Mr Gordon,what is your understanding of when it is the horn( Dan 7:21,22) makes war with the holy ones? ------------- Ababab, A bit of background needs to be covered to explain that one. At the time Daniel wrote his book the nation of Israel was in a covenant relationship with Jehovah. Thus when he wrote of the rise and fall of beasts(dynasties)he was giving advance notice of how his name people were to be affected. All this changed in 33CE when Jesus was rejected by fleshly Israel: (John 19:15) Pilate said to them: “Shall I execute your king?” The chief priests answered: “We have no king but Caesar.” In anticipation of this Jesus had earlier the same evening introduced a new covenant with his 11 faithful apostles: Luke 22:28-30. These were to be the foundation of the "Israel of God" Galations 6:16.
This Kingdom covenant put things in place for the fulfillment of a remarkable vision, recorded at Daniel 7:13, 14, 22, 27. Daniel saw “someone like a son of man” being given kingly authority by “the Ancient of Days,” Jehovah God. Then Daniel saw that “the holy ones took possession of the kingdom itself.” Jesus is the one “like a son of man” who, in 1914, received the heavenly Kingdom from Jehovah God. His spirit-anointed disciples are “the holy ones” who share with him in that Kingdom. (1 Thessalonians 2:12) From that time on the beasts and horns(rulers & dynasties)would be affecting those of the nations that were to be "a people for his(God's) name"(Acts 15:14) Sym'e·on has related thoroughly how God for the first time turned his attention to the nations to take out of them a people for his name. A clue to when the horn makes war on the "holy ones" is recognizing when the "son of man" received the Kingdom. “The holy ones” persecuted by the “small” horn—the Anglo-American World Power—are Jesus’ spirit-anointed followers on earth. (Romans 1:7; 1 Peter 2:9) For years before World War I, the remnant of these anointed ones publicly warned that 1914 would see the conclusion of “the appointed times of the nations.” (Luke 21:24) When war broke out in that year, it was evident that the “small” horn had ignored this warning, for it persisted in harassing the anointed “holy ones.” The Anglo-American World Power even opposed their efforts to carry out Jehovah’s requirement (or, “law”) that the good news of the Kingdom be preached worldwide by his witnesses. (Matthew 24:14) Thus the “small” horn attempted “to change times and law.” To sum up it can be said that just as the nation of Israel that claimed to worship Jehovah opposed his Son and his disciples nations today continue to oppose.
