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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.
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