Dan 2:40.
Dan 7:19.20.21.
Dan 7:23.24.25.
Dan 8:8.9.12.13.14.
Dan 8:20.21.22.23.24.25.
Dan 11:14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.28.29.
Dan 11:30.31.32.33.34.35.36.37.38.39.40.41.42.43.44.45.
The progressive rise of the little horn in the chapters of the book of Daniel
The little horn in the book of Daniel represents the papacy in the Roman Catholic Church system. When reading the book of Daniel one can see a gradual transition of power from the Roman Empire to the little horn from the chapters involved, until the little horn power takes precedent in Daniel 11:14-45. This can be seen in the following texts.
Dan 2:40. And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks to pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.
Dan 7:19-21. 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 nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet, and the ten horns that were on it´s head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows. And I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and was prevailing against them.
Dan 7:23-25. Then he said: “The fourth beast shall be a 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. The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; he shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings. He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and a law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.”
Dan 8:8-14. Therefore, the male goat grew very great, but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land. And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to appose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered. Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?” And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days,” then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.
Dan 8:20-25. The ram which you saw, having the two horns-they are the kings of Media and Persia. And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king. As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule, and he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without human means.
When analyzing these passages about the little horn power, one can see a progressive development, from the fourth beast which is the Roman Empire to the little horn power. The Roman Empire is mentioned less, and the little horn is written in more detail as the chapters progress. E.g. Dan 2:40.41. Dan 7:19-21. Dan 7:23-25. Dan 8:8-14 Dan 8:20-25. When one reaches Daniel 11:14-45, this is the last written detail of the history of the papacy in the Roman Catholic church system. The little horn in the book of Daniel has a harmonious progressive development from chapter two to chapter eleven.
The Bible commentaries which write and explain that Dan 11:5-45 is part of the Roman Empire, Antiochus Epiphanes and the Crusades are absolutely wrong in their textual analysis and exegesis. As one can see from the above reading of the texts on the little horn, it is a progressive development from chapter to chapter which ends at chapter eleven.
Now who is behind all these theological Bible commentaries who explain away Daniel 11? The answer is the theologians in the Roman Catholic church system who teach in many of the theological universities around the world.