The Little Horn and Blasphemous Claims in Daniel
The "little horn" in Daniel is a symbol associated with blasphemous claims and persecution of God's people. The term appears in Daniel 7 and 8, referring to a power that opposes God and His faithful followers. In Daniel 8:9, the little horn emerges from one of the four horns of a goat, representing a power that arises from the Grecian empire [1].
The interpretation of the little horn varies among commentators. Some identify it with Antiochus Epiphanes, a Seleucid king who persecuted the Jews and desecrated the Temple in the 2nd century BCE [4, 5]. According to Matthew Henry, Antiochus Epiphanes is the "little horn spoken of before" in Daniel 8:9, a sworn enemy to the Jewish religion [4]. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown also identify Antiochus Epiphanes as the little horn in Daniel 8:9, highlighting his extraordinary love of art and his role as the Old Testament Antichrist [5].
However, other interpretations see the little horn as a symbol of a broader power or a future antichrist figure. Adam Clarke suggests that the little horn may refer to the Roman power that destroyed the Jewish polity and Temple [3]. Tyndale House notes that the little horn's actions against God's people are similar to those of Pharaoh and Haman, indicating a pattern of opposition to God's people throughout history [2].
The little horn is characterized by its blasphemous claims and actions against God's people. In Daniel 7:21, the little horn wages war against the saints, and in Daniel 8:24-25, it prospers and practices against the holy people, speaking great things and magnifying itself against God. John Gill notes that the beast in Revelation 13:5, often associated with the little horn, is given a mouth to speak blasphemies against God [7].
The connection between the little horn and blasphemous claims is rooted in its opposition to God and His people. The little horn's actions are a manifestation of the ongoing conflict between God's kingdom and the forces of evil. As Jamieson, Fausset & Brown observe, the little horn's power is not derived from its own strength but from its ability to gain power through craft and deception [6].
The various interpretations of the little horn highlight the complexities of apocalyptic prophecy and the ongoing debate among scholars and theologians. While the specific identity of the little horn remains a matter of interpretation, its association with blasphemous claims and persecution of God's people is a common thread throughout the commentaries [2, 4, 5].
Sources
- Daniel “Out of one of them came out a little horn, which grew exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land. -- Daniel 8:9”
- Daniel (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Daniel 7:21: 7:21 The object of the little horn’s hatred and arrogance was God’s holy people. In this, the little horn was like Pharaoh and Haman (see Exod 1:22; Esth 3:8-9; cp. Dan 11:36-40).”
- Daniel (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Daniel 8 (introduction): This chapter contains Daniel's vision of the ram and he-goat, Dan 8:1-14; referring, as explained by the angel, to the Persian and Grecian monarchies, Dan 8:15-26. The little horn mentioned in the ninth verse, (or fierce king, as interpreted in the twenty-third), is supposed by some to denote Antiochus Epiphanes; but seems more properly to apply to the Roman power in general, by which the polity and temple of the Jews were destroyed, on account of the great transgressions of these ancient people of God; and particularly because of their very obstinate an”
- Daniel (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Daniel 11:21: All this is a prophecy of the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes, the little horn spoken of before (Dan 8:9) a sworn enemy to the Jewish religion, and a bitter persecutor of those that adhered to it. What troubles the Jews met with in the reigns of the Persian kings were not so particularly foretold to Daniel as these, because then they had living prophets with them, Haggai and Zechariah, to encourage them; but these troubles in the days of Antiochus were foretold, because, before that time, prophecy would cease, and they would find it necessary to have recourse to the”
- Daniel (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Daniel 8:9: little horn--not to be confounded with the little horn of the fourth kingdom in Dan 7:8. The little horn in Dan 7:8 comes as an eleventh horn after ten preceding horns. In Dan 8:9 it is not an independent fifth horn, after the four previous ones, but it arises out of one of the four existing horns. This horn is explained (Dan 8:23) to be "a king of fierce countenance," &c. Antiochus Epiphanes is meant. Greece with all its refinement produces the first, that is, the Old Testament Antichrist. Antiochus had an extraordinarly love of art, which expressed it”
- Daniel (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Daniel 8:24: not by his own power--which in the beginning was "little" (Dan 8:9; Dan 7:8); but by gaining over others through craft, the once little horn became "mighty" (compare Dan 8:25; Dan 11:23). To be fully realized by Antichrist. He shall act by the power of Satan, who shall then be permitted to work through him in unrestricted license, such as he has not now (Rev 13:2); hence the ten kingdoms shall give the beast their power (Th2 2:9-12; Rev 17:13). prosper and practise--prosper in all that he attempts (Dan 8:12). holy people--His persecutions are espec”
- Revelation (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Revelation 13:5: And there was given unto him a mouth,.... The beast is said to have a mouth before, like the mouth of a lion, Rev 13:2; but now he was moved and stirred up by the dragon, the devil, to open it, not only in a cruel and voracious way, but in a haughty, lying, and blasphemous manner: and this was given him, it was at the instigation of Satan, and by divine permission; his coming, speaking, and acting, were after the working of Satan, but not without the will of God; who, as he gave up many to a judicial blindness, to believe his lies and blasphemies, gave up him to s”