A Big Deal about a Little Horn
Notes
Transcript
A Big Deal about a Little Horn
Daniel 7:7-8, 11-12, 21-26
I. Intro: The Bible in One Hand and the Newspaper in the Other?
On Family Life the other day, I caught a portion of Greg Laurie’s broadcast.
As I understand it, he’s preaching a series about the end times right now. In
this message, he commended a practice that I have often heard suggested:
Christians should be reading the Bible in one hand with the newspaper in the
other. This common sentiment seems to imply that we should expect that, if
we are approaching the final season of human history, anticipating Jesus’s
imminent return to rapture the church, certain events may unfold before our
eyes that will serve as “signs” of his near arrival. And we should be watching
for those signs, paying attention to the news so that we remain aware.
I fundamentally disagree with this practice, and I believe taking this seriously
has led to much misunderstanding of biblical prophecy. I have a book on my
shelf entitled Not Afraid of the Antichrist, written by two Charismatic Bible
scholars, one a Messianic Jew, and I disagree with both of them on a lot of
things. The subtitle of their book is Why We Don’t Believe in a PreTribulation Rapture, and with that I do agree. The message this morning has
little to do with the tribulation, so we won’t explore that topic, but the little
horn of Daniel 7 has often been associated with the antichrist, so their book
has some relevant things to say about that. Regarding Greg Laurie’s
newspaper comment, these authors write, “It is one thing to say, ‘Current
events might fit God’s plans,’ or, ‘This fits the ways that God works in
history,’ and quite another to try to match them point-for-point as if biblical
texts were predicting our generation’s newspaper headlines. So far every other
generation that has used this technique of interpreting Scripture by news
headlines has proved mistaken.”
As I said last week, putting the pieces together of prophecy and fulfillment in
Scripture and history is very challenging. But I believe one reason it has
become so challenging is that for many of us—and I’m including myself in
this—the first or dominant exploration of end times theology was not an
inductive study of Scripture, but a series of novels or movies. For me, the Left
Behind series of novels fueled my imagination and my understanding of how
the future would play out, as a teenager, before I ever dug into the Scriptures
for myself. For others, popular presentations like A Thief in the Night or Hal
Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth made everything seem so simple and
coherent. A novelization or a movie draws you in, relates you to characters,
and makes everything so vivid, and the plotline seems smooth and
straightforward. The problem is that, when you come to the Scriptures, it isn’t
like that. To understand the fulfillment of prophecy, you’ve got to pull
passages from different portions of Scripture, some poetry, some visionary,
some narrative, some teaching, and figure out how they relate to each other.
You’ve got to untangle when to take something symbolically and when to take
something literally. And, like in my own case, if you’ve already seen a neat
and tidy unfolding in an action-packed novel, that storyline colors and shapes
what you think when you read passages of Scripture. So, I’m going to ask you
all to do what is nearly impossible. As we explore the next few chapters of
Daniel, I’m asking you to try hard to consider these texts freshly. Try to get
out of your mind images of Rayford Steele, Bruce Barnes, Buck Williams,
and Nicolae Carpathia.
This morning, instead, we are re-entering Daniel’s visionary world, and we’re
focusing on the fourth beast of Daniel’s vision in Daniel chapter 7. As we
looked at last week, Daniel saw this vision that depicted a series of four beasts
rising up out of the sea, and a heavenly scene with God on the throne and a
humanlike figure approaching God’s throne. Daniel doesn’t understand the
meaning of what he’s seeing all by himself, so he asks one of the angels he
sees in the heavenly scene in his vision to explain. The angel summarizes the
main message of the vision in verses 17-18: “17 These four great beasts are
four kings who shall arise out of the earth. 18 But the saints of the Most High
shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.”
Or as we summarized the message: God rules over the beastly kingdoms of
the world, and he will judge the wicked and establish his kingdom for his
people through the Son of Man, even as persecution of God’s people
increases. This morning, we’re going to focus our attention on the fourth
beast and its horns.
Let’s begin with Daniel 7:7-8, Daniel’s description of the fourth beast.
II.
Daniel’s Description of the Fourth Beast (Dan. 7:7-8)
7
After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and
dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke
in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the
beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 I considered the horns, and
behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which
three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn
were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.
As we said last week, historically, the fourth beast should likely be recognized
as the historical Roman Empire. This is in parallel with Nebuchadnezzar’s
dream in chapter 2, where the fourth kingdom depicted in the statue we
identified with the historical Roman Empire. Daniel may have made this
connection himself, connecting the iron teeth of this beast with the iron legs of
the statue. This monster is unlike anything Daniel knows of in nature; unlike
the first three kingdoms, he cannot compare it with anything familiar. Later, in
verse 19, he adds a detail, that this beast had bronze claws. But it’s the action
of the fourth beast that should draw our attention. With its great iron teeth, it
devoured the first three beasts; with its bronze claws it broke in pieces the first
three beasts; and with its feet it stamped what was left of the first three beasts.
If this kind of scene were to come up on my television or computer, in one of
those nature documentaries where cameras have recorded predators doing
what predators do, this would’ve been the point when I would’ve changed the
channel.
Daniel identifies a major difference between this fourth beast and the three
previous ones: it has ten horns. None of the first three beasts had horns.
Horns, in Scripture and in the ancient world more broadly, are often symbolic
of military or political power or simply strength of some kind. Daniel counted
ten horns, and he focused his attention on them to see if he could understand
what they might signify. But, as he was thinking it over, an eleventh horn,
which he only describes initially as “little” suddenly came up on the beast. As
the little one was coming up, three of the original horns were uprooted, and
that passive voice indicates that Daniel recognized God as the one who ripped
them out. Then, Daniel’s attention was riveted on this new little horn, and he
observed that the little horn was very bizarre; it had what appeared to be
human eyes, and it had a human mouth, and it was speaking loudly. Daniel
apparently heard what the horn was saying but did not record it.
Last week, we talked about how we need to recognize the correlation of
heaven and earth in this vision. Daniel is seeking to describe two things he
saw in the vision, one thing happening in heaven and one thing happening on
earth, but he is communicating that he watched these things unfold at the same
time. Thus, while he’s hearing the little horn speaking loudly, his attention
shifts to the heavenly scene, featuring God in radiant attire with fire all around
and an uncountable multitude of angelic servants standing around, and Daniel
saw books being opened in the heavenly courtroom. So, Daniel’s expecting a
verdict of some kind to be announced.
Then, in verses 11-12, Daniel’s attention shifts back down to earth, to that
little horn of the fourth beast, and he watches the judgment of the fourth beast.
Look at verses 11-12.
III. Daniel Sees the Judgment of the Fourth Beast (Dan. 7:11-12)
11
I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was
speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and
given over to be burned with fire. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, their
dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a
time.
So, Daniel first notes that he was still hearing the little horn’s words; the little
horn hadn’t stopped speaking. Notice what happens next. We might expect
that the little horn might be chopped off or uprooted, like the other three horns
had been uprooted earlier. Instead, Daniel watches the whole fourth beast, that
incomparable monster being slaughtered, and its carcass was then tossed into
the flames. Those passive verbs again indicate the action of God himself. I
think we are to see here the outworking of the verdict against the fourth beast,
which of course includes the little horn. The books were opened in the court
of heaven, and the evidence was presented to convict the fourth beast of its
crimes, and Daniel then sees the execution of the sentence against the fourth
beast on earth.
But then Daniel feels the need to back up and tell his readers what he had seen
happen to the previous three beasts. He already pretty clearly implied, though
he didn’t say it as clearly as he could have, that the fourth beast had overcome
the previous three beasts somehow, back in verse 7. The “what was left” that
the fourth beast stamped, and the assumed object of the fourth beast’s
devouring and breaking in pieces was the three previous beasts. However,
here in verse 12, Daniel seems to be providing the heavenly perspective on
what that means. Rather than total destruction, which is what happens to the
fourth beast, God took away the dominion of the first three beasts. That is to
say, he removed their power, took away their dominance on the earth. But he
also allowed those first three beasts to live “for a season and a time.” Not
forever, but “for a season and a time.” The passive verbs again indicate God’s
actions here.
What should we make of this? Perhaps this lines up quite well with what we
noticed in chapter 2. While the four sections of the statue in
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream represented four successive historical empires—
Babylon then Medo-Persia then Greece then Rome—there was a kind of unity
depicted in the one image, the unified statue. And when the stone impacted
the feet of the statue, we noted how the whole statue—all four metals—were
destroyed together. Thus, it seems that Nebuchadnezzar’s dream not only
represented four successive human kingdoms that would rise to power in the
Middle East one after the other, but it also represented all human kingdoms,
all nations throughout history. So also here; the prolonging of the lives of the
first three beasts may indicate their incorporation into the fourth beast and
may also indicate that the doom of the fourth beast will prove to be the actual
doom of all of them.
Daniel then shifts his attention back to the heavenly scene and sees the arrival
of “one like a son of man” approaching God’s throne in heaven, and God
gives to this human the everlasting kingdom. So, the judgment that spelled the
doom of the fourth beast proves to be the reward for the “one like a son of
man.” Said differently: the judgment goes against the beasts and for the
human!
Daniel doesn’t understand the meaning of what he sees, so he asks for more
information from one of the angels in the vision, and the angel provides the
summary we noted earlier in verses 17-18. But that doesn’t satisfy Daniel.
Don’t you love that? The prophet is just as curious as we all are! He wants to
know more details about that fourth beast and its horns and especially the little
horn. The angel graciously obliges, but we’re not going to get as much of an
answer as we’d like, and Daniel doesn’t seem to come to a much better
understanding afterward. But, before we hear from the angel, let’s zoom in on
one particular detail about the little horn that Daniel adds in verse 21. We
looked at this briefly last week, but let’s be sure we remember this detail as
we press on. In verse 21, Daniel adds, “As I looked, this horn made war with
the saints and prevailed over them.” What this warring against the saints
means and where it fits in the fulfillment is really the crux of the difficulty in
interpreting this chapter. But, let’s bring in the angel’s explanation regarding
the horns and see what we can discover. Look at verses 24-26:
IV. The Angel’s Explanation of the Horns (Dan. 7:24-26)
24
As for the ten horns,
out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise,
and another shall arise after them;
he shall be different from the former ones,
and shall put down three kings.
25
He shall speak words against the Most High,
and shall wear out the saints of the Most High,
and shall think to change the times and the law;
and they shall be given into his hand
for a time, times, and half a time.
26
But the court shall sit in judgment,
and his dominion shall be taken away,
to be consumed and destroyed to the end.
A. Poetry
First, notice that we’ve shifted to poetry. Most of our modern English Bibles
recognize and indicate that Daniel has shifted to a rhythmic, poetic use of
Aramaic in these verses by indenting some of the lines. This poetic style also
appears in verses 9-10 and 13-14. This suggests that Daniel recognizes the
angel’s explanation as containing some significant figurative language. Of
course, this muddies the waters for us because this creates ambiguities and
allows for some flexibility of meaning that we might not be terribly
comfortable with.
B. Ten Horns = Ten Kings
So, the angel identifies the symbolism of the horns for Daniel. Ten horns on
the fourth beast equals ten kings exercising authority during the days of the
fourth kingdom. That seems straightforward…but it’s not. Are the ten
sequential emperors or are they ten regional rulers whose time in office
overlaps either exactly or partially? Since, at one level at least, the fourth
kingdom represents the historical Roman Empire, and we know from history
that they developed a system of rule where various provinces or smaller
regions were ruled by what would be known as “vassal kings” or “client
kings,” this could be a prophetic reference to them. We know of these “client
kings” from the Bible as well, seeing as several are mentioned in the New
Testament who had the same name: Herod. One other ambiguity presents
itself right off the bat as well: should we take the number ten literally? The
number ten has appeared in the book of Daniel as a symbolic indicator of
completion, of maximum excellence, or just a whole lot more—Daniel and his
friends were ten times healthier than the other Babylonian students, and
Nebuchadnezzar ordered the furnace heated ten times hotter. Could these ten
kings be a way of pointing to a complete line of kings, or something like that?
Or, knowing what’s coming with the next one and considering this from the
vantage point of Jews who would suffer under the oppression of these kings,
could it be a way of saying, “Just when you think the reign of terror is
complete, then there’s this guy!” Or, thinking about the historical Roman
Empire in particular, when Roman rule seems complete and established, then
a trouble-making king arises from within and asserts himself in such a way as
to upset the establishment, so to speak.
Lots of suggestions have been made throughout Jewish and Christian history.
Neither the angel nor any other biblical writer ever spells this out for us. Some
have assumed that this must mean that they haven’t arisen yet in history. For
Daniel at least, and maybe for all of us, their identity is irrelevant. We really
want to know about the loud-mouthed little horn, who represents another
naughty king.
C. The Loud-Mouthed Little Horn = Another Naughty King
The angel doesn’t give much description to the eleventh king depicted as the
little horn that came up while Daniel was watching the vision unfold. He’s
somehow different from the other kings, and he “shall put down three kings.”
Hone in here for just a moment. Last week, I drew our attention to the fact that
what happens to the three horns is described differently in different verses.
Daniel refers to it twice himself. First, in verse 8, he said, “I considered the
horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one,
before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots.” I think the
passive verb “plucked up by the roots” or “uprooted” refers to the action of
God, in line with the action of God implied in all of the other passive verbs in
the vision. But then, in verse 20, Daniel described the same thing a bit
differently; he said there, “and the other horn that came up and before which
three of them fell.” They were uprooted by God becomes “they fell.” Now, in
verse 24, the angel says that the horns represent kings, and the king
represented by the little horn “shall put down three kings.” The angel focuses
on the action and involvement of this late-coming king, but the action he
describes is not very clear. What does it mean to “put down” three kings? And
does it happen all at once or over a period of time? Does “put down” mean to
subdue or capture? Does it mean to so control them that they are merely
“puppet kings”? Does it mean to have them assassinated? Does it mean to
conquer their territory or territories? The word itself has been used in Daniel
to describe God humbling Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar humbling
others, and Belshazzar refusing to humble himself. Again, lots of guesses have
been made, but let’s just admit the ambiguity and move on.
One more point of ambiguity: should we take the number three literally? It
can be used the way we might use the phrase “a few.” Or we might say “two
or three,” whereas if we actually counted there were five. So, the angel could
be simply indicating that this different king represented by the little horn in
the vision will show off his power by taking power from a few other kings
within the fourth kingdom. In any case, the most important thing is in verse
25: this king’s blasphemy and war against the saints.
D. Blasphemy and War Against the Saints
The angel indicates that this king will be a blasphemer, verbally opposing the
God of Israel, and he shall persecute the saints, wringing them out like clothes
soaked in water. The third thing he is said to do is that he shall “think to
change the times and the law.” Now, according to Daniel himself, back in
2:21, God alone “changes times,” which seems to imply something of God’s
sovereign prerogative to determine how long particular states of affairs on
earth will continue as they are. So, here, this king would like to usurp a
prerogative, a right that is God’s alone. Alternatively, the word for “times”
could refer specifically to sacred times, holy days for God’s people, so that
this king is somehow seeking to alter the religious practices of God’s people,
forbidding them to gather for worship at the God-ordained times. This would
connect with the word “law,” so that this king apparently would have an
interest in forcing God’s people to disobey God’s law or forbidding them from
obeying it. But notice that the angel is careful to say that this king only “shall
think to change the times and the law”; it doesn’t say he’ll succeed. All that
may be claimed here is that this king may have what we might call a “godcomplex” that is directly impinging on the practices of God’s people.
But in his persecution and oppression of God’s people, the angel notes that the
saints “shall be given into his hand,” another passive verb to highlight God’s
oversight of all of this. Even as this king pretends at godlike supremacy, the
one true God remains sovereign, overruling and overseeing every move he
makes. It is God who gives the saints into the hand of the king represented by
the little horn. And God exercises his sovereignty to limit the time of this
persecution; it will only last “a time, times, and half a time,” no longer, and no
shorter.
This is a key point to dwell on. This ambiguous phrase, “a time, times, and
half a time” lines up with what Daniel described in verses 21-22. The horn’s
war against the saints would continue to be successful only, verse 22, “until
the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most
High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.” But this
sequence is reflecting what Daniel saw in the vision; Daniel saw the little horn
warring against the saints, and then Daniel saw it stop warring against the
saints when God pronounced the verdict in heaven against the fourth beast and
for “the one like a son of man,” who in some way represents the saints, and
then Daniel saw the fourth beast on earth destroyed. When the angel comes to
this point in his explanation, he does not repeat the sequence indicators. Verse
25 describes the king’s successful wearing out of the saints, and then verse 26
simply says, “But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be
taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end.” That last phrase is
crucial to attend to: “to the end.” This seems to imply, not a sudden
destruction, all at once, but rather a process that unfolds over time. The exact
same phrase, “to the end,” appeared in Daniel 6:26 describing God’s
everlasting kingdom; King Darius had proclaimed that the God of Daniel, “is
the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and
his dominion shall be to the end.” He means that God’s kingdom will last, it
will continue, whereas human kingdoms will fade or be conquered. The king
represented by the little horn will “be consumed and destroyed to the end.”
This sets up an interesting possibility that we’ll explore in just a bit, that the
little horn king represents, not a particular individual in history, but a repeated
pattern that recurs in different historical rulers.
But, before going down that rabbit hole, let’s consider closely the meaning of
the cryptic phrase “a time, times, and half a time.”
E. A Time, Times, and Half a Time
We talked about the Aramaic word translated “time” in this passage back in
chapter 4. It is used several times in chapter 2, twice in chapter 3, four times
in chapter 4, and, in this chapter, it appears once in verse 12, and three times
here in verse 25. As we saw in our discussion of chapter 4, in none of the
earlier uses in the book could it possibly mean “year.” Our Bible translations
don’t translate the word as “year” for good reason. But many students of
Scripture say that it must mean “year” in this verse, so that this cryptic phrase
must refer to a 3 ½-year period of time. This time frame is then specified as
the second half of a seven-year tribulation period, which is sometimes further
labeled as “The Great Tribulation.” Because this is such an important detail to
folks who see the end times highlighting this specific period of time, I’m
going to spend an inordinate amount of time this morning showing why this
phrase almost certainly cannot mean 3 ½ years. That’s a pretty strong
assertion, and it makes a huge difference in how I view the end times
unfolding, so let me support it with some data.
First, I just note again that there is no evidence that the word itself can mean
“year.” It is a word that refers to a generic, unspecified period of time. I
believe the angel could’ve provided a specific time reference if that is what
God intended. But he does not do so. Aramaic has a word for “year” that the
book of Daniel uses several times, so he could’ve used it here.
Second, you know how English can make a singular noun plural by often
simply adding an “s” to the end of the word? Well, Hebrew and Aramaic both
do that, too; they add a particular ending to a singular noun to make it plural.
But, Hebrew and Aramaic have an additional feature that English doesn’t
have; they can add a different ending to a singular noun to make it “dual.”
They can just add a couple of letters on the end of a noun to make it say “two
of these.” Folks who see this phrase as referring to 3 ½ years treat the word
“times” as though it were dual, insisting that it must mean precisely “two
times” or “two years,” but the Aramaic ending indicates a plural, not a dual.
Thus, “times” equals many times. Now, it’s true that two is also plural, and a
plainly plural word can refer to two of something, but context would have to
make that really clear. Like, for example, when Daniel said that the little horn
had humanlike eyes, I assume there were two of them because humans
typically have two eyes.
We will run into this phrase again in chapter 12 verse 7, where Daniel is
writing in Hebrew again. We can go ahead and discuss the Hebrew word used
for time there. It’s a very common word, occurring over 200 times in the Old
Testament, and the first occurrence helps us understand the most specific
meaning it can have. It is used in Genesis 1:14, in the creation account, where
the ESV translates it as “seasons,” specifically in distinction from “days and
years.” Its most common usage, however, is to emphasize an appointed or set
time, very often a time appointed by God for certain events to take place. For
example, the feasts of Yahweh in the Mosaic Law are referred to by this word
repeatedly in Leviticus. Thus, in over 200 occurrences, there are no clear
examples of this word being used to indicate “year.” Daniel himself uses the
word once in chapter 8 and three times in chapter 11, and the ESV translates
each occurrence “the appointed time.” We’ll tackle the difficult context of this
phrase in chapter 12 when we get there.
So, if the Hebrew and Aramaic don’t really give us any reason to believe that
this is a reference to “years,” why do so many students of Scripture think
that’s what it’s referring to? Well, I think it’s because of the way the
equivalent Greek phrase appears in the book of Revelation. The meaning of
the Greek word is parallel to the Hebrew and Aramaic words; the word
typically refers to a non-specific period of time, or, when it is specific, it
refers to “seasons,” as in Galatians 4:10, where it is used in distinction from
“days and months…and years.” But, in Revelation 11, 12, and 13, we find a
reference to this phrase, “time, times, and half a time,” connected to
references to 1,260 days and 42 months, which seems to offer a more specific
period of time that does reflect approximately 3 ½ years (but not precisely).
Seeing that connection in the book of Revelation, many students of Scripture
are quick to then import those specifications back into the book of Daniel.
Typically, there’s a technical term in biblical studies for that kind of
interpretive move: that’s a “no-no.” In Revelation, John is borrowing this
phrase from Daniel; we can’t assume that these other time periods in
Revelation are supposed to reflect what’s going on in Daniel. That has to be
demonstrated from interpreting the book of Revelation, and I’m not convinced
by the way this is often done. Something else may be going on with the
references to 1,260 days and 42 months, but I defer that discussion for another
time.
Back in Daniel, this “time, times, and half a time,” when assumed to be 3 ½
years, is often connected to the half-week referred to in Daniel 9:27, the last
half of the seventieth week of that mysterious prophecy. However, there is
nothing in Daniel that explicitly connects these time periods or the events
being described. We’ll explore that also when we come to it.
So, if “a time, times, and half a time” doesn’t refer to 3 ½ years, what do we
take away from it? What does it mean? Well, it remains cryptic! Here’s my
best guess at the point: Daniel 7:25 refers to the oppression of God’s people
by the king represented by the little horn for a period of time that will seem
long to God’s people, but which will be definitively stopped at God’s
appointed time. As with the reference to seven periods of time for
Nebuchadnezzar’s humbling, it will last as long as it lasts. The half or divided
time perhaps indicates an end unexpected by both oppressors and those being
oppressed, but it is guaranteed by God’s promise of intervention.
So then, verses 25-26 describe this king’s persecution of the saints, the
pronouncement of God’s judgment against this king and the whole kingdom
he represents, and the execution of that judgment in terms of removing his
power and a process that will end with his final destruction, and then verse 27
highlights the saints’ receiving the final kingdom, God’s kingdom. Thus far, I
have not said anything about the little horn’s potential identification as the
Antichrist. What should we say about this?
F. The Little Horn = Antichrist?
What is the Antichrist? Notice that we have to answer the “what” question
before we address the “who” question. The Antichrist is often depicted as a
dictator who will rule a one-world government at the very end of history. He’s
Nicolae Carpathia in the Left Behind series. The profile of the Antichrist is
usually drawn from the little horn of Daniel 7, the coming prince of Daniel 9,
the self-exalting king of Daniel 11, the man of lawlessness in 2 Thessalonians
2, and the Satan-inspired beast from the sea in Revelation 13. You know
what’s conspicuously missing from all these passages? The word “antichrist.”
The apostle John gives us the term “antichrist.” He writes to his Christian
readers, in 1 John 2:18, “Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard
that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we
know that it is the last hour.” Does it seem like a surprise to John that many
antichrists have come, or that his readers should be surprised by that fact? No,
it seems like that is what should be expected. But then John defines what he
means by “antichrist.” In 1 John 2:22, he writes, “Who is the liar but he who
denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father
and the Son.” Then, in 1 John 4:3, he adds, “and every spirit that does not
confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you
heard was coming and now is in the world already.” Then, in 2 John 7, he
adds, “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not
confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and
the antichrist.” So, from John’s profile, Antichrist is his label for false
teachers, heretics who reject Jesus’s Messiahship or his true humanity. John’s
expectations of Antichrist don’t give any indications of a political leader or a
persecutor of God’s people.
The apostle Paul’s discussion of the “man of lawlessness” is similar to John’s
discussion of “antichrist.” In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul describes this man in
terms of self-exaltation, even putting himself in the place of God in certain
unspecified ways, perhaps even claiming divinity for himself, but then Paul,
like John, indicates that this figure he’s anticipating to be around when Jesus
returns has precursors. Paul writes, in 2 Thessalonians 2:7a, “For the mystery
of lawlessness is already at work.” Then, he adds in verses 9-10, “The coming
of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and
wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing,
because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” So, he’ll be a Sataninspired deceiver, but he’s not here described in terms of a political leader or
even a persecutor of God’s people, per se.
I’ve always been puzzled by this reality. When we talk about the Antichrist,
we think primarily in terms of a world leader, a political head, a dictator or
emperor. Yet, in the Bible, the word “antichrist” is never applied to such a
figure. So, how did the term “antichrist” become dominant, and how did it get
applied to the little horn of Daniel 7 and the beast of Revelation? And is it
appropriate to do so? I spoke earlier of a possible pattern being presented in
Daniel 7 with regard to the little horn. We’ll meet another little horn in
chapter 8, and pretty much everyone agrees that the little horn of Daniel 8 is
fulfilled in the Greek king Antiochus IV Epiphanes in the 160s BC. This fact
has led many students of Scripture to believe that the fourth kingdom in
Daniel 7 and Daniel 2 is actually the Greek Empire instead of the Roman
Empire, assuming that the little horn in chapter 8 must be the same figure as
the little horn in chapter 7. But, as we’ll see when we get to chapter 8, the way
the two little horns are described is quite different. Nevertheless, if Daniel 7
points us to a king in the fourth kingdom who is represented by a little horn
and Daniel 8 then points us to a king in the third kingdom who is also
represented by a little horn, then the common symbolism may be an indication
that there will be many such figures in the history of God’s people.
Another way to think about this is to recognize that, in the fulfillment of
prophecy, there is often, if not always, an already-not-yet pattern of
fulfillment. This is true with every aspect of our salvation. Though neither
Paul nor John seem to refer specifically to the fourth beast or the little horn of
Daniel, they both recognize a final deceiver who hasn’t arrived yet but who
casts a shadow backwards over the whole church age, back into the first
century. The authors of Not Afraid of the Antichrist make an interesting
observation along these lines. If Satan doesn’t know the time of Jesus’s return,
then “he must always have an antichrist in waiting, whether Nero, Hitler,
Stalin, or others.” This may just be a good reflection of what we’re supposed
to take away from this aspect of Daniel’s vision.
So, Daniel’s depiction of the little horn is of an opponent of God and an
oppressor of God’s people, a primarily political figure. The apostle Paul and
the apostle John both warn of a deceiver and false teacher who seems to be
active within the church or arise from within the church. It seems like these
figures get combined in the book of Revelation, and so we must briefly give
some attention to the beasts of Revelation.
V. The Beasts of Revelation
When you read the book of Revelation, do you assume, even before you start
reading, that the beast imagery must be representing the same exact thing that
it did in Daniel? Beware of such an assumption. Look at Revelation 13:1:
“And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with
ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.” Like all the
beasts of Daniel 7, John sees this one coming out of the sea. Like the fourth
beast of Daniel 7, this one has ten horns. Unlike the fourth beast of Daniel 7,
however, this monster has seven heads. However, this, too, goes back to the
vision of Daniel 7, because if you count all the heads of the four beasts, you
get seven heads. The third beast, the leopard, had four heads. From this detail
alone, we should conclude that the beast of Revelation 13 is not simply an
equivalent of the fourth beast of Daniel 7. Rather, this beast is a
conglomeration of all four beasts from Daniel 7. There’s more going on in
Revelation than in Daniel. Also, the beast in Revelation has ten crowns, which
indicates that they represent royalty, ten kings, as in the fourth beast of Daniel
7. This will be made plain in Revelation 17, where the angel talking with John
explains that the ten horns represent ten kings. Then, in Revelation 13:2, the
beast has features of the lion, bear, and leopard.
Furthermore, we had read that the fourth kingdom of Daniel 7 would “devour
the whole earth,” and we discussed how we probably shouldn’t view that as an
indication of global domination. Likewise, in Revelation 13:7b-8, we read that
“authority was given to it over every tribe and people and language and
nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has
not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the
Lamb who was slain.” Must we take this description as indicative of a oneworld government or a global empire, or that every human being on the face
of the planet will, in fact, worship this beast? Perhaps not. It may simply point
out that, in the larger context, that there are only two possible allegiances for
people on the planet: you either follow the Lamb or you follow the beast. This
universal language also appeared in Revelation 13:3: “One of its heads
seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the
whole earth marveled as they followed the beast.” Many have noted the
mimicry of Jesus in both the dragon and the beasts of Revelation, and here he
seems to perform a kind of death and resurrection with one of his horns. But,
it’s possible that this is the kind of visionary indication that what this beast
represents will be a recurring reality, from John’s day until Jesus returns: it
keeps dying and rising again.
The beast of Revelation 13 also has features of the little horn of Daniel 7, even
though no little horn appears on the beast of Revelation. But, in Revelation
13:5, we read, “And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and
blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two
months.” Note the passive verbs here as well. John, in Revelation, does the
same thing Daniel does, using the passive voice to indicate God’s action in
sovereignly ruling the actions of these beasts. Neither Satan nor human rulers
nor nations at large have independent autonomy to act outside of God’s
sovereign oversight, and this is made clearest in the most horrific and evil
individuals and empires in history.
Also, we notice that, as the little horn “made war with the saints and prevailed
over them,” so, in Revelation 13:7a, we read that this beast “was allowed to
make war on the saints and to conquer them.” Now let’s take stock of an
important historical detail that we’ve left hanging in the background. The
Jews of the first century, the Jews of Jesus’s and John’s day, would’ve
recognized that the fourth kingdom anticipated in Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 was
the Roman Empire, under whose rule they were living at the time. For John,
then, to receive this vision while Rome was still ruling, he would not have
simply equated the beast he saw with the beast depicted in Daniel 7. But as he
sees the features drawn from all four beasts of Daniel 7, including features of
the little horn, I think it’s likely he could’ve understood that the Roman
Empire he was living under did serve as a partial fulfillment of the beast he
saw in his own vision, but he surely also recognized that the historical Roman
Empire didn’t exhaust the meaning of the vision. Neither does he envision
some kind of revival of the Roman Empire in the future. Rather, relevant to
his original audience in the first century and to all Christians who would live
after his days, including us, this beast represents the Satan-inspired political
power that keeps on coming to oppose Christ and his people.
John then sees a second beast, who is later identified as a false prophet, and
this beast seems to line up more with the antichrist depiction of John’s letters
or the man of lawlessness Paul spoke of. Nevertheless, the two beasts work in
tandem, the political and the religious, to cultivate humanity’s allegiance to
the ways of the beasts, the ways, ultimately, of Satan. “You have heard that
antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come.”
At the end of the day, what is antichrist? Both a spirit and a person; it’s both
the stance of opposition against Christ as well as those who take their stand
against Christ. John focuses his description on false teaching and deception
that antichrists propagate. Antichrists will be here until the true Christ returns.
In Daniel and Revelation, deception and false teaching are connected more to
blasphemy, as the kind of speaking that these figures will promote, but the
emphasis in these visions is on political power and persecution of God’s
people. Roman emperors of the first and second centuries were often labeled
as the Antichrist in Christian writings. Famously, during the Protestant
Reformation, the leading Reformers labeled various Popes as the Antichrist.
In both cases, the label was appropriate.
The same government which the apostle Paul labeled as “God’s servant” in
Romans 13 began open and aggressive persecution of the church just a few
years after Paul wrote that letter under Emperor Nero. After Nero, the
persecution died down. But then it ramped up again in the latter days of
John’s life, so that John’s vision of these nasty beasts would’ve seemed
immediately relevant for him and his readers. What Paul called “God’s
servant for your good” had become a vicious beast making war on the saints.
On the political side of reality, during the days of Greek supremacy,
Antiochus IV Epiphanes was the little horn, antichrist before Christ. During
the days of Jesus’s life, Herod and the Jewish leaders could be viewed as
antichrist, combining both elements of deception and political power
marshalled against the Son of Man and the saints. Emperor Nero in the early
60s, crucifying and burning Christians, executing both Paul and Peter—
antichrist. The Romans who destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, slaughtering
both Jews and Christians in the late 60s until 70 AD—antichrist. Emperor
Domitian who enacted an official empire-wide policy of persecution against
Christians, exiling John, burning Scripture, and murdering many Christians—
antichrist. Political authority hostile to Christians, false philosophies, false
religions all fall under the umbrella of antichrist. Yes, there will be a final one
who will be active when Jesus returns, but we should recognize the reality
that, as both John and Paul indicated, their threat is real now.
However, I again refer to the title of the book I’ve referenced a couple of
times now: Not Afraid of the Antichrist. All the speculation I see on the
internet seems only to stir fear in the hearts of Christians. If you’re among the
saints, you need not fear any antichrist! Jesus and the apostles have warned us
of the opposition and temptation we will face. Jesus was clear and emphatic:
in the world, you will have tribulation. The apostle Paul was similarly
emphatic: we must enter the kingdom of God through many tribulations. And
so we will. But endurance and victory are guaranteed for us. More on that next
week.
We’d better return to Daniel and ask two final questions about his vision:
when and so what?
VI. Conclusion: When and So What?
It is hard to believe in a pre-tribulation rapture when you’re experiencing
tribulation as a Christian. The popularity and attractiveness of this teaching in
America may say more about our privileged political situation in this nation as
well as our lack of intimate connection with the church in other countries than
it does about our careful interpretation of Scripture. Now, I know American
missionaries in China who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture. They were
trained at Dallas Theological Seminary, an excellent institution which
promotes the idea of a pre-tribulation rapture. When they see extreme
oppression and persecution of Christians, they can always say that it will only
get worse. And I agree with that. The ease at which false teaching is promoted
and the vile practices of torture and persecution in many nations around the
world today certainly indicates that humanity is capable of great atrocities.
And they keep on happening.
So, for those who don’t see biblical evidence of God taking the church out of
the world before the final antichrist figure does his worst, what do we do with
Daniel 7 here? When does the king represented by the little horn of the fourth
beast make war on the saints? I have seen so many iterations of who the ten
kings might’ve been, from the line of Caesars between Julius and Titus who
destroyed the temple in 70 AD, to ten Jewish zealot leaders who caused the
war against the Romans that resulted in the destruction of the temple in 70
AD, to suggestions about the ten kings being reflective of Roman imperial
power in general, and then the Herods rising up in Judea opposing Jesus and
then Christians afterward. I’m partial to this last theory in certain senses, but I
don’t think there’s enough data to go on to be conclusive or dogmatic.
Here’s what I am pretty close to certain about. First, the verdict is in against
the power of the little horn. His doom is certain. He has already been
condemned, in all of his iterations. In John’s Gospel, Jesus spoke of his
upcoming death as a moment of judgment, and this will sit in the background
for next Sunday. In John 12:31, Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this
world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.” At the time of Jesus’s
death on the cross, the world was judged by God; the verdict was pronounced
against the world, and its ruler, Satan, was cast out. This is what I see depicted
in Revelation 12, when the dragon was thrown out of heaven. Thus, if Satan
was judged when Jesus died, rose from the dead, and ascended to heaven, then
surely the judgment of the fourth beast and its little horn was included in that.
But, as with Satan, the influence of the fourth kingdom and its blasphemous
persecuting ruler are still a reality in this world. So, the already-not-yet
fulfillment of this seems to me to be surrounding the death, resurrection, and
ascension of Jesus during the historical Roman Empire, in the first century.
The verdict was declared and set, but the actual execution has yet to come, so
that the pattern continues throughout history. Thus, I see the little horn’s
wearing out the saints as equivalent to the dragon’s making war against the
children of the woman in Revelation 12. And then Revelation 13 shows that
Satan utilizes earthly powers, political power and false religion and deception,
as his weapons of warfare against the saints. As will become clear next week,
the saints in Daniel and in Revelation are the same group of saints Paul speaks
of dozens of times: all Christians throughout history. We are living in the
midst of the “time, times, and half a time,” the period that seems long to us as
we go through it, but will be certainly, finally ended when Jesus returns to
execute final judgment.
As Daniel had seen the beast “killed and its body destroyed and given over to
be burned with fire,” so John sees, in Revelation 19:20, “And the beast was
captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs
by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those
who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire
that burns with sulfur.” We are told about the certain judgment of our enemies
to strengthen us to endure their opposition and to hold to the truth in the face
of attempts to deceive us. In the midst of the section describing the beasts of
Revelation, twice John interrupts his descriptions of visions to address his
audience directly. In Revelation 13:10c, we read, “Here is a call for the
endurance and faith of the saints,” and in Revelation 14:12, we read, “Here is
a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of
God and their faith in Jesus.” That is the major application point that is to be
drawn out of the book of Revelation, and that’s the major application point
from Daniel telling us about the fourth beast and the little horn. Whether false
teachers or oppressive governments, their doom is sealed. The saints, the
people God has made holy by connecting them to Jesus—we will still be
standing when all rulers and all governments made up of fallen, sinful humans
are gone.
God rules over the persecution of Christians in every nation of this world. He
allows the beasts to rage against his people. If you don’t believe that, I don’t
know how you will survive, how you will endure when it comes against you.
Cling to the cross of Jesus; let no one lead you away from allegiance to him.
When you suffer, trust him to walk with you through it, and trust him for the
promise of final relief and vindication.