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Verse

Daniel 7:7

ESV After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
NIV "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.
NASB After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
CSB "After this, while I was watching in the night visions, suddenly a fourth beast appeared, frightening and dreadful, and incredibly strong, with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and it trampled with its feet whatever was left. It was different from all the beasts before it, and it had ten horns.
NLT Then in my vision that night, I saw a fourth beast — terrifying, dreadful, and very strong. It devoured and crushed its victims with huge iron teeth and trampled their remains beneath its feet. It was different from any of the other beasts, and it had ten horns.
KJV After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, 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.
NKJV “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.

What does Daniel 7:7 mean?

Daniel's visions (Daniel 7:1) included four animal-like creatures, representing kings and nations (Daniel 7:17) from the Mediterranean region (Daniel 7:2–3). Babylon was represented by a lion with wings (Daniel 7:4). Medo-Persia was symbolized by a bear (Daniel 7:5). Macedonian Greece was depicted as a leopard (Daniel 7:6). These correspond to the nations seen in Nebuchadnezzar's earlier dream (Daniel 2:31–33, 37–39).

The fourth nation, described here, doesn't correspond to any animal which Daniel knows. This beast has ten horns, iron teeth, and bronze claws (Daniel 7:19). It's an intimidating sight, as it destroys and crushes whatever it does not consume. This represents the Roman Empire, also represented by iron in Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Daniel 2:32–33, 40). In Daniel's prophetic dream, this fourth beast has ten horns, which will be explained to represent ten kings (Daniel 7:24). These will be followed by another "horn," representing a key figure of the end times (Daniel 7:8).

The New Testament and other records attest to Rome's merciless persecution of Christians. Peter's reference to the fiery trial that lay ahead for Christians likely refers to Emperor Nero's cruel burning of Christians at the stake (1 Peter 4:12). Whatever Rome could not absorb under its rule, it annihilated. The empire was known for its merciless conquest and assimilation. Rome conquered the whole breadth and length of the Mediterranean world and all the territories ruled by the former empires.
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