Thanks again for this great site. I am struggling with the 4 beasts in chapter 7 of Daniel.
I cannot find any discussion on verse 12 which follows the 4th beast being destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. “As concerning the rest of the beast, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.” Daniel 7:12 KJV.
This does not make sense to me as when the beast is captured and thrown in the lake of fire, Revelation 19:20, Jesus sets up his Kingdom on earth. Why or how would either the nations existing at the end times or the previous empires long gone from history be allowed to live. Any insight you can shed on Daniel 7:12 would be greatly appreciated.
From our place in time, Daniel 7 switches from history to prophecy after verse 7. From there on it’s all end times. Rev. 13:2 mentions the first three beasts (leopard, bear, and lion) in reference to the the anti-Christ, who is also the little horn of Daniel 7:8 and the personification of the 4th beast. He’s the one thrown into the blazing fire in Daniel 7:11
Now let’s back up to Daniel 7:7 to see how these beasts live on beyond their appointed times in history. The 4th beast was the Roman Empire. It occupied the lands and adopted many of the traditions of the three previous empires, Babylon, Persia, and Greece. We can still see all their shadows behind the nations of Europe and the middle east today. And remnants of these same empires will exist in the Millennium where they’re simply called the nations. (Rev. 21:24)
After the anti-Christ is thrown into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 19:20) the Lord will establish His kingdom. This is consistent with Daniel 7:11-14 and gives us the rest of the story.