CHAPTER 11 A
In this chapter we will look at the insignificant, Little Horn power as he magniifies himself to be like God and to be worshipped as God. Please remember to read previous chapters regarding Daniel 8, especially on Daniel 8:9-10 regarding the Little Horn’s geographical origins and growth to understand papal growth out of a united Roman pagan/Christian power.
Daniel 8:11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, …https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Daniel-Chapter-8/
PRINCE OF THE HOST
Now let us look at the phrase “prince of host” from Daniel 8:11.
Who is the Prince of the host? To find out let’s look at the Hebrew word translated “prince”.
PRINCE H8269
שַׂר sar, sar; from H8323; a head person (of any rank or class):—captain (that had rule), chief (captain), general, governor, keeper, lord,(-task-)master, prince(-ipal), ruler, steward. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H8269&t=KJV
A defining story regarding the Prince of Hosts in the Bible is found in Joshua 5. The Hebrew word “sar”, translated in Joshua 5:13-15 is the same Hebrew word “sar” used in Daniel 8:11 but was translated “captain” in Daniel 8:11 rather than “prince.”
Joshua 5:13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
15 And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Joshua-Chapter-5/
According to the passage above there is a Captain of the Lord’s host and He is to be worshipped making Him a member of the Godhead. Keep in mind we are NOT to worship angels or men, only God. (Mt. 4:10; Revelation 20:8-9).
The Prince of the Lord’s host is seen again in Daniel 10:13. Let us look at the words associated with Him.
Daniel 10:13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Daniel-Chapter-10/
This phrase “one of the chief princes” can better be translated: The First in authority and rank of the united princes, Who is like God, came to help me. See the following for Hebrew word translations from the Strong’s concordance.
MICHAEL H4317
מִיכָאֵל Mîykâʼêl, me-kaw-ale'; from H4310 and (the prefix derivative from) H3588and H410; who (is) like God?; Mikael, the name of an archangel and of nine Israelites:—Michael. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H4317&t=KJV
ONE H259
אֶחָד ʼechâd, ekh-awd'; a numeral from H258; properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an ordinal) first:—a, alike, alone, altogether, and, any(-thing), apiece, a certain, (dai-) ly, each (one), eleven, every, few, first, highway, a man, once, one, only, other, some, together,https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H259&t=KJV
CHIEF H7223
רִאשׁוֹן riʼshôwn, ree-shone'; or רִאשֹׁן riʼshôn; from H7221; first, in place, time or rank (as adjective or noun):—ancestor, (that were) before(-time), beginning, eldest, first, fore(-father) (-most), former (thing), of old time, past.https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H7223&t=KJV
PRINCES H8269
שַׂר sar, sar; from H8323; a head person (of any rank or class):—captain (that had rule), chief (captain), general, governor, keeper, lord,(-task-)master, prince(-ipal), ruler, steward. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H8269&t=KJV
Daniel 8:21 But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Daniel-Chapter-10/
Daniel 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Above in Daniel 8:21 we find that Michael is specifically, Daniel’s Prince. From Daniel 12:1 we see that He is the Prince or Captain of the children of Israel. Looking forward, He is the promised Prince or King of Israel.
Matthew 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
MAGNIFIED HIMSELF
Daniel 8:11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host,
Daniel 8 tells us that the Little Horn Power wants to be like God and opposes God.
Daniel 8:11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host,
Daniel 8:25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
In the book of Jude and Isaiah 14 and Revelation 12 we are given a picture of the Devil who boldly opposes (stands against) Michael (God) and fights or wars against Michael (God) the Prince or Captain of the Lord’s hosts.
Jude 9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
The word archangel means chief angel, just as we read in Daniel 10.
ARCHANGEL G743
Revelation 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Revelation-Chapter-12/
In 2 Thessalonians 2 and Revelation 13 we are given a picture of the rise of the “man of sin” or “leopard like beast” empowered by the devil, who tries to be God and who opposes God just like the prophecy of Daniel 8:11 & 25 predicted regarding the Little Horn power. The Man of Sin of 2 Thessalonians 2, the Leopard -like beast of Revelation 13, and the Little Horn powers of Daniel 7 and 8 are all the same and can be tied together with comparative study of scripture. God gives us ample information to understand this deceptive power, to help us to resist it, even under persecution.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God….
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
The Bible says the Little Horn Power magnified himself even to the Prince of the host, which is Jesus Christ as we learned above. Below, we will see that the Byzantine emperors ruled as absolute monarchs which position should only be held by Christ (1 Timothy 6:15); as commander in chief of the army, a position also held by Jesus Christ (1 Samuel 17:45); as head of the churchalso a position only to be held by Christ (Ephesians 5:23); and as head of the government also a position held by Christ (John 14:15). This pagan power, who took these power liberties, eventually developed into the formation of the papacy.
1 Timothy 6:15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/1-Timothy-Chapter-6/
1 Samuel 17:45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Ephesians-Chapter-5/
John 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/John-Chapter-15/
Daniel 8:11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.
BYZANTINE EMPERORS
The Byzantine emperor or basileus (or more rarely basilissa for empress) resided in the magnificent Great Palace of Constantinople and ruled as an absolute monarch over a vast empire. As such, the basileus needed the assistance of an expert government and a widespread and efficient bureaucracy. Although an absolute ruler, an emperor was expected - by his government, people and the Church - to rule wisely and justly. Even more importantly, an emperor had to have military success as the army remained the most powerful institution in Byzantium in real terms. The generals in Constantinople and the provinces could - and did - remove an emperor who failed to defend the empire’s borders or who brought economic catastrophe. Still, in the normal run of events, the emperor was commander-in-chief of the army, head of the Church and government, he controlled the state finances and appointed or dismissed nobles at will; few rulers before or since have ever wielded such power. https://www.ancient.eu/Byzantine_Empire/
“THE BYZANTINE CHURCH
Paganism continued to be practiced for centuries after the foundation of Byzantium, but it was Christianity which became the defining feature of Byzantine culture, profoundly affecting its politics, foreign relations, and art and architecture. The Church was headed by the Patriarch or bishop of Constantinople, who was appointed or removed by the emperor. Local bishops, who presided over larger towns and their surrounding territories and who represented both the church and emperor, had considerable wealth and powers in their local communities. Christianity, then, became an important common denominator which helped bind together diverse cultures into a single empire which included Christian Greeks, Armenians, Slavs, Georgians, and many other minorities, and those of other faiths such as Jews and Musli.”https://www.ancient.eu/Byzantine_Empire/
Satan masterminded this compromise between paganism and Christianity to develop the “man of sin” spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 2. In this way, man or the “man of sin” opposed and exalted himself above God. This pseudo-religion, developed into the papacy, and became a masterpiece of Satan’s work to place himself on the highest throne of this earth to rule as if he were God, and to do whatever he wanted.
Little by little, from the 6th century AD and over the course of centuries, the Roman church was given increased state powers and the Roman emperors began losing ecclesiastical power. Eventually the emperors had to be crowned by the pope to be considered inaugurated making the papacy the ruler of the world.
Men were taught to place their faith in the pope rather than in Jesus Christ. People began to trust popes and priests for forgiveness of sin and for their salvation. They were taught that they must go to the popes or priests as their earthly intercessors, rather than Jesus Christ, to approach God. Because the pope stood in the place of God to them, in their thinking, their obedience to him became necessary to their salvation. When the church began to persecute those who deviated from her requirements, the minds of the people began to think of the justice of God as cruel. They obeyed this sanctimonious erring human leader out of respect for God, fear of losing earthly life and comforts, and fear of losing eternal life. In this way human laws were elevated above God’s law. Men in darkness, now in ignorance, literally worshipped the dragon by worshipping the beast.
Revelation 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
But does Scripture say is the end of their leader?
Isaiah 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.
19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.
20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Isaiah-Chapter-14/
In summary we have discovered that the Little Horn Power took the prerogatives of God, figuring himself as the prince of hosts, absolute monarch and head of the church which were positions only to be held by Christ. These powers combined with the state powers of commander and chief of the army, and the head of the government caused the Little Horn Power to make himself the church/state ruler of the world, a position only to be held by Christ according to Scripture.