In Daniel 7, we read about four beasts that arose from the earth. As students of prophecy, we understand that these four beasts are symbols of the four world powers consisting of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome.

Rome, as the fourth Beast, is unique from all the other beasts in this prophecy. According to Daniel, the fourth beast was “…dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.” Daniel 7:7

Of all the beasts in this chapter, the fourth Beast was the only one to display horns. We’ve already learned that, historically, students of prophecy have interpreted these Ten Horns as ten kings arising within the Roman Empire. Although I disagree with this premise, it is a logical conclusion to arrive at, especially when we consider the following description of the ten horns:

And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. Daniel 7:24

From the above text, one can logically conclude that when the horns arose, they arose out of the Roman Empire. However, if they arose out of the Roman Empire, how can they be ten kingships of the world powers that ruled prior to Rome’s reign? The kings of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and its divisions ruled long before Rome’s rise to power. In this manner, it is illogical that the ten horns rose up during the reign of the Roman Empire…or is it?

Kingdoms Never Die

To understand the ten horns, one must remember that prophetically, empires never die. We know this because the angel told Daniel, “As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.” Daniel 7:12

According to this text, when the previous beasts were conquered, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged. For us as Adventists, this may be a hard concept to follow due to the fact we spend so much of our time trying to convince the world that the dead are no longer living!

However, when we analyze this prophecy, we should be able to see that the kingships of the world's superpowers never truly die, they simply get absorbed into the power that conquers them.

We can see a clear example of this in Nebuchadnezzar’s statue. Notice the metals present during its destruction:

 “Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” Daniel 2:34-35

According to this prophecy, when the Iron is destroyed, the bronze, silver, and gold empires are destroyed with it. In this manner, we should be able to see that Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece will be destroyed along with Rome, even though they lost their dominion centuries ago.

This same concept exists in Revelation 13. Notice when the Beast symbolized for Papal Rome is revealed, it is a composite of the three powers that ruled prior to Rome:

“And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.” Revelation 13:2

Once again, we have Greece (leopard), Medo-Persia (bear), and Babylon (lion), which are part of the Roman Empire.

Rome or The World?

The idea that the ten kings arose out of the Roman Empire is not wrong, however, what we may not realize is that when the fourth kingdom is mentioned, it actually represents the world. Let me explain:

In Daniel 4, notice how “the kingdom” is described: “…they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in THE KINGDOM OF MEN, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.” Daniel 4:25

Here we should see that God calls the world, “the kingdom of men;” And it’s this kingdom that is given to the kings of the world as God sees fit.

In Daniel 7, notice what the saints take and possess: “But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.” Daniel 7:18

Now ask yourself…what kingdom did the saints take? It had to be the last kingdom that was mentioned as that was the last kingdom ruling. Thus, the saints took the fourth kingdom and possessed it. But are we to believe that the saints only took the literal territory of the Roman Empire? Here we must see that the saints didn’t just take Rome, but they took the whole world. This reveals that the fourth kingdom although consisting of modern Europe, North Africa, and part of the Middle East prophetically represented the whole world! Notice how Daniel 7 confirms this idea:

“Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.” Daniel 7:23

Now ask yourself this question: Did Rome rule this entire planet? Of course not. However, we can now see a principle wherein the power that ruled the known world and also had possession of God’s people was considered controlling the whole world.

So when Babylon ruled, its territory was “the world.” We know this because God told King Nebuchadnezzar – “And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.” Daniel 2:38

Hopefully, you can see the pattern.

• Babylon’s kingdom was the world.
• When Medo-Persia conquered Babylon, its territory was the world.
• When Greece conquered Medo-Persia, its territory was the world.
• And finally, when Rome conquered Greece, its territory was the world.

However, because we know that Daniel 7:12 says that their dominion was taken away but their lives were prolonged, we know that every fallen kingship continued to live (spiritually) in the succeeding Empire. And because Rome was seen as devouring the whole earth, we should see that the earth (prophetically) contained all the previous beasts, and the ten horns out of the fourth Beast represent all the previous kingships from Egypt to Greece* who ruled the same world and whose lives were prolonged even though their dominion was taken away.

The Ten Horns: Shall Arise or Already Arisen?

If the Ten Horns began with Egypt, then why does Daniel 7:24 say they are “ten kings that shall arise”? Shall arise is language consistent with something that has not begun at the time it was stated.

First, we should notice that at no time did Daniel see the Ten Horns actually arise on the Fourth Beast. According to the prophet, he simply reveals that it already “had ten horns.” However, please notice, that the future tense utilized in this chapter is no different from how it revealed the four Beasts as future-state, while in reality, one of those Beasts was already ruling. Notice how the prophecy describes the four Beasts:

These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. Daniel 7:17

With this understanding, we should see that just like the Four Beasts were stated as future-arising, although the lion was already in power, the Ten Horns were stated as future-arising, even though two of their reigns had already ended.

Conclusion

Once we analyze this prophecy, we should be able to see that the Ten Horns were the ten kingships of the world’s superpowers. Daniel 7 describes these horns as existing in the Fourth Beast, but now you should be able to see that they existed in the Fourth Beast because Rome was the power that absorbed the world, and that world consisted of all the previous powers that ruled it.