The description of the great things spoken by the mouth of the little horn and of the persecution of the true saints of God by this power corresponds so minutely with the characteristics of the first beast of Revelation 13 that no further description is here necessary. It is said that he would also "think to change times and laws." The language is spoken as if this were a most extraordinary thing to do. Surely it is no extraordinary thing for a king to alter _secular_ laws in his own dominion; and so far as heathen kingdoms are concerned, it would be no sacrilegious act for them to alter their _religious_ laws and customs. But the little horn was to set himself up against the Most High and think to change _His_ times and laws--an act of unparalleled audacity, impiety, and blasphemy. This description the papacy has consistently and constantly fulfilled. The pope has assumed the power to make time holy or unholy as he sees fit; to command men to abstain from meat and to cease work, contrary to the demands of God. He has claimed the power to dispense with God's laws or obedience to them, "forbidding to marry," and through his indulgences to remit the penalty due to sin. The student of prophecy can not fail to see the striking similarity between the description of the little horn in Daniel 7 and that of the ten-horned leopard-beast of Revelation 13. The following parallels prove their identity: 1. Both are blasphemous powers (Dan. 7:25; Rev. 13:6). 2. They speak great things and blasphemies (Dan. 7:8, 20; Rev. 13:5). 3. Both are persecuting powers making war on the saints (Dan. 7:21; Rev. 13:7). 4. The chronology of each shows that the power rose to prominence about the time of the cessation of the pagan Roman Empire. 5. The length of time during which they were to continue is the same--forty-two months, or twelve hundred and sixty days. 6. Both are to be gradually but finally destroyed (Dan. 7:26; Rev. 13:10). These powers, then, appear at the same time, in the same territory, have the same character, do the same work, continue the same length of time, and meet the same fate. _These facts prove identity._ We have, therefore, positive proof drawn from the parallel prophecies in Daniel that the first beast of Revelation 13 signifies the politico-religious system of Rome. [Sidenote: Length of papal reign] The identification of the little horn of Daniel 7 with the leopard-beast of Revelation 13 is now complete. That both apply to the papacy has been conclusively shown. We shall now turn our attention to the length of time that this power was to reign. Daniel limits the triumph of the little horn to "a time and times and the dividing of time" (Dan. 7:25). "Time," in the singular, of course, signifies one time. "Times," plural, without a designating number, signifies two times. "The dividing of time" is rendered in chapter 12:7, also in both texts in the Revised Version, "a half." So the entire period is three and a half times.