KingdomCommentaries on Prophecies in Daniel,...
Tablet Five
"I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things." (Daniel 7:8)
<1>"There came up among them another little horn": This little horn is one which will make "war with the saints, and prevailed against them" (verse 21). It "shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and dividing of time [2,300 years, explained in 8:14]" (verse 25).
<2>Also in chapter 8 of Daniel, in his vision about a ram and an he goat, the ram is the symbol of the Persian empire, and the he goat is the symbol of the Grecian Empire. The he goat would have a "notable horn" as the symbol of its first king. <3>After this king conquered the whole world, he would be destroyed and his kingdom would be divided into four. From one of these four kingdoms would arise a little horn, "And out of one of them [four kingdoms] came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great,..." (Daniel 8:9).
<4>This little horn also would "wax great" and stand against Saints and God's Laws, "And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them" (8:10). "Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host,..."(8:11). This little horn also would do as the little horn grown in the middle of the ten horns on the head of the fourth beast.
<5>Also in chapter 8 it is revealed that this horn will practice and prosper for two thousand three hundred years, "...Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed" (8:14), or "a time [one thousand years] and times [one thousand years] and the dividing of time [three hundred years]" (7:25).
<6>Therefore, this little horn which is symbolized as "a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,..." (8:23) does not refer to a human or even a dynasty, because none of them lasted for two thousand three hundred years. <7>However, at the time of the Grecian Empire and after that, the greatest thinkers and philosophers of humanity were born. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and their students, created the cornerstone of the philosophical and intellectual understanding of the era to come. This happened around 300 BC.
<8>These intellectual discoveries and the ability of the human to reason, question, and try to find the answers behind all things, brought a new outlook to man which later on also made him go astray. <9>That is what the tree of knowledge of good and evil is (Gen. 2:17), when man tries to reason what is good or bad by himself instead of following God's Laws.
<10>This intellectualization of all things and trying to find answers through reasoning and experimental methods made man believe that he can create his own laws, change time, understand all the truth behind this universe through science and intellect, discredit the religions, create superstitions, divide humans by creating false doctrines, and so on. <11>This belief in the superiority of the human intellect and the use of it to cover spiritual truth, which creates superstitions and the separation between humans, is what the little horn is.
<12>It is true that the intellectual era was started by the three great philosophers about 300 BC. But its thorough grip on human life and the world reached its zenith at the time of the Roman Empire and after that.
<13>In fact, the world is still under the influence of this little horn, and will be until the truth comes and destroys all the intellectualization of things and establishes the truth.
<14>This does not mean that the intellect and intellectual endeavors are worthless. But it means that intellectual understandings have a limit. After that they become dry, inflexible, and bitter, like the little book in The Revelation (10:10). <15>Only when intellect is combined with spiritual understanding (intuition) does it reach its highest usefulness.
<16>Therefore, many ideas which came out of the Roman Empire were intellectualized and followed by the intellectual nations (Gentiles) unto this day. <17>In fact, the Medieval era in Europe started after this time, because the religions of Europe became so dry that they developed such a superstitious and binding nature that they brought suffering and misery to the people.
<18>History shows what this little horn did to Europe for centuries. But its dominance is still continuing to this day, and will continue until sometime in the future. <19>As it says in this prophecy, it "came up among them," and these ten horns will be the fifth dominating force (kingdom) which is the last intellectual domination. <20>So it is through this little horn that these ten horns (kings) will be unified and will be partly of iron and partly of clay. They will be the last attempt to stand against the truth. But they will fail.
<21>"Before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots": Through following this little horn, many of these kings will be destroyed from their "roots," as some European countries (such as Spain, France, and England) tried to expand their domination or tried to unify Europe in the past, but they failed. Their endeavors were "plucked up by the roots."
<22>"And, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things." So it looks great and talks great, but it will not show the truth nor bring the truth. <23>It is just all big talk.