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EARNESTLY CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH:
CLARENCE LARKIN:
THE BOOK OF DANIEL:
CHAPTER 7: THE FOUR WILD BEASTS
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This chapter, chronologically, should precede chapters five and six, but chronological order has been disregarded so as to keep the “Historical” part of the Book separate from the “Prophetical.” We now enter upon the second, or “Prophetical,” part of the Book. The opening words of this chapter take us back to the first year of Belshazzar’s reign, the date of which is uncertain. In all probability he was not associated with his father as King of Babylon over three years, and as he was slain in B. C. 538, the first year of his reign would have been the year B. C. 541, at which time Daniel would have been about eighty-five years old. -The date then of the Visions of this chapter must have been sixty-two years after Nebuchadnezzar had his “Dream” of the “Golden Headed Image.” During the “Years of Silence,” from the death of Nebuchadnezzar (B. C. 561), to the “Fall of Babylon” (B. C. 538), a period of twenty-three years, Daniel appears to have lived a retired life. How blessed must have been those years of rest and communion with God. They were largely spent in the study of the writings of Moses, and such of the Psalms and Prophets as were then in existence. This is clear from his reference to the “books” in Dan. 9:2. It was during those quiet years, while Daniel was seeking more light from the Scriptures as to the “Times of the Gentiles,” and their relation to his own people, the Jews, that he had this “Vision” of the “Four Wild Beasts.” It is a noteworthy fact that the Apocalyptic writers of the Old and New Testaments, Daniel and John, were old men when they received their “Revelations” from God. They were also both “greatly beloved” of the Lord, and it was because of their faithfulness that they received these “Revelations.” This chapter records “Three Visions” that Daniel had.
The fact that these “Visions” are interwoven implies that they were all three seen on the same occasion.
The scene of this “Vision” was on the shore of the “Great Sea.” This is an important statement. For in the Old Testament the term “Great Sea” stands for the Mediterranean Sea, and this locates the geographical position of the Nations symbolized by the “Four Wild Beasts.” For while the “Babylonian” and “Medo- Persian” Empires were not located on the Mediterranean Sea, as were the “Grecian” and “Roman” Empires, they were greatly indebted for their wealth and power to their Mediterranean coast land which they had conquered. And as more and more of this coast land was absorbed as the “Grecian” and “Roman” Empires came into existence, the “Prophetic Earth,” including “Palestine” as a centre, became the boundary of the Mediterranean Sea, and the “Great Sea” became little more than a “Roman Lake” within the Roman Empire. In the “raging waves” we have a symbol of the unrest and tumult of the nations, for the “sea” in the Scriptures is a type of the nations. “The waters which thou sawest ... are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” Rev. 17:15. “Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the NOISE OF THE SEAS, and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty WATERS.” Isa. 17:12-13. But the sea is never thrown into a commotion of itself. Its disturbance is caused by some outside force, as a hurricane or an earthquake. So the nations are never thrown into discord only from without. These outside influences are spoken of in the “Vision” as the “Four Winds of Heaven.” The number four points out the direction of the winds as coming from the four points of the Compass, and denotes their universality. These “Winds” represent the “POWERS OF THE AIR,” the forces of the “Evil One,” of whom the Apostle says –
We are to understand then by the “Four Winds of Heaven,” the “Evil Powers” of the air that Satan uses to cause unrest among the nations of the earth. And as the closing days of this Dispensation draw near, and Palestine is repeopled by the Jews, the nations that centre around it will be more and more thrown into commotion, as Satan in his last great effort to checkmate the plans of God will bring into play all the “Evil Forces” of the air. We are now ready to study the meaning of the “Four Beasts” that Daniel saw in his “Vision.” As we proceed we shall find that they correspond with the “Four Metals” of the “Image” that Nebuchadnezzar saw in his “Dream.” Why, you ask, should there be a repetition of the same revelation? The answer is, that men and God see the nations from a different standpoint. Man sees in them the concentration of wealth, majesty, and power, as seen in the “Golden Headed Image.” God sees them as a set of RAPACIOUS WILD BEASTS DEVOURING ONE ANOTHER. He sees them as bestial in character, and as maintaining their supremacy by brute force. The Lion devours, the Bear crushes, the Leopard springs upon its victim and sucks its blood, and the character of the “Fourth Wild Beast” is such that there is no beast in nature to which it can be compared. Unconsciously the nations affirm their beastly character by their national emblems, as the British Lion, the Russian Bear, the American Eagle, the Chinese Dragon, the Persian Ram, the Macedonian Goat, etc. Then this Vision of the “Wild Beasts” was given to Daniel that he might have additional light on the “Times of the Gentiles.” Light that God vas not willing to give to a heathen king like Nebuchadnezzar, nor even ready at that time to give to his servant Daniel.
The “First Beast” that Daniel saw emerge from the seething foam of the “Great Sea” was like a LION, with this difference, it had wings like those of an Eagle. Its appearance would recall to Daniel the colossal figures of lions, with the wings of an eagle, and the face of a man, that adorned the palaces of Nineveh and Babylon, and would suggest to him that the “First Beast” was a symbol of the Babylonian Empire, and its first king, Nebuchadnezzar, and that it corresponded to the “Head of Gold” of the “Image.” In this “Eagle Winged Lion” we see a combination of the “King of Beasts” and the “King of Birds,” typical of the “Absolute Monarchy” of Nebuchadnezzar, and his conquering flight over the nations. But as Daniel gazed upon the “Beast” its wings were plucked. That is, Nebuchadnezzar satisfied with his conquests gave himself up to building palaces, and to the pursuits of peace, and from that time the glory of the Empire began to wane. Then Daniel saw it lifted up and caused to walk on two feet, instead of four, like a man, and a man’s heart was given it, ‘but otherwise it was still a beast. That is, it no longer resorted to the use of its teeth and claws to overcome its enemies, but to its intellect. The plucking of the wings may also refer to the insanity of Nebuchadnezzar, and the standing on two feet like a man, and the receiving of a man’s heart, to his recovery from his beastly state, and his humane conduct thereafter.
The “Second Beast” was like a BEAR. The Bear is the strongest beast after the Lion, and is distinguished for its voracity, hut it has none of the agility and majesty of the Lion, is awkward in its movements, and effects its purpose with comparative slowness, and by brute force and sheer strength. These were characteristics of the Medo-Persian Empire. It was ponderous in its movements, and gained its victories by hurling vast masses of troops upon its enemies. Xerxes’ expedition against Greece was undertaken with 2,500,000 fighting men. It is easy to be seen that the movements of such enormous bodies of men would “devour much flesh.” Not merely in the shape of food, but by death by exposure and disease, and in battle. The side of the “Bear” which raised up, preparatory to attack, represented Persia, which of the Dual Empire was the stronger and the most aggressive. It corresponded to the “right shoulder and arm” of the “Image.” The “Three Ribs” stood for the three Kingdoms of Lydia, Babylon, and Egypt, that formed a “Triple Alliance” to check the Medo-Persian power, but were destroyed by it. As the “Bear” is an inferior animal to the “Lion,” we see that the Medo-Persian Empire was inferior to the Babylonian. Not however in power, but in wealth and magnificence, and in its form of government. Thus the “Four Wild Beasts” correspond with the “Metals” of the “Image,” in that each succeeding “Beast” is inferior to the one that preceded it.
The “Third Beast” was like a LEOPARD, with this difference, that it had “Four Heads” and “Four Wings.” The Leopard is the most agile and graceful of wild beasts. Slight in its frame, but strong, swift, and fierce, its characteristics render it a fitting symbol of the rapid conquests of the Greeks under Alexander the Great, who, followed by small but well-equipped and splendidly brave armies, moved with great celerity and in about ten years overthrew the unwieldy forces of Persia, and subdued the whole civilized world. While the “Four Wings of a Fowl” would add to the rapidity of its progress, they were only the wings of a “fowl,” and not those of an “Eagle,” indicating that its progress, though swift, would not be as royally victorious as the armies of Nebuchadnezzar. Why only four wings, when “Four Heads” call for eight wings, we do not know, unless the “Four Wings” were intended to devote the “four quarters” of the earth into which Alexander sought to extend his Empire. The “Four Heads” represent the “Four Kingdoms” into which the Empire of Alexander was divided, namely, Thrace, Macedonia, Syria, and Egypt. While Daniel, following out the correspondence between the “Beasts” and the “Image,” would see that the “Leopard” corresponded to the Abdomen and Thigh Parts” (Hips) of the “Image,” he must have been confused by the “Four Heads” of the Leopard, for there was no “Fourfold Division” of the lower part of the “Brass” of the Image, indicating that the “Grecian Empire” was to be divided into four parts. Thus we read that the “Visions of his Head” troubled him (verse 15), and his countenance was changed by his “cogitations.” Verse 28. Daniel had to wait two years longer, until his Vision of the “Ram and the He- Goat,” for a solution of his difficulty. See the exposition of chapter eight. .
The words, “After this,” do not imply that the Vision of the “Fourth Wild Beast” was separate as to time from the Vision of the three preceding Beasts, for the Vision of the “Third Beast” begins with the same words. The fact is, as stated in verse 4, that Daniel saw the “Four Beasts” emerge from the “Sea,” not all at once, but one after the other, and that their separate appearances constituted but one Vision. This view seems correct. Otherwise the correspondence between the “Four Wild Beasts,” and the “Four Metals” of the “Image” would not harmonize, for Nebuchadnezzar did not have two separate Visions of the “Image,” seeing only half of it, the “Gold,” “Silver,” and “Brass” in one Vision, and the other half, the “Iron,” in another, and later Vision. The “Fourth Beast” was like no other beast that had ever been seen on the earth. It was hideous to behold, and had, what no natural beast has, teeth of iron, and nails of brass. Verse 19. The fact that the “Fourth Beast” had IRON TEETH and TEN HORNS would cause Daniel to see that the “Iron Teeth” corresponded to the “Iron Legs” of the “Image,” and the “Ten Horns” to the “Ten Toes,” and therefore the “Fourth Beast” represented the ROMAN EMPIRE. But what mystified Daniel was the “LITTLE HORN” that sprang up amid the “Ten Horns,” for he had not seen a “LITTLE TOE” spring up among the “Ten Toes” of the “Image.” Daniel at once saw that the “LITTLE HORN,” with its “eyes of a man” and its “mouth speaking great things,” meant some new and additional revelation that God did not see fit to reveal on the “Image” to Nebuchadnezzar. and that was reserved for Daniel and his people, for we must not forget that Daniel’s own “Visions” in the last six chapters of the Book have to do with God’s dealings with the “Jewish People” in the “LATTER DAYS.” It is well then to remember that Daniel’s “Fourth Wild Beast” is descriptive of the Roman Empire in both its “First” and “Last” Stages. Before Daniel could ask for an explanation of the “Little Horn” he had another Vision.
The introduction here of a “Judgment Scene,” and a Vision of Christ “Receiving the Kingdom,” was for the purpose of revealing to Daniel the Judgment that shall fall on the “Gentile Nations,” and the manner in which Christ shall receive the Kingdom. This was information not imparted in Nebuchadnezzar’s “Dream Vision” of the “Golden Headed Image,” and helped Daniel to fill out God’s Program as to the Gentile Nations. Thus step by step Daniel was receiving light as to the things that should come to pass in the “Latter Times,” or the “TIME OF THE END.” Not the “end of time,” but the end of this present Dispensation. This “Judgment Scene” is not the “Great White Throne Judgment” of Rev. 20:11-15, that takes place at the close of the Millennium. Neither is it the “Judgment Seat of Christ” that is pictured. 2 Cor. 5:10. 1 Cor. 3:11-15, That Judgment takes place before the Millennium, and soon after the Church has been “caught out.” This “Judgment Scene” is that of the “Gentile Nations” as represented by the “Four Wild Beasts,” for as the outcome of the “ judgment” Daniel saw the “BEAST,” the “Fourth Wild Beast,” the Roman Empire (not the “Little Horn,” it is not called a “Beast” in Daniel), slain and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. This is figurative language describing the destruction of the Roman Empire. The “Little Horn,” called by John “THE BEAST” (Rev. 13:1-8), is not slain, as is the “Beast” of Daniel, but is cast ALIVE into the “Lake of Fire.” Rev. 19:20. While the “Fourth Wild Beast,” the Roman Empire, will be destroyed as the result of this Judgment, the other “Beasts,” the “Lion,” the “Bear,” and the “Leopard,” representing respectively the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, and the Grecian Empires, simply have their dominion taken away, but their lives are prolonged for a season and a time. It is worthy of note right here, that the Persian and Grecian Kingdoms have been revived. Why not the Babylonian when Babylon is rebuilt? It is well to recall that there is a “Dispensation of Judgment” between the Present Dispensation, and the Millennium, during which there shall be three judgments. (1) The “Judgment of Believers for their Works” at the “Judgment Seat of Christ.” 2 Cor. 5 :10. (2) The “Judgment of the Jews” during “The Great Tribulation.” The Jews are an earthly people, and as all promises to them are earthly, it follows that their Judgment must be of an earthly character, and it is called by Jeremiah and Daniel as the time of “JACOB’S TROUBLE.” Jer. 30:4-7. Dan. 12:1. Christ calls it “THE GREAT TRIBULATION.” Matt. 24:21-31. The result of this Judgment will be the conversion of the Jews. (3) The “Judgment of Nations.” Matt. 25:31-46. This is a Judgment of the Nations after Christ’s return to the earth. It will take place in the “Valley of Jehoshaphat” (Joel 3:1-2), and its purpose will be to separate the “Sheep” and “Goat” Nations, so that the “Sheep” Nations may enter into the “Kingdom prepared for them from the Foundation of the World,” which is the Millennium, or “Stone Kingdom” of Christ. The “Goat” Nations, as nations, will ‘be destroyed.*[*See the Chart of the Judgments in the Author’s book on “Rightly Dividing the Word.”] From this we see that the “Judgment Scene” that Daniel saw in his “Second Vision” is a general description covering the whole “Dispensation of Judgment” period. The statement – “I beheld till the THRONES WERE CAST DOWN” (verse 9) may refer to the “Thrones” of the “Ten Kings” that shall be reigning with the “Little Horn” at the time of’ this Judgment. Or they may refer, as the writer thinks more probable, to the “Thrones” of the “EVIL POWERS OF THE AIR.” For we know that at the time of this Judgment, the “DRAGON” (Satan), with all the “Principalities” of the Air, will be cast out of the Heavenlies, and thus their “Thrones” will be cast down. Eph. 6:12. Rev. 12:7-9. Who is it that sits upon this “Throne of Judgment?” He is called the “ANCIENT OF DAYS.” Who is the “ANCIENT OF DAYS?” He can be no other than the “SON OF MAN,” “For the FATHER judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the SON.” John 5:22. Then the description of Him corresponds to that of the “Son of Man” in Rev. 1:12-15, “whose Head and Hairs were white like wool, as white as snow: and His Eyes were as a flame of fire; and His Feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His Voice as the sound of many waters.” The picture of the “Son of Man” in Revelation, chapter one, is that of Christ as JUDGE, not as High Priest. At that time Christ will have completed His High Priestly Office, and assumed the Office of “JUDGE,” preparatory to His entering upon His “Kingly” duties when the Millennial Kingdom is set up. This is seen in that He is not girdled around the waist like a Priest, but wears a sash over His shoulder and breast like a Judge, and His hair of “White Wool” corresponds to the “Snow White Wig” worn by English Judges.
We are met here with an apparent contradiction in titles. We learned in the preceding “Vision” that the “Son of Man” was the “ANCIENT OF DAYS,” here we are told that the FATHER is. How can we reconcile these statements? There is but one way, and that is that the “Title” is used interchangeably. Jesus said-“I and my Father are ONE.” John 10:30. And Paul says-“And without controversy great is the ‘Mystery of Godliness:’ God was MANIFEST IN THE FLESH.” 1 Tim. 3:16. And John tells us– “In the beginning was the WORD (Christ), and the WORD was with God, and the WORD WAS GOD.” John 1:1. Thus we see, that, without trying to explain the Mystery of the Trinity, God and the Son of Man are one and the same, and therefore their “Titles” can be used interchangeably. Now we know from other Scripture that Christ is to receive the Kingdom from the FATHER. Hence in this “Vision,” the “Ancient of Days” must represent GOD THE FATHER. When Pilate asked Jesus – “Art Thou the KING of the Jews?” He evaded the question by saying-“ My Kingdom is not of this world.” That is, it would be given to Him by God the Father, and therefore would be from Heaven. John 18:33-37. In Luke 19:11-12 we read –
From this we see that Jesus is the “Certain Nobleman” who has gone into a “Far Country” (Heaven) to receive THE KINGDOM, and that, when He has received it, He will return. That He has not as yet received it is evidenced by the fact that He has not as yet returned. The time for receiving the Kingdom, as shown by this Vision, is still future, and is given by John in Rev. 11:15.
This passage locates the time when Christ shall receive the Kingdom as being when the “Seventh Trumpet” shall sound. which locates it as near the Middle of Daniel’s “Seventieth Week.” Thus Daniel and Revelation are in agreement.
The effect of these “Three Visions” on Daniel was a troubled spirit.
Daniel knew from the “Dream Vision” of Nebuchadnezzar of the “Golden Headed Image” that there were to be “Four Great World-wide Empires” to succeed each other before the “Times of the Gentiles” would end. He also knew that the first one, the Babylonian, was still in existence, with no signs at that time of a speedy ending, and if the three Empires to follow should each last as long, the end of the “Times of the Gentiles” was a long way off; which meant that the setting up of the “Stone” or “Messianic Kingdom” was that far away. But what troubled him the most was the character of the “Four Wild Beasts,” and the meaning of the “Little Horn.” So he says –
The “Bystander” that Daniel approached was no human being, for Daniel was still in the “Vision State,” and no human being could have revealed to him the meaning of the Visions. It was some celestial messenger, like those sent to him later, who was waiting to interpret the Visions.
The “Heavenly Bystander” informed Daniel that the “Four Wild Beasts” represented “Four Kings,” or Kingdoms, which should rise in the earth, thus identifying them with the Four Kingdoms represented by the Metals of the “Image,” and that their power would be wrested from them by the “Saints of the Most High,” whose Kingdom should last forever. Who are these “Saints of the Most High?” They are not the “Saints of the Church,” for the “Saints of the Church” are “caught out” before the “Little Horn” makes “War with the Saints.” Verse 21. And as the location of that “War” is on the earth, and the time is during the reign of the “Little Horn,” and is distinctly given as three and one-half years (verse 25), the “Saints of the Most High” must be Daniel’s people the Jews. For the “Most High” is the “Son of Man,” the Messiah of the Jews, and they therefore are His Saints of the “End Time,” who shall with Him take the Kingdom. Verse 22. This is further confirmed in verse 27, where it says –
Now the “People” of the “Saints of the Most High” are the Jews, for they are to be. the “Head” of the Nations during the Millennium (Deu. 28:13), and the “Saints of the Most High” are the “God-fearing Jews” that shall escape destruction by the “Little Horn” during the “Great Tribulation.” The reply of the “Heavenly Bystander” was not full enough for Daniel. It did not explain the meaning of the “Fourth Wild Beast,” and of the “Little Horn” who was to make war on the “Saints of the Most High,” Daniel’s people. It was the conduct of the “Little Horn” that perplexed and troubled him.
Here Daniel records what he did not mention in his first description of the “Fourth Wild Beast:”
This additional description of his Vision of the “Fourth Wild Beast” helps the explanation of the “Heavenly Bystander.”
There are two “Figures” in this Interpretation that demand our attention. The first is the “Beast,” and the second is the “Little Horn.” We must distinguish between them.
The “Little Horn” of Dan. 7 shall “think to change Times and Laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a ‘Time’ and ‘Times’ and the ‘Dividing of Time’ ” (or three and one-half years). Dan. 7:25. The Rabbis understood by “Times” and “Laws,” the Hebrew Sabbaths and Festivals, and the Law (Levitical) which regulated them. Now as these “Times” and “Laws” will be re-established when the Jews return to their own land and rebuild the Temple, they will be in force when the Antichrist (the Little Horn) shall make a Covenant with them for “One Week,” or “Seven Years.” But in the “Middle of the Week” the Antichrist will break the Covenant (Dan. 9:27), and substitute the worship of himself for the worship of Jehovah, thus causing the Jewish “sacrifices and oblations to cease,” and in his desire to annihilate all Jewish institutions he will think to change all Jewish “Times” and “Laws,” and this he will do for the remainder of the “Week,” or for three and one-half years.
The “iron teeth” of this “Fourth Beast” identifies it with the “Iron Legs” of the “Image,” or as we have seen, with the Roman Empire in its past stage. The “Ten Horns” correspond to the “Ten Toes” of the “Image,” or the last stage of the Roman Empire. So we see that this “NONDESCRIPT BEAST” represents the Roman Empire in its first and last stages, but does not reveal what happens between the two stages. Now as the Book of Revelation gives us, in chapters 6 to 19 inclusive, the details of what is to happen during Daniel’s “Seventieth Week,” the period covered by the “Toes” of the “Image,” and that is represented on Daniel’s “Fourth Wild Beast” by the “Ten Horns,” we must turn to the Book of Revelation to get further light as to the “Beast,” and the “Little Horn.” Let us compare “Daniel’s Beast,” and “John’s Beast.”
In comparing these two “BEASTS” we find that they both come up out of the “Sea.” As “Daniel’s Beast” came up out of the “Great Sea” (the Mediterranean) (Dan. 7:2), and John was a prisoner on the Isle of Patmos when he had his Vision, an island of the same sea, both “Beasts” came from the same locality. Both of these “Beasts” were utterly unlike any beasts we have ever heard of. “Daniel’s Beast” was dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great IRON teeth, and nails of BRASS; while “John’s Beast” was like a LEOPARD, with the feet of a BEAR, and the mouth of a LION. As “Daniel’s Beast” represented the “Fourth Kingdom,” the Roman Empire, it is evident that its characteristics, as given above, describe the Old Roman Empire, while the characteristics of “John’s Beast” describe the Future Roman Empire. We know that the Old Roman Empire was “strong exceedingly” and its grip and power were like a beast with “great iron teeth” and “claws of brass;” and from the description of “John’s Beast” we learn that the Future Roman Empire shall embody all the characteristics of the “Four World Empires,” as seen in its LEOPARD-like body, its feet of a BEAR, and its mouth of a LION. And as the body of an animal is the largest part of it, the “Leopard,” or Grecian character of the “Beast,” will probably preponderate. That both “Beasts” have “TEN HORNS” reveals the fact that they will both be in existence at the time indicated by the “TEN TOES” of the “Image,” which will be just before the setting up of the “Stone,” or “Millennial Kingdom of Christ.” We are told that the “Ten Horns” of “Daniel’s Beast” stand for “TEN KINGS,” and the “Ten Horns” of “John’s Beast” stand for the same. Rev. 17:12. From this we see that both Daniel and John foresaw that the Roman Empire was to be eventually divided into “Ten Federated Kingdoms.” While both “Beasts” have “Ten Horns,” they differ in that John’s has “SEVEN HEADS,” while Daniel’s had but “ONE,” and among the “Ten Horns” on “Daniel’s Beast” there came up a “LITTLE HORN,” which is not seen amid the “Ten Horns” of “John’s Beast.” These, as we shall see, are features that refer to the “Last Stage” of the “Beast,” and show that we cannot understand the “Last Stage” of the Beast without carefully comparing Daniel’s and John’s “Beasts,” for the “LITTLE HORN” of “Daniel’s Beast” plucks up three of the “Ten Horns” and destroys them, or takes their Kingdom away, a thing that John omits to tell us. Again the “Antichristian” character of “Daniel’s Beast” is seen in its “LITTLE HORN,” whose conduct corresponds with not a part, but the whole of “John’s Beast,” and that for the same length of time, for Daniel’s “TIME and TIMES and the DIVIDING OF TIME” (Dan. 7:25) is equal to John’s “FORTY AND TWO MONTHS” (Rev. 13:5), or three and one-half years. And both Beasts make “War” on the “Saints of the Most High,” and blaspheme His Name. From this comparison we see the similarity of the two Beasts, and that they must be studied together to fill out the picture.
In our study of Prophecy we lay much stress on the “Second Coming of Christ,” forgetting that there are two other comings of “Persons” that are just as momentous as Christ’s Coming. The first is that of “ANTICHRIST,” and the other is that of “SATAN.” In both the Old and New Testaments we are told of a – “MYSTERIOUS AND TERRIBLE PERSONAGE” who shall be revealed in the “LAST TIMES,” or the closing days of this Dispensation. He is called by various names.
The Prophet Isaiah sees the “Antichrist” as the “ASSYRIAN.” Isa. 10:5-6:30:27-33. In Isa. 11:4, a chapter which is evidently Messianic, we read that, among other things which the Messiah will do, “He small smite the earth with the ‘rod of His mouth,’ and with the ‘breath of His lips’ shall. He slay ‘THE WICKED.’ ” The word translated “THE WICKED” is in the singular number, and cannot refer to wicked persons in general, but to some one person who is conspicuously wicked. The expression is strikingly like that of Paul in 2 Thess. 2:8. “Then shall that ‘WICKED’ he revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the ‘Spirit of His Mouth,’ and shall destroy with the ‘Brightness of His Coming.’” It is evident that Isaiah and Paul refer to the same individual, who can be no other than the “ANTICHRIST.” In Isa. 14:4-17 there is a description of a “King of Babylon” who shall smite the people in his wrath, and rule the nations in anger. He is called “LUCIFER, Son of the Morning,” and his fall is described. There has never as yet been such a King of Babylon. It must therefore refer to some future King of Babylon, when Babylon shall be rebuilt, as we have seen it is to be. Verses 12 to 14 evidently refer to “Satan,” here called “LUCIFER,” and are descriptive of him before his fall, but as he is to incarnate himself in the “Antichrist” (Rev. 13:1-2), who will be a future King of Babylon, they explain the source of the pride and presumption of Antichrist which will lead to his downfall, as it did to Satan’s. The Prophet Ezekiel has a similar view of the “Antichrist,” under the name of the “King of Tyrus.” Ezek. 28:11-19. And as the Future Roman Empire will include both Tyrus (Tyre) and Babylon, the “Antichrist” will be both King of Babylon and King of Tyrus. We now come to the “LITTLE HORN” of Daniel, and as Daniel had three Visions of him, we will have to anticipate in part the description given of him in chapters eight and eleven. We have already considered him in this chapter. In Dan. 8:3-12, 20-25, in the Vision of the “Ram and He-Goat,” Daniel saw a “Great Horn” between the eyes of the “He-Goat” broken off, and four “Notable Horns” came up in its place, and upon one of these there appeared a “LITTLE HORN.”
In his interpretation of the “LITTLE HORN,” the Angel Gabriel said –
Quite a few Bible scholars claim that this “LITTLE HORN” is not the same as the “LITTLE HORN” that arose amid the “Ten Horns” of the “Fourth Wild Beast,” but that it represents Antiochus Epiphanes, who, in B. C. 166, desecrated the Temple Altar at Jerusalem by erecting an “idol altar” upon it, and offering “swine flesh” thereon. But the description of this “LITTLE HORN” and his conduct does not accord with that of Antiochus Epiphanes, but does with the “LITTLE HORN” of the “Fourth Wild Beast.” Antiochus Epiphanes never cast down any of the “Host of Heaven,” or magnified himself against the “Prince of the Host.” Neither did he stand up against the “Prince of Princes” (Christ), nor was he “broken without hand,” for he died a natural death at Tabae in B. C. 165. The Angel Gabriel distinctly states that the Vision belongs not to the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, but to the “TIME OF THE END.” Dan. 8:17. That is, to the end of the “Times of the Gentiles” which is still future. And Gabriel also added that his mission was to make known to Daniel what shall come to pass in the “Last End of the Indignation” (Dan. 8:19), or the “GREAT TRIBULATION.” So we see that as the “Little Horn” of Dan. 8:9-12, 23-25, synchronizes as to TIME (the “Time of the End”) with the “Little Horn” of the “Fourth Wild Beast” of Dan. 7:7-8, that they both refer to the same person – THE ANTICHRIST. Daniel also had another “Foreview” of the “Little Horn” in his Vision of ,the “Wilful King,” but we will not stop here to consider it, as it will be explained in the Exposition of chapter eleven. We now turn to –
Here Paul calls the “Little Horn” of Daniel by three different names,
The name “SON OF PERDITION” is not without significance. It may help us to locate the origin of the “Little Horn” or “Antichrist.” The name is used but twice in Scripture. It is first used by Christ of “Judas” (John 17:12), and here of “Antichrist.” In Gen. 3:15, God said to the “Serpent” (Satan), “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between ‘THY SEED’ and ‘HER SEED.’ ” Now the Woman’s SEED was CHRIST, then the Serpent’s SEED must be ANTICHRIST. And as Christ was born of a “virgin” by the Holy Spirit, so Antichrist will be born of a “woman” (not necessarily a virgin) by Satan. This is no new view, for it has been held by many of God’s spiritually minded children since the days of the Apostle John, who have been looking for a man to lie born among men who should be a “Demon Man,” upon whose mother Satan would descend, and fill her totally, and surround her totally, and possess her totally within and without, so that the creature born of her would be totally depraved. If the “Sons of God” (Angels) could take on them the form of men, and cohabit with the “Daughters of Men” in the days just before the Flood, and the offspring of that union were “mighty men,” men of Satanic character, whose wickedness brought on the Flood (Gen. 6:1-8), then-why cannot Satan assume the form of a man and be the father, by some woman, of the Antichrist? And could not such a person be properly called the “SON OF PERDITION,” or of Satan? For while “Perdition” is a PLACE (Rev. 17:8, 11), Judas and Antichrist are the “SONS OF PERDITION” in a special sense, for they are the SONS of the author of “Perdition”– SATAN. In John 6:70-71, we read that Jesus said-“Have not I chosen you Twelve, and one of you is a DEVIL? He spake of ‘Judas Iscariot’ the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray Him, being ope of the Twelve.” In no other passage than this is the word “Devil” applied to anyone but to Satan himself. Here the word is “diabolus.” The definite article is employed, and it should read-“and one of you is THE DEVIL.” This would make Judas the Devil incarnate, and explains why Jesus called him the “SON OF PERDITION.” It will not do to say that in the text he is called “the son of Simon,” for the words “the son” are in italics, showing that they are not in the original, and the name “Simon” is given because he was the reputed father of Judas, while Judas might have been the son of someone else. The next question that arises is, “If Judas and the Antichrist are both called the ‘SON OF PERDITION,’ are they one and the same, or are there two ‘Sons of Perdition?’” Here we must anticipate. Turning to Rev. 11:7, we read that the “Beast” that slays the “Two Witnesses” ascends out of the “Bottomless Pit” (ABYSS), and that “Beast” is the ANTICHRIST. Now how did he get into the “ABYSS?” Well, if there is only one “SON OF PERDITION,” and Judas and Antichrist are one and the same, then he got in the ABYSS when Judas went to his “Own Place” (the ABYSS). Acts 1:25. Of no other person is it said anywhere in the Scriptures that he went “to his own place.” Again in Rev. 17:8 it is said – “The ‘Beast” that thou sawest was, and is not: and shall ascend out of the ‘Bottomless Pit’ (Abyss), and go into PERDITION.” As this “Beast” is the same that slays the “Two Witnesses” he is the ANTICHRIST. Now there are four things said of him. First, he “WAS.” Second, he “IS NOT.” Third, he shall “ASCEND OUT OF THE BOTTOMLESS PIT.” Fourth, he shall “GO INTO PERDITION.” From this we learn that in John’s day the “Beast” “Was Not,” but that he had been before on the earth, and was to come again, that he was to ASCEND FROM THE BOTTOMLESS PIT. This is positive proof that the ANTICHRIST has been on the earth before, and that when he comes in the future he will come from the “ABYSS.” The question then arises, when was “Antichrist” on the earth before? If Judas and Antichrist are one and the same the enigma is solved. When Judas was on the earth, he WAS; when Judas went to his “Own Place” he “WAS NOT;” when Judas comes back from the “Abyss” he will be-THE ANTICHRIST. The Author does not insist on this view of Judas and Antichrist being correct, but with open mind he accepts it, because it seems to be the only logical solution of both Judas and Antichrist being called the “SON OF PERDITION.” The Apostle Paul also calls the Antichrist the “MAN OF SIN.” That is, all “SIN” will head up in him. The “Apostasy” will be not merely a corruption of Christianity, but a renunciation of it. It will be a denial of the Father and the Son. It will be the embodiment of all “Lawlessness.” The “Mystery of Iniquity” (Lawlessness) was secretly working in Paul’s day. The Antichrist will not be the “cause” of “Lawlessness,” he will be the “fruit” of it. He will arise out of the seething cauldron of “Lawlessness” that is now becoming so pronounced and manifest in the world, and in him will be the consummation of all “Lawlessness.” It now remains in tracing the “LITTLE HORN,” or Antichrist, to compare the “Two Visions” that John had of the “BEAST.”
In the two descriptions given above it is very important to see that the “Beast” has a “Dual” meaning. It represents both the Revived Roman Empire, and its “Imperial Head,” the Antichrist. As the Revived Roman Empire it is seen coming up out of the “sea of the nations” (Rev. 13:1), as the Antichrist it comes up out of the “ABYSS.” Rev. 11:7; 17:8. For instance, it cannot be said of the Roman Empire of John’s day, that it “WAS,” and “IS NOT,” for it was at the height of its power in John’s day. Neither can it be said of it that it shall “ascend out of the pit (ABYSS) and go into PERDITION,” that could only be said of a person. Again we must distinguish between the “Body” of the Beast and its “Heads” and “Horns.” The “Body” being that of a LEOPARD, with the feet of a BEAR, and the mouth of a LION is to show that the Revived Roman Empire in its “Last Stage” will include the characteristics of the first “Three Wild Beasts” of Daniel. That is, of the LION (Babylon), the BEAR (Medo-Persia), and the LEOPARD (Greece), and as the largest part of the Beast, the body, is represented by the LEOPARD, the prevailing characteristic of the Revived Roman Empire will be GRECIAN. The Beast that comes up out of the Sea (Rev. 13) has SEVEN HEADS and TEN HORNS, and the “Horns” are CROWNED. This represents the Beast, or Empire, at the height of its power, when it will have all its “Heads,” and when the TEN KINGS, the heads of the TEN KINGDOMS into which the Empire shall be divided, will have been crowned. The Beast that comes up out of the “ABYSS” also has SEVEN HEADS and TEN HORNS, but they are not crowned, for the Ten Kings represented by the “Ten Horns” have not as yet received their kingdom (Rev. 17:12). This implies that the Beast of Rev. 17 represents the Empire at the beginning of the “Week.” As confirmation of this view the “WOMAN” is seen at this stage RIDING THE BEAST. For while the “Scarlet Clothed Woman” is not seen until chapter 17, it is clear that she rides the Beast from the beginning of the “Week,” for she represents the “PAPAL CHURCH” that comes into power after the “Church” has been caught out. During the wars preceding the rise of Antichrist the nations that will then be found in the geographical limits of the Old Roman Empire will form an “Alliance” for mutual protection. Those nations will be ten in number, represented by the “Ten Horns” of the Beast. No doubt the “Papal Church” will play a prominent part in those proceedings. She will be rewarded by restoration to Political Power, and this union of Church and State,· in which the Church will have control, is shown by the WOMAN RIDING THE BEAST, thus dominating it. But when the “Ten Kings” shall receive their Kingdoms and be Crowned, which shall be in the “Middle of the Week,” they “shall HATE THE WHORE, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh (confiscate her wealth), and burn her with fire.” That is, burn her churches and cathedrals. Rev. 17:16. While we are told in” Rev. 17:9 that the “Seven Heads” of the Beast represent “SEVEN MOUNTAINS” (this is to identify it with the Roman Empire), we are told in the next verse that they (the “Seven Heads”) also represent “SEVEN KINGS” of whom “FIVE are fallen, and ONE is, and the OTHER is not yet come; and when he cometh he must continue a short space.” That is, in John’s day “Five” of these Kings had fallen, “One” was the then ruling Emperor, and the “Seventh” was yet to come. Who are meant by the first “Five Kings” that had fallen we do not know. They were doubtless Kings of the Nero type. The King that was on the throne in John’s day was Domitian, who had banished John to the Isle of Patmos. The last, or “SEVENTH KING,” who is yet to come is undoubtedly the ANTICHRIST. We are told in Rev. 13:3, that one of the “Seven Heads,” or “Kings,” received a deadly wound. Which one is not stated. The inference is that it is the last. for the Beast has ALL of his “Heads” before one of them is wounded. In Rev. 17:11 he is called “the Beast that WAS, and IS NOT, even he is the ‘EIGHTH’ (Head), and is of the ‘SEVENTH’ (Head), and goeth into PERDITION.” The only clear explanation is that the “Seventh Head” – THE ANTICHRIST, is the one who receives the “deadly wound,” probably at the hand of an assassin, and who actually dies or simulates death, and as his body is lying in state, he rises from the dead, and thus becomes the “EIGHTH” (Head), though he is of the “SEVENTH” (Head) revived. By this apparent resurrection from the dead, the Antichrist imitates the Resurrection of Christ and makes the world “WONDER AFTER THE BEAST” (Rev. 13:3), and this will add to his prestige and power. If this happens at the “Middle of the Week,” at the time the Dragon is cast out of Heaven (Rev. 12:7-9), it will account for the great change that takes place in the Antichrist, for before receiving his “deadly wound” he was sweet and lovable, but after his resurrection, or recovery, he becomes “Satanic,” the result of the “Dragon” (Satan) incarnating himself in him. It is at this time that he breaks the “Covenant” with the Jews (Dan. 9:27), and desecrates the rebuilt Temple at Jerusalem by setting up the “Abomination of Desolation” (Matt. 24:15), which is an “Idol Image” of himself – THE DESOLATOR. Rev. 13:13-15. As the “Little Horn” of Daniel’s “Fourth Wild Beast” he will destroy three of the “Ten Kings” and firmly establish himself in the place of power, and as he as the “LITTLE HORN” does not appear until after the “TEN HORNS,” or “Ten Federated Kingdoms,” come into existence, it is clear that the Antichrist does not form the “Federation,” but is the outgrowth of it. When we compare these “Foreviews,” and note the similarity of conduct of Daniel’s “LITTLE HORN,” Paul’s “MAN OF SIN,” and John’s “BEAST,” and that Daniel’s “LITTLE HORN” and John’s “BEAST” are to continue for the same length of time – “Forty and Two Months,” or three and one-h-If years, and that Daniel’s “LITTLE HORN,” Paul’s “MAN OF SIN,” and John’s “BEAST,” are all to be destroyed in the same manner at Christ’s “Second Coming,” we see that they all prefigure the same “Evil Power” which is after the “Working of Satan,” and which John in 1 John 2:18 calls THE ANTICHRIST. In other words, when we find in prophecy “Three Symbolic Personages” that come upon the stage of action at the same time, occupy the same territory, exhibit the same character, do the same work, exist the same length of time, and meet the same fate, they must symbolize the SAME THING.
The Antichrist, or last “Gentile Ruler,” will be a “COMPOSITE MAN,” as seen from the description of the “Leopard Like Beast” with its feet like a “Bear,” and its “Lion” mouth. Rev. 13:2. He will have the combined abilities and powers, augmented by the power that the Dragon will confer upon him (Rev. 13:2), of Nebuchadnezzar, Xerxes, Alexander the Great, and Caesar Augustus. He will have the marvellous gift of attracting unregenerate men, and the irresistible fascination of his personality, his versatile attainments, superhuman wisdom, great administrative and executive ability, along with his powers as a consummate flatterer, a brilliant diplomatist, a superb strategist, will make him the most conspicuous and prominent of men. All these gifts will be conferred on him by Satan, whose “Masterpiece” and TOOL he will be, thus making him
He will intoxicate men with a strong delusion and his never-varying success. And when he shall be slain and rise again he will have lost none of these powers, , but will be in addition the embodiment of all kinds of wickedness and blasphemy. There has never as yet appeared on this earth a person who answers the description of the “Little Horn.” Such a character is almost inconceivable. No writer would have invented such a character. Yet the Scriptures clearly foretell the coming of such a “Person.” The world that today is rejecting Christ for “Eternal Salvation” will readily accept the Antichrist unto “ETERNAL DAMNATION.” Refusing the “Lamb,” they will receive the “BEAST.”
While Daniel did not see the “Little Horn’s” companion– THE FALSE PROPHET, that being an additional revelation given to John, and therefore does not belong to the Book of Daniel, yet because many confuse the “Two Beasts” of Rev. 13, calling the “First Beast” that comes up out of the sea the “Political Head” of the Revived Roman Empire, and the “Second Beast” that comes up out of the earth the “Ecclesiastical Head” or THE ANTICHRIST, it seems necessary that we should at this point distinguish between the two. John thus describes the “Second Beast:”
This “Second Beast,” while John does not say it was a Lamb, had “Two Horns” like a lamb, that is, it was LAMB-LIKE, but it spake as a DRAGON. It had a name. It is called the “FALSE PROPHET” three times. Rev. 16; 13; 19; 20; 20; 10. Twice it is associated with the “First Beast” (Antichrist), and once with the “Dragon” (Satan) and the “First Beast,” and as they are PERSONS so. must it be. The fact that the “Second Beast” is called the “False Prophet” is proof that he is not the Antichrist. Jesus had a foreview of him when He said-“There shall arise ‘FALSE CHRISTS’ and ‘FALSE PROPHETS,’ and shall show GREAT SIGNS AND WONDERS; insomuch that, if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect.” Matt. 24:24. Here Jesus differentiates between “False Christs” and “False Prophets,” therefore ANTICHRIST and the FALSE PROPHET cannot be the same. That the “Second Beast” comes up out of the EARTH may signify that he will be a resurrected person. If, as we have hinted, Antichrist was Judas resurrected, why should not the “False Prophet” also be a resurrected person? There will be two persons , who shall come back from Heaven in those days, the “Two Witnesses,” Moses and Elijah. Rev. 11:3-7. Why not two persons come up from “The Underworld,” brought up by Satan to counteract the work of the “Two Witnesses?” The fact that both Beasts are cast ALIVE into the “Lake of Fire” (Rev. 19:20) is further proof that they are more than ordinary mortals, and that the “First Beast” is more than the last Emperor of the Revived Roman Empire, he is the ANTICHRIST. Again, the Antichrist is to be a KING, and rule over a KINGDOM. He will accept the “Kingdoms of this World” that Satan offered Christ, and that Christ refused. Luke 4:5-8. He will also EXALT himself, and claim to be God. 2 Thess. 2:4. But the “False Prophet” is not a King. He does not exalt himself, he exalts the “First Beast” (Antichrist). His relation to the “First Beast” is the same as the Holy Spirit’s relation to Christ, which is to glorify Christ and not himself. John 16:13-15. He causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the “First Beast.” Rev. 13:12. And as the followers of Christ are “sealed” by the Holy Spirit until the “Day of Redemption” (Eph. 4:30), so the followers of the “First Beast” shall be . sealed by the “Second Beast” (the “False Prophet”) until the “Day of Perdition.” Rev. 13; 16-17. 2 Pet. 3:7. The “False Prophet” will be a “Miracle Worker.” While Jesus was a “Miracle Worker,” He did all His “Mighty Works” in the power of the Holy Spirit. Acts 10; 38. One of the miracles that the “False Prophet” will perform will be to bring down FIRE FROM HEAVEN. Rev. 13:13. As Moses and Elijah will be back on the earth at that time (Rev. 11:3-12), there will probably be a “FIRE-TEST” between Elijah and the” False Prophet,” and the test of Mt. Carmel as to who is God, Jehovah or Baal, will be repeated. But the test this time will be as to whether Jehovah or Antichrist is God, and as both Elijah and the “False Prophet” shall bring down fire, the test will not be conclusive. The “False Prophet” will be able to do this because he will be energized by Satan. For Satan can bring down fire from heaven, as we know from the Book of Job. Job 1; 16. As further proof that the “First Beast” is the Antichrist, the “False Prophet” commands the people to make an “IMAGE OF THE BEAST,” and worship it, which he would not do if the “First Beast” were not the Antichrist. The “False Prophet” will also cause all who buy or sell to receive a “Mark,” the “BRAND OF HELL.” This “BRAND” will be either upon the “Right Hand,” or the “Forehead,” and will be of three kinds, the “Mark” (some peculiar mark), or the “NAME OF THE BEAST,” or the “NUMBER OF HIS NAME,” which is 666, the “NUMBER OF MAN.” Rev. 13:16-18. Now these several distinctions between the “First” and “Second Beast,” and that they both come up from “The Underworld” (Rev. 17:8; 13:11), hence cannot be slain as mortals, but must be cast ALIVE into the “Lake of Fire” (Rev. 19:20), differentiates them, and clearly shows that the “False Prophet” is not the Antichrist, but that the “First Beast” is. In other words the “False Prophet” is introduced, without any preliminary explanation, as an ecclesiastical companion and ‘subordinate of the “First Beast,” having no power of his own, but only that which is delegated to him (Rev. 13:12), and he claims no worship for himself, but causeth all to worship the “First Beast,” and those who will not he punishes as heretics, emphasizing his authority by miracles and “lying wonders” so as to get the people to accept “THE LIE.” 2 Thess. 2:8-12.
In the “Dragon,” the “Beast,” and the “False Prophet,” we have the “SATANIC TRINITY,” Satan’s imitation of the “Divine Trinity.” In the unseen and invisible “Dragon” we have the FATHER (the ANTI-GOD). In the “Beast” we have the “SON OF PERDITION” (the ANTI-CHRIST), begotten of the Dragon, who appears on the earth, dies, and is resurrected, and to whom is given a “Throne” by his Father the Dragon. Rev. 13:2. In the “False Prophet” we have the “ANTI-SPIRIT,” who proceeds from the “Dragon Father” and the “Dragon Son,” and whose speech is like the DRAGON’S. The “Dragon” then will be the “ANTI-GOD,” the “Beast” the “ANTI-CHRIST,” and the “False Prophet” the “ANTI-SPIRIT,” and the fact that all three are cast ALIVE into the “Lake of Fire” (Rev. 20:10) is proof that they together form a “Triumvirate” which we may well call – “THE SATANIC TRINITY.” |
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