Criterios Metodológicos - Componente Abiótico

west, stopped one evening at a cabin. The family

let them have a bedroom to sleep in for the night. But, as they crawled into bed, both men were fear- ful. They had some gold with them, and they feared the family might kill them during the night for it.

As they lay there, they heard murmuring from the other room, and then the scraping of chairs.

Almost paralyzed with fear, one man crept to the door and peeked through the large keyhole.

Soon he returned, spoke a few words to his companion, and both went soundly to sleep.

What had made the change? Looking through the keyhole, he had seen the family, which had gathered at the table reading the Bible, had pushed back their chairs and were now kneeling in earnest prayer.

The two travelers had stopped for the night at a Christian home, where the Bible and prayer were important.

Is the Bible and prayer important in your home each day? There are astounding treasures to be found in God’s Book.

In this study we will view several, amazing jewels from this treasure chest—given to us by the God of heaven. They are found in the seventh chapter of the book of Daniel—right in your Bible.

God knows the future, “declaring the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10). And “He revealeth

His secret unto His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the begin- ning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.”—Isaiah 46:9-10.

A few days before His death, Jesus urged the importance of reading and understanding the prophecy of Daniel (Matthew 24:15-16). He con-

sidered it a very important book.

Fulfilled prophecy is a proof of the true and

living God and of the inspiration of His Holy Word. God foresees what will happen in the future,

and He proves it by revealing coming events in di- vine prophecy.

Daniel was but a youth when God gave him the vision of the future as symbolized by the great image of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2—a

prophecy which we earlier studied in this book.

In the seventh chapter, Daniel was given an- other most important vision. He was now an old

man, certainly past eighty years of age. The nation of Babylon had also grown old and weak, and was soon to be conquered by the Medo-Persians.

While Daniel 2 revealed the history of the world under the symbol of a great metal image, in Daniel 7 the symbolism of ravenous beasts is used.

The last beast, representing a power which would persecute the saints of God, was so unusual in its appearance that no name could fitly describe it.

Let us remember that this prophecy was given nearly 600 years before Christ, or about 2,500 years ago; it outlines the history of the world, and today we can read of its fulfillment in our history books.

“Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.”—Daniel 7:2.

In symbolic Bible language, the “four winds”

signify strife. Here is an example:

“And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no na- tion whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come. For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, . . and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them.”—Jeremiah 49:36-37.

These four winds from the four points of the compass must represent political activity, confusion, and war. These beasts of prophecy arise as a result of war and conquest.

The “great sea” must represent the masses and

multitudes of the nations of the world, the great sea of humanity in all ages, as we read in Revelation:

“The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.”—Revelation 17:15.

As Daniel was watching the great sea being lashed into fury by cyclonic winds, “four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another” (Daniel 7:3).

So, as a result of strife among the peoples of earth, these great beasts arise. What do they

for four kingdoms, rather than individual kings. “The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth.”—Daniel 7:23.

As Daniel was looking at this prophecy, he was encouraged with the next words:

“But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.”—Daniel 7:18.

THE FIRST THREE KINGDOMS

It is therefore plain that the history of the world, from Babylon to the setting up of God’s everlasting kingdom, is again presented in Daniel 7 as it was in Daniel 2. There were to be but four

major kingdoms. In both chapters they follow one another, and God’s kingdom comes as the glorious climax!

“And the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.”—Daniel 7:22.

“And the kingdom and dominion, and the great- ness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.”—Daniel

7:27.

The four beasts represent the same four world powers, beginning with Babylon, as did the four

parts of the image in the second chapter. Just as gold is properly called the chief of metals, so this first beast was “like a lion” (verse 4). The lion is the chief or king of beasts. And it “had eagle’s wings” (verse 4). The eagle is the king of the air. The eagle- winged lion, representing Babylon, invaded nation after nation. Significantly, the winged lion is found throughout Babylonian works of art. It was even stamped on the side of every brick throughout the city of Babylon!

But notice, a change comes. Daniel says:

“I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.”—Daniel 7:4.

Mighty Babylon became weak as a man. Its lion- like power and wings of speed were taken away; and, on a night of women and wine, feasting and reveling (Daniel 5), it was ready to fall before the attacks of the next great beast, the Medo-Persia Empire.

“And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.”—Daniel 7:5.

This was the second world kingdom, Medo- Persia, which overthrew Babylon in 538 B.C. As

silver is inferior to gold, so in some respects the bear was inferior to the lion.

Notice that this bear raised itself first on one

side. It was a dual monarchy of Medes and Persians. One power was stronger than the other, arose first, conquered the other, and then united the kingdom into Medo-Persia.

It was a cruel and bloodthirsty power. The three ribs represented the triple alliance of Babylon, Libya, and Egypt, which the bear fought against and conquered.

But Medo-Persia ran its course and came to its end at the great Battle of Arbela in 331 B.C.— conquered by the third beast.

“After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.”—Daniel 7:6.

The leopard is noted for its swiftness and fierce- ness. This one, with four heads and four wings, was the Grecian Empire. The extra wings typified

the extreme speed of the invasions of Alexander the Great, with his Greek and Macedonian armies traveling from European Greece across Asia Minor, Palestine, Egypt, through the Persian Empire—and into the heart of India. In just five years Alexander had marched his soldiers over 5,100 miles. He had finished conquering the world’s greatest empires when he was only 25 years of age.

In 323 B.C. Alexander made his capital at the city of Babylon, and there he died.

“The beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.”—Verse 6.

The four heads stand for the four divisions of the empire, made after Alexander’s death. (His

death occurred after several days of drinking himself drunk, because he had sunk into a depression after having earlier slain his best friend in a drunken rage.) His empire was soon divided among his four leading generals. Cassander took the western

portion (Macedonia and Greece); Lysimachus, the

northern (Thrace and a large part of Asia Minor);

Seleucus, the eastern (the bulk of what once was

the Persian Empire); and Ptolemy, the southern

(Egypt, Palestine, and part of Syria).

This fourfold dominion followed the Battle of Ipsus in 301 B.C., when these four leading gener- als defeated the last attempt to hold the empire of Alexander together. This Grecian Empire is also symbolized by the brass kingdom of Daniel 2.

THE FOURTH KINGDOM

The prophecy next moves on rapidly to the fourth world kingdom.

“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts

that were before it; and it had ten horns. “I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.”—Daniel 7:7-8.

This beast with a dreadful appearance rep- resented the Roman Empire, with its final ten divisions. This beast is described but not named

by Daniel. For this reason, it is usually called the

“nondescript beast.” Its great iron teeth speak of

its destructiveness and cruelty. Historians often call it the “iron kingdom,”

The ten horns are spoken of in these words:

“And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise.”—Verse 24.

The ten horns represent ten kings. The king stands for a kingdom (verses 17, 23). So ten main kingdoms were to arise out of Rome’s empire. The modern nations of Europe are the outgrowth of these divisions. We earlier learned in the chapter

on Daniel 2, that they can never be permanently united by men. The nations of Europe will always remain separate.

“And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.”—Daniel 2:43.

The prophet’s attention was especially fixed on this fourth, strange beast, which ultimately was

so different than the ones before it.

“Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, ex- ceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet.”—Daniel 7:19.

History clearly shows that the world power succeeding the four-part Grecian Empire was Rome, the great empire that stretched from the

Atlantic to the parts of Asia. Here in 168 B.C., at the Battle of Pydna, the last real opposition of Al- exander’s descendants was broken. Rome began to annex various nations of the old Greek Empire, including Palestine.

But how did the ten horns arise?

Rome itself was finally broken up by the in- vasions of barbarian tribes from the north, the

chief among them being the Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Suevi, Alamanni, Anglo-Saxons, Heruli, Lombards, and Burgundians. This disrup-

tion of the great empire into ten divisions took place between A.D. 351 and A.D. 476, approximately.

THE LITTLE HORN

Daniel was particularly interested in this

beast’s horns, and for a special reason: a “little horn” which arose, which was arrogant, blasphe- mous, and killed the people of God! Read this:

“And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;

“Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.”—

Daniel 7:20-22.

Daniel was astonished that a “little horn” power came out of this fourth beast—which would repeat- edly persecute and slay God’s people!

But, just as occurred with the fourth part of the great metal image of Daniel 2,—the time of the ten horns and little horn of Daniel 7 is followed by Christ’s Second Coming for His people!

Daniel saw that this little horn rose up among them after the ten horns had initially gained power,—and was very different.

Although small at first, it grew to be very great; in fact, “more stout than his fellows.” In the

process of rising to power, through its influence, three of the first ten horns (the Heruli, Vandals, and Ostrogoths), were uprooted. The last of these

(the Ostrogoths) were conquered in A.D. 538.

Here is how these three powers were elimi- nated: The first, the Heruli, were German troops

who had mutinied. In 476 they invaded Rome, de- posed the boy emperor Romulus Augustus, the last emperor of the West. Odoacer, their leader, made himself king in Rome. Through the influence of Emperor Zeno in Constantinople, the Ostrogoths invaded Italy and destroyed the Heruli.

At the request of the papacy, Justinian, the new emperor of the East, soon sent his armies under General Belisarius to destroy both the Vandals and Ostro goths. In 534, he overthrew the Vandals, and

then marched against the Ostrogoths in Rome,

conquering them in A.D. 538. Thus the three horns were uprooted by the influence of the papacy, and the way was cleared for its full development.

“I might cite three that were eradicated from before the pope out of the list first given: viz, the Heruli under Odoacer, the Vandals, and the Ostro- goths.”—Horae Apocalypticae, Vol. 3, p. 168, Note

1 (London: 1862).

“And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise af- ter them; and he shall be diverse from the first [kings], and he shall subdue three kings.”—Daniel

This little horn power even dared to speak great words against the Most High.

“And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”—Daniel 7:25.

The little horn represents papal Rome, or the papacy. All students of history know that Rome had

two phases: pagan Rome and papal Rome.

“Out of the ruins of political Rome, arose the great moral Empire in the ‘giant form’ of the Roman Church.”—A.C. Flick, The Rise of the Me- diaeval Church, p. 150.

When pagan Rome fell under the invasion of the barbarian tribes, the Bishop of Rome picked up the scepter. Christianity was nominally accepted

by the barbarians in general, and the pope became the chief power in Europe.

Emperor Justinian, living far off in the east in Constantinople, had issued a decree in A.D. 533 that the bishop of Rome was “the head of all the holy churches . . and priests” and “corrector of heretics.” The pope would have both religious and civil authority to carry out those mandates.

This imperial edict did not become effective until 538, when the last of the three horns were uprooted. So the supremacy of the papacy began in that year: A.D. 538, when this decree actually

went into effect. Then the papacy acquired territo- rial rule and dominance.

The papacy is the government of the papa, the pope. For more than 1,200 years the threads of European history have been interwoven with those of the papacy.

“Long ages ago, when Rome through the neglect of the Western emperors was left to the mercy of the barbarous hordes, the Romans turned to one figure for aid and protection, and asked him to rule them; and thus . . commenced the temporal sovereignty of the popes. And stepping to the throne of Cae- sar, the vicar of Christ took up the scepter to which the emperors and kings of Europe were to bow in reverence through so many ages.”—James H. Conroy, American Catholic Quarterly Review, April 1911.

All historians, both Catholic and Protestant, know that, following the breakup of pagan Rome, the papacy, papal Rome, became the outstanding force among the ten kingdoms of Europe. There

simply is no other power which answers to the following ten points set forth by Daniel concerning the little horn.

TEN IDENTIFYING FACTS

Here are ten facts about this little horn power:

1 - It came up after the ten horns. “And another shall arise after them” (Daniel 7:24). The little horn was to come up after the ten horns were actively in place. Although in existence earlier, the papacy did not rise to power and prominence until after Rome’s division.

2 - It came up among the ten horns. “There came up among them another little horn” (verse 8). This power must come up among the ten horns; that is, in the European region. The papacy arose with its seat in the city of Rome.

3 - It was to uproot three horns. “Before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots” (verse 8). Because the three that were uprooted (the Heruli, Ostrogoths, and Vandals) opposed some of the teachings and claims of the papacy, it used its influence to have them eliminated.

4 - It was to be different from the other horns. “And he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings” (verse 24). Instead of a normal kingdom, the papacy was a religio-political power—a mixture of religion and politics,—which

demanded that people either submit to its religious teachings or be slain. It was also a mixture of Christianity and beliefs, rites, and ceremonies borrowed from paganism.

Cardinal Newman (1801-1890) described it in this way:

“Confiding then in the power of Christianity to resist the infection of evil, and to transmute the very

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