DANIEL 11:36

In the next passage of scripture, we are being told many things about the antichrist. The Bible says in Daniel 11:36-39, “And 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.[37] 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.[38] 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.[39] Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.” When it says that he “shall do according to his will,” it is speaking of the fact that the antichrist will have great power as a dictator. He will be able to bypass the will of the people as well as the approval of any legislative branch. Of course, this also means that the antichrist will be doing his own will and not God’s will. The antichrist will be a very arrogant, self-centered, and proud person much beyond even that which we consider arrogant humans beings to be like because the antichrist will “exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god.” He is called the antichrist because he is against Christ, and thus he “shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods.” Thankfully, the time that the antichrist will rule is predetermined and of short duration. It will only last seven years. The antichrist “shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.”

Daniel 11:37 refers to the antichrist’s desire to be worshipped as if he is god and says, “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.” As we noticed from the previous sermon, the statement, “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,” might be a clue regarding the identity of the antichrist. The antichrist might be of Jewish origin because this is a phrase that is consistent with how Jewish people are spoken about. For example, it says in Second Kings 21:22 about Amon, the Jewish king of Israel, “And he forsook the Lord God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of the Lord.” It also says about Manasseh, a Jewish king of Israel, in Second Chronicles 33:12, “And when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.”

Of course, the antichrist will be opposed to Jesus. When Daniel 11:37 says that the antichrist shall not regard “the desire of women,” it is probably referring to the Messiah Jesus Christ. The first prophecy about the Messiah was given in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” The Messiah would come from the seed of the woman. All devout Hebrew women knew this. Talking about the coming of the Messiah it says in Haggai 2:6-7, “For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;[7] And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.”

Anyone who does not worship the one, true God and His Son Jesus Christ will have a substitute god of some kind. The same is true of the antichrist. It says in Hebrews 11:37, “But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces.” The word that is translated “forces” means a place of safety or a stronghold. It probably refers to the high value that the antichrist will give to military power. The antichrist will be one who conquers and controls those whom he has conquered. We must point out that an over-emphasis on military can be a bad thing, especially if someone is trusting in their own power instead of God for their safety. In this crazy world we should be prepared to defend ourselves, but the Lord is our refuge first of all. We must not forget that, or else we are being just like the antichrist.

The antichrist will also be involved in false religion to the point of giving great sums of money to support it, as it says in Hebrews 11:38, “and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.” What religion could this be? The antichrist turns away from Judaism, and he is opposed to Christianity in a violent and murderous way. But as we will see in some of the next verses that the antichrist is somehow involved especially with the countries of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. I wonder what religion he is involved with?

We see in Hebrews 11:39 that the antichrist is involved with two of the things that have always corrupted the rulers of this earth: power and wealth. It says, “Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.” The power and wealth that the antichrist has, he uses to strengthen the rule of whatever false religion he is involved with. The phrase “the most strong holds” means “the strongest of fortresses.” The adherents of this false religion evidently need some strong fortifications, and the antichrist helps them to get them. The antichrist also helps the adherents of this false religion to “rule over many” and to “divide the land for gain.” The “land” spoken of here may very well be the land of Israel. The false religion of the last days will be an enemy of Israel, and when the antichrist gets control of Israel, he will divide up the land and give it to the adherents of the false religion.

The Bible continues telling us about the antichrist, and it says in Daniel 11:40-45, “And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.[41] He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.[42] He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.[43] But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.[44] But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.[45] And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.” What we can about the description of the antichrist and his activities is that the last days will be a time of war, especially in the Middle East. The antichrist will leave some of the Middle Eastern countries alone, maybe because he has alliances with them. But others he will attack and conquer such as Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Syria, Israel (“the glorious land”), and “many countries shall be overthrown.” The countries that escape out of the antichrist’s hand are “Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.” These people represent parts of modern-day Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Perhaps they escape being attacked because of having an alliance with the antichrist.

When it says about the antichrist in Hebrews 11:45 that “he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain,” it is referring to the antichrist’s preoccupation with Jerusalem. No doubt that he will take over the holy mountain. The antichrist will desecrate the temple in Jerusalem, blaspheme God, and declare himself to be god. Jesus spoke of this event in Matthew 24:15-22, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)[16] Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:[17] Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:[18] Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.[19] And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days![20] But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:[21] For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.[22] And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.”

The Bible says in Daniel 12:1-3, “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.[2] And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.[3] And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” There is a tremendous amount said in Daniel 12:1. We already know that the “time of trouble” is the Great Tribulation that Jesus spoke about in Matthew chapter 24 and that the book of Revelation describes in such detail. Once again we see that there is a spiritual warfare taking place in that “time of trouble.” Yes, armies will fight one another because it will be a time of much warfare as the antichrist attacks and destroys his enemies, and as he attacks Israel and conquers Jerusalem with much bloodshed of the innocents.

The angel Michael is called “the great prince” in Daniel 12:1. Evidently, this angel has a lot of authority from God to fight the devil and his fallen angels. Perhaps Michael will be the angel who puts the devil into the bottomless pit, as it says in Revelation 20:1-3, “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.[2] And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,[3] And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.” It is comforting to know that our Lord will bring to our aide all of the spiritual forces necessary to give us the ultimate victory over any spiritual battles that we must fight. Make sure you walk close to the Lord Jesus so that you have His assistance. You cannot do it without Him. The angel, the great prince Michael, will help the children of Israel during the days of the Great Tribulation.

The deliverance that is given to the children of Israel in the last days is associated with being saved. It says in Daniel 9:1, “and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” We can probably conclude from this that the ones who are delivered from the destruction and killing that happens during the Great Tribulation will be the ones who turn to Jesus and are saved. That certainly is what will happen at the very moment that Jesus returns in His Second Coming. Paul spoke of this event and said in Romans 11:25-27, “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.[26] And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:[27] For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.” This event is also spoken of in Zechariah 12:10, “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” Of course, these are the ones who get saved and delivered right at the end of the Tribulation. If you want to be among those who are saved from your sins and delivered from this world into the Kingdom of God, make sure you turn to Jesus while you still have time.

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