The Antichrist and the Fourth Kingdom's Kings in Daniel
The book of Daniel describes a succession of world empires, often symbolized by beasts or parts of a statue, culminating in a fourth kingdom from which the Antichrist is said to emerge [4, 8]. Daniel's visions provide a prophetic outline of history, focusing particularly on the rise and fall of these powerful entities and their relationship to God's people.
In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar's dream of a great image is interpreted by Daniel. The image has a head of gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, and legs of iron with feet partly of iron and partly of clay. The fourth kingdom is represented by the legs of iron, described as strong and crushing, breaking in pieces and subduing all things [2]. This imagery suggests an empire of immense power and destructive capability. Adam Clarke identifies this image as representing the four great monarchies [4].
Daniel 7 presents a parallel vision of four beasts. The fourth beast is distinct from the others, described as dreadful, terrible, and exceedingly strong, with great iron teeth, devouring and breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet [6]. This fourth beast is explicitly identified as the "fourth kingdom on earth" [7]. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown note that Daniel lived under the first kingdom, and the second and third are described more fully elsewhere in the book, leading to a greater emphasis on the fourth kingdom, which fully manifests the "God-opposing nature" of world power [6]. John Gill specifies that this fourth kingdom is not the Seleucid or Turkish kingdom but the Roman Empire, which is prophesied to continue until the kingdom of Christ is established [7].
From this fourth kingdom, ten horns arise, which are interpreted as ten kings [5]. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown connect these ten horns to the ten "toes" mentioned in Daniel 2:41 [5]. These ten kings are said to be contemporaneous [5]. After them, "another shall rise, and he shall be diverse from the former, and he shall subdue three kings" (Daniel 7:24). This figure is commonly understood to be the Antichrist. He is described as having eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things (Daniel 7:8). He will speak words against the Most High, wear out the saints, and attempt to change times and laws (Daniel 7:25). This Antichrist figure rises after the ten kings, initially appearing "little," but then becomes greater than them all after destroying three of the ten [5].
The concept of "kings" in Daniel's prophecies can refer to both individual rulers and the kingdoms they represent. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown explain that "kings" in Daniel 7:17 refers to "kingdoms," citing Daniel 7:23 and 8:20-22 as comparisons. They suggest that figures like Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander, Antiochus, and the Antichrist, while individual, also represent characteristic tendencies of their respective dynasties or empires [3]. Similarly, Daniel 8:22 states that "four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation," referring to the successors of Alexander the Great, though "not with his power" [1].
The Antichrist's rise is depicted as a significant event within the fourth kingdom, marking a period of intense persecution for the saints. This figure is seen as the culmination of the world's opposition to God, embodying a "God-opposing nature" [6]. The prophetic timeline in Daniel indicates that this kingdom and the Antichrist's reign will persist until the establishment of God's eternal kingdom [7].
Sources
- Daniel “As for that which was broken, in the place where four stood up, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not with his power. -- Daniel 8:22”
- Daniel “The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, because iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things; and as iron that crushes all these, shall it break in pieces and crush. -- Daniel 2:40”
- Daniel (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Daniel 7:17: kings--that is, kingdoms. Compare Dan 7:23, "fourth kingdom"; Dan 2:38; Dan 8:20-22. Each of the four kings represents a dynasty. Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander, Antiochus, and Antichrist, though individually referred to, are representatives of characteristic tendencies.”
- Daniel (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Daniel 2:31: A great image - Representing the four great monarchies.”
- Daniel (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Daniel 7:24: ten horns--answering to the ten "toes" (Dan 2:41). out of this kingdom--It is out of the fourth kingdom that ten others arise, whatever exterior territory any of them possess (Rev 13:1; Rev 17:12). rise after them--yet contemporaneous with them; the ten are contemporaries. Antichrist rises after their rise, at first "little" (Dan 7:8); but after destroying three of the ten, he becomes greater than them all (Dan 7:20-21). The three being gone, he is the eighth (compare Rev 17:11); a distinct head, and yet "of the seven." As the previous world kingdo”
- Daniel (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Daniel 7:7: As Daniel lived under the kingdom of the first beast, and therefore needed not to describe it, and as the second and third are described fully in the second part of the book, the chief emphasis falls on the fourth. Also prophecy most dwells on the end, which is the consummation of the preceding series of events. It is in the fourth that the world power manifests fully its God-opposing nature. Whereas the three former kingdoms were designated respectively, as a lion, bear, and leopard, no particular beast is specified as the image of the fourth; for Rome”
- Daniel (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Daniel 7:23: Thus he said,.... The person that stood by, the angel, of whom Daniel made his inquiries, and who answered him, as follows: the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom on earth; which shows that the angel, by four kings, Dan 7:17, meant four kingdoms, that should successively arise in the earth, and out of it, one after another; and this kingdom is not the kingdom of the Seleucidae, nor the Turkish, but the Roman empire; for this is to continue until the kingdom of Christ takes place; see Dan 7:7, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms; from the kingdoms and mo”
- Daniel (Lutheran) “Keil & Delitzsch on Daniel 7 (introduction): The Vision of the Four World-Kingdoms; the Judgment; and the Kingdom of the Holy God After presenting to view (Daniel 3-6) in concrete delineation, partly in the prophetically significant experiences of Daniel and his friends, and partly in the typical events which befell the world-rulers, the position and conduct of the representatives of the world-power in relation to the worshippers of the living God, there follows in this chapter the record of a vision seen by Daniel in the first year of Belshazzar. In this vision the four world-monarchies which”