Page 4 - 07 - The Four Beasts

DANIEL AND THE REVELATION-Uriah Smith

~The Response of History to the Voice of Prophecy~

Chapter 7 – The Four Beasts
All Scripture language is to be taken literally,

unless there exists some good reason for

supposing it to be figurative; and all that is

figurative is to be interpreted by that which is

literal. That the language here used is

symbolic, is evident from verse 17, which

reads, “These great beasts, which are four, are

four kings which shall arise out of the earth.”

And to show that kingdoms are intended, and

not merely individual kings, the angel

continued, “But the saints of the Most High

shall take the kingdom.” And further, in the

explanation in verse 23, the angel said, “The

fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon

the earth.” These beast are therefore symbols

of four great kingdoms; and the circumstances

under which they arose, and the means by

which their elevation was accomplished, as

represented in the prophecy, are symbolic