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 (Daniel 7:6 NIV).
After the Medes and the Persians, a third power would arise to take control. Daniel 2 and history both tell us that the Greek Empire came after the Medo-Persian Empire. In Daniel 8, we read in a further prophecy that "Grecia" would subdue the Medo-Persian Empire, and that it also would be divided into four subkingdoms before succumbing to the Roman Empire. The leopard beast in Daniel 7 has four heads and four wings that symbolize the four subkingdoms.
The symbol of the leopard is a fitting symbol for the kingdom of Grecia in view of the swiftness of its conquest. The “Grecia” referred to in Daniel 8 should not be confused with the Greece of the classical period that preceded the fall of Persia. That Greece does not match the timeline of Daniel 2. This Greece must be a power that overcomes the Medo-Persians and establishes itself as a world dominating power coming from the Grecian culture.
This is the semi-Greek Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great, who subdued revolts in the states of Greece and Thrace. Alexander then declared himself successor to the Pharaohs, and his troops worshiped him as if he were a god.
One of Alexander’s aims was to spread Greek culture and philosophy throughout his realm. Greece added many refinements, rites, and ceremonies to the earthly systems of worship. The Bacchus cult, the mythologies of the battles of the gods, and the worship of female deities became entrenched in the very fiber of society.
Ahead to the Terrible Beast of Daniel 7
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This article is adapted from Truth Matters by Professor Walter J. Veith, an international speaker who has studied Biblical issues in-depth in his quest for truth. His popular series Genesis Conflict brings the debate between Creation and evolution to a new climax as he dissects the arguments with a scientific eye. His highly-acclaimed series Total Onslaught sheds light on the state of the world today as we move to a one-world government and an anticipated apocalypse.
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