Predictive Prophecy
Part three "A"
Dan 7:9-10,22,26
~GOD, Judge:
God is the eternal Judge who holds records of each kingdom and individual. No one will be treated unfairly when He pronounces the ultimate decision. His judgment is favorable to His saints. Rom 2:2.
Dan 7:9,14,22,27
~GOD, Eternal:
God is the Ancient of Days, as old as the universe and more. He has always existed. There was never a time when He was not.
Dan 7:1-28
~GOD, Sovereignty:
God is the eternal Ruler who holds power over all earthly kingdoms in all generations. No one can destroy His kingdom.
Dan 7:1
~HOLY SCRIPTURE, Visions:
Daniel both interpreted and received dreams of revelation as God revealed His will to Darius. Daniel's dream was also a vision. God spoke in symbols which explained events about to occur in the histories of several nations near Babylon. God's servant heard the dream, interpreted it, and wrote it down for future use. Eventually other narratives and visions of Daniel and his friends were collected, written, and became part of Scripture. Daniel's visions represent a literary form called apocalyptic literature in which symbols are used to hide meaning from enemies of God's people but reveal it to God's informed people. The apocalyptic imagery had strong revelatory power for Daniel's day. Later generations of Bible students have debated strongly over the correct ways to interpret apocalyptic writings.
~Daniel 7:7-8 in the prophet's vision of the four beasts:
After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.
This prophecy expands and fills in details of the image in Daniel 2. The "huge iron teeth" and the beast's actions link it inextricably to the legs and feet of Nebuchadnezzar's image. Whereas the legs, feet and toes suggest a continuous progression and dominance on the world scene, Daniel 7 shows that Rome would rise and fall in successive kingdoms and empires, represented by the horns, until the last days.
Of course, the little horn introduces a new entity to this empire. Suffice it to say that it represents the false church guiding and controlling this brutal beast (cf. Revelation 17; 13:11-18). The Bible shows this false church, among other things, speaking against God, persecuting the saints, sitting atop the beast, being given power "for a time and times and half a time" and being destroyed forever by the power of God.
"The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom," writes Daniel (7:24), or as Herbert W. Armstrong said, they are ten successive resurrections of the Roman Empire. The little horn, the false church, supplants the first three of these, the Vandals, the Heruli and the Ostrogoths, Germanic invaders who successfully overthrew Rome and established their own short-lived empires between AD 429 and 554.
The final seven horns (called "seven mountains," in reference to kingdoms, and "seven heads," in reference to kings, in Revelation 17:9-10) are controlled by the false Roman church. In AD 554 Emperor Justinian, ruling the eastern half of the empire from Constantinople, restored the Empire in the west and recognized the supremacy of the Pope. Justinian fulfills the fourth horn and the first of the seven heads of the beast upon which "the Mother of Harlots" rides (verses 3-5). Later, Charlemagne, king of the Franks (800); Otto the Great (962); Charles V of the Hapsburg dynasty (1520) and Napoleon (1805) were all crowned emperors of Rome by the Pope, and fulfill the fifth through eighth horns and second through fifth heads. Garibaldi and Mussolini, dictators of Italy between 1870 and 1945, received papal approval to re-establish the Roman Empire, and were later joined by Adolf Hitler in this pursuit. They combine to represent the ninth horn and sixth head.
What is the meaning of pontiff?
The word means "high priest," from a root meaning "bridge-maker." Definitions of pontiff. the head of the Roman Catholic Church. synonyms: Bishop of Rome, Catholic Pope, Holy Father, Roman Catholic Pope, Vicar of Christ, pope.
Horns and Heads
Horn
(Daniel 7:7-8)
Head
(Revelation 17:9-10)
Historical
Fulfillment
1st Horn
"Plucked out by the roots" by the Little Horn, the False Church
Vandals (AD 429-533)
2nd Horn
Heruli (AD 476-493)
3rd Horn
Ostrogoths (AD 493-554)
4th Horn
1st Head
Justinian (AD 554)
5th Horn
2nd Head
Charlemagne (AD 800)
6th Horn
3rd Head
Otto the Great (AD 962)
7th Horn
4th Head
Charles V (AD 1520)
8th Horn
5th Head
Napoleon (AD 1805)
9th Horn
6th Head
Garibaldi/Mussolini/
(AD 1870-1945)
10th Horn
7th Head
Final Beast Power (AD ????)
~Ten Toes
The last horn, the last head and the ten toes are yet future, the final resurrection of the Roman Empire, the terrifying and brutal Beast power soon to arise upon the earth. Some of the details of this final revival are found in Revelation 17.
1) It will be brief (verses 10, 12), not much longer than the three-and-a-half years of the Great Tribulation (11:2; 12:14).
2) This last revival is made up of another ten horns, or ten kings, who give their power to a dictator known as the Beast (17:12-13).
3) The ten kings and the Beast use the false church as long as she is necessary to their plans, then they destroy her in their brutal hate (verse 16).
4) One of their main purposes is to "make war with the Lamb [Christ]," but they will be destroyed in His wrath at His Second Coming (verse 14; 19:11-21).
As the colossal image of Daniel 2 had two legs and two feet, the Roman Empire had two divisions, whether they were Rome and her provinces in its earlier period or a Western Empire with its capital in Rome and an Eastern Empire governed from Constantinople. The final resurrection, we assume, will have its ten toes split between the latter division, west and east. We do not know, however, if these are ten presently recognizable nations, or if they are ten major ethnic groups that cross national boundaries yet will have some autonomy.
Nevertheless, it is most likely that the ten nations will inhabit the areas formerly ruled by the Roman Empire and its subsequent revivals. It is a vast region. At its height Rome ruled from England and Spain in the west to northern Mesopotamia in the east to North Africa in the south. However, because of Daniel's prophecies regarding the King of the North, the "last gasp" of Rome will probably be centered in Europe, the bastion of Roman culture, law and heritage.
Of all the current movements in Europe, the most likely to evolve into the final head of the Beast is, of course, the European Community (EC). Currently composed of more than ten nations, several of these, particularly the northwestern European democracies, may drop out over developing problems such as sovereignty, currency or trade. A strong possibility is that the Gentile components of the Beast will expel the nations of Israel that are presently members of the EC and/or attack and overthrow them, reducing the number to ten.
The EC has recently adopted a curious symbol that it plans to use on its stamps and currency—a woman riding a horned beast, a bull! The EC explains that it depicts Europa, the woman, being seduced by Jupiter, who had transformed himself into a bull because Europa was fond of animals.
The EC no longer takes a backseat in either politics or economics. It sees itself as an equal and a rival to both the United States and Japan in areas of trade, monetary policy and international finance. Recently, it has demanded to be a partner in the "land for peace" treaties between the state of Israel and her Arab neighbors. It is also taking a firmer stand in other areas of international politics and military matters, especially if they involve the United Nations. Behind the scenes, the European nations are constantly improving their military technology and weaponry, as well as increasing and combining their armed forces.
The European Currency Unit (ECU) was the monetary unit used by the European Monetary System (EMS) before being replaced by the euro. The ECU was introduced in 1979 and replaced by the euro in 1999. It was a composite of 12 European Union member countries.
~Endure, Hold Fast, Be Alert
This is where faith and endurance enter the picture. Constantly, the writers of the Bible urge us to "hold fast," "endure to the end," "watch and pray" and "be patient." We do not know the day or the hour—all we can do is watch the signs that we understand so that we can see the day approaching.
