FRIDAY MORNING MANNA
Biblical Numerology: NUMBER SEVEN – Part 25
Origin of: Term ‘Catholic Christian;’ Permanent Alliance of
Church and State & ‘Little Horn’ Power of Daniel 7: 8
QUOTE FOR THE WEEK:
“If you know the enemy, and you know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” – Sun Tzu, Chinese military strategist
From Facts of Faith by Christian Edwardson (Revised), chapter: The Prophetic History of the World, pp. 34-38. Southern Publishing Asso. Nashville 8 TN, U.S.A., 1943:
THE PROPHECIES of the Bible are not difficult to understand—if we follow the rules laid down in Scripture for interpreting prophecy. These rules are few in number, and they are not complicated. When used in connection with prophetic symbols, ‘sea,’ or ‘waters’ stand for ‘multitudes of people’ (Rev. 17: 15; Isa. 8: 7; 17: 12; Jer. 6: 23); ‘wind’ stands for ‘war’ (Jer. 4: 12, 13; 25: 31, 32); ‘beasts’ stands for ‘kingdoms’ (Dan. 7: 23); and ‘days’ for ‘years [of 360 days] (Eze.4: 6).
“The prophet Daniel saw in vision four winds of war, which strove upon the great sea of people, and for great beasts, or kingdoms, came up one after the other. ‘The first beast was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings.’ Dan. 7: 2-4. In Jeremiah 49: 19, 22, 28, a lion is used to symbolize the kingdom of Babylon (606-538 B.C.). The second beast was like a bear (Daniel 7: 35), and denoted Medo-Persia, the next world empire (538-331 B.C.). The ‘three ribs in the mouth of it’ were the three chief countries which it conquered, Lydia, Babylon, and Egypt.
“He next saw a leopard having four heads and four wings (v. 6), symbolizing the Grecian Empire (331-168 B.C.). A leopard is very alert, and adding to this symbol four wings would indicate that Grecia would make rapid conquest, which was true. Alexander the Great marched his army 5,100 miles in eight years and conquered the then known civilized world. The four heads on the leopard denote the four divisions into which that empire was split up after the death of Alexander.
“’The fourth beast,’ the angel explained, ‘shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth.’ V. 23. The fourth empire from Babylon was Rome (168 B.C to 476 A.D.) The angel also informs us that the ‘ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise.’ V. 24. The Roman Empire was split up into just 10 smaller kingdoms [the Old World of Europe] between the years 351 and 476 A.D. The following are their ancient and modern names: 1. Alemanni—Germany. 2. Franks—France. 3. Anglo-Saxons—England 4. Burgundians—Switzerland. 5. Visigoths—Spain. 6. Suevi—Portugal. 7. Lombards—Italy. 8. Heruli. 9. Vandals 10. Ostrogoths. [the last three kingdoms disappeared from history, “uprooted by the “little horn’ of prophecy. See the following].
“This prophecy is so plain, and the explanations so natural and easy to understand [no convoluted mental contortions needed!], that all commentators, both Protestant and Catholic, fully agree on it. (See Sir Isaac Newton’s ‘Observations of the Prophecies,’ pp. 157-159; Bishop Thomas Newton, ‘Dissertations on the Prophecies,’ pp. 201-221; Joseph Tanner on ‘Daniel and the Revelation,’ pp. 165-174’ Martin Luther’s ‘Introduction,’ pp. 32, 33, Frederikshald, 1853).
“The Douay, or Catholic, version of the Bible has the following notes on Daniel 7: 3, 7, 8. ‘Four great beasts. Viz., the Chaldean, Persian, Grecian, and Roman empires.’ ‘Ten horns. That is, ten kingdoms, (as Apoc. 17: 12,) among which the empire of the fourth beast shall be parceled.’ ‘Another little horn. This is commonly understood of Antichrist.’
“In regard to these then kingdoms, Sir Isaac Newton says: ‘Whatever was their number afterwards, they are still called the Ten Kings from their first number.’ – ‘Daniel and the Apocalypse,’ p. 187; first printed, 1733; reprinted, London: 1922.
‘THE LITTLE HORN’
“’I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn.’ Daniel 7: 8. Let us now consider all the characteristics this prophecy gives to the little horn, and we shall be forced by weight of evidence to settle on just one power as the fulfillment of these predictions.
(1 ) It was to come ‘among’ the ten European kingdoms into which the Roman Empire was split. (V. 8). (2) It ‘shall rise’ to power ‘after them.’ (V. 23). (3) ‘And he shall be diverse from the first’ ten kingdoms; that is, different from ordinary, secular kingdoms. (V. 24). Anyone acquainted with history knows that the Papacy is the only power that answers to all these specifications. It rose ‘among’ the kingdoms of Western Rome, ‘after’ they were established in A.D. 476, and differed from purely civil power. But the angel still gives another mark of identity to the little horn. (4) Before it ‘there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots.’ (V. 8). That is, in coming up it pushed out before it three of the former horns by the roots. Thus three kingdoms were to be plucked up to give place for the Papacy. This prediction found its exact fulfillment in the destruction of the three Arian kingdoms: the Heruli, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths, as we shall now see. Rev. E.B. Elliot, M.A., says:
‘I might cite three that were eradicated from before the Pope out of the list first given; viz., the Heruli, under Odoacer AKA Odovacar], theVandals, and the Ostrogoths.’ – ‘Horae Apocalyptiae,’ Vol. III, p. 168, Note 1. London: 1862.
“In the former days crowns of conquered kings were placed on the head of the conqueror (2 Samuel 12: 30). It is symbolically fitting, therefore, that the pope wears a triple crown. Bishop Thomas Newton, speaking of the power that destroyed the three horns, says: ‘And the pope hath in a manner pointed himself out for the person by wearing the triple crown.’—‘Dissertations on the Prophecies,’ p. 320. London.
“A brief statement of the political and religious conditions in the Roman world is necessary here in order that the reader may better grasp the real situation in which these three Arian kingdoms found themselves. After Constantine had removed the seat of the empire from Rome to Constantinople, The Romans were (at intervals) ruled from that Eastern capital [of Rome], until the pope had grown into power in Rome. While the Papacy was gradually gaining control over the people of the Western [Rome], the Eastern emperors were courting the goodwill of the popes in order to hold their western subjects.
“From the time of Constantine to that of Justinian there was a deadly struggle between the two largest factions of the Church, the Catholics and the Arians. Often there was terrible strife, and even bloodshed. ‘The streets of Alexandria and Constantinople were deluged with blood by the partisans of rival bishops’ –‘’History of Christianity,’ H.H. Milman, Book III, chap. 5, par. 2, p. 410. New York: 2 vol. ed., 1881. Most of the barbarian nations into which the Roman Empire was now split had accepted the Catholic faith. But the Heruli, Vandals, and the Ostrogoths were Arians.
“While emperors courted the help of the popes for political reasons [same as today, and even worse], the popes sought the assistance of the emperors to destroy the Arians. Theodosius, the Emperor of the East, had already (280-395 A.D.) given ‘fifteen stern edicts against heresy, one on the average for every tear of his reign . . . So began the campaign which ended in the virtual extinction of Arianism in the Roman world.’ –‘Italy and her Invaders,’ Thomas Hodgkin, Vol. I, pp. 368, 369. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 8-vol. ed., of 1899.
“In A.D. 380, the Emperor Theodosius issued an edict which said: ‘We order those who follow this law to assume the name of Catholic Christians: we pronounce all others to be mad and foolish, and we order that they bear the ignominious name of heretics . . . . These are to be visited . . . by the stroke of our own [no Biblical] authority,’ –‘Italy and her Invaders,’ T. Hodgkin, Vol. I, p. 183. Two-vol. ed. of 1880.
“Thus did the reign and legislation of Theodosius mark out the lines of future relationship between Pope and Emperor.’ – Id., p. 187.
‘Embassies passed continually between the pope of Rome and the emperor of Constantinople, and in 381 A.D. Theodosius arranged for a general council of the clergy at Constantinople, which finally established the Catholic doctrine. ‘To him also, at least as much as to Constantinople, must be attributed the permanent alliance between Church and State.’ –‘Id., pp. 182, 183.
THE HERULI
“The Heruli under Odoacer [Odovacar] had established themselves in Italy, 476 A.D.; and while this Arian king ruled all his subjects impartially, he endeavored to shield his people from the persecution inaugurated by the combined efforts of the pope and the emperor. Pasquale Villari, writing of the period between 468 and 483 A.D. says:
‘At the time the pope was morally, and even more than morally speaking, the most powerful personage in Italy. If Odovacar [Odoacer], as an Arian, had openly opposed him, Simplicius [the Pope then] could have easily roused the whole country against him, and made it impossible for him to maintain his position in Italy.’ –‘The Barbarian Invasion of Italy,’ Vol. I., pp. 145, 146. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1902. And just an opportunity presented itself:
“Pope Simplicius died on the 2nd of March, 483, whereupon Odovacar made a false move, of which he felt the consequences before long. Undoubtedly it was very important for him to control the choice of a new Pontiff. He sought not only to prevent the riots which had often caused bloodshed in the streets of Rome on similar occasions, but also desired a Pope well disposed to himself. Thus when the preliminary assembly failed to agree in the choice of a candidate, the Pretorian Prefect, Cecina Basilius, suddenly intervened in Odovacar’s name, and declared that no election would be valid without the King’s voice . . . .A decree was likewise issued prohibiting the alienation of Church property and threatening anathema on all who failed to respect it. After this the Assembly was summoned to sanction the decree and decide the election, which resulted in favor of Felix II (483-492), the candidate recommended by Odovacar.’ – Id., p. 146.
“His [Odovacar’s] interference in the Papal election has cast into the Roman Church the seed of a deep and threatening distrust towards him.’ –‘Id., p. 147.
“Rome could never forgive such an affront, and through its faithful ally, the emperor, another barbarian nation, the Ostrogoths, were called in to destroy the Heruli. Niccolo Machiavelli relates how the popes used such a method. He says: ‘Nearly all the wars which the northern barbarians carried on in Italy, it may be here remarked, were occasioned by the pontiffs; and the hordes, with which the country was inundated, were generally called in by them [the popes]. The same mode of proceeding still continued, and kept Italy weak and unsettled.’—‘History of Florence,’ p. 13. Washington and London: Universal Classics Library, 1901.” (Continued next week)