A UNIQUE WORLD POWER

THE PROPHET then saw another power rising in Europe: “I was considering the horns, and there was another little horn coming up among them.” (Dan. 7:8). This power has the following Identification Marks:
1. IT COMES UP AMONG THE 10 HORNS (Dan. 7:8)
The papacy (508 AD) was that “little horn”, which came up among the 10 Germanic tribes.
2. IT UPROOTS THREE HORNS (Dan. 7:8)
The Heruli, the Vandals and the Ostrogoths resisted the power of this “little horn” and were “plucked out by the roots”-in other words, completely destroyed.
3. IT IS DIFFERENT THAN THE PREVIOUS HORNS (Dan. 7:24) The papacy was different. It consisted of a union between Church and State, where the Church was the dominating power.
4. IT IS STRONGER THAN THE OTHER HORNS (Dan. 7:20) In fact, the papacy grew to a world power within a very short time. During “The Dark Ages,” people were forced to accept the Catholic faith (Crusades). Over centuries, even kings and emperors of Europe were forced to humbly submit to the decisions of the papacy.
5. IT IS PRESUMPTUOUS AND SPEAKS BLASPHEMY (Dan. 7:25) “He shall even rise against the Prince of princes” (Dan. 8:25). He is “the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). All three scriptures describe the same power that claims to be Christian, yet possessed an antichristian mind. The following quote shows in truth to what degree the papacy blasphemes God: “On this earth we are holding the place of Almighty God” (Encyc., Pope Leo XIII, 6-20-1894). To address the pope as “Holy Father” is blasphemy. Jesus himself warns in Matthew 23:9 “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for one is your father, He who is in heaven.” Despite those clear words in the Bible many popes have through the centuries claimed infallibility, which God alone possesses (Rev. 15:4), and even the claimed ability to forgive sins, which belongs to God only (Luke 5:21).
6. IT PERSECUTES THE SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH (Dan. 7:25) The Crusades, the proceedings against the heretics, the torture-chambers of the Inquisition, and the burning of the heretics are a known and dark chapter of the papacy. The historian W.H. Lecky writes: “That the church of Rome shed more innocent blood than any other institution, which ever existed on this earth, will be questioned by no one that has an adequate knowledge of history… It is impossible to arrive at an accurate account of her victims (approximately 50 Million), and it is certain that no imagination is capable of comprehending their sufferings.” (Rationalism in Europe, Vol. 2)
7. IT INTENDS TO CHANGE TIMES AND LAW (Dan. 7:25) The papal system actually presumed to change the law of God. It removed the second commandment from the Catholic catechism. The second commandment prohibits the worship of images. The fourth commandment of God, which commands us to keep holy the Biblical Sabbath (Saturday), was changed to Sunday-keeping, a practice that originated in the pagan Sun worship. Instead of the seventh day Sabbath according to God’s fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8-11; Isaiah 56:2-7), Sunday was introduced, which is unbiblical rest day.
8 IT REIGNS A TIME AND TIMES AND HALF A TIME (Dan. 7:25) In the biblical measurement of time, the word “time” represents one year of 360 days. Accordingly, we find that 3 ½ times = 3 ½ years = 1260 days. A prophetic day stands for a literal year (Ezekiel 4:6; Numbers 14:34). Therefore, the “little horn” will rule for 1260 years. This time period began with the decree of Justinian (the Church of Rome was given the ecclesiastical power by the state) and also with the final destruction of the East Gothic Empire in the year of 538 AD. It ended in 1798 with the capture of Pope Pius VI and the declaration of Rome to be a republic by the French military under Napoleon.