Diving into Daniel: The Vision ”Interpreted”
Daniel 7:15-28; Revelation 13:1-18; 2 Timothy 2:11-13 - Prophecy can be disturbing but we know how the story ends if we have faith.
““As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within me, and the visions in my mind kept alarming me. I approached one of those who were standing by and began asking him the exact meaning of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: ‘These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth. But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come.’
“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, and 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. I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them until 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.
“Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it. As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings. He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.’
“At this point the revelation ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were greatly alarming me and my face grew pale, but I kept the matter to myself.””
Daniel 7:15-28 NASB1995
Well, I guess I should have thought about this when I decided to tackle the book of Daniel. I am beyond puzzled by eschatology (end times) prophecy in the Bible. I read commentary after commentary about this last part of Daniel 7 and am still scratching my head (so are many of those scholars, because they use a lot of conditional language - “it might mean this” or “it could be this” - in their attempts to interpret this prophecy). The image above, created by an AI program, is enough to give you nightmares and is meant to represent the “little horn” that is dominant on the fourth beast that has ten horns and iron teeth and nails. That horn takes down three other horns by the roots and has human eyes and is boastful. The little horn actually becomes larger than the other ones that are left. Apparently it represents the Antichrist and is the same as the first beast in Revelation 13, who is given his power by the dragon (Satan):
“And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore.
Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.
It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who *had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.”
Revelation 13:1-18 NASB1995
Daniel asks someone who is there with him (an angel?) in his vision to explain the meaning of the beasts, the Ancient of Days and the Son of Man. This “interpretation” certainly requires more interpretation! I think the best explanation that I read is from Gotquestions.org:
In one of his visions, the prophet Daniel sees a “little horn” that grows out of a terrible beast (Daniel 7:8). The emergence of the little horn, its unusual form, and its behavior cause Daniel to wonder greatly. Fortunately for him and for us, the vision is explained.
Before we examine the little horn, we’ll take a quick look at the whole of Daniel’s vision. The prophet sees four beasts (Daniel 7:1–7) representing four kingdoms (verse 17). The first three beasts represent Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece.
The fourth and final beast that Daniel sees is the most dreadful—“terrifying and frightening and very powerful” (Daniel 7:7). This fourth beast has “bronze claws” (verse 19) and “large iron teeth” with which it annihilates its prey (verse 7). Daniel sees that the terrible beast has ten horns. As he ponders the meaning of the horns, a little horn begins to grow from the midst of the ten. This little horn is quite unusual. As it emerges, three of the original horns are plucked out by the roots. Daniel sees that the little horn has “eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully” (Daniel 7:8). The proud, boastful words of the little horn continue until the day of judgment (verses 9–10). At that time, “the beast was slain and its body . . . thrown into the blazing fire” (verse 11). That is the end of the little horn.
Daniel is troubled by the vision of the beast and the little horn, and he asks specifically about it (Daniel 7:19). An angel explains: the beast’s ten horns are ten kings who will arise from that kingdom (verse 24). A horn in the Bible is often a symbol of strength and authority (see Psalm 89:24 and 132:17). The little, boastful horn with a human mouth and eyes represents a specific king; at his rise to power, three of the original kings will fall. This evil king pictured as the little horn “will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people” (Daniel 7:25). He will seek to change times and laws, and he will exert oppressive power over God’s people for three and a half years (verse 25).
The fourth beast that Daniel saw was the Roman Empire, the world kingdom that would arise after Greece. The little horn that Daniel saw is a world leader especially noted for his blasphemies and the scope of his power. Because this little horn is ruling at the time Judgment Day comes, we identify it as the Antichrist, the “ruler who will come” who sets up the abomination in Daniel 9:27. The mention of three and a half years corresponds with the duration of the Antichrist’s rule in Revelation 11:2; 12:14; and 13:5.
The little horn emerges from the fourth beast, a fact that suggests that, in the end times, there will be a “revival” of the old Roman Empire. This restoration, whatever form it takes, will feature a coalition of ten world leaders. The Antichrist will make his move to the top at the expense of three of those leaders, and he will eventually wield global authority. A true tyrant, the Antichrist will seek to control every aspect of life (see Revelation 13:16–17). He will even demand to be worshiped (verse 15).
The little horn of Daniel 7 is the same as the first beast of Revelation 13. The beast in Revelation also has ten horns. And, like the little horn of Daniel’s fourth beast, John’s beast “was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies. . . . It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name” (Revelation 13:5–6).
In summary, the little horn that Daniel sees is the Antichrist, a world leader who rises to power from within a league of ten future kings. This little horn will blaspheme God and persecute God’s people during the tribulation, right up until the second coming of the Lord Jesus. At that time, the Antichrist’s “power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever” (Daniel 7:26), and Jesus will establish His millennial kingdom. The reign of the Antichrist is limited: forty-two months, and no more (Revelation 13:5). The little horn will lose his war against God. His boastful blasphemy and wanton violence are only temporary. The reign of Christ is eternal.
This is quite useful and a good reference for trying to understand this prophecy, which is indeed talking about future events (there are some prognosticators, many of the same ones who don’t believe in the authenticity of the Daniel timeline, that believe that these actions occurred in the past). Daniel is very troubled by what he has seen. His thoughts are alarming and his countenance changes. But he has also seen that the end is a good story!
There are many end times watchers these days who are monitoring every little tiny indicator for the fulfillment of this and other prophecies in anticipation of the Rapture, the Tribulation and the establishment of the everlasting kingdom. They worry about the establishment of the European Union and the nefarious actions of the World Economic Forum and the United Nations. They are pointing at the establishment of Israel as a sign. They ponder official government actions that persecute Christians and reward sinful lifestyles. Well, as a believer, I think it is more important to be prayerful and ready and resilient in the Holy Spirit in general. Surfing current events and trying to match them to prophecy is a fool’s errand. Only God Himself knows when these events will occur.
These prophetic events will be temporary (although excruciating) and the end of all things for those who believe is the peaceful dominion and eternal reign of the kingdom of God! Have faith, trust in Him and follow the advice in 2 Timothy:
“It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;
If we endure, we will also reign with Him;
If we deny Him, He also will deny us;
If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”
2 Timothy 2:11-13 NASB1995
My next devotional plunges into more eschatology, Daniel 8:1-8 - The vision of the ram and goat.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I place my future eternal life in Your hands. I have faith that I will see the dominion and establishment of the kingdom! Help me to be ready and resilient! Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Gotquestions.org was accessed on 4/26/2025 to answer the question, ‘Who is the little horn in Daniel 7?”