The Portraits and Purpose of Antichrist
Daniel 8:1-27
June 26, 2016
Without a doubt one of the main points of interest
That seems to motivate people to study the book of Daniel
Is the fact that Daniel seems to have much information
Regarding this most curious super villain that we await here on earth.
Commonly he is referred to as The Antichrist
Paul described him like this:
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 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 as being God.”
And of course we’ve read (and will again shortly) Revelation 13
And seen the mystery of this beast who comes out of the sea
And who demands worship and seems to go on a killing rampage
Against the people of God.
He is a most curious figure.
He is also a figure that people have tried to identify throughout the ages.
• Some were sure it was Hitler
• Some were sure it was Stalin
• Some were sure it was Kennedy
• Some are certain it is Obama
• I’m sure some are already leaning towards it being Donald Trump
And in most cases when these comparisons are made
It is not always hard to make a compelling argument.
After all John said it like this:
1 John 2:18 “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.”
Our history is filled with men and women
Who could be considered “antichrists”.
• They are men and women who have been indifferent to the expectations of God and the worship of His Son.
• They have also been adamant in their persecution of God’s people.
• They are antichrist.
And in some ways these people also form a collective prophesy
Picturing exactly what the final Antichrist will be like.
They are pieces to the larger puzzle.
They reveal him in various ways.
And when you look at them together
A picture of this future leader becomes clearer and clearer.
That is what is provided for us here in the 8th chapter of Daniel.
We get a picture of 3 world rulers who were indeed antichrist,
And thus gain more understanding about the future Antichrist
Who will one day step onto the scene.
But that is not all…
We also here begin to see why God will allow it to happen.
• We begin to see God’s plan in allowing this man and men like him to rise to power throughout the ages.
That’s why we call this chapter
“The Portraits and Purpose of Antichrist”
Now before we get into it too far
There is something you need to understand about what you are reading.
There has now been a very important
And dramatic change in the writing of Daniel.
Daniel 2:4-Daniel 7 was all written in Aramaic.
It was written in the language of the Gentiles
As though Daniel were revealing to the Gentiles
That regardless of who is ruler of the world
God still reigns supreme in the heavens.
IT WAS A MESSAGE FOR THE ENTIRE WORLD THAT OUR GOD IS GOD.
And so we saw Daniel leave for the world to read about
How God humbled Nebuchadnezzar, how God judged Belshazzar,
And how God drew Darius to himself.
That section closed in chapter 7 with Daniel revealing the coming kingdoms and thus making his choice to seek the kingdom that will reign forever.
But in Daniel 8 there is a shift.
The language is no longer Aramaic, it is now Hebrew.
Daniel is writing to God’s people.
These visions and this message is for them.
3 Things
#1 A REMARKABLE VISION
Daniel 8:1-14
It is important that you see the setting of this vision.
(1-2) “In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king a vision appeared to me, Daniel, subsequent to the one which appeared to me previously. I looked in the vision, and while I was looking I was in the citadel of Susa, which is in the province of Elam; and I looked in the vision and I myself was beside the Ulai Canal.”
What is remarkable about this vision is that
It occurred in the 3rd year of Belshazzar.
Belshazzar reigned for 14 years in Babylon which means that he is still 11 years away from that handwriting on the wall incident and the night in which his kingdom would fall to the Persians.
So just know that Persia isn’t even a thought yet.
Furthermore in this vision Daniel found himself in “the citadel of Susa, which is in the province of Elam”
Now that certainly does become the capital city in the Persian Empire.
All throughout the book of Esther the major events occur in “Susa”
The unique thing is that before Persia, Susa was nothing.
It was an obscure and remote nothing.
The fact that Daniel named this city
Which would become so prominent is really remarkable,
For it was nothing at the time.
In Susa Daniel received a vision and we can break it down really easy.
He saw
1) A Big Horn (1-4)
2) A Conspicuous Horn (5-8)
3) A Little Horn (9-14)
Now you will see in a moment who they specifically are.
What we will find is that all of these three are in fact antichrist.
But looked at together,
They all 3 give us a picture of The Antichrist who is coming.
It is also important that in looking at these three men
We see the purpose for their coming and why God allowed it.
So Daniel sees these three visions all with horns which represent power and dominion.
1) THE BIG HORN (3-4)
“Then I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a ram which had two horns was standing in front of the canal. Now the two horns were long, but one was longer than the other, with the longer one coming up last. I saw the ram butting westward, northward, and southward, and no other beasts could stand before him nor was there anyone to rescue from his power, but he did as he pleased and magnified himself.”
We’ll see who this horn is in a moment,
But for now let’s simply focus on what Daniel knew.
He sees a powerful ram and he is “butting westward, northward, and southward and no other beasts could stand before him”
Here we clearly see POWER manifested.
This horn is strong.
This horn is powerful.
And coupled with his power comes a certain amount of arrogance for “he did as he pleased and magnified himself.”
Daniel sees a kingdom which will gain great dominion on the earth.
2) THE CONSPICUOUS HORN (5-8)
Conspicuous means evident or obvious.
You can’t miss it
• This time we have a male goat coming and covering the earth.
• He is obviously moving fast since he doesn’t even touch the ground.
• And he has his sights set on the ram.
And the words we get that really stick out to us about this goat are words like “mighty wrath” or “enraged” or “hurled” or “trampled”
Whereas the first horn was a picture of power,
This horn is a picture of RAGE.
He obviously also has power, but in addition
He has a certain level of rage that has not yet been seen.
He also has a form of arrogance since he also “magnified himself exceedingly”
3) THE SMALL HORN (9-14)
We read that the male goat was broken
And four conspicuous horns took his place.
One of those horns really caught Daniel’s attention
Because it was “a rather small horn” but it was AMBITIOUS.
This horn attacked the south, the east, and the Beautiful Land.
• It obviously had power like the first
• It obviously had rage like the second
But where this horn truly distinguished itself
Is in its level of arrogance.
“It even magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host: and it removed the regular sacrifice to Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down.”
We would call this “small horn” a banty rooster.
He has no problem even mocking God
And putting an end to the worship God deserves.
All three of these horns are horrific to say the least.
I can’t imagine that Daniel looked forward to any of them.
One might even ask WHY GOD WOULD ALLOW IT?
(12) “And on account of transgression the host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper.”
There it is spelled out.
God will allow it because of “transgression”
The sin of His people was so offensive to Him
That He would actually allow the most arrogant of men
To “fling truth to the ground” and stop “the regular sacrifice”
This is discipline from God.
The next question would obviously be HOW LONG?
(13-14) “Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, ” How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, while the transgression causes horror, so as to allow both the holy place and the host to be trampled?” He said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be properly restored.”
We are still referring to the work of this “small horn”
But the question is how long God will allow him to do such a thing?
How long will God let this arrogant horn trample the holy place?
And the answer is “For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be properly restored.”
If you’re doing the math, that is 6 years and 4 months.
God is going to allow this small horn to run rough shod over His people.
That is the remarkable vision of Daniel.
#2 THE IMPORTANT INTERPRETATION
Daniel 8:15-26
Obviously Daniel wants to know what this vision means.
He needs God’s help to understand it.
And instantly God sends an angelic messenger to Daniel to explain it.
God sends His P.R. Angel named Gabriel.
(Gabriel always seems to handle the big pieces of news)
(Michael does the fighting, Gabriel does the announcing)
Here Gabriel brings a message to Daniel
The first piece of information that Gabriel has for Daniel is that “the vision pertains to the time of the end.”
Now at this point (just at the sight of Gabriel) Daniel faints
And falls on his face, but Gabriel picks him up and says again
“Behold, I am going to let you know what will occur at the final period of indignation, for it pertains to the appointed time of the end.”
What you and I learn then is that not only does this vision
Have an immediate fulfillment for Daniel and God’s people,
But it also then has an eschatological fulfillment in the end.
We are seeing both here.
These three horns are also a picture of the coming horn
In the book of the Revelation.
But let’s examine them here.
1) THE BIG HORN (20)
“The ram which you saw with the two horns represents the kings of Media and Persia.”
Now if you go back to verses 3&4
Daniel’s vision becomes even more remarkable.
• We then know that this ram that was butting westward, northward, and southward (because it was the east) would be the Medes and the Persians.
• It is extremely accurate since it was the Persians who arose greater than the Medes which would explain that second horn growing longer than the first.
• We know of this ram’s great power and that was true since Persia boasted a 2 million man army.
They were a force to be reckoned with.
2) THE CONSPICUOUS HORN (21)
“The shaggy goat represents the kingdom of Greece, and the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king.”
And again we look back at verses 5-8 and are amazed.
Daniel said that this goat, which we now know was Greece moved fast,
Without touching the ground.
We saw him, with great anger,
Attack the ram and throw him down and trample him.
• Persia had greatly afflicted Greece, and when Alexander the Great unified the Greek tribes he went on a vengeance mission to make them pay.
• He moved fast traveling with only 35,000 soldiers, but his force was lethal none the less.
• Obviously Alexander magnified himself since you don’t just give yourself the title “The Great” unless you are pretty fond of yourself.
• But as soon as Alexander the Great was mighty he was broken. He died of malaria at the age of 32.
Isn’t it interesting that Daniel spelled out all of this information
Before Alexander the Great was even born!
3) THE SMALL HORN (22-26)
We find then that after Alexander the Great died
His kingdom would be split 4 ways.
His kingdom was divided amongst his four generals.
• Ptolemy (south)
• Cassander (east)
• Lysimachus (west)
• Seleucus (north)
(you’ll see the kings of the north and the south again in Daniel)
But after a few years out of the Seleucids a new ruler would arise.
According to verse 23 it would be “In the latter period of their rule, when the transgressors have run their course, a king will arise, insolent and skilled in intrigue.”
This ruler would be a man named Antiochus Epiphanes
His arrogance is seen in the fact that
Epiphanes means “The Illustrious One”
We learn about him:
(24-25) “His power will be mighty, but not by his own power, And he will destroy to an extraordinary degree And prosper and perform his will; He will destroy mighty men and the holy people. “And through his shrewdness He will cause deceit to succeed by his influence; And he will magnify himself in his heart, And he will destroy many while they are at ease. He will even oppose the Prince of princes, But he will be broken without human agency.”
So we learn that this man will come to rule with great power
And he will take special attention to destroying the holy people.
He is a deceiver and a manipulator who uses influence to gain his way
He will destroy the holy people “while they are at ease.”
“He will even oppose the Prince of princes”
There is going to be a level of his arrogance that is really unimaginable.
And Antiochus Epiphanes did all these things.
He invaded Israel, killed over 40,000 Jews and sacrificed a pig on the altar
Thus desecrating the holy place and attacking God’s people.
It is BECAUSE God’s people were “at ease”
Meaning they were complacent and unconcerned about the things of God.
Their transgression was mighty, their sin was arrogant,
And therefore God allowed them to be persecuted.
I don’t want to take the time to go all through it,
But the book of Malachi does a great job of spelling this out.
• It would be Cyrus of Persia who would command that the temple be rebuilt and
through Ezra and Nehemiah Jerusalem would once again be inhabited.
• But by the time we get to Malachi we see that the same old sins of
complacency and false religion had emerged.
Sins like people and priest disregarding the sacrificial standard
Malachi 1:8 “But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?” says the LORD of hosts.”
Sins like the priest disregarding the word of God.
Malachi 2:7-8 “For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. “But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by the instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of hosts.”
Sins like the people continually disregarding the covenant of marriage.
Malachi 2:16 “For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong,” says the LORD of hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”
Sins like failing to tithe
Malachi 3:8-9 “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you!”
The people grew complacent and just no longer revered the Lord,
So God promised to raise up this Antiochus Epiphanes to humble them.
And he most certainly did.
Daniel then said however that this man would “be broken without human agency.”
He would die, but not at the hands of another.
And this certainly happened as he died of a bowel disease.
It is clear that God would use this man to purify Israel.
Now Gabriel also takes special care to
Note the timeline that was given to Daniel.
The vision stated that this would occur for 2,300 evenings.
Gabriel says here:
(26) “The vision of the evenings and mornings Which has been told is true; But keep the vision secret, For it pertains to many days in the future.”
Gabriel takes special care
To make sure that Daniel recognizes the timeline.
And this is really amazing.
• The terrorizing of God’s people by Antiochus began on September 6, 171 BC.
• Independence was one by Israel from Greece on December 25, 165 BC which is why they celebrate Hanukah
Gabriel spelled out exactly the length that this oppression would last.
This man would rise, punish Israel, and then fall at God’s appointed time.
It was in the future when Daniel saw it, but it was fulfilled with absolute precision.
#3 THE CONSEQUENT EFFECT
Daniel 8:27
“Then I, Daniel, was exhausted and sick for days. Then I got up again and carried on the king’s business; but I was astounded at the vision, and there was none to explain it.”
First Daniel was “sick for days”
It is just like we read about Habakkuk last week when he learned of the coming Chaldean invasion.
Habakkuk 3:16 “I heard and my inward parts trembled, At the sound my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones, And in my place I tremble. Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, For the people to arise who will invade us.”
Just like that Daniel was sick.
We see this same thing in the book of the Revelation when John is given a scroll to read.
Revelation 10:10 “I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.”
The thought of what Daniel saw taking place made him sick.
But it didn’t stop at sickness, from there Daniel went into SHOCK
“I was astounded at the vision, and there was none to explain it.”
Daniel was just in a state of shock.
“none to explain it” doesn’t mean no one could explain the vision,
Gabriel had already done that.
It means no one around Daniel understood
Why he was in such a state of shock.
• No one else had seen the vision
• No one else was aware of what was coming
• So no one else understand why Daniel was in such shock
Now next week we’ll move into chapter 9 and you’ll see two more responses by Daniel.
SEEKING & SUPPLICATION
In Daniel 9 we find Daniel on his face in repentance
And intercession for the nation of Israel.
That is only fitting seeing as that Daniel understood why
This time of tribulation was coming.
It was coming because of transgression.
When Paul wrote of the coming Antichrist to the Thessalonians he told them why he was coming.
2 Thessalonians 2:8-12 “Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.”
God allows him to come for the purpose of judgment and purification.
In Revelation 13 when we read about the rise of this man, John says this:
Revelation 13:7-10 “It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”
That last phrase is so critical: “Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”
The whole purpose of his rise
Is for the purpose of revealing who is true from who is false.
God will use him to purify His people.
But make no mistake, the realization of this truth is horrific.
And the knowledge of that truth not only made Daniel sick, it also made him pray.
We could go back to that passage in Revelation.
Revelation 10:10-11 “I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. And they said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”
The call is simple that we should “prophesy again”.
This passage also does a tremendous job of revealing to us
The dangers of sin and the great lengths to which God will go to remove it
All of a sudden it would make some wish that perhaps
They had listened a little closer to men like Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or Ezekiel.
In fact (and I love this) look at Daniel 9.
Daniel 9:1-2 “In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans — in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.”
Obviously chapter 9 occurs many years after chapter 8
So I’m not trying to make an immediate correlation here.
But it is obvious that through all of this exile
Daniel understood that the answer to the problem would be found
In listening to what God had said which was previously ignored.
Daniel was reading the book of Jeremiah.
• Daniel learned here that sin is serious and cleansing from sin is painful.
• He learned what great lengths God will go to in order to purify His people.
• He learned a message which he recorded in Hebrew for the understanding of his people when they would find themselves in the midst of this difficulty.
For us these serve as the portraits and the purpose of the Antichrist.
• He will be a man of great power
• He will be a man of terrible rage
• He will be a man of unbelievable arrogance
And yet God will allow him to strike down His people for a time
In order that He might purify them.
If you take nothing from this chapter,
Learn the importance of purification
And the great lengths to which God will go to achieve it.
