The Little Horn With A Big Mouth—Dan 7:20

One of the most tell-tale clues about the Antichrist is that he has a mouth “that was always bragging.”

In Daniel 7 is a clue about the Antichrist that is so glaringly obvious and yet so central to identifying this bully of a man when he emerges, that I’m stunned people keep missing it, and amazed so few Bible teachers talk about it. Perhaps the reason they don’t is because they know that no mouth is as big, brash and braggadocious as that of “You Know Who.” Perhaps unconsciously it’s a very disturbing thought to them, considering how many Christians (or at least, religious Americans) willingly follow this man.

The picture is of a great beast empire in the last days that “bites and devours” many nations (Dan 7:19; Rev 17:15), out of which a “Little Horn” emerges (Dan 7:8). A “horn” in the Bible is symbolic of a public official, specifically a powerful political leader. And though this one is “little” (in the sight of God), he nonetheless has a look “more stout” (intimidating, imposing) than that of the other horns around him.[1]

Given how loudly the Bible warns us of what a “fire” the tongue is, a “world of iniquity” able to burn all the world to the ground, unleashed by such a little member boasting such great things (James 3:1-12), you’d think Trump’s windbag mouth would give us all pause. Yet I remember Jordan Sekulow of the Sekulow radio show, blow this off recently with, “Christians love his leadership; they just don’t like the way he talks sometimes.”[2]

I’m sorry. How can you trust leadership given to lying like a firehose, defaming, attacking, falsely accusing and using “great swelling words of vanity” (II Pet 2:18; Jude 16)? Such reveal a proud and haughty heart (Prov 21:24), for “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Mt 12:34). As the real President, Joe Biden, remarked after Putin invaded Ukraine, “The Achilles Heel of every autocrat is bad intel.” Why? Because no one dare tell the Dear Leader they’re wrong.[3] Thus, millions of Russians and Ukainians suffer, while Putin is still in power.

“Beguiling Unstable Souls…” (II Pet 2:14)

The wickedness of Donald Trump’s mouth goes way beyond just being “un-Presidential” or a matter of “not liking the way he talks sometimes.” God goes out of His way to tell us how much He hates bragging and braggarts (Psa 12:3; 49:6; 94:4; Prov 12:22; 16:5; Isa 16:6; 28:15; Jer 9:23-24; Dan 4:30-32; Acts 5:36; Rom 3:27; II Tim 3:2; James 4:16; Jude 16, etc).[4] People who choose such men to lead them are as much fools as they are (Ex 23:2; Judges 9: Eccl 5:1), the blind leading the blind (Mt 15:14).

The New York Times compiled a running tally of every tweet Donald Trump sent out between 2015 to 2021, insulting people, places and institutions. It entailed thousands upon thousands of quotes. (Be patient. It may take some time to load). Daniel Dale of the Toronto Star made it his mission, somewhat against his own will, to count every verifiable lie Donald Trump uttered from the time he was a candidate, through his four-year (literal) reign. The total came to 30,573, accelerating with time.

It is said of the Antichrist that he won’t just be a liar, but that he will “hurl the truth to the ground.” Still, I’ve yet to hear even one radio or TV preacher even wonder about this clue.

I mostly chalk it up to the “great hatred” (Hos 9:7) and distrust Christians have been taught to have towards liberals. Previous to the 1984 election when Republicans began to sully the term, “liberal” was worn by both parties with pride. Now it was identified with connotations like naivete, gullibility, stupidity and irresponsibility. They in contrast were “the adults in the room,” yada, yada, yada.

Previous to this, Republicans and Democrats worked together to pound out law and policy. Their families would often vacation together and the sense of comity was high. But by the time Newt Gingrich became Speaker of the House in 1995, he took the cynicism a step further and developed a strategy that Democrats were not our partners in democracy at all, but an enemy to be defeated. All that was left after successive years of constant slander and distortion was for a Social Darwinist brute like Trump to come along and give his followers permission to be the rebel he himself is, and hate to their hearts’ content.

Thus do Christians theorize the Antichrist will arrive as a left-leaning, New Agey peacenik who eventually shows his “real colors” by turning into a monster (Rev 13). It never seems to cross their mind that he could be a fire-breathing right-winger from the start, nor that the United States, especially during his reign, will be a beast empire that “bites and devours” as much of the earth he can grab and control. No vision of world government in sight here, but that again is yet another assumption Christians read into the prophecies which isn’t there.

“Speaking Great Things”

In this chapter, Daniel describes a dream/vision he had one night that greatly troubled him. It entailed four great empires to come upon the earth, three close to his times. But it was the fourth that really rattled him, describing it as “dreadful and terrible,” and “strong exceedingly,” with “great iron teeth” (7:7), and “nails of brass” (judgment—7:19). We also know that this last empire comes at the end of the age because the rest of the chapter says this emerges just before the coming of the Ancient of Days (Jesus Christ and the Second Coming—vs 22).[5]

It says that out of this last empire will emerge 10 “horns,” a symbol of power, especially political power in the Bible. And among them will be found another “little horn” with a look “more stout” (more important, more powerful) than the others (7:20).

But what is most astounding about this little but powerful horn is his mouth. And it is here where the King James version really fails us by merely saying it had a mouth “speaking great things” (7:8,20), which could imply a great orator, philosopher, wise man, visionary, or “idea man.”

None of this is what the text is conveying. At Biblegate.com they have 55 different Bible versions, and just get a load of the ways they describe this guy’s mouth. Here’s a list of the operative concepts:

A Boaster:

“speaking boastful things” (EHV), “boasting proudly” (GNT), “speaking great boasts” (LSB), “speaking boastfully” (LEB), “spoke boastful words” (MEV), “spoke boastfully” (NIV), “uttering great boasts” (NASB), “boasting arrogantly” (NLT).

A Braggart:

“that bragged” (CEB, ICB), “kept on bragging” (DRA), “kept bragging” (EXB, ERV, NCV), “the loud, bragging mouth” (TLB),” “always bragging” (NIRV),

Arrogant:

“spoke arrogantly” (CSB, HCSB, NABRE, NRSVUE), “speaking arrogantly” (CJB), “spoke with arrogance” (CEV), “a big mouth and spoke arrogantly” (MSG), “an arrogant mouth” (NCB), “speaking arrogant things” (NET), “spoke arrogant things” (OJB), “speaking arrogant things,” (TLV), “uttered arrogant words” (VOICE).

Proud and Presumptuous:

“spake presumptuous things” (GNV), “spoke pompous words” (NKJV), “spoke proud words” (NLV).

The rest of the translations take the vague “great things” route, but others seem to hint at tendencies to utter ridiculous claims and ideas such as is found in the Jubilee Bible which coyly interprets it as “very grand things.”

But tell me that doesn’t change the image conveyed? In all my life I’ve never encountered so gratuitous a loud mouth, braggart and boaster as Donald Trump, let alone one that became the most powerful man on the planet for four controversy-filled years.

It was this clue that upended my life in November, 2016. As much as I could see what a dangerous, vile man he was, I honestly did not think the American people would ever sink so low in discernment.

And in point of fact, I don’t believe he actually won that election anyhow. As with everything in this man’s world, the opposite is usually the case. It was not Hillary screaming about a rigged election either before or after it, but Donald Trump. All the polls showed her trouncing him.

Yet he “won,” probably due to Russian micro-targeting of key precincts in key counties of key swing states, bombarding them with fake news stories tailor-made to the reader’s social media biases. That kind of powerful data was STOLEN AND made available to Russia by Trump’s campaign manager Paul Manafort, for which he went to prison until Donald Trump pardoned him.

Charming party, these Republicans. No, no corruption here, no collusion with Russia here. “IT’S THE RUSSIAN HOAX, HOAX, HOAX!!!,” as I’m sure the Caped Crusader has at one time or another tweeted out.

[1] There does seem to be a hint of mockery by God in this description. The image of someone who thinks they’re so great yet they’re actually a gnome compared to other authorities (in character, in status) reminds us of the parable of Jotham in Judges 9, wherein he portrays a tumbleweed threatening the “cedars of Lebanon” (9:15), a type of men or women of true stature in the world.

[2] Something to that effect.

[3] In point of fact, Putin humiliated his own intelligence chief on national TV, daring him to criticize his plan to invade the next morning. You notice that Putin is still there while millions of Russians are still suffering for his hubris and bad judgment. Such is the price paid for “strong (strongman actually) leadership.”hich he went

[4] In contrast, a righteous man or woman is pulled into boasting reluctantly, to establish their bona fides (II Cor 12:11). Or, God forbid, to boast about their weaknesses and dependency on God (12:9,10)!

[5] Daniel also says it was “diverse” (different) from the first three. Part of that difference can be due to the fact that prophets in ancient times would get a vision of a future world far more advanced of anything they knew in their day. Another might be that he caught a glimpse of its extent. The empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece under Alexander, though powerful, did not cover the entire earth. The US empire does, even having seven different Pentagon command regions that cover the whole earth. There are no doubt many ways a last empire, far into the future, would be so different from anything in the ancient world.