Little Horn Power

Uproots 3 horns on the terrible beast with 10 horns

Seven Ways To Identify The Little Horn

1.  LOCATION:   Daniel 7:8  The little horn develops among ten nations of Europe into which Rome divided.

2.  TIME OF ARISE:   Daniel 7: 8,20,24  It would arise after the breakup of the Roman Empire-that is, after the fifth century A.D.  Further, it would arise after three of the ten horns had been uprooted. Three of the barbarian kingdoms that arose out of Rome espoused the views of Arius, who denied the divinity of Christ.  All the other barbarian kingdoms came to accept the Catholic faith.

From 476 A.D. on, the three Arian powers dominated portions of the territory of Rome, but each in turn met defeat as the rulers of the Eastern Roman Empire rallied to support the Roman Church in the West.  In 533 AD  Justinian, the emperor of the Eastern Empire, legally recognized the bishop (POPE) of Rome as the head of all the Christian churches, but because of  the Arian domination of Rome, the pope had no opportunity to actually exercise his civilly recognized power.  Finally, in 538AD  Belisarius, one Justinian's generals, routed the Ostrogoths, the last of the Arian powers from the city of Rome.  Thus, by the military intervention of the Eastern Empire, the pope was freed from the dominating influence of states that restrained his activities in the civil sphere. The date AD 538 plays an important part in identifying who this power is as we shall see under number 7.

3.  ITS NATURE:   Daniel 7:7,8,24  Compared with other horns the little horn was diverse, or different, it was "STOUT" or great. It exercised more than political power. Its attention to religious issues characterizes this power as a combined religious and political system.

4.  ATTITUDE TOWARD GOD:   Daniel 7:8, 20, 23  The little horn would "speak great words against God." (compare Daniel 8:23, Daniel 11:36, 2 Thessalonians 2:4, and Revelation 13:5.

5.  ATTITUDE TOWARDS GOD'S LAW:   Daniel 7:25  It would view God's Law as needing changes, and would attempt to make changes in that law by its own authority.  Papal Rome did, in fact support Sunday as a holy day instead of the seventh-day Sabbath ordained by God in His law.

6.  ATTITUDE TOWARDS GOD'S PEOPLE:   Daniel 7:21,25.  This system would persecute "the saints of the Most High". Those whom papal Rome considered heretical faced civil punishment. History attests that millions were put to death under this religiopolitical system.  Church historian David Schaff summed up papal Rome's' persecuting activities in these words.  "Down to the very close of the Middle Ages, the pages of history were disfigured by decrees of popes and synods, confirming death as the penalty for heresy, and for persons supposed to be possessed with witchcraft.  The great council of Constance, 1415, did not get away from the atmosphere and ordered heretics punished even by the flames.  And the hall of Leo X 1520 condemning Luther cursed as heresy the Reformer's literal statement that the burning of heretics is contrary to the will of the Spirit." History of the Christian church. Vol V part 1. p. 524.

7.  LENGTH OF TIME PERMITTED TO RULE:   Daniel 7:25  The little horn would rule a times, time, and dividing of time. The prophecies of Revelation provide the key to this symbolic period.  There the same period of a" time, and times, and half  a time" (Revelation 12:14) is equated with the 1260 days (verse 6).  From this we see a time equals 360 days. In symbolic prophecy each day stands for a year according to Ezekiel 4: 5,6. For 1260 years, then the little horn would exercise its sovereignty over God's people and His law through civil channels.  This period began in 538, as we have seen. Exactly 1260 years later in 1798, the French general Berthier entered Rome, declared a republic, and after taking the pope prisoner, proclaimed the political rule of the Papacy to be at an end.  The book of Revelation later amplified on this loss of power by calling it a "deadly wound".  But according to Revelation this wound was to be healed, and all the world would yet be awed by Rome as it manifested a comeback, a resurgence of power (Revelation 13:3 ).   Thus the 1260 years denoted only the period of supremacy in Rome's  long history during which God allowed this system to demonstrate its principles, policies, and objectives.

It should be emphasized that the little horn represents a system,  a church-state combination, a religious power that would grasp civil power to enforce certain beliefs and practices.  Because the Papacy did use such civil power as the prophecy predicted does not by any means bring individual Roman Catholics under condemnation.  Multitudes of Roman Catholics have followed Christ as best they knew, and many have exhibited a true devotion to the cross. But the papal system during its years of supremacy did singularly fulfill the prophecy of Daniel 7.