The first was like a lion and that again represents Babylon. You remember Jeremiah, in prophesying the overthrow of Israel and Judah, and the coming captivity, spoke in typical language about the one who would come up and carry them away and destroy them. He said: "The lion is come up,"and here is the lion coming up out of the sea, Nebuchadnezzar an
d his Babylonian empire.
The second was the bear, and tat again points to the Medo-Persian empire. On its side, (you notice the detail) meaning that Persia was its strong element. It had three ribs in its mouth, speaking of three great provinces of that empire, Syria, Lydia and Asia Minor.
The third beast, the leopard, speaking of the Greco-Macedonian empire. This leopard had four wings typical of its rapid advance, fulfilled so clearly in the conquests of Alexander the Great, sweeping advances in all directions. It had four heads which pointed to the parting of the empire into its four territories of Syria, Egypt, Macedonia and Asia Minor.
Then the fourth beast, the great nondescript beast, pointing to the Roman Empire. Ten horns, speaking of ten provinces, and then one small horn destroying the three; the eyes of a man, a mouth speaking great swelling things. Much of this yet awaits fulfillment.
Now we, of course, could go on with that historic, prophetical side, but a hurried look at Chapter 8 will complete all that we intend in this connection for the time being. In Chapter 8 you have the Medo-Persian empire, firstly as a ram with two horns, indicating the Medes and the Persians, the Persians the last and the stronger side, conquered in three directions, and those three directions are the three ribs of Chapter 7.
Secondly, the Greco-Macedonian empire is a he-goat; swift, that is, as the leopard kingdom of Chapter 7, with one horn, that is Alexander the Great. It is most important to realize this was all written some hundred years before Alexander the Great was born, and you see these conquests of that monarch as he leaped across the Hellespont and fought successful battles, and then moved on up the banks of the Indus and Nile and then to Shushan, the battle of the Granicus, and then the battle of Issus, and then his great battle of Arbella. He stamped the Persian to the ground and soon Syria, Phenicia, Cyprus, Tyre, Gaza, Egypt and Babylon were all conquered. After this he conquered Bactria and defeated the Seythians. Thus he stamped upon the ram.
"But when the he-goat had waxed very great, the great horn was broken." The early death of Alexander was thus predicted. He died a drunkard at the age of thirty-two years.
Now you may be wondering what all that has to do with us at this present time, but as we said at the outset, there is a spiritual side to this. There is, of course, its value of seeing the Word of God fulfilled so minutely, and the Spirit of God being vindicated along all these detailed lines, but there is a very great deal more than that in it and we want to come to the main spiritual features of this particular age as indicated by this Book of Daniel, and we can gather those up briefly.
The Spiritual Features of This History
Firstly, we are impressed by this book with the fact that the government of the world on the human side is seen to be for this long period in the hands of Gentile rulers. That carries with it a very great deal more than is apparent on the surface, and we shall see something of what that includes as we go along.
Then in the second place, in a special and distinctive way the kingdom of God of the heavens is seen to be operating. Now put those two things together and you have something of tremendous significance. On the one hand, the fact that for some 2,5000 years of this world's history, on the human side, its government is in the hands of Gentile rulers, and on the other hand, the fact that with the introduction of that regime there is so much said about the rule, the government of the God of the heavens. I do not know whether you have been impressed with that phrase, and similar phrases, in the Book of Daniel. If you care to make a note and look it up I will just give you some of the places in which that phrase and like phrases are used. Five times in Chapter 1:18, 19, 28, 37, 44. Five times in Chapter 4:13, 26, 31, 35, 37; and then in 5:23; 6:27: 7:13, 27.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 3)
The second was the bear, and tat again points to the Medo-Persian empire. On its side, (you notice the detail) meaning that Persia was its strong element. It had three ribs in its mouth, speaking of three great provinces of that empire, Syria, Lydia and Asia Minor.
The third beast, the leopard, speaking of the Greco-Macedonian empire. This leopard had four wings typical of its rapid advance, fulfilled so clearly in the conquests of Alexander the Great, sweeping advances in all directions. It had four heads which pointed to the parting of the empire into its four territories of Syria, Egypt, Macedonia and Asia Minor.
Then the fourth beast, the great nondescript beast, pointing to the Roman Empire. Ten horns, speaking of ten provinces, and then one small horn destroying the three; the eyes of a man, a mouth speaking great swelling things. Much of this yet awaits fulfillment.
Now we, of course, could go on with that historic, prophetical side, but a hurried look at Chapter 8 will complete all that we intend in this connection for the time being. In Chapter 8 you have the Medo-Persian empire, firstly as a ram with two horns, indicating the Medes and the Persians, the Persians the last and the stronger side, conquered in three directions, and those three directions are the three ribs of Chapter 7.
Secondly, the Greco-Macedonian empire is a he-goat; swift, that is, as the leopard kingdom of Chapter 7, with one horn, that is Alexander the Great. It is most important to realize this was all written some hundred years before Alexander the Great was born, and you see these conquests of that monarch as he leaped across the Hellespont and fought successful battles, and then moved on up the banks of the Indus and Nile and then to Shushan, the battle of the Granicus, and then the battle of Issus, and then his great battle of Arbella. He stamped the Persian to the ground and soon Syria, Phenicia, Cyprus, Tyre, Gaza, Egypt and Babylon were all conquered. After this he conquered Bactria and defeated the Seythians. Thus he stamped upon the ram.
"But when the he-goat had waxed very great, the great horn was broken." The early death of Alexander was thus predicted. He died a drunkard at the age of thirty-two years.
Now you may be wondering what all that has to do with us at this present time, but as we said at the outset, there is a spiritual side to this. There is, of course, its value of seeing the Word of God fulfilled so minutely, and the Spirit of God being vindicated along all these detailed lines, but there is a very great deal more than that in it and we want to come to the main spiritual features of this particular age as indicated by this Book of Daniel, and we can gather those up briefly.
The Spiritual Features of This History
Firstly, we are impressed by this book with the fact that the government of the world on the human side is seen to be for this long period in the hands of Gentile rulers. That carries with it a very great deal more than is apparent on the surface, and we shall see something of what that includes as we go along.
Then in the second place, in a special and distinctive way the kingdom of God of the heavens is seen to be operating. Now put those two things together and you have something of tremendous significance. On the one hand, the fact that for some 2,5000 years of this world's history, on the human side, its government is in the hands of Gentile rulers, and on the other hand, the fact that with the introduction of that regime there is so much said about the rule, the government of the God of the heavens. I do not know whether you have been impressed with that phrase, and similar phrases, in the Book of Daniel. If you care to make a note and look it up I will just give you some of the places in which that phrase and like phrases are used. Five times in Chapter 1:18, 19, 28, 37, 44. Five times in Chapter 4:13, 26, 31, 35, 37; and then in 5:23; 6:27: 7:13, 27.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 3)
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