Daniel 7

* Daniel 7:24, "And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise..." * Daniel 8:21, "... the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king." * Revelation 17:12, "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings..." * ."Daniel 7:23,24 "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. 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 have also learned that ten horns came out of the fourth and final beast, this beast is well understood to perfectly fit with historic documentation as Rome. These ten horns perfectly symbolized the historic division of the Roman Empire into ten separate nations after it's fall in 476AD. When Rome fell it split exactly into 10 separate nations: 1. The Saxons, originating the English nation. 2. The Franks, originating the French nation. 3. The Alamanni, originating the German nation. 4. The Visigoths, originating the Spanish nation. 5. The Suevi, originating the Portuguese nation. 6. The Lombards, originating the Italian nation. 7. The Burgundians, originating the Swiss nation. 8. The Heruli, disappeared in 493 A.D. 9. The Vandals, disappeared in 534 A.D. 10. The Ostrogoths, disappeared in 538 A.D The decree set forth in the year 1229 A.D. by the Council of Valencia... places the Bible on The Index of Forbidden Books. The doctrine withholds "it is forbidden for laymen (common man) to read the Old and New Testaments. - We forbid them most severely to have the above books in the popular vernacular." "The lords of the districts shall carefully seek out the heretics in dwellings, hovels, and forests, and even their underground retreats shall be entirely wiped out." Council Tolosanum, Pope Gregory IX, Anno. Chr. 1229 * 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. * Revelation 13:4, "And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?" As we learned earlier, when Rome crumbled, it split into ten separate nations. And according to this prophecy, someone will receive the power of Rome after this split. I ask, did this happen, and if so, who was it that received the power of this fourth beast to continue its rampage against the Christian? We know Rome killed Christians because history tells us all about Christians being thrown to lions in Roman Coliseums? Who took over for Rome after it fell? "Long ages ago, when Rome through the neglect of the Western emperors was left to the mercy of the barbarous hordes, the Romans turned to one figure for aid and protection, and asked him to rule them; and thus, . . . commenced the temporal sovereignty of the popes. And meekly stepping to the throne of Caesar, the vicar of Christ took up the scepter to which the emperors and kings of Europe were to bow in reverence through so many ages."--American Catholic Quarterly Review, April, 1911. "Out of the ruins of political Rome, arose the great moral Empire in the 'giant form' of the Roman Church."--A.C. Flick, The Rise of the Mediaeval Church, 1909, p. 150. "Under the Roman Empire the popes had no temporal powers. But when the Roman Empire had disintegrated and its place had been taken by a number of rude, barbarous kingdoms, the Roman Catholic church not only became independent of the states in religious affairs, but dominated secular affairs as well. At times, under such rulers as Charlemagne (768-814), Otto the Great (936-973), and Henry III (1039-1056), the civil power controlled the church to some extent; but in general, under the weak political system of feudalism, the well-organized, unified, and centralized church, with the pope at its head, was not only independent in ecclesiastical affairs but also controlled civil affairs"--Carl Conrad Eckhardt, The Papacy and World-Affairs, The University of Chicago Press, 1937, P. 1. Pope Pius IX, in his "Discorsi" (I., p. 253), said: "The Caesar who now addresses you, and to whom alone are obedience and fidelity due." (Speaking of the time, about 500 A.D., when the Roman Empire was crumbling to pieces) "No, the [Catholic] Church will not descend into the tomb. It will survive the Empire . . . At length a second empire will arise, and of this empire the Pope will be the master--more then this, he will be the master of Europe. He will dictate his orders to kings who will obey them"--Andrea Lagarde, The Latin Church in the Middle Ages, 1915, p. vi Historic fact is, the only "power" which arose with Roman power, or came out of the ten nations shortly after the fall of the Roman empire was in fact the system of the papacy. Using common sense, one can see it is called the ROMAN Catholic church, is it not? Not only did the Papal system accept this power, they accepted the NAME as well. The amazing thing about all this is the Roman Catholic church actually admits they are the ones that stepped in after Rome fell to assume power. It is, therefore, by a particular decree of Divine Providence that, at the fall of the Roman Empire and its partition into separate kingdoms, the Roman Pontiff, whom Christ made the head and center of his entire Church, acquired civil power. − Pope Pius IX, Apostolic Letter Cum Catholica Ecclesia, March 26, 1860. Source: Papal Teachings: The Church, selected and arranged by the Benedictine Monks of Solesmes, translated by Mother E. O'Gorman, R.S.C.J., Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart, St. Paul Editions, Boston, (c) 1980, 1962 by Daughters of St. Paul, Library of Congress catalog card number 62-12454, par. #225, page 160. The little horn arose after the ten nations were formed, that is, after 476 A.D., the year when the division of the Roman empire was completed. Now, history teaches us, and I will re-affirm later on this page that the Roman Catholic Papacy imposed its religio-political supremacy from the year 538 A.D. on. That's a mere 60 years after the division of the Roman empire that the little horn received the power. * 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 passage is stating the little horn is to be "different" from the ten nations that preceded it. Looking to the system of the papacy, we can easily see this fulfilled by the religio-political nature of its power. Never before in the history of mankind has there been a nation that is a church at the same time! Daniel saw that fact perfectly many years prior in that vision! And Revelation 17:3 confirms Daniel vision as well. Jeremiah 6:2, "I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman." * 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." This prophetic key states that at the head of the papacy stands only one man: the pope. This man that is proclaimed "infallible" in the actual dogma of this church... "The Pope's authority is unlimited, incalculable; it can strike, as Innocent III says, wherever sin is; it can punish every one; it allows no appeal and is itself Sovereign Caprice; for the Pope carries, according to the expression of Boniface VIII, all rights in the Shrine of his breast. As he has now become infallible, he can by the use of the little word, "orbi," (which means that he turns himself round to the whole Church) make every rule, every doctrine, every demand, into a certain and incontestable article of Faith. No right can stand against him, no personal or corporate liberty; or as the [Roman Catholic] Canonists put it-"The tribunal of God and of the pope is one and the same." -Ignaz von Dollinger, "A Letter Addressed to the Archbishop of Munich" 1871; as quoted in MacDougall, The Acton Newman Relations (Fordham University Press) pp. 119,120. Proclaimed infallible, his decisions affect the lives of literally billions of people around the world. And, throughout history, the declarations of this leader have often been very pompous, and against God Himself, as we will see in a moment. But just reading this last quote, one can already see that the popes do in fact "speak great things" do they not? * 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:..." * Daniel 7:24 "... he shall subdue three kings." Exactly as foretold, we learned earlier that the papacy brought about the elimination of three of the 10 nations that opposed the plans and authority of the papacy: Rome wanted to remain in power, and it will do so even if it means killing anyone that gets in their way. * the Heruli, were annihilated in 493 A.D. * the Vandals, were annihilated in 534 A.D. * and the Ostrogoths, in 538 A.D. "Vigilius...ascended the papal chair (538 A.D.) under the military protection of Belisarius." History of the Christian Church, Vol. 3, p. 327 According to history, 538 A.D., is the very year when the papacy began to reign freely over Europe as a "church & state" conglomerate. Or, a "woman on a beast" as Revelation calls it. Truth is, this is a position of both political, as well as religious power. Or as some refer to it as, ABSOLUTE POWER! With such power, did the Papacy allow for ABSOLUTE CORRUPTION as is always the case with such power? Prophecy does proclaim that this is in fact inevitable with this entity. * Daniel 7:20 "...that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things" * Daniel 7:25 "And he shall speak great words against the most High..." * Daniel 8:25 "... he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes" "The pope is of so great dignity and so exalted that he is not a mere man (...) he is as it were God on earth, sole sovereign of the faithful of Christ, chief of kings, having plenitude of power." -Lucius Ferraris, "Prompta Bibliotheca", 1763, Volume VI, 'Papa II', pp.25-29 "And God himself is obliged to abide by the judgment of his priest and either not to pardon or to pardon, according as they refuse to give absolution, provided the penitent is capable of it." -Liguori, "Duties and Dignities of the Priest", p.27 "The supreme teacher in the Church is the Roman Pontiff. Union of minds, therefore, requires (...) complete submission and obedience of will to the Church and to the Roman Pontiff, as to God Himself." -Leo VIII, "On the Chief Duties of Christians as Citizens", Encyclical letter, 1890 "God separates those whom the Roman Pontiff, who exercises the functions, not of mere man, but of the true God (...) dissolves, not by human but rather by divine authority." -Decretals of Gregory IX", Book 1, Chapter 7.3 "Hence the Pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven and of earth and of the lower regions (infernorum)." -Lucius Ferraris, "Prompta Bibliotheca", 1763, Volume VI, 'Papa II', p.26 * 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. Giving us a Roman Year-teller, with Roman feast days and Roman rest days and Roman years starts and ends. To understand, and further verify the forty and two months, or the time, and time and diving a time that this little horn will reign, we must first find the method of time the Bible declares for prophecy. God says in Ezekiel 4:6 "I have appointed thee each day for a year" And we also find the Bible acknowledges a month to be 30 days long. Because in, Genesis 7:11 we see the rain started on the 17 day of the 2nd month and in Genesis 8:3,4 we find the water receded at the end of 150 days. Then it says the ark rested on the 17th day of the 7th month. That's exactly 5 months to the day. If we divide the 150 days by the 5 months you will get 30 days per month. Biblical jurisprudence confirms, a month = 30 days! So 42 months multiplied by 30 equals 1260. And according to Ezekiel 4:6, that's 1260 years that the little horn, or Papal Rome would reign. Prophetic time Years Months Days Real Years Time 1 12 360 360 Times 2 24 720 720 1/2 Time 1/2 6 180 180 Time, Times, 1/2Time 31/2 42 1260 1260 So... What does history say about all this? Does it ring true? Is there proof the Roman Church attacked the children of God for exactly 1260 years? "Vigilius...ascended the papal chair (538 A.D.) under the military protection of Belisarius." History of the Christian Church, Vol. 3, p. 327 WHO IS THIS VIGILIUS? WAS HE EVEN A CHRISTIAN? As the ten kingdoms of Rome were falling apart, there was an emperor Justinian who was worried about his crumbling empire. He has a General Bellsarius under his thumb who he devises a plan with during the wars that resulted in the unrest of Rome's fall. They decided that if they can get into the city of Rome they will banish the bishop of Rome so as to allow for a takeover that would allow the new system of "ROMAN Catholicism" to be set up. They needed this system because they felt they had no more political power to control the people. So they devised a plan that would give them Religious as well as political strength. One fateful day while Bellsarius is fighting, the bishop of Rome proclaims that he will not allow any fighting within his city. This Bishop loves his people and proceeds to close the gates and refuses to have anything to do with the war just outside the city. The fighting on this day is particularly strenuous however. The Goths had pushed back Bellsarius and his fighters all the way to the walls of what was left of the city of Rome. It looked hopeless. It looked as if Bellsarius was going to be wiped out completely. So, Bellsarius scurried off a note to his superior Justinian, saying, "save us!" Justinian's wife is a Christian who happens to be a friend of the bishop of Rome. Justinian pleads with his wife to ask the bishop of Rome to open the gates of the city so that Bellsarius and his men can enter inside so as not to be wiped out by the Goth's. Out of respect for her bishop, Salverius of Rome opens the gates of the city to allow Bellsarius and his army into the city to spare their lives. Justinian and Bellsarius however had already agreed that once inside the city they would banish the bishop of Rome. So once inside they did indeed follow through on their plans. They banished the bishop and put their own man Vigilius who was not a Christian on the seat of bishop and proclaimed him Pope that very day. And there you have it, just as this prophecy of Revelation 13:4 predicted. In the year 538 AD the official beginning of the Roman Catholic church and state conglomeration prophetically began. -Generalized Information taken from Hope Beyond 2000 Video series "Rise of the little horn of Daniel 7" -Kenneth Cox Historical records reveal the papacy officially began its reign in 538 A.D. upon Emperor Justinian's decree, and under the military protection of Belisarius. And the Bible says the little horn will rule for EXACTLY 1260 years before receiving a mortal wound. Now it's just a matter of simple mathematics. It is also a grand method by which to see the Lord glorified. If the prophecy is correct, 1260 years after 538 A.D. the little horn must receive a mortal wound and loose power. If you add 1260 years to the official beginning year for the Roman Catholic church & state conglomerate, which was 538 A.D., you will arrive in the exact year of 1798 A.D. So, according to the Bible we are told the first reign of this little horn will last till the year 1798 . So, did it end in 1798? YES IT DID! On February 10th Napoleon Bonaparte in the EXACT year 1798 A.D. sent his General Louis Alexander Berthier, with his army into Rome, Italy. "In 1798 General Berthier made his entrance into Rome, abolished the papal government, and established a secular one." -Encyclopedia Britannica 1941 edition That's Exactly 42 prophetic months, or 1260 years, or a time, and time, and dividing a time after the Papacy began its powerful reign that the Pope shall be mortally wounded! Daniel 11:31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. * arms shall stand on his part = political force will be used to help those that "forsake the holy covenant." Rome did this by creating Papal Rome wherein the Church and the State are joined as one. In 496 A.D. Clovis, King of the Franks converted to Catholicism. In so doing he recognizes the Bishop of Rome as the head of the Christian church. He even ackowledges the blasphemous title "vicar of God on earth" (Vicarius Filii Dei) of the Pope, which brings about the little horn's desire to "speak great words against the most high" as Daniel 7:25 depicts . Clovis then places his armies at the disposal of the Pope to defend the faith as well as expand her borders in the religious realm by assuming the role as a "corrector of heresies." * they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength = the Heavenly Sanctuary. Pollute also means to "profane." (See Strong's # H2490) Converting to Roman Catholicism while claiming it to be Christianity boldly profaned the message of the Gospel to the core of many unsuspecting hearts. It mixed vile Paganism with the truth of Christ's Word and trampled His truth underfoot. * take away the daily sacrifice = Paganism was no longer the religion of Rome. Paganism was used by Satan to "daily" persecute Christians. But now Paganism was "baptized" into the church by mixing Christianity with Paganism. It was then instituted as the law of the land at this time (496AD) and was a forced conversion unto the people from Paganism to what they called Christianity or "Catholicism." By 508AD all visible signs of Paganism was removed by Clovis. All images, statues and rituals of Paganism were then sanctioned as "Christian" icons. * they shall place the abomination that makes desolate = here the political Pope began to stand supreme from inside the church to be declared a "god on earth" thereby making the faith of all that agreed desolate. The title "god on earth" was a stance formally held by Roman Emperors. This placing of the Roman Pope as the head of the church as well as the State caused the Vandals, Herulis and Ostrogoths to rebel. The Vandals and Herulis were quickly defeated. The Ostorgoths backed off allowing the Pope his way for a bit, but later laid siege to the city where Belisarius resided. They did this for one year, but they failed and retreated in 538AD and then disappeared from history. Hence the prophetic statement that the little horn would "subdue three kings" in Daniel 7:24 was fulfilled. The Pope now stood unopposed as "god on earth" back to top Daniel 11:32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. * wickedly against the covenant = they broke the foundational agreement (covenant) which the Lord offered salvation by corrupting it with Roman Catholic doctrines of devils and traditions of man. * he = Pagan Rome now became Papal Rome as the king of the North just as Revelation 13:4 predicted. The "dragon gave power unto the beast" at this time. This also fulfills Daniel 7:23-25 wherein the little horn rises up to power. * shall corrupt by flatteries = two ways the Papal power did this. #1, they appealed to political leaders with wealth and power, and they appealed to the common man with "smooth teachings" that allowed for them to gain Heaven while still in sin. Whatever the flesh desires, Rome was always at the ready to supply to its converts. Just as we saw how Satan used this method with Pagan Rome to gain political freinds it would later destroy physically, he used Papal Rome to do the same thing with its congregation spiritually. He gains them by enticing them with either wealth or eternal life while still in sin so as to destroy them later in hellfire. * but = in direct contrast to the previous group that are corrupted by Rome, we now see a a new group of people. * the people that do know their God = obedient Christians. "These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb." -Revelation 14:4 * shall be strong and do exploits = This speaks of those faithful followers of Christ that refused to bow to Catholicism that were blessed of God to keep the faith alive even if it meant torture and death! They performed amazing exploits of the faith with self sacrifice and religious heroism. These obedient Christians were found in such groups as the Waldenses, Albigenses the Hugenots and others. back to top Daniel 11:33 And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. * they that understand among the people shall instruct many = the leaders of the early Protestant movement went from town to town and camp to camp preaching and teaching the Bible truths to those that refused to bow to Papal Rome. These missionaries kept the light of truth alive. * they = at least 500,000,000 Christians were martyred by the Roman Catholic Popes from 538AD to 1798AD. (exactly 1260 years) * shall fall by the sword, flame, capitivty and spoil = the inquisitions of the Roman Catholic church murdered many true Bible believing Christians because they refused to compromise their faith. They died by the sword, many were burned alive, some died in the dungeons of torture and starvation, and many died when their homes and belongings were taken so as to force them into the cold homeless. * many days = the 1260 years that Daniel 7:25, (time and times and the dividing of time = 3.5 years) Revelation 12:6, (a thousands two hundred and threescore days = 1260 days / 3.5 years) and Revelation 13:5, (forty and two months = 3.5 years) speak of. Both Numbers 14:34 & Ezekiel 4:6 declare "a day = a year" in prophecy. This means the time period of 538AD to 1798AD is a perfect fulfillment of the prophecy. back to top Daniel 11:34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. * they shall fall = some say 50,000,000 Christians died, some say 100,000,000. Foxe's book of martyrs says 500,000,000 Christian died. * they shall be holpen with a little help = Revelation 12:16 says, "And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth." Plus, the great reformation where the Lord used Luther brought forth much help to many of the persecuted Christians in that it strengthened their faith and in some cases actually slowed Rome's forward movements against the truth they embraced and shared. In many areas people were free to worship as Luther taught. (*see note below) * many shall cleave to them with flatteries = not only did Satan have his agents among the faithful to discourage them during the reformation, he also convinced some to join their churches with the State as Rome did to take up arms and literally fight the Catholics in many bloody battles. I'm sure the "flattery" that they would be victorious for God and church lured many into union with the wicked. Still, all of this did eventually lead to many fleeing to America where prophecy stated true Protestantism would blossom for many years. (*see note below) *NOTE: Jesus said, "Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." Matthew 24:22. This explains why the signs in the "sun, moon, and stars" occurred before 1798. (May 19, 1780) How the Lord did it doesn't matter. My understanding is, after the reformation, and during the period of "flatteries" wherein some were convinced to use violence against Rome, the people finally revolted in that they had generated a hatred for the Vatican and political pressures prevented her from continuing persecution in many areas. In short, they had their hands full. As they sought to spin-doctor their actions into hiding, Napoleon eventually came to power, realized his mission, and stripped the Vatican's Statehood in the exact year of 1798! The fact it happened in that very year proves it was "in the works" years prior because you cannot just waltz in and take over without some sort of political posturing well in advance. Rome was sufficiently weakened enough over those 18 years so as to allow Napoleon to gain the victory.