Throughout history the proclamation of the gospel has gone and is going around the world. Many people come to know Christ through God’s Spirit. The church is established all over the world. Now we see a very clear apostasy from this, apostasy from Christ. Especially in places where the Christian faith has been previously strongly represented, people now begin to openly mock Christ. They scoff and come up with accusations against the Lord. In this way, we can see an anti-Christian power emerging which is getting bolder as time moves on. It is an anti-Christian power that is often even supported by liberal Christians and churches. That is to say, it is not openly and clearly resisted with profound indignation. We need to consider these things in relation to the small horn and the increase of its power. This is a dangerous power, because it has human eyes and a human mouth (Daniel 7:8). It is strong and crafty and it uses its power against the saints, against believers who constitute the church. There will be times in history when it looks as if this anti-Christian force could be victorious.
21 As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them,