individuals or entities which the Bible describes
as pretending to take Christ’s prerogatives.
Accordingly, several portions of the Bible which
use varied terms like, “the man of sin,”14 “the
beast,”15 “the little horn,”16 “the great harlot,”17
all refer to an antichrist power because they are
described as falsely representing themselves as
having Christ’s authority. Thus Wycliffe explains,
“in the seventh chapter of Daniel, Antichrist is
forcefully described by a horn....”18
Second, the underlying reason for these
men’s interpretation is primarily because the
characteristics of the “little horn” bear striking
resemblance to the rise and rule of Catholicism.19
Examples:
1. Vs. 23, 24 – The little horn rises to
power during and after Rome’s decline –
Catholic Church also.20
2. Vs. 8 – The little horn rises “among”
the other horns, meaning the tribes that made
up the European nations – Catholic Papal
government also.21
3. Vs. 24 – The little horn uproots three
of the major initial ten people groups that
overtook western Rome – Catholicism rose to
political dominion through conflict with three
antagonistic Arian tribes: the Heruli, Ostrogoths,
and Vandals.22
4.
Vs. 25 – The little horn persecutes God’s