The Antichrist
And His Kingdom
Part 1
John Hoole – October 14, 2012
In our last several lessons, we have been looking at what the Bible says about the Antichrist. We looked at what the Bible says about his rise and fall. We also addressed a number of questions that are often raised with regards to him. Today we are going to look at the Antichrist and his Kingdom.
The apostle John tells us that despite the fact that the “spirit of antichrist” has been present all during the Church’s history, there is coming a day when a single individual will emerge onto the world’s political stage, who will become the Antichrist.
When Satan puts his puppet on the world’s throne to oppose Christ he will be a person advocating peace on earth. Daniel 9:27 teaches us that this person will enact a firm treaty, bringing peace to the Middle East, Arab/Israeli unrest.
Early in his political career, this Antichrist will have a magnetic personality with the ability to sway people with his words.
Daniel 11:21 says:
….but he [the Antichrist] will come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
He will conquer kingdoms mainly through the use of his words, rather than by force. Daniel 7:8 speaks of the Antichrist having “a mouth speaking great things.” Verse 20 says essentially the same thing. Revelation 13:5 says, “And he was given a mouth speaking great things….” Over and over we see this scenario presented. The Antichrist comes into the world as a champion of peace, progress, prosperity, and rest.
The world is ripe for a person who can step up and settle the age-old conflict in the Middle East. People in all nations would embrace such a person.
Arnold Toynbee, the late Cambridge historian, reckoned that man in his present plight is: “ripe for the deifying of any new Caesar who might succeed in giving the world unity and peace.”
When the Jews rejected Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah, He uttered an incredible pronouncement upon the Jewish people. Concerning the blindness of their hearts He said: “I have come in my father’s name and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him.” (John 5:43).
The True Messiah was warning the spiritually blind children of Israel that a counterfeit messiah would come in the future and that they would receive him with open arms.
Today we are going to look at the kingdom of this coming ruler we call the Antichrist.
WHERE DOES THE ANTICHRIST COME FROM, NATIONALLY AND POLITICALLY?
The first question that naturally arises when attempting to determine the nationality of the Antichrist is this: Is he of Jewish or Gentile descent? We answered this question in detail in our last lesson. So today I will make only a few comments as a review.
Biblical imagery actually supports a Gentile origin of the Antichrist. Scripture pictures him as rising up out of the sea (Revelation 13:1; 17:15).
Revelation 13:1 NASU
1 And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.
In prophetic literature, the sea is used consistently as a symbol of the Gentile nations. Daniel 7:3 (NKJV) speaks about four Gentile world kingdoms rising out of the sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. Thus, the Antichrist is seen as have a Gentile ancestry.
The Bible does not only teach that the Antichrist will be a Gentile, it also implies he will be of Roman descent. By that, I mean his ancestry will be from among the ancient Roman Empire. When the 7-year treaty is offered to the Jews, the one drawing up the covenant is from the revived Roman Empire.
Revelation 13:1 NASU
1 And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.
Some people avoid the study of end-time prophecy because they feel it is impossible to understand all the symbols used. During this lesson, I hope that you will see that by comparing Scripture with Scripture, we are able to make sense out of the various images its writers give us.
Some people give you the impression that you need 2 PhDs and a working knowledge of Hebrew and Greek in order to understand the Bible – even more so with all the imagery found in the book of Revelation. While educational credentials might be helpful, they are certainly not absolutely essential. The Bible is meant for everyone to understand, not just some select group.
Notice what is recorded in Revelation 1:3 NIV
3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
The Book of Revelation may be a difficult and demanding book to read, and yet, it is the only biblical book whose author promises a blessing to those who read it and keep its saying.
Would God have told us about this blessing that comes from reading and keeping what this Book says, if indeed the meaning and understanding of its words were to be hidden from us? How would we ever keep what it says if we don’t understand what it means? Additionally, I mentioned that with regard to the symbols and images of prophecy, that the Bible itself will serve to help us interpret what they mean.
We will start with the images given in Revelation 13:1. The beast coming out of the sea has 10 horns.
WHAT DO THE HORNS REPRESENT IN REVELATION 13:1?
In prophecy, horns are symbolic of kings or kingdoms. How do we know that? As you have heard me say several times today, other Passages in the Bible make the symbol used in prophetic passages very understandable. There are 3 other passages that speak directly about these specific 10 horns. Firstly, let’s take a look at Revelation 17.
Revelation 17:12-13 (NIV) is referring back to what John wrote in Revelation 13:1.
12 The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet (at the time of the apostle John) received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast.
13 They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast.
From this, we can deduce that the Antichrist will, in the beginning, rule over ten kings or kingdoms. Ten heads of state will eventually join together in a confederation of nations, under the rule of the Antichrist.
Many Bible scholars feel these 10 nations will constitute much of the old Roman Empire, and there is ample Scriptural grounds for this position. If this is true, then the emergence of the European Common Market, more commonly today called the E.U. (European Union) is probably the precursor to this Revived Roman Empire. We will examine this shortly.
A moment ago, I mentioned there are at least 3 Passages that will help us understand the 10 horns of Revelation 13:1. We have looked at Revelation 17:12-13. Now, let’s examine the other two Passages that discuss the same 10 nations under the rule of the Antichrist. These will give us additional information. Both of these passages are found in the Book of Daniel. Chapters 2 & 7. By comparing Scripture with Scripture, these 2 Passages will shed a lot of light on Revelation 13 and help us understand this 10-nation confederacy.
In Daniel 2, we have the record of a dream of King Nebuchadnezzar, who was troubled or puzzled about its meaning.
The king calls for all his magicians and astrologers, asking them to interpret the dream for him. The major obstacle that faced those who tried to interpret the dream, was the fact that he forgot it. As a group, they returned to the king, and here are their words.
Daniel 2:10-12 (THE MESSAGE)
10 The fortune-tellers said, "Nobody anywhere can do what you ask. And no king, great or small, has ever demanded anything like this from any magician, enchanter, or fortuneteller.
11 What you're asking is impossible unless some god or goddess should reveal it — and they don't hang around with people like us."
12 That set the king off. He lost his temper and ordered the whole company of Babylonian wise men killed.
Daniel then enters the scene. Daniel was a Jewish captive who, along with others, had been transported to Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar conquers Israel in 606 B.C. He was most likely in his late teens or early 20’s.
In verse 16, we see Daniel going to the King, asking for time so that he could interpret the dream.
Daniel 2:17-19 NIV
17 Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. [more commonly known as the 3 Hebrew children, Shadrach, Meshach & Obednego.)
18 He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
19 During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven
First, note that while the Babylonian wise men asked for the king’s mercy, Daniel, in verse 18, asks for God’s mercy.
After receiving a night vision from God, Daniel is ready to go before the king. When he stands before the king, Daniel is quick to give honor to whom honor is due. First, he says that the wisdom he was sharing was from the one true God and not from his own knowledge. This is tremendous integrity.
After the preliminaries, Daniel tells the king the dream he had. Then in verse 36, he begins to interprets the dream for the king. The dream of Nebuchadnezzar centers around a colossal image of a man. We will discuss some of the details of this dream in a moment. In verse 33, it speaks of this image having feet and 10 toes made of iron and clay. This is again reiterated in verses 41 & 42.
Daniel 2:41-42 NKJV
41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay.
42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile.
You may be wondering what the 10 toes in Daniel 2 has to do with the 10 horns in Revelation 13:1. We will make the connection in a moment.
Now, let’s quickly look at Chapter 7. In this chapter, we have a record of a vision which God gave to Daniel. This occurs some 50 years after the dream of Nebuchadnezzar recorded in chapter 2.
Interpreters of Daniel, whether liberal or conservative, generally have agreed that chapter 7 is in some sense a recapitulation of Chapter 2 and that it covers the same four empires. There is not only a similarity in its focus, there is also a sharp contrast. On the one hand, in Chapter 2, a wicked and heathen king is used as a prophetic vehicle to show the divine revelation which pictures world history as an imposing image. The image is in the form of a man.
In chapter 7, the vision is given through the godly prophet, Daniel, and world history is depicted as four horrible beasts, the last of which defied description. In chapter 2, Daniel is the interpreter. In chapter 7, an angel is the interpreter. Chapter 2 considers world history from man’s viewpoint as a glorious and imposing spectacle. Chapter 7 views world history from God’s standpoint in its brutality and depravity. In detail, chapter 7 exceeds that of chapter 2, and in some sense is a commentary on chapter 2. We will look at each beast of chapter 7 later, but first notice the fourth beast, mentioned in verse 7.
Daniel 7:7 NIV
7 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.
Did you notice how many horns this beast had? It had ten horns. This is very similar to the 10 horns on the first beast in Revelation 13.
Just as in Daniel 2, the number ten appears in connection with the final empire described in the vision. In Daniel 2, there were ten toes on the feet of the statue. In Daniel 7, the terrifying beast that symbolizes the final form of the Roman Empire has 10 horns (Daniel 7:7). This fourth beast in Daniel 7, having iron teeth, correspond to the statue’s legs of iron, and the ten horns correspond to the statue’s ten toes. And, in Daniel 7:24, these 10 horns are identified as 10 kings.
These ten leaders may represent various nations or groups of nations, but the Bible never says so specifically. What we are told is that ten leaders will come together to form a reunited Roman Empire. And those same 10 end-time leaders are mentioned by the apostle John in Revelation 17:12-13, where they are also described as ten horns.