Sermon Tone Analysis

Sunday October 9, 2005

Genesis: Genesis 10:6-12-Nimrod is a Type of Antichrist

Lesson # 41

Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 10:8.

This morning we will study that Nimrod is a type of Antichrist.

Genesis 10:8, “Now Cush became the father of Nimrod (“rebel”); he became a mighty one (gibbor, “tyrant”) on the earth.”

Genesis 10:9, “He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, ‘Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.’”

Genesis 10:10, “The beginning of his kingdom was Babel (twenty miles south of Baghdad) and Erech (southern Iraq, 100 miles southeast of Babylon) and Accad (northern Babylon) and Calneh, in the land of Shinar (whole of Mesopotamia).”

Genesis 10:11, “From that land he went forth into Assyria (northern part of Assyria), and built Nineveh (eastern bank of Tigris in northern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq, near city of Mosul) and Rehoboth-Ir (suburb of Nineveh) and Calah (20 miles south of Nineveh).”

Genesis 10:12, “and Resen (modern Selamiyeh) between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.”

Nimrod’s ambition was to build a world empire and a one-world government that opposes the Lord Jesus Christ, which foreshadows Antichrist who will be the ruler of a ten-nation confederacy constituting a Revived Roman Empire, during Daniel’s 70th week, which is also called by theologians as the “Tribulation Period.”

Daniel’s 70th week is a reference to the prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27, which refers to a 7-year period that extends from the rapture of the church to the 2nd Advent of Christ and is concerned with the nation of Israel exclusively and will be the worst period in all of Israel’s and the world’s history when Antichrist will rule the world.

This 7-year period is divided into two three and a half year periods with first three and a half years characterized as a cold war (Mt.

24:6) whereas the last three and a half years are characterized as a hot war (Mt.

24:21-22).

A “week” in the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 refers to 7 prophetic years of 360 days; therefore, the prophecy of the 70 weeks of Daniel refers to 490 prophetic years of Israel’s history.

The 70 weeks of Daniel’s prophecy is divided into 3 segments: (1) 7 “sevens” (49 years): The decree of Artaxerxes in 445 B.C. (Neh.

2:1-8) to the completion of the rebuilding of Jerusalem (Dan.

9:25).

(2) 62 “sevens” (434 years): The completion of the rebuilding of Jerusalem to Christ’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and crucifixion.

(Dan.

9:25-26) (3) 1 “seven” (7 years): Tribulation period (Dan.

9:27).

Daniel 9:24, “Seventy weeks (Biblical prophetic week is 7 years, thus seventy weeks speaks of 490 prophetic years of 360 days) have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.”

Daniel 9:25, “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks (49 years rebuilding Jerusalem) and sixty-two weeks (434 years up to the introduction of Jesus as Messiah; Luke 19:41-44); it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.”

Daniel 9:26, “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off (crucifixion of Christ) and have nothing, and the people (Rome) of the prince (Titus) who is to come will destroy the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (Jewish temple) (took place in 70 A.D.).

And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.”

The church age takes place between Daniel 9:26 and 27 and was a “mystery” (Eph.

3:9) meaning it was not known to Old Testament prophets such as Daniel.

God has temporarily set aside Israel because of her rejection of Jesus Christ as Messiah (Rom.

9-11) in order to form the church.

Romans 11:25, “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery -- so that you will not be wise in your own estimation -- that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.”

Therefore, the last seven years of Daniel’s prophecy have yet to be fulfilled but will be fulfilled after the rapture of the church (1 Thess.

4:13-18).

Daniel 9:27, “And he (Antichrist) will make a firm covenant with the many for one week (Biblical week is seven years; this is the 70th week of Daniel), but in the middle of the week (3 ½ years into the seven years) he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering (in the rebuilt Jewish temple in Jerusalem); and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one (Antichrist) that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”

Early in the 1st half of the Tribulation a ten-nation federation will be arrayed in the west with headquarters at Rome and is designated in Scripture “ten horns” in Daniel 7:7-8, 23-24, Revelation 13:1-10 and 17:8-10, and is sometimes called the Revived Roman Empire.

The ruler of this federation is the Antichrist, the King of the West, who is referred to in Scripture as “the beast” (Rev.

13:1-2), the “little horn” (Dan.

7:8), the “prince that will come” (Dan.

9:26-27), the “man of lawlessness” (2 Th. 2:3-10), and the “scarlet beast” (Re.

17:3).

Revelation 13:1, “And the dragon (Satan) stood on the sand of the seashore.

Then I saw a beast (Antichrist) coming up out of the sea (figure for unregenerate humanity), having ten horns (ten nation European confederacy forming a Revived Roman Empire) and seven heads (defined for us in Rev. 17:9-11 representing seven phases of Gentile power throughout history: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and Revived Roman Empire), and on his horns were ten diadems (refers to self-government and control), and on his heads were blasphemous names (refers to the godless character of these nations).”

Revelation 13:2, “And the beast (Antichrist) which I saw was like a leopard (Revived Roman Empire will have all the brilliance, culture and swiftness of a leopard—¬a reference to the Grecian Empire), and his feet were like those of a bear (It will also have the tremendous strength, tenacity of pur¬pose, and brutality of a bear—a reference to the Medo-¬Persian Empire), and his mouth like the mouth of a lion (It will have the autocratic and majestic power of a lion—a reference to the Baby¬lonian Empire).

And the dragon (Satan) gave him (Antichrist) his power and his throne and great authority.”

The Antichrist will be a Jew from the tribe of Dan (cf.

Gen. 49:17; Dan.

11:36-39), which will make him acceptable to the nation of Israel who will feel at ease making a treaty with him but this will be a false sense of security.

The agreement between Israel and Antichrist stipulates that he will rush to the aid of Israel in the event of an enemy attack (Dan.

9:27; cf., 11:38-39).

Michael and the elect angels will cast Satan out of heaven to the earth during the midway point of Daniel’s 70th week (Rev.

12:1-3)

Revelation 12:7, “And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon.

The dragon and his angels waged war.”

Revelation 12:8, “and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.”

Revelation 12:9, “And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

Satan will instigate Russia to attack Israel but God will destroy Russia (Ezek.

38-39; Dan.

11:40).

Joel 2:20: I will cause the Northerner to be removed far from you (Israel) and I will cause to be driven into a parched and desolate land, and his vanguard into the eastern sea (Dead Sea) and his rear guard into the western sea (Mediterranean Sea) and his stench will arise and his foul smell will come up, because he has magnified himself to perform this (invasion of Israel).

Following the destruction of the Russian armies, the cold war comes to an end because halfway through the Tribulation, while the treaty is still in force, the Antichrist will issue a new decree stating that all sacrifices in the Temple shall cease!

In their place, a statue of the Antichrist called the “abomination of desolation,” (Dan.

12:11) will be set up in the Most High Place for mandatory worship (Dan.

9:27; 12:11; cf., Rev. 13:15).

Matthew 24:15-16, “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet (in Daniel 9:27), standing in the holy place (let the reader understand) then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.”

Antichrist’s putting an end to the sacrifices in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem along with proclaiming himself as God will mark the worst persecution in history of Israel and will begin the last 3 ½ years of the Tribulation, which coincides with the war of Armageddon.

Jewish believers in the Tribulation who are knowledgeable of the Word of God will obey the Lord’s warning and flee (Mt.

24:15-20; cf., Dan.

11:41; Rev. 12:6) and wait for the Lord Jesus Christ to deliver them at His 2nd Advent.

Matthew 24:16, “then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.”

The 2nd Advent of Christ terminates Daniels’ 70th week, aka, the Tribulation and at that time, the Lord will bodily land in Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives.

Zechariah 14:4, “In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.”

At His 2nd Advent, the Lord Jesus Christ will destroy the Tribulational armies, have Antichrist and the False Prophet thrown into the Lake of Fire (Rev.

19:11-19), will imprison Satan for a thousand years (Rev.

20:1-3) and will establish His millennial reign on planet earth (Rev.

20:4-6).

Revelation 19:11, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.”

Revelation 19:12, “His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.”

Revelation 19:13, “He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.”

Revelation 19:14, “And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.”

Revelation 19:15, “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.”

Revelation 19:16, “And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.’”

Revelation 19:17, “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, ‘Come, assemble for the great supper of God.’”

Revelation 19:18, “so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.”

Revelation 19:19, “And I saw the beast (Antichrist) and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.”

Revelation 19:20, “And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.”

Revelation 19:21, “And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.”

Revelation 20:1, “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.”

Revelation 20:2, “And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.”

Revelation 20:3, “and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.”