the ^(F2)saints took possession of the kingdom.

²³ "This is what he said: 'The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth which will be different from all the other kingdoms, and will devour the whole earth and trample it down and crush it.²⁴ 'As for the ^(C1)ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will ^(F1)humble three kings.²⁵ 'And he will ^(F1)(C1)speak against the ^(C2)Most High and ^(C3)wear down the ^(F2)saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make ^(C4)alterations in times and in law; and ^(F3)they will be handed over to him for a ^(F4)(C5)time, ^(F4)times, and half a ^(F4)time.²⁶ 'But the court will ^(F1)convene for judgment, and his dominion will be ^(C1)taken away, ^(F2)annihilated and destroyed ^(F3)forever.²⁷ 'Then the ^(F1)(C1)sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the ^(F2)saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an ^(C2)everlasting kingdom, and all the empires will ^(C3)serve and obey Him.'

²⁸ "^(F1)At this point the revelation ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were ^(C1)greatly alarming me and my ^(F2)face became pale, but I ^(C2)kept the matter ^(F3)to myself."