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Writer's pictureMichael E.B. Maher

China: Four-Headed Leopard Beast

Daniel 7:2-12 “Daniel spoke, saying, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea.  (3)  And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.  (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.  (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!'  (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.  (7)  "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.  (8)  I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.  (9)  "I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire; (10) A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.  (11)  "I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame.  (12) As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.”

 

This brings us to the third beast mentioned in Daniel’s vision. Daniel describes the third beast as a leopard which had four wings of a bird on its back. The beast also had four heads and dominion was given to it. In this section we want to discuss two aspects of this image. Firstly, we want to discuss who the leopard is, and secondly we want to discuss what the four heads on this beast signify. And so in answer to the question, who is the leopard? It is more than probable that this beast represents China today. So why do I say that? Over the years China has slowly built up both its economy and its military. Currently China has the largest economy in the world at 27.6 trillion dollars GDP[1], and China’s military (including its nuclear arsenal) is now ranked as being the third most powerful in the world, after the USA and Russia[2]. China also has the largest population in the world at 1.4 billion people[3]. Clearly China is one of the three dominant superpowers in the earth today, both militarily and economically. So what do the four heads on this beast signify? In order to understand what they represent, we can compare the seven heads on the beast shown to the apostle John in the book of Revelation. In John’s vision, the angel described the seven heads on that beast as representing seven successive kingdoms (Revelation 17).  The angel tells us that at the time that the apostle John was given the vision, that five of those kingdoms had already ceased to exist, that the sixth kingdom was still in place, and that the seventh kingdom had not yet been manifested. Each of the seven kingdoms referred to by the angel all centred on one city, i.e. the city of Babylon. And so the first of the seven kingdoms was the Babylonian Empire, which began in 605 BC and ended in 560 BC, and the city of Babylon was its capital. The second of the seven kingdoms was the Median Empire, which began in 560 BC and ended in 550 BC, and the city of Babylon continued to be a central geographic location of that empire. The third of the seven kingdoms was the Persian Empire, which began in 550 BC and ended in 330 BC, and Babylon was the capital city. The fourth of the seven kingdoms was the Grecian Empire (founded by Alexander the Great), which began in 330 BC and ended in 312 BC. The city of Babylon continued to be a central geographic location of the Grecian Empire, because history teaches us that Alexander conquered the city in 330 BC and that he also died in that city in the year 323 BC. The fifth of the seven kingdoms was the Seleucid Empire, which began in 312 BC and ended in 63 BC. The city of Babylon continued to be a central geographic location of the Seleucid Empire also, because history teaches us that Seleucus, the first ruler of the empire named after him, established himself in Babylon in 312 BC, the year used as the foundation date of the Seleucid Empire. The sixth of the seven kingdoms was the Parthian Empire, which began in 63 BC and ended in 224 AD. This was the empire which was in existence at the time that John received his vision in the year 90 AD. The Parthian Empire also encompassed the city of Babylon. By that time however, the city of Babylon had begun to decline quite dramatically in stature, but nevertheless the city remained part of the empire. The seventh of the seven kingdoms was the Sasanian Empire, which began in 224 AD and ended in 650 AD. This was the last kingdom to reign over the city of Babylon. Under the Parthian Empire, the city of Babylon had steadily fallen into ruin, and even though it experienced a brief revival under the Sasanian Empire, it never approached its former greatness. This brings us to the eighth kingdom; for although the scarlet beast in John’s vision had only seven heads, the angel told us that the beast himself was also an eighth kingdom, and that his kingdom would emerge from the seven that preceded it. So which kingdom succeeded the Sasanian Empire? In the year 610 AD the prophet Mohammed introduced Islam into the earth. Just forty years later, the Sasanian Empire ceased to exist when it fell to Muslim conquest of the land in the year 650 AD. It was in that conquest that whatever remained of the city of Babylon was finally swept away, and in time was buried beneath the sands.[4] Therefore we see that the eighth kingdom is in fact the kingdom of Islam, for Islam has been in control of that geographic region from 650 AD even until today, spanning 1371 years. And so we see that the seven kingdoms plus the eighth kingdom of Islam are all linked to the same geographic region of the ancient city of Babylon. As an aside, the Lord Jesus deemed it necessary to show His church the composition of the eight kingdoms mentioned in John’s vision, to help us to identify the person of the anti-Christ, for the scarlet beast in John’s vision is in fact the person of the anti-Christ. The angel confirms that truth to us when he tells us that “the beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition”, speaking about the anti-Christ. And so we can clearly see that the anti-Christ will arise from the Islamic faith.

Nevertheless, if we apply the same concept revealed in John’s vision to identify the four heads on the leopard beast in Daniel’s vision, we can see that they also represent four successive kingdoms all centred on one particular city, which in this case would be the city of Beijing[5]. The first kingdom centred on the city of Beijing as its capital, was the Great Yuan Dynasty which was the first Chinese Dynasty to rule China. The Great Yuan Dynasty came to power after the collapse of the Mongol Empire in 1271 AD, and ended in 1368 AD. The second kingdom centred on the city of Beijing as its capital, was the Great Ming Dynasty which replaced the Great Yuan Dynasty. The Great Ming Dynasty began in 1368 AD and ended in 1644 AD. The third kingdom centred on the city of Beijing as its capital, was the Great Qing Dynasty which replaced the Great Ming Dynasty. The Great Qing Dynasty began in 1644 AD and ended in 1912 AD. After the collapse of the Great Qing Dynasty in 1912, civil war broke out between the Chinese Nationalist Party and the Chinese Communist Party to determine who would replace the Great Qing Dynasty as ruler of China. In 1949 the Chinese Communist Party eventually won the civil war, and thus the People’s Republic of China became the fourth kingdom to rule China, declaring the city of Beijing as its capital. The People’s Republic of China began in 1949 and continues until today. And so we see that the four heads on this beast represent the four kingdoms that have ruled China from the city of Beijing, beginning with the Great Yuan Dynasty and ending with China’s present day ruler, i.e. the Chinese Communist Party.

 

Michael E.B. Maher






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