The Antichrist

Introduction

Throw a ball, whoever the ball lands on must tell what they want there future to look like.

You all told what you wanted your future to look like, now we are going to play a similar game. This time if you get the ball, you have to tell what you think the future of the world is going to look like.

The future is a odd topic. On the one hand, we love to think about the future because we can dream about all the things we want to do, but on the other hand, as we look around the world, the future looks pretty dark.

Currently, the earth is filled with evil, and it does not seem to show any signs of getting better.

One of the key players that shall appear in the future that the Bible talks about is the antichrist.

Whenever you get the ball, tell me what you know about the antichrist.

Tonight, the Antichrist is going to be the focus of our lesson.

Daniel 7

In Daniel 7, Daniel has another vision. This one like his others are super prophetic.

Who in here can explain to me what prophetic means?

The vision that Daniel has is of 4 beasts that arise out of the ocean:

Daniel 7:2–8 ESV

2 Daniel declared, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. 3 And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. 4 The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. 5 And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ 6 After this I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it. 7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.

The first beast was like a lion with eagles wings, the second a bear with ribs in its mouth, the third a leopard with 4 heads and 4 bird wings.

Many interpretations have been given for the meaning behind these first three beasts, but tonight we are going to focus on the 4th beast because it is the focus of Daniel’s vision as we shall see.

Daniel does not give us much of a physical description of the 4th beast like he does the other beasts. He mentions that the 4th beast:

It has iron teeth.

It had 10 horns.

Daniel mentions that the beast was very scary and very strong.

The beast stomped what was left and was very different from the rest of the beasts.

Daniel gives us a little more information about the horns of the beast:

Daniel 7:8 ESV

8 I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.

Now Daniel keys in on one of the main differences of this 4th beast, he has a little horn.

This little horn has some capabilities and actions attached to it:

The little horn plucked up three of the other horns and it had the eyes of a man and was speaking great things.

Now as we go along, I want you all to think about this little horn. What is this little horn?

Lets continue:

Daniel 7:9–12 ESV

9 “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. 10 A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. 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. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

Who has ever heard of the Ancient of Days?

When you get the ball, tell us who the Ancient of Days is.

The Ancient of days is another name for God.

Daniel is now shifting and telling us of another vision that he sees, He is in the courtroom of God.

God is taking his seat to judge and he is opening books.

Daniel then hears this horn speaking these great words and as he looked he saw that the last beast was destroyed and thrown into hell.

When you get the ball I want you to tell us what you think the great words were that the little horn was speaking.

At this point, we still do not really know what the beast is, or the little horn, and we don’t really know what the little horn is saying for sure. Let’s keep studying and try to find out:

Daniel 7:13–14 ESV

13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

Now we get another character introduced into the story, the Son of Man. Daniel sees the Son of Man approach the Ancient of Days.

In the Bible, son of man was a title that could easily be given for a normal person. But it is obvious that this particular son of Man is very different than a normal person. Daniel says that this son of man:

Comes with the clouds.

Presents himself before God.

Was given dominion, glory and a kingdom

The kingdom was to function by all peoples, nations, and languages serving him.

His dominion is to last forever, and it shall never be destroyed.

These are all descriptions that the Bible gives for Jesus Christ:

Paul describes during the rapture that Jesus will come from the clouds and call believers to meet him in the air. (1 Thess. 4:16-17)

In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus refers to himself as being the Son of Man, that will come in the clouds. Mark 14:62

Mark 14:62 ESV

62 And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

Keep in mind that Daniel was written many years before Jesus lived on earth, yet in this passage, Jesus is directly referring to this passage from Daniel to describe himself.

Jesus was basically saying in this section in Mark that he is Son of Man from Daniel 7.

So Jesus is the one who Daniel says is going to receive the dominion, power and kingdom that will never end.

This is where we get the terminology Kingdom of God. Because Christ is our king, and we are apart of his spiritual kingdom. But this passage in Daniel is talking about a future physical kingdom. We have yet to see that.

Daniel 7:15–22 ESV

15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me. 16 I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. 17 ‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. 18 But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’ 19 “Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, 20 and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. 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.

Daniel gives us further clarification hear about the 4 beasts.

The 4 beasts were 4 different kingdoms.

Now Daniel is giving us some more clarification on the 4th beast and the little horn. In addition to what we already know about the beast and horn Daniel mentions that the beast:

Has claws of iron.

And the little horn:

made war with the saints and prevailed over them. But the war was over when God came and judged the horn and his kingdom.

After the kingdom of the little horn was judged, God gave the kingdom to his saints.

But we still do not know what the little horn is.

Daniel 7:23–27 ESV

23 “Thus he said: ‘As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth, and trample it down, and break it to pieces. 24 As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings. 25 He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. 26 But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end. 27 And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’

Now Daniel gets further clarification, most likely from an angel on the horn.

The 10 horns are 10 kings that shall arise from the 4th kingdom.

The little horn is a king that is stronger and more powerful than the rest.

This king will speak bad words against God.

He will hurt and persecute the saints of God.

He will change the times and the law of God.

He will reign for time, times and half a time. Which is 3 1/2 years.

Now we have enough details to try and find out who this little horn is.

**Remember, when you are trying to understand something in your Bible, it is always smart to refer to other places in Scripture that might explain what it is you are trying to find out.**

When we look at the book of Revelation, we see that the Antichrist fits the same bill of the little horn in Daniel 7. Therefore the little horn is the Antichrist.

In Revelation John speaks about the Antichrist and mentions:

The whole earth followed and worshipped him. (Rev 13:3-4)

He utters haughty and blasphemous words against God. (Rev. 13:5-6)

He is given permission to reign on the earth for 42 months. (Rev. 13:5)

Whoever catches the ball, tell me how long 42 months is.

He makes war on the saints and conquers them. (Rev. 13:6-7)

Clearly Daniel and John are speaking about the same person, the antichrist.

This is a prophecy about the future, meaning it has not happened yet.

There is coming a day in the future when the antichrist will reign for 3 1/2 years and the whole earth will worship him.

The Bible also says that he will make it impossible not to buy or sell unless you worship and receive his mark. This is what people call the mark of the beast.

Those who refuse to get the mark will be beheaded.

This means for those who want to keep their faith and not deny God, will have to die at the hands of the Antichrist.

Surely, times will be extremely dark during his reign.

But I want to let you all in on a little secret. The antichrist is not in control.

Notice the Bible says that he was given the authority for 3 1/2 years.

He was given this authority by God. God is the one who is always in ultimate control of every situation. This means that evil is never unleashed without his parameters in place.

Though the antichrist is evil and will do evil things, he is not the one we are to be afraid of. Instead, we should be in fear of the one who is giving the authority to him. God.

Jesus is the ultimate king of the universe and he is coming back one day in the future to establish that kingdom that will never be destroyed. But first the kingdoms of satan and the world must be destroyed first, and that is one of the purposes of the kingdoms arising in Daniel 7.

These kingdoms will arise, just in time for God to destroy them one and for all and throw them into the lake of fire. Then God will rebuild his kingdom on earth and it is going to be amazing. John writes about the kingdom of God being built in the last chapter of Revelation:

Revelation 21:1–4 ESV

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

The next time you are feeling down and worried about your life and the state of the world. I want you to remember that last verse. **Repeat it**

Discussion questions:

What do you think about God letting the Antichrist rule over the earth?

Why do you think the Antichrist is so against God?

Do you think we will know who the antichrist is?