Political Power & Beasts from the Sea in Daniel 7

August 28, 2024

This is the first follow-up post to the "Is it the "End of Days"? Reading the Bible faithfully in the digital age (Part 1)."

Daniel 7: beastly powers and their rise and fall

If you’ve not read Daniel 7 recently, I encourage you to have a quick look. It’s a dramatic vision of divine intervention in the organisation of powers, political for God’s divinely-given one. In the first opening section (vv.1-8), four hybrid animals emerging out of the waters, coming before God and experiencing judgement. The first is a lion with eagle’s wings, the second a three-tusked bear, the third a leopard with wings and four heads and the fourth a terrifying, arrogant and particularly fearsome beast with ten horns and iron teeth. Following the appearance of the four beasts, the Ancient of Days appears and the judgement books are opened (vv.9-10). The fourth beast is destroyed (v.11). Then one “like a son of man” appears, coming into the presence of the Ancient of Days and is given an everlasting kingdom and authority over all dominions (i.e. the four beasts) (vv.12-14). The second half of the chapter (vv.15-28), following the vision, is taken up with Daniel asking for, as well as receiving, an explanation of what he had just seen. In the explanation we learn that the 4th beast (the most fearsome one) would be at war with the ‘holy ones’ and for a time it might even look like this beast has won (vv.23-27).

So what is going on?

This is one of those bizarre scenes that is alien to many readers of the Bible. What is happening? What’s it all about? In short, this is about the power of God versus the political powers of the day. This is not about end-of-time speculation. Think of it more like an unveiling of hidden mysteries that help us see the world differently. Yes, it includes elements of future hope for Israel (and certainly there are many strands that are taken up and find significance in light of the Cross), but it also speaks to past events and all of it is really focused on shoring up strength in the present.

A few keys

Here are a few useful things to note:

The four powers represent the empires of Babylon, Media, Persia and Greece (who is the fourth beast). [Notice the references to Greece in the chapters that follow.]
The “little horn” that appears and has a face and speaks arrogantly refers to Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a Greek ruler who desecrated the temple as well as using it for its riches to fund his military campaigns.
The son of man figure is not a messianic prophecy, but most probably a depiction of the angel Michael as guardian angel of Israel, receiving dominion from God. In other words, he embodies the God-given confidence that Israel will one day be free of Greek imperial rule. [Notice how the figure is going towards the Anicent of Days and the heavenly courtroom. He is not coming to earth.]

So what do we learn about the powers in Daniel 7?

1. Political empires aren’t directly God-appointed

Notice the four beasts all come from the Sea. In ancient Israel, the Sea was at the very least a symbol of chaos and evil for its unpredictability and inability to be tamed by human hand. There is also good reason to suggest it represents evil mythological powers that oppose God as well. (There’s a long tradition in the OT of the Sea being used similarly to its appearance in Ugaritic mythology as the chaos monster who opposes the storm-god Baal). That the four beasts come from the Sea and that they are not animals but monstrous beasts, all point to being out of the order of God’s creation. They are chaotic, they oppose God (at least to some extent), although some are worse than others, i.e. beasty number 4.

2. Political empires are God-permitted

In this little chapter, although the empires come from the Sea, that is not to say God does not permit them to exist and make allowance for them. Yes, when the Ancient of Days appears, the 4^th beast is destroyed and the others have their dominion taken away, but they are allowed to exist for a time (see v.12). We later learn that even though the 4^th beast is at war with God’s holy ones, his time isn’t up yet—he will be permitted to continue for “a time, two times and half a time” (v.25). God will act, even if the moment is not when we would want it. Time is important in God's economy—the appointed time for things to happen. As humans we are bound by chronological time (and the ageing that goes with that). In Daniel 7 and similar literature the “appointed time” is important. [See Habakkuk 1-2 for an example of how God uses Babylon as the means of God's judgement upon Israel, but not without limits, Babylon too will be held to account and have limits put on its dominion.] And when the dominion is taken away and given to the son of man figure, he will have authority over all of them (cf. v.14 and 27).

3. Some political empires are significantly worse than others:

Not all imperial powers are equal. Some are worse than others. The 4^th beast, the Greek empire, was the one that perishes before the Ancient of Days and has its body handed over to be burned (v.11). Its life is not spared, as it was for the other three empires who simply had their power taken away but are allowed to live a little longer. Why this difference in treatment? Well, this beast is “different” from those who came before (v.7) with the emphasis on its arrogance (v.8, 11 and 20) and its intrinsically violent nature—it is terrifying and strong (v.7), it makes war with the holy ones and devours the earth (v.19, 23). Its “little horn” is similar and with its humanistic features reflects the whole: it will blaspheme God, wear out the holy ones and try to pervert their religion (v.8, 24-27).

[This "little horn" king tracks with what we know of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, whose appellation “Epiphanes” claimed that he was the revelation of the divine. He ransacked the temple to fuel his military campaigns as well as setting up a false altar in it and sacrificed a pig there. For more of Antiochus see 1-2 Maccabees and Josephus’ Antiquities.]

4. Political powers will be judged and will not last—for God’s kingdom will prevail

What is striking when you study these beasts up close, is that they never stand a chance against the Ancient of Days. This isn’t Darth Vader vs. Yoda. Or Voldemort vs. Dumbledore. It’s not an interaction of equals with a lengthy, drawn-out battle (as you would find in an action movie. For the record, Daniel 7 would make a terrible action film). For all the destruction the fourth beast wreaks, before the Ancient of Days it is utterly powerless. The other beasts may have had power, but they too are powerless when the Ancient of Days calls time and takes it away. And ultimately, although God’s people hearing the words of Daniel 7 are still facing the terror of the 4^th beast and its little horn (i.e. the Greek empire and Antiochus IV), the promise is that this imperial power will come to an end and will be judged. And God’s kingdom—a kingdom that comes from heaven rather than one that comes up from the Sea—this kingdom will be forever.

This is how Daniel 7 is really about the present age of God’s people in the 2^nd century. The future hope in Daniel (i.e. the end of the 4^th beast and the arrival of the kingdom of God) gives strength to God’s people today, in light of their present sufferings and struggles. It gives them courage that God is still God, even when it looks like the gods of the Greeks have the upper hand—or even seemingly defeated the God of Israel. This peek behind the cosmic curtain gives a bigger picture that says the best is yet to come. This is not the end of the story: there is more to come.

Does any of it apply today?

So what do we take from it? Well, this is just one picture of political power in the Bible, so it's important to remember this in the context of the whole and not go wild. That said, it does seem to remind us to remember the differentiation between a divinely-wrought kingdom versus human ones. Political empires in Daniel 7 are from the Sea, God-accommodated (but not created), subject to punishment and finite. Some are significantly worse than others in their transgressions. Compare that with God's kingdom in Daniel 7: from heaven, God-given, eternal and will have authority over all other kingdoms. It may not be present yet in the way the reader might want, but it points us towards remembering that one day it will be so.

I wonder whether Daniel 7 paints a useful picture to remember in our speech about political powers. They have their purposes and reasons for their existence (God's accommodates, after all), but they are not divinely-ratified. They are not an intrinsic part of the original design for Creation. Whether we're talking king, president or prime minister, they are (in Daniel's vision) that which comes from below not above. So let's be careful to not confuse the two.

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Cove photo by Pop & Zebra on Unsplash

Inset image: Public Domain, from the British Library's collections, 2013

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The Wisdom of "100%" (or the Lack of It)

By Suse McBay • March 17, 2026

Are you 100% sure about that? Last December, Stephen and I headed for Prague for a few days. We were looking forward to Christmas markets, mulled wine, and shopping. Because we had booked a really early flight, we decided to stay in an airport hotel the night before. We hadn’t banked on one thing though: how to get from the bus station at Heathrow to the hotel. We could see our destination towering ahead of us as we exited the coach, but there was no reliable way to get there on foot. Much like Houston, navigating the surface roads of Heathrow is much easier for those in a car. So, we asked for directions from one of the airport staff. She pointed us over to two elevators, sat right next to each other. One had a line of at least twenty people. The other one had none. Those at the front of the queue hadn’t even pressed the button. That seemed strange and indicated that perhaps the people in line didn’t know what they were doing—or weren’t used to London airports. But why was one line so long and the other non-existent? The signs above weren’t exactly clear, but here were two lifts side-by-side, surely they went to the same place? Towards the back of the line was a middle-aged man, surrounded by luggage and family, who realised what we were trying to puzzle out. “Nah, you can’t use it. The other lift doesn’t go down. Doesn’t go to the same place,” he told us. We looked at him quizzically. “Are you sure?” we asked. “ One hundred percent , mate. One hundred percent.” The certainty with which he declared his answer was persuasive. He crowed like he was the CEO of the airport. That lift would not go where the other one was going. He repeated himself again. 100%. Only, he was wrong. We risked looking like fools. We walked to the vacant elevator, hit the button, and—lo and behold!—an elevator appeared that went to the exact same location as the other. The middle-aged man surrounded by luggage was 100%... in the wrong. Utterly and completely. *** Words, words, words, but no wisdom I don’t personally know the man who so-confidently revealed his wrongness. I’ve no idea whether his bluster was out of character from his usual self. But in the moment of our encounter, he acted every bit the ‘fool’ we find in Book of Proverbs: "A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing personal opinion." (Proverbs 18:2) There is much wisdom in Proverbs 17:28: Even fools who keep silent are considered wise; when they close their lips, they are deemed intelligent. It seems to me that we live in a world saturated with words, whether written or spoken. There’s an ever-growing number of websites, social media platforms, podcasts, and so on. Even more so now with AI. Yet for all this verbal abundance, there does not seem to be any more wisdom than there used to be. I would argue with AI, there seems to be less (or perhaps it’s simply exposing our foolishness). Part of me wonders about the virtue of writing a blog, when these are so often half-thoughts, explorations, and ideas: am I just adding to the plethora of opinions that exist on the blogosphere? Last year, I was teaching on how to plan and lead funerals with our final year ordinands. I spoke with confidence about what works and what doesn’t. What the role of the cleric is, how to work with the grieving family, how to craft the sermon, what to do afterwards etc. It felt good to be able to give real, lived experience having worked in a church for a decade. But it was only during the Q&A when I realized something. I realized my confidence was borne of a very specific context: I ministered in a large, Episcopal church in Houston, Texas. Not a small parish church, somewhere remote in England. Did the wisdom and experience I bring still have value in the Church of England, where the Church is an established one? Where those who minister do among many people who don’t dare to cross the threshold of a religious building except in such moments of life and death? Now I happen to think it does; but only with some qualification. For what I realized in that moment is that it’s not quite as readily transferable as I’d assumed. Church cultures are different. Expectations are different. How people respond and react to their local vicar is different! What works in one scenario doesn’t necessarily work in another. Consider Proverbs 26:4-5: 4 Do not answer fools according to their folly, or you will be a fool yourself. 5 Answer fools according to their folly, or they will be wise in their own eyes. Proverbs 26 has a seeming contradiction that speaks to the importance of context. In the situation where you’re faced with someone spouting foolishness, what should you do? Speak or not speak? Engage or not engage? The modern equivalent to v.4 might be to say to yourself “not my monkeys, not my circus” and walk away. But what about the times when it is your circus? When they are your monkeys? What about when to walk away is to leave someone blind to their mistakes and doomed to make more? What if responding might feasibly help someone see beyond their own blinkers and make a different choice? Sometimes v.4 might be the path of wisdom. Other times it’s v.5. But it’s not always apparent which is which. Overconfidence is not just dangerous for making us look like fools or giving bad advice. If we stay in our certitude, we miss the heart of the issue revealed in these two verses: we need wisdom. So where do we find it? *** Does ‘wisdom come with age’? I’ve heard it said that ‘wisdom comes with age’. Ironically enough, this line was used when I was in something of a disagreement with someone much older than me. But claiming moral high ground or superior understanding on the basis of some unalterable characteristic that you have but I don’t, is more indicative of pride than wisdom. If age does come with wisdom, there would be no conflict or disagreement within the human species as we age. If age is the sole arbiter, we should collectively do better as the wrinkles and grey hairs multiply. Yet that’s not what happens. Wisdom, sadly, is not inevitable. It can come with age because of one very simple reality: the more time you’ve had on the planet means you’ve had more opportunity to become wise. Now whether or not you’ve taken those opportunities is quite a different thing! *** Wisdom: a gift that needs seeking Proverbs has an interestingly balanced view of wisdom. It is (1) something that requires active seeking, yet also (2) something which only God can give. Proverbs 2:1-4 talks about the need to exert effort in acquisition of wisdom. It’s not something that just lands on our laps: it asks you to be open to learning and sitting with what you receive (v.1), deliberate and intentional in putting your body in a space to grow in it (v.2), and vocal in your search for it (v.3). In other words: humble, open, and hungry. This passage concludes by likening it to searching for silver or hidden treasure (v.4). Think about that for a moment: do you search for wisdom in the same way you seek out growth in income or asset? From a human wisdom point of view, seeking financial gain for our security and future as we age (and our children grow and go off to college etc) makes good sense. But what if we were to seek wisdom with the very same fervour? What if wisdom had the same significance for our spiritual security and future? What if it is important to our growth in the Christian life and readiness for what may come our way? It’s a gift that needs seeking. But Proverbs tells us it is also a gift that is given. Verse 6 reveals “ the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding .” Our seeking is not the whole picture. Longing for wisdom does not mean we get it. Wisdom is God’s domain not ours. Proverbs 8 illustrates that God’s Wisdom is not something to acquire or harvest. It is not a commodity to be doled out. It is not a consumer good. Wisdom was present when God made the world. Wisdom is a part of God’s self that chooses when to be imparted and when not to be (compare 1:28; 8:17; 9:5, 16) The very fabric of our material world is infused with the mystery of Wisdom. Insight and understanding comes from God and helps us to navigate the complexity of our lives, but this gift is just a glimpse of a much greater reality of the divine Wisdom which exists eternally. This, perhaps, brings us back to where I started. True wisdom is never found in loud proclamations of “one hundred percent!”. Why? Because the one who is wise recognises they have a lot to learn. They know that new information can shift and reframe yesterday’s certainty. Maybe the first step is to stop claiming absolute certainty—to stop the all-or-nothing thinking. Maybe we start with recognising what Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 13: we only see in part, know in part, understand in part. And from there, we begin actively seeking that gift which only God—from His Wisdom—can give. Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn her seven pillars. 2 She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine, she has also set her table. 3 She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls from the highest places in the town, 4 "You that are simple, turn in here!" To those without sense she says, 5 "Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. 6 Lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight." Proverbs 9:1-6 ****** Photo © Copyright Derek Harper and licensed for reuse under a cc-by-sa/2.0 Creative Commons Licence.

When God Goes Quiet

By Suse McBay • February 13, 2026

What do we do on days when God seems entirely absent? Some thoughts about where I see that in my life today and, looking back, recognising how much has changed.