Little Horn - Son of Destruction
The “little horn” in Daniel becomes the model for the “man of lawlessness” described by Paul to the Thessalonians.
In his visions, Daniel saw a malevolent ruler called variously the
“little horn,” the “king of fierce countenance,” the “contemptible
one,” and the “king who does according to his will.” This figure was
an arrogant ruler with a “mouth speaking great things” who profaned the
sanctuary, caused the cessation of the daily burnt offering, erected the “abomination
that desolates” in the Temple, and “exalted himself against God.”
This pagan ruler “made war against the saints” and caused
many in Israel to ally “themselves to him by his flattery” - (Daniel
7:20-21, 8:8-9, 8:22-25, 11:21-36).
In the second letter to the Thessalonians, this figure
becomes the model for the future “man of lawlessness, the son of destruction”
that Paul taught would appear before the arrival of the “day of the Lord”
- (Daniel 7:20-21, 8:8-9, 8:22-25, 11:21-36).
- (Daniel 11:36) - “And the king shall do according to his will, and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and he shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for that which is determined shall be done.”
- (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4) - “Let no man beguile you in any wise: for it will not be, except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, he that opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.”
In Daniel, the “little horn” represented the
king from the fourth “beast with ten horns” that came to power by
removing three of the “ten horns.” In his vision of the four beasts from
the sea, the identities of this fourth kingdom and its “little horn” are
difficult to ascertain.
In chapter 8 of Daniel, the “kingdom of the Medes and
the Persians” was overthrown by the kingdom of “Greece” and its
first “great king,” without doubt, Alexander the Great. After his demise,
his domain was divided into four “lesser
kingdoms.” From one of them came the “little horn,” a “king of
fierce countenance” who desecrated the sanctuary, erected the “trespass
that desolates,” caused the cessation of the burnt offering, and “destroyed
the saints.” Additionally, he “magnified himself against the Prince of
princes” – (Daniel 8:9-25).
The only historical figure that fits this description is Antiochus
IV, the eighth ruler of the Seleucid Empire. He was “diverse” from his
seven predecessors because he was not the legitimate heir to the throne. He
gained it through subterfuge, having removed three contenders before seizing
absolute power (thus, the “ten kings, three of which were removed”).
Antiochus styled himself Epiphanés - “god manifest” - an
incarnation of Zeus Olympias.
For three years he suppressed the Jewish people by profaning the “sanctuary,”
causing its sacrifices to cease, erecting an altar to Zeus Olympias on
the altar of burnt offerings, outlawing many Jewish rituals, as well the
ancient Hebrew Scriptures. Thus, Antiochus fits the description from Daniel rather
nicely.
And this figure became the model for Paul’s “man of
lawlessness, the son of destruction.” The “king of fierce countenance
destroyed wonderfully, but not by his own power… he destroyed the saints.”
Likewise, the “son of destruction…whose arrival will be according to
the in-working of Satan.” Just as the “little horn” magnified
himself against the “Prince of Princes,” so the “man of lawlessness”
will “exalt himself against God,” taking his seat in the “sanctuary {naos} of
God.”
Just as the “contemptible king” perverted many in Israel who did wickedly “against the covenant by his flatteries,” so the “lawless one” will cause “apostasy” and deceive those who “receive not the love of the truth with all power and signs and lying wonders.”
Verbal links are pronounced between the descriptions of the “little
horn” and Paul’s “mystery of lawlessness”:
- (2 Thessalonians 2:5-8) - “Now, you know that which prevails to the end he may be revealed in his season…until he comes out of the midst. Then will be revealed the Lawless One whom the Lord Jesus will consume with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the appearance of his arrival.”
- (Daniel 7:8, 21-26) - “I considered the horns and there came up among them another horn, a little one…this horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them until that the Ancient of Days arrived and justice was granted to the saints of the Highest, and the season arrived that the saints should possess the kingdom…and words against the Most-High will he speak, and the saints of the Highest will he afflict and will presume to change seasons and law, and they will be given into his hand for a season and seasons and the dividing of a season, but Judgment will take its seat, and his dominion will they remove to consume and to destroy unto an end.”
Like the “little horn,” the “one who prevails,” the
“man of lawlessness” will “come out of the midst” at his
appointed “season.” So also the “little horn” appeared “among
the ten horns.” At the “arrival” of Jesus, this deceiver will be “consumed”
and “destroyed” just as the “king of fierce countenance” was “destroyed
without hand.”
As for taking his “seat in the sanctuary,” Paul used
the Greek noun for the “sanctuary” proper or naos,
not the term for the “Temple” itself - heiros. Likewise, the
“little horn” was noted for his profanation of the “sanctuary”
where the altar of burnt offering was located. And elsewhere, Paul consistently
applies the term “sanctuary of God” (naos theou) to the saints,
the church - “For we are a sanctuary of the living God” - (1
Corinthians 3:16, 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16, Ephesians 2:21).
In 2 Thessalonians, Paul is not simply quoting
passages from Daniel. He adapts clauses and terms from them that originally
applied to the “little horn” and his campaign against the Jews by applying
them to the church and its coming confrontation with the “son of destruction.”
