Sir Isaac Newton on Daniel 7, "the Fourth Beast"

Here’s a quote from Sir Isaac Newton on Daniel 7. In my early days of studying Bible prophecy I wondered about the identity of the nations represented by the ten horns on the head of the fourth beast. This quote from Newtwon helped me out in a big way.

The fourth Beast was the empire which succeeded that of the Greeks, and this was the Roman. This beast was exceeding dreadful and terrible, and had great iron teeth, and devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet; and such was the Roman Empire. It was larger, stronger, and more formidable and lasting than any of the former. It conquered the kingdom of Macedon, with Illyricum and Epirus, in the eighth year of Antiochus Epiphanes, Anno Nabonass. 580; and inherited that of Pergamus, Anno Nabonass. 615; and conquered that of Syria, Anno Nabonass. 679, and that of Egypt, Anno Nabonass. 718. And by these and other conquests it became greater and more terrible than any of the three former Beasts. This Empire continued in its greatness till the reign of Theodosius the great; and then brake into ten kingdoms, represented by the ten horns of this Beast; and continued in a broken form, till the Ancient of days sat in a throne like fiery flame, and the judgment was set, and the books were opened, and the Beast was slain and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flames; and one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and received dominion over all nations, and judgment was given to the saints of the most high, and the time came that they possessed the kingdom.

I beheld, saith Daniel, till the Beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flames. As concerning the rest of the Beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. And therefore all the four Beasts are still alive, though the dominion of the three first be taken away. The nations of Chaldea and Assyria are still the first Beast. Those of Media and Persia are still the second Beast. Those of Macedon, Greece and Thrace, Asia minor, Syria and Egypt, are still the third. And those of Europe, on this side Greece, are still the fourth. Seeing therefore the body of the third Beast is confined to the nations on this side the river Euphrates, and the body of the fourth Beast is confined to the nations on this side Greece; we are to look for all the four heads of the third Beast, among the nations on this side of the river Euphrates; and for all the eleven horns of the fourth Beast, among the nations on this side of Greece. And therefore, at the breaking of the Greek empire into four kingdoms of the Greeks, we include no part of the Chaldeans, Medes and Persians in those kingdoms, because they belonged to the bodies of the two first Beasts. Nor do we reckon the Greek empire seated at Constantinople, among the horns of the fourth Beast, because it belonged to the body of the third.

Newton’s point here is important. Notice this verse:

As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. (Dan 7:12 ESV)

The point here is that the horns on the head of the fourth beast, i.e., the 1o kingdoms in this prophecy, can’t exist in the territory ruled by Babylon, Medo-Persia or by Greece because the bodies of those beasts are still “alive” in the context of this vision though their power and dominion was gone. So the 10 kingdoms on the head of the fourth beast can only be nations that existed in the area that was UNIQUE to the Roman Empire–not part of the areas Rome conquered which had previously been ruled by other empires. This limits the territory of the 10 kingdoms to what we today call Western Europe.

It’s details like this in Bible prophecy, when studied and taken seriously, that help us to guard ourselves from misinterpretations. The lesson here? Study carefully. Read slowly. Pay attention to the exact wording of the text of Scripture. The same analytical mind and brilliant attention to detail that made Newton one of the greatest scientists who has ever lived also made him a pretty good exegete of Bible prophecy!