The Leopard and Bear

Daniel saw “four beasts ascending” from the Sea in his vision. The first three possessed characteristics of identifiable animals - the winged lion, the bear, and the leopard with two pairs of wings. The fourth beast was unnatural and monstrous with “great iron teeth” and “Ten Horns.” All four are identified as “kingdoms,” successive political powers that appear on the earth.

The four “beasts” also correspond to the four parts of Nebuchadnezzar’s “great image with a head of gold” in his dream described in Chapter 2. That image was composed of four different materials symbolizing four successive empires. The “head of gold” was identified as the Babylonian king - (Daniel 2:31-45).

[Photo by Constantinos Kollias on Unsplash]

In Daniel’s vision of the “four beasts,” the winged lion represents the Babylonian kingdom. The remaining three “beasts” ascend from the Sea following the “lion.” Presumably, the second, third, and fourth “beasts” portray the three subsequent kingdoms that appeared after Babylon’s downfall.

• (Daniel 7:5) – “And, lo, another beast, a second, resembling a bear, and on one side was it elevated with three ribs in its mouth, between its teeth, and thus were they saying to it, Rise, devour much flesh.”

In the historical narratives of the first half of Daniel, the kingdom that followed Babylon was the “Kingdom of the Medes and Persians.” It is always called “kingdom” in the singular number, and consistently, is identified as the “Kingdom of the Medes and Persians” – (Daniel 5:28, 6:8-15).

The “bear” had one side raised higher than the other. In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the “arms” and the “breast” of the “great image” were composed of silver. This pictured two identifiable divisions of the realm that followed the “head of gold.”

The “bear” has “three ribs” gripped in its mouth. If it does represent the “Kingdom of the Medes and Persians,” the “three ribs” match the historical record. In its first twenty-five years, the Medo-Persian Empire conquered the great kingdoms of Lydia (546 B.C.), Babylon (539 B.C.), and Egypt (525 B.C.).

A voice commanded the “bear” to “rise, devour much flesh!” This description is echoed in the vision of the “ram” in Chapter 8, the “Ram with two horns, with one higher than the other.” No other “beast” could stand before it, it did according to its will, “and it magnified itself.” It conquered and ruled until “the Goat from the West with a notable horn between his eyes” overthrew it.

In the interpretation of the vision of Chapter 8, the “ram” is identified explicitly as the “Kingdom of the Medes and Persians,” and the “goat” that overthrew it represented “Greece.” This scenario is also presented in the introduction of the Book’s final vision described in Chapter 11 - (Daniel 8:1also9-20):

• (Daniel 11:2-3) – “Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and when he is waxed strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. And a mighty king will arise who will rule with great dominion and do according to his will.”

When interpreting the symbolism of Daniel, priority must be given to the clues provided by the Book of Daniel itself. This means the “bear” is the Kingdom of the “Medes and Persians.”

THE LEOPARD

• (Daniel 7:6) – “After that, I was looking, and lo, another like a leopard, and it had four wings of a bird upon its back, and four heads had the beast, and dominion was given to it.”

The “leopard” had two pairs of “wings,” indicating rapidity of movement, and its “four heads” pointed to internal divisions in the kingdom. The description parallels that of the “goat” in Chapter 8:

• (Daniel 8:5-8) - “The goat came from the west over the face of the whole earth and touched not the ground, and the goat had a prominent horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had the two horns, which I saw standing before the river, and ran upon him in the fury of his power.  And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and smote the ram, and broke his two horns, and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled upon him, and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. And the goat magnified himself exceedingly: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and instead of it there came up four notable horns toward the four winds of heaven.”

The speed of the conquering goat was as if its feet did “not touch the ground.” This corresponds to the leopard’s “four wings of a bird.” The “four heads” of the leopard parallel the four “lesser horns” that appeared on the “goat” after its “prominent horn” was broken.

As to its identity, the angel’s interpretation of the “goat” left no doubt – Its prominent horn symbolized the great first king of Greece – (Daniel 8:21-22).

The “goat” could only be the Greco-Macedonian kingdom, and its prominent horn was its first king, Alexander the Great. His army overthrew the Medo-Persian Empire in just three years, capturing a vast territory that stretched from Greece in the West, to the Indus Valley in the East. After his death, his empire was divided between four of his generals. None of the four subsequent Greek kingdoms approached the size or grandeur of Alexander’s realm.

Again, this same historical scenario is portrayed at the start of the vision in Chapter 11 - (Daniel 11:2-4).

The “bear” and the “leopard” represent the kingdoms of the “Medes and Persians” and Greece. The mighty Babylonian kingdom was overthrown by the former, which, in turn, was conquered by the Greco-Macedonian kingdom under Alexander the Great.

[Download PDF Copy]

RELATED POSTS:

• The First Three Beasts - (Daniel saw four creatures with animalistic features ascending from a wind-tossed sea, representing four successive kingdoms)

• The Fourth Beast - (Daniel’s fourth beast is the focus of his vision, especially its little horn with the mouth that was speaking great things)

• The Little Horn - (The second half of the seventh chapter interprets the vision that concluded in a judgment and with a declaration)