Unmasking the Antichrist - Daniel 8
ANTICHRIST: WHO IS HE? IS HE ALIVE TODAY OR WILL HE BE RESURRECTED???
Matthew 24:1–3 (NKJV)
1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” 3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
Matthew 24:4–8 (NKJV)
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Matthew 24:15-16
15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Daniel 7 spoke prophetically of 4 beastly kingdoms (Babylon – lion, Medo-Persian – Bear, Greek – leopard, 4th – terrible beast, iron teeth, 10 horns and little horn – Islamic caliphate and the antichrist)
Daniel 8 – chapters 2-7 written in Aramaic (common language of the nations), 8-12 in Hebrew (speaking to the Jewish nation)
Daniel 8:1-2 (NKJV)
1 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me—to me, Daniel—after the one that appeared to me the first time. 2 I saw in the vision, and it so happened while I was looking, that I was in Shushan, the citadel, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision that I was by the River Ulai.
Shushan (Susa) - small little town during Babylonian kingdom (200 miles east of Babylon), but will become capital of Persian empire (Iran)
Daniel 8:3-4
3 Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the river, was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. 4 I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no animal could withstand him; nor was there any that could deliver from his hand, but he did according to his will and became great.
Daniel 8:5-7
5 And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. 6 Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power. 7 And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand.
Daniel 8:8
8 Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven.
Greek empire – divided among 4 generals
North Seleucid (Syrian) vs. South Ptolemy (Egypt)
Daniel 8:9-12
9 And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land. 10 And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. 11 He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down. 12 Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.
1 Maccabees 1:41–53
And the king wrote unto his whole kingdom, 42 that all should be one people, and that every one should give up his [religious] usages. And all the nations acquiesced in accordance with the command of the king. 43 And many in Israel took delight in his (form of) worship, and they began sacrificing to idols, and profaned the sabbath. 44 Furthermore, the king sent letters by the hand of messengers to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah (to the effect that) they should practise customs foreign to (the traditions of) the land, 45 and that they should cease the (sacrificing of) whole burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and drink offerings in the sanctuary, and that they should profane the sabbaths and feasts, 46 and pollute the sanctuary and those who had been sanctified; 47 that they should (moreover) build high places, and sacred groves, and shrines for idols, and that they should sacrifice swine and (other) unclean animals; 48 and that they should leave their sons uncircumcized, and make themselves abominable by means of (practising) everything that was unclean and profane, 49 so that they might forget the Law, and change all the (traditional) ordinances. 50 And whosoever should not act according to the word of the king, should die. 51 In this manner did he write unto the whole of his kingdom; and he appointed overseers over all the people; and he commanded the cities of Judah to sacrifice, every one of them. 52 And many of the people joined themselves unto them, all those [namely] who had forsaken the Law; 53 these did evil in the land, and caused Israel to hide in all manner of hiding-places.
Antiochus IV Epiphanes (Antiochus, God Manifest) – Antiochus Epimanes – Antiochus the mad man
Killed 80,000 Jews and sold 40,000 into slavery
Outlawed Torah, burned every copy he could find
Forbade circumcision
Mothers committed to Judaism did it anyway, when found out, Antiochus killed the babies, hung them around the mothers’ necks and marched them through town. Another
Replaced Jewish holidays with Greek Holidays (Bachanalia – celebration of wine and pleasure)
Forbade Sabbath
REMEMBER LAST TIME – CHAPTER 7 CHANGING TIMES AND SEASON
Daniel 8:10-11a
10 And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. 11 He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host;
PICTURE: COIN - Theos Antiochus Theos Epiphanes = Antiochus the Great, God Manifest”
Daniel 8:11b-12
and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down. 12 Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.
Daily sacrifice taken away –
ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION
Daniel 11:30–31 (NKJV)
30 For ships from Cyprus shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant, and do damage. “So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation.
167 BC (Dec 16)
Sacrificed a pig on the altar in the temple and sprayed the pigs blood all over
Pigs unclean, not sacrificed by priest – desecrate the temple
Abomination of Desolation
THEN set up an image of Zeus in the temple – WHY BAD?????
Daniel 8:13-14
13 Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?” 14 And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”
Chanukah – 8 day festival
The commemoration of this event is called the Feast of Lights, or Hanukkah. September 6, 171 b.c.—when Antiochus came to power—to December 25, 165 b.c. is exactly 2,300 days.
FUTURE?
Need to look into next chapter of Daniel
Daniel 9:27 (NKJV)
27 Then he [Antichrist] shall confirm a covenant with many for one week [seven]; But in the middle of the week [seven] He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”
Antichrist covenant, treaty for 7 years
Middle of covenant – end sacrifice (temple apparently in place)
Offer sacrifice desecrating the temple
2 Thessalonians 2:1–4 (NKJV)
1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
Temple of God -
READY TO BUILD - SLIDE
Temple Institute
Temple Mount Faithful
Location in question – could build to the north or south
Daniel 8:13-14
13 Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?” 14 And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”
2300 DAYS – future interpretation is time from opening of the temple and beginning of sacrifices until temple cleansed
2300 days = 6 years, 140 days (360 day years)
120 days +2 leap months+ 15 days (6 months and 15 days to construct)
"Who opposes [against)
and exalts himself above [in place of] all that is called God"
(2 Thess. 2:4). When Satan rebelled against his Creator, he sought
to be both against and in place of God (Isa. 14:13-14).
Daniel 8:15-17
15 Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. 16 And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” 17 So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.”
“Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.”
Daniel 8:18-22
18 Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me, and stood me upright. 19 And he said, “Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be. 20 The ram which you saw, having the two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia. 21 And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king. 22 As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.
Daniel 8:23-25
23 “And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise, Having fierce features, Who understands sinister schemes. 24 His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; He shall destroy fearfully, And shall prosper and thrive; He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. 25 “Through his cunning He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; And he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; But he shall be broken without human means.
Charisma, “fierce features, who understands sinister schemes” –
SHREWD, diabolical
Destroy the mighty AND the HOLY PEOPLE (Jews and Christians)
GET A HOLIDAY
'As a matter of fact, every time someone wanted to destroy the
Jewish nation, the Jews added another holiday. Pharaoh tried it,
and God gave them Passover. Haman tried it in the book of Es-
ther, and they celebrated Purim. Antiochus tried it, and it resulted in Hanukkah, or "the feast of the dedication" (John 10:22). In our own day, Hitler tried it, and his failure eventuated in the rebirth of the Jewish nation and its independence day.- from Pre-wrath Rapture by Marvin Rosenthal
Daniel 8:25b
But he shall be broken without human means.
Antiochus – died of disease – after Jupiter idol cast out of the temple he vowed to turn Jerusalem into a cemetery for all of the Jews. But got sick and body putrid, awful smell – died “without human means”
ANTICHRIST _ be defeated by Jesus – not humans!
Daniel 8:26-27
26 “And the vision of the evenings and mornings Which was told is true; Therefore seal up the vision, For it refers to many days in the future.” 27 And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king’s business. I was astonished by the vision, but no one understood it.
TIMELINE
Antichrist Covenant – Beginning of the Tribulation
Temple rebuilt
Seals Opened (4 Horsemen:
What to look for?
Revelation 6:1–2 (NKJV)
1 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
Revelation 13:1–17 (NKJV)
1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. 2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” 5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. 11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. 12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth—by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. 15 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Muslim 12th Imam (Mahdi)
When asked directly by ABC reporter Ann Curry in September 2009 about his apocalyptic statements, Ahmadinejad said, “Imam ... will come with logic, with culture, with science. He will come so that there is no more war. No more enmity, hatred. No more conflict. He will call on everyone to enter a brotherly love. Of course, he will return with Jesus Christ. The two will come back together. And working together, they would fill this world with love.”
There are a few other parallels between the Bible and Shiite theology that we should note. First, the Bible says that the tribulation will last for seven years, and Islam claims that the Twelfth Imam will rule the world for the same amount of time. Second, Muslims anticipate three years of chaos before the revealing of the Twelfth Imam, and the Bible speaks of three and a half years of tribulation before the Antichrist reveals his true nature by desecrating the Jewish temple. Third, the Bible describes the Antichrist as a deceiver who claims to bring peace but who actually brings widespread war; the expectation of the Twelfth Imam is that he will bring peace through massive war with the rest of the world.
Antichrist and the Mahdi Both:
* Both Deny Trinity And Cross
* Both Deny The Father And The Son
* Both Are Blasphemous
* Both Are Called Deceiver
* Both Claim To Be Messiah
* Both Kingdoms Suffer A Head Wound
* Both Work False Miracles
* Both Ride A White Horse
* Both Attempt To Change The Law
* Both Deny Women’s Rights
* Both Rule Over Ten Entities
* Both Are the Source of Death and War
* Both Use Military Force
* Both Honor Their God with Gold and Silver
* Both Honor a God of War And Advance His Glory Through War
*
* Both Usher Seven Years Peace Treaty
* Both Deceive And Destroy By Peace
* Both Break Treaties
* Both Desire World Domination
* Both Lead A Turkish-Iranian Invasion
* Both Exalted As God
* Both Ascend To Heaven
* Both Are Described As Beautiful And Wise Bird
* Both Are Light Beings
* Both Are Pride Filled
* Both Are Lords of This World and the Underworld
* Both Are Called the “Son of the Dawn”
* Both Are Afflicters
* Both Are Cast Out Of Heaven
* Both Are “The Lords of Demons”
* Both Are Possessed
* Both Practice Beheading
* Both Desire Israel’s Destruction
* Both Occupy the Temple Mount
* Our Messiah is their Antichrist—Their Antichrist is our Messiah *
WE DON’T EXPERIENCE WRATH OF GOD
1 Thessalonians 5:9 (NKJV)
9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
1 John 4:1-4 NLT
“Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.”
2 Thessalonians 2:7-8, 15-17 NIV
“For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”