The Holy Scripture - english version B.indd - Sabbat

John's Foreview of Romanism.355wound " inflicted on the last of its seven heads, and the marvelous healing of thatwound, or the revival of the slain head or government, then mark the tyrannicaland dreadful doings of this revived or eighth head. It becomes a great and terribleenemy of God's people, a Roman enemy - not an early Roman enemy, not a paganCæsar, not a Nero or a Domitian, but one occupying a later place, a final place ;for none succeeds him in that empire, since it is foretold that his destruction willbe accomplished at the advent of Christ in His kingdom.A comparison of this Roman enemy of God's people described by John withthe " little horn " foreshown by Daniel, demonstrates the important fact of theiridentity. They are one and the same. Observe the following points :I. The persecuting horn seen by Daniel is a horn of the Roman empire ; it isa Roman horn. And the persecuting head seen by John is a head of the Romanbeast. In this they are alike. Each is Roman.II. The persecuting horn grows up in the later, or divided state of the Romanempire ; it rises among the ten Gothic horns. The persecuting head seen by Johnalso grows up in the same later state of the Roman empire, for it follows the sevenheads, and is the last. The sixth was said by the angel to be in existence in John'stime, and the seventh was to last only a short season, - be wounded to death, andthe revived in a new and final and peculiarly tyrannical and persecuting form. The" little horn " in Daniel belongs to the later ten-horned, or Gothic, period of theRoman empire ; and the revived head of the empire seen by John belongs to thesame period. You will note this point - their period is the same. This is a secondmark of their identity.III. Each has a mouth. Now here is a very distinct and remarkable feature. Theother horns and heads were dumb ; but this speaks. Of the persecuting Romanhorn we read in Daniel, it had " a mouth"; and of the persecuting Roman headwe read in John, " there was given to him a mouth."IV. In each case this mouth speaks the same things. Of the mouth of theRoman horn Daniel says, in chapter vii., " it spoke great things " (v. 8), " greatwords which the horn spoke " (v. 11), " very great things " (v. 20), " great wordsagainst the Most High " (v. 25). While of the Roman head in the Apocalypse Johnsays: "There was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies.... And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name,and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven " (Rev. xiii., 6). The hornspeaks ; the head speaks : each speaks great things ; each speaks blaspehmies.This striking correspondence is a further indication of their identity. Each has ...:see Daniel vii.,8 and Revelation xiii.,5.The expression is exactly the same in the Septuaginttranslation of Daniel and in the Apocalypse.V. The horn has great dominion. It plucks up three horns ; it has " a lookmore stout than his fellows " (v. 20) ; it makes war and prevails ; its great" dominion " is eventually taken away and destroyed ; " they shall take awayhis dominion " (v. 26). Similarly the head has great dominion ; nations." Theapplicaton of these words should not be pressed beyond the sphere to which theybelong. In that sphere, for a certain period, the power of the horn or head was tobe supreme and universal. In the fact of their dominion they are alike.