Welcome back to another episode of NachDaily, with Doniel, chapter 7. The first 6 chapters told his story, but chapter 7 and onwards are his visions. The following is Doniel’s vision of the 4 beasts.

These visions are among the most obscure and difficult in the entire Nach. Even just to translate and define the words is difficult, yet alone penetrate their deeper meaning. B’H here at NachDaily we are no strangers to difficult prophecies and visions. As always, the books of Nach are open for all those who want to learn more deeply.

Let’s begin.

Doniel had this dream in the first year of King Balshatzar of Bavel’s reign.

Doniel describes his dream in the first person.

“In my dream I saw four winds in heaven go out to the great sea. Four beasts, different from one another, emerged from the sea itself.

“The first one was like a lion with vulture’s wings. It was lifted off the ground to stand upright like a human, and given a heart.”

The Meforshim explain that this was the kingdom of Bavel.

“The second beast resembled a bear. It had three ribs in its mouth clenched between its teeth which it was told to devour!”

The Meforshim explain this beast as the kingdom of Persia.

“The third was like a leopard with 4 bird’s wings on its back and had 4 heads.”

The Meforshim explain the 4 headed, winged leopard as Greece and its 4 generals who split the empire from Alexander the Great.

Doniel goes on to describe the 4th beast.

“I saw the most dreadful, fearful, terrifying and powerful beast with iron teeth that devoured and feet that crushed. It was radically different than the previous beasts. It had 10 horns, with a little horn

emerging among them, which knocked out 3 of the initial horns. The small horn had eyes and a mouth.”

As you can imagine, there’s significant debate as to what kingdom the 4th beast represents.

The Malbim and Ramban learn that it’s Rome, while the Ibn Ezra says it’s Yishmael and represents the Moslem empire. The Ramban argues that Yishmael cannot be included in the four kingdoms. While it’s true that Rome actually grew as an extension of Greece, it’s still considered a kingdom in its own right.

The Maharal explains that essentially these four kingdoms represent universal attitudes that people have, which places them in a certain camp.

Additionally, in terms of the number of horns and some of the fine details mentioned, the Meforshim all go into length about explaining how these elements represent different rulers and generals.

The monologue continues. Doniel described Hashem sitting on His throne of judgment.

“I watched as thrones were set in place and Atik Yomin, the One of Ancient Days, sat.”

Atik Yomin is a term for God. It seems that Doniel is going to describe Hashem here, but Rav Saadya Gaon points out that this is not a violation of describing Him because all prophecy happened in the forms of metaphors.

“His clothing was white as snow. The hair on his head was like pure wool. His throne was bolts of fire with blazing wheels. A river of fire flowed out from before Him. Thousands upon thousands were serving Him and attending to Him. His books of judgment were open.”

Doniel’s attention turned to the 4th beast as it was completely destroyed by fire, while the reigns of the other 3 beasts were revoked. They were granted life for a finite amount of time.

The Meforshim explain this is referring to the Great Day of Judgment in the Messianic era. It should be noted that the neshama, soul, is brought before God on 3 occasions. 1) Every Rosh Hashana to judge for the year to come 2) At death, when the neshama comes before God to be judged for Gan Eden, and 3) On the Yom HaDin Hagadol, the Great Day of Judgment (Rosh Hashana 16B).

(I once read from Rabbi Tzvi Aryeh Rosenfield Zatsal, that this Great Day of Judgment will take place after Mashiach comes. Mashiach will rule for a certain period of time after which there will be Techiyas Hameisim, a revival of the dead, one final last Judgment. This will be right before we enter into the stage known as Olam Habah, the World to Come, which is something the human eye has never seen. There will be one last reckoning known as the Yom HaDin HaGadol. May we merit seeing it with our own eyes and be among those who enter into Olam Habah.)

Doniel continues. “As I watched I saw a figure that looked human coming down from the clouds in heaven. He was brought close to Atik Yomin, the One of Ancient Days. His dominion would be full of glory and never be revoked.

The Meforshim explain this to be none other than Mashiach Ben Dovid.

Doniel continues. While dreaming, he was disturbed by what he saw and sought out its interpretation. He asked one of the attendants of Atik Yomin for the meaning and was told that the four beasts represent the four kingdoms.

Doniel was most concerned about the 4th beast. As he watched, the horn of the beast waged war against the “holy ones,” meaning the Jewish nation, until the Atik Yomin came and took the holy one, Am Yisrael, for His own kingdom.

The meaning is that Hashem saved Am Yisrael and established His kingdom on earth for all mankind to experience.

Additionally, the fourth kingdom will try to speak against Atik Yomin, the One of Ancient Days, until the heavenly court will completely take away its power. The kingdom of Atik Yomin will be eternal.

Doniel woke up from his dream and was deeply alarmed, but kept his thoughts to himself.

I hope that you enjoyed this action-packed episode of NachDaily. Stay tuned to the next episode as we learn Doniel’s second vision. Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful day.