What we’ve learnt to date about the leopard
It has been a challenge to identify the nation that is represented by the Leopard of Daniel 7: 6:
After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it – Daniel 7: 6.
To date, we have deduced the following about leopards. They:
live in the mountain.
are very dangerous beasts of prey.
are the smallest of the large cat family, and therefore directly related to the lion.
are spotted and compared to the Ethiopian.
has unique and distinctive spots.
Somalia, Malawi, Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Ossata are four nations which associate themselves with the leopard.
the leopard’s four heads could either mean that it has four chiefs/rulers or had four nations which ruled over it at times in its history.
the leopard had four wings of a fowl of the air or bird.
More on the fowl whose wings were on the back of the leopard
Prophet Daniel did not specify which fowl or bird was on the back of the leopard. Maybe he could not clearly identify the species. As I searched the scriptures again, I noted that several birds of the air were identified. These included the:
eagle, and the ossifrage (maybe vulture), and the ospray (black eagle/buzzard, comes from the root word meaning strength) – Leviticus 11: 13.
vulture, and the kite- Leviticus 11: 13.
raven – Leviticus 11: 15.
owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk – Leviticus 11: 16.
little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl – Leviticus 11: 17.
swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle – Leviticus 11: 18.
stork, the heron, and the lapwing, and the bat – Leviticus 11: 19.
locust, bald locust, beetle, the grasshopper – Leviticus 11: 24.
The back of the leopard
Prophet Daniel said that the leopard had four wings of a fowl “upon the back H1355.” Gab (H1354) is the root word for H1335. One of the texts in which it is used paint a picture of the bird (s) using the claws to inflict pain on the leopard’s back. The picture is of a human being beaten by another:
The plowers plowed upon my back: H1354 they made long their furrows – Psalm 129: 3.
My back is covered with cuts, as if a farmer had plowed long furrows (NLT).
The plowers plowed on my back. They made their furrows long (HNV).
Ezekiel 16: 39 is the other text in which Gab (H1354) is used, and which may be relevant to the four wings of the fowl on the back of the leopard. When Ezekiel 16: 39 is taken into consideration, we see the overpowering, stripping and forced nakedness of a people who were once in an eminent place. While this text is written in direct reference to Israel, I am reminded of the plight of the Africans who were taken into slavery during the slave trade:
And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, H1354 and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare (Ezekiel 16: 39).
The wings of the fowl
Prophet Daniel saw four wings H1611 (gaph) on the back of the leopard. Gaph corresponds to H1610 which is used in Exodus 21: 2 – 4 in the context in which Moses instructed the nation of Israel on the manner of dealing with Hebrew servants. The masters were commanded to free Jewish servants after seven years. If the servant chose to remain, he was to be bound for life in a legal transaction in which his ear was pierced with an aul.
I hope that I will be able to identity of the leopard after some historical search. More to come. Blessings, peace and angelic prosperity.
Filed under: God Tagged: 1000 years of Christ's Kingdom, Archangel Gabriel, Archangel Michael, Beasts in scripture, Book of Daniel, Christ's Kingdom, Christ's Millennial Reign, Daniel, Gabriel, Israel, Israel in history, Michael, Nations that are represented as Leopards, Prophet Daniel, Super Powers, The Kingdom of Christ, The Kingdom of God, The Kingdom of Heaven, the leopard, The Millennial Reign of Christ, The Millennium, the nation that is the leopard, World Powers 
