Daniel 7:3

“And four great beasts came up from the sea, etc.] Which are afterwards interpreted of four kings or kingdoms, (<270717>Daniel 7:17), which rose up in the world, not at once, but successively, and out of the sea or world, through the commotions and agitations of it; and these are the four monarchies, Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, and Roman; compared to “beasts”, because of the rapine and violence, cruelty, oppression, and tyranny, by which they were obtained, set up, supported, and maintained; and to “great ones”, being not like single separate kingdoms, as the kingdom of Israel, and the like, but consisting of many kingdoms and nations, and so like beasts of an enormous size: diverse one…”

“beasts--not living animals, as the cherubic four in Rev 4:7 (for the original is a different word from "beasts," and ought to be there translated, living animals). The cherubic living animals represent redeemed man, combining in himself the highest forms of animal life. But the "beasts" here represent the world powers, in their beast-like, grovelling character. It is on the fundamental harmony between nature and spirit, between the three kingdoms of nature, history, and revelation, that Scripture symbolism rests. The selection of symbols is not arbitrary, but based on the essence of things.”

“And four great beasts came up from the sea - Not at once, but in succession. See the following verses. Their particular form is described in the subsequent verses. The design of mentioning them here, as coming up from, the sea, seems to have been to show that this succession of kingdoms sprang from the agitations and commotions among the nations represented by the heaving ocean. It is not uncommon for the prophets to make use of animals to represent or symbolize kingdoms and nations - usually by some animal which was in a manner peculiar to the land that was symbolized, or which abounded there. Thus in Isaiah 27:1, leviathan, or the dragon, or crocodile, is used to represent Babylon. See the…”

“Four great beasts - That is, four great monarchies, great, in comparison of particular kingdoms; beasts for their tyrannical oppressions. Daniel 7:4”

“7:3-7 The kingdoms of the world are represented as four huge beasts (7:17; cp. Rev 13:1-2).”

“four: Four kingdoms ( Dan 7:17), called beasts, from their tyranny and oppression, emerging from the wars and commotions of the world. Dan 2:32, Dan 2:33, Dan 2:37-40; Zac 6:1-8 beasts: Dan 7:4-8, Dan 7:17; Psa 76:4; Eze 19:3-8; Rev 13:1 Daniel 7:4”