Our Day Part 17

As the prophet watched the moving panorama of history, foretold in symbols, he said:

_Prophecy._--"After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. 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 a man, and a mouth speaking great things."

[Ill.u.s.tration: ROME ON THE TIBER

The palace of the Caesars appears high on the hill at the left.]

_History._--As the iron of the image of Nebuchadnezzar's dream fitly represented the "iron monarchy of Rome," so here the dreadful beast, with its iron teeth, can be none other than Rome, which followed Grecia in world dominion. It was the most powerful, the most dominating, of all the beasts in the prophetic series. A Roman Catholic writer, Cardinal Manning, compresses into a paragraph the correspondence of history to the likeness of the prophecy:

[Ill.u.s.tration: BATTLE OF ZAMA, B.C. 202

By which Rome broke the power of Carthage, its rival, and "began the conquest of the world."]

"The legions of Rome occupied the circ.u.mference of the world.

The military roads which sprang from Rome traversed all the earth; the whole world was, as it were, held in peace and in tranquillity by the universal presence of this mighty heathen empire. It was 'exceedingly terrible,' according to the prophecies of Daniel; it was as it were of iron, beating down and subduing the nations."--_"The Temporal Power of the Pope"

(London, 1862), p. 122._

Thus far every symbol of the prophet's vision finds its exact and clear counterpart in history. A writer living in the third century, in the days of imperial Rome, rejoiced to see how exactly the prophecy was being fulfilled. Hippolytus (counted a saint by the Catholic Church) wrote:

"Rejoice, blessed Daniel! thou hast not been in error! All these things have come to pa.s.s. After this again thou hast told us of the beast, dreadful and terrible. It has iron teeth and claws of bra.s.s; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it. Already the iron rules; already it subdues and breaks all in pieces; already it brings all the unwilling into subjection; already we see these things ourselves. Now we glorify G.o.d, being instructed by thee."--_"Treatise on Christ and Antichrist," sec. 33._

Now the prophetic outline comes to the time of the division of the Roman Empire, introducing events of deepest personal interest to us today.

Part II

The Fourth Kingdom and the "Little Horn"

It was the fourth great monarchy, Imperial Rome, and the events to follow it, that engaged the anxious inquiry of the prophet. He says:

"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 bra.s.s; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; and of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; 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."

The prophet wanted to know the truth about it; and the angel told him the truth. First, the angel said:

"The fourth beast shall be the 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."

The fourth kingdom, as we have seen, was Rome. As Cardinal Manning said of the empire, "It was 'exceeding terrible,' according to the prophecies of Daniel; it was as it were of iron, breaking down and subduing the nations."

Of the ten horns that arose out of this fourth great empire, the angel said:

"The ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings."

We look to the history of the Roman Empire, and what do we see?--Just the picture of the prophecy. We see the original Roman Empire of the West divided into lesser kingdoms. We see the barbarian peoples of the North sweeping down upon the empire, breaking it up, and establishing within its boundaries the various kingdoms that are to this day represented by the kingdoms of western Europe.

And as we watch the history at this point, we surely see "another little horn," another land of power, rising among the horns representing the kingdoms of divided Rome--a kingdom, yet a kingdom "diverse" from the others. The work of this power riveted the attention of the prophet; and it is of the greatest importance that we also should watch closely to catch the lesson of the divine prophecy.

Prophetic and Historic Pictures of the "Little Horn"

This is plainly the picture presented by the prophet, as we look again, observing details more closely.

The prophet beheld the division of the Roman Empire into lesser kingdoms. Then, springing up among these kingdoms, he saw the little-horn power subduing three of the ten kingdoms, speaking great words, and making war with the saints of G.o.d. It was to be a religious power, then, ruling among the kings of the earth, and a.s.serting religious dominion over the faith and consciences of men. "The same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them."

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE INVASION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE BY THE HUNS

"We see the barbarian peoples of the North sweeping down upon the empire, breaking it up, and establishing within its boundaries the various kingdoms that are to this day represented by the kingdoms of Western Europe."--_Page 127._]

We look to history, and this is what plainly appears:

We see, as described in the prophecy, a time when ten contemporaneous kingdoms filled the territory of the original Western Empire. Just there we see an ecclesiastical kingly power rise to religious supremacy--the Roman Papacy. We see, through its influence, three of the ten kingdoms overthrown, "plucked up by the roots"--three Arian or heretical kingdoms. And as we watch the history, we find this power making "war with the saints" and prevailing against them through long ages.

A Roman Catholic writer describes it in a paragraph:

"Long ages ago, when Rome through the neglect of the Western emperors was left to the mercy of the barbarous hordes, the Romans turned to one figure for aid and protection, and asked him to rule them; and thus, in this simple manner, the best t.i.tle of all to kingly right, commenced the temporal sovereignty of the popes. And meekly stepping to the throne of Caesar, the vicar of Christ took up the scepter to which the emperors and kings of Europe were to bow in reverence through so many ages."--_Rev. James P. Conroy, in American Catholic Quarterly Review, April, 1911._

Yet again we look at the picture presented in prophecy. Then we turn to history; and precisely where and when the prophet saw the "little horn"

coming up, we see the Roman Papacy rising to supremacy. We see this ecclesiastical power wielding a kingly scepter among the kingdoms of divided Rome, exalting itself above them, with a look "more stout than his fellows." We hear it speaking great words, and we see it carrying on warfare against the saints.

Clearly, there was no other power in history, rising at that time and in that place, which suggests the slightest correspondence to the prophecy.

In every detail the Roman Papacy does correspond to it.

The prophetic outline has brought us to the rise of the great apostasy, so fully dealt with in the New Testament prophecy; but there are further specifications in this prophecy of the seventh of Daniel which demand brief study.

[Ill.u.s.tration: RAISING THE SIEGE OF ROME, A.D. 538

The crushing defeat of the Goths by the armies of Justinian, who placed Vigilius in the papal chair under the military protection of his famous general, Belisarius.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: ST. PETER'S AND THE VATICAN

The magnificent headquarters of the papal system.]

THE 1260 YEARS OF DANIEL'S PROPHECY

Compressed into forty-four words, the age-long story of the workings of the Roman Papacy is thus told by the angel who interpreted Daniel's vision of the little horn:

"He 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 the dividing of time." Dan. 7:25.

The spirit of this apostasy was abroad in apostolic days. "The mystery of iniquity doth already work," said the apostle Paul. 2 Thess. 2:7. And this power is to continue to work until the end, when it will be destroyed by the brightness of Christ's coming. Verse 8.

A Prophetic Period

But according to the word of the angel to Daniel, there was to be a period during which, in a special sense, the Papacy was to hold supremacy over the saints and the times and the laws of the Most High.

"They shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." In the Scriptures the word "time," used in this manner, means a year: "at the end of times, even years." Dan. 11:13, margin. Therefore a time (one year) and times (two years) and the dividing of time (half a year) means three years and a half. The same period is mentioned twice in the twelfth chapter of Revelation, once (verse 14) as "a time, and times, and half a time," and again (verse 6) as "a thousand two hundred and threescore days."