What is the meaning of Daniel 7:4? The first beast was like a lion • Daniel later hears, “These great beasts … are four kings” (Daniel 7:17), so we begin by looking for a real kingdom marked by lion-like strength. • Scripture repeatedly pictures Babylon and its ruler Nebuchadnezzar as a lion: “A lion has gone up from his thicket” (Jeremiah 4:7), “Like a lion coming up from the thickets of the Jordan” (Jeremiah 49:19), “Israel is a scattered flock that lions have chased away … the first to devour him was the king of Assyria; the last to crush his bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon” (Jeremiah 50:17). • The lion’s regal bearing fits the head of gold in Daniel 2:37-38—another image God used for Babylon’s unrivaled glory. • The vision therefore begins with Babylon: powerful, majestic, feared. and it had the wings of an eagle • Wings add the idea of swift reach and heightened dominion. Habakkuk 1:8 describes the Babylonian cavalry: “Their horses are swifter than leopards … they fly like an eagle swooping to devour.” • Jeremiah 49:22 says, “Look! One will soar like an eagle and spread his wings against Bozrah,” a snapshot of Babylon’s lightning-fast advances. • Eagle’s wings also hint at loftiness; Nebuchadnezzar boasted, “Is this not Babylon the Great … by my mighty power?” (Daniel 4:30). • Together, lion strength + eagle wings paint Babylon at the zenith of power—ferocious, mobile, seemingly untouchable. I watched until its wings were torn off • The scene now shifts from conquest to judgment. In Daniel 4:31-33 the heavenly decree strips Nebuchadnezzar of glory and sanity: “Your royal authority has been removed from you.” • Jeremiah 50:29 foretold Babylon’s downfall: “Repay her according to her deeds … for she has been arrogant against the LORD.” • Torn wings show God clipping the empire’s pride; no enemy could do it until God decreed it. • Lesson threaded through Scripture: “He reduces rulers to nothing” (Isaiah 40:23). and it was lifted up from the ground • After seven “times,” Nebuchadnezzar testifies, “I raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored” (Daniel 4:34). God Himself lifts the humbled king. • Daniel 5:21, recounting the episode, notes that the king lived with the beasts “until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign.” • Being lifted pictures restoration—God’s grace follows His discipline. and made to stand on two feet like a man • Standing upright contrasts the earlier beast-posture. Nebuchadnezzar’s experience moved him from brutish pride to a posture of accountable humanity. • Daniel 4:36 records, “At the same time my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me.” • The shift from four-legged beast to two-legged man underlines God’s desire to transform rulers who acknowledge Him, turning tyranny into responsible stewardship. and given the mind of a man • Daniel 4:37 closes the king’s testimony: “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and glorify the King of heaven.” A renewed mind replaces the animal instinct. • Ezekiel 36:26 echoes the theme: God can give “a new heart and a new spirit.” • Historically, Babylon continued after Nebuchadnezzar, but it never regained his blazing brilliance—just as a lion without wings is still a lion yet markedly tamer. • Spiritually, the verse reminds every reader that true wisdom begins when God grants a humble, regenerate mind. summary Daniel 7:4 introduces Babylon as the first of four world empires. The lion with eagle’s wings pictures the empire’s unparalleled strength and speed; the tearing off of the wings portrays God’s decisive judgment; the beast’s elevation to upright posture and a human mind reflects Nebuchadnezzar’s personal humbling and restoration, and more broadly God’s sovereign power to raise up, abase, and transform rulers. The verse reassures believers that no empire, however fearsome, operates outside God’s control, and it invites all who wield influence—great or small—to walk humbly before the King of heaven who gives both power and the mind to use it rightly. |
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