Big Cats in the Bible
Sunday, July 25th, 2010
The Bible makes 59 references to LIONS; 13 references to leopards; no tigers; no domestic cats; many uses of the word lion/leopard to describe people (lion-like or like a lion, as a leopard, etc.) - Cruden’s Unabridged Concordance
Daniel in the LION’S den, the popular Sunday school story, is the most commonly known account of lions in Biblical history. Refusing to bow to King Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue of himself, Daniel was cast into a den of lions and spent the night among them. The vexed king rose early the next morning to discover Daniel unharmed. He was lifted from the den and declared, “O King, live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me because I was found innocent in his [God’s] sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king.” Daniel 6:21 & 23
The prophet Jeremiah posed the question, “Can a LEOPARD change his spots?” Jeremiah 13:23 What a ludicrous thought! The obvious answer is, “no.” The prophet was speaking for God by insinuating that God’s people had become so accustomed to engaging in evil practices that for them to change would be as impractical as attempting to change a leopard’s spots.
One of the beasts the disciple John saw in his visions of the last days was one who “resembled a LEOPARD, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a LION.” Revelation 13:2
The most beautiful picture of the coming kingdom of God portrays the peace that will exist among natural predators and prey. “The wolf will live with the LAMB, the LEOPARD will lie down with the goat, the calf and the LION and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the LION will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destory on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” Isaiah 11:6-9
