As our days on this planet are pressing us to inevitable End-time prophecies concerning the coming of Antichrist and his kingdom, the remnant must take hope in the promise of the coming of God’s Kingdom. First, this planet must pass through a “Great Tribulation.” We view the Great Tribulation different from Daniel’s Last Week, though they both will lead to the same end—Christ’s coming to earth to set up His Kingdom. The Great Tribulation is a judgment against the Gentile world and its global governments; Daniel’s Last Week is a judgment against the Jewish nation. The Great Tribulation period seems to last longer than Daniel’s Last Week. We know by prophecy that the latter will last seven years with two perspectives of that Week, each lasting 3½ years. In contrast, the Great Tribulation Period will last longer because it encompasses a greater time period as well as a broader geography. We must remember that Daniel’s Last Week is part of seventy weeks of years determined against the Jews and Jerusalem (Dan. 9:24). These seventy weeks of years are to “finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.” Sixty-nine of these weeks definitely have been fulfilled. Therefore, the last or seventieth week (comprised of seven years) will resolve these six characteristics that the entire seventy weeks of years are to bring to the Jews.
The fact that the Tribulation Period and Daniel’s Last Week are two different concepts and purposes in God’s economy makes it also probable that the length of each event is also distinctly different. The Tribulation Period begins earlier than Daniel’s Last Week. Whatever the time for its unfolding, Daniel’s Last Week runs parallel with the last seven years of the Tribulation Period; the latter brings a conclusion to the Gentile world kingdom, and Daniel’s Last Week brings the judgment on Israel. This final judgment will lead Israel to repentance causing them to turn to Jesus as their Messiah.
This article turns our attention to those events that will finally lead to the coming of Christ to set up His Kingdom (to the Stone coming out of the mountain to destroy the image). We must carefully view this final kingdom before Christ’s coming. Where are we in the light of this coming kingdom?
The Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation must be carefully viewed as a sequential book rather than a fragmented book of time whose portions must somehow be rearranged. Sixty-five percent of all the verses in this book begin with either the words and or after this. This indicates that the book must be read in the sequence in which its events are recorded. Therefore, the Tribulation Period begins in chapter 6, joined by Daniel’s Last Week later in chapter 11. Even then, the first 3½ years of that prophetic week are covered in chapter 11, while the last 3½ years occur in chapters 13 through 19. Chapter 12 is one of those few unique comprehensive chapters in the Bible that momentarily take us back in time in order to give us the complete view of that which is to occur in chapter 13.
If a timeline were to be drawn, we would see the Tribulation Period beginning in chapter 6 with a number of events transpiring over the course of those chapters. These events include the first six seals of the Tribulation Period, along with the 144,000 preachers (the first fruits of Israel turning to Christ) stepping forward to begin preaching the coming of Christ’s Kingdom. (They will be martyred in the last half of Daniel’s Last Week, chapter 14.) We also read of the seventh seal opening and six of seven trumpets sounding forth their judgments. There must be a span of time for all of this to happen upon the earth and for such judgments to come upon the Gentile world. Only in Revelation 11:2, 3 do we begin reading of designated times (42 months, 1,260 days, which is the beginning of the Last Week). Therefore, some time passes in the Great Tribulation Period before Daniel’s Last Week begins.
Chapter 13 reveals the “beast out of the sea” coming forth; providentially, his kingdom will only last for 3½ years. In Daniel 7 we are told of the four winds of the heaven that strove upon the great sea. “And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another” (7:3). These beasts refer to the Babylonian Empire, the Medo-Persian Empire, the Greco-Macedonian Empire, and the Roman Empire. These were beasts coming from the world systems that were under the control of Satan, kingdoms that were given to him by man himself to rule over the vast sea of humanity. (Although many believe this sea is the Mediterranean Sea, Revelation 17:1 and 15 reveal this sea to represent waters of humanity; cf., Luke 21:25b.)
However, there is another beast, a final beast coming from this same sea (Rev. 13:1); this beast will be the Antichrist, the main leader from the feet of Nebuchadnezzar’s image in Daniel 2. According to Revelation 13, with him there will be another beast (Gr., allos, “another of the same kind”) that will rise from the earth to rule the religious world for the Antichrist. This first beast of chapter 13 will represent the final kingdom before Christ comes and destroys it along with the world system that over the centuries tied itself in and with all the kingdoms of man.
The Beast Out of the Sea
But who or what is this beast out of the sea? Some speculate it to be a “system” of religious belief, such as the papacy of the Roman Catholic Church. Though the pope is a man, a human being, yet he is part of a “system” of the papacy that has controlled its church over the centuries. In the Bible an “antichrist” is found in two contexts. First, note 1 John 2:18, 19:
Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
This passage indicates that antichrists are already here within the church, or found among those professing to be God’s true people. In God’s providence He takes them out from among God’s people to prove they were not of the true heart of God’s people. They were against the Christ and His people; therefore, they are antichrist in spirit and heart.
Although John is the only one to use the term antichrist, there is another context of this person described with a variety of titles by other Bible authors. We have observed that Paul calls him the “man of sin” and the “son of perdition.” But Paul declares that the “mystery of iniquity doth already work,” or the antichrist spirit is already working in the world, in the system of the world, and even in the institutional Church.
Another context of the Antichrist is portrayed by Daniel and will be brought forth by the apostle John in the Book of Revelation. Daniel presents him as one of the horns (7:8) but distinct from the ten horns or the ten toes. He is called “another little horn.” He will at the appointed time pluck up three of those horns or toes, leaving seven and making him the eighth. He is presented as “the beast” in 7:11. In Daniel 7:24, 25 he rises in addition to the ten (and diverse from them) to subdue three of these kings, or toes, or horns. But there is something specific about this one:
He shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time [or 3½].
Then note Daniel 8:24:
His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power [it will be given to him by Satan; cf., Rev. 13:2]: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people [the Jews]. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes [Jesus Christ]; but he shall be broken without hand [Christ will defeat him at the Battle of Armageddon].
Daniel 11:31 prophesied of the rise of Antiochus Epiphanes, a type of the antichrist. Then in verse 36 a new personage comes in, described as “the king.” Note what is said of this king:
The king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
He will be a very self-centered, willful king; he will be a proud king magnifying himself; he will take upon himself the prerogative of deity, magnifying himself above every god, even speaking marvelous things against the one true God; he will be remarkably successful and prosperous for a season until his course is run. This description agrees with that of the Wicked one described in 2 Thessalonians 2:3–10:
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Though there may be a “system” of antichrist, and there may be “many antichrists,” there is yet one final person of Antichrist to come. He will be identified more specifically with the political world, not the religious world. Because Roman Catholicism presents the pope as the vicar of Christ, it still believes in a concept of Jesus Christ (though presented in a perverted way). In contrast, the Antichrist will be a man who will not speak of Christ; he will not use Jesus Christ as a cloak of deception or for his promotion; he will openly and absolutely defy the name of Christ; he will have no association with Christ, even in a religious perversion. He will exalt “himself” and magnify himself above every god, speaking great things against God.
The Perversion of the Antichrist
Daniel 11:37 gives further description of this Antichrist and his perversions:
Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
One of the Devil’s great controlling characteristics is his deceptive ways and words. He is the father or originator of all lies. As Christ is “the Truth,” the Devil is “the Lie”—the very embodiment of a lie. The man who will come representing Satan will be a man given to the Lie; his very life, existence, and words will be of deep and dark deception. He will know how to present a lie as the very truth. An antichrist of the twentieth century, Adolf Hitler stated that if you tell a lie loud enough and long enough, people will believe it to be the truth. The coming Antichrist, receiving his power from the Devil, will be a man who will have all the money, all the power that will be needed to keep his lies afloat. These will be lies about himself, his administration, and his intentional end of global oppressive possession of humanity.
The above verse in Daniel 11:37 also indicates that he will be a sodomite, or in the contemporary language, a homosexual. At the same time, he may present himself publicly cloaked as a “heterosexual” man, while his administration is filled with sodomites. In order to cover the “strange flesh” of his perversion, he may present himself, in the lie, as married to a woman. However, the perversion may be so great as to be married to a man who through surgery appears to be a woman. This public lie may further be promoted through the adoption of children, completing the façade of a genuine family “man.” Although his inner circle (and compliant media) may know the truth, they may be afraid to say anything against the lie.
By using the lie concerning him-self, he can promote the changing of the laws to legalize his perversion. He will promote, yea, force upon humanity every perversion and inversion of fornication. It will be to the changing of the laws of the land that were passed by moral men of former days, reversing the appointment of creation with the legality of bestiality, same-sex marriages, polygamy, and even legalization of the pedophile and incestuous lifestyle. The world will come to the greatest manifestation of the powers of sin and to the proclamation of the morality of evil in all of its ways. Such governmental leaders will be energized with overwhelming demonic pride, fullness of bread (Ezek. 16:49) or all the money and tangible benefits they need to bring about the change of the moral system of the universe. Everything about the man presented to the public will be “the Lie”: his birth, his nativity, his parents, his family life, his education, his professed accomplishments, his words, his promises, his purposes, his ambitions, his plans, his countenance, his rhetoric, and even his religious affiliation. He will be a man in which there will be found no “truth” at all.
For a season, the Jews will believe him to be the Messiah. How will he with such a “lie” convince them of this? What lying “signs” will he give? What fabricated genealogy will he present to the leaders of the nation concerning his background? Though some will be angered by his ways, his manner, and his changing of laws, yet no one will be able to do anything about it. The world will wonder after the beast! Note Revelation 13:5–8:
And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months [or 3½ years]. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear.
The Antichrist will deify the forces of the physical world. He will try to harness the forces of weather and climate conditions throughout the earth’s land, sea, and sky; he will exploit technological forces to such an extent that micro-computers could be used to manipulate the human body and brain; he will attempt to control conception, birth, life, death, and DNA sequencing all to achieve his own evolutionary vision. Ultimately, he will have at his bidding the forces of the spirit world where Satan rules and empowers such men committed to him. The advance of civilization, instead of being measured by architecture, sculpture, oratory, and the like, will now be measured by the improvement in the above areas and the powers they contain to control all of life.
Human life today is interpreted only through the perspectives of biology, psychology, and technology all in attempts to control mankind. We have come to believe we have found the supposed hidden power of evolution that is driving the human race upward. Under the Antichrist this collective power will be elevated to the position of a god. People worship as gods those things or people that do things for them that they cannot do for themselves. Our society is becoming totally dependent on world government to provide for all of its needs. Therefore, the motto “In God We Trust” does not have to be changed, but simply the concept of who God is. Our government is fast becoming the god of the people.
Conclusion
The image of Daniel 2 reveals that it is the system of man connecting all of the parts of this image. We read in Revelation 13 that the beast coming up out of the sea has seven heads. The apostle John in Christ’s prophecy takes us back two empires/kingdoms prior to Daniel’s view (that begins with Babylon). John’s revelation adds Egypt and Assyria to Daniel’s four empires, leaving the final beast Antichrist to make up the seventh head. Though his empire/kingdom is different, yet he will be linked with the “spirit” of the previous empires, because they were all controlled by Satan. His empire will be the final summation of powers, both of the Devil’s and of man’s endeavor to take control over all of God’s creation.
Amidst all this raging power of the Antichrist, not all will go according to his desires. Tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him. The geographies of present-day China and Russia, along with European regions, are seen to arise against him seeking his overthrow. Truly the kingdom of Satan will continue to be divided. He shall go forth against these enemies with great fury attempting to utterly destroy all who oppose him. This great king, the Antichrist (of whom Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Hitler, and so many others have only been but forerunners in their attempts to conquer the world) will doubtless outstrip all of them in his extent of dominion. But his will be the climax of such attempts, and the anti-type of all types, closing up the age of rebellion against God. He will come to his end, not by being overcome by his enemies, but, as told in Daniel 8:25, “he shall be broken without hand.” It is evident the Lord Himself will visit wrath upon him, being the one thus described in 2 Thessalonians 2:8: “then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” This will be at Christ’s coming with the saints to set up the millennial kingdom.
Daniel’s last expression, as he copied in his book the words of the heavenly messenger, shows him (like all the Old Testament worthies) with his face to the front earnestly expecting the unfolding of the future. He is included in that number mentioned in Hebrews 11:13 who “died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them.” The last words to Daniel were, “But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.” This “rest” and “thy lot” will be found when the Gentile kingdoms cease and the Messiah begins His Kingdom on earth.
If a vision of these things so thrilled Daniel from his far-off vantage point in the Old Testament, how much more ought we (with the New Testament in our hands and the foretold events drawing nigh) to be interested and thrilled with such hope. We should make full preparation to meet the Lord either in the valley of death or in the air of the rapture. For either appointment for the culmination of our lives, we still pray with great hope, “Thy Kingdom Come!”