The seventh chapter of Daniel and the
entire book of Revelation, I believe, center on a man named “Domitian.”Domitian, from 81 A.D. to 96 A.D., was the
Roman Emperor, i.e., ruler over the Roman Empire,
the World Power of New Testament times.
The Little Horn in Daniel 7 is Domitian
In Daniel 7, Daniel sees four beasts,
and the chapter deals mostly with the fourth.These four beasts represent four “kingdoms” (v. 23 NIV).A comparison with Daniel 2:36-43 and Daniel
8:20-21 helps to confirm that that these kingdoms are the Babylonian Empire,
the Medo-Persian Empire, the Greek Empire, and the Roman
Empire.Furthermore, we see
that this fourth beast has eleven horns, three of which are “pulled out by the
roots, and the last of which is a “little horn” (NASB).Then it is explained that these horns
represent kings in the fourth kingdom (verses 23-24), that is, the Roman Empire.These 11 kings, then, are surely the first 11 Roman Emperors: Augustus,
Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitilius, Vespasian, Titus,
and Domitian, the eleventh, and thus the “little horn.”And the three that are “pulled up by the
roots” are Galba, Otho, and Vitilius.As
my old teacher Edwin Jones wrote, “History records that Domitian was in Rome through a civil war
that saw Galba, Otho, and Vitilius all briefly rise up only to fall before they
could gain control of the empire.”
The Sea Beast in Revelation is Domitian
Revelation 17, John sees a woman who
is identified as “the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth”
(Rev. 17:18 ESV).John’s original
readers would surely have thought of Rome, the
capitol of the Roman Empire.Furthermore, we read of “seven hills on which
the woman sits” (Rev. 17:9 TNIV).And Rome was well known as
the city on seven hills.Then we read of
eight kings (Rev. 17:10-11).Coming as
it does in the context of a discussion of Rome,
this is surely speaking of the Roman Emperors.However, as we’ll see, it appears that Revelation’s eighth king is the
same person as Daniel’s eleventh king.But this poses no problem when we remember that three kings—Galba, Otho,
and Vitilius—were “pulled up by the roots,” and never really gained control of
the empire.So, Revelation is
discounting them, making Domitian the eighth king, who is represented in
Revelation as a beast (Rev. 17:11) with seven heads and ten horns (Rev. 17:3;
13:1) who comes out of the sea (13:1).
Domitian’s Conversation
In Daniel we’re told that Domitian
uttered, “great boasts” (Dan. 7:8, 20 NASB).Likewise, in Revelation we’re told that he spoke “arrogant words” (Rev.
13:5 NASB).What was his arrogant
boast?Our brother Dan Winkler, in his
workbook on Revelation, tells us, “To unify the Roman
Empire, its emperor, Domitian, tried to create a single religion
for all.To do so, he revived August
Caesar’s imperial cult, declared himself, ‘Lord God’ and demanded that all
should pay him homage” (page 20).You
can’t get any more arrogant than to call yourself “Lord God.”Furthermore, in Daniel we’re told that he
would “speak out against the Most High” (Dan. 7:25 NASB).And likewise, in Revelation, we’re told that
he “opened his mouth in blasphemies against God” (Rev. 13:6 NASB).Of course, calling yourself “Lord God” is
blasphemy in itself (cf. Matt. 26:63-65).
Domitian’s Conduct
People worshipped Domitian—but not
Christians, as Revelation says, “all that dwell upon the earth shall worship
him, whose names are not written in the book of life” (Rev. 13:8; cf.
20:4).Therefore, Christians were
targeted for persecution.This
persecution is described in Daniel as Domitian “waging war with the saints and
overpowering them” (Daniel 7:21 NASB).Likewise, in Revelation we read that Domitian would “make war with the
saints” and “overcome them” (Rev. 13:7 NASB).
Domitian’s Condemnation
In his workbook of Revelation, Dan
Winkler notes that in September of 96 A.D., Domitian “was assassinated, his
memory was cursed, and his name was expunged [meaning ‘deleted’] from public
record” (page 48).Thus we read in
Daniel that Domitian’s dominion would be “taken away, annihilated and destroyed
forever” (Dan. 7:26 NASB).We also read
in Revelation that Domitian was going to “go to destruction” (Rev. 17:8, 11
NASB).And we read about Domitian
“thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur” (Rev. 19:20 ESV;
cf. 20:10).
Note: The photos of the coin and sculpture of
Domitian come from the very useful, informative website: www.roman-emperors.com
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