08/18/2026
Welcome back to our study of biblical prophecy! We have one more day in the book of Daniel, this time chapters 7 through 12. It’s hard to know how we should use our time and space for this post. For every topic I address, there are ten others that I’ll need to neglect.
Daniel 7 describes 4 great beasts and a terrifying “little horn,” corresponding to the succession of four secular empires (Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome) and the Papal empire that followed. Daniel 8 is the vision of the ram and the goat, corresponding to the Persian Empire, the Macedonian (Greek) Empire, and the Hellenistic kingdoms that followed. Daniel 9 contains the prophet’s prayer and the 70 weeks prophecy. Daniel 10 introduces the prophet’s final vision and gives us a picture of the unseen spiritual dimension that underlies the ongoing conflicts between the people of God and the kingdoms of this world. Daniel 11 gives us the transition from the Persian Empire to the Greek Empire and gives us a detailed play-by-play of the conflict between the northern (Seleucid) and southern (Ptolemaic) Greek kingdoms. Daniel 12 concludes the book by assuring the prophet of the judgment and final resurrection.
I’ll reiterate once again that all prophecies in the Bible need to be coherent to the original audience and to all people. Any reader in any place may see a little bit of themselves and their circumstances in these words. However, these prophecies have real and specific fulfillments in the succession of kingdoms revealed to Daniel – Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome.
Below, I’ve included comments on just a few highlights from our assignment. Rather than providing a detailed commentary, I’ve elected to let history speak for itself.
[*Having finished my comments, I’m coming back to this introduction to apologize. My notes are quite long and may not be particularly interesting for most people. I’ve included several references, all of which are getting to this point: these prophecies of Daniel have obviously been fulfilled in many respects, and everyone has known this for a very long time. If you want the proof of that claim, please continue reading.]
THE FOURTH BEAST
Daniel’s vision of the 4 kingdoms was quite alarming (7:15), but the vision of the 4th beast/kingdom was particularly troubling. Daniel 7:19: “Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet…” The angel confirmed that this 4th kingdom was uniquely monstrous: “[it] shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth, and trample it down, and break it to pieces” (7:23).
We are absolutely certain this is referring to the Roman Empire. How can we be so sure? Because we can count to 4, and because the Roman Empire really was an engine of desolation, as indicated by the vision. The Romans were a destructive force unlike any people before them. Consider the following comments from both ancient and modern historians.
Polybius (220-146 B.C.), the Greek historian, said this about the Romans: “as is the Roman custom, against the inhabitants of the city with orders to kill all they encountered, sparing none, and not to start pillaging until the signal was given. 5 They do this, I think, to inspire terror, so that when towns are taken by the Romans one may often see not only the corpses of human beings, but dogs cut in half, and the dismembered limbs of other animals…”
Josephus, a Jewish historian in the 1st century AD, records in detail the brutal, shameless nature of the Roman army as they destroyed Jerusalem: “While the holy house was on fire, everything was plundered that came to hand, and ten thousand of those that were caught were slain; nor was there a commiseration of any age, or any reverence of gravity, but children, and old men, and profane persons, and priests were all slain in the same manner; […] Yet was the misery itself more terrible than this disorder; for one would have thought that the hill itself, on which the temple stood, was seething hot, as full of fire on every part of it, that the blood was larger in quantity than the fire, and those that were slain more in number than those that slew them; for the ground did nowhere appear visible, for the dead bodies that lay on it; but the soldiers went over heaps of those bodies, as they ran upon such as fled from them.”
The historian Edward Gibbon said this: “The arms of the republic, sometimes vanquished in battle, always victorious in war, advanced with rapid steps to the Euphrates, the Danube, the Rhine, and the Ocean; and the images of gold, or silver, or brass, that might serve to represent the nations and their kings, were successively broken by the iron monarchy of Rome.”
A modern author, Myles Lavan, described the Roman conquests like this: “Although the imperial elite did not think that they engaged in mass destruction widely or indiscriminately, they regarded the capacity to destroy human populations and their landscapes as an essential aspect of Roman power. Long after the period of rapid expansion in the late Republic, a language of erasure (verbs such as deleo, excido, tollo and uasto) remained an essential part of the lexicon of aristocratic achievement and good government, its connotations of ameliorative [betterment] action euphemising the violence it described.” Rome believed it was making the world better by annihilating and erasing its victims.
THE LITTLE HORN
God revealed to Daniel that the Roman Empire would be broken up into about 10 kingdoms, three of which would fall during the manifestation of one more king who was different from the others. This is that “little horn” that had eyes like a man, spoke great blasphemies, and persecuted the saints of God (7:8, 20, 9, 24).
When was this prophecy fulfilled, and who is the little horn? Was there ever a time during which the Roman Empire was broken up into about 10 kingdoms, three of which gave way to another kind of king that was particularly blasphemous and injurious toward the people of God? Yes, this very thing has played out in our history, and I consider the meaning of this prophecy so obvious that it’s practically beyond dispute. The Roman Empire was overwhelmed and subdued by about 10 Germanic tribes, three of which were necessarily exterminated by the advent of the papacy. The Papal power became the great enemy of Christ, claiming to possess the throne of Christ and the voice of God, literally killing countless thousands (millions?) who would not submit to its rule. Once again, we’ll let history speak for itself, considering the oldest and most authentic commentaries on this passage.
One secular history describes the whole process like this: “The break-up of the Western empire (A.D. 476) contributed to Romish supremacy. The Papacy throve on the confusion of Italy. The decay of the imperial power gave freer scope to the bishops, and led the credulous people to look to them as their natural protectors. The memories of the ancient empire still hung round the walls of Rome, and even her barbarian conquerors bowed in awe before the glories of her mighty past. Hobbes has well observed that the Catholic Church is but the ghost of the dead Roman Empire sitting throned and crowned on the grave thereof.” (G.W. Foote & J.M. Wheeler in “The Crimes of Christianity”)
Irenaeus (c. 130–202 A.D.) lived under the Roman Empire and used the book of Daniel to anticipate its future. He says, “Daniel too, looking forward to the end of the last kingdom, i.e., the ten last kings, among whom the kingdom of those men shall be partitioned, and upon whom the son of perdition shall come, declares that ten horns shall spring from the beast, and that another little horn shall arise in the midst of them, and that three of the former shall be rooted up before his face…” Notably, Irenaeus understood that he was living under the 4th empire and that the manifestation of these 10 kings and the little horn was yet in his future. He did not connect the little horn to Antiochus IV Epiphanes, as modern skeptics do. In his view, Daniel 2, Daniel 7, 2 Thessalonians 2, Revelation 13, and Revelation 17 are all working with the same sequence of secular kingdoms and are all describing the same blasphemous man.
Hippolytus of Rome (c. 170–235 A.D.) also looked at Daniel 7 and could see the past (Babylon, Persia, Greece), the present (Rome), and what to him was yet future (10 kingdoms and a little horn). He says in his treatise on Christ and Antichrist, “Now since these things, spoken as they are with a mystical meaning, may seem to some hard to understand, we shall keep back nothing fitted to impart an intelligent apprehension of them to those who are possessed of a sound mind. He said, then, that a lioness came up from the sea, and by that he meant the kingdom of the Babylonians in the world, which also was the head of gold on the image […] Then, after the lioness, he sees a second beast like a bear, and that denoted the Persians. For after the Babylonians, the Persians held the sovereign power […] Then (there was) the third beast, a leopard, which meant the Greeks. For after the Persians, Alexander of Macedon obtained the sovereign power on subverting Darius, as is also shown by the brass on the image. And in saying that it had four wings of a fowl, he taught us most clearly how the kingdom of Alexander was partitioned. For in speaking of four heads, he made mention of four kings, viz., those who arose out of that (kingdom). For Alexander, when dying, partitioned out his kingdom into four divisions. Then he says: A fourth beast, dreadful and terrible; it had iron teeth and claws of brass. And who are these but the Romans? […] And under this [little horn] was signified none other than Antichrist, who is also himself to raise the kingdom of the Jews. He says that three horns are plucked up by the root by him, viz., the three kings of Egypt, and Libya, and Ethiopia, whom he cuts off in the array of battle. And he, after gaining terrible power over all, being nevertheless a tyrant, shall stir up tribulation and persecution against men, exalting himself against them.”
Hippolytus speaks more about the “little horn” when he describes the second beast in Revelation. He correctly identifies the little horn with the second beast and the Antichrist. He says, “By the beast, then, coming up out of the earth, he means the kingdom of Antichrist; and by the two horns he means him and the false prophet after him. And in speaking of the horns being like a lamb, he means that he will make himself like the Son of God, and set himself forward as king. And the terms, he spoke like a dragon, mean that he is a deceiver, and not truthful. And the words, he exercised all the power of the first beast before him, and caused the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed, signify that, after the manner of the law of Augustus, by whom the empire of Rome was established, he too will rule and govern, sanctioning everything by it, and taking greater glory to himself.”
Jerome (c. 347–420 A.D.) also understood that the 4th beast of Daniel 7 was Rome and that the blasphemous little horn was still in his future. He says, “We should therefore concur with the traditional interpretation of all the commentators of the Christian Church, that at the end of the world, when the Roman Empire is to be destroyed, there shall be ten kings who will partition the Roman world amongst themselves. Then an insignificant eleventh king will arise, who will overcome three of the ten kings, that is, the king of Egypt, the king of [North] Africa, and the king of Ethiopia, as we shall show more clearly in our later discussion. Then after they have been slain, the seven other kings also will bow their necks to the victor. "And behold," he continues, "there were eyes like unto human eyes in that horn." Let us not follow the opinion of some commentators and suppose him to be either the Devil or some demon, but rather, one of the human race, in whom Satan will wholly take up his residence in bodily form. ". . .and a mouth uttering overweening boasts..." (cf. II Thess. 2). For this is the man of sin, the son (668) of perdition, and that too to such a degree that he dares to sit in the temple of God, making himself out to be like God.”
TIME, TIMES, & HALF A TIME
The little horn’s reign of terror against the people of God would last for “time, times, and half a time.” In prophetic speak, this refers to three and a half years. In Revelation, this same span of time is referenced again as 42 months (11:2, 13:5) and 1,260 days (11:3, 12:6). During the history of both the Jews and Christians, there have been intense periods of oppression that lasted for about 1,260 literal days. However, there’s good reason to think that the ultimate meaning of this prophecy corresponds to 1,260 years, following God’s prophetic pattern of a day for a year (Numbers 14:34, Ezekiel 4:1-6; see also Genesis 29:27-28).
When did this period of 1260 years begin and end? Several dates are suggested and supported by history, but some seem more reasonable than others. Here’s one possible option. Daniel explains that by the rise of the papacy, three kingdoms would be plucked up. By the year 539 A.D., the Heruli, Vandals, and Ostrogoths had all been fully expelled from history. This marks the beginning of the uncontested civil power of the Papacy. This reign ended during the French Revolution and the rebellion of Napoleon against papal supremacy. In 1799, Napoleon cast off the power of the papacy and actually imprisoned Pope Pius VI. From this point forward, the papacy would never again persecute the Church as it had during the Dark Ages. The period from 539 to 1799 is exactly 1260 years.
2,300 EVENINGS & MORNINGS
Daniel 8 describes another little horn growing up from the residue of the Macedonian Empire. This king would desecrate and overthrow the sanctuary of God for 2,300 “evenings and mornings” (8:14). Some translations say “days”, but “evenings and mornings” really is a better representation of the original intent. Without question, this little horn is Antiochus Epiphanes, and these are 2,300 literal days, referring to the evening and morning sacrifices. Antiochus Epiphanes’ desecration of Jerusalem and the temple is well documented in Maccabees, the histories of Josephus, and other writers of antiquity.
Jerome (c. 347–420 A.D.) leaves us this concise commentary concerning Daniel 8:14: “If we read the Books of Maccabees and the history of Josephus, we shall find it there recorded that in the one hundred and forty-third year after the Seleucus who first reigned in Syria after the decease of Alexander, Antiochus entered Jerusalem, and after wreaking a general devastation he returned again in the third year and set up the statue of Jupiter in the Temple. Up until the time of Judas Macca-baeus, that is, up until the one hundred and eighth year, Jerusalem lay waste over a period of six years, and for three [of those] years the Temple lay defiled; making up a total of two thousand three hundred days plus three months. At the end of the period the Temple was purged. Some authorities read two hundred instead of two thousand three hundred, in order to avoid the apparent excess involved in six years and three months. Most of our commentators refer this passage to the Antichrist, and hold that that which occurred under Antiochus was only by way of a type which shall be fulfilled under Antichrist. And as for the statement, "The sanctuary shall be cleansed," this refers to the time of Judas Maccabaeus, who came from the village of Modin, and who being aided by the efforts of his brothers and relatives and many of the Jewish people [defeated?] the generals of Antiochus not far above Emmaus (which is now called Nicopolis). And hearing of this, Antiochus, who had risen up against the Prince of princes, that is, against the Lord of lords and King of kings, was earnestly desirous of despoiling the temple of Diana which was located in Elimais, in the Persian district, because it possessed valuable votive offerings. And when he there lost his army, he was destroyed without hands, that is to say, he died of grief. As for the mention of evening and morning, this signifies the succession of day and night.”
70 WEEKS
Daniel’s revelation of the 70 weeks is one of the monumental prophecies of the Bible. Concerning interpretation, there are considerable differences in the details, but the ultimate conclusion is the same. The 70 weeks prophecy lays out a chronology that clearly brings us to the time of Christ. The people at the time of Christ were expecting him, and their expectations were founded, in part, on this prophecy. Once again, I’ll give you some of the oldest commentaries and acknowledgements of this passage.
Julius Africanus (c. 220 A.D.) gives us one of the earliest explanations of the 70 weeks: “It is by calculating from Artaxerxes, therefore, up to the time of Christ that the seventy weeks are made up, according to the numeration of the Jews. For from Nehemiah, who was despatched by Artaxerxes to build Jerusalem in the 115th year of the Persian empire, and the 4th year of the 83d Olympiad, and the 20th year of the reign of Artaxerxes himself, up to this date, which was the second year of the 202d Olympiad, and the 16th year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, there are reckoned 475 years, which make 490 according to the Hebrew numeration, as they measure the years by the course of the moon; so that, as is easy to show, their year consists of 354 days, while the solar year has 365¼ days. For the latter exceeds the period of twelve months, according to the moon’s course, by 11¼ days. Hence the Greeks and the Jews insert three intercalary months every 8 years. For 8 times 11¼ days makes up 3 months. Therefore 475 years make 59 periods of 8 years each, and 3 months besides. But since thus there are 3 intercalary months every 8 years, we get thus 15 years minus a few days; and these being added to the 475 years, make up in all the 70 weeks.” His approach is rather cumbersome, but there are good reasons for his logic. The main point is that he saw a reasonable way of bringing the 70 weeks right to the time of Christ.
Hippolytus (c. 170–235 A.D.) also makes some interesting connections: “In order, then, to show the time when He is to come whom the blessed Daniel desired to see, he says, And after seven weeks there are other threescore and two weeks, which period embraces the space of 434 years. For after the return of the people from Babylon under the leadership of Jesus the son of Josedech, and Ezra the scribe, and Zerubbabel the son of Salathiel, of the tribe of David, there were 434 years unto the coming of Christ, in order that the Priest of priests might be manifested in the world, and that He who takes away the sins of the world might be evidently set forth, as John speaks concerning Him: Behold the Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world! And in like manner Gabriel says: To blot out transgressions, and make reconciliation for sins. But who has blotted out our transgressions? Paul the apostle teaches us, saying, He is our peace who made both one; and then, Blotting out the handwriting of sins that was against us. That transgressions, therefore, are blotted out, and that reconciliation is made for sins, is shown by this. But who are they who have reconciliation made for their sins, but they who believe in His name, and propitiate His countenance by good works? And that after the return of the people from Babylon there was a space of 434 years, until the time of the birth of Christ, may be easily understood. For, since the first covenant was given to the children of Israel after a period of 434 years, it follows that the second covenant also should be defined by the same space of time, in order that it might be expected by the people and easily recognised by the faithful.”
Origen (3rd century A.D.) was convinced that the prophecy was fulfilled in Christ: “The weeks of years, also, which the prophet Daniel had predicted, extending to the leadership of Christ, have been fulfilled.”
1,290 DAYS & 1,335 DAYS
Daniel 12 ends with one of the more mysterious prophecies of the Bible, verses 11-12: “And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days.”
We know that something significant is to happen 1,290 days (years) after the ending of the daily sacrifice and the setting up of the abomination of desolation. What is that something? The prophecy doesn’t explain. Something else substantial is also promised forty-five days (years) later at the end of 1,335 days (years). Again, no explanation is provided.
Numerous commentators have made the 1,290 years and 1,335 years extensions of the 1260 years and attached the meaning to the progressive degradation of papal power. This approach makes a lot of sense, but it does present some difficulties. Most of all, the 1,290 years and 1,335 years in Daniel 12 are given a starting point that doesn’t align with the 1,260 years defined in Daniel 7. The 1,290 years and 1,335 years in Daniel 12 begin with these two events – “the regular burnt offering is taken away” and “the abomination that makes desolate.” That’s the starting point. If we can identify these events in history, we’d be well on our way to understanding the prophecy.
As it turns out, Daniel 12 isn’t the first time these two events are mentioned in the book of Daniel. In Daniel 8:8-14 and 11:31, the prophet sees visions of something that seems to be very similar. Daniel 11:3: “And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation.” Given the greater context of these passages, the meaning is clear – “him” and “they” are Antiochus Epiphanes and his army, the “sanctuary” is the Jewish Temple, the daily sacrifices are those offered by the Jews at the temple, and the “abomination of desolation” refers to the desecration of the temple by Antiochus and his army. The overwhelming majority of Bible scholars and historians support this position.
Interestingly, the same events – the ending of the daily sacrifice and the abomination of desolation – are mentioned elsewhere in the Bible and even in the book of Daniel in a context that couldn’t possibly be referring to the time of Antiochus. For example, Daniel 9:27 explains that the last week of the 70 weeks prophecy would be fulfilled in this way: “Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.” Assuming again that a prophetic day equals a literal year, this event wouldn’t occur until 200 years after the time of Antiochus Epiphanes. Jesus (30 A.D.) also mentions the abomination of desolation as something that was yet to come (Matthew 24:15). Since the Bible can’t contradict itself, we have to assume the Bible is actually describing separate events with very similar language (something that often happens in Bible prophecy).
So, what was Jesus talking about? The same thing Daniel was talking about in the 70 weeks prophecy – the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by Titus and the Roman army. Antiochus Epiphanes ended the offering of daily sacrifices and desecrated the temple only for a short time (2,300 literal days). What Titus did was profoundly different. Fulfilling the prophecies of Daniel 9, Matthew 24, and Luke 21, the temple was desolated and the entire city was razed to the ground. By his own sacrifice, Jesus ended the daily sacrifice in about 30 A.D., and in 70 A.D., Titus completed the prophecy by destroying the city and permanently ending the Levitical system.
What does all this mean for the 1,290 years and 1,335 years? I don’t know. Starting the clock at 70 A.D. (if that’s the right thing to do), those periods bring us to the time of John Wycliffe and the earliest events of the Protestant Reformation. That’s a big deal – something that easily could be acknowledged by biblical prophecy – but we can’t land on any specific years with specific events.
