'Book of Daniel'
Mat 24:15 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place". (whoever reads, let him understand)
Our Lord Jesus told us to read the book of Daniel until we understand it. He gave this instruction, while He was teaching His disciples endtime signs.
King Nebuchadnezzar First Dream
Dan 2:32 "This image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze,"
Dan 2:33 "its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay."
Fulfillment of the Three Beasts
Dan 7:2-3 Daniel spoke, saying, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.
The rise of four great powers that will affect the Israelites.
First Beast – Babylonian Empire
Dan 7:4 "The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it."
This first beast was a lion, the most powerful animal. Above descriptions fitted King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon who was so boastful that God humbled him to eat grass like an animal and his hair was like the feathers of eagles. God restored him after he repented.
He was also the head of gold in King Nebuchadnezzar's dream.
Second Beast – Mede Persian Empire
Dan 7:5 "And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: 'Arise, devour much flesh!' "
This was fulfilled by the conquest of Babylonian by the Mede-Persians, the ram with two horns (the chest and arm of silver of the image).
Dan 8:20 "The ram which you saw, having the two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia."
Third Beast – Grecian Empire
Dan 7:6 "After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it."
The leopard (great horn between the eyes) represented Alexander the great who conquered many countries from Greece to India so quickly as though it flew over all those vanquished nations (without touching the ground). He was the belly of bronze in the image.
Dan 8:5, 21 "And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes… And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king (Alexander the great)."
Dan 8:22 "As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power."
After the death of Alexander the Great, the Grecian empire was divided into four kingdoms under the rule of four generals. Only the king of the North and the king of the South were of importance for the other two kingdoms were later vanquished.
These two kingdoms continued to fight each other as prophesied in great details from Dan 11:5-28 and accurately fulfilled and recorded in history books. These two kingdoms were the two thighs of bronze in the image.
