Outline of Daniel (Formation of the Beast Kingdom).

In this post I would like to make an outline of key passages in the book of Daniel pertaining to the rise of the Antichrist and his kingdom. There is a lot of information packed into these chapters concerning end time events, and it is vital for us to get a grasp on the things revealed here as they form a basis for many of the prophecies found in the book of Revelation.

Daniel chapter 2 contains the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. He dreams of a statue with a head of gold, chest of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and toes made of a mixture of iron and clay. Finally he saw a stone strike the feet of iron and clay, then become a great mountain that filled the earth.

 Each segment of the statue represents a kingdom that succeeds the Babylonian kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar.

1. Head of Gold- Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon)

2. Chest and arms of siver- Medo-Persian empire

3. Belly and thighs of bronze-

Greek empire

4. Legs of Iron- Islamic caliphate

5. Toes of iron mixed with clay- revived Islamic caliphate.

6. The stone represents Jesus Christ who destroys the "beast" at His coming, and sets up His kingdom which shall have no end.

It may surprise many that I did not mention Rome as the legs of iron. Although Rome was a powerful empire by the time of Christ, and was responsible for the destruction of Jerusalem and persecution of Christians throughout the empire, they did not succeed the kingdoms represented in Nebuchadnezzar's statue. History has proven that the next kingdom to rule the area that is represented in this dream was a united Islamic caliphate which ruled in various forms from 632 AD until the breaking up of the Ottoman empire in 1923.

In chapter 7 Daniel records a vision of four beasts rising from the sea. He also saw a "little horn" rise up and come to power until the fourth beast was destroyed. We also get a glimpse of the second coming of Christ to set up His kingdom. 

These beasts follow the order of the empires represented in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, however they are future versions of these empires.

1. Lion with eagles wings- Babylon (Iraq).

2. A bear with three ribs in it's mouth- Medo-Persia (Iran).

3. Leopard with four wings and four heads- Greek empire (Turkey)

4. Dreadful beast with ten horns- a revived Islamic caliphate.

5. The little horn- the Antichrist 

6. The ten horns- ten kings (kingdoms) who make up the final beast empire. They submit to the rule of the Antichrist ( see Rev 17:12-13).

7. The Son of Man and Ancient of days - here again we see the destruction of the Antichrist and his kingdom at the return of Christ to establish His kingdom.

Revelation 13:1-3 describes this beast as it rises out of the sea. It is a composite of the first three (lion, bear, and leopard) with seven heads and ten horns.  It would be wise to keep our eyes on this portion of the world as the end times beast kingdom will rise up out of the middle east, not Europe like so many teach. 

Daniel 8 records the vision of the ram and goat. Similar events to the ones foretold here have in a sense happened when the Greek empire under Alexander the great defeated the Medo-Persian empire. Yet we see that this vision is for the time of the end, so we see it is yet to come (Daniel 8:17, 26). Looking back at the Greek conquest of the Persian empire can give us an idea of what may happen as these events unfold. Let's identify the various symbols in this vision.

1. The ram with two horns- the kings of Media and Persia (Iran).

2. The goat with a prominent horn- the king of Greece. The actual word translated Greece here is Yavan, a country made up of what is now known as Turkey, and Greece. 

3. The prominent horn broken off- something happens to the leader of Yavan after his victory over Persia.

4. The four horns- the dividing up of the future "Greek empire".

5. The horn coming out of one of the four horns- this is the Antichrist as he rises to power. 

In this vision the ram (Iran) attacks its neighbors to the west, north, and south. They are defeated by Javan (Turkey) however. Soon after this victory something happens to the leader of Turkey and the newly enlarged kingdom is divided into four parts. Out of one these sections a small horn (the Antichrist) rises. As he gains power he unleashed it on the beautiful land (Israel), causing devastation and destruction of the holy people. Ultimately he will be destroyed but not by human power.

Again, one should look to the middle east, particularly Turkey, possibly Syria for the emergence of the Antichrist. A Roman empire led by the man of lawlessness does not fit the biblical narrative.

Chapters 10-12 give an account of the struggle between the kingdoms formed after the "prominent horn " of the goat in chapter 8 is broken off. In these passages we read of war between the king of the north (Seluicid empire, the Levant)and the king of the south (Ptolemaic, Egypt). To a degree this can be applied to the events leading up to the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes, the seluicid ruler who mercilessly persecuted the Jewish people. He is a foreshadowing of what is to come. Yet as we read on we see the prophecy telescope to the end when the Antichrist comes on the scene and the tribulation begins. Again, I would look to the middle east, as this is where we will see the wars and rumors of wars that will lead up to the return of Christ.

This was a brief outline of key facts concerning the end times as found in the book of Daniel. I would like to go into deeper details in future posts.