7:3 up from the sea. The interpretation in Daniel 7:17 tells us that the sea is the earth, or land, and the beasts are four kings, or kingdoms.

7:3 diverse one from another. These kingdoms do not represent successive historical kingdoms, as in Daniel’s image (which would be redundant), but contemporaneous kingdoms striving with each other (like the four winds) in the last days. This follows clearly from the fact that all four kingdoms were still future in Daniel’s vision (Daniel 7:17), whereas Babylon was about to fall at the time and Persia would take over. Furthermore, the beast representing the fourth kingdom was slain before the first three (Daniel 7:11-12).