Who will prove to be the little horn?
And from one of them sprang up another horn, a small one, and it grew very great towards the south and towards the east and towards the Decoration - Daniel 8:9
This article is a natural continuation of the previous two articles titled “Daniel: Beasts of the Past in the Time of the End” 1 and “Who Are the 7 Kings?” 2 .
These articles have shown how the number of kings described in Nebuchadnezzar's dream statue are four and not five (and how this is in harmony with Daniel 7:17), how this requires us to consider Rome part or an evolution of the empire (i.e. the copper belly and thighs or the four-headed leopard) and how the fact that all of Daniel chapter seven takes place in the time of the end finally allows us to understand who the seven kings of Revelation chapter 17 are.
In the article titled “Who is the little horn that became great?” 3 mentioned Russia as that fateful little horn because it was thought that, although Scripture clearly speaks of the end-time, only the final expansion, i.e. reaching the land of the Decoration, would “keep on making great” – Daniel 8 :10
This misconception, together with the preconception that it must necessarily be a power descended from the Roman Empire, had led the author of this blog to believe that only Russia complied with all these canons.
As already written, since we now understand that this is not the case, that article will be deleted on 03/16/2020 (until then it will be possible to view it).
This article will attempt to speculate who the “little horn” might turn out to be in the time of the end, and specifically during and after warfare, based on clues given by Scripture.
Are there any scriptural clues that allow us to hypothesize who, among many, could this fateful little horn be or, at the very least, suggest a limited number of possibilities?
First of all, having understood that the only head to survive is that of the leopard (and not knowing which of the four) we have to start from the area conquered by Alexander the Great.
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| This map depicts the full extent of Alexander's Empire |
It is true that, as we have stated in the two previous articles , Rome could be included in this leopard (and therefore we should consider a wider area) but later we will understand how it is necessary not to stray too far from the nation of Israel.
The little horn spreads over the frightening and terrible beast
The first important observation is that the ripping off three horns is not only seen on the fourth beast of the vision of Daniel chapter seven but that the ripping off horns themselves are part of it – Daniel 7:7, 8
If we have established that these beasts do not fight each other but are together in the time of the end to fight against a common enemy (king of the south and allies) it is evident that these horns are part of the same side.
Before thinking that this is illogical, let's review what we have seen so far.
The beast seen in Revelation has seven heads (the last head, however, only comes at the end) and ten horns.
It also has leopard, bear and lion features.
So leopard, bear, lion and ten horns… are they not a mixture of all the beasts of chapter seven of Daniel?
If so, then the horns that this "little horn" plucks are part of the same array even if it might seem strange at first glance.
Otherwise we should think that this "composite beast" tore itself to pieces ... but if this were the case, Egypt, the king of the south, would also be mentioned, of which instead we do not speak at all except as regards the opposite side - Daniel 11: 40-42
From the beginning of Israel's history, the Bible has always spoken clearly of two antagonistic kings: that of the south and that of the north.
The beast is obviously not a mix, a "world political empire", as someone teaches (even if it will become so once the war is won) but a lineup of kings from the north as confirmed by the statue of Nebuchadnezzar's dream which obviously does not include the Egypt (which should be seen from the time of Babylon) – Daniel 2:44
If all that still wasn't enough… what would the words ““Who is like the wild beast, and who can make war against it?” mean? if this beast had fought against itself? - Revelation 13:4
And finally, when the scarlet beast makes its second complete appearance of all the old powers, why will people “marvel in admiration” if it included both the kings of the north and those of the south? - Revelation 17:8
Will people marvel in admiration, perhaps, because the world will be multipolar again encompassing both sides again?
Would the conquering king of the north recreate the king of the south?
Obviously not.
The composite beast will move as one man against Israel having a single thought and it is obvious that they will all be part of the same side, the one that emerged victorious from the war.
The prophecy is therefore indicating to us that at the end of the war, regardless of the fallen nations (which will include both nations of the king of the south and nations of the king of the north) this little horn tears or brings down three nations that up to a moment before would have done so. part of his own camp.
Apart from the clearly identified kings of the north, we do not know exactly which and how many nations will include the horns of the beast but in the meantime we need it to exclude Egypt among the possible torn horns.
Egypt will obviously fall during the war (Daniel 11:42) but it will not be one of these horns.
Why should this little horn decide, at the end of the war, to bring down or occupy nations up to a moment before allies?
Obviously we don't know but we can make reasonable assumptions.
In the meantime, it is necessary to consolidate one's power around Israel (which has always been the fulcrum of the whole biblical theme) but then because if these neighboring nations have been defeated by the king of the south, even if they still exist, it is probable that they will not better able to take control of it.
It is possible that they will be so badly damaged that a merger under a single leader will be necessary.
In this case, therefore, the little horn will tear apart or humiliate three kings either by giving them the final blow or simply occupying their territory - Daniel 7:8
Do we have other clues that allow us to arrive at the likely nation that will survive the end of the war?
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| Who will this little nation be? |
To the south, to the east and towards the Ornament
According to the scripture of Daniel 8:9 this little horn would have enlarged towards the south, towards the east and towards the Decoration.
In the meantime, this makes us understand that it shouldn't be too far from Israel even considering a certain elasticity in the hypothesis.
Obviously Scripture does not tell us "how far south and how far east" it would have expanded but this seems to be connected to the horns it drops, i.e. it is probable that, however wide it may be, this expansion falls within the area of the overthrown nations.
If we exclude the Adornment, it must bring down three nations between the south (its south) and the east (its east).
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| If this nation spreads to the south and east... evidently "the Adornment" is elsewhere |
However regardless of the area of expansion it is clear that if this nation would have expanded to the south and east, the "land of the Decoration" must be located in any of the remaining directions or to the north or to the west or, at the limit, to northwest or southwest.
From the same description we get to understand that if it widens to the south, to the east and towards the Ornament... evidently the Ornament is neither to the east nor to the south or, in extremis, it could be on the border of two nations, i.e. in an intermediate direction.
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| We therefore eliminate two directions |
Could Israel, relative to this nation, be indifferently located between the north, northwest, west or southwest?
Obviously not because fortunately, since we are talking about a king of the north and knowing what characteristic all the kings of the north have in common , we can eliminate two other directions.
Israel cannot be located to the north of this nation nor to the northwest because, if it were there, we would be talking about a king from the south.
Compared to Egypt, in fact, Israel is to the north… but if the head slaughtered to death is a king of the north (as we have seen) the Splendid Country can only be found to the south or south-west.
So the question is… “Who is north or northeast of Israel?”
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| Who is north or northeast of Israel (in red)? |
Let's take a good look at the map: the question marks indicate the only two nations to the north, northeast of Israel.
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| Syria and Lebanon |
The two nations are Syria and Lebanon.
If it were Syria, the nations it would topple by extending south would be Jordan and possibly Lebanon, while eastwards would be Iraq and possibly Iran (the options would be three out of four).
If it were Lebanon, on the other hand, it would bring down Syria and Jordan to the south, while Syria and Iraq would fall to the east (again three out of four).
Let's try testing with some other nation north of Israel.
Theoretically, Turkey 4 could extend south by dropping Syria and Lebanon (or Syria and Jordan) while Iran to the east… but it would be objectively difficult to consider this nation a small horn.
Other nations like Armenia or Azerbaijan would have to drop more than three horns to reach Israel (not to mention they would have the Caspian Sea to their east).
If we consider the uprooted nations and the directions in which this nation is expanding, there are not many possibilities left.
Which of the two will therefore be the little horn that will survive the war? - Revelation 13:3
The last clue, of course, we had before our eyes from the beginning.
It is a "little horn" but small or large are not absolute measures because, exactly as we did with the king of the north and the south, we must always ask ourselves with respect to whom or what.
Turkey is also a "little horn" compared to India and India is a "little horn" compared to China.
So what is the yardstick that we should always keep in mind?
Obviously Israel, always and only Israel.
Which of the two nations turns out to be a small horn compared to Israel?
But would this “little horn” really grow so big as to deserve such a mention in God's Word?
At first reading… yes and no.
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| Extension of the "little horn" once the three have been uprooted and the Ornament has been occupied |
However, let's try to imagine the geopolitical situation that will have arisen after the victory of the king of the north.
We have said that the horns it drops are part of the same northern side who fought on the same side during the war.
However, the king of the south has been completely defeated ... so it is assumed that those territories near Israel that are part of the opposite side will automatically become his.
It is true that if other powers survive the war, any other "horn" could take possession of it... but it would seem more logical that it is precisely the local victorious power that takes possession of it while the others would take the neighboring nations to the limit (besides the fact that, being more extended, they may need more time to recover).
It's a guess.
Which southern nations will have fallen by then?
On Turkey we leave a question mark because we don't know, at least for now, which side it will have been on, but Egypt will certainly fall 5 – Daniel 11:42
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| Egypt will not escape - Daniel 11:42 |
And barring an international geopolitical twist (ie seeing this nation ally with the other superpower) Saudi Arabia will also fall.
The following image shows the prudent growth this little horn will have achieved by the end of the war.
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| If Saudi Arabia remains allied with the US, currently allied with Egypt, it too will fall |
At the end of the war the Splendid Country will be practically surrounded .
Perhaps now it is clearer why it is spoken of with such emphasis and why would Satan give it “his throne and great authority”? – Revelation 13:2
Everything we have seen is, for now, only a hypothesis that could turn out to be wrong.
If this hypothesis is correct, however, there should be particularly significant references to this nation, i.e. Lebanon, in the Bible.
When it will be possible, a future article will talk about this.
Footnotes
4 = Turkey is currently part of NATO but obviously we cannot know how the situation will evolve
5 = The Bible does not mention any "extension to the west" however it is possible that Scripture emphasizes the extent due to the plucking out of the horns (the three horns of the last beast) taking for granted the extent due to victory against the king of the south. As a matter of fact Daniel 11:40, 41 says that the king of the north would have crossed over and flooded and brought down many lands
PS This article is speculative . It should be noted that Scripture says Moab, Edom and "the chief part of the sons of Ammon" escaped the king of the north - Daniel 11:41. Starting from this assumption it is clear that present-day Jordan, or part of it, cannot be considered as a territory conquered by the king of the north.
It is possible that this king's expansion simply circumnavigates this small nation, or the directions in which he expands may simply not concern the kings he topples. It is also possible that the little horn is simply not Lebanon.
PS This article is speculative . It should be noted that Scripture says Moab, Edom and "the chief part of the sons of Ammon" escaped the king of the north - Daniel 11:41. Starting from this assumption it is clear that present-day Jordan, or part of it, cannot be considered as a territory conquered by the king of the north.
It is possible that this king's expansion simply circumnavigates this small nation, or the directions in which he expands may simply not concern the kings he topples. It is also possible that the little horn is simply not Lebanon.
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