Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 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, broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;

19. Then I desired to know the truth concerning, &c. (R.V.)] ‘Would’ in Old English has often the sense of ‘willed,’ ‘desired’; but in modern English it is not strong enough in a passage like the present. Cf. will in W. A. Wright’s Bible Word-Book, who points out that in the A.V. it is sometimes more than a mere auxiliary verb: e.g. Mat 11:27 ‘and he to whomsoever the Son will [R.V. willeth to ] reveal him,’ Luk 13:31 ‘for Herod will [R.V. would fain ] kill thee;’ Joh 7:17 (R.V. willeth to), 1Ti 5:11 (R.V. desire to). The case is similar with would, as Col 1:27, ‘To whom God would make known,’ &c. (R.V. ‘ was pleased to make known,’ ), Joh 1:43 (also for , R.V. was minded to) [272] .

[272] See a useful little volume, Clapperton’s Pitfalls in Bible English (1899), p. 89.

The description of the fourth beast is in the main repeated from Dan 7:7-8; but some traits are noticed here which were not mentioned before.

and his nails of bronze (Dan 2:32)] Not in Dan 7:7.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

19 22. Daniel asks for further information respecting the fourth beast, and the means by which its power was broken.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast – I desired to know particularly what was symbolized by that. He appears to have been satisfied with the most general intimations in regard to the first three beasts, for the kingdoms represented by them seemed to have nothing very remarkable. But it was different in regard to the fourth. The beast itself was so remarkable – so fierce and terrific; the number of the horns was so great; the springing up of the little horn was so surprising; the character of that horn was so unusual; the judgment passed on it was so solemn; and the vision of one like the Son of man coming to take possession of the kingdom – all these things were of so fearful and so uncommon a character, that the mind of Daniel was peculiarly affected in view of them, and he sought earnestly for a further explanation. In the description that Daniel here gives of the beast and the horns, he refers in the main to the same cirumstances which he had before described; but he adds a few which he had before omitted, all tending to impress the mind more deeply with the fearful character and the momentous import of the vision; as, for instance, the fact that it had nails of brass, and made war with the saints.

Which was diverse from all the others – Different in its form and character; – so different as to attract particular attention, and to leave the impression that something very peculiar and remarkable was denoted by it. Notes, Dan 7:7.

Exceeding dreadful – Notes, Dan 7:7.

And his nails of brass – This circumstance is not mentioned in the first statement, Dan 7:7. It accords well with the other part of the description, that his teeth were of iron, and is designed to denote the fearful and terrific character of tho kingdom, symbolized by the beast.

Which devoured … – See the notes at Dan 7:7.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 19. His nails of brass] This is not mentioned in the seventh verse, where the description of the beast is given. It might be added, for the first time, by the person who is now explaining the fourth beast. Houbigant thinks it has been lost out of the text: but such loss is not intimated by any MS.; nor does any of the ancient Versions acknowledge this addition in the seventh verse.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

I would feign know it more perfectly and exactly, because the Jewish nation and church were to be scattered long by and under the fourth beast.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

19. Balaam, an Aramean, dwellingon the Euphrates, at the beginning of Israel’s independent history,and Daniel at the close of it, prophetically exhibit to the hostileworld powers Israel as triumphant over them at last, though the worldpowers of the East (Asshur) and the West (Chittim) carry all beforethem and afflict Eber (Israel) for a time (Num 23:8-10;Num 23:28; Num 24:2;Num 24:7-9; Num 24:22-24).To Balaam’s “Asshur” correspond Daniel’s two easternkingdoms, Babylon and Medo-Persia; to “Chittim,” the twowestern kingdoms, Greece and Rome (compare Gen 10:4;Gen 10:11; Gen 10:22).In Babel, Nimrod the hunter (revolter) founds the first kingdom ofthe world (Ge 10:8-13).The Babylonian world power takes up the thread interrupted at thebuilding of Babel, and the kingdom of Nimrod. As at Babel, so inBabylon the world is united against God; Babylon, the first worldpower, thus becomes the type of the God-opposed world. The fourthmonarchy consummates the evil; it is “diverse” from theothers only in its more unlimited universality. The three first werenot in the full sense universal monarchies. The fourth is; so in itthe God-opposed principle finds its full development. All historymoves within the Romanic, Germanic, and Slavonic nations; it shallcontinue so to Christ’s second advent. The fourth monarchy representsuniversalism externally; Christianity, internally. Rome is Babylonfully developed. It is the world power corresponding in contrast toChristianity, and therefore contemporary with it (Mat 13:38;Mar 1:15; Luk 2:1;Gal 4:4).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast;…. What it represented, what kingdom or monarchy was meant by it; for, by the above answer of the angel, he understood the four beasts signified four kings or kingdoms; the three first he pretty well understood; at least he was not so solicitous about them as about the fourth; and this he was desirous of having a very particular and exact account of; it threatening, by its appearance, a great deal of trouble to the world, and especially to the church of God:

which was diverse from all the others; or, “from all them”, or “those” h, the other three beasts:

exceeding dreadful; to other kingdoms and nations:

whose teeth were of iron; of these parts of its description, see on Da 7:7,

and his nails of brass; this is a new circumstance, not before mentioned, and here added with great propriety: “nails” belonging to a beast of prey, and these said to be of “brass”, to denote its strength, cruelty, and voraciousness in tearing its prey, to pieces; and, moreover, to show that this kingdom has somewhat of the nature of the third or Grecian monarchy, said to be of brass in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream; some out of that kingdom being taken into the Roman militia, as, Theodoret observes; and soldiers are to a king what nails are to a beast:

which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; some kingdoms and provinces were destroyed by it, and the rest were made subject to it; see Da 7:7.

h “a cunctis ipse”, Pagninus, Montanus; “ab omnibus illis”, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Here the Prophet interrogates the angel concerning the Fourth Beast more attentively and carefully; as we formerly saw him touched with greater admiration on beholding the beast which was formidable beyond the other three, so that neither a name nor representation could be found for it. As, therefore, God displayed something great under the image of the fourth beast, he caused his Prophet to wake up to understand the mystery of it. For this reason he now interrogates the angel; for he says he wished for the truth concerning the fourth beast, and he also repeats what we saw before, namely, its being different from the others And surely the subjugation of so many kings by the Romans was a difference worthy of notice. Let us think upon the origin of that nation; — a few robbers seizing upon a desert spot, growing great by brutal audacity and force, until they reduced all their neighbors under their power. Then they crossed the sea, and added first one province, and then another to their sway. And when the kingdom of Macedon came within their power, this was indeed portentous. At length they became masters throughout the whole circuit of the Mediterranean, and there was no corner which did not receive their yoke; and this could never have been imagined by human apprehension.

It is said then, this beast was different from the others, and very terrible. In the same sense its teeth are called iron, and its claws brazen. No mention had hitherto been made of his claw; the Prophet had spoken only of iron teeth, but he now adds brazen claws, as if he had said, This beast shall be endued with such savage madness, as not only to attack all things by its unusual violence, but to tear, lacerate, and devour all things; as he repeats again what he had said, eating and destroying and treading under foot the remainder As. I have already explained all these points, I am unwilling to consume your time in vain and to confuse you with useless repetitions. I asked also, said he, concerning the ten horns, which, were upon its head And this is the reason why I must cut the subject off shortly here, as the angel’s reply will follow directly. The Prophet, therefore, is now, without doubt, placed under a celestial impulse, because God was unwilling to teach him only as a private person; he was. to be a witness and herald of so great a mystery; and we may at this day learn from his writings, which are of the utmost use to us when we become fully acquainted with them.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

HOMILETICS

SECT. XXIV.THE LITTLE HORN (Chap. Dan. 7:8; Dan. 7:19-25)

We now come to that part of Daniels vision which especially distinguishes it from Nebuchadnezzars dream. The king only saw the feet of the image divided into ten toes: Daniel not only sees ten horns proceeding from the head of the fourth beast, corresponding with these ten toes, but another horn additional to these, which, though appearing as a little horn, engaged the special attention of the prophet, and constitutes the leading object in the vision. The character of the kingdoms of the world was to be concentrated in that horn or the power represented by it, and it was from it that the Church of God was mainly to suffer [165]. As a horn, it was to be a power like the rest; that term, expressive of the powerful weapon of many animals, being figuratively employed in the Scripture to denote power or strength, and so a kingdom or a sovereignty. See Deu. 33:17; Psa. 18:2; Luk. 1:69. In relation to the little horn we have to notice

[165] It is in the fearful shape of the last beast that the world-power will fully manifest that its whole nature is opposed to God. But as the interest which attaches to the four monarchies is led rapidly over the first three to centre in the last, so, for the same reason, in considering the last we are led to the final shape. The description introduces these horns merely to show how an eleventh has sprung up in their midst, a king in whom the full haughty hatred and rebellion against God, His people, and His service, finds its representative. The essential nature of the kingdoms of the world appears concentrated in the fourth kingdom; the nature of the fourth kingdom, in like manner, in its last worldly ruler. Thus it is only at the end that the peculiar character of the world-power, the mystery of iniquity, is unveiled, and we recognise in the eleventh horn no other than he whom Paul calls the Man of Sin and the Son of Perdition (2 Thessalonians 2.) Here, for the first time in the development of revelation, the idea of Antichrist is clearly unfolded; because here, for the first time, the entire course of the development of the godless and God-opposing world is clearly surveyed down to the very end.Auberlen. So Dr. Pusey, who also sees in the Little Horn mainly an Antichrist yet to come. Why should there not be under the fourth empire an antagonism to the true God, concentrated in and directed by one individual, as it was in and by Antiochus in the third? Human nature repeats itself. What man has done, man will do. We Christians look for an Antichrist yet to come. Our Lord forewarned of him and his deceivableness. St. Paul describes such an one as Daniel speaks of. We must not, however, overlook the Antichrist of the past and the present, while even as Protestants we may also acknowledge an Antichrist yet to come.

I. Its rise. It is said to rise among the other ten horns, and so to be contemporaneous with them; and also after or behind them, and so in the time of its appearance posterior to the rest, as well as gradual in its growth and for a time unobserved. Before it, three of the ten were plucked up by the roots and fell, or, as it is interpreted by the angel, it subdued three out of the ten kings or kingdoms, and so made room for itself by occupying their place (Dan. 7:8; Dan. 7:10; Dan. 7:24). The other horns obtained their place as kingdoms out of the body of the fourth beast or Roman empire; this one was to obtain its place out of that beast only indirectly, by gaining it out of the others.

II. Its character and description.

(1.) A little horn; small in comparison with the rest, especially in its commencement, and humble, perhaps, in its profession.

(2.) Diverse from the rest; its diversity consisting in this, that it had eyes in it, like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things,the eyes and the mouth sufficiently indicating a human being as represented by it [166], and a power of a peculiar character; the eyes of a man, not of a god; lamb-like, though speaking as a dragon (Rev. 13:11.)

(3.) The mouth uttered great words against the Most High; hence proud, arrogant, and blasphemous; while from the eyes was a look more stout than his fellows, also indicative of pride and haughtiness above that of the other powers, and an overbearing demeanour in respect to them.

(4.) He was to make war with the saints of the Most High, to wear them out, and prevail against them; a persecuting power, and one whose persecutions should be persevering and successful, against such as adhered to a holy life and the worship of God according to His Word.
(5.) He was to think to change times and laws; lofty in his pretensions, as superior to laws both human and divine, and affecting a power which is the prerogative of God (chap. Dan. 2:21).

5. The saints were to be given into his hand for a definite period, prophetically and enigmatically described as a a time, times, and the dividing of a time; his power over the saints or true worshippers of God to be absolute for a time, but that time a limited one. To form a well-grounded judgment regarding the appearance of this last enemy, observes Keil, we must compare the description given of him here with the apocalyptic description of the same enemy under the image of the beast out of the sea or out of the abyss (Rev. 13:1-8; Rev. 17:7-13); and we may add, with the description of the Man of Sin given by the apostle (2Th. 2:4, &c.), with an obvious allusion to the passage before us.

[166] Eyes like the eyes of man. Eyes and seeing with eyes are the symbols of insight, circumspection, and prudence. The eyes of a man, not merely to indicate that the horn signified a man, which was already distinctly enough shown by the fact of eyes, &c., being attributed to it, nor yet to distinguish it from a beast; but in opposition to a higher celestial being, for whom it might, from the terribleness of its rule and government, be mistaken.Keil. Others have viewed the expression as indicative of the assumed blandness that accompanied papal arrogance, and the sharp look-out kept by the popes on their own and their families interests, as well as those of the Church.

III. Its identification. This power intended to be identified as truly as the four beasts themselves. The minute and varied description obviously given with this view. This description, including both its rise and character, ought apparently to leave no room for doubt as to what is intended by it, and no difficulty in identifying it when the power indicated should appear. The question is, has such a power already appeared, or are we still to look for it? The latter unlikely, as the fourth beast, from which it springs, has confessedly appeared two thousand years ago, and the ten kingdoms, among and behind which it was to rise, have probably been in existence about fourteen centuries. Has, then, any power appeared during that period to which the description is at all applicable, and to which it has been applied? There is a well-known power to which the description has appeared so applicable, that for more than three hundred years the description has been actually and unhesitatingly applied to it by almost all who have studied this passage, with the exception, of course, of those who are in any way connected with the power itself; although it is probable that the horn may not even yet have fully developed itself [167]. That power is the Papacy, with the Bishop of Rome as its head and representative [168]; for nearly thirteen centuries a temporal power, like the other horns, though now no longer such [169]; but so diverse from them as to be at the same time a spiritual power, while the rest were only secular ones. The identity has appeared

[167] Jerome and the fathers, as well as De Lyra, Hugo, and Roman Catholic writers generally, interpret the little horn of the Antichrist, who should come in the end of the world, after the Roman empire is destroyed. Some of the Reformers, as Melanchthon and Osiander, understood it of the Turkish empire. Calvin thinks that historically this prophecy of the Little Horn was fulfilled before the coming of the Messiah into the world, in the person of Julius Csar, Augustus, and the other emperors; but that it may, by analogy, be applied, as it was by some, to the Pope or to the Turks; and these applications, he says, by way of analogy I mislike not. colampadius understood it of the Pope in the West, and the Turkish empire in the East. Bullinger, and the Reformers in general, applied the prophecy entirely to the Papacy. Junius, Polanus, and Willet understood it historically of Antiochus Epiphanes, but typically of Antichrist. Dr. Lee, of Cambridge, applies it to heathen Rome and the persecuting emperors from Nero to Constantine. The Futurists, with Roman Catholic writers, understand it of an Antichrist yet to come.
[168] Dr. Rule observes that the description given of the Little Horn exactly answers to the Papacy, and regards the assumption of absolute sovereignty over the city and territory of Rome by Pope Innocent III. as the uprising of it, a sovereign pontiff over a temporal dominion, armed also with military powers. Here, says Muratori, in relating this event, expired the last breath of the Augusti in Rome; and henceforth the prefects of Rome, the Senate, and the other magistrates, swore fealty to the Roman Pontiff only. Professor Bush says, This Little Horn is unquestionably the ecclesiastical power of the Papacy. This horn did not come till after the empire received its deadly wound by the hands of the Goths.

[169] That the Bishop of Rome became a temporal ruler, receiving his place and rank as such among and soon after the other rulers of the kingdoms formed out of the dismembered Roman empire, every one knows. One of the most remarkable events of recent years was the entire cessation of this temporal sovereignty of the Pope, when in 1870, after the French Emperor had withdrawn his troops from Rome, Victor Emmanuel, as king of Italy, at the voice of the people, assumed the entire government of the country, leaving Pius IX. only the Vatican and its precincts for his residence; the Pope exclaiming against the act as one of wicked sacrilege and spoliation, and endeavouring to rouse all Catholic Europe to aid him in recovering the lost patrimony of St. Peter. The Times of the period said, In the same year the Papacy has assumed the highest spiritual exaltation to which it could aspire, and lost the temporal sovereignty which it had held for a thousand years.

1. In the rise of the Papacy. The Little Horn rose among, and at the same time after or behind, the other ten; while three of these were plucked up and fell before it, so that their place was occupied by it, or, as interpreted by the angel, three kingdoms, states, or powers were subdued by it [170]. It is known that it was while the Northern nations were establishing for themselves kingdoms out of the decaying Roman empire that the Bishops of Rome also became temporal rulers, and that they did so after occasioning the fall of some of those rulers, probably those of Lombardy, Ravenna, and Rome, whose territories then became their own under the name of the States of the Church [171]. A writer on prophecy remarks: The Little Horn came up among the ten horns, of which three fell before it. This determines the appearance of the Little Horn to be not before the appearance of the ten, of which not one came into being till after the year 487 of the Christian era, until which time the Roman empire continued under its emperors, undivided into any of those ten kingdoms which arose afterwards. At that time Augustulus, the last Emperor of the West, was forced to resign; and for three hundred years the empire remained without even a nominal head. It is in remarkable agreement with this fact that Paul speaks of the Man of Sin as being hindered at that time from revealing himself by something which he does not name, but which would one day be taken out of the way; that hindrance being doubtless the Roman imperial power, which for obvious reasons Paul did not think it expedient to name. The circumstance of the three horns or states being rooted up to make way for the temporal power of the Papacy seems openly declared in the triple crown which the Pope still continues to wear.

[170] Before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots. He shall subdue three kings(Dan. 7:8; Dan. 7:24). (yehashpil), shall overthrow, deprive of sovereignty.Keil. Some have understood the number three as indefinite. So Calvin and colampadius, but understanding it as denoting much or many. Most have viewed it as a definite number. Jerome and others after him understood the three horns to be Egypt, Africa, and Ethiopia, which were to be subdued by Antichrist. Melanchthon thought of Egypt, Syria, and Cilicia, to be taken by the Turks; while Osiander and Pfaff understood them to be Asia, Greece, and Egypt. Bullinger, applying the prophecy to the Papacy, regarded the three horns as the Emperor Leo, or the Exarchate of Ravenna, taken by Gregory II.; Childeric, king of France, deposed by Pope Zachary; and the Lombards with the government they obtained from Leo III. Dr. Rule considers them to be the Roman Senate and people, with the so-called patrimony of St. Peter, gained a.d. 498; Apulia, otherwise called Naples, and Sicily, obtained in 1266. He observes that, simultaneously with these acquisitions, the work of persecution, foretold in the next verses, rapidly advanced. According to Mr. Birks, the three horns were the kingdom of the Heruli under Odoacer, that of the Ostrogoths under Theodoric, who at the instigation of the Pope overthrew the former, and took possession of that part of Italy forming the Exarchate of Ravenna, which again, at the Popes instance, was overthrown by Belisarius and Narses, lieutenants of the Emperor Justinian; the third power overthrown being that of the Lombards under Alboin and Aistulph. To obtain freedom from the threatened yoke of the Lombards, and to secure still farther the possession of a temporal dominion, the Pope made his appeal to Pepin, son of Charles Martel, as well as to Charles (Charlemagne) and Carloman, the three kings of the Franks. Pepin and Charlemagne willingly undertook the task of uprooting the Lombard kingdom, the last enemy that stood in the way of the ambitious See. After the surrender of Pavia, the last obstacle was now removed, and the popes rose at length to temporal dominion, and obtained a firm and settled place among the powers and kingdoms of the Western Empire. The Churchs ancient patrimony of farms and houses, says Gibbon, was transformed by the bounty of the Carlovingians into the temporal dominion of cities and provinces; and the donation of the Exarchate was the first-fruits of the victories of Pepin. The ample province of the Exarchate, granted to the Papacy by the usurper Pepin, might comprise all the provinces of Italy which had obeyed the Emperor and his vicegerent; but its strict and proper limits were included in the territory of Ravenna, Bologna, and Ferrara, and its inseparable dependency was the Pentapolis.

[171] The following are extracts from Clements letter, written towards the end of the first century, to allay some disturbances in the Church at Corinth in regard to the pastorate. These things, beloved, we write not only to admonish you of your duty, but to admonish ourselves, for we are in the same race and conflict. Wherefore, let us abandon vain and empty cares, and advance to the glorious and venerable rule of our calling. Let us look to what is beautiful, and pleasing, and acceptable in the eyes of our Creator. Let us fix our eyes on the blood of Christ, and consider how precious to God is that blood, which, having been shed for our salvation, has offered the grace of repentance to all the world. Christ belongs to those who conduct themselves humbly, not those who exalt themselves over His flock with pride and arrogance. Let us attach ourselves to those to whom grace has been given by God. Let us put on concord with moderation of mind, endued with the gift of self-control. Temerity, arrogance, and audacity belong to those who are accursed of God; moderation, humility, and meekness to those who are blessed of Him. The apostles, preaching the Word through regions and cities, proving their first-fruits in the Spirit, appointed bishops and deacons of those who believed. The apostles knew through our Lord Jesus Christ that contentions would arise about the name of the episcopate, and on that account, being endowed with perfect foreknowledge, they appointed persons previously indicated, and left successions of ministers and officers afterwards described, that other approved men might succeed to their place and discharge their offices. Look diligently into the Scriptures. Take into your hands the epistles of the blessed Apostle Paul. Consider what he wrote to you near the very beginning of his preaching the gospel. Being certainly divinely inspired, he reminded you in an epistle concerning himself, Cephas, and Apollos, that even then there were seditions and party feelings among you. Whosoever is zealous, pitiful, and full of love among you, let him say, If any sedition, contention, or division, has arisen through me, I will depart; I will go away whithersoever you wish; I will do whatever is commanded by the people; that only the flock of Christ may live in peace with the elders (or presbyters) that have been appointed over them.

The tempter, says Gavazzi, came over the Alps in the Gallic Pepin; he showed from a pinnacle of earthly power and aggrandisement the kingdoms of this world, and pledged himself to secure their homage, if, falling prostrate before Gods adversary, Christs Vicar should adore him. The sacrilegious bargain was struck; the ark of the Lord was placed in the temple of Dagon; the bishops of Rome, who over and over again suffered death rather than offer incense to Pagan idols, fell into the palpable snare of Satan; and the hand that bore on its finger the brightest of sacerdotal gems in the ring of the fisherman was outstretched, with scandalous avidity, to burn a fatal frankincense on the altar of secular ambition. A visible change fell on the Papacy. The gory crown of martyrdom was exchanged for the glittering tiara.

Mr. Mede supposed the three uprooted or depressed horns to be, first, the Greeks, that is, the entire kingdom of Italy, which in 554 was ended by the Exarchate or dependent government of the Greek emperor, which continued for fifteen years; second, the Lombards, who possessed the country for about 200 years; and, third, the Franks, who stretched their authority into the immediate vicinity of Rome.

2. In the character of the Papacy.

(1.) The horn was a little one. The territory of the Papacy has always been small in comparison with that of the other powers, never exceeding the extent of an Italian province. The Pope properly and originally a humble minister of Jesus Christ, on a level with the other bishops or presiding ministers of the Churches, and possessing no territory or temporal jurisdiction whatever; so little that the apostle does not even salute or mention him in his Epistle to the Church at Rome. The Epistle of Clement, one of the first Bishops of Rome, if not the very first, written to the Church of Corinth, breathes the very spirit of humility [172], a humility which is affected by his successors, while each calls himself the servant of servants and a successor of the fisherman.

[172] The following are extracts from Clements letter, written towards the end of the first century, to allay some disturbances in the Church at Corinth in regard to the pastorate. These things, beloved, we write not only to admonish you of your duty, but to admonish ourselves, for we are in the same race and conflict. Wherefore, let us abandon vain and empty cares, and advance to the glorious and venerable rule of our calling. Let us look to what is beautiful, and pleasing, and acceptable in the eyes of our Creator. Let us fix our eyes on the blood of Christ, and consider how precious to God is that blood, which, having been shed for our salvation, has offered the grace of repentance to all the world. Christ belongs to those who conduct themselves humbly, not those who exalt themselves over His flock with pride and arrogance. Let us attach ourselves to those to whom grace has been given by God. Let us put on concord with moderation of mind, endued with the gift of self-control. Temerity, arrogance, and audacity belong to those who are accursed of God; moderation, humility, and meekness to those who are blessed of Him. The apostles, preaching the Word through regions and cities, proving their first-fruits in the Spirit, appointed bishops and deacons of those who believed. The apostles knew through our Lord Jesus Christ that contentions would arise about the name of the episcopate, and on that account, being endowed with perfect foreknowledge, they appointed persons previously indicated, and left successions of ministers and officers afterwards described, that other approved men might succeed to their place and discharge their offices. Look diligently into the Scriptures. Take into your hands the epistles of the blessed Apostle Paul. Consider what he wrote to you near the very beginning of his preaching the gospel. Being certainly divinely inspired, he reminded you in an epistle concerning himself, Cephas, and Apollos, that even then there were seditions and party feelings among you. Whosoever is zealous, pitiful, and full of love among you, let him say, If any sedition, contention, or division, has arisen through me, I will depart; I will go away whithersoever you wish; I will do whatever is commanded by the people; that only the flock of Christ may live in peace with the elders (or presbyters) that have been appointed over them.

(2.) It was diverse from the first (Dan. 7:24), having the eyes and mouth of a man. The difference of the Papacy from the other powers, as already noticed, conspicuous in this, that it was at the same time both a temporal and a spiritual power, the Pope being both a secular prince and a spiritual teacher, or, as Gibbon expresses it, a Christian bishop invested with the prerogatives of a temporal prince. The Pope claimed both swords, the civil and the ecclesiastical; a combination perhaps indicated in the Revelation by the two separate beasts, the one rising out of the sea and the other out of the earth (Rev. 13:1-11), or in the fact that the latter had two horns like a lamb, while it spake like a dragon (Dan. 7:11).

(3 ) His look was more stout than his fellows (Dan. 7:20). It is well known what anathemas were fulminated by the Popes against all who refused to acknowledge their supremacy or submit to their authority; how kings were deposed and their kingdoms placed under interdicts which deprived them of religious ordinances, their subjects released from their allegiance, and their crown given to another. This stout look, and the claim of making and unmaking kings at pleasure, conspicuous in the person of Gregory VII. (A.D. 1073). I have received, said he, from God the power of binding and of loosing in heaven and in earth; and by this power I forbid Henry (the Fourth, Emperor of Germany) the government of the whole realm of Germany and Italy. I also loose all Christians from the oaths they have taken to him; and I decree that no man shall obey him as king [173]. Among the stout words of the Papacy are the following, spoken by the same Gregory: The Roman Pontiff alone can be called universal. He alone has a right to use imperial ornaments. Princes are bound to kiss his feet, and his feet only. He has a right to depose emperors. No book can be called canonical without his authority. His sentence can be annulled by none, but he may annul the decrees of all. It is also to be remembered that the popes claim infallibility.

[173] These were not empty words. Henry, driven to despair, in a winter of unusual severity, crossed the Alps with the determination of seeking the Popes forgiveness and reconciliation. Gregory was at Canossa, a fortress near Reggio. The Emperor was admitted without hit guards into an outer courtof the castle, where he was kept standing for three successive days, from morning to evening, in a woollen shirt, and with bare feet, while Gregory, shut up with the Countess, refused to admit him into his presence. On the fourth day he obtained absolution, but only on condition that he appeared on a certain day to receive the Popes decision as to whether or not he should be restored to his kingdom, till which time he was not to assume the insignia of royalty. It was this same Pope who endeavoured to compel William the Conqueror to do homage for the crown of England, and who menaced Philip I. of France with deposition. The language and bearing of Adrian IV., in 1155, to the Emperor Frederick was of a similar character. The Pope insisted on the Emperor becoming his equerry and holding his stirrup while he mounted. To place your name before ours, said he to the Emperor, is arrogance, is insolence; and to cause bishops to render homage to you, those whom the Scripture calls gods, sons of the Most High, is to want that faith which you have sworn to St. Peter and to us. Hasten then to amend, lest that, in taking to yourself what does not belong to you, you lose the crown with which we have gratified you.

(4.) It had eyes like the eyes of man (Dan. 7:8). The very title of bishop, which is simply overseer, as in Act. 20:28 and 1Pe. 5:3, is in perfect agreement with this mark of the horn. The popes, as bishops or overseers, being spiritual teachers, are supposed to be endowed with wisdom and knowledge to qualify them for their office, of which the eyes of a man are a well-known symbol [174].

[174] See note (2).

(5.) The horn had also a mouth speaking great things, even great words against the Most High. The first of these expressions indicates pride and arrogance, the latter blasphemy. The Papal bulls leave little room for doubt as to the applicability of the former to the Papacy. The tribunals of kings, say they, are subject to the sacerdotal power. Since the Holy Roman Church, over which Christ has willed that we preside, is set for a mirror and example, whatever it has decreed, whatever it now ordains, must be perpetually and irrefragably observed by all men. The words spoken against or (as the word is also rendered) as the Most High [175] are such as tend to set God aside. These have not been wanting in the lips of the Papacy. The Roman Pontiff, says Pope Stephen, is to judge all men, and to be judged by no man. The Pope is styled God, says Pope Nicholas, by the pious prince; and it is manifest that God cannot be judged by man. This mark may be truly regarded as made good, as Bishop Newton observes, by the popes setting up themselves against all laws human and divine, arrogating to themselves godlike attributes and titles, and exacting obedience to their ordinances and decrees. A bull of Pope Boniface declares that all the faithful of Christ are, by necessity of salvation, subject to the Roman Pontiff, who has both swords, and judges all men, but is judged by none [176]. Again we have to remember the claim to infallibility by the Pope, that infallibility having been recently made an article of faith in the Romish Church.

[175] Against the Most High. (le-tsadh), at the side of. Keil observes that this term properly means against or at the side of, and is more expressive than (al); denoting that he would use language by which he would set God aside, and would regard and give himself out as God. Compare 2Th. 2:4.

[176] It is this Pope of whom Gavazzi, in the oration already quoted from, says, Swelling with the pride and pomp of Satanic inflation, Boniface VIII., having fouliy dethroned his still living predecessor, Celestine V., burst on the world with his blasphemous bull, Unam Sanctam, and laid his monstrous mandate on mankind, involving the human race in sacerdotal serfdom. By one fell swoop he abrogated the authority of kings within their dominions, of magistrates within the circle of their attributions, of fathers within the sacred precincts of their households. Popes became arbiters of universal sovereignty, bishops bearded monarchs, and priests lorded it over the domestic hearth. Every human right, claim, property, franchise, or feeling at variance with the predominance of the Popedom was, ipso facto, inimical to Heaven and the God of eternal justice.

(6.) He shall think to change times and laws (Dan. 7:25) [177]. The presence of this mark in the Papacy already apparent. Everything was to be entirely in accordance with Papal decree. The observance of saints days established; the marriage vow, in the case of the clergy, cancelled and marriage itself forbidden [178]; subjects, as, for example, the English in relation to Henry VIII. and Elizabeth, released from their allegiance to their sovereigns; the cup in the Lords Supper forbidden to the laity [179]; and the making and worshipping of images sanctioned [180]. Bishop Newton mentions also as instances of this mark of the Little Horn, the Popes appointing fasts and feasts; canonising saints; granting pardons and indulgences for sins; instituting new modes of worship; imposing new articles of faith [as recently the Immaculate Conception]; enjoining new rules of practice; and reversing at pleasure the laws both of God and man. The traditions of the Fathers and decrees of Councils are made to supersede and set aside the Word of God. The holy and inspired fathers and teachers, says Gregory III., and the six Councils in Christ, these are our scriptures and our light to salvation.

[177] To change times and laws. Keil observes that to change times belongs to the all-perfect power of God (cf. Dan. 2:21), the creator and ordainer of times (Gen. 1:14); and that there is no ground for supposing that (zimnin), times, is to be specially understood of festivals or sacred times, since the word, like the corresponding Hebrew one, (moadhim), does not throughout signify merely festival times (cf. Gen. 1:14; Gen. 17:21; Gen. 18:14, &c.) The sin is that he does not in his ordinances regard the fundamental conditions given by God, but so changes the laws of human life that he puts his own pleasure in the place of the divine arrangements, (dath), a law, rite, custom, or constitution. Calvin, applying the passage to the Roman emperors, says they perverted all laws, human and divine. Dr. Pusey, on the other hand, translates essaying to change worship and law; and has in a footnote, (zimnin) set times, that is, probably, the times of the set feasts (as we speak of sacred seasons), and so the worship of those times. He observes that in Onkelos (zimnin) stands for (moadh im), Gen. 1:14; and Jonathan puts (zimne moed) for (moed), Zep. 3:18. Pseudo-Jonathan uses the word (zeman) in paraphrasing (moadhe Jehovah), the feasts of the Lord. Elsewhere is used of the place of the sacred assembly (Num. 1:1; Isa. 33:20), but of the festival (Lam. 1:4; Hos. 9:5).

[178] A decretal of Callixtus II. says, We entirely interdict priests, deacons, sub-deacons, and monks from contracting marriages; we decide also that, according to the sacred canons, the marriages contracted by persons of this kind be dissolved, and the persons brought to penance. This Pope, as well as Pope Agatho, writes that the decretal epistles of the Roman Pontiff are to be received among the Scriptures, though they are not embodied in the code of canons, just as the Old and New Testaments are so received, because a judgment of holy Pope Innocent seems to be published for doing so.
[179] In regard to the use of the cup, Pope Gregory VII. thus wrote to Wratislaus, king of Bohemia, What your people ignorantly require can in no wise be conceded to them; and we now forbid it by the power of God and His holy Apostle Peter.
[180] Gregory III. convened an assembly of 93 bishops in 732, and with their assent published a general excommunication against all who were opposed to the worship of images. The same Pope wrote to the Emperor Leo, Do you cease to persecute images and all will be quiet.

(7.) He was to make war with the saints and prevail against them, and wear them out (Dan. 7:21; Dan. 7:25). It is well known that one of the most prominent features of the Papacy in past centuries was the persecution of the saints under the name of heretics, that is, of those who refused, in matters of doctrine and practice, to submit to the authority of the Pope instead of the Word of God, and who said, with Peter and the other apostles, We ought to obey God rather than men (Act. 5:29; Act. 4:19) [181]. If any one, said Pope Nicolas in a Council at Rome, shall presume to dispute the dogmas, commands, interdicts, sanctions, or decrees wholesomely published by the head of the Apostolic See, let him be accursed. It is permitted neither to think nor to speak differently from the Roman Church. Such were to be handed over to the secular power, to be punished with the loss of goods, imprisonment, and even death. The burning of heretics, according to the bull De Comburendo, is too well known in England. The term Crusades was given to those military enterprises undertaken to extirpate the Waldenses and Albigenses; and the same Papal indulgences were promised to those who fell in such undertakings as were bestowed on those who died in the wars against the infidels [182]. The wearing out of the saints may be seen in the decree of Pope Pelagius, that those guilty of schism or separation from the Roman See were to be crushed by the secular power, and restrained not only by exile, but by proscription of their goods, and by severe imprisonment. How far the Papacy prevailed against the saints, or so-called heretics, appears from the fact that in a Council of the Lateran, held in May 1514, about three years and a half before the breaking out of the Reformation under Luther, the Hussites were summoned to appear; and when no appearance was made, the doctor of the Council uttered the remarkable words, There is an end to resistance to the Papal rule and religion; there is none to oppose; the whole body of Christendom is now subject to its head.

[181] Make war with the saints (Dan. 7:21). In our own country, in the short reign of Queen Mary, three hundred persons are said to have been cruelly put to death for no other reason than because they refused to acknowledge the supremacy of the Pope. This is written within little more than a stones throw of the monument that commemorates the martyrdom of Ridley, Latimer, and Cranmer, and the cross in front of Balliol College, Oxford, that marks the spot on which they suffered death. It is computed that in the South of France, between the twelfth and eighteenth centuries inclusive, about a million of those called Waldenses and Albigenses suffered death as heretics, especially by armies sent against them for that purpose, after receiving the papal blessing. Nearly a million suffered on the same account after the institution of the order of the Jesuits. In the Netherlands, it was the boast of the Duke of Alva that 36,000 heretics had been put to death by the common executioner within a few years. In Ireland, 150,000 are said to have been massacred in one province in virtue of a papal edict dated May 25, 1643, in which the Pope granted a full and plenary indulgence and absolute remission of all their sins to all the Christians in the kingdom of Ireland, so long as they should war against the heretics and other enemies of the Catholic faith. In the Massacre of St. Bartholomews Day, 1572, thirty thousand at least, in Paris and throughout France, are said to have been horribly butchered within thirty days, for which the Pope ordered public thanks to be given, and a medal to be struck in commemoration of the event. This feature of the Little Horn is acknowledged and justified in the Rhemish New Testament, where it is said in a note at Rev. 17:6, that the blood of the heretics is not to be considered as the blood of the saints, but is no more than the blood of thieves, mankillers, and other malefactors, for the shedding of which, by order of justice, no commonwealth shall answer. So Pope Urban II., encouraging the shedding of such blood, states, We do not count them murderers who, burning with zeal for their Catholic mother against the excommunicate, may happen to have slain some of them. Sismondi, himself a Roman Catholic, intimates what was the crime of those whose blood was thus to be shed: Many sects, he says, existed in Provence, and this was the necessary consequence of the freedom of inquiry which was the essence of their doctrine. With one accord they considered that the Romish Church had changed the nature of Christianity, and that she was the object described in the Apocalypse as the woman of Babylon. He adds: To maintain unity of faith, the Church had recourse to the expedient of burning all those who separated themselves from her.

[182] Let the Catholics, said Innocent III. in the Lateral) Council, who, after taking the sign of the cross, devote themselves to the extermination of heretics, enjoy the same indulgence, and be protected with the same privilege, which is granted to those who go to the succour of the Holy Land.

(8.) The saints were to be given into the hand of the Little Horn for a limited period, here called a time, times, and the dividing of a time. This enigmatical period, found also in chap. 12, as well as in the Book of Revelation, is generally understood to be equivalent to three years and a half, or, as it is expressed in the Apocalypse, 1260 days, 360 being reckoned to a year, and also forty and two months (Rev. 12:14; Rev. 12:16; Rev. 11:2-3; Rev. 13:5 [183], the half of the seven times already mentioned in connection with Nebuchadnezzars insanity. The period in the text for the dominion of the Little Horn over the saints is also that of the scattering or crushing of the power of the holy people (chap. Dan. 12:7); of the womans abode in the wilderness (Rev. 12:6; Rev. 12:14); of the treading of the holy city under foot by the Gentiles (Rev. 12:2); of the prophesying of the two witnesses in sackcloth (Rev. 12:3); and of the effective continuance of the beast out of the sea (Rev. 13:5). Probably the same period, and the same experience of humiliation and suffering on the part of the saints under the same power, intended under these various symbolical representations. The three years and a half, however, might be understood either literally or figuratively; either as ordinary years, or, as they are called, prophetical ones, each day being reckoned a year. The latter is generally understood, though there may be also a fulfilment of the prophecy on the smaller as well as on the larger scale. It is remarkable that from the time that the Bishop of Rome became a temporal prince, namely, in the early part of the seventh century (A.D. 606), till the cessation of his temporal power in 1870, is just 1264 years, the period in the text on the larger or year-day scale, with perhaps four years more [184]. It is also remarkable that from the time in which all Christendom was declared to be subject to the Roman Pontiff, May 1514, to the breaking out of the Reformation under Luther, that effected the deliverance of so large a portion from his spiritual sway, was just three years and a half on the shorter or literal day scale. Twelve centuries ago, more or less, the saints, or those who chose to obey the Word of God rather than the edicts and decrees of man, seemed to be given into the hand of the Roman Pontiff. There seems little reason to doubt that happily that period of subjection has come to an end. The Papacy can no longer persecute the so-called heretics as before. The Scriptures are openly sold and the Gospel is freely preached even in Rome itself. The Inquisition is at an end. Dr. Achilli and the two Madiai were among its last prisoners, the latter having been given up at the demand of Protestant Europe. The French Revolution in 17923, exactly 1260 years after the edict of Justinian seemed formally to give the Church into the hands of the Roman bishop, was doubtless the commencement of his fall [185]; one of the most marked results of that event being the freedom of religious worship among the nations of Europe, which during the last ten years may be said to have been all but complete. This circumstance might seem to leave no doubt as to the identification of the Little Horn with the Papacy, and to establish the opinion that has largely prevailed for centuries [186].

[183] A time and times and the dividing of a time (Dan. 7:26). Some have understood by this only an indefinite though lengthened period. So Calvin, who applied the prophecy to the persecutions under Nero and other Roman emperors. By the dividing or half of a time he understood the shortening of the period for the elects sakes. Bullinger viewed it as a definite time fixed by God, but known only to Himself. colampadius understood half a week or three days and a half, God thus shortening the time. Osiander regarded it as three and a half prophetic years or 1278 solar years, during which the rule of Mahometanism, commencing in the year 613, should continue. Jerome, and Roman Catholic writers after him, understand it of three and a half literal years, the period for the tyranny of Antichrist before the end of the world. Similarly other Futurists. Junius and a few others applied it historically to the time during which Antiochus Epiphanes persecuted the Jews. Joseph Mede was the well-known reviver of the year-day theory. Before his time it was a vague assertion; he first gave it shape and form, and plausible consistency. Since his day it has been adopted by many intelligent critics, among whom are Sir Isaac Newton, Bishop Newton, Faber, Frere, Keith, and Birks.Translators Preface to Calvin on Daniel. Professor Lee refers the expression to the latter half (mystically speaking) of the seventieth week of our prophet (ch. 9); that week of seven days being equivalent here to Ezekiels period of seven years. Professor Bush says, The grand principle into which the usage of a day for a year is to be resolved is that of miniature symbolisation. Mr. Brooks (Elements of Prophetic Interpretation) says, The literal meaning of a time is a year; and the expression in Dan. 7:23 may signify, mystically, if calculated by lunar time, a period of 1260 years. Mr. Bickersteth (Practical Guide to the Prophecies) says, The time, times, and half a time, the forty and two months and 1260 days, are the same interval; the time, times, and half a time of Daniel and the Revelation are the same period; a prophetic day is a natural year, as three and a half times are the half of seven times, the whole season of Gentile power, and the same with the latter times of St. Paul He thinks the three and a half times began with Justinians Code in 532533. By this edict (of Justinian), says Mr. Irving, ecclesiastical power over the faith of the West and against the saints who dwelt there was given to the Bishop of Rome, which imperial edicts being seconded by the imperial arms, brought to nothing the heretical powers who might have opposed his entering into possession. In twenty years from that date he ordered heretics to be burned by the temporal powersthe first indication of that mixture and combination of powers, civil and ecclesiastical, which is the proper character of the whole period. Then, also, mass was introduced. In sixty years he had made such great strides towards absolute supremacy, that in the reign of Gregory the Great, who resisted the Bishop of Constantinoples supremacy, were introduced purgatory, invocation of saints, expiations by masses, lustrations of the Blessed Virgin, and the celibacy of the clergy was attempted. In seventy years he obtained from the emperor the sole title of Universal Bishop. In little more than a century the service was performed in Latin, and the ignorance of the people sealed. In two centuries the Pope had obtained the pride and power to excommunicate the Emperor of the East for prohibiting image-worship. Dr. Cox thinks that the computation must be made from the period when the Little Horn or ecclesiastical power of the Church of Rome should arise; and that that application of the prophecy is most probable which fixes on the time when, by the decree of Phocas, the Roman Pontiff was constituted Universal Bishop and supreme head of the Church. This was in the year of our Lord 606. Some students of prophecy see in the term times, &c, the half of the period of Nebuchadnezzars humiliation and insanity, symbolical of the time (2520 years) during which the covenant people should be under the dominion of the Gentile monarchies as the chastisement of their unfaithfulness, this period having different crises as stages of commencement. Of these, Mr. Guinness (Approaching End of the Age) mentions four, from the invasion of Pul, king of Assyria, in 770 b.c., to the final fall of the throne of David and full captivity of Judah under Nebuchadnezzar in 602. These stages of commencement have corresponding terminations, the first being in 1750, the period of Voltaire, and the last in 1918, yet to come. It was during the latter half of these mystical seven times that the Little Horn was to have power over the saints, the case of Israel being bound up with that of the Christian Church, which was to be under captivity by the same power that was to tyrannise over Israel, namely, the last of the four beasts. See farther the note under chap. Dan. 12:7.

[184] The spiritual power of the Papacy may, of course, have a different period for its termination, and outlive the temporal, which constituted it the Little Horn. Mr. Bosanquet remarks: We see no room left for doubt that these 1260 years mark the duration of the Papal power. The temporal power of the Papacy seems to be vanishing before our eyes, if indeed it has not already ceased to exist [it has apparently done so, namely, in 1870], but how long the spiritual power shall be allowed to linger on in the ancient seat of its dominion, is a question to be solved by time. Wherever we may be disposed to fix the date of its commencement, it is clear that the time of expiration cannot be very far remote. Some, however, date from the eighth century. From the time, says Bishop Newton, of Pepins grant of Aistulphs dominions in 755, the popes, having now become temporal princes, did no longer date their epistles and bulls by the year of the Emperors reign, but by the year of their own advancement to the Papal chair. Charles the Great, son and successor of Pepin, confirmed the grant, adding other territories, and giving the Pope to hold under himself the duchy of Rome, over which he gradually obtained the absolute authority, being about the same time declared superior to all human jurisdiction, while Charles in return was chosen Emperor of the West. Lewis the Pious, son and successor to Charles the Great, confirmed the donations of his father and grandfather, including Rome and its duchy, the popes to hold them in their own right, principality, and dominion to the end of the world. It should seem, adds the Bishop, that the time, times, &c., are to be computed from this full establishment of the power of the Pope in the eighth century. Gibbon speaks of Gregory I., who wrote so defiantly against the Emperor Leo about images in the eighth century, as the founder of the Papal monarchy; and Milner says, From this time I look on the Pope of Rome as Antichrist.
[185] One of the effects of the Revolution in 17923 was the destruction of the established religion in France, the chief support of the Papacy. As the edict of Justinian in 533 might be said to be the beginning of the Little Horn as a temporal power, and the giving of the saints into his hand, though its full growth was not for some time after, so the commencement of his fall as such, and the deliverance of the saints from his hand, might be dated from the French Revolution, though not to be completed till several years afterwards. The Convention, which met on the 20th September 1792, first decreed the eternal abolition of monarchy, and on the seventh day of its sitting, it was proposed by M. Manuel that, as royalty was abolished, the order of priests and all religious establishments should be abolished with it. This, however, was only done on the 31st of May in the following year, when the success of the Jacobin conspirators completed the destruction of the civil establishment of religion in France. On the 17th of June the report of Camille Jourdan on the freedom of religious worship was ordered to be printed by the unanimous vote of the Council of Five Hundred.

[186] It was the belief of the Early Church that the little horn of Daniel and the Man of Sin spoken of by Paul (2 Thessalonians 2.) was the same Antichrist, who was even expected shortly to appear. Justin Martyr says, He being at hand who was to speak blasphemous words against the Most High, whom the prophet Daniel foretold was to continue for a time, times, &c. Tertullian, referring to 2 Thessalonians 2., says, Who can this be but the Roman State, the division of which into ten kingdoms will bring on Antichrist, and then the Wicked One shall be revealed? Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem, about the year 360, referring to the same passage, says, Thus the predicted Antichrist will come when the times of the Roman empire shall be fulfilled, and the consummation of the world shall approach. Ten kings of the Romans shall rise together, in different places indeed, but they shall reign at the same time. Among them the eleventh is Antichrist, who by magical and wicked artifices shall seize the Roman power. Cyril believed that the apostasy or falling away which was to precede the appearance of the Man of Sin, or Antichrist, had already taken place in his day. Formerly, he says, the heretics were manifest, but now the Church is filled with heretics in disguise. For men have fallen away from the truth, and have itching ears. Is it a plausible theory? All listen to it gladly. Is it a word of correction? All turn away from it. Most have departed from right words, and rather choose the evil than desire the good. This therefore is the falling away, and the Enemy (Antichrist) is soon to be looked for.

As yet probably they had no idea that the Bishop of Rome was to be he; for his coming was to be a mystery of iniquity, and mystery was to be the name of the system of which he was the head, as the word is said to be actually found on the Papal mitre. But a few centuries awoke the suspicion. In the Middle Ages it was believed by many that the Antichrist had already appeared in the person of the Popes. In the tenth century Arnulph, Bishop of Orleans, addressing a Council at Rheims, said: O deplorable Rome, who in the days of our forefathers produced so many burning and shining lights! thou hast brought forth in our times only dismal darkness worthy of the detestation of posterity. What think you, reverend fathers, of this man, the Pope, placed on a lofty throne, shining with purple and gold? Whom do you account him? If destitute of love and puffed up with pride of knowledge only, he is Antichrist sitting in the temple of God. It is said in a work published in 1120, The great Antichrist is already come; in vain is he yet expected; already by the permission of God is he advanced in years. Roman Catholic writers, of course, refuse to believe that the Papacy is the Little Horn or Antichrist; and some few Protestants agree with them in thinking that that power is still future; while others, as the German Rationalists, would see in it only Antiochus Epiphanes. In reference to this last opinion, it is enough to say, with Auberlen, that the Little Horn is found among the ten kingdoms of the fourth beast or Roman Empire, while Antiochus Epiphanes belonged to the third or Grecian, which, according to chap. 8, is well known to have been divided, not into ten, but into four kingdoms. That the Roman Empire was broken up into about ten different kingdoms many centuries ago, and that the Papacy, as a temporal power, sprung up among them, are facts not to be disputed.

From the prophecy regarding the Little Horn we may notice

1. The providence of God as ruling both in the world and in the Church. He putteth down one and setteth up another. Even the Little Horn, which was to prove such a scourge to the Church and to the world, was entirely under His control, and employed as His instrument in accomplishing the purposes of His infinite wisdom. The saints were to be given into His hand, as Judah and its king were given into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar (chap. Dan. 1:2). The same Providence limited the continuance of the subjection in both cases. What is done wickedly by man is permitted and controlled wisely and holily by God.

2. The comfort of Gods people to know that their sufferings are meted out, both in intensity and duration, by a Fathers hand. It was a fiery trial that was to try the saints when they were to be given into the hand of the Little Horn, who was to make war upon them, and prevail against them, and wear them out. But it was to continue only for a time, a long time indeed, as indicated in the expression a time, times, and the dividing of a time; but still it was to come to an end. Thou shalt have tribulation ten days,not more. In measure when it shooteth forth, Thou wilt debate with it: He stayeth His rough wind in the day of His east wind (Isa. 27:8). The time to favour Zion, even the set time, comes.

3. The preciousness and power of divine grace in sustaining the people of God under protracted persecutions and afflictions. No small affliction to the saints who held fast the Word of God to have war made upon them by a mighty and prevailing power, and to be worn out by exile, imprisonment, and loss of goods, year after year, the same thing being continued century after century. No small amount of grace needed to sustain them in the conflict, so as to be faithful unto death. But the promise is sure. My grace is sufficient for thee; my strength is made perfect in weakness. As thy days, so shall thy strength be. Though appointed as sheep to the slaughter, we are made more than conquerors through Him that loved us. They overcame through the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.

4. The divine, and therefore indestructible, nature of the Church and religion of Jesus Christ, which has held out under centuries of cruel persecution. To exhibit this, probably one reason why such a state of things is permitted to take place. The bush burns, but is not consumed, because the Lord Himself is in it. The gates and power of hell unable to prevail against the Church of Christ, because founded on the Rock of Ages. The Church outlives the furnace, because One like the Son of Godthe Son of God Himselfis with it there. If this counsel or work be of men, it will come to nought; but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it. Although, says Sismondi, himself a Roman Catholic, for two hundred years the fires were never quenched, still every day saw Catholics abjuring the faith of their fathers, and embracing the religion which often guided them to the stake. In vain Gregory IX., in 1231, put to death every heretic whom he found concealed in Rome.

5. Cause for joy and thanksgiving that the wearing out of the saints by the Little Horn is at or near its close. There may yet be possibly a period of intense suffering from that same Little Horn under a changed aspect; but if so, it will be but of short continuance; perhaps the time, times, and dividing of a time, on the shorter literal day scale. But we may well rejoice and give thanks that the long-protracted period of wearing out is at an end. The fires of Smithfield and the tortures of the Inquisition, we may believe, are over. Even in Rome men may read the Bible and worship God according to it without being afraid. Let us thank God for liberty of conscience in Europe.

6. The prediction regarding the Little Horn, with its manifest fulfilment, another remarkable evidence of divine inspiration. That horn, as rising out of the fourth beast, and among the other ten, acknowledged not to be Antiochus Epiphanes, and must therefore be found long after the time when the prophecy was written. The prediction minute and detailed; and its fulfilment, in a power that for twelve centuries has been the most prominent and conspicuous one in Europe, singularly exact. The fulfilment of such prediction, though perfectly natural, yet partaking of the nature of a miracle, as being beyond any mere human power to foresee it, and as such an evidence of the divine origin of the prediction.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

c. MEANING BESTOWED

TEXT: Dan. 7:19-28

19

Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was diverse from all of them, exceeding terrible, whose teeth were of iron, and its nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet;

20

and concerning the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three fell, even that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake great things, whose look was more stout than its fellows.

21

I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;

22

until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

23

Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

24

And as for the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall ten kings arise: and another shall arise after them; and he shall be diverse from the former, and he shall put down three kings.

25

And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High; and he shall think to change the times and the law: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time.

26

But the judgment shall be set, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.

27

And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

28

Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts much troubled me, and my countenance was changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.

QUERIES

a.

Why was the look of the one horn more stout than its fellows?

b.

How is the one to be diverse from the ten Dan. 7:24?

c.

How would he change times and the law?

PARAPHRASE

Then I wanted to know with certainty about the fourth beast which was so different from all the preceding three, so exceedingly brutal, with teeth of iron and claws of bronze that tore things into pieces, devoured much, and stamped with its feet all that was not devoured. I also wanted to have an authoritative interpretation concerning the ten horns on the head of this terrible beast and of the other horn which came up from among the ten and which destroyed three of its predecessors. That was the one horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke blasphemous and boastful things against God and it was stouter than all the other horns. As I was watching, and waiting for the interpretation, this same strong horn made war upon the saints and was allowed to gain an apparent advantage over them. But this was only apparent, for when the Ancient of Days came, judgment was executed (and the saints assisted in its execution) upon this horn, and the saints then possessed the kingdom. The angel said to me, This fourth beast is the fourth world empire that will rule the earth. It will be different from all the others in that it will be much more universal in its dominion conquering and consuming every thing in its path. The ten horns upon this beast signify the totality of diversity in the composition of his universal empire when it is fully extended. This one horn shall be, comparatively, as powerful as a part of this great empire but not as great and powerful as the whole empire. This one powerful ruler shall speak words against the Most High God and shall attempt to subjugate the saints by persecution. He will be so presumptuous against God as to innovate changes in moral and religious commandments and ordinances instituted by God. Gods people will be persecuted by him for a definite length of time known only to God. But God has the judgment of this blasphemer set at a determined time, and at that time God and His people shall have the final victory, and this ones dominion will be taken away from him and he will be punished eternally. At this judgment all the kingdoms of the earth shall become the kingdoms of God and His people, and His kingdom shall abide forever and ever, and men who serve and obey Him shall dwell in it securely. That was the end of the dream and nothing more was revealed to me at that time. As for me, I was deeply affected by this revelation and my wondering about it allI even grew pale in the face over my perplexitybut I did not forget it all; I kept thinking about it often.

COMMENT

Dan. 7:19-20 THEN I DESIRED TO KNOW THE TRUTH CONCERNING THE FOURTH BEAST . . . The phrase the truth is in opposition to incomprehension, not accuracy. What had been shown in symbolic form concerning the fourth beast was absolutely accurate but its meaning was not understood. There is one additional symbolism attached to the one horn arising out of the ten in that its look was more stout than its fellows. It was more formidable than any one of the other of the ten. In the following interpretation it will be seen why this one is comparatively stronger than any one of the others (see also our interpretation of Dan. 7:8).

Dan. 7:21-22 . . . THE SAME HORN MADE WAR WITH THE SAINTS . . . UNTIL THE ANCIENT OF DAYS CAME . . . Again, something new is said of the one horn that was not said of it in Dan. 7:1-8. It is to make war upon the saints and even seem to prevail over them. This is to continue until the final judgment, which God has already determined against it, shall be executed. This refers, without doubt, to the final consummation of all things; the Second Coming of Christ, the great judgment; the destruction of the heavens and earth; the creation of a new heaven and earth wherein dwelleth righteousness; all this is to be inferred from the following verses (Dan. 7:23-28). The judgment of the one horn is coincidental with the ultimate victory of God and possession of His kingdom by the saints. Thus Daniel is shown the eventual rise of the Roman Empire (the fourth beast); its great, universal, complete power for a long period of time (the ten horns); a ruler of arrogance, pride, hate for Gods true people; power shall arise and be as powerful as a part of this Roman empiremore powerful than any one partbut not as powerful as the entire empire at its apex.

Dan. 7:23-25 . . . A FOURTH KINGDOM . . . AND ANOTHER SHALL ARISE . . . SPEAK . . . AGAINST THE MOST HIGH . . . WEAR OUT THE SAINTS . . . CHANGE . . . TIMES AND THE LAW . . . This is the crucial section of chapter 7. We think a scriptural case may be made for the following interpretation: The fourth beast is the Roman empire in its beginning conquest of the world, tearing to pieces, devouring and stamping the residue with its feet; the ten horns is the Roman empire in its long and complete rule of the known world under successive emperors until its downfall; the little horn which grows great is the Roman Catholic papacy which succeeded the Roman empire in controlling nations and rulers and is parallel to the man of lawlessness of 2Th. 2:1-12; and the Roman state, succeeded by the Roman papacy, is parallel to Revelation chapter 13 and the two beasts.

The little horn grown great speaks words against the Most High; wears out the saints; thinks to change the times and the law; has power to do so for a specific time; then is destroyed when the saints possess the kingdom.
The man of lawlessness of II Thessalonians is connected with the falling away (not just a falling away) which undoubtedly means the great Roman apostasy. A man of lawlessness would be a man who was not subject to any law. He would be the one who would think to change any commandment of God which would suit his purpose of deceiving men and maintaining his rule over them. When we speak of the man of lawlessness, our minds frequently connect him with antichrist mentioned in 1Jn. 2:18; 1Jn. 2:22; 1Jn. 4:3; 2Jn. 1:7, as Wilbur Fields states in Thinking Through Thessalonians, published by College Press, and we quote, However, the Bible does not specifically connect them, and any connection that we might make between the two would have to be regarded as only speculations. We hear lots of preaching about THE antichrist. But John makes it rather clear that antichrist is not one supremely evil person, but that anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ or that He came in the flesh is antichrist. There were antichrists even in Johns time . . . But we stand on very shaky support when we teach that there will be some one particularly terrible ANTICHRIST in the future.

The little horn grown great is NOT the Antichrist. He may be one antichrist. But we believe he is the man of lawlessness which represents the office of the Roman papacy. Mr. Fields summarizes what we believe is the correct interpretation of the man of lawlessness (which we identify with the little horn of Daniel 7):

1.

The falling away (of 2 Thessalonians 2) refers to . . . corruption . . . of apostolic teaching by heathenism . . . and resulted in development of the Roman Catholic religion . . . this apostasy is still in progress.

2.

The man of sin . . . refers to the papacy . . . visible, personal head of the falling away.

3.

That which hinders the appearance of the man of sin (2Th. 2:6-7) . . . was the Roman government . . . for several centuries . . . held in check the attempts of power-hungry Roman bishops to take control of both the spiritual affairs of man and the political authority as well.

Arguments for this view:

1.

The mystery of lawlessness which resulted in the falling away and the appearance of the man of sin, was already at work in Pauls time . . . Paul could not have been referring to things that would not happen until the 19th and 20th centuries when he spoke of the falling away. There are numerous references in the N.T. which show that false doctrines, unauthorized power grabs where already developing (cf. Jud. 1:4, 3Jn. 1:9; Act. 20:29-30; Col. 2:8).

2.

In 1Ti. 4:1-3 Paul told how some would depart from faith; forbid to marry; command abstinence from meats, etc. . . . a clear prophecy of the Roman Catholic apostasy.

3.

If some Antichrist is going to rule the world, then Daniels prophecy, in Daniel 2, would have to be wrong in indicating that there would be only four empires before Gods kingdom should prevail and fill the earth.

4.

The use of the term mystery suggests that there may be a connection with Rev. 17:5, where the great harlot is given the name MYSTERY. This mystery woman in Revelation is ROME. For she is identified as that city that sits on seven mountains (or hills) and rules over the kings of the earth (Rev. 17:9; Rev. 17:18). Rome is the only city on earth that fulfills those descriptions. (The harlot is also united as one with the two beasts of Revelation 13, the second of which we believe also represents Roman Catholicism).

A thorough study of 2Th. 2:1-12 is demanded on the part of the student who wishes to understand the little horn of Daniel 7. We would suggest there is no finer or more scholarly discussion of this difficult N.T. passage than that of Wilbur Fields, Thinking Through Thessalonians, published by College Press.

We call the readers attention now to Revelation, chapter 13. There the first beast is symbolized as a composite of leopard, bear and lion, with ten horns and seven heads. This first beast represents the concentration and personification of world-power, through the whole period of history, continuing as one entity, but manifesting itself under various forms in various ages; with many and diverse modifications. This first beast was dealt a death-blow and a second beast arose which exercises all the authority of the first beast . . . and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast. The second beast works great signs, etc. This second beast looked like a lamb. The second beast is represented as bringing to life again or healing the first beast, It should be seen by the careful student that this symbolism of Revelation 13 parallels in many ways exactly the symbolism of Daniel 7 : Lion, Bear, Leopard and Non-descript Beast symbolized in both; out of beastliness grows another form of world-power and persecution diverse from its predecessor; the time it has to hold sway over man is the same 3 times (years) and 24 months; its judgment and overthrow comes at the consummation of all things when the saints shall possess the kingdom.

Daniel is informed that the saints shall be given into the hand of the little horn grown great until 3 times: 3 is half of 7half of a complete or perfect numberand therefore symbolizes a definite period of time which God knows and has not revealed to man but not perfect or eternal in duration; 3 years is the same as 42 months or 1260 days (both used as units of time in Revelation and denote the time between the beginning of the Church of Christ on Pentecost (Acts 2) and the consummation at the Second Coming of Christ, which is also represented by 1000 yearsa round number not to be taken literally.

Dan. 7:26-28 BUT THE JUDGMENT SHALL BE SET . . . The little horn grown great (also the man of sin and the beast like a lamb) shall not endure. His overthrow is appointed in Gods own good time and is certain. God has already made up His mind about thisall that remains is the execution of it; when it is, to occur no one knowsnot even the angels of heaven (cf. Mat. 24:36-44, etc.). But when it does occur the seventh angel will blow his trumpet and there will be loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever (cf. Rev. 11:15; 1Co. 15:20-28). All of this was enough to agitate the soul of Daniel and he could not forget it but kept it in his heart.

This chapter should stir us up too! A definite and glorious note of victory pervades the whole chapter. With such a revelation as this offers to Gods people to know how history must run its course, and how the kingdom of God alone will stand in the glorious consummation, the Christian can trust and love his Lord. Only the member of the kingdom of God had the tope of enduring the certain and sure judgment of the worldand what a hope it ispossession of the kingdom of God. God is permitting His saints to be given over to the persecution of the beast in order to purify their lives and strengthen their faith in Him. God knows that a mans moral fiber is never perfected until it is put to the test. He knows that He shall never have a believers full allegiance until that allegiance is tried. Praise Him for His love! He desires only that we be better than we are!

QUIZ

1.

What two new things are added to the description of the little horn that were not given in Dan. 7:8?

2.

What two N.T. apocalyptic passages are parallel to Daniel 7?

3.

What is the little horn?

4.

Where does it come from?

5.

How does changing times and the law characterize it?

6.

What is a time and times and half a time?

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(19) Whose teeth.The recapitulation in this verse of what was stated in Dan. 7:7 must be noticed. The additional features mentioned here are the brazen claws. (Comp. Dan. 2:37; Dan. 4:20.)

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

19-22. See the interpretation of this vision, Dan 7:23-25; also notes Dan 7:7-8. Given to the saints (Dan 7:22) Or, done unto the saints.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Daniel’s Further Question About the Fourth Empire ( Dan 7:19-20 ).

‘Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth wild beast, which was diverse from all of them, exceedingly terrible, whose teeth were of iron and his claws of brass. Who devoured, broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet. And about the ten horns which were on his head, and the other which came up, and before which three fell. Even that horn who had eyes, and a mouth which spoke great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.’

Daniel outlines his greatest concern. About the fourth wild beast. As far as the earthly scene goes this has been the emphasis all through. This is the wild beast above all wild beasts, a monster of monsters. His terrible features are again described, but an added feature is given to us. His claws are of brass, adding to his fearsomeness. Daniel also wants to know about the ten horns, and especially about the final one that came up, the one who caused the fall of the three, had eyes, and a mouth which spoke great things, and who looked superior compared with his fellows. The answer will shortly be given, but meanwhile he must wait for his dream goes on.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Dan 7:19. Diverse Different, and so Dan 7:23-24. There is no mention of the nails of brass in the 7th verse, where this beast is first described. But Daniel certainly would never have desired to have been informed concerning this circumstance in the beast, if he had not seen these nails. See Houbigant’s note.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Dan 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;

Ver. 19. Then I would know the truth. ] See Dan 7:16 . And take notice that godly minds are not content with the knowledge of things in gross, but covet a particular and distinct knowledge. Php 3:10

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Dan 7:19-22

19 Then I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet, 20and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head and the other horn which came up, and before which three of them fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts and which was larger in appearance than its associates. 21I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them 22until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.

Dan 7:19

NASBthe exact meaning

NKJV, NRSVthe truth about

TEVmore about

NJBabout

This PREPOSITION and Pael INFINITIVE (BDB 1096) are used several times in Daniel in two senses.

1. certain or sure, Dan 2:8; Dan 2:45; Dan 3:24

2. true, Dan 6:12; Dan 7:16; Dan 7:19

Daniel wanted to know truthfully and with certainty the identity of the fourth beast and also the ten horns as well as the boastful little horn (cf. Dan 7:20).

Dan 7:20

NASBwhich was larger in appearance than its associates

NKJVwhose appearance was greater than his fellows

NRSVthat seemed greater than the others

TEVIt was more terrifying than any of the others

NJBit looked more impressive than its fellows

This little horn suddenly looked larger: (1) its boasting arrogance (cf. Dan 7:8; Dan 7:11); (2) its overthrow of three other horns (cf. Dan 7:8); (3) it grew as Daniel watched from a little horn to the largest horn, showing its extended kingdom (cf. Dan 7:20); or (4) the fact that it attacked and overcame the saints of the Highest One (cf.Dan. Dan 7:21).

Dan 7:21-22 and I kept looking It seems that Dan 7:21-22 are part of Daniel’s vision (cf. Dan 7:2) and not part of the angels’ explanation. If so then Daniel’s questions in Dan 7:19-20 are not answered until Dan 7:23.

The new information about the suffering of the saints (holy ones) is addressed in Dan 7:25; Dan 7:27.

Dan 7:21 and the horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them This shows the historical setting of the time of the little horn of the fourth empire will be the severe persecution of God’s people. God allows this to happen for His ultimate purposes (cf. Rev 13:7).

Dan 7:22 until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One We must remember that this chapter had a word for those in exile in Babylon as well as for believers of every age who suffer persecution for their faith in YHWH and His Messiah and do not always understand why! God is in control even amidst suffering and persecution (the book of Revelation).

Notice that the titles the Ancient of Days (cf. Dan 7:9; Dan 7:13) and the Highest One (cf. Dan 7:18; Dan 7:25; Dan 7:27) are synonymous. This is also true of the Most High and the Highest One of Dan 7:25.

Daniel’s titles for deity are much more Jewish in chapter 9, where he prays for himself and his nation’s sins (adon, YHWH, Elohim).

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

nails = claws, or hoofs. Chaldee text is plural; margin is singular.

feet. Chaldee text, plural; margin is singular.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Dan 7:19

Dan 7:19 ThenH116 I wouldH6634 knowH3046 the truthH3321 ofH5922 the fourthH7244 beast,H2423 whichH1768 wasH1934 diverseH8133 fromH4481 allH3606 the others, exceedingH3493 dreadful,H1763 whoseH1768 teethH8128 were of iron,H6523 and his nailsH2953 ofH2953 brass;H5174 which devoured,H399 brake in pieces,H1855 and stampedH7512 the residueH7606 with his feet;H7271

Dan 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;

Daniel had already seen the projection in Dan 7:11 that this fourth beast would be slain and “his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. This is precisely what fate befell the beast of Revelation as recorded in chapter 18. Daniel knew the fourth beast would be destroyed but he wanted to know more about this beast. He was obviously much greater and most dreadful of all the beasts in his vision. He was also the last one which would represent the end of all of them and the ultimate fate that awaited his countrymen of future generations.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

know the truth of the fourth beast See note 4, (See Scofield “Dan 7:17”).

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

the fourth: Dan 7:7, Dan 2:40-43

the others: Chal, those

Reciprocal: Num 24:24 – Chittim Isa 14:4 – How Isa 14:6 – who smote Isa 29:20 – the terrible Dan 2:33 – General Zec 6:7 – the bay Rev 11:2 – tread Rev 13:1 – having Rev 19:20 – the beast

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Dan 7:19-20. Tile one that stood by at first gave Daniel a brief interpretation of the four great beasts, that they represented four kings who were to arise, and then he added that the saints of the Most High would take the kingdom, indicating that this particular prediction pertained to only one of them, and naturally it would be the fourth and last one. Just then he recalled that in his dream he saw much more concerning it than of any of the others. That caused him to ask tor the interpretation of those events, and to make sure that his inquiry was appreciated he repeated the description and doings of the fourth beast; such is the subject matter of these verses.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Dan 7:19-22. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast Namely, what was intended to be signified by it. And of the ten horns that were in his head Of what they were emblems; and of the other which came up, &c. See Dan 7:8; whose look was more stout than his fellows Or more great and magnificent; or, who was more arrogant, and claimed a superiority over the rest: for though this horn, or power, was small at first, it at length exceeded all other powers in pomp and pre-eminence, exalting itself not only above all temporal authorities, but above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, 2Th 2:4. I beheld Chaldee, I was seeing, or considering attentively; and the same horn made war with the saints By the saints here is to be understood the servants of Christ. So antichrist is described as making war with the saints, and overcoming them for a time: see the margin. Until the Ancient of days came To vindicate their cause, to crush the idolaters, and to extirpate the dominion of antichrist: or until the final judgment, when the saints shall sit as assessors with Christ, shall be seated on thrones, and reign as kings and priests with God and Christ, and possess the kingdom for ever. And judgment was given to the saints, &c. Power to judge and rule over their enemies. And the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom

See on Dan 7:14.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

7:19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was {h} 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 {i} residue with his feet;

(h) For the other three monarchies were governed by a king, and the Roman empire by consuls: the Romans changed their governors yearly, and the other monarchies retained them for term of life: also the Romans were the strongest of all the others, and were never at peace among themselves.

(i) Read Dan 7:7 .

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

5. Daniel’s request for interpretation of the fourth beast 7:19-22

Daniel repeated the descriptions of the fourth beast and the little horn, and in doing so mentioned four previously unrevealed details about them. The beast had claws of bronze, stressing its fierce nature (Dan 7:19). The little horn was more prominent than the other horns, accounting for its ability to rise in the place of three other horns (Dan 7:20). The little horn waged war with the saints and overcame them, which explains one reason for God’s final judgment of him (Dan 7:21; cf. Rev 11:7; Rev 12:13-17; Rev 13:7; Rev 17:17). Daniel seems to have had particular concern about the fate of the saints whom the little horn overpowered. Finally, God passed judgment in favor of His saints, further indicating the importance of the saints in God’s actions. "Ancient of Days" and "Highest One" appear to be two titles of God the Father, stressing His eternality and sovereignty, respectively.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

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