As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them.
Daniel 7:21
It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them.
Revelation 13:7a
These two passages in Daniel and Revelation seem to be describing the same scary beast. Keep in mind that we don’t have the space to really go into the symbolism; rather, we’ll mainly focus on the subject of persecution.
Much imagery is used to describe the beast’s appearance. In Daniel, this is the fourth beast, and it has ten horns. It is a strong entity that speaks boastfully and comes against Christians. God, known here as the “Ancient of Days”, will finally step in, stop the slaughter, and reign forever (7:22).
In Revelation 13, the beast also has ten horns and will be worshipped and followed. It will be given three and a half years to rule the world and make life hell for followers of Christ. John, the author of Revelation, then quotes a passage from Jeremiah 15:2 that is sobering: “If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people” (verse 10). End Times believers have some unappealing options: captivity or death – yet faithful endurance throughout. This is not exactly an exciting future in the human realm.
No matter when you believe the rapture takes place, there are clearly saints, God’s holy people, or Christians, who are on earth at the time that this beast makes war with them. Whether they are believers like you and me who have not been raptured yet, or they are people who get saved during this final window of time known as the Great Tribulation, it’s important to remember that they are Christians. They are being persecuted and martyred.
Now, to the practical application. If given the option, most people don’t want to know when they are going to die. We would just rather go about our lives as if there is no danger on the horizon. But when it arrives, we won’t know how to handle it. This is called normalcy bias. Yet, if we are the final generation before the Second Coming of Christ, we must be ready to face the ultimate persecution. America may very well meet its fate in your lifetime and before the End of the Age.
The Bible warns of a great falling away (2 Thessalonians 2:3). Is it because many will shrink in the face of persecution? Is it because they’re not ready? Is it because their faith is so shallow that they cannot discern the truth from a lie? Regardless, you should be ready. Live every day ready to defend your faith and die for the cause of Christ, if needed.