Daniel 7:23

"Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And so for the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall ten kings arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the former, and he shall put down three kings. And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High; and he shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and a half a time."

Several very important deductions are made mandatory by these words. Note that the "saints" existed throughout the period of the little horn, itself a part of the fourth beast, having arisen out of it.

"Shall be diverse ..." This is twice mentioned - in both Daniel 7: 24 and Daniel 7:25. Not all of that diversity is spelled out here; but the New Testament sheds further light upon it. The diversity is seen in that (1) the little horn is a religious kingdom, as indicated by its two horns (of a lamb) (Revelation 13:11); (2) it shall prevail mightily, continuing, even to the end; (3) it will think to change times and law, especially as regards sacred things (changes were made in such things as baptism and the Lord's Supper, the two central ordinances in the Christian religion); (4) it became a terrible persecuting power of God's true people; it formed alliances with the kings of the earth, etc., etc.

"Time and times and a half a time ..." The key fact of what this means is plainly taught in the Book of Revelation; but as far as we have been able to determine, the true meaning is today unknown by practically the whole world of Bible scholars.

The whole dispensation of the kingdom of Christ until the final judgment, embracing all of the time between the First Advent of Christ and the Second Advent of Christ culminating in the Final Judgment of all men, is repeatedly mentioned in Revelation. Here are the references:

1. The Christian martyrs of Revelation 6:10 pleaded with God to tell them, "How long?" it would be before the final judgment at which time they would be avenged upon those who had slain them. From the answer given, it is obvious that that vengeance would come at the final judgment in the end of time, that is, at the end of the whole Christian dispensation. The answer? And it was said unto them that they should rest yet FOR A LITTLE TIME (until all the future martyrs who were yet to die in the faith should join them). Here the whole Christian dispensation is called "a little time."

2. Revelation 12:12 explains the hatred of Satan for God's church, a hatred which, of course, exists during every moment of the Christian dispensation. What is the reason? "Satan has great wrath, knowing that he hath but a SHORT TIME. How long is that? It is the total time between the First Advent and the Second Advent of Christ.

3. God promised to nourish his church during her wilderness probation (Revelation 12:14). This period is described as "always, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:18-20); but it is also referred to in this passage (Revelation 12:14), as A TIME AND TIMES AND HALF A TIME.

4. This same period when God will nourish his Church in the wilderness, protecting her from Satan's hatred, is also called in Revelation 12:6 A THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED AND THREE-SCORE DAYS.

5. The authority of the little horn (identified with the fourth beast of Daniel) is stated in Revelation 13:5 to continue for FORTY AND TWO MONTHS. Since both Daniel and Revelation make it clear that this period is actually to last until the end of time, it becomes mandatory to believe that all such time-references in Revelation have exactly the same meaning. Every one of these means "The whole Christian Dispensation."

6. "They shall live and reign with Christ a THOUSAND YEARS" (Revelation 20:4-6). As long as saints "suffer with Christ," they also "reign with Him"; and therefore this "THOUSAND YEARS" can be nothing else except the whole dispensation of Christ, lasting all the way from the First Advent through the Second Advent of Christ.

The above understanding of these mysterious time-references in Daniel and Revelation is absolutely necessary to any complete understanding of these prophecies.

In connection with these studies, the Commentary on Revelation should be consulted. Much additional material is available there. (Also see the Excursus on "The Man of Sin" in 2 Thessalonians 2 in this series.)

A careful coordination of the passages in Revelation, with the revelations in this prophecy (Daniel 2 and Daniel 7), with due respect to other New Testament references to this same phenomenon, namely, that of the Great Apostasy from Christianity which was specifically foretold by the New Testament authors, will fully confirm all of the positions which we have advocated in the interpretations presented here.