The Little Horn in Daniel 7 (Daniel 7:19~22)

The Little Horn in Daniel 7 (Daniel 7:19~22)

 

19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;

20 And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.

21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;

22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

 

Intro)

 

Today’s scripture talks about Daniel and his prophecy about little horn. In verse nineteen we learned that the forth beast is Rome and little horn is pope. Today let us think about little Horn who persecutes Christianity and compromise with other factions.

During the reformation, church leaders like Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, and John Wesley already point Catholic and pope as the little horn in the text. So let us see why is that.

 

The Eight Characteristics of the Little Horn.

 

1. The western country that arose after splitting of Rome

Daniel 7:7-8 “and behold a fourth beast (Rome), dreadful and terrible……. diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns (Splitting of Rome).........and, behold, there came up among them another little horn (Catholic)”

Historically and geographically we can see that the Vatican city was arise after the diversion of Rome and located in middle of Italy (Rome).

 2. It is a religious faction

The Little horn has religious color, Daniel 7:8,24,25 says “in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things….. And he shall speak great words against the most High” Other kingdoms before Vatican only rule people’s body, but the Pope can rule both human soul and body.

 

 3. Little Horn speaks great things

Little Horn said (great thing) were, first human can forgive human’s sin (Indulgence) and second human is equal to God.

Where the evidence that Vatican said human is can be equal to God? We can see some evidence from their book.

a) Pope, Perraris, Ecclesiastical Dictionary said only the Pope can be called most holy, king of king. Also the book said Pope can judge and forgive people because Pope has same power as God.

 b) Pope Leo XIII, Encyclical Letter, 7/20,1894 said “We (Popes) are in God’s position in this world.”

 c) Prompta Bibliotheca, vol. VI, p. 25-29 says "The Pope is God and God’s representative at the same time.”

 d) Bellarmin, on the Authority of Councils Vol. 2. Says "The other names we use for our head of church, Jesus Crist can also be used to address the Pope.”

 

 4. The Little Horn is Political Power

 

Like the ten horns, the small horn represents political power, thus the little horn possesses powers like a king on a monarchy.

 

Thus, like a monarchy, the little horn has a centralized power possessed by one person.

The Pope is the owner of a political body with centralized power, the Vatican.

There is no place, other than Vatican City, where a single religious group runs the area as a separate nation. The Vatican today is considered to a separate nation with its own political power and has politically international relations.

 

When the Pope expelled the Henry IV of the Holy Roman Empire, Henry IV stood in the snow barefoot for 3 days at Canossa, begging for forgiveness. This shows the political power of the Pope during the medieval era.

 

5. The Little Horn Persecutes Christians

 

The little horn has the power of persecution. Daniel 7:22 and 25 says, “22 until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.

…25 He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws.”

 

History tells us of how the Pope persecuted and killed countless Christians for 1260 years.

 

It is recorded in the book, “The Approach of the End”, that because of the faith Christians had and their rejection of the forced teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope persecuted over 50 million people.

 

Though things are not so extreme now, the Book of Revelations clearly tells us that the time of persecution by the little horn will come again.

 

6. The Little Horn and its Golden Age of 1260 Years.

 

The little horn exercises its complete control during the middle ages for 1260 years. Daniel 7:25 says, “25 The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.”

“Time, times, and half a time” is the equivalent of 3.5 years or 1260 days, thus symbolizing and prophesizing the 1260 years.  

The power of the Pope reigns for 1260 years, and this period of time if referenced 7 times in the Bible.

Theologians have further supported the prophecy of 1260 years by calculating the reign of the Pope to have lasted from 538 AD to its demise in 1798 AD.

In 1798, the Pope Pius VI was captured and died during the time of Napoleon. All of the Pope’s territories were taken over by French armies, thus ending the reign of Rome and the Vatican.

 

Thus, 1798years – 538 years = 1260 years.

 

Let us see more examples from the Bible:

1) Daniel 7:25 :“ The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.””

2) Daniel 12:7: “when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half”

3) Revelations 11:2 :“ 2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.”

4) Revelations 12:6 :“ 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.”

 

  7. The Little Horn Changed Times and Laws

 

The little horn changes the “times” and “laws” of the Lord.

Daniel 7:25, “25 And he shall… think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”

Some believe that this “change” refers to changing the day of the Sabbath (Saturday) to Sunday. I, however, interpret things a bit differently. The change from Saturday to Sunday is because of the New Testament Church rather than the Pope.

The biggest change of the times, in my personal opinions, is establishing the worship of saints. Catholics have hundreds of saints and they pray to these saints, calling their names specifically and asking for blessings.

The Catholic church also erased the second commandment, thou shalt not make and worship idols, from their Doctrine books because their worship of the Virgin Mary would violate it.

Instead, they split the commandment “thou shalt not covet” to keep the number at 10.

 

 〔Protestant Ten Commandment〕

1.    Thou shalt have no other gods before me

2.    Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image

3.    Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain

4.    Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy

5.    Honour thy father and thy mother

6.    Thou shalt not kill

7.    Thou shalt not commit adultery

8.    Thou shalt not steal

9.    Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour

10. Thou shalt not covet

〔Catholic Ten Commandment〕

1.    Thou shalt not have other gods besides Me

2.    Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain

3.    Remember to keep holy the Lord’s day

4.    Honor thy father and thy mother

5.    Thou shalt not murder

6.    Thou shalt not commit adultery

7.    Thou shalt not steal

8.    Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor

9.    Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods

 

Thus, the leader of the Reformation, Martin Luther, denounced the Catholic church, going so far as the call the Pope the “anti-Christ” and a symbol of the end for illegally and wrongfully changing the 10 commandments and placing his (the Pope’s) own laws above God’s. He called for a need to urgency to see that the Pope is in the seat of the anti-Christ.

 

8. The Catholic Church’s Dirty Plots for Alliance with Other Religions

 

Revelations calls this religion a “mother of prostitutes”, a spiritual whore of sorts. Recent news have shown Pope Francis meeting with religious leaders and claiming a desire to see each other as brothers in unity.

There are currently attempts to unify religious leaders in the quest for “world peace” and an understanding and acceptance of each religion.

It is not uncommon to see Catholic fathers or nuns working in harmony or even having parties and celebrations with Buddhist monks in Korea.

The Pope visited Turkey recently and ended his trip by extending an offer of unity and calling for “constructive dialogue”.

 

Revelations 17:1-5 says,

“ One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters.

2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”

3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.

4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.

5 The name written on her forehead was a mystery:

BABYLON THE GREAT

THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES

AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”

 

How does the Pope today dress? Much like the description of verse 4.

 

Near the end of time, the political agenda of the Catholic church will be successful, and the same persecution that took place during the Middle Ages will once again repeat itself.

 

Of course Revelations 18 tells us how the Catholic church is used by the anti-Christ and ends up betrayed and killed. This is the final destiny of the Catholic Church.

 

Conclusion)

My dear congregation: do not be fooled by the gentle appearance of a lamb. Listen carefully to its cries: it is surely that of a wolf, not a lamb; it is that of “the Mother of Prostitutes”.

They are twisting the truth. They have fallen too far spiritually. Do not be fooled by the outer appealing appearances of the Catholic church. Do not take yourself near them. Let us all live under the living name of Jesus Christ.