The Sixteen Questions
The Sixteen Questions
continued
5. Is the beast Rome?
When the Roman empire was the world, the answer to “what is Daniel’s fourth beast?” was almost never in doubt: Rome. Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome are the four kingdoms; the ten horns are the ten kingdoms into which Rome will be divided; Antichrist is the little horn that rises among them. Rome is also the Babylon of Revelation 17. What the Fathers disagree about is everything after that: whether Rome must fall first, whether Antichrist is a Roman emperor, a returning Nero, an invader from outside or the ruler of a successor world, and whether some of it is already past. After the Arab conquests the Copts and Syrians redrew the map.
In this chapter
This question draws on 109 quotations from 39 voices. 59 of them are printed in full below, at the end of the chapter, because their main concern is this question; the other 50 belong chiefly to other questions and are listed here by number.
Daniel’s fourth beast is Rome (Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Cyril of Jerusalem, Aphrahat, Augustine)
Irenaeus says the present Roman empire will be divided among ten kings, the ten horns of Daniel. Hippolytus gives the order in a table: Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, then ten kingdoms with Antichrist as the little horn and Christ as the stone. Cyril grounds it in the Church’s interpreters, Aphrahat calls the fourth beast the kingdom of Esau, and Augustine notes the standard list as Jerome has it.
Ten kings, then one (Irenaeus, Cyril, Lactantius, Augustine)
The sequence is the same everywhere: the empire divides, ten kings rule, and Antichrist overthrows three of them and takes the rest. Irenaeus says believers should wait for the ten-fold division first. Cyril has him as an eleventh king; Lactantius has a powerful enemy from the far north. Augustine alone is wary: he fears that expecting ten literal kings may be a mistake, and suggests the number may stand for the totality of kings.
Rome falls first, and Antichrist follows (Tertullian, Lactantius, Commodian, Hippolytus)
Tertullian gives the order of the last times: the city of fornication judged by ten kings, then Antichrist and the false prophet at war with the Church. Lactantius says the desolation comes from the removal of the Roman name and that rule will return to Asia. Commodian burns Babylon (Rome) and then lets a Latin conqueror declare himself Christ. Hippolytus has the ten horns and the beast turn on the great city and burn it.
Or Antichrist restores Rome (Hippolytus, Victorinus)
Hippolytus has Antichrist govern by the law of Augustus and restore the wounded Roman empire, the beast whose head was healed. Victorinus counts him among the seven Roman kings of Revelation 17 and has him sent from Rome with his armies. In these two the beast is not Rome’s enemy but Rome’s last form.
Some of it is already past (Clement of Alexandria, Chrysostom, Jerome, Augustine)
Not every Father puts the whole picture at the end. Clement of Alexandria reads Daniel’s last week as fulfilled in Roman history, with Nero setting the abomination in Jerusalem and Vespasian ending it. Chrysostom reads the abomination of desolation as a Roman statue in the temple; Jerome takes it as the statue of Caesar or Hadrian’s equestrian statue; Augustine says Luke’s wording shows it was fulfilled at the siege of Jerusalem. Hippolytus and others disagree, and say nothing like the final tribulation happened in AD 70.
After Rome: the Greek king and the Ishmaelites (Samuel of Kalamoun, Coptic Apocalypse of Daniel, Solomon of Basra, Severus)
After the Arab conquests the Coptic and Syriac apocalypses redraw the map. In the Coptic Daniel the fourth beast is the Ishmaelite kingdom, and a Roman king will crush Ishmael and rule Egypt forty years. Samuel of Kalamoun has God raise the Byzantine king, commissioned by Michael in a vision, to overthrow the Arabs; ten Greek kings later become the false Messiah’s counsellors. Solomon of Basra has the Ishmaelites come in the last millennium, and the Greek king rise against them. Severus of al-Ashmunein likens a caliph to Antichrist.
Pride in the Church’s own leaders as a sign (Gregory the Great)
Gregory the Great, writing to the empress, says that the Patriarch of Constantinople’s attempt to be called the sole bishop shows that the times of Antichrist are near, since he imitates Lucifer’s pride. The sign here is not a pagan emperor but a Church leader’s grasp for a title. The Kebra Nagast makes a related prediction about a future Roman king and archbishop who pervert the apostolic faith.
The Scripture behind it
The Scripture on which the Fathers drew for this question is set out here in the King James text.
The image and the four kingdoms (Dan 2:31–45)
Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all … [Daniel 2:31-45]
The four beasts and the little horn (Dan 7:2–8)
Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. [Daniel 7:2-8]
The fourth beast explained (Dan 7:15–28)
I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and … [Daniel 7:15-28]
The beast and his number (Rev 13:1–18)
And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the … [Revelation 13:1-18]
The woman on the scarlet beast (Rev 17:1–18)
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the … [Revelation 17:1-18]
The man of sin (2 Thess 2:1–17)
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure … [2 Thessalonians 2:1-17]
Also relevant: quotations printed under other questions
Ascension of Isaiah, Beliar descends as a lawless matricide king (2.2); Sibylline Oracles, Beliar from the Caesars (2.3); Irenaeus of Lyons, Wait for the ten kings first (8.8); Irenaeus of Lyons, Lateinos: probable but not certain (8.10); Clement of Alexandria, Daniel's week fulfilled under Nero (6.6); Tertullian, Falling away: empire falls (4.3); Tertullian, Roman state restrains him (4.4); Tertullian, Roman empire delays the end (4.5); Hippolytus of Rome, Loosed nations at Antichrist's time (4.7); Hippolytus of Rome, Little horn restores Judah's kingdom (16.3); Hippolytus of Rome, Conquers all ten, seeks worship (3.9); Hippolytus of Rome, Rome's beast; Jewish kingdom raised (2.12); Hippolytus of Rome, Lamb-horns: imitates the Son of God (3.10); Hippolytus of Rome, Titan, Evanthas or Latinus (8.19); Hippolytus of Rome, Antichrist kills Enoch and Elijah (9.11); Commodian, Nero raised; Elijah half, Nero half (9.12); Commodian, Latin conqueror says 'I am Christ' (16.5); Commodian, Nero raised from hell, Elias first (9.14); Commodian, Seven years: Elias half, Nero half (9.15); Commodian, The Latin conqueror says 'I am Christ' (6.23); Victorinus of Pettau, Beast arises among the Caesars (4.12); Victorinus of Pettau, Secretly at work in the prince (4.13); Victorinus of Pettau, Nero raised up, received as Christ (2.20); Lactantius, Rome falls; rule returns Eastward (4.14); Lactantius, Ten kings; northern enemy kills three (2.21); Lactantius, While Rome stands, pray for delay (4.15); Aphrahat, Rome keeps the kingdom for its giver (4.16); Pseudo-Hippolytus, Roman fourth beast; Antichrist restores Judah (16.9); Cyril of Jerusalem, A magician seizes Rome (2.27); Optatus of Milevis, Translator's note: Empire's fall and Antichrist (4.19); Apocalypse of Thomas, A golden image in the house of God (6.38); John Chrysostom, Abomination as a Roman statue (6.39); John Chrysostom, Restrainer: the Roman empire (4.20); John Chrysostom, Nero his type; Rome removed (4.21); John Chrysostom, Abomination as Roman statue (6.41); Jerome, 'He that letteth' removed (4.22); Jerome, Rome fights for bare life (4.23); Sulpicius Severus, Nero destroyed by Antichrist (2.30); Augustine of Hippo, Roman empire restrains him (4.25); Cave of Treasures, Greek king's crown on the Cross (2.34); Gregory the Great, Title 'sole bishop' shows Antichrist near (13.48); Coptic Martyrdoms and Lives, Roman Empire's end, then Antichrist (4.28); Apocalypse of Samuel of Kalamoun, Greek king ends; false Messiah (6.51); Coptic Apocalypse of Daniel, Fourth beast is Ishmael's kingdom (2.44); Bede, Eighth king; ten kings; born from Babylon (2.47); Solomon of Basra, Last emperor yields crown at Golgotha (4.32); Solomon of Basra, Last emperor of Ethiopian seed (2.54); Solomon of Basra, Rule ends, providence withdrawn (4.33); Kebra Nagast, Roman king perverts faith (4.34); Neale and Littledale (compilers), Types: Pharaoh, Antiochus, fourth empire (2.58).
The quotations
The quotations that follow are in order of date, from the earliest writers to the latest. Each is word for word from the translation named after it. The short note is ours, and says only what the passage claims.
5.1. Epistle of Barnabas: Ten kingdoms and a little king
“The prophet also says this: “Ten kingdoms will reign on the earth, and a little king will rise up after them, who will humble three of the kings at once.”” — Epistle of Barnabas, The Epistle of Barnabas. Note: He cites Daniel's ten kingdoms and the little king who subdues three as an end-time prophecy. [Daniel 7:24]
5.2. Shepherd of Hermas: Vision of the coming tribulation
“The fourth vision I saw, brothers, came twenty days after the previous vision. It was a picture of the tribulation that is coming.” — Shepherd of Hermas, The Shepherd of Hermas. Note: Hermas's fourth vision is introduced as a picture of the coming tribulation. [Revelation 13:1]
5.3. Justin Martyr: Daniel's fourth beast and the horn
“As for the ten horns, ten kings will arise, and after them another. He will surpass the earlier ones in evil, and he will bring three kings low. He will speak words against the Most High and overthrow other saints of the Most High, and he will intend to change seasons and times.” — Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho. Note: Justin quotes Daniel's fourth beast: ten kings, then another worse than the rest who humbles three and speaks against the Most High. [Daniel 7:23-25]
5.4. Irenaeus of Lyons: Little horn among ten kings
“Daniel too, looking forward to the end of the last kingdom, i.e., the ten last kings, amongst whom the kingdom of those men shall be partitioned, and upon whom the son of perdition shall come, declares that ten horns shall spring from the beast, and that another little horn shall arise in the midst of them, and that three of the former shall be rooted up before his face.” — Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies. Note: The little horn of Daniel 7 is the son of perdition, arising among ten kings who divide the last kingdom and uprooting three of them. [Daniel 7:7-25]
5.5. Irenaeus of Lyons: Roman empire divided into ten kings
“concerning the ten kings who shall then arise, among whom the empire which now rules [the earth] shall be partitioned. He teaches us what the ten horns shall be which were seen by Daniel” — Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies. Note: John in Revelation clarifies Daniel: the present Roman empire will be divided among ten kings, who are the ten horns. [Revelation 17:12-14; Daniel 7:24]
5.6. Irenaeus of Lyons: Slays three, is the eighth king
“It is manifest, therefore, that of these [potentates], he who is to come shall slay three, and subject the remainder to his power, and that he shall be himself the eighth among them. And they shall lay Babylon waste, and burn her with fire, and shall give their kingdom to the beast, and put the Church to flight. After that they shall be destroyed by the coming of our Lord.” — Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies. Note: The coming one slays three of the ten kings and is the eighth; they ruin Babylon, give the beast their kingdom, put the Church to flight, then perish at Christ's coming. [Revelation 17:12-17]
5.7. Irenaeus of Lyons: Ten toes are ten kings
“The ten toes, therefore, are these ten kings, among whom the kingdom shall be partitioned … "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven raise up a kingdom which shall never decay” — Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies. Note: The ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar's image are the ten kings, in whose days God sets up an everlasting kingdom. [Daniel 2:41-45]
5.8. Irenaeus of Lyons: Beast like leopard, bear, lion
“the beast which I had seen was like unto a leopard, and his feet as of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion; and the dragon conferred his own power upon him, and his throne, and great might. And one of his heads was as it were slain unto death; and his deadly wound was healed” — Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies. Note: Irenaeus cites John's beast of Revelation 13 (leopard, bear, lion's mouth, healed head) as the description of Antichrist's coming. [Revelation 13:1-8]
5.9. Tertullian: Order of the last times
“and that the city of fornication may receive from the ten kings its deserved doom, and that the beast Antichrist with his false prophet may wage war on the Church of God; and that, after the casting of the devil into the bottomless pit for a while, the blessed prerogative of the first resurrection may be ordained from the thrones” — Tertullian, On the Resurrection of the Flesh. Note: Order of the last events: the city of fornication judged by ten kings, Antichrist and the false prophet war on the Church, the devil is bound, then the first resurrection. [Revelation 17-20]
5.10. Hippolytus of Rome: Not fulfilled by AD 70
“On this Hippolytus says, that in the siege of Vespasian this did not come to pass; for nothing new happened to the world in his days beyond the things that were before.” — Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Revelation (quoted by reported by Dionysius bar Salibi). Note: Hippolytus argues that Vespasian's siege of Jerusalem did not fulfil the 'great tribulation' prophecy, since nothing unprecedented occurred. [Matthew 24:21]
5.11. Hippolytus of Rome: Vespasian does not fit
“From these [words] it is evident that Vespasian did not call himself God, nor did he sit in the temple, nor was he killed by the Spirit of the Lord. Accordingly it is manifest that in the end tribulation arises against the Church, such as was none like it.'” — Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Revelation (quoted by reported by Dionysius bar Salibi). Note: Because Vespasian did not claim divinity or sit in the temple, the prophecy awaits fulfilment in an end-time tribulation. [2 Thessalonians 2:4; Matthew 24:21]
5.12. Hippolytus of Rome: Little horn kills witnesses
“No other kingdom is to persecute the saints, save this alone from which the horn is to spring up at the last, which is Antichrist, who is to kill Enoch and Elias.” — Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Revelation (quoted by reported by Dionysius bar Salibi). Note: Antichrist is the last horn of the beast-kingdom of Daniel 7 and will kill Enoch and Elias. [Daniel 7:3-21; Daniel 7:11; Revelation 11:7]
5.13. Hippolytus of Rome: Fourth beast reigns 500 years
“of necessity the fourth beast, as being strong and mightier than all that were before it, will reign 500 years. When the times are fulfilled, and the ten horns spring from the beast in the last (times), then Antichrist will appear among them. When he makes war against the saints, and persecutes them, then may we expect the manifestation of the Lord from heaven.” — Hippolytus of Rome, Fragments - Exegetical. Fragments from Commentaries on Various Books of Scripture. Note: Hippolytus calculates a 500-year span for the Roman beast, after which Antichrist appears among the ten horns and the Lord's manifestation follows. [Daniel 7:7-8]
5.14. Hippolytus of Rome: Do not anticipate; patience and prayer
“the little horn, which is Antichrist, shall appear suddenly in their midst, and righteousness shall be banished from the earth, and the whole world shall reach its consummation. So that we ought not to anticipate the counsel of God, but exercise patience and prayer, that we fall not on such times.” — Hippolytus of Rome, Fragments - Exegetical. Fragments from Commentaries on Various Books of Scripture. Note: The little horn appears suddenly among the ten horns; believers should not anticipate God's counsel but be patient and pray not to fall in those times, while still believing these things will occur. [Daniel 7:7-8]
5.15. Hippolytus of Rome: Daniel shows kingdoms then Antichrist
“For in distinguishing the kingdoms that are to rise after these things, he showed also the coming of Antichrist in the last times, and the consummation of the whole world.” — Hippolytus of Rome, On Christ and Antichrist. Note: Daniel's visions distinguish the successive kingdoms and also show Antichrist's coming at the end of the age. [Daniel 2:31-35]
5.16. Hippolytus of Rome: Three horns: Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia
“He says that three horns are plucked up by the root by him, viz., the three kings of Egypt, and Libya, and Ethiopia, whom he cuts off in the array of battle. And he, after gaining terrible power over all, being nevertheless a tyrant, shall stir up tribulation and persecution against men, exalting himself against them.” — Hippolytus of Rome, On Christ and Antichrist. Note: The three uprooted horns are named as the kings of Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia; Antichrist then becomes a persecuting tyrant. [Daniel 7:8,21]
5.17. Hippolytus of Rome: Four kingdoms, ten horns summarised
“the legs of iron, and the beast dreadful and terrible, expressed the Romans, who hold the sovereignty at present; the toes of the feet which were part clay and part iron, and the ten horns, were emblems of the kingdoms that are yet to rise; the other little horn that grows up among them meant the Antichrist in their midst; the stone that smites the earth and brings judgment upon the world was Christ.” — Hippolytus of Rome, On Christ and Antichrist. Note: Hippolytus's summary table: Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, then ten future kingdoms with Antichrist as the little horn, and Christ as the stone. [Daniel 2:31-45; Daniel 7]
5.18. Hippolytus of Rome: Ten kings burn the harlot city
“And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. … And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” — Hippolytus of Rome, On Christ and Antichrist. Note: The ten horns and the beast will turn on the great city that reigns over the kings and burn it. [Revelation 17:16-18]
5.19. Hippolytus of Rome: Restores the wounded Roman empire
“signify that, after the manner of the law of Augustus, by whom the empire of Rome was established, he too will rule and govern, sanctioning everything by it, and taking greater glory to himself. For this is the fourth beast, whose head was wounded and healed again, in its being broken up or even dishonoured, and partitioned into four crowns; and he then (Antichrist) shall with knavish skill heal it, as it were, and restore it.” — Hippolytus of Rome, On Christ and Antichrist. Note: Antichrist will govern by the law of Augustus and restore the Roman empire (the fourth beast, whose head was wounded) with cunning. [Revelation 13:3,12]
5.20. Hippolytus of Rome: Conquers three, attacks Tyre first
“And when he has overmastered three horns out of the ten in the array of war, and has rooted these out, viz., Egypt, and Libya, and Ethiopia, and has got their spoils and trappings, and has brought the remaining horns which suffer into subjection, he will begin to be lifted up in heart, and to exalt himself against God as master of the whole world. And his first expedition will be against Tyre and Berytus” — Hippolytus of Rome, On Christ and Antichrist. Note: After conquering three kings and subduing the rest, Antichrist grows proud and exalts himself against God; his first campaign is against Tyre and Berytus. [Daniel 11:41; Isaiah 11:14]
5.21. Origen of Alexandria: Pharaohs, Sennacheribs, Herods: types
“Origen, taking the ungodly for Satan, understands by his arms those chief ministers of his, the Pharaohs, the Sennacheribs, the Herods, that are types of Antichrist.” — Origen of Alexandria, A Commentary on the Psalms from Primitive and Mediaeval Writers, volume 1 (Psalms 1–38) (part 2 of 2) (quoted by Neale and Littledale (Commentary on the Psalms)); scanned text. Note: Origen, as cited by the compilers, reads the arms of the ungodly as Satan's chief ministers, the Pharaohs, Sennacheribs and Herods, who are types of Antichrist. [Psalm 37:17]
5.22. Cyprian of Carthage: Isaiah: the man who disturbs kings
“In Isaiah: "This is the man who arouseth the earth, who disturbeth kings, who maketh the whole earth a desert."” — Cyprian of Carthage, Treatise 12. Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews. Note: The proof-text for Antichrist as a man is Isaiah's man who shakes the earth and disturbs kings. [Isaiah 14:16-17]
5.23. Victorinus of Pettau: Apocalypse recapitulates; Babylon is Rome
“Nor must we look for order in the Apocalypse; but we must follow the meaning of those things which are prophesied. Therefore in the trumpets and phials is signified either the desolation of the plagues that are sent upon the earth, or the madness of Antichrist himself, or the cutting off of the peoples, or the diversity of the plagues, or the hope in the kingdom of the saints, or the ruin of states, or the great overthrow of Babylon, that is, the Roman state.” — Victorinus of Pettau, Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John. Note: Victorinus says Revelation is not in chronological order; its trumpets and bowls refer to plagues, Antichrist's madness and the fall of Babylon, the Roman state. [Revelation 8-16]
5.24. Victorinus of Pettau: Antichrist among the seven Roman kings
“His seven heads were the seven kings of the Romans, of whom also is Antichrist, as we have said above. "And ten horns." He says that the ten kings in the latest times are the same as these” — Victorinus of Pettau, Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John. Note: The dragon's seven heads are Roman kings, one of whom is Antichrist; the ten horns are the ten kings of the latest times. [Revelation 12:3; Revelation 17:9-12]
5.25. Victorinus of Pettau: Seven kings counted to Domitian
“"The seven heads are the seven hills, on which the woman sitteth." That is, the city of Rome. … One remains, under whom the Apocalypse was written-Domitian, to wit. "The other has not yet come," speaks of Nerva” — Victorinus of Pettau, Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John. Note: Seven heads are the seven hills of Rome and seven emperors counted up to Domitian, with Nerva coming briefly. [Revelation 17:9-11]
5.26. Victorinus of Pettau: Sent from Rome; three kings killed
“He shall be sent from the city of Rome with his armies. And Daniel sets forth the ten horns and the ten diadems. And that these are eradicated from the former ones,-that is, that three of the principal leaders are killed by Antichrist: that the other seven give him honour and wisdom and power” — Victorinus of Pettau, Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John. Note: Antichrist is sent from Rome with his armies; he kills three of the ten kings and receives power from the other seven. [Revelation 17:12-16; Daniel 7:8]
5.27. Aphrahat: Fourth beast is the kingdom of Esau
“It is the kingdom of the children of Esau.” — Aphrahat, The Demonstrations. Note: Aphrahat identifies the fourth beast with the kingdom of Esau, that is Rome. [Daniel 7:7]
5.28. Aphrahat: Little horn is Antiochus, already past
“For when Antiochus arose in the kingdom, he humbled three kings, and he exalted himself against the saints of the Most High and against Jerusalem. And he defiled the sanctuary. And he caused the sacrifice and the offerings to cease for a week and half a week.” — Aphrahat, The Demonstrations. Note: Aphrahat reads Daniel's little horn as Antiochus Epiphanes, already past, with the 'time, times and half' read as a week and a half. [Daniel 7:8; Daniel 7:25]
5.29. Aphrahat: Little horn read as Antiochus
“Far the ten horns were ten kings who arose at that time until Antiochus. And hesaid:-A little horn arose from between those ten and three fell before it. For when Antiochus arose in the kingdom, he humbled three kings, and he exalted himself against the saints of the Most High and against Jerusalem” — Aphrahat, The Demonstrations. Note: Aphrahat reads Daniel's ten horns and little horn historically, as kings down to Antiochus, who humbled three kings and exalted himself against the saints; he does not name Antichrist here. [Daniel 7:7-8; Daniel 7:24-25]
5.30. Athanasius of Alexandria: Constantius fits Daniel's portrait
“who will any longer venture to call this Costyllius a Christian, and not rather the image of Antichrist? For what mark of Antichrist is yet wanting? How can he in any way fail to be regarded as that one? or how can the latter fail to be supposed such a one as he is? Did not the Arians and the Gentiles offer those sacrifices in the great Church in the Caesareum , and utter their blasphemies against Christ as by His command? And does not the vision of Daniel thus describe Antichrist; that he shall make war with the saints, and prevail against them, and exceed all that have been before him in evil deeds and shall humble three kings … Now what other person besides Constantius has ever attempted to do these things? He is surely such a one as Antichrist would be. He speaks words against the Most High by supporting this impious heresy: he makes war against the saints by banishing the Bishops; although indeed he exercises this power but for a little while to his own destruction” — Athanasius of Alexandria, History of the Arians. Note: Athanasius argues that Constantius fits Daniel's description of Antichrist (war on the saints, speaking against the Most High) through his support of heresy and banishing bishops, though only for a little while. [Daniel 7:21-25; Daniel 11:36]
5.31. Cyril of Jerusalem: Eleventh king, three-and-a-half years
“But this aforesaid Antichrist is to come when the times of the Roman empire shall have been fulfilled … There shall rise up together ten kings of the Romans, reigning in different parts perhaps, but all about the same time; and after these an eleventh, the Antichrist, who by his magical craft shall seize upon the Roman power; and of the kings who reigned before him, three he shall humble … At first indeed he will put on a show of mildness (as though he were a learned and discreet person), and of soberness and benevolence … after perpetrating such things for three years and six months only, he shall be destroyed by the glorious second advent from heaven” — Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures. Note: After the Roman empire's times are fulfilled, ten kings rise and an eleventh, Antichrist, humbles three; he feigns mildness, then persecutes Christians for three and a half years until Christ destroys him. [Daniel 7:8; Daniel 7:24-25; 2 Thessalonians 2:8]
5.32. Cyril of Jerusalem: Daniel's fourth kingdom is Rome
“these things we teach, not of our own invention, but having learned them out of the divine Scriptures used in the Church , and chiefly from the prophecy of Daniel just now read … And that this kingdom is that of the Romans, has been the tradition of the Church's interpreters. For as the first kingdom which became renowned was that of the Assyrians, and the second, that of the Medes and Persians together, and after these, that of the Macedonians was the third, so the fourth kingdom now is that of the Romans … A blasphemer the man is and lawless, not having received the kingdom from his fathers, but having usurped the power by means of sorcery” — Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures. Note: Cyril grounds his teaching in Daniel: the fourth beast is Rome by the Church's interpreters' tradition, and the small horn is a lawless blasphemer who takes power by sorcery. [Daniel 7:7-8; Daniel 7:23-25]
5.33. Sulpicius Severus: Nero destroyed by Antichrist
“He further said that Nero was to be destroyed by Antichrist, and that the whole world, and all nations, were to be reduced under the power of Antichrist, until that impious one should be overthrown by the coming of Christ.” — Sulpicius Severus, Dialogues. Note: In the same report Nero is destroyed by Antichrist, and all nations come under Antichrist until Christ's coming overthrows him. [Daniel 7:24]
5.34. Augustine of Hippo: Daniel's fourth beast's king; 3.5 years
“Daniel prophesies of the last judgment in such a way as to indicate that Antichrist shall first come, and to carry on his description to the eternal reign of the saints. For when in prophetic vision he had seen four beasts, signifying four kingdoms, and the fourth conquered by a certain king, who is recognized as Antichrist, and after this the eternal kingdom of the Son of man, that is to say, of Christ … But he who reads this passage, even half asleep, cannot fail to see that the kingdom of Antichrist shall fiercely, though for a short time, assail the Church before the last judgment of God shall introduce the eternal reign of the saints. For it is patent from the context that the time, times, and half a time, means a year, and two years, and half a year, that is to say, three years and a half.” — Augustine of Hippo, The City of God (part 3 of 3). Note: Augustine reads Daniel 7 as announcing a king recognised as Antichrist who will assail the Church briefly before the judgment, and takes 'time, times and half a time' as three and a half years. [Daniel 7:7-25]
5.35. Augustine of Hippo: Four kingdoms as in Jerome
“Some have interpreted these four kingdoms as signifying those of the Assyrians, Persians, Macedonians, and Romans.” — Augustine of Hippo, The City of God (part 3 of 3). Note: Augustine mentions the standard identification of Daniel's four kingdoms as Assyrians, Persians, Macedonians and Romans, referring readers to Jerome's commentary on Daniel. [Daniel 7:3-8]
5.36. Augustine of Hippo: Ten kings may be symbolic
“As for theten kings, whom, as it seems, Antichrist is to find in the person of ten individuals when he comes, I own I am afraid we may be deceived in this, and that he may come unexpectedly while there are not ten kings living in the Roman world. For what if this number ten signifies the whole number of kings who are to precede his coming, as totality is frequently symbolized by a thousand, or a hundred, or seven, or other numbers, which it is not necessary to recount?” — Augustine of Hippo, The City of God (part 3 of 3). Note: Augustine fears that expecting ten literal kings before Antichrist may be a mistake; he suggests ten may stand for the total number of kings preceding him, and he may come unexpectedly. [Daniel 7:24]
5.37. Testament of Our Lord: A godless king arises in the West
“But there shall arise also in the West a king of foreign race, a prince of great craft, godless, a homicide, a deceiver, a lover of gold, great at devices, a hater of the faithful, a persecutor; and he shall bear rule also over barbarous nations, and shall shed much blood.” — Testament of Our Lord, The Testament of Our Lord (Cooper and Maclean translation); scanned text. Note: Before the Adversary, a crafty, godless foreign king arises in the West, persecuting the faithful. [Daniel 8:23]
5.38. Pseudo-Linus: Nero called the Antichrist
“that is, the Antichrist Nero, the perfection of iniquity, ordered him to be confined and bound with chains in the filthiest prison.” — Pseudo-Linus, Acts of Linus. Note: The Acts of Linus calls Nero 'the Antichrist Nero' when he imprisons Peter.
5.39. Coptic Texts from St. Macarius’ Monastery: Sinners sent to Antichrist's place
“And Mistrael, the Angel of Wrath, shall gather together all the sinners to the western part of the whole earth, that he may remove them to the regions which are without, unto the place which is anti-Christ's.” — Coptic Texts from St. Macarius’ Monastery, New Coptic Texts from the Monastery of Saint Macarius (Evelyn White translation); scanned text. Note: The Angel of Wrath gathers the sinners to the west and removes them to the place assigned to Antichrist. [Revelation 20:4]
5.40. Miscellaneous Coptic Texts: Julian a forerunner of Antichrist
“that apostate became a horn of the Devil before Antichrist. He reviled the Holy Scriptures on which he had meditated very many times, and which he had recited with his mouth” — Miscellaneous Coptic Texts, Miscellaneous Coptic Texts in the Dialect of Upper Egypt (Budge translation) (part 1 of 2); scanned text. Note: Julian the Apostate is called a horn of the Devil before Antichrist and an enemy of the Cross who died a shameful death.
5.41. Apocalypse of Samuel of Kalamoun: Churches turned into mosques
“They will pull off the crosses from the churches. They will transform a great number of them into mosques for their use, because of their pride and their hatred against the Christians.” — Apocalypse of Samuel of Kalamoun, The Apocalypse of Samuel of Kalamoun. Note: Under the Arab rule crosses are removed and many churches become mosques. [Daniel 8:11]
5.42. Apocalypse of Samuel of Kalamoun: Michael commissions the Greek king
“God will remember his so greatly humiliated people and will send against them [the Arabs] the king of the Greeks, in great fury, on the coast, because the archangel Michael will appear to him in a vision and will say to him: "Arise and plunder in your turn, because the Lord has given you all the land,"” — Apocalypse of Samuel of Kalamoun, The Apocalypse of Samuel of Kalamoun. Note: God raises the Byzantine king, commissioned by Michael in a vision, to overthrow the Arabs. [Daniel 7:23]
5.43. Apocalypse of Samuel of Kalamoun: Hundredfold retribution
“God will deliver them to the king of the Greeks who will make them undergo trials, in truth hundred times greater than those which they caused.” — Apocalypse of Samuel of Kalamoun, The Apocalypse of Samuel of Kalamoun. Note: The Greek king's retribution on the Arabs is a hundredfold of what they inflicted.
5.44. Apocalypse of Samuel of Kalamoun: 40 years' peace, Ethiopian union
“The king of Abyssinia will marry the daughter of the king of the Greeks and there will be such a pacification, such a peace and such a harmony on all the face of the land for forty years that nothing similar will ever have been seen on the land.” — Apocalypse of Samuel of Kalamoun, The Apocalypse of Samuel of Kalamoun. Note: Greek and Ethiopian kings unite by marriage, and forty years of unprecedented peace follow, with churches opened publicly. [Revelation 20:2]
5.45. Apocalypse of Samuel of Kalamoun: Ten Greek kings serve him
“He will even go, if he can, so far as misleading the elect, according to what is (f. 30 r.) written. Ten of the Greek kings will take service with him and will be with him in the same council, they will confirm his domination.” — Apocalypse of Samuel of Kalamoun, The Apocalypse of Samuel of Kalamoun. Note: Ten Greek (Byzantine) kings become his counsellors, confirming his rule, while he tries to mislead the elect. [Matthew 24:24; Daniel 7:24]
5.46. John of Nikiu: Diocletian taken for Antichrist
“And he put to death all the bishops of Egypt whom he found attached to the orthodox faith and a pure course of life, till (at last) every one believed him to be the Antichrist, who had come to destroy all the world; for he was the home of evil and the lurking-place of wrong.” — John of Nikiu, Chronicle. Note: John of Nikiu says that in Diocletian's persecution everyone thought him Antichrist come to destroy the world. [1 John 2:18]
5.47. Coptic Apocalypse of Daniel: Roman king crushes Ishmael
“Then the king of the Romans will rise up against them, he will destroy them by the edge of the sword in the middle of the Ishmaelites in the territory of their fathers in the desert. The Ishmaelites will be governed always by the Romans; the Romans will dominate over Egypt for forty years.” — Coptic Apocalypse of Daniel, The Coptic Apocalypse of Daniel. Note: A Roman king destroys the Ishmaelites in the desert and rules Egypt for forty years before the final events. [Ezekiel 38:2; Revelation 20:8]
5.48. Coptic Apocalypse of Daniel: Second beast is Rome
“The second animal that you saw, similar to human flesh, it is the king of the Romans: he will seize the land as if by iron; he will extend himself over it; he will dominate by his armies as far as the land of the Ethiopians” — Coptic Apocalypse of Daniel, The Coptic Apocalypse of Daniel. Note: The second beast is Rome and the Roman empire's reach is described as extending to Ethiopia. [Daniel 7:5-6; Daniel 2:40]
5.49. Coptic Apocalypse of Daniel: Nineteen Ishmaelite kings
“All the cities of the Persians, the Romans and the Greeks will be destroyed; nineteen kings of this race among the sons of Ishmael will reign over the land; they will reign until the time of their end .” — Coptic Apocalypse of Daniel, The Coptic Apocalypse of Daniel. Note: Nineteen Ishmaelite rulers (the horns) will destroy Persian, Roman and Greek cities and reign until their end. [Daniel 7:24]
5.50. Bede: Two great persecutions: Rome, then Antichrist
“would yet experience two greater persecutions than the rest; one of the Roman Empire, which she endured, as it were, in her youth, and overcame most valiantly and gloriously with the help of the Lord; the other of the Antichrist, which she is to suffer, as it were, in old age” — Bede, Commentary on Genesis. Note: Bede reads Sarah being taken by two kings as two great persecutions of the Church: the Roman Empire in her youth and Antichrist's near the end of her temporal life. [Genesis 20:2]
5.51. Bede: Seventh king: kingdom of Antichrist
“whose final part, that is, the kingdom of the Antichrist, had not yet come, he consequently testifies that five kings have passed, the sixth is present, and the seventh is to come.” — Bede, Commentary on Revelation. Note: Bede takes the seven heads as the fullness of worldly power, whose last part is the kingdom of Antichrist, yet to come, and notes that its evil days are shortened. [Revelation 17:10]
5.52. Bede: Four kingdoms precede Antichrist's kingdom
“That is, the four principal kingdoms, namely, those of the Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans. For just as in the previous seals, after witnessing the manifold conflicts of the Church, he saw the joys of the triumphant souls; so also now, he is about to prove with examples what victory follows the kingdom of the Antichrist, succeeding the preceding kingdoms of the world” — Bede, Commentary on Revelation. Note: Bede identifies the four angels with the four kingdoms of Assyrians, Persians, Greeks and Romans, after which the kingdom of Antichrist follows. [Revelation 7:1; Daniel 7]
5.53. Severus of al-Ashmunein: Caliph likened to Antichrist
“But God did not long respite him, but destroyed him swiftly, and granted him the government no longer, because he was like Antichrist.” — Severus of al-Ashmunein, History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Church of Alexandria (part 1 of 2). Note: Severus says the caliph Omar II, who taxed non-Muslim Christians and demanded conversion, was cut off swiftly by God because he was like Antichrist. [1 John 2:18]
5.54. Solomon of Basra: Ishmaelites come in last millennium
“In this seventh and last millennium will the kingdom of the Persians be destroyed. In it will the children of Ishmael go forth from the wilderness of Yathrib (al-Medinah)” — Solomon of Basra, The Book of the Bee (Budge translation); scanned text. Note: The Ishmaelites emerge from Yathrib in the seventh and last millennium, destroying Persia and the Greek kingdom, as a scourge for Christian sin. [Genesis 16:12; Psalm 68:31]
5.55. Solomon of Basra: Arab rule is God's scourge
“It is not because God loves them that He has allowed them to enter into the kingdoms of the Christians, but by reason of the iniquity and sin which is wrought by the Christians” — Solomon of Basra, The Book of the Bee (Budge translation); scanned text. Note: The Arab conquest is explained as God's chastisement for Christian immorality, not as favour toward the invaders. [Romans 1:26-27]
5.56. Solomon of Basra: Last Greek king rises
“then all of a sudden there shall be raised up against them pains like those of a woman in childbirth; and the king of the Greeks shall go forth against them in great wrath, and he shall rouse himself like a man who has shaken off his wine.” — Solomon of Basra, The Book of the Bee (Budge translation); scanned text. Note: After the Ishmaelites' triumph the Byzantine ('Greek') king suddenly rises against them in wrath. [Psalm 78:65]
5.57. Solomon of Basra: Greek king crushes Ishmaelites
“and they shall all be delivered into the hand of the king of the Greeks, and shall be given over to the sword and to captivity and to slaughter, and their latter subjection shall be one hundred times more severe than their (former) yoke.” — Solomon of Basra, The Book of the Bee (Budge translation); scanned text. Note: The Ishmaelites are delivered to the king of the Greeks and suffer a subjection a hundred times worse than their former rule. [Psalm 68:31]
5.58. Neale and Littledale (compilers): Four stages until Antichrist
“From the first to the second Advent are four stages: early manhood, from the Ascension, through the ten persecutions to the accession of Constantine the Great; the prime of life, through the Arian troubles, till Justinian; middle age, during which the yet unended power of Mohammedanism sprang up; and that eld during which the Church still waits in dread for the coming of Antichrist” — Neale and Littledale (compilers), A Commentary on the Psalms from Primitive and Mediaeval Writers, volume 2 (Psalms 39–80) (part 2 of 2); scanned text. Note: The compilers' scheme for Psalm 71 divides the time from Ascension to Antichrist into four stages: persecutions, Arian troubles, the rise of Islam, and an old age awaiting Antichrist. [Psalm 71:1]
5.59. Neale and Littledale (compilers): Four persecutions; Antichrist worst
“The beasts also signify the four chief persecutions of the Church; first, that of those deaf adders or asps, the unbelieving Jews; secondly, that of heretics, signified by the basilisk; thirdly, the lion-rage of Pagan hostility; fourth, and worst of all, that of Antichrist.” — Neale and Littledale (compilers), A Commentary on the Psalms from Primitive and Mediaeval Writers, volume 3 (Psalms 81–118) (part 1 of 2); scanned text. Note: The compilers report an interpretation of the four beasts as four persecutions: Jews, heretics, pagans, and finally Antichrist, the worst. [Psalm 91:13]