The Vision of the 4th Beast Interpreted

In my previous study we came to understand how the saints of the Most High inherited the Kingdom of God, and what that means. In Daniel 7:23, the one who stood by told Daniel that the fourth beast would be a fourth kingdom that would arise upon the earth. It was different from the other three in that it devoured the whole earth. That is, it consumed what was the land of the Jews, treading it down and crushing it, meaning it took all that could be taken and what remained it trampled down as though it was chaff that fell to the ground (Daniel 7:23). Nevertheless, it needs to be asked, how was this done by the fourth beast?

Notice that the one who stood by turned his attention to the ten horns of the beast, and he called them kings or rulers (Daniel 7:24). It is also important to understand that these ten kings or rulers are described as beasts in Daniel 7:12, “the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time” (emphasis mine). Who are these ten kings/rulers? They are the ten Roman procurators/prefects who governed the Jews, while Annas, the high priest responsible for Jesus’ death, or one of his sons officiated the office of high priest.

High Priest	Horns	Identity of the Horns	Years of Reign
Annas	Three	Coponius; Ambivius; Ananius Rufus	AD 6 to AD 15
Eleaszar	One	Valerius Gratus	AD 16 to AD 17
Caiaphas	One	Pontius Pilate	AD 18 to AD 36
Jonathan		(Pontius Pilate, mentioned above)	AD 36 to AD 37
	Two	Cumanus; Antonias Felix	AD 52 to AD 58
Theophilus	Two	Marcellus; Marullus	AD 37 to AD 41
Matthias	None	Officiated under King Agrippa, but he isn’t counted among the 10.	AD 42 to AD 44
Ananias	One	Albinus	AD 62

Everything that the fourth beast did to the Jews was done through these governors, who were sent to Caesarea by Caesar to govern and keep the peace in the Jewish lands.

The one who stood by also mentioned the little horn who stood up, was different from the other horns, and through whom three of the other horns would be “humbled, put down, or subdued” (H8214; Daniel 7:24-25). Pontius Pilate, Antonias Felix and Marullus seem to be the three kings/governors who were replaced or humbled due to the works of the little horn. Both Pilate and Felix were removed from office for complaints of inappropriate behavior and had to report to Caesar. Marullus was the governor reigning when Gaius Caesar was assassinated. Marullus was removed and replaced with a Jew, King Agrippa, by Clausius Caesar, after the whole nation at the direction of Theophilus stood in protest over the things being done against the Jews.

According to the text, the little horn also spoke blasphemy and wore out the saints of the Most High and would seek to change the times and the laws (Daniel 7:25). The only persecuting authority during the first century AD against Christ and his disciples was the high priest. Moreover, persecution arose against the disciples only when one of the sons (or son-in-law) of Annas officiated the high priesthood. It was Annas to whom Jesus spoke, saying he would be alive to see the coming of the Son of Man with the clouds in the glory of the Father (Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62). He sought to change the times (viz. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) by killing off Jesus’ disciples in an effort to keep the Old Covenant in force, while keeping the saints from inheriting the Kingdom of God.

Nevertheless, this wasn’t possible, because the Lord intervened and sat in judgment, taking away the dominion of the Jews, represented in the little horn (high priest), and gave it to the saints of the Most High, bringing the Old Covenant to an end and establishing the New Covenant as the only means, whereby the world could communicate with God (Daniel 7:26-27).

Daniel 7	Matthew 16
In the days of the Roman Empire	In the days of the Roman Empire
Persecutor of the saints (v. 21, 25)	Persecution of the disciples (v.21, 24-25)
Coming of the Ancient of Days (v. 22)	Coming of the Lord (v. 27-28)
Judgment / Vindication (v. 26-27)	Judgment / Vindication (v. 27)
Coming of the Kingdom (v. 22)	Coming of the Kingdom (v. 28)
In the days of  the Roman Empire	Some shall not taste death (v. 28)

This was the end of the matter and Daniel continued to be greatly troubled. His countenance changed in the understanding of how things would develop in his nation, the Jews, after they would be released, when Jeremiah’s 70 Year Prophecy would be fulfilled. Nevertheless, he kept it all in his heart to consider it (Daniel 7:28).