The Rise of the Antichrist

            Daniel 8 records another prophetic encounter between the youthful servant and the archangel Gabriel. It is the third year in the reign of King Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar’s son, who is now ruling the Babylonian empire. Daniel sees a ram with two horns, one of which is larger. Along comes a goat that has a notable horn between its eyes. Suddenly the goat attacks the ram, trampling it underfoot.
            Once again, Daniel doesn’t have to try to interpret the meaning of this vision. He hears a man’s voice instructing Gabriel to help Daniel understand the vision that “refers to the time of the end” (vs. 15-17). When Daniel records the interaction, he first describes what he saw and then gives Gabriel’s explanation. To make it easier to follow along, we will put the pieces together for you, and then show you how the apostle Paul came to understand the vision through the Holy Spirit, as recorded in 2 Thessalonians 2.
             Gabriel launches right into his task, “Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be” (vs. 18). No one and no thing can keep God’s appointed times from coming to pass.
            The dutiful messenger then explains that the ram with the two horns is the Medo-Persian Empire. The larger horn represents the Persians who eventually push out the Medes. The male goat is the kingdom of Greece; the large horn between its eyes is the first king (Alexander the Great). In other words, Daniel is seeing the next stage “embodied” in Nebuchadnezzar’s statue depicting the times of the Gentiles.
            As expected, Daniel sees the male goat grow very great. But once it becomes strong, the large horn is broken into four parts. Gabriel explains that the Greek empire will split into four kingdoms. This happened when Alexander the Great died without establishing which of his four sons would succeed him. The four power-hungry lads ended up dividing the kingdom into four parts.
            Then Daniel sees a little horn growing exceedingly great out of one of the four winds. It expanded to the south and east, toward the “Glorious Land” [Israel]. Gabriel explains that “in the latter time of the Gentile kingdoms, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features, who understand sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people” (vs. 23-24).
         The Chronos Lesson: While we may think that the transgressors are the Gentile oppressors, we have to remember that these visions are coming forth while Daniel and the Jews are in captivity. God has told them that He is using the Gentile empires as weapons of His indignation because they have continually forsaken Him. They have lusted after other gods and, in effect, committed adultery in terms of their covenant relationship with God.
            This is why the vision jumps ahead to the end of the prophetic statue of the times of the Gentiles. This vision of the little horn is long after the Jews have returned from their Babylonian and Persian captivity. It is long after Messiah the Prince has come and they have rejected Him. It is long after they pay the penalty for missing their visitation and the rebuilt Temple (the one in Jesus’ time) is destroyed in 70 AD. Jesus called this first century event the Abomination of Desolation in His teaching on the signs of this age and of the rapture.
            This “time of the end” is at the end of this age—the time we are living in now. The Jewish people shall reach the fullness of their transgressions by rebuilding the temple again and resuming the animal sacrifices. This is something that is in our near future. This future transgression is an abominable slap in the face of the Lamb of God who offered Himself to “perfect forever those who are being sanctified” (see Hebrews 10). He has already brought a restful end to the Old Testament sacrifices once and for all.
            In 2 Thess. 2:1-3, Paul connects this to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and “our gathering together to Him” at the Day of Christ. Paul explains that this last Day cannot come unless the falling away comes first and the man of sin [the Antichrist] is revealed. As we’ve already seen, the falling away is the adulterous actions of the apostate Jews, in rejecting not only the Messiah, but also God the Father. In the next blog we will delve deeper into this vision and its implications in our times.
            Oh, by the way, in case you’re thinking that it would be great to have an angel available to explain what you see in Scripture, God has done you one better. He has put His Spirit within you to teach you all things (John 14:26)! Jesus even said this would be far better for us than having Jesus in person. Really, Lord? Yes, because the Holy Spirit lives within every believer and is not confined to time and location.