Daniel's Dream of Four Beasts
1
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon,
Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind
as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substnce of this dream.
2
Daniel said: "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me
were the four winds of the heaven churning up the great sea.
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Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
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"The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle.
I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground
so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it.
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"And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear.
It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth
between its teeth. It was told, 'Get up and eat your fill of flesh!'
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"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.
7
"After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast -
terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth;
it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left.
It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
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"While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn,
a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns
were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man
and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
9
"As I looked, "thrones were set in place, the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.
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A river of fire was flowing out from before him. Thousands upon thousands
attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated, and the books were opened.
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"Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking.
I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown
into the blazing fire.
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(The other beasts had been stripped of their authority,
but were allowed to live for a period of time.)
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"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,
coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient Days
and was led into his presence.
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He was given authority, glory and sovereign power, all peoples, nations
and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting
dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never
be destroyed.
The Interpretation of the Dream
15
"I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions
that passed through my mind disturbed me.
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I approached one of those standing there and asked him the true meaning of
all this, "So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things:
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'The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth.
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But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and
will possess it forever - yes, for ever and ever.'
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"Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast,
which was different from all the others and most terrifying,
with its iron teeth and bronze claws - the beast that crushed and devoured
its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left.
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I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn
that came up, before which three of them fell - the horn that looked
more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke
boastfully.
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As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them,
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until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of
the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed
the kingdom.
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"He gave me this explanation: 'The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that
will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms
and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it.
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The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom.
After them another king will rise, differnet from the earlier ones;
he will subdue three kings.
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He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints
and try to change the set times and the laws.
The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time.
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" 'But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away
and completely destroyed forever.
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Then the sovereignity, power and gratness of the kingdoms under
the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High.
His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.'
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"This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts,
and my face turned pale, but Ikept the matter to myself."