The Little Horn's Blasphemous Actions in Daniel 7
Daniel 7:21 (NASB) describes the "little horn" as "waging war with the saints and overpowering them" [1]. This verse is part of a larger vision in Daniel 7, where the prophet Daniel sees four beasts representing successive empires, followed by the emergence of a "little horn" from the fourth beast [8, 2]. This little horn is characterized by its arrogance and its actions against God's people [2, 3].
The literary context of Daniel 7 places this vision after Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 2, which also depicted a succession of world empires [8]. Daniel 7 provides a more detailed, symbolic account of these empires and the rise of a particularly oppressive power. The vision begins with four great beasts rising from the sea, representing kingdoms [8]. The fourth beast, dreadful and strong, has ten horns, and among them, a "little horn" emerges, uprooting three of the previous horns [2]. This little horn is distinct, possessing "eyes like those of a man and a mouth that spoke words of arrogance" [2].
Historically, the book of Daniel is set during the Babylonian exile, with Daniel receiving visions and interpreting dreams during the reigns of Babylonian and Persian kings [8]. The visions in Daniel 7 are generally understood to refer to empires that would follow, leading up to a final, oppressive power.
Key terms in Daniel 7:21 include "little horn," "saints," and "overpowering." The "little horn" is a central figure in this chapter, described as speaking "words of arrogance" [2]. This figure is depicted as an enemy of God's "saints," a term referring to God's holy people [3]. The phrase "overpowering them" indicates a period of successful persecution by the little horn against the saints [1].
Major exegetical decisions revolve around the identification of the "little horn." While some interpretations, such as Matthew Henry's commentary, primarily identify the "little horn" of Daniel 8:9 and Daniel 11:21 with Antiochus Epiphanes, a persecutor of the Jewish religion [6], the "little horn" of Daniel 7:8 is often seen as distinct and having a broader, eschatological significance [9]. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown distinguish between the "little horn" of Daniel 7:8, which arises from the fourth kingdom, and the "little horn" of Daniel 8:9, which arises from one of the four existing horns of the Greek empire and is identified as Antiochus Epiphanes [9].
The range of interpretations for the "little horn" in Daniel 7 is varied. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown interpret the "little horn" as persecuting the Church, noting that while it "prevailed," this prevalence is not ultimate and is limited by a specific time frame ("until" in Daniel 7:22) [4]. They suggest that this persecution continues up to Christ's second advent [4]. This commentary also connects the "wilful king" of Daniel 11:36, primarily Antiochus, antitypically and mainly to Antichrist, linking it to the beast in Revelation [7]. The "little horn" is seen as gaining power not by its own initial strength but by craft and the support of others, eventually becoming "mighty" [5]. This power is understood to be derived from Satan, who works through this figure with "unrestricted license" [5].
The actions of the little horn, particularly its war against the saints, have functioned significantly in Christian tradition as a prophecy of persecution against believers. The imagery of the little horn's blasphemous actions and its temporary triumph over the saints has been a source of both warning and encouragement, reminding believers of the reality of spiritual warfare and the ultimate triumph of God's kingdom [4]. The Tyndale House commentary notes that the little horn's hatred and arrogance towards God's people are reminiscent of figures like Pharaoh and Haman [3].
Sources
- Daniel “Daniel 7:21 (NASB) — "I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them”
- Daniel “Daniel 7:8 (BSB) — While I was contemplating the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like those of a man and a mouth that spoke words of arrogance.”
- 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 (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Daniel 7:21: made war with the saints--persecuted the Church (Rev 11:7; Rev 13:7). prevailed--but not ultimately. The limit is marked by "until" (Dan 7:22). The little horn continues, without intermission, to persecute up to Christ's second advent (Rev 17:12, Rev 17:14; Rev 19:19-20).”
- 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”
- 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 11:36: The wilful king here, though primarily Antiochus, is antitypically and mainly Antichrist, the seventh head of the seven-headed and ten-horned beast of Rev. 13:1-18, and the "beast" of Armageddon (Rev 16:13, Rev 16:16; Rev 19:19). Some identify him with the revived French emperorship, the eighth head of the beast (Rev 17:11), who is to usurp the kingly, as the Pope has the priestly, dignity of Christ--the false Messiah of the Jews, who will "plant his tabernacle between the seas in the holy mountain," "exalting himself above every god" (Th2 2:4; Rev 13”
- Daniel (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Daniel 7 (introduction): The prophet having, in the preceding chapters of this book, related some remarkable events concerning himself and his brethren in the captivity, and given proof of his being enabled, by Divine assistance, to interpret the dreams of others, enters now into a detail of his own visions, returning to a period prior to the transactions recorded in the last chapter. The first in order of the prophet's visions is that of the four beasts, which arose out of a very tempestuous ocean, Dan 7:1-9; and of one like the Son of man who annihilated the dominion of the fo”
- 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”