Who-What is the Beast?

Daniel says, "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," 7:21.

Who doesn’t know about the assault that the Romans made against the disciples of YAHshua once the new-found faith began to expand? Of course, the persecution (war) was begun by the Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees. They began their campaign against the Messiah, Himself, and continued it against the disciples after the Holy Spirit was given on the day of Pentecost. Their persecution became intense when Stephen was stoned to death (Acts 7). The true believers were scattered abroad throughout Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1). The Romans picked up where the Jewish leaders left off, performing many atrocities against the disciples.

The true nature of the persecution against YAHshua's followers is revealed in the ISBE, "Under the empire philosophic systems and oriental rites continued to replace the older religion. Augustus attempted to breathe life into the dry bones, but his plan was too political and was lacking in real religious spirit. He aimed at an imperial and popular religion similar to what had long prevailed in the East, where kings were often regarded as divine by their subjects. Alexander the Great and the Diadochian rulers, especially in Egypt and Syria, recognized the value of this system as a bond of union in wide dominions. When Augustus brought peace to the world, the Orient was ready to hail him as a g-d. Out of this evolved the cult of the reigning emperor and of Roma personified. This worship may have given a semblance of religious unity to the empire, and it magnified the emperor, but it became a deadly engine of persecution when Chr-stians (should be; true believers) refused to worship the emperor and were treated as traitors. The old Roman religion was now dead, and philosophy took its place along with the mysteries, which promised immortality." (Vol. 4., p. 213.)

"Domitian took one definite step against (the believers) in establishing an easy test by which to detect those who were (believers), namely, the demand to worship the genius of the emperor. This too was only part of Domitian’s general policy of asserting his own dominus et deus (Lord and God) title and emphasizing the imperial cult as a bond of political union. Many (believers) were martyred in succeeding reigns because they refused to worship the emperor." (ibid, Vol. 4., p. 217).

The main reason for the hostility against YAHshua's disciples is revealed here. The disciples refused to worship the emperor and his genius. For this refusal they were persecuted, tortured and executed. Those who were faithful were willing to give their lives on behalf of their faith and their Savior. Others capitulated and performed a simple rite which was dedicated to the emperor, thus obtaining release, as the Holman Bible Dictionary states, "Emperor worship was firmly in place in the Roman Empire in the early days of Chr-stianity. During the reigns of Nero, Domitian, and other Roman emperors, persecution of Chr-stians was severe because of gross misconceptions regarding the practice of the Chr-stian faith. Chr-stians were considered undesirable and were vigorously rooted out. Standing trial if they worshiped the pagan gods, that is, the emperor and the imperial cult, they would be freed. If not, they would suffer all manner of punishments and death. All the suspected Chr-stian had to do was sprinkle a few sacrificial grains of incense into the eternal flame burning in front of the statue of the emperor. Since the punishments were so horrible and the means of escape so easy, many Chr-stians gave in. Many did not and were burned alive, killed by lions in the arena, or crucified." (Article; "Emperor Worship.")

Daniel reveals that these actions wore out the saints of the MOST HIGH (Dan. 7:25). The book of Revelation, chapter 13 also reveals the power of the beast to overcome YAHWEH'S saints, "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations," v. 7.

The Roman beast (the emperor and his state, Roma) have brought grievous consequences upon the true believers and the world-at-large also.

Daniel says that this little horn will, "think to change times and laws," 7:25.

In its war against the saints, the beast (Rome) with its little horn (Caesar) brought about changes that continue to affect this world in a traditional way that, after two thousand years, is so automatic few people are cognizant of it. The observance of "times" is the first thing mentioned. "Times" have to do with calendrical observance, among other things.

The observance of the year was changed. Originally, the year began around the spring equinox. The Caesars changed it to January, which corresponded with the two-faced Roman god who (supposedly) was looking backward into the past with one face, and forward into the future with the other.

The beginning of months was originally observed with the sighting of the new moon directly after the conjunction. The word "month" actually comes from and means "moon." (Check it out in your own dictionary.) A true month has to do with a lunation of the moon or the time that it takes for the moon to go from new moon to new moon. The word "month" in today’s world has been effectively removed from the word moon and society doesn’t even understand what a true month is or should be. Both Julius and Augustus Caesar added their own names to months of the calendar in their zeal to honor themselves. They changed the calendar to suit themselves.

The Encyclopedia Britannica, fourteenth edition, says, "The working of the calendar was in the hands of the pontifices, who every month used to watch for the new moon, and, when it was seen, proclaimed from the Capitol the number of days, five or seven, to the Nones." (vol.4, p. 579.) The office of Pontifex Maximus gave Augustus absolute power over the calendar. Pope Gregory XIII, who assumed Caesar’s office of Pontifex Maximus, altered the calendar even further, and that is the basic calendar observed by the western world today.

Certain societies (to wit: Egypt, Babylon, India, etc.) began and ended the day with sunrise, while the Hebrew day began and ended with sunset. The Romans changed the day to begin and end with midnight.

Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Babylonian, Celtic, etc. festivals were introduced and assimilated into the "holiday" system that has evolved into our world today. The Hebrews had observed the "holydays" commanded by YAHWEH and preserved in Scripture. These "holidays" served the purpose of worship extended to paganistic deities. The change from the proper observances commanded by Scripture to the pagan Roman (blended) calendar has waged an effective war against the saints, causing the world to forget the commanded way, and relegating the feast days of YAHWEH to the simple term "Jewish."

The Caesars also considered themselves to be great law-givers. Many of the laws on the books today are a direct result of the commands and laws invoked by the Caesars. Augustus, Titus, Domitian, Nero, Constantine, and Justinian are among the great contributors to the legal system extant in today’s world.

While some of the laws are somewhat in league with Scriptural commands, most are not. But the judgments and punishments prescribed for those laws that do favor Biblical commands generally differ in their application.

The beast power has done an effective job of changing times and laws, which have served the purpose of blinding the earth’s inhabitants to YAHWEH'S commanded ways. It has also served the purpose of waging effective warfare on the saints, since any who embrace the Biblical way are held in suspicion, general contempt, or as legalistic.

Daniel says that this fourth beast kingdom would have power until a time and times and the dividing of time (7:25). What does this mean? When will this be?

There are those who have speculated many different things down through the ages. Some proclaim that a time is a year, times is two years and the dividing of time was half a year. In other words, three and one half years.

Still others have speculated that a year, in prophetic terms is 360 days. 360 times 3-1/2 = 1260 years, on the day for a year principle established in Ez. 4:1-6. But the beast power established by the Roman Emperor has continued longer than that. There must be another method that has been overlooked.

YAHWEH had commanded Moses, "Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto Me in the year. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before Me empty:) and the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before Adon YAHWEH," Ex. 23:14-17.

The first time was the Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread. That would have been the "time" spoken of by Daniel. The second time was the feast of Pentecost. That would have been the "times" spoken of.

YAHshua came to fulfill the Passover and begin the fulfillment of the days of Unleavened Bread for His people. The land was under control of the Roman beast at that time. After He ascended into heaven, YAHshua fulfilled Pentecost by pouring the Holy Spirit out on His followers. The land was still under control of the Roman beast.

The first two times were observed in the spring of the year. The third time spoken of in Scripture (Lev. 23) was observed in the fall. There was a period that divided between the spring festivals and the fall festival which is called summer, of course. That was the "dividing of time." The third time or festival season has not begun to be fulfilled yet. We are still in the time that divides between the fulfillment of the first two times and the third time. We are still under the influence and power of the Roman beast, even if it doesn’t appear to be so. Our world is under a combination of Roman and Greek influence and domination.

YAHWEH'S people are given into the hand of the Roman power until the fulfillment of the third time. The third time (the fall festival season) begins with the Feast of Trumpets. This day signifies the return of YAHshua to establish YAHWEH'S kingdom on earth, which will end the period that divides the first two times. The fourth beast will be overthrown and destroyed (Dan. 7:11, 26).

The fourth beast of Daniel 7, the dreadful and terrible, and exceedingly strong beast is Rome. The little horn that had eyes like a man, and a mouth speaking great things, which made war with the saints, and prevailed against them, seeking to wear them out, was Augustus Caesar, who began a dynasty that has continued ,in name, down through the ages. The inheritor of Caesar’s title "Pontifex Maximus," in today’s world, is the Pope at Rome. But there is more. There is another "little horn" spoken of in Daniel 8. Once we identify this "little horn," we will be able to clearly see and identify the whole system of Babylon the Great spoken of in the book of Revelation, chapter 17, the beast of chapter 13, etc.

Daniel 8 follows on the heels of Daniel 7. But this is done for a specific reason. Daniel 8 reveals another "little horn." If we can discover the identity of this "little horn," as we have of the horn of chapter 7, then we can begin unraveling the "mystery" that has enshrouded these chapters and much of the Scriptures for millennia.

Daniel says, "In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzer a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first," Dan. 8:1. Daniel means that this vision occurred to him after that which appeared to him at the first year. The visions of Daniel 7 and 8 are very closely inter-related as we will soon discover.

Daniel first sees a ram which had two horns. The two horns are high, but one is higher than the other. The identity of this ram and its horns is revealed in verse 20 as the kings of Media and Persia. The ram, therefore, corresponds with the breast and arms of silver described in Daniel 2. The image that Nebuchadnezzar had seen had a head of gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass (bronze), legs of iron, and feet and toes of iron and clay mixture (Dan. 2:31-34). Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom of Babylon were represented by the head of gold, while the kingdom that was to come after him (Media and Persia) was represented by the silver (v.v. 37-39).

Daniel saw the ram pushing westward, and northward and southward so that no beasts (other kingdoms) could stand before him. The ram did according to his will and became great (v. 4). Persia was a great conquering empire in its own right.

While Daniel was considering all this, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes (v. 5). This goat with its notable horn is Greece with its first king, Alexander, as revealed in verse 21.

Daniel says, "And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand," Dan. 8:6-7.

The swiftness and decisiveness with which Alexander the Great and his Greek army defeated the Persians is attested to Scripturally and in secular history. The leopard with four wings of a fowl (Dan. 7:6) is also a prophetic witness of the swiftness of Alexander the Great and his Macedonian/Greek forces. The description of the goat not touching the ground matches the description of the leopard with its four wings.

The leopard is an animal that relies on its cunning and swiftness to apprehend its prey. Upon making a kill, a leopard will carry its prey to a tree (the abode of a large number of fowl), climb the tree with the prey in its strong jaws placing it out of the reach of many other predators in order to enjoy its meal and/or feed its family.

Alexander began his campaign against Persia in the spring of 334 BCE with an army only numbering between 30,000 and 40,000. By 331BCE he had destroyed the last army of Persia, a force possibly numbering as much as one million men. Needless to say, it was a campaign, victory, and overthrow that literally stunned the then known world. It also continues to amaze today’s soldiery and historians. Many of Alexander’s tactics were studied and employed by generals on both sides of the Axis and Allied powers in WWII.

Daniel writes, "Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven," Dan. 8:8.

After Alexander’s seemingly untimely death, four of his generals divided his conquests between themselves. Ptolemy received the southern kingdom of Egypt, Seleucus I received Syria, Babylon, and Media, Cassander received Macedonia, and Lysimachus received Thrace. Each general established his own dynasty over his entrusted territory. Thus ensued intrigues, conspiracies, and wars between the kings and their territories until the advent of the Roman empire which overcame and swallowed them all into its own boundaries.

The leopard beast of Daniel 7 was shown to have four heads. Each of these four heads represents one of the four horns that the great horn Alexander was divided into. The goat of Daniel 8, the leopard of Daniel 7 and the brass (bronze) of Daniel 2 are revealed throughout Scripture and secular history to represent the kingdom/empire of Greece/ Macedonia.

Daniel writes, "And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. 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. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered," 8:9-12.

Who is this little horn? How can we determine his identity? There are key things spoken in Daniel, the Scriptures and secular history which will enable us to determine it.

Notice first that it waxed exceeding great toward the south, then toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. To wax great toward the south, one must come from the north. Many proclaim that Antiochus the Great is the one who is spoken of here, and Antiochus did unmistakably fulfill much of what is prophesied here, but he was only a forerunner or type of another who was to come and make a far greater impact on the whole world.

YAHWEH is using the events between Greece and Persia to establish the foundation and history upon which the little horn would base its power.

Notice a key verse that will help to expose the identity of the little horn, "...and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down," verse 11. Who actually took away the daily sacrifice, casting down the sanctuary? The ROMANS, of course! Notice also what Daniel 9:26 says about a prince (horn) that shall come, "And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sactuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined."

The Romans under their little horn, Caesar, are the only ones who ultimately fulfill Daniel 8 and 9.

The amazing fact about Daniel chapters 7 and 8 is that they are foretelling the ultimate rise to power of the Roman Empire and its subsequent division between east and west. The western empire was labeled as Latin while the eastern empire was labeled as GREEK!

The division of the empire was formulated under Constantine called the Great. The Encyclopedia Britannica, 14th Edition, Volume 19 has this to say, "The reign of Constantine the Great forms the most deep-reaching division in the history of Europe. The external continuity is not broken, but the principles which guided society in the Greek and Roman world are replaced by a new order of ideas. Emperor-worship, which expressed a belief in the ideal of the earthly empire of Rome, gives way to Christianity. This is the outward sign that a mental transformation, which we can trace for 300 years before in visible processes of decay and growth, had reached a crisis. Besides the adoption of Christianity, Constantine’s reign is marked by an event only second in importance, the shifting of the center of gravity of the empire from the west to the east by making Byzantium a second capital, a second Rome. The foundation of Constantinople (q.v.) determined the subsequent history of the State; it established permanently the division between the eastern and western parts of the empire—a principle already introduced—and soon exhibited, though not immediately, the preponderance of the eastern half. The eastern provinces were the richest and most resourceful, and only needed a Rome in their midst to proclaim this fact; and further, it was eastward that the empire fronted, for here was the one great civilized State with which it was in constant antagonism. Byzantium was refounded on the model of Rome, had its own senate, and presently a praefectus urbi. But its character was different in two ways: it was Christian and it was Greek. From its foundation New Rome had a Christian stamp; it had no history as the capital of a pagan empire. There was. however, no intention of depressing Rome to a secondary rank in political importance; this was brought about by the force of circumstances," (p. 432).

This division was foretold by Dan. 2:41, "And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay."

Constantine was the illegitimate son of commander Flavius Valerius Constantinus (Constantius I) and Flavia Helena, a camp follower (prostitute). He was born at Nis in what is now SERBIA (Ency. Brit. and Encarta).

Constantius I became co-emperor with Galerius upon the abdication of Diocletian. Constantine had exhibited military talent in the east, serving under Diocletian and Galerius. He joined his father in Britain in 306. His father died the same year and the soldiers proclaimed Constantine emperor.

Constantine followed the examples of his father and other emperors as a solar henotheist, believing that the Roman sun god, Sol, was the visible manifestation of an invisible "Highest God" (summus deus), who was the principle behind the universe. This god was thought to be the companion of the Roman emperor. Constantine’s adherence to this faith is evident from his claim of having had a vision of the sun god in 310 while in a grove of Apollo in Gaul (Encarta).

Constantine seems to have had a life of visions and special happenings for it was in 312 CE, on the eve of the battle against Maxentius at Milvian Bridge, that he claims to have dreamed of the Messiah Who informed him to wear the monogram XP on the shields of his soldiers and thereby obtain the victory. The next day he claims to have seen another vision of a cross superimposed on the sun and the words "in this sign you will be the victor." (Ency. Brit. and Encarta).

With the defeat of Maxentius and the eventual overthrow of Licinius, Constantine became the sole ruler and master of the Roman world in the east and west. He issued his famous edict of religious toleration in 313 which was supposedly a boon to the Christian religion.

The Encyclopedia Britannica says, "It has been said by Stanley that Constantine was entitled to be called "Great" in virtue rather of what he did than of what he was; and it is true that neither his intellectual nor his moral qualities were such as to earn the title. His claim to greatness rests mainly on the fact that he divined the future which lay before Christianity, and determined to enlist it in the service of his empire, and also on his achievement in completing the work begun by Aurelian and Diocletian, by which the quasi-constitutional monarchy or "principate" of Augustus was transformed into the naked absolutism sometimes called the "dominate,"...he not only identified himself more openly than ever with Christianity, but showed a determination to assert his supremacy in ecclesiastical affairs, holding no doubt that, as pontifex maximus gave him the supreme control of religious matters throughout the empire, the regulation of Christianity fell within his province"...The political system of Constantine was the final result of a process which, though it had lasted as long as the empire, had assumed a marked form under Aurelian. It was Aurelian who surrounded the imperial person with oriental pomp, wearing the diadem and the jeweled robe, and assuming the style of dominus and even deus, who assimilated Italy to the condition of the provinces and gave official furtherance to the economic process by which a regime of status replaced a regime of contract. Dicletian endeavoured to secure the new despotism against military usurpation by an elaborate system of co-regency with two lines of succession, bearing the names of Jovii and Herculii, but maintained by adoption and not by hereditary succession. This artificial system was destroyed by Constantine, who established dynastic absolutism in favour of his own family, the Gens Flavia, evidence of whose cult is found both in Italy and Africa...Like Diocletian, Constantine believed that the time had come for society to be remodeled by the fiat of despotic authority, and it is significant that from henceforth we meet with the undisguised assertion that the will of the emperor is the sole fountain of law. Constantine, in fact, embodies the spirit of absolute authority which, both in church and State, was to prevail for many centuries," (14th Edition, Volume 6, p.p. 298-299).

The Encyclopedia Britannica further states, "In making the State Christian, Constantine made the Church a State institution, and therefore under imperial control. Caesaro-papism was the logical consequence. The sacerdotium was united with the imperium in the person of the monarch as in the pagan State," (14th Edition, Volume 19, p. 437).

Constantine continued to allow the imperial cult, the cult that worshipped the Caesar and his genius, to florish. He continued to hold the office of Pontifex Maximus, the great bridge builder, the mediator between heaven and earth. He became the head of the church and the sole fountain of its law. He was the original pope. He feigned belief in the Messiah, but only enlisted the corrupted followers into his own service to build his empire.

Constantine was originally a sun worshipper. It was via this sun worship that gave the Caesar power over the armies and the empire. The sun was worshipped through one Mithras.

Mithraism had been introduced into Rome during the days of Pompey and Julius Caesar. A band of Cicilian pirates had been plaguing the Mediterranean as well as other areas. Pompey was dispatched to destroy them. His campaign was successful bringing him more honors from Rome. He was introduced to their particular religion which was a mystic pagan religion. In accordance with Roman practice, Pompey carried the religion and its deity captive to Rome.

Mithraism was the secret mystic worship of the sun god called Mithras. He was worshipped in caves or grottos. His iconography depicted him sacrificing a bull, being encircled by the signs of the Zodiac. Figures 1, 2, and 3 below are examples of the iconography found in the caves, grottos and catacombs.

The Encyclopedia Britannica says, "Towards the close of the 2nd century the cult had begun to spread rapidly through the army, the mercantile class, slaves and actual propagandists, all of which classes were largely composed of Asiatics. It throve, especially among military posts, and in the track of trade, notably at ports. The German frontiers afford most evidence of its prosperity. Rome itself was a favourite seat of the religion. From the end of the 2nd century the emperors encouraged Mithraism, because of the support which it afforded to the divine right of monarchs. The Persian belief that the legitimate sovereign reigned by the grace of Ormazd, whose favour was made manifest by the sending of the Hvareno, a king of celestial aureole of fire, resulted in the doctrine that the sun was the giver of the Hvareno. Mithras, identified with Sol Invictus, thus became the giver of authority and victory to the imperial house," (14th Edition, Volume 15, p. 620).

The sanctification of Sunday and the 25th of December were both associated with the worship of Mithras. Constantine proclaimed Sunday to be a day of rest in 321 CE, 15 years before it was officially sanctioned by the church in the west. On Sunday, Christian soldiers were allowed to attend services. The rest for one day meant much to slaves according to Haley’s Bible Handbook, page 760. Constantine actually declared that men observe the day of Solis Invicti, the unconquered sun.

Haley’s Bible Handbook declares, "Emperor Constantine, when he became a Christian, issued an Edict granting Everybody the right to choose his own Religion. Emperor Theodosius, made Christianity the State Religion of the Roman Empire, and made Church Membership Compulsory. This was the Worst calamity that has ever befallen the Church. This Forced Conversion filled the Churches with Unregenerate People. Not only so, Theodosius undertook the Forcible Suppression of all other Religions, and Prohibited Idol Worship. Under his decrees, Heathen Temples were torn down by mobs of Christians, and there was much bloodshed. Christ had designed to conquer by purely Spiritual and Moral Means. Up to this time Conversion was Voluntary, a Genuine Change in Heart and Life. But now the Military Spirit of Imperial Rome had entered the Church. The Church had conquered the Roman Empire. But in reality the Roman Empire had Conquered the Church, by Making the Church over into the Image of the Roman Empire. The Church had Changed its Nature, had entered its Great Apostasy, had become a Political Organization in the Spirit and Pattern of Imperial Rome, and took its Nose-Dive into the millennium of Papal Abominations. The Imperial Church of the 4th and 5th centuries had become an entirely different institution from the persecuted church of the first three centuries. In its ambition to Rule it lost and forgot the spirit of Chr-st." (p. 760).

To be Continued………………….

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