Daniel 7:2

Daniel referred to himself in the third person in the first six chapters, but in the last six he used the first person. He may have made this change to make his visions more impressive and persuasive to the reader.

Daniel saw "the Great Sea," probably the Mediterranean (cf. Numbers 34:6-7; Joshua 1:4; Joshua 9:1; Ezekiel 47:10; et al.), stirred up by the four winds (or spirits) of heaven (Daniel 7:2; cf. Jeremiah 23:19; Jeremiah 49:36; Zechariah 6:1-6; Revelation 7:1-3; et al.). The "sea" in Scripture and in ancient Near Eastern thinking represented the unorganized mass of humanity, the populace of the earth (Daniel 7:17; cf. Isaiah 8:6-8; Isaiah 17:12-13; Isaiah 57:20; Isaiah 60:5; Jeremiah 6:23; Jeremiah 46:7-8; Jeremiah 47:2; Matthew 13:47; Luke 21:25; Revelation 13:1; Revelation 17:1; Revelation 17:15; Revelation 21:1; et al.). The Mediterranean world seems to be particularly in view, since the sea was the Mediterranean Sea. The "wind" represents God’s power expressed in judgment, using heavenly and earthly forces from all directions, to influence the nations as He wills (cf. Revelation 7:1; Revelation 9:14-15). [Note: Cf. Keil, pp. 222-23.]

"God often used the wind as a means to attain His ends (Genesis 8:1: Exodus 10:13-19; Exodus 14:21; Exodus 15:10; Numbers 11:31; 1 Kings 18:45; 1 Kings 19:11). . . . Of more than 120 references in the Bible to wind (more than 90 in the O.T. and about 30 in the N.T.), well over half are related to events and ideas which reflect the sovereignty and power of God. In Daniel, wind is uniformly used to represent the sovereign power of God, which is the viewpoint of the book." [Note: Walvoord, p. 152. Cf. Genesis 1:2.]