In Daniel chapter 7, Daniel had a dream of four beasts. These beasts also represent the four empires that were present and were still to come. The first beast represented Babylon, the second the Medes and Persians, the third was Greece, and the fourth represents the Roman Empire. It’s on this beast that we see the mention of the horns.
Daniel 7:7-8 – 7 “After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns
8 “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
I wrote a postearlier on the ten hornsand my current take on it.
It’s the little one that comes up from among them that is the focus here today.
Daniel was troubled and asked one who was there in the vision the meaning of the things he saw. When he got to the fourth beast the scripture says:
Daniel 7:23-27 – 23 “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. 24 The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. 25 He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.
26 “‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. 27 Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’
In these verses we see that the fourth beast or revived Roman Empire devours the whole earth. The other king is the little horn and he subdues or rips up three of the original ten kings. This is also the second time in the chapter that Daniel indicates he is a boastful, proud individual and here he shows it by speaking against God.
I’ve heard Chuck Missler refer to him as Mr. Big Mouth. I believe that is a very fitting name for the antichrist as he is going to be the world’s biggest politician and leader someday, which chooses to speak against God any chance he gets.
Tomorrow will be a part two but I didn’t name them that way because the two posts can stand on their own.