Daniel’s Dream of Four Beasts
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying in bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.
Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
“The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.
“And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’
“After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
“After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
“While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
“As I looked,
“thrones were set in place,
and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow;
the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire,
and its wheels were all ablaze.
A river of fire was flowing,
coming out from before him.
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated,
and the books were opened.
“Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
The Interpretation of the Dream
“I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this.
“So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: ‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’
“Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.
“He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.
“ ‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’
“This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”
Daniel 7:1-28 NIV
I too have been on bed rest this week, after two trips to the emergency room. Unable to work, or barely crawl from one room to the next, I was unsure how to do the things I needed to do. But the sickness stopped me and I was unable to do anything outside the Lord's will as usual. When I read this verse, the explanation was given to me that this event has occurred again in modern times. The beasts spoken of represent four ideologies or sects. Each one exists in the constellation of the prophet. The first beast represents the Vineyard denomination where I grew up (my father pastored and planted the Victoria Vineyard form the time I was 10 to 13) and I later attended 8 Vineyard churches. From out of this lion of John Wimber came the eagle of the prophetic: the prophetic school in Abbotsford (founded in 2000). The pain represented by the wings being ripped off the eagle symbolizes a womanhood with no needs (one who can live in the desert), the dire opposite of a structured Mennonite Community. The mind of a human was given to it: the rational mind and the ability to teach the symbols, times, and practice of the prophetic and the ability to publish.
The second beast was that of a bear, representing a family on Bear Mountain (they lived for twenty years at the foot of crown land called Bear Mountain), and the sect of their non-profit society that influenced the spiritual development of over a thousand people over twenty years. They called the practice of their work "listening to Jesus". The bear means they were a little embarrassing at points, occasionally discussing their personal issues and letting their clothing air on the line. The bear eventually takes three ribs in its mouth (does this mean Adam, Eve and Lilith?) After I fasted for a month on olive oil, my brother fell and broke two ribs in continuation with this war between the sects. The flesh represents an "O" blood type who eats meat whenever he wishes and is favoured for his blood.
I had a frightening and vivid dream one night that they had formed a commune and were dissecting their children while still alive to harvest their internal organs for spiritual food during the pandemic. The commune lived together on a piece of property and were completely run by the father of the leopard clan. The children seemed to accept this and would just wait for their turn, and say "Their time had come." They were unschooled and not aware that this practice was socially unacceptable. I asked them in the dream to raise cows instead but they just didn't see it my way.
The third beast was that of a leopard: representing paternity. The leopard is wildly fierce that his offspring must bear children with his name. But his son, instead of having children to continue the family name (he had been given the same name as his father), subverted the command to another union in the same extended family where four rules, all children arose. They ruled the home, where they refused to listen to the advise, counsel, or leadership of adults. They established that children would rule their parents on earth under an "apocalypse". They would defy maternity. They came into the world at the times of 4 different generations including X, Y, Z and Apocalypse. The final child, a fifth was called a "drop of the sea" and was not included with the other four. Through the family the demand for paternity was met, but it was conveyed to others that they too must fulfill this demand and have children, or it was a form of lewdness. The panther ruled the entire family with his threat of "disowned" should they not comply with the rituals of high society.
The fourth beast was a totalitarian empire, based on non-violence. It was a rule of iron, representing the medical profession. It crushed its own patients, dehumanizing them, then shipping them away in trains of hopelessness and despair to a concentration camp of debt where they were given numbers on their arms instead of names. The iron rule was control of the subverted force of healing to kill (by plague) and sterilize the human race, dividing it into two races, one of which was unacceptable. The bodies were buried with their clothes on. It had one small speaker (one small horn) who spoke boastfully (in an extroverted way), claiming to be the owner and proprietor of the sea. He started out with the right motive, but eventually turned into Judas Iscariot, selling the sea out into the hands of witchcraft and slavery. He continued to exert control over the earth and nature, while setting himself up to be the equal of the other beasts. He claimed the label of a missionary and went over to the Orient where his resentment festered in the marshlands. There he stayed for three years, but as the poetry depicts in "the evolution of Covid", his second wife bit a pit viper (left behind a germ), and left her mark. Their medieval presence would sweep over the earth like the Black Plague, leaving devastation in their wake.
Finally the books were opened. The Ancient of Days has spoken. The sea has roared. The church has suffered long enough. The court is seated and the defendants will state their case. The happenings surrounding the sea and its inhabitants will be tried in a court of law. There will be no more pretense over this terrible trauma that has befallen the earth and its inhabitants, only Justice and Liberty; for this is the final hour.
And now I will call my two witnesses.
