There are not three different realities. There is one reality. And the time expressions all fit that one reality.
I think he was saying there are three interpretations. But I side with the ancient kingdoms and a theological understanding of the end of Daniel 7 - where God's kingdom DOES arrive during the time of Rome. Which it does! Unless one is blind to Jesus "My kingdom is not of this world" and all the references to the church as God's kingdom, it really does arrive then! Because it's OBVIOUS that these kingdoms were historical kingdoms, not future kingdoms. The vision was referring to kingdoms that all arrive before the gospel.
THE BEASTS OF DANIEL
Dan 7:4 “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.” I learned about these in High School art many decades ago. The Lamassu were depicted as Winged Bulls by the Assyrians then as
Winged Lions by the Babylonians! Daniel was about the 4 ancient empires leading up to Rome and Jesus. RSB Commentary on this verse reads: “The “lion” with “eagle’s wings” is an appropriate symbol for the Babylonian Empire (cf. Jer. 50:44; Ezek. 17:3, 12). Winged lions with human faces were common in Babylonian art and were placed at the entrances of important public buildings. The wings were plucked off. Perhaps this is a reference to Nebuchadnezzar’s humiliation and later restoration after a seven-year period of insanity (ch. 4).”
Dan 7:4 - ESV Reformation Study Bible - Bible Gateway
Cast from the original in Iraq, this is one of a pair of five-legged
lamassu with lion's feet in Berlin
More here:
Lamassu - Wikipedia
Dan 7:5 "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!'” The The RSB Commentary says “ . . . like a bear. The Medo-Persian kingdom is symbolized as a “beast” with a voracious appetite. The raised side may represent the superior status of Persia, and the “three ribs” likely represent Persia’s conquests over Lydia, (546 b.c.), Babylon (539 b.c.), and Egypt (525 b.c.).
Dan 7:5 - ESV Reformation Study Bible - Bible Gateway
Dan 7:6 “one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.” The RSB Commentary says: “
7:6 another, like a leopard. The Greek Empire is symbolized by the “leopard,” known for its quickness. Alexander the Great (356–323 b.c.) conquered the Persian Empire with great speed. Alexander died suddenly at age thirty-three, and the empire he established was divided into four parts (Macedonia under Cassander, Thrace and Asia Minor under Lysimachus, Syria under Seleucus, and Egypt under Ptolemy).”
Daniel 7:7 “here before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.” The RSB Commentary says: “This unidentified “beast” symbolizes Rome, the kingdom that ultimately assimilated the various parts of the divided Greek kingdom.
it had ten horns. The “ten horns” symbolize ten kings or kingdoms associated with the Roman Empire (v. 24).”
Dan 7:7 - ESV Reformation Study Bible - Bible Gateway
