Tribulation Special Lesson 4  The Antichrist Part 1

			The Antichrist

	Term   antichrist
	ἀντίχριστος; antichristos  anti -against, instead of, 	substitute.
		The antichrist of which we speak of in this study is a 	person. He is the adversary of Christ. He both opposes and 	will claim to be God as Christ. 

	Term: John the apostle is the first and only writer to 	use the term antichrist in Scripture. 
	
	Antichrist is coming and many have come  1 Jn. 2:18
	Antichrist deny Jesus is the Christ            1 Jn. 2:22
	Antichrists do not confess Jesus has come in the flesh						          					            1 Jn. 4:2-3
	Antichrists deny the humanity of Christ      2 Jn. 7

	Many antichrists in the world indicate that this is the last 
	hour (1 Jn. 2:18), the last days. This period is replete with 	false teaching about Christ. 
 
	Origin

	As the sons of God (angels Job 1:6;2:1;38:7)) procreated with the daughters of men (human females) and produced a hybrid of men and angels (Gen. 6:2,4), so the evidence points to the antichrist being of demon origin, namely a son of Satan (Gen. 3:15).
	As we will see with his characteristics and actions, they are far and above any normal human and much greater than typical demon possession. Even though he could be demon possessed, there are other indications he is from Satan himself. 

	His Father is Satan
		
	1) The fact that his origin is pictured as being brought into 	existence by Satan from the sea (chaos) (Rev. 13:1). This 	also distinguishes him from Satan. 

	2) The fact that he is not Satan but he seeks to preempt 	Christ’s rule on earth, establishing his own kingdom while 	following the will of his father, Satan. Thus imitating 	Christ as the Son of God ruling in his millennial kingdom 	on earth. 

	3) The fact that he is empowered by Satan at a level far 	above and beyond any demon possession demonstrated on 	earth, indicates that he is part angel (Dan. 8:24; 2 Thess. 	2:9-10). He does all kinds of (every kind of) signs and false 	wonders with the same operative power of Satan 
	
	4) The fact that he is able to take such a dominate role 	towards the end, work hand in hand with Satan, claim 	world-wide worship as God (2 Thess. 2:4) and stand against 	Christ himself (Dan. 8:25) indicates he is more than human 	or demon-possessed.
	
	5) The fact that he does not actually die, either at his 	supposed assassination (Rev. 13:3,12) or at the end of his 	earthly presence (Rev. 19:20; 20:10). 

	6) The fact that it is the Lord himself who slays him with 	the breath of his mouth at his return (2 Thess. 2:8)

	7) The fact that he does not come before the Great 
	White Throne for judgment as all unbeliever humans do. 	All unbelievers face the final judgment at the Great White 	Throne but the antichrist is thrown into the lake of fire 	immediately at his capture going directly into eternal 	judgment (Rev. 19:20).

	His Mother of Jewish Ancestry

	Since the antichrist will claim to be the Christ, he would be presumed of Jewish ancestry from his mother. This is in keeping with imitating Jesus Christ. One cannot imagine, Jews accepting anyone as the Christ, not of Jewish ancestry. 

	Dan. 11:37  He will show no respect for the God of his 	fathers and the one god desired of women and for any 	god; for he will magnify himself above all. 

	The phrase, “God of his fathers” or similar forms were used  for the God of Israel (Ex. 3:13; 2 Kgs. 21:22;. 2 Chron. 13:12; 17:4;33:12 etc.) and links it to Jewish ancestry. 

	From the Tribe of Dan

	There is also biblical evidence that points to him being from  the tribe of Dan.

		1) Dan is identified with a serpent and said to judge his 		people (Gen. 49:16-17). Dan is a transliteration of the 		Hebrew word meaning “judge or govern” (Gen. 30:6) 		This implies 	that he would rule over the larger tribes. 

		2) Striking at the heals (Gen. 3:15) is similar to 		what he does to the offspring of the woman (Rev. 		12:3-6).

		3) The tribe of Dan was often related to idolatry 
		(Jud. 18:14-19; 1 Kgs. 12:28-29).

		4) Dan is not in the list of tribes that fill the ranks of the 		144,000 in Rev. 7:4ff. Both Dan and Ephraim are 		absent in the list and are both associated with idolatry 
		(see above for Dan and for Ephraim Hos.4:17). 

	His National Origin (nationality)

	From our study of Future Babylon, we learned it played a major role in the end times as “Babylon the Great, the Mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth.” Here ruling power dominates Rome II and then the world. 
	We continue to see this symbolism connect the antichrist with Babylon and Rome II. 

		Satan himself calls up the beast antichrist. 

	Rev. 12:18 And he [the dragon] stood on the sand of the
	seashore. 
	Rev. 13:1 Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea.
	It had ten horns and seven heads, and on its horns were ten 	diadem crowns, and on its heads a blasphemous name.

	The heads relate it back to the Roman rulers of John’s time plus the antichrist. The ten horns are Rome II. 

	13:2  And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, and its 	feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth like the mouth of a 	lion. And the dragon gave it his power and his throne,  	and great authority. (3) And one of its heads appeared as 	slain to death but his mortal wound was healed, and the 	whole earth marveled 	after [followed] the beast; (4) they 	worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the 	beast, and they also worshiped the beast, saying: “Who is 	like the beast?” and “Who is able to wage war against 	him?”

 	As the beast is further described, we see the same characteristics we see elsewhere of the antichrist: his mortal wound healed, the whole earth marvels, given the authority of the dragon (Satan). Vv. 5-8 describe his speaking arrogantly, given authority forty-two months, wars against the saints, etc.  This indicates that this beast symbolizes the antichrist ruling with the operative power of Satan in combination with Rome II. The antichrist and seven headed, ten horned beast are seen working together as one. 
	We saw in our Babylon lesson, how Babylon the Great rode the scarlet beast described with the seven heads and ten horns (Rev. 17).	 The angel goes on to describe how the seven heads came about and that the ten horns are kings (Rev. 17:9-13) and how they work together for the beast antichrist. 
	Though distinct, antichrist, Babylon, the beast with seven heads and ten horns all work together as one ruling the world until Rome II turns against Babylon (17:16). However the controlling entities over Rome II are the beast and Babylon. 
	Then we saw in our third lesson on Rome II in Is. 14:20, where we have the taunt against the “king of Babylon” that 
the king of Babylon destroys his own country. The place that is notable for being destroyed by Rome II while being led by the antichrist is Babylon the Great (Rev. 17-18). Therefore, the beast antichrist’s own country is Babylon. 
	
	Characteristics   All from Daniel

	Leader, king  11:21,36

	Aggressive  7:8; 8:11

	Controlling  7:8,20;8:9  takes control of Rome II

	Boastful   7:8

	Anti-truth   8:12

	Apostatizes believers  8:10

	Murderer  8:13,24

	Stern-faced  8:23  authoritarian, strict

	Uses intrigue  8:23, 11:21

	Powerful though has outside help 8:24

	Destructive and successful 8:24
		
	Destroys leaders 8:24

	Prospers through treachery 8:24

	Arrogant 8:25; 1136,37

	Opposes Christ  8:25; 11:36
	
	Despicable, 11:21

	Uses bribes and payoffs 11:24,39  

	Robs and plunders 11:24 

	Militaristic 11:38

	Strategist  11:24,40

	Deceitful   11:23

	Blasphemer  11:36,37  
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	And we have not even looked at the New Testament or other OT prophets. 

	Religious 
	
	There is one characteristic purposely not mentioned until now. He is religious. There is a strong spiritual side to him that is appealing to the typical religious unbeliever and weak and or baby believer.  
	Like the typical Pharisee of old, like Nicodemus (Jn. 3:1ff.  cf. Jn. 8:42-44) or the religious person today, he acknowledges there is a God but does not know God. He is a do-gooder but motivated by pride, seeking approbation from people and what he perceives as God. 
	He is a false teacher as typical of all antichrists (1 Jn. 2:22; 1 Jn. 4:2-3; 2 Jn. 7).
												                                     
	As a religious ruler, he will be pleasing to most people. As a great deceiver, he will masterfully manipulate and maintain the secrecy of his true identity. He will appear as a hero, yet a villain, a builder yet a destroyer, a moralist but using morality as a facade of his true intentions.  At the opportune time at the middle of tribulation, he will claim to be-- God. 
	In imitation of Christ, as the son of Satan, his goal is to hand over his kingdom rule over to Satan in total opposition to God and Jesus Christ. 
							                      	                                    
	Knowing this, we should first understand that only with God’s power, his Holy Spirit, knowing and believing the word of God can we stand against the antichrist and the wiles of the Devil, both now and in the future tribulation.  

	Rise to Power

	Rise to Power over Babylon, Rome II, Israel and World

	As the son of Satan, the antichrist is submissive to and empowered by Satan. Satan, who is already the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2) and ruler of world (Jn. 12:31; 14:30 cf. Mat. 4:8), also heads millions if not billions of fallen angels who will support the antichrist’s rise to power. They will use demon-possession, demon-powers and influence to promote lawlessness (against God) which is already at work in the world (2Thess. 2:7).

	The book of Daniel gives us how he basically rises to power over these entities. Other OT prophets and the NT fill in more detail. 
												                                   
	The book of Daniel gives an outline.

	1. Rise in Babylon and Rome II
	2. Taking possession of the temple in Jerusalem. 
	3. Rise as Ruler of the World
		
	Over Babylon 

	Dan. 11:21  “In his place a despicable person will arise, on 	whom the honor of kingship has not been conferred, but he 	will come in a time of (or with) tranquility and seize the 	kingdom by intrigue. 

	His first move is to come on the scene and seize power through some unexpected and undeserved means. He will gain the rulership position outside of the normal procedure. In the U.S. we would say unconstitutionally. In ancient time, they would say that he was not in the royal line to become king. 
	What is even more interesting is that he comes in a time of or with “tranquility.”  The Hebrew word means “quietness, prosperity, complacency. It can mean he comes when people are comfortable and not expecting it or he could bring that himself, “peace and prosperity.”  
	He uses intrigue as v. 23 tells us. 

	Dan. 11:23  “After an alliance is made with him he 				(antichrist) will act deceitfully, and he will go up and gain 	power with a small force of people.

	This method of alliance, deceit with a small force may be with the Babylon leadership and/or even with Rome II. 

	Though originally describing Antiochus IV, as a type of the antichrist, we can expect something similar with the antitype antichrist. 
	His alliance is a tool to gain power and territory. He will think nothing of betraying those alliances for more control and territory later on (e.g. Hitler’s betrayal of Stalin). For this, he needs just a small force of people, the right people at the right place at the right time. 
	He uses this opportune time to seize territory and redistribute it among his cohorts. He will strategize to defeat strongholds and those who resist (11:24).
	Once he has secured Babylon, in due time, he moves on Rome II.

	Over Rome II

	As the little horn (7:8), the small horn (8:9), the antichrist will position himself though alliances and intrigue among ten kingdoms of Rome II so that he will militarily begin to conquer the weaker three regional kingdoms of the south. 
 	One of those alliances or covenants will be with Israel, presumably with the ruler of Israel. This is a seven year treaty that runs concurrent with the tribulation seven-year period.  
	It appears that he will first establish himself in the Northern/European regional kingdoms and then on to bring the southern kingdoms under his control. It is described as a violent and military conquest. It may be that the long awaited Mahdi, the 12th Imam will come forward and lead the way in an attempt to conquer the Northern kingdoms (11:25-28).
	We should be alert to the fact that some religious people will see the Mahdi as the antichrist. Satan may be allowed to so manipulate events to bring this about, including demon possession. Then his antichrist, the real antichrist will defeat this Mahdi with the forces of Rome II and be seen as the Christ by the rest of the world including the southern kingdoms. 
	But keep in mind, the Bible does not give scripture for this coming of the Mahdi but only the antichrist. So be aware of Satan’s wily ways and evil schemes. 
	The Bible does teach as we have seen in Daniel 11 that the antichrist will go to war with the southern kingdoms in two major campaigns. He gains control over Egypt and their treasures. Libya and Cush submit. Cush often understood and even translated Ethiopia is actually the area south of Egypt, largely Sudan today and includes just eastern Ethiopia. The point is that the antichrist is well into the African region and completes his victory over the three southern regional kingdoms (11:29-30,40-43), while adding to his wealth. 
 	While the antichrist is on his rise over Rome II, the temple is completed in Jerusalem and a sacrificial system is established. We know there is a temple because that is where the antichrist image will be set up and that the antichrist will stop the worship with its sacrifices. 
	In addition, in his vision, John the apostle is told to measure the temple of God, its altar and the worshippers in it. (Rev. 11:1). This is the tribulational temple yet to be built. 
He is not to measure the courtyard which is outside the temple because it will be given to the Gentiles for forty-two months. This anticipates the control of the temple by pagan nations during the time of the antichrist takeover (11:2).
	As the rising ruler over Rome II, he will begin to make his moves to take over Israel.                                                          9

	Over Israel 

	His Assassination and Miraculous Recovery 
	
	It is during his campaigns to the south that the king of the north, the antichrist becomes enraged at the holy covenant (11:28). Something set the antichrist off against Israel and he is ready to renege on the seven-year alliance with Israel (11:30). 
	The thing that seems to set him off suddenly and vehemently against Israel is an assassination attempt probably by a loyalist to Israel. He appears to have been mortally wounded but he “miraculously” recovers. From this point on, the whole earth marvels at the beast (Rev. 13:3 cf. 13:12).

	Rev. 13:3  And one of its heads appeared as slain to death 
	but his mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth 	marveled after [followed] the beast; (4) And they worshiped 	the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and 	they also worshiped the beast, saying: “Who is like the 	beast?” and “Who is able to wage war against him?”

	He will betray what believers are in Israel and seize the temple and do away with the prince of the covenant  (11:22,29). The prince of the covenant is likely the ruler of Israel at the time.  
	On this second and final campaign to the south, he will honor those who have forsook that covenant with him (11:30b).

	Dan. 11:31  “Forces from him will arise, profane the 			fortified sanctuary, abolish the regular sacrifices and set 		up 	the abomination that causes desolation. 

		The antichrist commits the ultimate sacrilege. He sets up an idol in the tribulational Jewish temple. 

	Jesus also spoke of this moment. This is the first major sign that marks the end.                                                                    

	Matt. 24:15-16 “Therefore when you see the abomination 		of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the 			prophet, standing in the holy place—let the reader 				understand—then those who are in Judea must flee to the 	mountains.

	Jesus references Daniel for what he said about this major sign--the appearance of the “the abomination of desolation. This is significant for believers for it is the sign for those believers in Judea to flee without delay.  

	Paul writes of a related event that happens about this time. 
 Writing of the antichrist--
 
	2Thess. 2:4 who opposes and exalts himself above every 		so-	called god or object of worship, so that he takes his 			seat in the temple of God, displaying himself that he is 		God.
						                                                                    
	As idols represented their gods so the antichrist has an image placed of presumably of  himself prominently in the temple.

	 So we are at the middle of the seven year period with the antichrist seated on his throne in the temple in Jerusalem. 
													
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