The Bible says in Daniel 8:20-23, The ram
which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.[21]
And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between
his eyes is the first king.[22] Now that being broken, whereas four
stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his
power.[23] And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the
transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding
dark sentences, shall stand up. This passage of scripture is very
clear. Daniel prophesied many years before it came to pass that the kingdom of
the Medes and the Persians would be conquered by the king of Grecia. Of course,
we know the king of Grecia is Alexander the Great. Alexanders kingdom broke up
into four kingdoms at his death. Out of one of those four kingdoms came a
lesser ruler who symbolized the antichrist and who was a precursor to the
antichrist. This kings name was Antiochus Epiphanes. He conquered the city of
Even though the prophecies in Daniel
speak of historical events that would happen a certain number of years after
Daniel gave his prophecies, the main emphasis is really on the last days. God
wants His believers to know where human history is heading, so that we can be
at peace and can be assured that God has a plan that will be realized. That is
why Daniel 8:23 makes it clear that what he is writing about is the latter
time. Certain characteristics are given about the antichrist in
Daniel 8:23. It says, And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors
are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark
sentences, shall stand up. One of the reasons that the antichrist is able to come to
power is because it says when the transgressors are come to the full. For a
person as evil as the antichrist to come into power there must be other ungodly
people also who will help him come into power: the transgressors. This will be
a time when ungodliness is unleashed in this world as never before. We are
living in a time when things are getting worse and worse. The scriptures tell
us that such is the age in which we live. It says in Second Timothy 3:13, But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse,
deceiving, and being deceived. It also says in Second Timothy 3:1-5, This
know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.[2] For men
shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,[3] Without natural
affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of
those that are good,[4] Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures
more than lovers of God;[5] Having a form of godliness, but denying the
power thereof: from such turn away. But in
spite of the current growth of wickedness, there is an influence in this world
that holds back iniquity and that keeps it from getting even worse than it
might be. The antichrist comes on the scene when the restraining force is taken
away. It says in Second Thessalonians 2:3-11, Let
no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come
a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;[4]
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.[5] Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I
told you these things?[6] And now ye know what withholdeth that he might
be revealed in his time.[7] For the mystery of iniquity doth already
work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.[8]
And 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:[9]
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs
and lying wonders,[10] And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in
them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they
might be saved.[11] And for this cause God shall send them strong
delusion, that they should believe a lie.
In Daniel 8:23 the antichrist is
called a king of fierce countenance. This is one way in which Antiochus
Epiphanes prefigured the antichrist. Antiochus was a cruel and fierce leader
who hated and mercilessly persecuted the people of God, murdering thousands of
the inhabitants of
The third thing said about the
antichrist in Daniel 8:23 is that he will be understanding dark sentences. The phrase
translated dark sentences means hard sentences. The antichrist will be a
very intelligent person. He will especially understand the worlds political
systems and how to manipulate them and take control of them as no ne else has
ever done. He will know what to say and when to say it. He will know how to lie
and when to lie so that he will be believed and trusted.
Daniel continues to describe the
antichrist, and the Bible says in Daniel 8:24-25, And his
power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy
wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and
the holy people.[25] 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; but
he shall be broken without hand. These two verses are an
expression of how quickly and easily the antichrist comes to power,
consolidates his power, and expands his power. When Daniel says that the
antichrist will have mighty power but not
by his own power, we can understand that from
two perspectives. From a human standpoint we know that ten other rulers give
power to the antichrist. From a spiritual standpoint the devil, who is called
in the Bible the god of this world, gives power to the antichrist. Remember
that the devil offered Jesus the kingdoms of this world in Matthew 4:8-9 that
says, Again, the devil taketh him up into
an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and
the glory of them;[9] And saith unto him, All these things will I give
thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
The reason that Jesus gave for not wanting the kingdoms of this world is that
it required falling down and worshipping the devil. Of course, there are other
reasons also to not want to rule the kingdoms of this world: they are full of
sin, they are failures, they are limited in capability and in time, and they
will all be destroyed. The antichrist will have no reluctance at receiving what
power the devil has to offer him, and according to Daniel, the antichrist will
be given great power to change times and laws, to conquer, and to destroy.
Initially, the antichrist will appear
to accomplish much. Daniel 8:24, he shall destroy wonderfully, and
shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. The word
practice means making, working, and putting into effect all of his many plans
and goals. Concerning the antichrist and the destroying that he will do, the
word destroy is used twice in verse 24, and the word is also used in verse 25
when it says by peace shall destroy many. Normally,
when we speak of an evil ruler destroying people, we think of war or violence,
but this says that he will destroy many by peace. Perhaps
that refers to the fact that the antichrist will make promises concerning
peace. People will accept the antichrist because they think he will bring
peace, but once he has power, he will use his power to destroy.
The antichrist will be arrogant and
prideful and he will be attached to the spiritual forces of darkness.
Therefore, it does not surprise us to read in verse 25 that he shall
magnify himself in his heart, and he shall also stand up against the
Prince of princes. Of course, we know that the Prince of princes is Jesus Christ.
There can be only one outcome for anyone who opposes the Lord: he shall be
broken without hand. Without hand means that no human being or no human effort will
put an end to the antichrist. Jesus will do it Himself. After the Second Coming
of Christ is described in Revelation 19:11-16, the destruction of the
antichrist (the beast) is described in Revelation 19:19-20, And I saw the
beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to
make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.[20]
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before
him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and
them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire
burning with brimstone.
The Bible says in Daniel 8:26-27, And the
vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut
thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.[27] And I Daniel
fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's
business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.
I think that when the Lord told Daniel to shut up the vision because it will be
for many days, that we are all being reminded of one of the truths concerning
some prophecies: some prophecies are meant for a different time and a different
people than the ones to whom they are originally given. Daniel was told many
things about the last days and the antichrist, but of course, Daniel would not
be alive when those things happened. God revealed the events to Daniel, and
Daniel was affected very greatly by what he saw so that he fainted and was sick
certain days. Approximately 2500 years have passed, and still the final events
of the last days have not happened. They might happen soon, but they have not
yet. Some of the things we read in the Bible are not for this age of grace in
which we live: some are for the past, and some are for the future. One mistake
that some people make when they read the Bible is they try to apply all
teachings to the current age. That can especially cause problems when people
take teachings of the law and try to apply them to the Christian life. The same
mistake can happen concerning prophecy. For example, some people try to
identify some current political figure as the antichrist. They are always wrong
because the antichrist will not be revealed until after the rapture of the
church. The antichrist is given power by ten kings or rulers. Until that event
happens, the antichrist will remain unknown to the world. He will have no power
until that event happens. Therefore, any current political leader is excluded
from being the antichrist because each current leader already has his power in
his own particular country.
The Bible says in Daniel 9:1-2, In
the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which
was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;[2] In the first year of
his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the
word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy
years in the desolations of Jerusalem. Daniel had the same reaction to the
vision about the future that anyone would have: he wanted to know when those
events would take place. The apostles of Christ had that same reaction when
Jesus told them In Matthew chapter 24 that the temple would be destroyed. It
says in Matthew 24:3, And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto
him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be
the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
It is important to notice that when
Daniel wanted to know more about the vision of the future that was revealed to
him, Daniel went to another book of the Bible to see what it said on the same
subject, and by tying one part of scripture to another, Daniel came to a better
understanding. Daniel said in Daniel 9:2 that he understood
by books the number of the years. And then Daniel said that he
obtained his understanding from something that had been revealed to Jeremiah: that he
would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of
___________________________________________________
Copyright; 2013 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved