IDENTIFYING THE LITTLE HORN/ANTICHRIST INTRODUCTION Beast in prophecy means a kingdom (DAN 7:17) According to history the 4 major kingdoms that have existed on earth are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. Rome existed in 2 phases as prophesied in DANIEL 2 i.e Imperial Rome & Divided Rome(The Ostrogoths, The Heruli, The Vandals, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, England, Italy & Switzerland. Horns mean kings/smaller kingdoms(DAN 7:24, REV 17:12) DANIEL 7:7-8 After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast- terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns. While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully. Daniel 7 gives at least ten identification marks to identify the little horn. These are: 1. IT AROSE OUT OF THE 4TH BEAST(v 8, 24) According 2 both secular & church history the power that arose out of the Roman Empire & took over the reign of Caesars was the Roman Catholic Church. As political Rome declined & disintegrated there emerged out of its ruins this great religio-political system that dominated Europe 4 over 1000 yrs & continues to dominate the world up to now. 2. IT AROSE AMONG THE TEN HORNS(v 8) The Roman Catholic Church arose amongst the political kingdoms of Europe as the eleventh kingdom before it uprooted 3 of them to become the 8th. 3. IT AROSE AFTER THE EMERGENCE OF THE 10 HORNS. The papacy came into prominence after the break-up of the empire in A.D. 476. It therefore arose after the emergence of the political kingdoms that came out of imperial Rome. It was in A.D. 538 when papal supremacy over Europe was asserted, 62yrs after the break-up of the old empire. 4. IT WAS DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER HORNS(v 24) The papacy was different from the other kingdoms for it was a religio- political power whereas the others were merely political. The pope is a political leader and a also a religious leader claiming the allegiance of mens souls everywhere. 5. IT STARTED AS A LITTLE HORN BUT GREW MORE STOUT THAN THE OTHERS(v 8, 20) The papacy started simply as the metropolitan see of Rome equal in importance to the other 4 sees of Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch & Constantinople. But with time Rome gained supremacy over the other sees. By the time of pope Gregory VII around A.D. 1080, the papacy had become the single most powerful force in the whole of Europe, enthroning & dethroning kings & emperors at will. That supremacy grew through the vicissitudes of history until the present time when the pope is once again the most important personage in the world. 6. IT UPROOTED THREE OTHER KINGDOMS(v 8, 20, 24) The papacy uprooted the Heruli, the Vandals and the Ostrogoths for their support of Arianism. For their refusal to adhere to the orthodox teaching on the deity of Christ, these kingdoms were uprooted by the papacy through the orthodox princes of the empire. The Heruli fell in A.D. 493, the Vandals A.D. 534, and the Ostrogoths in A.D. 538. 7. IT SPOKE GREAT WORDS AGAINST THE MOST HIGH(v 25) The papal claims to the names, titles & prerogatives of God have been documented by history. Pope Leo in a letter dated Jan. 10, 1890 asserted that the supreme teacher in the church is the Roman Pontiff. Union of minds, therefore, requires... complete submission & obedience of will to the church & to the Roman Pontiff as to God Himself. The Roman church has never up 2 now denounced these blasphemous claims. 8. IT PERSECUTED THE SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH(v 21, 25) A striking illustration of Romes policy toward those who disagree with her was given in the long & bloody persecution of the Waldenses, some of whom were observers of the Sabbath. After the signal of open martyrdom had been given in the canons of Orleans, there followed the extirpation of the Albigenses under the form of a crusade, the cruel attempts to estinguish the Waldenses, the martyrdom of the Lollards, the burning of Huss & Jerome and many others. 9. IT TRIED TO CHANGE THE SET TIMES AND LAWS(v 25) The papacy has attempted to change the law of God. The second commandment, forbidding image worship, has been dropped from the law, & the 4th commandment has been so changed as to authorize the observance of the 1st instead of the 7th day as the Sabbath. The change in the 4th commandment exactly fulfills the prophecy. For this the only authority claimed is that of the church. Here the papal power openly sets itself above God. 10. SAINTS HANDED OVER TO HIM FOR A TIME, TIMES AND HALF A TIME(v 25) Time in predictive prophecy is mostly symbolic & has to be interpreted using the day year principle given by scripture in NUMBERS 14:34 and EZEKIEL 4:6. Using this principle, the time, times, and half a time mentioned above are 3&1/2 yrs. As 1 yr has 12 months & one lunar month 30 days, the 3&1/2 yrs would be 3&1/2*12*30=1260 days or 1260 yrs. This period in which the saints were given to the little horn began in A.D. 538 when the pope took both political & religious control of Rome. It went up to 1798 when Napoleon arrested Pope Pius VI through General Berthier & abolished the papacy for a while. This arrest of the aged pope who later died in prison is the deadly wound mentioned in Revelation 13:3 where the same power is under discussion. It was during these 1260 yrs that the papacy persecuted the saints. The era was so dark and the persecutions so severe that they ignited the Protestant Reformation. It is then clear that papacy is the little horn/antichrist.
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 19:15:19 +0000
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