Hi CDF,
As with pretty much all the prophecies found in the Scriptures, man generally has at least a couple of understandings of just what exactly they are intended to show us and how they were or will be fulfilled.
So, let's look at the possibility that this prophecy is a prophecy against the organization known to most of us as the 'papacy'. First of all, we are told that it will be a 'little horn'. Most godly people who study the Scriptures are in agreement that this little horn will be a ruler/leader of some kind. However, whether it refers to a specific and individual person or some sort of governing body is debatable. The Scriptures speak of nations as being governing organizations that outlive just one single ruling individual. So, this little horn could be seen as some governing body rather than an individual. The papacy would qualify under such an understanding and so we would look over the entire existence of the papacy rather than honing in on just one single pope.
Throughout the existence of the papacy there have certainly been determinations made that would qualify, to most of us, as 'changing times'. Constantine is most often seen as the first person who claimed to be a part of the Catholic organization to do this:
Constantine named himself Bishop of the Catholic Church and enacted the first civil law regarding Sunday observance in A.D. 321.
"On the venerable day of the sun let the magistrate and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country however, persons engaged in agricultural work may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain growing or for vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost." —Schaff’s History of the Christian Church, vol. III, chap. 75.
Notice that he not only determined that Sunday should be the 'day of rest', but also exempted farming as 'work'. Neither of these two understandings are in agreement with what we are told, through the Scriptures, as the 'law of Sabbath'. I think it good to point out at this time that God's 'law of Sabbath' doesn't seem to be about worship, but about rest. Therefore, I have no problem with Christians desiring to hold their corporate worship services on Sunday, but determining that now Sunday is the 'day of rest' would be a changing of times.
What about Easter? The word 'Easter' found in the book of the Acts of the Apostles is actually a translation of the word 'pasach', which is the Greek word to refer to 'passover'. So, it would seem that in the days when King Herod held Peter in prison, his intention was to hold him in prison until after the days of the Jewish passover. However, the Jewish passover actually came at different times every year according to the calendar that was then in use, and so, by tying Jesus death and resurrection to the practice of the passover, we aren't really celebrating the 'day' that Jesus was crucified and resurrected in the year that it actually happened. This could well be seen as another example of changing times and the celebration of Easter does seem to have originated with the practices of the Catholic organization. Just the fact that the word 'pasach' was translated as 'Easter' very likely comes from the practice that was fairly well established in the days of the King James translation work as the celebration begun by the Catholic organization. Many translations do actually translate this word in the above mentioned passage as 'passover'.
What about laws? Well, as mentioned above, the law of the Sabbath does seem to have been changed when Constantine exempted farming as 'work'. In the days in which the Sabbath was instituted by God, many, many people held as their work, the raising of crops and herds. Did God mean to infer that those people could still go out in their fields and do their normal duties on the Sabbath? Or, did God mean that even the farmers were to stop and rest and leave their fields in honor of the Sabbath? The Jews did seem to think the later since they accused David's men of breaking the Sabbath when his soldiers were found to glean from a field on the Sabbath. Constantine seems to have determined that because the crops and herds still needed care on that day, that they should be exempted. The Jews seemed to have understood that one day of rest wasn't going to kill either the crops or the herds.
What about marriage? God's intention for marriage seems to have been a lifelong commitment and there doesn't seem to be any instruction that such a marriage had to be performed in some certain way or by some certain personage in order to be valid. The Catholic organization seems to have changed that law. There understanding of a 'valid' marriage is that it must be performed under the auspices of a Catholic personage in order to be valid. That a couple can live together as a married couple for sometimes years, but it can later be determined that because their marriage wasn't performed as per their requirements, their marriage never existed. Is that what God intended when He said that for this reason a man shall leave his family and cleave unto his wife and she unto him, until death do they part? In the Jewish community there never seemed to be such an understanding of marriage. While the Scriptures do speak quite a bit of divorce, and the condemnation thereof, we never see that there were marriages that were not considered to be proper marriages. Would this be a change in the law of marriage?
There are actually, as I understand it, quite a few such 'changes' made to God's law in the practice of religion within the Catholic organization. So, each one must determine for themselves; do the practices of the Catholic organization change times and laws? Further, even if we believe that such practices do change times and laws, according to the Scriptures, does that then mean that such an organization is the 'little horn'?
What all does the prophecy given unto Daniel tell us?
“After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns."
This beast is identified as having 'large iron teeth'. What is that supposed to intend to us? That this beast also was terrifying and frightening and very powerful and crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. Can this be describing the Roman government? It's seemingly relentless work of conquering the known world in that day? Roman power and authority stretched from western Europe (what is now known as the UK) in the north, to the most northern provinces of the African continent to the south and all around the area of the Mediterranean sea. It became the largest single governing empire that the world had ever known up to that point and arguably ever has been as regards its imprint on many of today's governing bodies. The laws and practices of the Roman empire can still today be found in many governments. However, among that great mass of land and people, there were assigned rulers of smaller parts of it. Could that be the 'ten horns'?
"The Roman Empire was among the most powerful economic, cultural, political and military forces in the world of its time. It was one of the
largest empires in world history. At its height under
Trajan, it covered 5 million square kilometres. It held sway over an estimated 70 million people, at that time 21% of the world's entire population." (source: Wikipedia)
So, according to this prophecy, out of that 'beast' would come 'ten horns', and among them would come a 'little horn'.
"It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns. “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully."
Admittedly, this is open to various interpretations. Who or what were the ten horns? Who or what is the little horn? Who or what were the three horns that were uprooted? However, the description of the little horn says that it had the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully. That would seem to infer that it was of man and spoke too greatly about itself. Is it possible that this describes the rise of the RCC? That the papacy is a ruled by a mere man and that the organization speaks so very, very greatly about itself? That the inference of its having the eyes of a man, means that it sees as man sees and not as God sees, although boasting of itself to be able to see as God sees?
This is an understanding that each one must weigh and determine for themselves, but I can see where such an analogy can be drawn.
God bless you.
In Christ, ted