What/who are the four beasts of Daniel 7? (Be specific, support speculation with Scripture)

[JStates]

I haven't reached full clarity in my own mind on Daniel 7. I know a lot of mature Christians with strong views on what is going on in this passage of Scripture, but I don't feel like I've heard anyone lay out their views in a conclusive manner, supported by Scripture.

These things are important because from the context, it would seem that these beasts have to make an appearance before Christ's Second Coming. This is God's Scripture given to humanity and SOME believers at SOME point in history are therefore MEANT to understand this passage. I really want to understand it.

I have thoughts on this, but I'm more interested in seeing what teaching and ideas are out there and how well they can be Biblically/historically supported.

Prophecy is hard and sometimes frustrating. Please be courteous, and I would like to say if I have been uncharitable to others concerning these topics elsewhere here on CC, please forgive me; I will try to do better. I am simply trying to understand what is going on in Daniel 7.

 

[ChristianSubMissionary]

Babylon
Medo-Persia
Greece
Rome

In Daniel 2, 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11-12, we see the pattern that Babylon (Gold, Lion, etc) was identified as the first Kingdom, to be follow by Medo-Persia, followed by Greecia, followed by Rome, and its divisions unto the final stages of earth's history before the second coming:

in Daniel 7:

Symbol:

Dan 7:3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

Identification/interpretation:

Dan 7:17 These great beasts, which are four, are kings, which shall arise out of the earth.

Symbol:

Dan 7:7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

Dan 7:19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;

Identification/interpretation:

Dan 7:23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

Since the 4th beast is "the fourth kingdom upon earth", who then were the first 3?

As we know that Daniel 2 was parallel in language to Daniel 7, we know who they are:

Dan. 2:32

Symbol:

“This image's head was of fine gold ...”

Identification/interpretation:

Dan 2:37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.

Dan 2:38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.

This is exactly in harmony with what the previous prophets said:

Isa 13:19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

Isa_14:4 That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

Jer 4:7 The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.

Jer 49:19 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?

Jer 49:20 Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them.

Jer 49:21 The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea.

Jer 49:22 Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

Jer 50:17 Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.

Thus parallels Daniel 7:

Dan. 7:4

“The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.”

 

[ChristianSubMissionary]

The next (second) Kingdom (after Babylon) to follow was:

Dan. 2:32

Symbol:

“... his breast and his arms of silver, ...”

Identification/interpretation:

Dan 2:39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee,

Paralleling Daniel 7 & 8:

Dan. 7:5

Symbol:

“And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.”

Identification/interpretation:

Dan 7:17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.

Dan 7:23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

Paralleling Dan. 8:

Dan. 8:3-4

Symbol:

Dan 8:3 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.

Dan 8:4 I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.

Identification/interpretation:

Dan 8:20 The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.

Just as the other prophets said:

Isa_13:17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.

Isa 21:2 A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.

Isa 44:27 That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers:

Isa 44:28 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

Isa 45:1 Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;

Isa 45:2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:

Isa 45:3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.

Jer 51:8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

Jer 51:9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.

Jer 51:10 The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.

Jer 51:11 Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple.

Jer 51:28 Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion.

Jer 51:29 And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.

Dan 5:25 And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

Dan 5:26 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.

Dan 5:27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.

Dan 5:28 PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

Dan 5:29 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

Dan 5:30 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.

Dan 5:31 And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.

Dan 6:8 Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.

Dan_9:1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;

Dan_10:1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.

Dan 11:1 Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him.

 

[ChristianSubMissionary]

The next (third) Kingdom to follow (the second, Medo-Persia) was:

Dan. 2:32

Symbol:

“... his belly and his thighs of brass,”

Identification/interpretation:

Dan 2:39 "... and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth."

Which is parallel to Dan. 7:

Dan. 7:6

Symbol:

“After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.”

Identification/interpretation:

Dan 7:17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.

Dan 7:23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

Which parallels Dan. 8:

Symbol:

Dan 8:5 And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.

Dan 8:6 And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power.

Dan 8:7 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.

Dan 8:8 Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.

Identification/interpretation:

Dan 8:21 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.

Which parallels Dan. 11:

Dan 11:2 And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.

Dan 11:3 And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.

Dan 11:4 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.

As the other prophets stated:

Dan_10:20 Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.

Eze_27:13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.

Then follows the division of the 3rd kingdom into 4, then 2, Dan. 7:6, 8:8, 11:4-19.

 

[ChristianSubMissionary]

and so the Fourth Kingdom was Rome:

Dan. 2:33

Symbol:

“His legs of iron, ...”

Identification/interpretation:

Dan 2:40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.

Which parallels Dan. 7:

Dan. 7:7

Symbol:

“ After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it ...”

Identification/interpretation:

Dan 7:17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.

Dan 7:19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;

Dan 7:23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

Which parallels Dan. 8:

Symbol:

Dan 8:9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.

Identification/interpretation:

Dan 8:23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, ...

Which parallels Dan. 11:

Dan 11:20 Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.

Who was the raiser of taxes in the NT after Greece, when the transgression of the Jews came to the full (Mat. 23:32)? What was the occupation of Matthew of the Publicans, whose inscription was upon the coin, and why did Joseph and Mary have to travel?

"destroyed" means "broken to pieces", and Rome was not conquered by external forces, but broke apart from within (thus "neither in anger, nor in battle"), and "few days" is contexual to the timeframe given unto it (examples upon request).

Just as Moses had said:

Deu 28:48 Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.

Deu 28:49 The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;

Deu 28:50 A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:

Deu 28:51 And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.

Deu 28:52 And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.

Deu 28:53 And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee:

Deu 28:54 So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave:

Deu 28:55 So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates.

Deu 28:56 The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,

Deu 28:57 And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.

Just as Jesus had said:

Mat_24:28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

Luk_17:37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

Luk 21:20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

Thus:

Daniel 2:

1. Gold = Babylon
2. Silver = Medo-Persia
3. Brass = Greece/Javan
4. Iron = Rome

Daniel 7:

1. Lion = Babylon
2. Bear = Medo-Persia (conquered 3, raised up)
3. Leopard = Greece/Javan (divided into four, wings to fly)
4. Terrible Beast = Rome

Daniel 8:

1. (Babylon not in the vision)
2. Ram = Medo-Persia (conquered 3, raised up)
3. He-Goat = Greece/Javan (divided into four, touched not the ground)
4. Little Horn = Rome

Daniel 10:

1. Babylon
2. Medo-Persia (Darius/Cyrus)
3. Greece
4. (Rome not mentioned)

Daniel 11:

1. (Babylon not in Daniel 11, as it parallels 8)
2. Medo-Persia
3. Greece (divided)
4. Rome (vs 20)

 

[JStates]

@ChristianSubMissionary Thank you for posting all that! Some of this seems to fit what little I was taught in church/Sunday school on the topic. Some of it I haven't heard before as related to certain chapters of Daniel. You've definitely given me a lot of food for thought.

According to this understanding of things, would you say we are currently an extension of Rome? Rome as depicted in Daniel 2 was the most complicated of the nations with the legs of iron but feet and toes of iron and clay.

 

[ChristianSubMissionary]

@ChristianSubMissionary Thank you for posting all that! Some of this seems to fit what little I was taught in church/Sunday school on the topic. Some of it I haven't heard before as related to certain chapters of Daniel. You've definitely given me a lot of food for thought.

According to this understanding of things, would you say we are currently an extension of Rome? Rome as depicted in Daniel 2 was the most complicated of the nations with the legs of iron but feet and toes of iron and clay.

Yes, still Roman, but feet and toes of iron and miry clay, which is symbol for statecraft & churchcraft. Lots of texts on that.

* Churchcraft & Statecraft

Clay & Iron [Daniel 2:33-35,44,45]

eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things/the voice of the great words/that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things & little horn/horn/that horn ... whose look was more stout than his fellows/made war [Daniel 7:8,11,20,21]

he shall speak great words against the most High/think to change times and laws & shall wear out the saints of the most High/they shall be given into his hand [Daniel 7:25]

Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down & cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them [Daniel 8:10,11]

by peace [religion/gospel] & shall destroy [sword of the state] [Daniel 8:25]

Priests [priesthood, earthly] & Kings [royal, earthly] [counterfeit] [see the true Heavenly: Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6, 5:10]

Sheeps clothing/drawing disciples [outwardly claiming Christ] & ravening wolves inwardly [Rome's symbol was the Capitoline wolf] [Ezekiel 22:27; Matthew 7:15; Acts 20:29-30]

Tabernacles [house of worship] & palace [house of kings] [Daniel 11:45]

Worshippeth/worshipped/great wonders/miracles/worship & War/power over/killeth with the sword/power/causeth [Revelation 13:4,7,8,10,12,15, 14:9,11]

Woman & Beast [Revelation 17:1-8]

Blasphemy & Crowns [Revelation 13:1,2,5,6, 17:3,18]

Understanding Dark Sentences & King of Fierce Countenance [Daniel 8:23]

Exalteth & Opposeth [2 Thessalonians 2:4]

Worshippeth & Sitteth (throne) [2 Thessalonians 2:4]

God service & Killeth you [John 16:2]

Peace [spirit/false gospel] & be still [flesh/false sabbath rest day] [counterfeit] [the True: Mark 4:39]

Peace [Gospel, Luke 2:14] & Safety [protection by king/state, Acts 5:23] [1 Thessalonians 5:3]

 

[ChristianSubMissionary]

Prophecy is hard and sometimes frustrating.

May these help you then:

https://archive.org/details/michael...-the-revelation-compared-7-branch-candlestick

https://archive.org/download/awhn-b...7 Vs 13 Thy Way O God Is In The Sanctuary.jpg

https://archive.org/details/revelation-12-the-great-controversy

https://archive.org/details/daniel-7-and-revelation-13-language-and-time-parallel

I have a lot more if you need.

For instance:

https://archive.org/download/7th-se...lation 8 Vs 1 in Type & Anti-TypeSnapshot.png

 

[Pilgrimshope]

I haven't reached full clarity in my own mind on Daniel 7. I know a lot of mature Christians with strong views on what is going on in this passage of Scripture, but I don't feel like I've heard anyone lay out their views in a conclusive manner, supported by Scripture.

These things are important because from the context, it would seem that these beasts have to make an appearance before Christ's Second Coming. This is God's Scripture given to humanity and SOME believers at SOME point in history are therefore MEANT to understand this passage. I really want to understand it.

I have thoughts on this, but I'm more interested in seeing what teaching and ideas are out there and how well they can be Biblically/historically supported.

Prophecy is hard and sometimes frustrating. Please be courteous, and I would like to say if I have been uncharitable to others concerning these topics elsewhere here on CC, please forgive me; I will try to do better. I am simply trying to understand what is going on in Daniel 7.

Daniels other dreams and visions Along with johns visions and other prophetic visions help us understand that the first head of the beast is nebucadnezzar representing Babylon and that the next heads of the beast are the media Persians represented by xerxes, Greece represented by Alexander the Great and then the Grecian kingdom was split in parts which Rome rose up from the divisions of the Grecian rule and is most likely represented by Nero and his reign

what I mean is look at how many things In Daniel are a message of four kingdoms which would arise and rule the earth nebucadnezzars dream is one

“Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.

And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.

‭‭Daniel‬ ‭2:37-44‬ ‭

what I’m meaning to say is that dream isn’t independent from this vision of the beast in chaoter 7 its like another deeper layer to it to add understanding

After he sees the vision of chaoter 7

“…. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.

These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.

Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.

Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.”
‭‭Daniel‬ ‭7:3-7, 16-17, 19-20, 23-24‬ ‭KJV‬‬

I’m not sure that makes sense but what I mean is rather than looking at just chaoter 7 look Into all Daniel me the dreams and visions me overlap them layer them things like also the vision of the ram and goat is also a layer


“And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.

And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.

Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.

And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.”
‭‭Daniel‬ ‭8:19-24‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Then after the book of Daniel which there’s a lot more in there we see the latter time of this vision on johns vision

“And there are seven kings: five are fallen,

and one is,

and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭17:10‬ ‭KJV‬‬

John was seeing this during the reign of the 6th king and Daniel was seeing it beginning at nebucadnezzars rule the first head of the beast John is in the latter time of this unfolding during romes rule

Daniel needs to be layered when he’s seeing the visions of these events and then it leads to revelation later which offers more apacolypse of these things.

because it’s in the latter time of this fulfilling of what Daniel had seen five kingdoms had already rose to power and fallen Babylon , media Persia , Greece and its divided rule which had led to rome in johns time when Gid had set up the eternal kingdom in heaven