Antichrist and his Kingdom - Part 2

The Antichrist

And His Kingdom

Part 2

John Hoole – October 21, 2012

For the last several weeks, we have been learning what the Bible says about the coming world dictator known as the Antichrist. We have learned about his rise and fall, and last week we began looking into his kingdom. Today we will finish looking at the kingdom of this coming ruler.

Last week we began comparing what Revelation says about the lineage and kingdom of the Antichrist with what Daniel has to say about his lineage and kingdom. Specifically, we looked at the 10 horns mentioned in Revelation 13:1, which is interpreted for us in Revelation 17:12-13. We are told the 10 horns represent 10 kings who will reign for a short time with the Antichrist. Then we looked at Daniel 2 and 7, which will throw some light on these ten kings.

In Daniel 2, we have the record of a dream of King Nebuchadnezzar, who was troubled or puzzled about its meaning. In Daniel 7, we have the record of a vision that Daniel received from God. The vision from God takes place some 50 years after King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

In Daniel 2, the kings dream involved a colossal image. Daniel describes the many parts of the image, and in verse 33 speaks about the feet and its 10 toes. In chapter 7, Daniel’s vision involves a series of beasts, the fourth of which has 10 horns. These 10 toes of the king’s image and the 10 horns of Daniel’s vision will help us more fully understand what the 10 horns in Revelation 13:1 represent.

Now, let’s go back and fill in the pieces of these two accounts given by Daniel and draw the parallel between them and Revelation 13.

Daniel 2:31-34 NIV

31     You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue – an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance.

32     The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze,

33     its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay.

34     While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.

In the interpretation which follows, Daniel relates how the different metallic substances represent various world kingdoms. Extrapolating meaning out of prophetic symbols requires, in some cases, a real effort in searching through the Scriptures. This is not one of those. After Daniel tells the King his dream, he also interprets its meaning. He explains what is represented by each part of the image.

In Verses 38 & 40, (NIV) he tells King Nebuchadnezzar…..

38     ......You are the head of gold.

39     After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.

40     Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron - for iron breaks and smashes everything - and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.

There should be no doubt that we are being told of successive world kingdoms in the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

What Daniel is describing, both in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Chapter 2 and his dream in Chapter 7, is a very accurate overview of world history since the time of Daniel in Babylon to the end of Human rulership. We will see that the same is true of the Daniel’s vision in Chapter 7. There, we will see a series of beastly images that also represent kingdoms coming out of the sea.

Daniel doesn’t leave us in the dark as to which kingdoms are represented by each of the materials in the colossal image. He has already told Nebuchadnezzar that he and his Babylonian kingdom are represented by the head of Gold (vs. 38).

IN NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S IMAGE, WHO IS REPRESENT BY THE CHEST AND ARMS OF SILVER?

Daniel 5:23-31 NIV (Daniel’s speaks to Belshazzar)

23     Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.

24     Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.

25     This is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN

26     This is what these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.

27     Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.

28     Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."

29     Then at Belshazzar's command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.

30     That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain,

31     and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.

Firstly, just as the Prophet Jeremiah had said, the Jewish captivity under Babylon ended after 70 years. Secondly, we learn here that the Chest and Arms of silver in Nebuchadnezzar’s image is represented by their successors – the Medes and Persians.

WHO IS REPRESENTED BY THE BELLY AND THIGHS OF BRONZE?

Daniel 11:1-4 (NIV) helps us to understand this kingdom.

1       And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him.

2       "Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will appear in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.

3       Then a mighty king will appear, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases.

4       After he has appeared, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others.

Here we are told about a Grecian kingdom, one that, in the end, will be divided into four segments. (parceled out to the four winds.) We know from history, this is represented by the reign of Alexander the Great, who, in 331 B.C. at the Battle of Arbela, defeated the Medes and Persians.

We also know that the Greek Empire was unable to remain united after his death. Alexander’s kingdom was divided between his four generals, just as Daniel had prophesied in Daniel 11, and also in Daniel 8. Daniel has a separate vision of the Grecian empire in Daniel 8. In this chapter, he refers to the Grecian kingdom some 200 years before it came to power.

Daniel 8:5-8 (NIV) shows the rise and fall of this kingdom.

5       As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground.

6       He came toward the two-horned ram [the Medes and Persians] I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at him in great rage.

7       I saw him attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him; the goat knocked him to the ground and trampled on him, and none could rescue the ram from his power.

8       The goat [Grecian Empire] became very great, but at the height of his power his large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven.

We also know that Alexander the Great died at the very young age of 33, after which his kingdom was divided among his 4 generals.

• Ptolemy – Egypt, Palestine

• Seleucus – Asia Minor, Syria, to India

• Lysimachus – Macedonia, part of Asia Minor

• Cassander – Greece

In this Passage, it speaks of four prominent horns replacing the broken large horn. The Scriptures are so accurate in its prophetic predictions. The Greek Empire made great inroads in converting the world to their form of culture and civilization. Ptolemy was one of the four generals of Alexander the Great. The Ptolemies retained control over Egypt and other parts of Africa.

Egypt’s King Ptolemy Philadelphus had a huge love of knowledge. In 285 B.C., he commissions a copy of the Hebrew Scriptures in his own Greek language. The king arranged for a group of 70 Jewish scholars in Egypt to translate the Hebrew text into Greek. Later, it became known as the LXX, which is the Roman numeral for 70 or, as it is more commonly known, the Septuagint version of the Old Testament.

This was a huge step in getting the Hebrew text into the language of the common person. It has also been a very good tool for theologians over the past 2000 years, as they compare the Old Testament with the New, which was written much later. Additionally, this is the Bible that most of the apostles and Jesus had during their time. Many of the New Testament quotation of the Old would have come from this translation. The Greek Empire continued to rule from 331 B.C. until the year 63 B.C.

Now for the next kingdom seen in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Daniel doesn’t specify the name of this empire, like he did with the previous 3. But we know from history, the fourth kingdom is represented by the Roman empire which came immediately after the Grecian. In Nebuchadnezzar’s image, this kingdom corresponds to the legs of iron. Iron is very strong, and depicts the nature of this empire in that they were very ruthless in the conquest.

Exactly as the prophetic dream foretold, the Roman Empire divided into two kingdoms following the reign of Constantine. This would correspond with the fact that there are two legs in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The western empire was based in Rome, and the eastern empire set up its capital in Constantinople [Istanbul, Turkey].

The iron kingdom of Rome ruled the known world far longer than any other. The western empire finally ceased to exist when barbarians defeated Rome in A.D. 476. The eastern empire – known as the Byzantine Empire – continued for another 1,000 years, until its defeat by the Turks in A.D. 1453. Since then, no one kingdom or partnering kingdoms have ruled the world.

Actually, the entire Roman empire has never been replaced by another world power. The conquest of either the barbarians or the Turks only involved small segments of the original Roman kingdom. The empire actually deteriorated from within, causing it to fragment into many city states. No external power ever succeeded in destroying the Roman Empire. Unlike the first three kingdoms, the Bible does not speak of the death of the fourth – the Roman Empire.

The next part of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream focuses on the feet and toes of this image. Daniel does not tell us specifically about the nations represented by the 10 toes. But in Daniel 7:27, he says these 10 kingdoms will come out of the 4^th kingdom which, as we have seen, is the Roman Empire. Most scholars refers to these 10 kingdoms as the Revived Roman Empire.

Here’s what we have learned thus far:

I want you to notice how the metals in the statue decrease in value as you go from head to foot. At the same time the metals increase in strength, signifying each kingdoms military strength except for the feet and toes.

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FEET & TOES BEING PART IRON AND CLAY?

It would seem to indicate that they will lack unity and strength. 10 political entities will exist at the same time, but their total strength will be diluted by their independence. This is indicated by the fact that iron and clay don’t naturally mix.

I find it interesting that only 4 empires would rule the world for the last 2,500+ years between the Babylonian rule unto the coming of Jesus Christ as the Messiah King.

Now let’s look at the vision Daniel receives from the Lord, which is recorded in Daniel 7. In this vision, Daniel sees a series of beasts which show a prophetic view of the same successive series of world empires that was depicted in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

Before we look at each beast in this vision, look at the words of verse 3.

Daniel 7:3 NIV

3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.

Do you remember, earlier in our lesson what the “sea” represents in prophetic literature. The sea represent gentile nations and peoples. And each of these four empires, depicted by various beasts, are gentile nations.

The first beast was like a lion (Daniel 7:4)

The second was like a bear (7:5)

The third was like a leopard (7:6)

We are not told what the fourth beast looks like. It is not given any likeness to an animal – even though it is called a beast.

We do, however, from what we have studied thus far, know this fourth beast represents the Roman Empire Here are the words in 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.

Notice the iron teeth – the same as the fourth metal in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

Now look at Daniel 7:23-24 NIV:

23 He gave me this explanation: `The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it.

24 The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings.

Again, like we read earlier in Revelation 17, we have 10 horns which are identified as 10 kings or ten kingdoms. And in this vision, the 10 horns come from the fourth beast. In other words, they are related to the Roman Empire, just like we saw in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

We also learn that these 10 will exist at the same time as the Antichrist. In this passage, he is depicted as “another horn, different from the earlier ones, and he will subdue three kings.”

To summarize, the 10 toes of Daniel 2 are equal to the 10 horns of Daniel 7, which are also equal to the 10 horns of Rev. 13. All speak of the final form of the Roman empire in the last days during the Tribulation period.

Let’s have a quick review and look again at this comparison between Daniel 2 and Daniel 7.

The Lion in Chapter 7 equates to the Gold in Chapter 2, and is Babylon

The Bear in Chapter 7 equates to the Silver in Chapter 2, and is the Medo-Persian empire.

The Leopard in Chapter 7 equates to the Bronze in Chapter 2, and is the Grecian empire.

The unnamed beast with iron teeth in Chapter 7 equates to the Iron in Chapter 2, and represents the Roman Empire.

And we just talked about the 10 toes and the 10 horns.

One further note: Did you happen to notice that the three beasts of Daniel 7 (the lion, bear and leopard) are the same 3 beasts mentioned in Rev. 13, when describing the Antichrist? This helps to further demonstrate the link between Daniel 7 to Revelation 13.

Revelation 13:2 NIV

2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion.

There is a difference between the descriptions in Rev. 13 and Daniel 7.

CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THAT DIFFERENCE IS?

They are mentioned in reverse order – leopard, bear & lion.

WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS?

I believe it is because Daniel sees these kingdoms before they come to power but John sees them after they have come to power.

HOW DO WE KNOW THIS?

The only difference between the 10 horns of Daniel 7 and those in Revelation 13 is depicted in Revelation 13:1 (NIV).

1 And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.

Here again are the words in Daniel 7:7 NIV

7 (the 4^th beast)…… 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 SEE THE DIFFERENCE?

The horns of Revelation 13 have been crowned. Those in Daniel 7 were not. That indicates that John sees them after they have become rulers.

What does all we have studied today tell us about where the Antichrist comes from nationally?

According to Revelation 17:12-13 and Daniel 7:8 & 24, the Antichrist will not be one of these ten kings making up the Revived Roman Empire. But he will be a citizen of one of those countries.

Leaders in Europe have for decades dreamed of a re-united Europe. To understand the activity leading to this 10-toed confederacy, we must travel back to at least 1947. In that year, Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands form a united pact. In 1957, France, Italy and Germany joined the confederation, making it six. In 1973, Britain, Ireland, and Denmark joined, making it nine. Then on January 1, 1981, Greece joined the group to make it ten.

At this point many evangelicals were elated, making the assumption that all the members of the group had finally been assembled. “Not so,” said others, “Doesn’t Daniel 7:8, 20 & 24 tell us the confederation must grow to at least 13?” That thought is taken from the verses which tell us that when the Antichrist rises to power, he will forcefully pluck up 3 existing nation and then he will become the leader of the remaining 10.

Numbers 11 & 12 to join the European Union were Spain and Portugal -- which happened in 1986. More recently, Sweden, Austria and Finland have joined making the number 15.

It is quite possible that the union will grow to more than 25 countries. However, we can already see a trend toward the creation of a multi-tiered system. Some countries want to be part of the European alliance, without becoming a fully-committed partner.

On August 30, 1994, Edouard Balladur, then Prime Minister of France, gave a speech, announcing the possibility of a 3-tiered system. At the time he made that statement, there were already 12 total members in the Union.

The inner core would include those who would commit their countries to full monetary, commerce, military and social union. The Germans have come out in support of such a tiered super-state. This inner circle could easily include 10 states.

The European Community seems to be heading toward complete fulfillment of all prophecies concerning the 10-nation confederacy. And the time will come when the Antichrist will be selected to be their leader.

CLOSING

During the 7-year Tribulation, we have seen that Satan will very cleverly imitate the programs of God and will be able to deceive most of the people on earth at that time. But despite his cleverness, Satan’s counterfeits will always fall short. Even though Satan tries to promote the Antichrist as the world’s messiah, the Bible shows some distinct contrasts between this false messiah and Christ.

One is called the Christ (Matthew 16:16);

…the other the Antichrist (1 John 4:3).

One is called the Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53:3);

…the other the Man of Sin (2 Thess. 2:3)

One is called the Son of God (John 1:34);

…the other the Son of Perdition (2 Thess. 2:3).

One is called the Seed of woman (Gen. 3:15);

…the other the seed of the Serpent (Gen. 3:15).

One is called the Lamb (Isaiah 53:7);

…the other the Beast (Rev. 11:7).

One is called the Holy One (Mark 1:24);

…the other the Wicked One (2 Thess. 2:8).

One is called the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6);

…the other the wicked, profane Prince (Ezekiel 21:25).

One is called the Good Shepherd (John 10:11);

…the other is called the worthless Shepherd (Zechariah 11:15).

One is called the “Mystery of Godliness” – God manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16);

…the other will be the “mystery of iniquity” – Satan manifest in the flesh (2 Thess. 2:7, 9)

As to their respective careers:

Christ came in His Father’s name (John 5:43);

The Antichrist will come in his own name (John 5:43).

Christ came to do the Father’s will (John 6:38);

The Antichrist will do his own will (Daniel 11:36).

Christ was energized by the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:14);

The Antichrist will be energized by Satan (Revelation 13:2).

Christ humbled Himself (Phil. 2:8);

The Antichrist exalts himself (Daniel 11:37).

Christ cleansed the temple (John 2:14, 16);

The Antichrist defiles the temple (Matthew 24:15).

Christ was received up into heaven (Luke 24:51);

The Antichrist goes down into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 19:20).