Daniel Chapter Seven

Daniel 7: 1. In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. 2. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.

Here we are introduced quickly to the beginning of the prophecy, and the symbols start near immediately. The first thing Daniel sees are the four winds of heaven, stirring on the great sea. A good rule of thumb in prophecy regarding symbols is to allow scripture to interpret itself, as it is often a symbol is explained somewhere else. In this case, the book of Revelation tells us plainly what both symbols indicate.

Revelation 17: 15. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

Here we are told without room for doubt, that the waters are multitudes, large amounts of people, nations, and tongues. And what of the winds?

Revelation 7:1. And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 2. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3. Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

Winds here denote strife, hurting the earth and the sea. Conflict, or war. Does anywhere else in scripture testify the same?

Jeremiah 25: 32. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. 33. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.

Here is the picture of strife between the Lord and all the nations of the earth, and the resulting chaos that ensues is described as a "great whirlwind."

War is evident in the vision and nature of the beasts itself, and thus we can then start to see the picture clearing, that strife, or war, blew across large amounts, multitudes of people. And what was the result of this?

Daniel 7:3. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

Now, what do beasts represent in prophecy? The answer comes a mere 14 verses later.

Daniel 7:17. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.

This applies not only for Daniels vision but all throughout prophecy, that a beast represents a kingdom, or a government. "For I am the Lord, I change not." (Malachi 3:6) Daniel begins immediately describing the character of the four beasts.

Daniel 7: 4. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

Reading the section on Daniel 2 beforehand will be of use before getting into this more intricate prophecy, as it is a sort of basic layed plan of these same concepts, a preperation one might say before heading into this prophecy which, as we shall see, covers the same events, but in far greater detail and to further lengths.

The first kingdom of the statue was named expressly as Babylon, and we find that this holds true to the first beast of this vision as well. The Lion is a strong and fierce creature, and this symbol fit Babylon well. The city at the heart of the empire was the pride of the Earth, and none of the kingdom's successers ever attained the same heights in majesty and wealth. The city had walls estimated to have been 200-300 feet tall, and 80 feet thick, with a moat surrounding the walls of equal width. The city included two palaces, which were connected by a subterranean corrider running under the river Euphrates that ran through the city, as well as a temple to a pagan god known as Belus, which contained a massive wealth. The city itself was one of the wonders of the world, and the pinnacle of man-made splendor. Should they have needed to close the gates, it was estimated they had enough food stored within to last the people 40 years, not to mention the land for growing and supplying more.

Babylon itself is reffered to as a Lion in scripture, along with Assyria, by the prophet Jeremiah in refference to the kingdom of Babylon taking the children of Israel captive by King Nebuchadnezzar, which is how Daniel was in the kingdom for this and his other visions. (Jeremiah 50:17)

What of the wings of eagles? How are eagles used in scripture? Well, the book of Habbakuk as quoted below gives an answer, in the description of the warfare of the Chaldeans.

Habbakuk 1: 8. Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.

Here the flying of eagles is used to denote swiftness, eagerness in battle, fierceness as the eagle to devour its prey as it conquers. We can but conclude it applies the same to Babylon. But what of the rest of the verse? It says that these eagle's wings were plucked from it, meaning at some point Babylon lost its swiftness and fierceness in battle. What else coincides with these wings being plucked?

It was lifted up as a man from the feral and hunched demeanor of a beast, it's heart was replaced with that of a man, timid and weak. This would most clearly apply to the conversion of King Nebuchadnezzar. He was changed from the idol worshipping king of a nation of destruction into a servant of the most high God, his heart and position of a beast were replaced by that of a man, and with it, the wings of its swift ferocity were plucked. (Daniel 4)

We then, having covered all points of this beast of prophecy and having shown them applied to Babylon fittingly, will move on as did Daniel to what happens next in the vision.

Daniel 7:5. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.

Recalling the statue, or even without it, we know where to start searching for this beast's identity. The next kingdom, or beast, to arise after Babylon was that of the Medes and the Persians. We can only but conclude that Daniel continued to use the terms "King" and "Kingdom" interchangably in this chapter as well, as once again, there were several kings in between the death of Nebuchadnezzar and the death of Belshazzar, none of which ammounted to anything of significance whatsoever. We know also that King and Kingdom are still being used synonymously, by the above mentioned verse 17 denoting the 4 beasts as four kings, coupled with the verse below :

Therefore we conclude that the obvious place to begin would be with the next kingdom on the scene, the Medes and the Persians. Though, the symbols fit so clearly as we shall see, that what was just gone over was more an addition to understanding than the foundation.

The golden reign of the golden kingdom of Babylon was drawing to its end... Not by way of any military might, but because the voice of Yah spoke it in prophecy long before, in two instances. The second beast, the bear, is a fitting natural reflection of the nature of the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians, as they were a cruel and barbaric kingdom, holding bitter rule over the kingdoms they conquered. Those kingdoms were three, and denoted by the three ribs that it held clenched in its teeth.

These kingdoms were, namely, Libya, Babylon, and Egypt. The bear raised itself up on one leg scripture tells us, and this is a suiting symbol as well, of the fact that the Persians were of greater strength and numbers than their allies and co-rulers the Medes. The command to Arise, and devour much flesh is also fitting to the hostility they showed to these three nations kept in their jaws and the lands they plundered after securing them there.

However I stated above that the pen of prophecy had more than once told of the fall of Babylon. For one of the most plainly fulfilled prophecies in scripture in the fall of Babylon to Cyrus the Persian, click here.

However the Medes and the Persians were not to last as a world empire either, as we know from History, the statue of Daniel 2, and the next beast who arises from the water.

Daniel 7:6. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.

Here we have a beast who is built for swiftness. The leopard is in nature a beast of amazing quickness and speed, and this as well is told in the verse in Habbakuk used to explain the meaning of wings. (Habbakuk 1:8 Their horses also are swifter than the leopards[...]) But this was not enough for this kingdom. On top of the speed of a leopard, it was given the wings of eagles, which as we know from Babylon, denote swiftness, ferocity in battle. But this was still not enough to accurately reflect this kingdom, no, the lion had two wings, this beast must have four. Does any kingdom in history but the next onto the scene fit this description so exactly?

The next kingdom to rule was that of Grecia, lead by Alexander the Great. The speed and efficiency of Alexander was unprecedented, and he had the entire world conquered quickly, holding a firmer throne over the Persian empire than the Persian kings had ever. Dominion was truly given to this beast, and the large attention paid to its speed and ferocity were in no way an exaggeration.

But this is not the end of the description, the beast also had four heads. (This will be also gone into later, in the explanation of Daniel 8) Alexander, when he had conquered all of the world and had seen his last great foe Darius, the last of the Persian kings (A different Darius than that who ruled the Medes at the capture of Babylon, most obviously) dead on the battlefield, was diseased with everything from Malaria to drunkeness. He returned to Babylon, and, skipping some of the details of the events leading up to his death (One of which being drinking two Herculean cups of liqour in a row... which each contained about six of our quarts), lay sick and dying in the feast hall of Belshazzar.

Before his death his four generals were summoned to him, and when inquired who his kingdom would be left to, he replied "Let it go to the strongest." His kingdom was thereafter, upon his death in that banquet hall, divided among his four generals. Cassander had Macedonia and Greece in the west, Lysimachus had rule over Thrace and parts of Asia in the north, Ptolemy had Egypt, Libya, Arabia, Palestine, Coele-Syria in the south, and Seleucus had Syria and all the rest of Alexander's previous dominion in the east. Thus we see the four heads of the leopard fulfilled. The kingdom of Grecia lasted from 331 B.C. to 168 B.C.

Daniel 7: 7. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

Here we are shown a beast that no animal in nature can describe. The beasts before it were not exactly naturally occuring, but they were natural creatures with additions. Babylon was a lion but with eagle's wings, which had a man's heart given to it. Greece was a leopard, with the addition of 4 wings and 4 heads to more accurately describe it's speed. But here we have a beast diverse from the rest, that no creature in nature can reflect. It is simply described as dreadful and terrible.

We see a connection between the manner of this beast and the Iron rule of Rome in the fourth material of the statue in Daniel 2, and further the teeth of this beast are even composed of the same metal. Rome was in its time a great power, one that conquered all it came across and devoured with iron teeth, breaking in peices all that obstructed its paths. It held in its grip the entire world, and held it tight, placing near the entire earth under its laws, grinding nations under its feet. The world had never seen its equal in strength; it inspired terror, and nature had no equal to reflect it. It was simply, "a beast, dreadful and terrible."

The 10 horns come into focus quickly, and they are explained in the same chapter of prophecy, in verse 24.

Daniel 7:24. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

This corrosponds perfectly with the ten toes of the foot of the statue in Daniel 2. Rome was divided into ten kingdoms, ten toes, and in this vision, 10 horns that arose out of the beast. However what of the other horn? The one that should arise? Well, Daniel continues in his description of this significant development.

Daniel 7: 8. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

Daniel pays special attention to the ten horns of the beast, and then sees the events later described in verse 24 above, the emergance of a "little horn." We see now from Rome there comes 10 kingdoms, and from Rome again comes another horn or kingdom, that will uproot completly three of those first 10. However this horn was different from the others... It had the eyes and mouth of a man, not the smooth cold surface of the other horns, and with its mouth it spoke great things.

Daniel 7: 9. I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. 10. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. 11. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. 12. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.

After seeing this vision of the great and terrible beast, and its little horn, we are brought down through time to the great judgment day. Verse 11 tells us that because of the great words of the little horn, the beast was slain, and destroyed, burned in flames. But what does verse 12 mean? The beasts having their dominion taken and their lives prolonged?

We are being shown in this prophecy, the parallel of the rock cut from the mountain without hands in Daniel 2. The other kingdoms, or beasts, lived on though their dominion was taken away. Babylon and its subjects remained, simply as a part of the bear. The bear lived on, it was simply assimilated into the leopard. The leopard after defeat was taken into the "dreadful and terrible" fourth beast. But the fourth beast does not live on. It does not assimilate into another kingdom, instead it meets its final destruction in the lake of fire.

Daniel 7:13. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. 15. I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.

Do not worry, we will address the little horn shortly :) However it is necessary to follow the flow of scripture in the chapter, and while the horn was first introduced earlier, much greater detail is given to it near the end, and as such, we will cover it in detail when we come to it. Back to the scene of Daniel's vision, we are shown here Christ returning to heaven to receive his kingdom of his Father, his everlasting dominion, his eternal kingdom, the rock that will not be broken but will break all nations underneath it.

Daniel was, understandably, very troubled by these many visions, in particular the great and terrible beast, as we shall soon see.

Daniel 7:16. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. 17. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. 18. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.

Daniel begins to question one standing by at the judgement scene, and the one who was asked quickly answers, and begins to make known to Daniel some of the basics of the prophecy which we have covered thusfar by looking ahead in the chapter.

Daniel 7:19. 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.

The questions of Daniel most likely reflect those of all of us right now. The other beasts he could understand, they were beasts of nature. For Greece there was a leopard, but with 3 extra heads and 4 wings. For Medo Persia, a bear with 3 ribs in its mouth and leaning to one leg. But for this beast there was no natural parallel, no antitype. The horns, on top of this, added to it's mystery, and Daniel questions the being according to his uncertainties. And, as we shall see soon, he answers.

Daniel 7:23. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

We now enter into the little horn area of this prophecy. From this point out, 6 distinct points of identification are given regarding the identity of the little horn, and we will go over them one at a time. Six times is prophecy given to tell us exactly who this little horn is, and six times, we shall see, the prophecy applies directly to none other than to the Papacy.

I realize this may be soft or even sensative ground with many, but I would plea with the reader to hear out the word of God on the matter. If you can make these 6 points apply to any other organization or kingdom on Earth, write me. Do not write me if you can make 3 match. Do not write me if you can make 5 match. If you can make all 6 points fit (As prophecy is sure in its word, and does not fail once) to any organization other than the Papacy, let me know.

I am not trying to condemn the people of the Catholic faith. But scripture is clear, as we shall see, regarding the Catholic organization, the Church itself. God has his people in every organization, and to his people in every false church, his call is to "Come out of her my people." However I will not argue on this matter of my own wisdom, nor will I plea excessively for the patience of the reader, as much as maintaining such would add to their understanding of the word of God. Instead I will simply start where scripture does, and one by one we will identify the characteristics of the little horn, and see if the Papacy does not fit.

In the last passage we are told that of the ten kingdoms that arise from the division of Rome, another shall rise up diverse from the first, and shall subdue three of the horns that were before him. Did the Papacy uproot three of the ten kingdoms of Rome before it?

For the answer, we must go to history.

During the first few centuries of Christianity, Rome was the seat of power in the world, it was the largest, richest, and most powerful city in the world. The Roman Church's bishops felt a particular pride in their city - as they already received an amount of respect equal with the glory of it - and reasoned that, if Rome was the "Queen of cities," why should her pastor not be the king of bishops?

It was easy for the concept to stir, and as an avalanche it began to gather. Western bishops began to pay homage to the bishop of Rome, possibley because of partial contempt for the bishops of the east, or possibley because they favored the idea of paying homage to a pope instead of an earthly kingdom, a temporal power. What started as simple honors paid began to snowball into outright commands by the bishop of Rome to those in other parts.

However before long an obstruction was presented, in the form of the bishop Arius, from the church of Alexandria. Arius had composed a doctrine of the nature of God far different than the Trinitarian one that the Orthodox Catholic Church held as truth. By most reports, the Arian concept was that the Son, Christ, was a created being and distinctly different from the Father. He was a subordinate and inferior being to the Father, who merely worked in co-operation in the forming of the Earth and all subsequent works of creation after himself. The Catholic belief was in the Trininty concept of God, that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit were three co-eternal beings who were all one God and yet 3 distinct persons.

The Arian doctrine spread quickly and soon such a controversy was stirred among Catholics - Some holding to the Orthodox Catholic position, some embracing the Arian one - that a council was called in Nice by Emperor Constantine in the year 325 A.D. over the matter. To skip many details of it (They may be looked up in such books as Eusebius' History of the Church) the council decreed that the Trinity was the true concept of God. Arius was banished, and those at the council of his persuasion were forced to either consent to the new creed or to suffer like consequences.

Hereupon Arianism was considered heresy by the Roman church, and the Trinity was solidified as Roman Catholic doctrine. However the belief of Arianism did not cease here, and in fact may have found even a greater following by way of the controversy it caused. This would be one of the factors which lead to the clay mixing with iron and weakening the kingdom before its final division into 10 horns or toes.

The actual division of the western Roman empire into ten kingdoms took place between the years 351 A.D. and 467 A.D. The kingdom was beseiged by people collectivly known as Goths, 10 different tribes of such rising from the land previously occupied by Rome and waging war against the empire. All of these kingdoms were instructed in Arianism, and several held it as the national belief.

The year in which Rome - it is generally agreed on - was divided into ten kingdoms completely was the year 467 A.D. It was in this year that the Heruli, one of the Gothic tribes, under the lead of King Odoacer took rule over the Italian penninsula, and consequently the city of Rome, as the first of the barbarians to rule over the Romans. Odoacer was Arian in his beliefs, however he found the Catholic system of beliefs interesting, and their silence testifies to the tolerance they received.

The city of Rome, having its temporal power stripped away, its bishops began to impose themselves all the more on Christianity, to exert their power over the Christian world to retain some of the power they had lost. The Arians did not care for the yoke the Romans were placing on them, and Odoacer placed laws subjecting the appointment of a new pope to the approval of the king.

One such example comes from Archibald Bower, author of The history of the Popes. After the death of Pope Simplicius in 483 A.D, the clergy and the people assembled for the election of a new pope. Suddenly Basilius, the general of Odoacer appeared in the crowd and expressed his surprise that such an event be undergone without his presence, and declared all proceedings null and void in the name of the king, ordering the election to be begun anew.

Meanwhile Zeno, the emporer of East Rome, and a friend of the popes, was eager to drive Odoacer out of Italy. The Ostragoths, one of those ten kingdoms that now occupied what was once the Western Roman empire, under the lead of Theodoric were based primarily in the lands of Moesia and Pannanonia. Theodoric, on friendly terms with Zeno (Despite being an Arian himself) wrote to the emperor stating it was impossible to retain his Goths in the impoverished areas of Pannanonia, and asked for permision to attack and conquest another land for them to inhabit.

Zeno wrote him back, giving him permission to attack Odoacer and the Heruli to take possession of Italy. Accordingly, Theodoric attacked and after a 5 year war, the Heruli were cast out of Italy and the Ostragoths took over the region, now reigned by Theodoric. As Theodoric was himself an Arian as well, the old laws imposed by Odoacer regarding the papal elections being made subject to the king were retained.

An incident in history shows just how completely the pope was under his power. During these wars the battle between Arianism and Orthodox Catholicism had been raging on even more bloodily than before. The Catholics of the East persecuted the Arians, and the Arians in turn, especially the Vandals of Africa, persecuted those of Orthodox beliefs.

Theodoric called Pope John into his presence and addressed him, saying in summary, that he must go to Constantinople to remonstrate to Justin [Emporer of the East, predecessor of Justinian], in both the popes name and his own, against the measures taken against those of Arian faith. He gave him the message to deliver that whatever violent measures were taken upon Arians in the East, would be equally taken on Orthodox Catholics under his authority. He charged the pope that until the persecution of the Arians had ceased in the East, he must not *think* of setting foot again on Italian soil.

While the Catholics were feeling the restraint of an Arian king in Italy, they were suffering violent persecution at the hands of the Arian Vandals in Africa. Such was the scene of things when Justinian entered into the Gothic wars in 533 A.D.

In that same year, he issued the decree that the pope should be made the head of all churches, wishing to raise the supremecy of the office to even greater lengths than it had attained before. However the decree of papal supremecy could not take effect until the Arian horns were uprooted out of its way. Between 533 A.D. and 534 A.D. the war raged between Justinian and his general Belsarius with the Vandals, ending with the driving out of the latter completely. Then, between the years of 534 A.D. and 538 A.D. the Italian campaign took place, ending with the uprooting of the Ostragoths from Italy. In that year, 538, the papal decree went into effect.

Here we find the words of prophecy fulfilled in the uprooting of three horns. The Ostragoths, the Vandals, and the Heruli were all uprooted, in making way for the Papacy to be established as a temporal as well as religious power.

This is the fulfillment as well of the other point given in verse 24, namely, "And he shall be diverse from the first." All the kingdoms before the little horn, all ten of the horns that preceeded it, were temporal powers only. They were earthly governments, formed by earthly politics, for earthly reasons. However with the rise of the Papacy we find a kingdom that is not *only* temporal in power, but a spiritual, religious kingdom as well.

Can this be substantiated by scripture plainly? We find from the Lion, that association with Yahweh gives manlike characteristics to formerly inhuman creatures. At the conversion of King Nebuchadnezzar, the lion of Babylon as you may recall, was given a man's heart, and made to stand like a man. What was it that made this little horn especially different from its fellow horns again?

The horn had eyes as a man, and a mouth speaking great things. This is significant in so many ways. The first being, as cited above, that when a kingdom or beast, or in this case horn, comes into relation with Yah, manlike qualities are given to it. This horn is a horn like its fellow temporal kingdoms, as Babylon was still a lion, a beast and government after the king's conversion. However it has as well manlike features, and would accordingly be spiritual as well as temporal in characteristics.

This is not the only significance. What did the Lion have changed and what did it represent? It had a new heart given unto it. It had a changed heart, new, one of a man. It had been converted, truly. And what was a result of this? The Lion was made to stand as a man. No longer did it walk and act as a crude beast, but as a man, intelligent, God fearing.

But did the little horn have such manlike qualities? No. While the Lion had the manlike qualities of a changed heart, the horn had only the eyes of a man. It looked spiritually discerned and religious, pious and holy, but it was merely the eyes, not the heart that were different. It only looked as if it were a man, it only looked of spirituality. It had a mouth of a man, that professed great and loud things, but was its method of walking, taking action changed? No. It only spoke as if it were a man, it only spoke of spirituality.

Daniel 7: 25. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

Here begins the proof of the falsehood of its spirituality. Four points are given in this verse, so we had best take them one by one so nothing is lost.

"And he shall speak great words against the most High."

Has the Papacy done such? Spoken great words against the most High? Has it stated anything that would fit this nature? Let us look first at an excerpt from the 'Prompta Bibliotheca's' article on the pope, a book which the 'Catholic Encyclopedia' refers to as "a veritable encyclopedia of religious knowledge" and "a precious mine of information."

"The pope is of so great dignity and so exalted that he is not a mere man, but as it were God, and the vicar of God. . . . The pope is of such lofty and supreme dignity that , properly speaking, he has not been established in any rank of dignity, but rather has been placed upon the very summit of all ranks of dignities. . . . The pope is called most holy because he is rightfully presumed to be such. . . . The pope alone is deservedly called by the name 'most holy' because he alone is the vicar of Christ, who is the fountain and source of all fullness and holiness. . . . He is likewise the divine monarch and supreme emperor, and king of kings. . . . Hence the pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven and of earth and the lower regions. . . . Moreover the superiority and the power of the Roman Pontiff by no means pertain only to heavenly things, to earthly things, and to things under the earth, but are even over angels, than whom he is greater. . . .So that if it were possible the angels might err in the faith, or might think contrary to the faith, they could be judged and excommunicated by the pope. . . . For he is of so great dignity and power that he forms one and the same tribunal with Christ. . . . The pope is as it were God on earth, sole sovereign of the faithful of Christ, chief king of kings, having plenitude of power, to whom has been intrusted by the omnipotent God not only of the earthly but also of the heavenly kingdom. . . . The pope is of so great authority that he can modify, explain, or interpret even divine laws." - Lucius Ferraris, 'Prompta Bibliotheca', art. "Papa," II, Vol. VI, pg. 26-29

Again from another work,

"Thou art the shepherd, thou art the physician, thou art the directer, thou art the husbandman; finally, thou art another God on earth" - Christopher Marcellus, Orations in the fifth Laterian council, Session IV, volume 32 col. 761

"The pope can modify divine law, since his power is not of man, but of God, and he acts in the place of God upon earth, with the fullest power of binding and loosing his sheep." - Patrus de Ancharano, Council 373 no. 3 verso

"We [The Pope] hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty." - Pope Leo XIII, The great encyclical letters of Pope Leo XIII, page 304

"He shall speak as if he were God." - St. Jerome

The pope assumes infallibility, which is God's alone. They profess to forgive sins, which is God's alone. They profess to open and shut heaven, which is God's alone. They profess to be above all the kings of the earth, which is God's alone. They give indulgences for sin, which goes against God. To none other than the popes of Rome can this description more clearly fit.

"And shall wear out the saints of the most High."

It takes very little investigation to know that the Papacy has been responsible through the ages for the deaths of literally millions of Christians. The Dark Ages, the Inquisition, the Crusades against the Waldenses and the Albigensis... these are but a few of the many accounts we have of the Papacy persecuting those it deemed "heretics" for obeying the bible over popery.

A quick scan over such books as "Foxe's book of Martyrs" and "The History of the Reformation" by D'aubigne shows that no power but the Papacy more clearly fits the criteria of "Making war with the saints" (verse 21) and "Wearing out the saints of the most High." (verse 25)

"And think to change times and laws."

Has the Papacy done this? Note that it says "think" to change times and laws. The first portion of the verse is speaking about the saints of the most High, and words against the most High. Who's times and laws can we assume the little horn was seeking to change? Most obviously those of the most High still, as kingdoms change the laws of those they conquer freely and often, but scripture says the little horn will only seek to do so. Has the Papacy done so?

Above are two tables of the Ten Commandments, the one on the top is as they appear in the Holy Bible, the one on the bottom is how they appear in Catechisms, used to teach the laity as stated in the image itself. Notice that they removed the second commandment which states "Thou shalt not make any graven images..." (Due to their praying to statues of saints, rosaries, angels, etc.) and moved every subsequent commandment up by one, until reaching the tenth, upon which they divide it into two seperate commandments, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife," and "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods."

However no man can change the law of God, no matter how presumptious they may be to attempt it. And what of times? Has the Papacy sought to change times as well? First it may be mentioned they *have* changed times in two distinct ways. We now use the Gregorian calander, which is named after Pope Gregory, a year of 365 days instead of the biblical 360. (Add up the time Noah was on the waters for a full recount of a 360 day year) We also, by an act of the same pope in the year 1582 A.D, no longer measure time by the Biblical method (Genesis 1:5) of a day being from evening unto evening, but instead from midnight to midnight.

However these were both changed times... Has the Papacy sought to change any times that it could not? Had the most High God, made any times in particular that the Papacy is responsible for seeking to change?

Yes, it has, and most of the protestant world acknowledges her presumption to do so, though many unknowingly.

Thus it was the Papacy who alone, of her own power it is freely admitted, changed the Sabbath from the 7th day Saturday, to the 1st day Sunday. (Or rather, sought to... the Sabbath of God remains unchangable by any man as all of his institutions)

Therefore we see the Papacy meeting this condition as well, seeking to change both times and laws.

"And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time."

"They" would refer to the saints, laws and words cited before in the selfsame verse. How long would they be in the hands of the little horn? We are told a time, times, and the dividing of time. Or, one time, plural time (two), and one half time. But what is a time?

Daniel 4 uses the word in the sentence, "let seven times pass over him" to Nebuchadnezzar, denoting the time he was to spend with the "heart of a beast," living in the wilderness as one. Josephus (the historian) tells us that this period was 7 years. We then find that a "time" is another word for a year.

So we then, based on this, find that the listed things would be delivered into the power of the little horn for three and a half years. As cited above, a year consisted of 360 days until the change in calander much, much later in history. We then are told that the little horn would have power for 3 1/2 years of 360 days each, or 1260 days.

Now, are these literal days or symbollic? The rest of the chapter is symbollic, so we would assume the same would apply here as well. But what would a day be symbollic of in prophecy? Does scripture ever use a day to denote something else, as it used eagle's wings to denote swiftness and ferocity?

Numbers 14: 34. After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.

Ezekiel 4: 6. And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.

Thus we find quite plainly that in scripture a day as symbollic of a year is not unheard of. We then apply the same to the prophecy, and find that the verse then reads that the little horn will have power for 1260 days, or 1260 years. Did the Papacy have rule for 1260 years?

Exactly.

As cited above in the uprooting of the three horns, the decree placing the Pope in a power of supremecy over all churches was set into effect in the year 538 A.D, and this is the point we reckon from. Adding 1260 to 538, we come to the year 1798 A.D. Did anything significant happen in that year?

The answer, once again, is yes. In the year 1798, Berthier (A general of Napoleon), with a French army entered into Rome, proclaimed a republic, and took the pope prisoner back to France where he died later in prison, inflicting a deadly wound on the Papacy. It has never since enjoyed the same priviliges and immunities, however has been gradually healing of its wound. We then find, that the Papacy ruled for *exactly* 3 1/2 prophetic years, or 1260 years, and once more fits alone all criterias for the little horn.

Thus the evidence has been laid forth. The 6 signs to identify the little horn apply, each and every one, to none other than the Papacy.

Plucked up three horns before it : The Heruli, Ostragoths, and Vandals.

Diverse from the other horns : A religious as well as temporal power.

Speak great words against the most High : Claims to be God on Earth, and assumed honors and titles that would be blasphemous if applied to an Angel of God.

Persecute / Wear out the saints of the most High : The slaughter of between 100 and 150 million Christians during its reign.

Seek to change times and laws : The changing of the 10 Commandments and the day on which the Sabbath is observed.

Rule for 1260 years : 538 + 1260 = 1798. Was placed in power in 538 A.D, was dealt a deadly wound in 1798 A.D., exactly 1260 years.

Daniel 7:26. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. 27. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. 28. Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.

The judgment here mentioned will be gone into more detail about, as we dive into Daniel chapter 8 and 9 - via the Daniel and the Revelation link on the main Prophey page. Daniel's vision is, mercifully, ended with a closing scene of the joy of the saints as the kingdom of Christ is set up, however as verse 28 tells us he was still troubled in his thoughts, as any of us would be after viewing the terrible beast and its little horn power, which is still in the world with us today, upon having its deadly wound healed. (Revelation 13:3)

This closes this chapter of prophecy. My invitation at the start is still open. If you are unconvinced, if you find this to be false or untrue... Simply find any other power, in the history of the earth, that fits the 6 points above. If you can, I would like very much to hear from you, and I will apologize quickly and surely for my mistake. If you cannot produce another power that fits every one of those 6 points, so perfectly as the Papacy does, than please do not reject the prophecy of scripture because of doubt due to anything, but lack of the word of God supporting it. I feel there has been nothing lacking in this study, and if I am wrong, I ask you to contact me with, as always, any suggestions, questions, or comments. May Yah bless and be with you.

- Luke