3.2. Symbols of Kingdoms

PLUS
Having compared Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and Daniel’s night vision, we are now better prepared to take in the “big picture” concerning the various beasts, heads, and horns seen by John in the book of Revelation. The diagram below illustrates the major symbols in the visions given to Daniel and John concerning the beasts, heads, and horns which contribute to an understanding of the book of Revelation. The beasts, heads, and horns represent kings and kingdoms.

Seven Heads and Ten Horns of Daniel and Revelation

Seven Heads and Ten Horns of Daniel and Revelation
The chart above is called an entity-relationship diagram. It contains entities (within rounded rectangles) and relationships (shown as arrows between entities). The main purpose of the diagram is to identify each entity from the prophetic Scriptures and to show how it relates to the other entities. Each entity is numbered for identification. When reading the diagram, the following points should be born in mind:
  • Numbers - Each symbol is identified by a unique sequential number. For example, the Sea (upper right) is #2. This number can be used to locate the description pertaining to the item below: #2 - Sea. In some cases, symbols are grouped within a larger symbol which is described by its own sequence number. For example, both the #2 - Sea and the #3 - Earth are within the #1 - Whole World.
  • Relationships - Arrows indicate relationships between symbols. The type of relationship depends upon the type of arrow, as seen in the legend.
  • Identifying Arrows - In the descriptions which follow, arrows are identified by a pair of numbers within brackets separated by a dash. The first number identifies the symbol where the arrow originates and the second number identifies the symbol where the arrow terminates. For example, the arrow between #2 - Sea and #8 - Four Beasts/Kings is designated by [#2-#8].
  • Identity - With the exception of symbols colored gray, symbols which appear in the same color are understood to represent different aspects of the same entity. In our diagram, #13 - Seventh King, #16 - Beast, and #25 - Little Horn all appear in the same color since each symbol denotes different aspects of the reign of the same individual: Antichrist.
The descriptions follow in the numeric order given in the diagram.