Chapter 28 Leopard Greece under Alexander the Great is considered by students of prophecy to be the third beast of Dan 7, and parallels the thighs of brass of the image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. It is also the he-goat that destroys the ram in Dan 8. However, we have shown that there are problems in having Dan 7 recapitulate Dan 2 (chapter 23). We have shown that in a contemporary interpretation of Dan 7, Britain is the first beast (chapter 25) and Russia and China the second beast (chapter 26). It is quite easy to see the correlation between these nations and Dan 7’s beasts in their heraldry. The third beast is not so obvious. I would like to suggest the third beast represents Europe under the leadership of Germany primarily, but also as an attempted unified region. Let us focus on Germany first. In an effort to find meaning for the four heads of the leopard, the Nazi-Germany regime was known as the Third Reich. Which are the Reichs (realms/empires) of Germany? • German Empire (1871–1918) • Weimar Republic (1918–1933) • Nazi Germany (1933–1945) Nazi Germany was broken up at the end of the Second World War and divided into East Germany and West Germany up to the end of the Cold War. In 1990 the two Germanies were united again, but the nation preferred not to be called a Reich, rather a Federation. However, this united and self-determining Germany may be considered the fourth “Reich,” the fourth united Germany. Germany is one nation in the EU, but it is the leading nation as far as economy is concerned. Another way of looking at the third beast of Dan 7 in contemporary terms is Europe as a whole. Throughout history there has been three military attempts to unify Europe. The first such attempt dates back over a millennium when Charlemagne of the Franks expanded his realm in an effort to unify Europe (772 – 800). After the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte had the ambition of conquering all of Europe in the Napoleonic wars (1803 – 1815). Then less than a century ago Adolf Hitler of Germany almost succeeded in conquering all of Europe (1939 – 1945). These three attempts were all military. Today there is an effort to unify Europe politically and economically without war. This started off quite well in 1993 and Europe has expanded from the original 12 founding nations. If one looks at a leopard in the heraldry of European nations, it features in the coats of arms of several nations: Two leopards • Coat of arms of the principality of Hohenlohe • Coat of arms of Normandy Three leopards • Coat of arms of Denmark (12th century - 1819. After that changed to lions.) • Coat of arms of Estonia • Coat of arms of England • Coat of arms of Jersey • Coat of arms of Guernsey • Coat of arms of Croatia Leopard's heads • Coat of arms of Dalmatia, until 1526 the official arms of Croatia and was later used by Kingdom of Dalmatia in Habsburg monarchy; it is now part of Coat of arms of Croatia. • A leopard's face is frequently shown Jessant-de-lys, as in the 13th century arms of Cantilupe displayed by Thomas de Cantilupe and his nephew William de Cantilupe. Leopards are and were a common part of European heraldry. The European Union is on the decline. First Britain, which never accepted the Euro as their currency, left it in what is known as Brexit. Some of the southern European nations have been plagued with austerity and have considered leaving the union as well. With the war in the Ukraine since February 2022, Europe has bankrupted itself in an effort to place sanctions on Russia to destroy it economically. The war in the Ukraine has tested European unity and strength and it is not unlikely that NATO and the EU may become defunct before the end of this decade. There are two other reasons to interpret Europe as the leopard beast of Dan 7 that has to do with the New World Order. We will have a look at this when we study the first beast of Rev 13 which has to do with the New World Order. We first have to look at the fourth beast of Dan 7 as well as the meaning of horns and heads when it comes to understanding the similar-looking beasts of Revelation 12, 13 and 17.