Anti-Christ
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Impostors
Impostors
Trick’or’Treaters will be coming to your door, they are impostors. Bribe them to go away.
Enough about them, let’s dive back in to Daniel.
Some of this may sound like a history lesson. But I promise… it’s SUPER awesome history. And prophecy. And war. And bad guys. And anti-Christ.
Anti-Christ the first
Anti-Christ the first
1 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first.
(A couple years after the vision of Daniel 7) A very similar vision. It may largely sound like a repeat to us… but this is years later than Daniel 7’s vision, and 60+ years after the one Daniel interpreted for Nebuchadnezzar.
A important reminder and re-affirmation of, again, the primary purpose of all these visions:
The Ancient of Days is on the throne, and the Son of Man wins.
So Daniel has this vision:
2 And I saw in the vision; and when I saw, I was in Susa the citadel, which is in the province of Elam. And I saw in the vision, and I was at the Ulai canal.
3 I raised my eyes and saw, and behold, a ram standing on the bank of the canal. It had two horns, and both horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last.
4 I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward. No beast could stand before him, and there was no one who could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased and became great.
5 As I was considering, behold, a male goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes.
6 He came to the ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, and he ran at him in his powerful wrath.
7 I saw him come close to the ram, and he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke his two horns. And the ram had no power to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power.
8 Then the goat became exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven.
The ram with two horns: Med-Persian empire, the Persian side being larger. The goat, Greece.
And like the four heads of the leopard, the goat has four horns.
9 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 It grew great, even to the host of heaven. And some of the host and some of the stars it threw down to the ground and trampled on them.
11 It became great, even as great as the Prince of the host. And the regular burnt offering was taken away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown.
12 And a host will be given over to it together with the regular burnt offering because of transgression, and it will throw truth to the ground, and it will act and prosper.
13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, “For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?”
14 And he said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.”
Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Alexander’s general, Seleucus is one of the four horns, and he establishes the Seleucid Empire, ruling over what they called “Asia”, which was originally Babylon, Persia, Palestine. (Jesus was Asian before Asia was Asia).
That empire lasted 250 years and the 8th ruler was one Antiochus IV, who styled himself “Ephiphanes” meaning “God manifest” or “Glorious.”
Antiochus was rabidly passionate about Hellenism - Greek culture - and HATED that the Jews were preserving their own culture. He persecuted them viciously, killing tens of thousands, maybe more than a hundred thousand Jews.
A lot of this is recorded in the “inter-testamental” books, which we don’t consider inspired Scripture but still represent a historical record of the time between the last of the prophets and the time of Jesus.
20 And Antiochus turned after attacking Egypt in the one hundred and forty-third year, and he went up against Israel and Jerusalem with a fierce army.
21 And he entered the sanctuary in arrogance and took the gold altar and the lampstand for the light, and all its accessories,
22 and the table of presentation and the drink offering cups and the bowls and the golden censers and the veil and the crowns and the golden adornment applied to the face of the temple walls, and he peeled it all off.
23 And he took the gold and silver and the valuable accessories. And he took the hidden treasures that he found.
41 And the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be as one people,
42 and each should abandon his customs. And all the peoples complied according to the word of the king.
43 And many from Israel consented to his service, and they sacrificed to idols and defiled the Sabbath.
54 And on the fifteenth day of Chislev, on the one hundred and forty-fifth year, they built an abomination of desolation on the altar, and in the cities around Judah, they built altars.
That is, he built on altar to Zeus in the temple and sacrificed a pig to Zeus. From that time they stopped sacrifices…
And people smarter than I am have done some very complicated calendar math to determine. Not “230 days”, but “2300 evenings and mornings”, which is 1150 days if you’re counting both evenings and mornings… and 1150 days after the “abomination that causes desolation,
Well, the people are fed up, and they revolt, called the Maccabean revolution. And they rededicate the temple.
And they celebrate that day in the “Festival of Dedication” or “Festival of Lights”, which was honored and celebrated by Jesus. And we call that?
Hannukah.
So cool.
That is the near fulfillment of Daniel 8, bits of Daniel 7… and Daniel 11 just blows peoples mind. In fact, scholars who don’t believe Daniel is inspired by God have to throw these chapters out the window and say they are written after the fact. The text in Daniel 11 reads like a history lesson on the goings and comings of Antiochus and the Seleucid Empire or “the king in the North.”. He fights Egypt to the South, Rome to the West, and detail after detail
Little horn #1
Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Anti-Christ the last
Anti-Christ the last
Almost every detail is fulfilled by Antiochus. But… not all.
Remember the first Little horn of Daniel 7? It arose, not from Greece, but from an empire to follow. And among 10 horns, not 4. And immediately after that king rose to power, Jesus, the Son of Man, came into his kingdom and ruled everlasting.
Not quite fulfilled yet.
17 So he came near where I stood. And when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end.”
11 “I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire.
(Sound like lake of fire from Rev 19?)
21 As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them,
22 until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.
Jesus himself points to another fulfillment of the “abomination of desolation...”
15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
So, as happens many places in prophecy, there is a near fulfillment and a fuller, more complete, future fulfillment.
So Antiochus IV Ephiphanes is a type of the anti-Christ to come. A future world leader who will be fantastically successful… and will persecute God’s people in the pattern of Antiochus.
And if you count up the letters of his name, and convert them to Hebrew numbers, they will add up to 666. Just kidding.
Paul talks about this figure this way:
3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
This is a real and literal future figure. But, let’s take a moment to remember, what is the purpose of Daniel’s prophecy? That we should be fearful and afraid? No, to remember in the midst of all of it:
The Ancient of Days is on the throne, and Jesus wins.
Anti-Christs among us
Anti-Christs among us
Little horn #1 is Antiochus. Little horn #last is the mysterious future anti-christ figure.
This word “anti-Christ” stirs up all these myths and legends, fear and turmoil. Predictions and speculation.
3 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?”
4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray.
5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.
10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.
11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.
12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.
13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Where is our focus in that? Enduring to the end. And? Proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom to all nations.
Enduring to the end.
Proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom to all nations.
23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.
24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
This is where we get this word “anti-Christ.” It is transliteration of Greek.
Anti-Christos. Either “against” (anti) the Messiah. Or, it can also mean “instead” of the Messiah.
This doesn’t show up in Revelation at all, but John does use the term:
18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.
7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.
So “anti-Christs” are these: outside the church these are people proposing salvation without Jesus. Antiochus Ephiphanes: salvation was through superior culture...
and you’ll find folks preaching that gospel:
If we could just fix our culture, this would be heaven.
If we could just get the correct economic system. Capitalism. Socialism. That would “fix” everything.
If we could just get the right “moralism” everyone would be better. If everyone was kinder, more tolerant… if everyone was more like me.
That is the spirit of anti-Christ. The solution to the world’s problems, your personal problems… it isn’t Democrat or Republican, it isn’t America or Canada or China, it isn’t capitalism or socialism, it isn’t democracy or “democratic socialism” or communism...
It is the Son of Man coming on the clouds with power, and his kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom.
That’s it. The only answer, the only “Rescue”, the only Messiah, the only Christ. All other proposals or persons claiming to fix the world another way?
Anti-Christ. That’s what that is.
Within the church, this is insidious. What does John call someone who claims Jesus didn’t come in the flesh?
Anti-Christ. They were teaching that Jesus was like a spiritual projection, not really human. Fake Jesus, that’s what that is. Lying about who Jesus is, making Jesus the way they think he should have been instead of the way he actually is.
That’s anti-Christ. You don’t make God in your image, you don’t remake Jesus in your image. You are made in HIS image! That’s so backwards!!!
You discover him, you don’t shape him.
And inside and outside the church, you get folks recasting Jesus in their own image. Well, I think Jesus would love like this, would be cool with what I’m cool with, would agree with me on ALL the things.
Up for a rude awakening on that day when you encounter the real LION of Judah!!! When you teach, when you proclaim WHO Jesus is… BE CAREFUL!
To misrepresent Jesus is “to be a deceiver and the antichrist.”
Folks who fleece people in the name of Jesus, maybe on tv, maybe with fake healings??? Anti-Christs abound.
Anti-Christ and You
Anti-Christ and You
So, yes, Antiochus is anti-Christ #1. End times “little horn” is coming. But anti-Christ and the spirit of anti-Christ is all around us.
What do we do??? OH NO!!!
Look. There are no points for the first one to correctly and accurately identify THE anti-Christ, aka “Little Horn.” That’s not where you should waste your time and energy. Jesus told us: Where’s our focus?
To be faithful to Him. Proclaiming His gospel. That’s it.
How do we keep from being led astray with a counterfeit? How do you always spot a counterfeit?
By knowing the real thing SO well, you can’t be fooled by a fake.
Are my kids fooled when a stranger walks up to them and says “get in my car, I’m you Dad?”
Nope. That’s not my Dad, that’s a cell phone!
They know me. Personally. Intimately. I’m on speed dial. (Maybe not first, or second, but I’m on there somewhere). They can call or text and check.
We can check. We can know Jesus, intimately. Personally. We can check against His Word. His actions past and present. We can check against our other brothers and sisters who know him intimately.
“This guy on Facebook is saying Jesus hates gay people… is that right?”
No, that’s anti-Christ.
“This other guy on Twitter is saying Jesus doesn’t care about sin, is that right?” No, that’s the spirit of anti-Christ.
“This Bible says Jesus died to save us from our sins, LOVES us, says I don’t condemn you… and now go and sin no more.” Yes! That’s Christ.
So we recognize when a politician uses the name of Jesus to manipulate your vote. That’s anti-Christ. And it ticks me off!
And listen, you’re not in danger of being fooled by the person on the other side. It’s “your guy” that’s likely to be used as an anti-Christ in your heart and mind. He isn’t salvation. She isn’t the Messiah. Only Jesus. It isn’t Trump. It isn’t Biden. That’s a trap.
The actual end times anti-Christ, most of the world is going to think he’s “their guy” in the political realm. That means most of us will likely start off in support.
In big ways, in small ways, who are you looking to for salvation.
To make the world better?
To make your world better?
Christ and Christ alone is the hope of the world.
Who is telling you who Jesus is? And how are you testing them with God’s Word? Testing with the inner voice of the Holy Spirit within you who testifies to you, that’s the Spirit of Jesus in you.
We want to be SO intimate and personal with Jesus, we simply can’t be fooled. So that we are faithful to the end, however our end comes. And boldly, honestly, and accurately proclaiming his good news to the world.
Communion
Communion
Discuss these questions.
Who is your anti-Christ?
Who is telling you who Jesus is?
How are you growing to know Jesus?
Who, outside the church, are you tempted to look to to make the world better? Let’s identify some anti-Christs. (Maybe they really are great, but we are putting them in the position in our hearts.)
What are the voices telling you who Jesus really is? I’m one, right now. You should be testing me and what you hear from me against the Word of God. Who else?
And how are you discovering the real deal, the actual Jesus?
Discuss together, and then in pursuit of the real Jesus, together at your table, eat of his body, and drink of his blood.