Little Horn Rises

The little horn power of Daniel 7 is the first mention in the Bible of this end time antichrist power, so it's a good place to start for our study on who the Bible antichrist is. This little horn power in Daniel fits perfectly to the

Papal church of Rome, the Roman Catholic Church. And we will show you from the Bible description of this little horn antichrist and the history of the Roman Catholic Church, how they fit perfectly together.

To see where this antichrist little horn power came from, we first need to take a quick look at the four beasts in the prophecies of Daniel 7, as the antichrist little horn came from one of these beasts. Now in Bible prophecy, a

beast is a symbol for a kingdom, as we can see from the Bible verses below:

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

Daniel 7:23 .....'Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth.'

It is accepted by pretty much all Bible prophecy teachers that these four beasts are four kingdoms. The only difference arises as to WHO these four beasts are. Many teachers place these four beasts into our day today and

totally ignore the past 3000 years of history. So who are the four beasts of Daniel 7 that this antichrist little horn comes from? Let's take a quick look:

Four Beasts of Daniel 7

Have another read of the Bible verse above in Daniel 7:23. It says that the fourth beast will be the fourth kingdom on the earth. What kingdom was the ruling power in Daniel's day? Babylon. So if Babylon is the current ruling

kingdom on earth when Daniel receives the vision, then logic tells us that the fourth beast would be the fourth ruling kingdom from Babylon. Also take a note of this following Bible verse:

Daniel 7:2-3 .....'Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from

another.'

Wind in Bible prophecy is a symbol for war and strife. Water is a symbol for peoples / nations (see Rev. 17:15). So these beasts (kingdoms) rose to power from wars and conflicts between nations. Now we can easily identify

these kingdoms if we just look at what nations came to power after Babylon. Babylon is the first, as it was the ruling kingdom in Daniel's day, so we need to find out the other three. Let's look at the beasts:

The Lion (Daniel 7:4) - This is Babylon, the first kingdom which was the ruling power in Daniel's day. History depicts Babylon as the greatest nation, which fits the "Lion", which is the greatest beast. In

Ezekiel, you will see Babylon being described as a "great eagle, with great wings". God gave Babylon it's great power, but Nebuchadnezzar exalted himself and God took the power away from Babylon,

depicted with the wings being "plucked off". The next kingdom is ready to take control:

The Bear (Daniel 7:5) - This is Medo Persia. You will see from the Bible verse that this beast was raised up on one side. History tells us that Medo Persia was two kingdoms rolled into one, with Persia being

the stronger side, hence the bear being raised up on one side. The bear also has three ribs in it's mouth, a symbol of it devouring something. And history tells us that Medo Persia "devoured" the three

kingdoms of Lydia, Egypt and Babylon to gain control.

The Leopard (Daniel 7:6) - This is Greece. This is an interesting choice of animal, because a leopard has great speed, plus it also has four wings. Now history tells us that Alexander the Great conquered the

world as it was then and overcame Medo Persia as the ruling power with great speed, hence the leopard with 4 wings. From the Bible verse you will see this beast also has four heads. These four heads

represent 4 kings that would control this nation. History confirms that greece split into four divisions, with 4 generals leading it, after the death of Alexander.

The Terrible Beast (Daniel 7:7) - This is Rome. Daniel sees such a terrible beast/kingdom, that he cannot describe it, only as "dreadful and terrible". This certainly fits Rome, as Rome was a "terrible"

kingdom in the way it treated people. This beast also has iron teeth, which matches Rome as being the "Iron" nation. This beast also has ten horns, and history confirms that Rome split into the ten nations

of Europe when it fell in 476AD. It is also described as being "diverse" (different) from the other kingdoms. Now we all know what happened to Rome when Roman Emperor Constantine moved to

constantinople, which is in modern day Turkey. He handed civil power over to the Catholic Bishop of Rome, therefore making Rome a religio-political kingdom.

So these are the four beasts, representing the four kingdoms from Babylon. Now the antichrist little horn comes up out of the fourth beast, which is Rome and we will now focus on identifying the little horn power.

Who is the Little Horn Power?

From studying the beasts above, we learned that the ten horns of the fourth beast represented the ten kingdoms of Europe. Therefore this little horn must also be a "kingdom". And what is the first identifying feature of this little

horn? It's LITTLE !! Does this fit the Roman Catholic Church? Yes, because the Vatican state is it's own country. It's the smallest kingdom there is! Let's see what else Daniel says about this antichrist little horn power:

Daniel 7:8,21,25 .....'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. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them. 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.'

Little horn comes up among other horns - Well, the first thing we notice, apart from this horn (kingdom) being little, is the fact that it came up "among" the other ten horns. What does this mean? It means that this little kingdom

came up among the ten nations of Europe, after the kingdom of Rome fell. Did the Roman Catholic Church come up among the nations of Europe? Yes, the vatican is based in Rome itself, and gained control of civil powers in

538AD after the fall of the Roman Empire.

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 than 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)

Little horn plucks up 3 horns - Next we notice that the antichrist little horn plucks up three of the other horns, which means this little horn kingdom destroyed three of the ten kingdoms of Europe. Did the Roman Catholic Church

do this? Yes, history confirms that after she rose to power, the Roman Catholic Church, through the Roman army, caused the total destruction of the 'Heruli', the 'Vandals', and the 'Ostrogoths'. Why? Because these three

kingdoms would not accept the "authority" of the Roman Catholic Church.

Little horn has eyes like a man and speaks against God - What could the "eyes like a man" mean, concerning the antichrist little horn? Well, it could point to the fact that this little horn kingdom would have a very prominent

figure (person) at the head of it. This fits with the Pope of the Catholic Church. Daniel also confirms that the little horn power speaks great things "AGAINST" the Most High, Creator God. Just take a look at a few quotes below

that come from the Roman Catholic Church:

"The pope is of so great dignity, and so exalted, that he is not a mere man, but as it were God." (Ferraris Ecclesiastical Dictionary)

"To believe that our Lord GOD the Pope has not the power to decree as he is decreed, is to be deemed heretical." (The Gloss Extravagantes o.f Pope John XXII Cum inter, Tit. XIV, Cap. IV. Ad Callem Sexti

Decretalium, Paris, 1685)

"The Pope and God are the same, so he has all power in Heaven and earth." (Pope Pius V, quoted in Barclay, Chapter XXVII, p. 218, Cities Petrus Bertanous)

The Papal Church of Rome certainly quote great pompous words against our Heavenly Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour. No man on earth is equal to any angel, let alone Christ Jesus.

Little horn makes war with the saints - Continuing to identify this antichrist little horn power, we see that Daniel confirms this little horn makes war with the saints and wears them out. Now it is a well known historical fact that

the Roman Catholic Church, during the dark ages persecuted and murdered tens of millions of Christians who chose to obey God, rather than the Roman Catholic Pope. It is stated that the Papal Church of Rome has shed

more blood than any other institution that has ever existed. The Catholic Church even had people murdered for just owning a Bible!!

"From the birth of popery to the present time, it is estimated by careful and credible historians, that more than fifty millions of the human family, have been slaughtered for the crime of heresy by popish persecutors,--an average

of more than 40,000 religious murders for every year of the existence of popery to the present day. Of course the average number of victims yearly, was vastly greater, during those gloomy ages when popery was in her glory

and reigned despot of the world; and it has been much less since the power of the popes has diminished to tyrannize over the nations, and to compel the princes of the earth, by the terrors of excommunication, interdiction, and

deposition, to butcher their heretical subjects." (John Dowling, The History of Romanism, pp. 541-542)

The leaders of this antichrist church have certainly got a lot to answer for!

Little horn thinks to change law - The next identifying mark of this little horn power, is the fact that it "thinks to change times and law". What times and law is Daniel referring to? God's time and law of course. Now there is only

one institution pompous enough to "think to change times and law", God's law, and that is the Roman Catholic Church. Does God's law contain anything to do with time? Yes, the fourth commandment concerning the Sabbath

Day, which God commanded a "time" for us to rest and spend with Him each week. God specifically says that the Sabbath Day is the seventh day of the week. And what does the Catholic Church claim to have done? They

claim they have the power to change the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first, and that is exactly what they did. And most of the Christian world follows them by keeping Sunday as the Sabbath day. Not only that, but they

also changed the second of the Bible ten commandments, so that they could make and worship idols, which God clearly forbids! Take a look a this pompous quote:

"The authority of the church could therefore not be bound to the authority of the scriptures, because the church had changed the Sabbath into Sunday, not by command of Christ, but by it's own authority."

(Canon and Tradition, page.263)

What does this quote mean? It means that this antichrist little horn power, the Roman Catholic Church, believe they are NOT bound by the authority of ALMIGHTY GOD! This CANNOT be the church of Christ Jesus. That sort of

self exaltation can only come from Satan.

Antichrist Little Horn is Roman Catholic Church

There can be no doubt, when comparing the Word of God concerning the little horn power with history, that the ONLY institution or kingdom to match the indentifying marks of the little horn, is none other than the Papal Church

of Rome, known as the Roman Catholic Church. It's a PERFECT match! And the great protestant reformers also knew this truth about the little horn power.