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Also see:
Daniel 7:1-7, The 4 Beasts
Daniel 7:7 The Ten Horns

The 11th Horn
Part 1, The Identifying Characteristics

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 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;

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. 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.

Place and Time of Appearance

We have seen in Daniel 2 and here in Daniel 7 the rise of four great empires: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome, with Rome at last being divided into ten parts. Here in Daniel 7 that ten part division is represented by ten horns that rise up out of the head of the first beast.

Our focus now turns to another 11th horn that rises “up among�?/FONT> the original ten. This is the first clue to its identification, telling us both where and when this horn makes its appearance on the stage of history.

Where? Like the other ten horns, this horn also originates from the head of the fourth beast, which is imperial Rome. And so we must look to the territory proper of the Roman empire for the place of its rise.

When? It not only originates from imperial Rome, it also comes “up among�?/FONT> the other ten. And so we must look to the time when there was a coexistence of both imperial Rome on one hand and the ten other rising horns on the other. The dismemberment of the Roman empire did not happen over night, but was a process spanning some 125 years. Historians generally place the start of the process at 351, and there is general agreement that this period of dismemberment closed in 476. It is therefore in this time frame that we must look for the beginnings of the “little horn.�?/FONT> And the phrase “little horn�?is our next clue. The emphasis is placed in it smallness in comparison to the other ten horns among which it appeared, which would seem to indicate that at this time in its history it was not very impressive in appearance. A situation that would change, as it would eventually grow to be “more stout than his fellows.�?(verse 20). And in the course of it’s rise from insignificant smallness to greatness it would uproot three of the original ten horns.

Deeds and Conduct

When it comes to the deeds and conduct of this “little horn�?/FONT> the first item is one already mentioned. In some manner it would be instrumental in the uprooting of three of the original ten horns. And it is the overthrow of those three horns that takes it from its smallness to being “more stout than his fellows.�?(verse 20).

The horn had �?/FONT>eyes like the eyes of man.�?(verse 8). Generally eyes are a symbol of intelligence, which indicates that the deeds of this little horn are carefully calculated. This would indicate that this little horn does not act at random, but with deliberate purpose.

And its purpose was to wage “war with the saints, and prevailed against them.�?(verse 20). This little horn would be a persecuting power that would “wear out the saints of the most High.�?(verse 25). And the saints would be given into the hands of this persecuting power for “a time and times and the dividing of time.�?/FONT>

More than that it would believe itself capable of actually changing divine law. “And he shall �?think to change times and laws�?(verse 25). We know these are divinely established times and laws for it is no great thing for one earthly power (if they are able) to change the laws of another, but these are such that this little horn can only “think�?/FONT> to change.

And it had “a mouth speaking great things.�?(verse 8). “a mouth that spake very great things�?(verse 20). “great words against the most High.�?(verse 25). The Aramaic �?I>lesad�?/FONT> translated ‘against�?in verse 25 may be interpreted as meaning ‘over against�?implying that in its opposition to the Most High the little horn would set itself up as being equal with God.

2 Thessalonians “Man of Sin�?/STRONG>

Interestingly the early Christians (as historicist still do) identified this little horn of Daniel 7 with the “man of sin�?in 2 Thessalonians 2.3-8.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

Below are some early [Pre 476 AD] Christian commentaries on the prophecies we have been studying. These commentaries are remarkably consistent and accurate, and our only advantage over them is that we can see in history what was to them something yet to be.

Early Christian Commentary

Hippolytus:
‘…the other little horn that grows up among them meant the Antichrist in their midst; the stone that smites the earth and brings judgment upon the world was Christ.�?Hippolytus, �?U>Treatise on Christ and Antichrist�? paragraph 28, 200 AD

‘It is to the fourth kingdom, of which we have already spoken, that he here refers: that kingdom, than which no greater kingdom of like nature has arisen upon the earth; from which also ten horns are to spring, and to be apportioned among ten crowns.

And amid these another little horn shall rise, which is that of Antichrist.�?Hippolytus, �?U>Scholia on Daniel�? chapter 7, section 19, 200 AD

Cyril:
’Moreover, the Antichrist was prophesied to come when the times of the Roman empire have been completed�?

But this aforesaid Antichrist is to come when the times of the Roman empire shall have been fulfilled, and the end of the world is now drawing near.

There shall rise up together ten kings of the Romans, reigning in different parts perhaps, but all about the same time; and after these an eleventh, the Antichrist, who by his magical craft shall seize upon the Roman power...�?Cyril, �?U>Catechetical Lecture 15�? paragraphs 9,12, 315-386 AD

Chrysotom:
‘One may first naturally inquire what is that which withholdeth, and after that would know why Paul expresses this so obscurely�?‘he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.�?

That is, when the Roman empire is taken out of the way, then he shall come; and naturally, for as long as the fear of this empire lasts, no one will readily exalt himself; but when that is dissolved, he will attack the anarchy, and endeavor to seize upon the government both of men and of God.�?John Chrysotom, �?U>Homilies on Second Thessalonians II 6-9�? 389 AD

Jerome:
’But what am I doing? Whilst I talk about the cargo, the vessel itself founders. He that letteth is taken out of the way, and yet we do not realize that Antichrist is near.

Yes, Antichrist is near whom the Lord Jesus Christ 'shall consume with the spirit of his mouth'.�?Jerome, �?U>Letter to Ageruchia�? paragraphs 16, 17, 340-420 AD ‘My mind is refreshed, and for the present forgets the woeful calamities that this last age labours with, groaning and travailing in pain, till he who hinders, be taken out of the way, and the feet of the iron statue be broken to pieces by reason of the brittleness of the clayey toes.�?Jerome, �?U>Commentary on Ezekiel�? book 8, preface, 320 - 420 AD

�?/FONT>Let us therefore affirm, agreeably to the concurrent judgment of all ecclesiastical writers, that in the consummation of the world, when the Roman Empire is to be destroyed, there shall arise ten kings, who shall share the Roman world among themselves, and that an eleventh king (the little horn in Dan. vii.) shall arise, who shall subdue three of those ten kings…�?Jerome, �?U>Commentary on Daniel�? chapter 7 section 20, 320 - 420 AD ‘”that which restrains�?- is the Roman empire. For unless it shall have been destroyed and taken out of the midst - according to the Prophet Daniel, Anti-Christ will not come before that.�?I>Jerome, �?U>Commentary on Jeremiah�? chapter 5 section 25, 320 - 420 AD

Hiero [Jerome] to Algasi (Argument 111) so expresses it: "Only when the Roman empire leaves, which now exercises dominion over all peoples, when it is out of the way, indeed then Antichrist will come," which he confirms in Jeremiah, chapter 25.�?nbsp; Francis Turretin, �?U>The 7^th Disputation - Whether It Can Be Proven The Pope of Rome is AntiChrist�? chapter 12, 1664

340-397: Ambrose:
"And then the evil one will be revealed; the Apostle says that Antichrist would appear after the fading of the Roman empire."

354-430: Augustine:
‘Augustine (City of God, book 20, chapter 19), although he confesses he does not know what it is which has held sway, yet those words, He who holds sway, let him hold sway, he believes can be rightly interpreted as signifying the Roman empire, "as if it were said, he who rules, let him rule until he is out of the way, that is, taken out of the way, and then will be revealed the evil one whom no one doubts signifies Antichrist.“�?Francis Turretin, �?U>The 7^th Disputation - Whether It Can Be Proven The Pope of Rome is AntiChrist�? chapter 12, 1664

Thedoretus:
What the Apostle calls the Temple of God are the churches in which this impious wretch will occupy the first rank, the first place, striving to get himself accepted as God.�?Theodoretus, note on 2 Thessalonians 2, chapter 2, 393-457

All the early Christian commentators were agreed that it was the Roman Empire that was holding in check the apostasy that Paul said had already begin in his day. And they understood that when the Roman Empire should fall, that apostasy would then run like wildfire through Christianity.

Already in those early years that apostasy (though largely held in check by the Roman Empire) had built the foundation on which the “man of sin�?would rise to power.

After the break up of Rome, and the subsequent rise to power of the little horn in Daniel 7 (the man of sin of 2 Thessalonians 2) Christian commentators became even more bold and definite in their identification of this power. But the task of actually identifying and putting a name to the little horn is the topic of the next posting.

Next
The 11th Horn
Part 2 - Identifying the Little Horn

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