Jesus Christ and Antichrist (2 of 3)‏

Hello Friends!

Welcome back as we continue with our three-part study of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ our Lord and the revealing of the end-times worldwide tyrannical dictator – Antichrist…

 

Jesus Christ and Antichrist

Nearly 200 years before Daniel described the Antichrist, the greatest of all the Old Testament writing prophets – Isaiah – was given a glimpse of this human "serpent" dictator.

 

The “Serpent” of Isaiah 27

After describing the Great Tribulation, he tells us that it will climax with the removal of Satan and his human agent, the Antichrist:

In that day the Lord with His severe sword, great and strong, Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; And He will slay the reptile that is in the sea – Isaiah 27:1

Who is this "serpent"? He is the same one mentioned in the book of Revelation:

beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name – Revelation 13:1

He is the Antichrist who emerges from the sea of humanity to rule the world under Satan for 42 months (see Revelation 13:5). Amazingly, the “serpent" of Isaiah 27 is similar to the name given to Satan in Revelation chapters 12 and 13! Their character is so similar that they both can share that image. To that extent, Antichrist can be called Satan incarnate.

The "Little Horn" of Daniel 7

Daniel, of course, knew and loved the writings of Isaiah, just like he knew and loved the book of Jeremiah:

…in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem – Daniel 9:2

That helped him understand the identity, function and destiny of the future Antichrist. One night, about 553 B.C., God showed him:

four great beasts came up from the sea (of humanity), each different from the other – Daniel 7:3

These “four great beasts” are equivalent to the four great empires of Daniel 2, which were:

Neo-Babylonia
Medo-Persia
Hellenistic Greece
Rome

Fifty years earlier, Daniel saw these same empires as beautiful metals - "gold," "silver," "bronze" and "iron" in the form of an “image” of a man:

This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay – Daniel 2:32-33

But now they appear as wild, ravenous "beasts" (see Daniel 7:3). How different are man's perspectives from God's perspectives!

This time the fourth kingdom, Rome, produces "ten horns" and "ten kings" equivalent to the 10 "toes" of Daniel’s vision:

Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay – Daniel 2:41

But then, to our amazement, an 11th horn appears:

I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words – Daniel 7:8

Who is this? It is the same Antichrist of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, 1 John chapters 2 and 4 and the book of Revelation! At first, he will be comparatively inconspicuous - just a “little horn” at this time. He is contemporary with the first 10, but "shall rise after them" (see Daniel 7:24). Very soon, however, the “ten kings” – probably representing the nations of Europe – will discover that they have met their match. In fact:

…before (him) three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots… before which three fell… shall subdue three kings – Daniel 7:8, 20 & 24

Jesus Christ & Antichrist

I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me – Daniel 7:15

But everything was, is and always will be under God's total control!

I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then 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 the one which shall not be destroyed – Daniel 7:13-14

We praise God for this assurance! The Antichrist, Satan's masterpiece, will rule the world for 42 months. During those three-and-a-half years, he will even be allowed by God to be "making war against the saints, and prevailing against them" (see Daniel 7:21), he "shall persecute the saints of the Most High" (see Daniel 7:25) and "make war with the saints and...overcome them" (see Revelation 13:7). But then, at Jesus Christ's Second Coming – Armageddon:

And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone – Revelation 19:19-20

That is only one small part of what our Lord Jesus Christ meant when He commanded us to pray:

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven – Matthew 6:9-10

May that prayer be ours each day we live – until He returns!

More to follow…

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

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Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

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