Daniel 7:4

The first beast looked like a lion, but it also had wings like an eagle. Other biblical writers had compared Nebuchadnezzar to a lion and an eagle (cf. Jeremiah 4:7; Jeremiah 49:19; Jeremiah 50:17; Jeremiah 50:44; Jeremiah 49:22; Lamentations 4:19; Ezekiel 17:3; Ezekiel 17:12; Habakkuk 1:8). As Daniel watched, something plucked this beast’s wings off, made it stand on two feet like a man, and gave it a human mind or nature. Many nations have used the lion as a symbol of royal power because it is the traditional king of beasts (cf. 1 Kings 10:20; 2 Chronicles 9:19). Similarly the eagle has long represented the king of birds (cf. Ezekiel 17:3; Ezekiel 17:7). Almost all interpreters, conservative and critical, believe this lion represents Neo-Babylonia. Huge winged lions guarded the gates of the royal Babylonian palaces. [Note: Walvoord, p. 153.] Babylon used both the lion and the eagle as national emblems (cf. Jeremiah 4:7; Jeremiah 4:13; Ezekiel 17:3). The cropping of the lion’s wings may allude to the humiliation of Nebuchadnezzar (ch. 4), [Note: Leupold, pp. 289-90; Archer, "Daniel," p. 85.] or perhaps to the deterioration of his kingdom after his death. [Note: Feinberg, p. 86. Dyer, in The Old . . ., p. 713, believed Nebuchadnezzar (ch. 4) and Belshazzar (ch. 5) are in view.] After Nebuchadnezzar’s humbling by God, he became more humane. [Note: For additional study of prophecies about Babylon, see John F. Walvoord, The Nations in Prophecy, pp. 61-69.]