hotcoffee
New Member
Daniel 7:4 “The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.
Daniel had been there when the wings were torn off the Lion. That must have been when Nebuchadnezzar lost his mind. Remember the dream Daniel interpreted for Nebuchadnezzar about the tree? That was when Nebuchadnezzar lost his mind. He thought he was in total control. Then God intervened.
Nebuchadnezzar stood like a human being when he learned that God was in control. He had the mind of a human and he learned that God is in control.
In one commentary, the Lion is compared to Babylon. It's also compared to the head of gold in Nebuchadnezzar's first dream.
This beast was like a lion with eagle's wings Its wings are plucked, and it was made to stand up like a man on its feet, and was given a man's heart.
I've heard, in Bible studies, and read in commentary, that the first animal, a lion with wings like an eagle, was compared to the United States. In the commentaries I've read, the idea that the first beast is compared to the United States just doesn't make all that much sense. On top of that, the comparison to the United States isn't even mentioned in the majority of the commentaries on google.
It appears that I agree with someone called Precept Austin on the fundamentals. Here's another fun fact from this commentary. Winged Lions are reported to have flanked the entrance into Babylon back in the day. The Austin commentary goes on to say that late in Nebuchadnezzar's reign he was given the heart of a human.
A human mind (KJV "man's heart") also was given to it - Da 4:34-note says my reason returned to me. History records that in the later years of Nebuchadnezzar's reign (which Biblically would be after he had been humbled by God), he and his kingdom ceased conquering other peoples and became more humane (less bestial) in their treatment of their subjects.
So, since this was written after Nebuchadnezzar's death, when Nebuchadnezzar's son Belshazzar was in his first year as king, the first beast is the Babylonian empire. It's kind of the past and present part of the vision.
