6 “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had afour heads, and dominion was given to it.
7 “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, aa fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, band it had ten horns.
8 I was considering the horns, and athere was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes bof a man, cand a mouth speaking pompous words.
Vision of the Ancient of Days
9 “Ia watched till thrones were put in place, And bthe Ancient of Days was seated; cHis garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, dIts wheels a burning fire;
10aA fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. bA thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. cThe1 court was seated, And the books were opened.
11 “I watched then because of the sound of the1 pompous words which the horn was speaking; aI watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame.
12 As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
13 “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, aOne like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him.
14aThen to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all bpeoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion iscan everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom theone Which shall not be destroyed.
Daniel’s Visions Interpreted
15 “I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit1 within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.
16 I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things:
17 ‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four1 kings which arise out of the earth.
18 But athe saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’
19 “Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet;
20 and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke1 pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows.
21 “I was watching; aand the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them,
22 until the Ancient of Days came, aand a judgment was made infavor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.
23 “Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast shall be aA fourth kingdom on earth, Which shall be different from all other kingdoms, And shall devour the whole earth, Trample it and break it in pieces.
Another little horn - Among Protestant writers this is considered to be the popedom.
Before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up - These were probably,
1.The exarchate of Ravenna.
2.The kingdom of the Lombards. And,
3.The state of Rome.
The first was given to the Pope, Stephen II., by Pepin, king of France, a.d. 755; and this constituted the pope' s temporal princes. The second was given to St. Peter by Charlemagne, in 774. The third, the state of Rome, was vested in the pope, both in spirituals and temporals, and confirmed to him by Lewis the pious. These are the three horns which were plucked up from the roots before the little horn.
Were eyes like the eyes of a man - Intimating cunning and superintendence; for the pope calls himself Episcopus episcoporum , the Overseer of overseers.
And a mouth speaking great things - Full of boasting; pretending to unlimited jurisdiction; binding and loosing at pleasure; promising to absolve from all sins, present, past, and future; and threatening to send to everlasting destruction all kings, kingdoms, and individuals, who would dare to dispute his power and authority.
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