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The Ten Horns Of
Daniel 7 An
Historical Perspective
By Ron Corson
"After
that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth
beast--
terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth;
it
crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was
left. It
was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
"While
I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a
little one,
which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted
before it.
This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man
and a mouth
that spoke boastfully.
Dan
7:7-8 (NIV)
Throughout
history many
theories have developed to explain the Ten Horns mentioned in the book
of
Daniel. Daniel tells us that these horns represent kings that shall
come from
the kingdom represented by the forth beast. Daniel also tells us that a
small
horn shall come out of these ten horns and it shall uproot three of the
kings.
This king, which is different from the others will grow powerful and
wage war
against the saints. One of the theories regarding the Ten Horns is that
the
horns represent kingdoms established in the Roman territories in the
fourth
through sixth centuries. This theory also holds that the little horn
that
uprooted 3 of the 10 kingdoms represents the Roman Catholic Papacy.
What
follows is an examination of the historical accuracy of this theory.
First we must
review what
the leading proponents of this theory have to say. Uriah
Smiths wrote:
But
all historians agree in this, that out of the territory of Western Rome, ten separate
kingdoms were ultimately
established, and we may safely assign them to the time between the
dates above
named; namely, A.D. 351 and 476.
The
ten nations which were most instrumental in breaking up the Roman
Empire, and
which at some time in their history held respectively portions of Roman
territory as separate and independent kingdoms, may be enumerated
(without
respect to the time of their establishment) as follows: Huns, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Suevi,
Burgundians, Heruli,
Anglo-Saxons, and Lombards.* The
connection between
these and some of the modern nations of Europe, is still traceable in
the
names, as England, Burgundy, Lombardy, France, etc.
*
In harmony with seven leading commentators the author includes the Huns
as one
of the ten kingdoms. Others, with historical precedent, name the Alamanni, or Germans, instead of the
Huns--Editors. 1
Concerning the
three horns
uprooted by the little horn Uriah Smith
wrote:
The
position is here confidently taken that the three powers, or horns,
plucked up
by the roots were the Heruli, the Vandals,
and the Ostrogoths; and this position
rests upon reliable
historical data. Odoacer, the leader of
the Heruli, was the first of the
barbarians who reigned over
the Romans. 2
From
the historical testimony above cited we think it clearly established
that the
three horns plucked up were the powers named: the Heruli,
A.D. 493, the Vandals, in 534, and the Ostrogoths
finally in 553, though effective opposition by the latter to the decree
of
Justinian ceased when they were driven from Rome by Belisarius
in 538 as stated on page 127. 3
Another
Seventh Day
Adventist author, Roy Allan Anderson lists his preferred choices for
the ten
kingdoms as follows:
On
occasion interpreters of prophecy have alleged that "at no period of
Roman
history was the empire composed of precisely ten kingdoms." However, it
is
well documented that the ten kingdoms appeared after the decline and
fall of
the empire of the Caesars. Gibbon, as well as other authoritative
historians, make it clear that the ten
kingdoms did indeed come into
being after Rome's collapse. In his Horae Apocalypticae,
Elliott lists these as Anglo-Saxons, Alemanni,
Franks, Visigoths, Suevi,
Burgundians, Bavarians, Heruli,
Vandals, and Ostrogoths. (Some of these
were known by
other names at different times, and some other lists suggest various
different
kingdoms.) 4
A professor of
church
history C. Mervyn Maxwell in his book on
Daniel
provides us with another list of the ten kingdoms, he wrote:
Over
the next century or so the Visigoths were followed by perhaps a score
of other
tribes, some large, some very small, the makings of the European
nations of
today. Of these the most significant besides the Visigoths were the Ostrogoths, the Vandals, the Burgundians,
the Lombards, the Anglo-Saxons, the
Franks, the Alemannians, The Heruls, and the Sueves.
Here are Daniel's "ten horns".5
While the
above mentioned
authors may not agree on who makes up the ten kingdoms, (discrepancies
regarding the Huns, Bavarians, and the Lombards),
they do agree on the three kingdoms that were uprooted, the Heruls,
the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths. Maxwell
sums it up
as follows:
But
the Catholic emperors of the eastern empire found ways to help the pope
by
eliminating three of the Arian tribes. The catholic emperor Zeno
(474-491)
arranged a treaty with the Ostrogoths in
487 which
resulted in the eradication of the kingdom of the Arian Heruls
in 493. And the Catholic emperor Justinian(527-565)
exterminated the Arian Vandals in 534 and significantly broke the power
of the
Arian Ostrogoths in 538. Thus were
Daniel's three
horns--the Heruls, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths--"plucked up by the roots."6
Why is there a
discrepancy
between these authors with regard to who makes up the ten kingdoms, if
in fact
history so clearly shows that ten kingdoms carved up the Roman
territory? To
answer this question we must examine the historical evidence. Does
history
teach that there were ten kingdoms that took over the Roman territory?
First,
we must examine what changes occurred in the Roman Empire.
The Pagan
Roman Empire
began fierce persecution of the Christians in 250, The Emperor Decius enforced edicts which commanded all
citizens to
sacrifice to the traditional Roman gods, those
who did
not obey were executed. Persecution continued though not always as
fiercely
until the end of the reign of Diocletianus,
who in
303 caused the most severe persecution the church had ever faced.7
The Roman Empire first became divided
under Diocletianus (284-305), who divided
the empire into an East
and West territories in order to maintain efficient government control
over the
enormous empire. His scheme caused many civil wars; Constantine the
Great
emerged from these struggles and became the sole ruler of the Roman Empire. In 312 Constantine became a Christian,
the next year
he proclaimed equal rights for all religions and returned the property
confiscated from the Christians. Constantine moved his capital to Constantinople formerly Byzantium, and now known as Istanbul. Constantine divided the territory
among his
sons shortly before his death in 337, their reigns did not last long
(337-361).
The Empire was permanently divided in 395 upon the death of Theodusius
who divided the empire between his two sons. 8
Theodusius made Christianity the
sole
religion of the empire.9 Constantinople assumed preeminence
over other Christian centers in
the East as did Rome in the West. The Eastern Roman Empire is commonly called
the Byzantine Empire by modern historians.
Its
beginning is commonly dated from the establishment of the new Roman
capital of Constantinople in 330. The Byzantine Empire lasted for a thousand
years after
the Western empire collapsed, until it finally fell to Turkish
onslaughts in
1453. 10
The Western Empire ended in 476 when Odoacer defeated and killed Orestes and deposed
Romulus Augustulus. Justinian (527-565)
restored imperial authority
over Italy, North Africa and part of Spain by defeating the Ostrogoths, Visigoths, and Vandals, all of whom
were Arian
Christians. Arian Christians believed that Jesus the Son,
though Creator, was himself created and therefore could not be truly
divine
like the Father. The cost of Justinian's conquests were crippling, and
his
successors lost nearly all of what had been gained to the Arian Lombards, and the Muslim Arabs, and a resurgence
in Spain
of the Visigoths. For many centuries the Emperors were not only the
highest
military leader, supreme judge, but also the protector of the church
and
orthodoxy. Justinian reached the height of imperial influence in
religious
matters. Popes and Patriarchs were regarded as his servants,
he directed the affairs of the church as he did that of the state. In
matters
of belief and rituals his was the final decision.11
As we read of
the
Barbarian invaders which enter into the old Roman Empire we must remember that
they are
invading only the Western half of the Roman Empire. The Eastern Empire (
Byzantine Empire) ruled lands from the
Euphrates in the east to the Strait of Gibraltar in the West. The Byzantine Empire was a continuation of
the Roman Empire, which stood as a
bridge between
the ancient world and the medieval and modern worlds. 12
The following
is a listing
of most of the tribes that played a part in the development of Europe during the decline of
the Roman
territories.
West
German Tribes: Franks, Frisians, Saxons, Thuringians,
Bavarians (Marcomanni, Quadi), Lombards,
and the Alamanni. The Alamanni
were a branch of the Suevi, the Sueves
also included the Semnone, Chatti,
Quadi, and Marcomanni,
the
last two later settled in a land the German settlers called Bavaria around 500. The Suevi established itself in Spain, while the Alamanni
established a duchy in southwest Germany known as Swabia. 13,14,15
East
German Tribes: Bastarnae, the Gepids,
the Rugians, the Heruls,
the Scirians, the Vandals, the Burgundians,
and the Goths (in the second century the Goths gradually divided into
an eastern
branch known as the Ostrogoths, and a
western branch
known as the Visigoths). 16
Other
Tribes: The Angles, and the Jutes, who along with
the Saxons
invaded Britain
(also of German
ancestry).17 Alani
(Indo-Iranian nomads),18 Avars,
(Altaic tribal confederation, formed an alliance
with the Lombards and destroyed the Gepids),19 and the
Huns (A confederation from northern China).20
After reading
of all the
different tribes which entered upon the ancient Roman Territory it is
easy to
see why the authors who support the ten kingdom theory noted at the
beginning
of this paper, had trouble agreeing upon who makes up their ten
kingdoms. There
are no contemporary history books that list ten kingdoms, which
occupied the
Roman territory. There is significant impact from each of the above
tribes,
either through their alliances with, or against Byzantine Rome, or by
their
alliances with other tribes. There are certain tribes that had a
greater impact
on the territory. These could include:
The Huns, the
Visigoths, the Ostrogoths,
the Vandals, the Sueves, the Burgundians,
the Franks, the Alamanni, the Bavarians,
the Lombards,
the Angles, the
Saxons, and the Jutes.21
It is clear
after
examining the history of the Barbarian invasions and the Byzantine Empire, that there were more
then ten
tribes which invaded the ancient Roman Empire. This would explain
why the proponents of the ten
kingdom theory are unable to agree on which ten tribes were involved.
The
second part of their theory involves the idea that three of the ten
kingdoms
were destroyed so that a new kingdom could emerge. These eliminated
kingdoms
being the Heruls in 493, the Vandals in
534, and the Ostrogoths in 538. Now let's
examine what history has to
say about the demise of these three tribes.
In 533 the
Byzantine
emperor Justinian ordered his general Belisarios
into
North
Africa,
where he easily defeated the Vandals. The king was taken captive to Constantinople and many of the
Vandal warriors
were impressed into the Byzantine army to fight against the Persians.
Within a
short time all Vandal traces had disappeared.22 After a decisive
victory by
Justinian's general Narses in 552, and the
surrender
of the last Ostrogoth city in 561 the Ostrogoths rapidly faded from history.23
The Heruli
were defeated by the Lombards in lower Austria around 508.24-27 Of the survivors some
returned to Scandinavia, some joined the Gepids, and others served in the Byzantine
Armies, but they
vanished as a tribal entity. 28,29
Here is an
obvious
discrepancy between what history tells us and what the proponents of
the ten
kingdom theory purport to have happened. In their theory the Heruli kingdom was destroyed by the Ostrogoths
on orders from the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire). Thus they would
have all the three kingdoms
removed by the Eastern Roman Empire so that the Roman
Catholic Papacy can become a great
power. It is not too difficult to understand how the proponents of the
ten
kingdom theory arrived at the false conclusion that the Heruli
were destroyed in 493. It has to do with a "king of Italy" named
Odoacer, but first here is a brief
description of the
historical events.
Odoacer (sometimes spelled Odovakar, or Odovacar)
was a
German barbarian of Scirian, or Rugian
ancestry, the son of Edeco, one of
Attila's generals.
In 470 he entered Italy with the Sciri
and joined the Roman army. In 475 Odoacer
led a
rebellion against the Roman general Orestes who had previously
overthrew the
Western Roman emperor Nepos. Odoacer
was elected to be king by his troops in 476. Orestes was captured and
executed
and his young son, the emperor Romulus Augustulus
was
deposed and exiled. Odoacer desired to
retain his
authority while recognizing the overlordship
of the Eastern Empire, he was granted the
position of
Patrician by Zeno the Eastern emperor. However Odoacer
refused to recognize Julius Nepos, Zeno's
candidate
as Western emperor. Thus officially ended the Western
Roman Empire.30-32 Odoacer's
kingdom did not rest on the leadership of a single German tribe, but
was
composed of a heterogeneous group of German and Eastern soldiers,
(mercenaries), who were technically part of the Roman army.33-36 In 484 Odoacer
attacked the westernmost provinces of Rome in response to the
pleading of Illus
the master of the soldiers of the Eastern Empire, in an attempt to
depose Zeno. In
retaliation Zeno incited the Rugi to
attack Italy, Odoacer
crossed the Danube in 488 and defeated
the Rugi in their own territory. As the Ostogothic
power grew it became clear to Zeno that they could be a threat to the Eastern Empire. To solve this
problem and the
problem in Italy with Odoacer
Zeno commissioned the Ostrogothic king Theodoric to go to Italy and overthrow Odoacer.
In 488-489 the entire Ostrogothic nation
headed to Italy. After a series of
bloody battles Theodoric concluded an
agreement with Odoacer
in 493, which provided that the two kings would share the rule of the
territory. However at a banquet to celebrate the treaty Theodoric
killed Odoacer with his own hand.37-39 Theodoric's
followers proceeded to kill Odoacer's
family and
supporters. 40,41
Despite Theodoric's treachery with Odoacer,
he proved to be an able and conscientious ruler of the Ostrogoths.
In 497 the Eastern emperor Anastasius
recognized Theodoric with the imperial
title of Patrician. Thus Theodoric ruled Italy in the name of the Eastern Empire, although in fact he
ruled with
virtual independence and was regularly addressed as king. Distrustful
of the Eastern Empire he formed a
confederation with
other Germanic kingdoms. Matrimonial alliances were established with
the
Franks, Visigoths, Vandals, Burgundians, Heruls, and Thuringians.42 After Theodoric's
death less able leaders took his place. The Eastern emperor Justinian's
general
Belisarios attacked the Ostrogoths
in 534 in order to extirpate the Arian heresy and to bring Italy back under direct
imperial
control. Over the next twenty years the city of Rome changed hands between
the Ostrogoths and the Eastern empire
several times. The last of the Ostrogothic
cities
fell in 561. After the Eastern empire's victory over the Ostrogoths
the Roman garrisons which occupied Italy were
undermanned leaving a political vacuum. This vacuum was filled in 568
by the Lombards who conquered the Po
Valley and much of the
central part of the peninsula.43
Of the
proponents of the
ten kingdom theory, none of the three that were cited at the beginning
of this
article list a reference for the idea that in 493 the Heruls
were destroyed. There are no historical references which state that the
Heruls were destroyed in 493. However there
are rare
references which call Odoacer the king of
the Heruli, or the chief of the Heruli.44-46 Since Odoacer
was the king of the mercenaries who had been in the Roman army, and
this was
composed of people from many Germanic tribes, it is possible that to
some he
was considered to be the king of the Heruli.
Another
source labels Odoacer as the leader of the
Herulian and Rugian
mutineers.47 There is
still another reference which identifies Odoacer
as a
Visigothic Chief.48 Again this is a
possibility
because of the heterogeneous population which had elected Odoacer
as king. However even those few sources which seem to indicate that Odoacer was the king of the Heruli,
do not indicate that the Heruli met their
end with Odoacer's death in 493, as the
ten kingdom theorists claim. Another evidence
that the Heruli were not destroyed in 493
is the fact
that in 505 the Lombards were under the
control of the
Heruli.49,50 The Lombards then rose up and in
508 and
destroyed the Heruli.
Another
discrepancy
between history and the ten kingdom theorists is the date of the
destruction of
the Ostrogoths. The ten kingdom theorists
place the
demise of the Ostrogoths at 538 when Belisarius invaded Rome and after a year long
siege he won
the battle. Here is what Uriah Smith has
written on
the subject;
The
whole nation of the Ostrogoths had been
assembled for
the siege of Rome, but success did not
attend their efforts. Their
hosts melted away in frequent and bloody combats under the city walls,
and the
year and nine days during which the siege lasted, witnessed almost the
entire
destruction of the nation. In the month of March, 538, dangers
beginning to
threaten them from other quarters, they raised the siege, burned their
tents
and retired in tumult and confusion from the city, with numbers
scarcely
sufficient to preserve their existence as a nation or their identity as
a
people.
Thus
the Gothic horn, the last of the tree, was plucked up before the little
horn of
Daniel 7. Nothing now stood in the way of the pope to prevent his
exercising
the power conferred upon him by Justinian five years before. The
saints, times
and laws were now in his hands, not in purpose only, but in fact. This
must
therefore be taken as the year when this abomination was placed, or set
up, and as the point from which to date the
beginning of the
prophetic period of 1260 years of papal supremacy.51
By using the
date of 538
the ten kingdom theorists can add the 1260 day/years (from Dan. 7:25; 12:7; Rev. 12:6,14;
13:5) to attain and ending date of 1798 when the pope was taken captive
during
the latter part of the French Revolution. However history does not
indicate
that the Ostrogoths were crushed in 538.
It is true
that from 534-553 the Ostrogoths were
exhausted by
the wars with the Byzantine Empire. The wars lasted for
nearly twenty years. In 541 the Ostrogoths
elected Totila who
proved to be an effective leader. From 545-546 Totila
besieged Rome occupying it in
December 546. This siege nearly decimated
the civilian population of Rome. Belisarios
who had returned to Italy in 544 pressed the Ostrogoth army causing their withdrawal from Rome. However the
Byzantine forces were
inadequate to take further offensive actions against the Ostrogoths.
Again in 550 Totila recaptured Rome and then invaded Sicily. This time Justinian
appointed Narses to the Italian command, Narses
insisted on a large army which was provided to him. Finally in 552 the Ostrogoths and the Byzantine armies met at Taginae in the Appenines
where Narses won the victory. The Ostrogoth
king Totia was killed, ending the
organized Ostrogothic resistance. Although
the Bzyanatines
had to take the Ostrogothic cities one by
one until
the last city fell in 561. 52
The following
is a
representation of most of the kingdoms that occupied areas of the Roman Empire. Some of the tribes
beginning
dates are somewhat uncertain, so starting dates are often the date when
the
tribe invaded into Roman Territory or what had once been
Roman Territory. 53-70
300 AD
|
|
----------------------------------------------------508 Heruls
| Destroyed by
Lombards
|----------------------------------------488
Rugians
| Destroyed by
Odoacer. Remnant joined the Ostrogoths
| 375
Huns------------454
| Upon
Attila's death many
German tribes revolted
|
| 454 Alamanni-----------495
| Alamanni
submitted to Frankish rule...in 687 they threw off Frankish rule
| and
except for a period of 709-712 remained independent until 748 when
| they
again came under Frankish domination.
|------------------------------------------------------531
Thuringians
| Franks
extended rule
over Thuringians|
|------------------------------------------------------------533
Vandals
| Destroyed by
the Byzantine Empire
|
| 406----443
Burgundians--------535
| in
443 Burgundians allowed into Roman
territory. They
were incorporated
| into
the Frankish Kingdom.
|
| 406 Alani----------------------------535
| Destroyed by
the Byzantine Empire
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------561
Ostrogoths
| Destroyed by
the Byzantine Empire
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------567
Gepids
| Destroyed by
an alliance
between the Lombards and the Avars
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------585
Sueves
| Incorporated
into the
Visigoths
| 488 to
520------------------------555 Bavarians
| From 555 to
788
Bavarians ruled by Frankish dukes.
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------711
Visigoths
| Destroyed by
the Moors
| 567 Avars----------------------------------------803
| Destroyed by
the Franks
| 568 Lombards------------------------------774
| Lombards enter Italy in 568, by the end of
the 5th
century they were in Lower
| Austria. Defeated by the
Franks
|
| 442
Angles, Saxons,
and
Jutes------------------------------------------------------------------1066
| Formed a
lasting power
in Britain until the Norman
Conquest
|
| 486
Franks-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| The sole
Germanic nation
to establish a permanent and lasting power in
| Western Europe
|--------330
Byzantine Empire (Eastern Empire)--------------------------------------------------------------------------1453
| A
continuation of the Roman Empire. In 330 Constantine moved the capital to
Constantinople. Destroyed by the Turks
According to
the ten
kingdom theorist Daniel chapter 2 also discusses these ten kingdoms.
The
following is what Uriah Smith has to say
on the
subject:
The
image of Daniel 2 is exactly parallel with the four beasts in the
vision of Daniel
7. The fourth beast represents the same kingdom as do the iron legs of
the
image. The ten horns of the beast correspond naturally to the ten toes
of the
image. These horns are plainly declared to be ten kings which
should arise. They are as much independent kingdoms as are the beasts
themselves, for the beasts are spoken of in precisely the same
manner--as
"four kings, which shall arise." Daniel 7:17. They do not denote a
line of successive kings, but kings or kingdoms which existed
contemporaneously,
for three of them were plucked up by the little horn. The ten horns,
beyond
controversy, represent the ten kingdoms into which Rome was divided.71
Uriah Smith goes on to say
that the
words "king " and "kingdom" are
used interchangeable by Daniel.72 Uriah
Smith further writes:
Time
has fully developed this great image in all its parts. Most accurately
does it
represent the important political events it was designed to symbolize.
It waits to be smitten upon the feet by the stone cut out of the
mountain
without hand, that is, the kingdom of Christ. This is to be
accomplished when
the Lord shall be revealed in flaming fire, "taking vengeance on them
that
know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2
Thessalonians 1:8. (See also Psalm 2:8,9.)
In the Days
of these kings the God of heaven is to set up a kingdom. We have been
in the
days of these kings for many centuries, and we are still in their days.
So far
as this prophecy is concerned, the very next event is the setting up of
God's
everlasting kingdom. Other prophecies and innumerable signs show
unmistakably
that the coming of Christ is near at hand.73
Here we see
that this ten
kingdom proponent thought that the ten kingdoms which divided up the
Roman
territory were to last until the end of time, until Christ set up His
everlasting Kingdom. These same sentiments are also found in C. Mervyn Maxwell's book:
If
we are to understand the vision correctly, we must remember that the
supernatural stone did not hit the image on its golden head (Babylon), or on its silver
chest (Persia), or on its bronze
thighs (Greece), and neither did it
strike its
iron legs (Rome). The Bible says that
it hit the feet and toes, and
that it would be "in the days of those kings" that the God of heaven
would set up a kingdom that should never be destroyed. Daniel 2:44 74
The idea that
these ten
kingdoms have continued up to the present day is further expressed in
material
printed by the Seventh-Day Adventist's for
use in
their Revelation Seminars. Here is what one of their pamphlets entitled
"Identifying And Locating The 1260 Years Of
Persecution" has to say:
The
TEN HORNS of the non-descript beast represent the ten kingdoms into
which Rome was divided by
barbarian tribes
which carved up the empire, Daniel 7:17,23,24.
They
are:
Anglo-Saxons
(England) Franks (France) Vandals
Alamanni (Germany) Lombards (Italy) Ostrogoths
Burgundians (Switzerland) Suevi
(Portugal) Heruli
Visigoths
(Spain)75
Unfortunately
what these
ten kingdoms proponents advocate is not historically accurate. As can
be seen
from the graph on page 7 of this article, the only lasting kingdom was
that of
the Franks. Which through a series of different
dynasties
developed into what we now know as France. The assigning of
modern day
nations to those of the Barbarian kingdoms seems to have been done by
comparing
the territories which the Barbarian tribes had control of at one time
to the
territory which now is occupied by a modern nation. Totally ignoring
over a
thousand years of history, and in fact completely disregarding the
history of
Western Civilization. Since the Ten Kingdoms are no longer in
existence,
(except France), they cannot be the
kingdoms
which are destroyed at the end of time by the coming of Christ as
mentioned in
Daniel 2.
From a review
of history
it is clear that there were not ten kingdoms that divided up the
ancient Roman Empire, but more than ten
which impacted
this area. If a ten kingdom proponent were to insist that there were
ten
kingdoms as their lists indicate, they would also need to show that
they
occurred concurrently. History reveals that several of the so called
ten
kingdoms did not exist during the same time period. For instance the Lombards did not enter the
area until 568
many years after some of the other tribes on their lists had
disappeared. The
evidence also shows that the three kingdoms which according to the ten
kingdom
proponents were removed to make way for the Papacy do not fit history.
Two of
the kingdoms were destroyed by the Byzantine Empire and one by the Lombards
who later were conquered by the Franks. It is also curious that the
proponents
of the ten kingdom theory ignore the Byzantine Empire as one of the ten
kingdoms, since
the Byzantine Empire
was a continuation of Rome and certainly the
most powerful kingdom. Their
ideas about the papacy also do not fit history, the papacy had made
wide claims
of authority before 538 but they did not attain to these claims until
after
1100. Having been
up till that time under the secular kingdoms. And even after attaining
a high
degree of power the church battled with the secular rulers of her day.
While
the papacy is beyond the scope of this paper it would be wise for those
interested in this subject to review its history, as well as the other
areas of
medieval history. It is plain that the facts do not fit the ten kingdom
theory
and it is time those who hold to this theory rethink their position.
Though the
purpose of this
paper was to examine the history as it relates to the theories set
forth by the
ten kingdom proponents, I feel it necessary to briefly express my
theory
regarding the Ten Horns. In the last days Ten
nations
will arise out of the area that had once been occupied by the Romans. I
am
uncertain whether this ten is a literal number or ten in the symbolic
sense of
a complete or final number.76 From among this group
a powerful individual shall
arise causing a destruction of three of the nations, probably by
absorbing
these kingdoms into his own kingdom. This represents the Anti-Christ
who will
wage war upon the followers of God. His destruction is to come at the
second
advent of Jesus Christ who will then bring to fulfillment an
everlasting
Kingdom. As with most prophecies about the future, the specifics are
unknown,
for prophecy is not meant for use to predict the future, but rather
develop our
faith as we see prophecy fulfilled. If what the ten kingdom theorist
teach
happened long ago with the Barbarian tribes it should be clearly
revealed
through history, which it unfortunately is not. When the ten kingdom
theorists
present their ideas in a Revelation Seminar the information seems very
plausible. However when examined by the light of actual history it is
seen to
be very flawed.
- Uriah Smith , The
Prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation ( Signs of the Times Pub. Ass. Oshawa, Ontario,
Canada Revision copyrighted 1945) p. 58
- Ibid
p.123
- Ibid
p.128
- Roy
Allan Anderson, Unfolding Daniel's Prophecies ( Pacific Press Mountain
View CA 1975) p.91
- C. Mervyn
Maxwell, God Cares Vol. 1 (Pacific Press Pub. Ass. Boise, Id 1981) p.129
- Ibid
p.129
- Eerdmans' Handbook to the History of Christianity
(Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand
Rapids, MI
1977) pp. 77-78
- Encylcopedia of World History compiled by William L.
Langer 4th edition (Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston
1968) pp. 131-134
- American
Council of Learned Societies Dictionary of the Middle Ages 13 Volumes
(Charles Scribner's Sons
New York 1983) Vol. 2 p.459
- Ibid
p.481
- George Ostrogorsky
History of the Byzantine State (Rutgers University Press, New Jersey
Revised Edition
1969) p.31, p.71, pp.77-78
- Ibid
p.481
- J.B. Bury The Invasion of Europe
by the Barbarians (W. W. Norton and Company, Inc. New
York 1967)
p.260
- Joseph Dahmus
Dictionary of Medieval Civilization (Macmillian
Publishers, New York 1984) p.31,
pp. 644-5
- Enno Franzius History of the Byzantine Empire Mother
of Nations Funk and Wagnalls,
New York 1967)
p.28
- Enno
Franzius History of the Byzantine
Empire Mother of Nations Funk and Wagnalls, New York
1967) p.28
- American
Council of Learned Societies Dictionary of the Middle Ages 13 Volumes
(Charles Scribner's Sons
New York 1983) Vol. 2 p.96; Vol. 1 p.288
- Ibid
Vol. 1 p.120
- Ibid
Vol. 1 p.12
- Ibid
Vol. 6 p.352
- Ibid
Vol. 2 p.97
- Ibid
Vol. 12 pp.355-6
- Ibid
Vol. 9 p.293
- Ibid Vol. 7 p.654
- J.B. Bury The Invasion of Europe
by the Barbarians (W. W. Norton and Company, Inc. New
York 1967)
p.258-9
- Joseph Dahmus
Dictionary of Medieval Civilization (Macmillian
Publishers, New York 1984) p.361
- The
New Encyclopaedia Brittannica
15th Edition (Encyclopaedia Brittannica, Inc. 1991) Vol. 5 p.893
- Enno Franzius History of the Byzantine Empire Mother
of Nations Funk and Wagnalls,
New York 1967 )
p.98
- J.B. Bury The Invasion of Europe
by the Barbarians (W. W. Norton and Company, Inc. New
York 1967)
p.258-9
- American
Council of Learned Societies Dictionary of the Middle Ages 13 Volumes
(Charles Scribner's Sons
New York 1983) Vol. 2 p.93; Vol. 9 p.221
- The
New Encyclopaedia Brittannica
15th Edition (Encyclopaedia Brittannica, Inc. 1991) Vol. 8 p.875
- Richard
and Barbara Mertz Two Thousand Years in Rome (Coward-McLann,
Inc. New
York
1968) p.152
- American Council of Learned Societies
Dictionary of the Middle Ages 13 Volumes (Charles Scribner's Sons
New York 1983) Vol. 2 p.93; Vol. 9 p.221
- Andre'
Maurois An Illustrated History of
German (The Viking Press New York 1966) p.20
- C.W.
Previte-Orton The Shorter Cambridge
Medieval History (Cambridge University Press 1952)
pp.133-136
- J.B. Bury The Invasion of Europe
by the Barbarians (W. W. Norton and Company, Inc. New
York 1967)
p.166
- American
Council of Learned Societies Dictionary of the Middle Ages 13 Volumes
(Charles Scribner's Sons
New York 1983) Vol. 2 p.93; Vol. 9 p.20; p.221
- C.W.
Previte-Orton The Shorter Cambridge
Medieval History (Cambridge University Press 1952) p.136
- The New Encyclopaedia
Brittannica 15th Edition (Encyclopaedia Brittannica,
Inc. 1991) Vol. 8 p.875
- American
Council of Learned Societies Dictionary of the Middle Ages 13 Volumes
(Charles Scribner's Sons
New York 1983) Vol. 2 p.93; Vol. 9 p.290
- J.B. Bury The Invasion of Europe
by the Barbarians (W. W. Norton and Company, Inc. New
York 1967)
p.185
- The New Catholic Encyclopedia (Mcgraw Hill, 1967) Vol. 14 p.24
- American
Council of Learned Societies Dictionary of the Middle Ages 13 Volumes
(Charles Scribner's Sons
New York 1983) Vol. 9 p.290-293
- Aryeh Grabois The
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Medieval Civilization (Octopus Books
Limited 1980) p.556
- Maurice Andrieux
Translated by Charles Lam Markmann Rome
(Funk and Wagnalls,
New York
French
copyright
1960) p.139
- Edward Gibbon Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire 6 Volumes (Peter Fenelen
Collier and Son, New
York originally published in 1776)
note on p. 479 which reads:
A
famine, which
afflicted Italy at the time of the irruption of Odoacer,
king of the Heruli, is eloquently
described in prose
and verse, by a French poet (Les Mois, ii.
174). I am
ignorant from whence he derives his information; but I am well assured
that he
relates some facts incompatible with the truth of history.
- Henry
Smith Williams The Historians' History of
the World 24 Volumes (Tiffany and Co. New York 1904)
Vol. 7 p.378
- Gene Gurney Kingdoms of Europe
(Crown Publishers Inc. New York
1982) p.31
- An Encyclopedia of World History compiled
by William L. Langer 4th Edition (Houghton Mifflin Company,
Boston. 1968) p.164
- J..B. Bury The Invasion of Europe
by the Barbarians (W. W. Norton and Company, Inc. New
York 1967)
p.258
- Uriah Smith , The
Prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation ( Signs of the Times Pub. Ass. Oshawa, Ontario,
Canada Revision copyrighted 1945) p.278
- American
Council of Learned Societies Dictionary of the Middle Ages 13 Volumes
(Charles Scribner's Sons
New York 1983) Vol. 9 p.290-293
- The New Encyclopaedia
Brittannica 15th Edition (Encyclopaedia Brittannica,
Inc. 1991) Vol. 5 p.893
- Joseph Dahmus
Dictionary of Medieval Civilization (Macmillian
Publishers, New York 1984) p.600
- The
New Encyclopaedia Brittannica
15th Edition (Encyclopaedia Brittannica, Inc. 1991) Vol. 6 p.147
- Ibid
Vol.1 p.235
- Ibid
Vol. 2 p.745
- Ibid
Vol. 12 p.262
- American
Council of Learned Societies Dictionary of the Middle Ages 13 Volumes
(Charles Scribner's Sons
New York 1983) Vol. 2 pp.422-423
- Ibid
Vol.1 p.121
- The
New Encyclopaedia Brittannica
15th Edition (Encyclopaedia Brittannica, Inc. 1991) Vol. 8 p.1038
- American
Council of Learned Societies Dictionary of the Middle Ages 13 Volumes
(Charles Scribner's Sons
New York 1983) Vol. 2 p12
- The
New Encyclopaedia Brittannica
15th Edition (Encyclopaedia Brittannica, Inc. 1991) Vol. 11 p.352
- Ibid
Vol. 1 p.720
- Ibid
Vol. 12 p.397
- Ibid
Vol. 14 p.490
- Ibid
Vol. 7 p.454
- Ibid
Vol. 1 p.409
- Ibid
Vol. 4 p.936
- Ibid
Vol. 2 p.699
- Uriah Smith , The
Prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation ( Signs of the Times Pub. Ass. Oshawa, Ontario,
Canada Revision copyrighted 1945) p.57
- Ibid
p. 57
- Ibid
p.65
- C. Mervyn Maxwell, God Cares Vol. 1 (Pacific Press
Pub. Ass. Boise, Id 1981) p.42
- Identifying
and Locating the 1260 Years of Persecution Revelation Seminars (Pacific
Press Pub.
Ass., Boise, ID 1985)
- The
Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible 4 vols. (Abingdon Press, New York ) Vol 3
p.565-6
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