God's Prophetic Blueprint

Chapter 4

THE COMING OF ANTICHRIST

There are three questions that should be asked in a study of the person and the work of Antichrist:

*From where will he come?
*When will he arrive?
*What will he do?

In a previous chapter, consideration was given to the fearful image that God presented to King Nebuchadnezzer in a dream nearly 2600 years ago. That image, with its head of gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, and legs of iron, with feet part of iron and part of clay, gives to us at a glance an important piece of the prophetic puzzle called "the times of the Gentiles." Many years later, "Daniel had a dream and visions" from God (Daniel 7:1). Instead of an image of four kinds of metals, Daniel saw four great beasts, but the interpretation was the same. "The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings . . ." (verse 4). The second beast was ". . . like to a bear . . ." (verse 5). The third was like a leopard . . ." (verse 6), and the fourth was dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth . . . and it had ten horns" (verse 7).

As indicated earlier, the vision God gave to Daniel was different from the one He gave to Nebuchadnezzar, but the interpretation is identical. The lion and the golden head represent Babylon. The bear and the silver breast and arms represent Medo-Persia. The leopard and the brass belly and thighs represent Greece. The fourth beast and the iron legs represent Rome. The ten horns and the ten toes represent Rome revived.


FROM WHERE WILL HE COME?

Then comes an addition. Daniel's dream has something in it that was missing in the dream that God gave to Nebuchadnezzar. Please note Daniel 7:8: "1 considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things." Daniel sees in his dream an eleventh horn - a "little horn." It is obvious from the description that this horn represents a man. This man is often spoken about in the chapters and books that follow. He is called by different names, but in each case, he is the same man who is destined to play an important role in the prophetic drama. He is called, among other names, "the prince that shall come" (Daniel 9:26); "the king" (Daniel 11:36); "the man of sin ... the son of perdition" (11 Thessalonians 2:3); "the wicked one" (11 Thessalonians 2:8); and "the beast" (Revelation 13:4). The name we know him by best is "the antichrist" (I John 2:22).

Our first question was, "From where will he come."

The answer is found in the vision that God gave to Daniel. "I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn . . . " (Daniel 7:8). The Antichrist will arise from among the nations of the revived Roman Empire. We are not told from which of the ten nations he will come, but as surely as God's Word can be trusted, he will make his appearance at just the right moment in the prophetic plan.


WHEN WILL HE ARRIVE?

This brings us to our second question, "When will he arrive?" The key to this important question is found in the Epistle of 11 Thessalonians 2. Please notice verses 7 and 8: "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed ...... The personal pronoun "he" in verse 7 is a reference to the Holy Spirit. At the time of the Rapture, He will "be taken out of the way." This certainly does not mean that He will have no further ministry here on earth after the Rapture. On the contrary, He will be here to convict men of sin and direct them through His Word to Jesus Christ. Certainly, no one could ever be saved apart from the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and multitudes will be saved here on earth following the Rapture. The fact that the Holy Spirit will be "taken out of the way" underscores the truth that the bodies of believers are the temples of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 3:16); and at the moment believers are caught away when Christ comes for His Bride, the Holy Spirit's influence will cease to be felt through the true Church. The Church will be gone; the light will go out; the salt will be removed. Though the Holy Spirit will be on earth during the seventieth week of Daniel, He will step aside temporarily when the Church is raptured. Verse 7, then, is a reference to the removal of the Bride of Christ from this earthly scene. The next verse declares: "then shall that Wicked be revealed . . ." (verse 8). The coming of Antichrist will follow The Rapture of the Church.


WHAT WILL HE DO?

Our final question regarding the Antichrist is, "What will he do?" Daniel writes that he will have "a mouth speaking great things" (Daniel 7:8). He "shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods" (Daniel 11:36). Paul declares that his "coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders" (11 Thessalonians 2:9). In the Book of Revelation, there is this account: ". . . Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven" (Revelation 13:4b-6).

At last Satan will have his long-awaited counterfeit Christ. The world is looking for such a man at this hour, for we find ourselves at a time in history without great human leadership. As a boy, I can remember the speeches of men like Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Charles DeGaulle, Adolf Hitler, and Joseph Stalin. These men could sway crowds, influence nations, and turn the tide of history for good or for evil. The basic ingredient common to all of them was leadership.

But where are the leaders today? U.S. News and World Report carried an article entitled "We Are in a Time of Pygmies When It Comes to Leaders." Eric Hoffer is quoted as saying, "One of my worries has been that there are no great leaders on the planet ... there used to be men like Churchill or De Gaulle waiting in the wings, but no more." The historian Arnold Toynbee said, "We are ripe for the deifying of any new Caesar who might succeed in giving the world unity and peace." Consider these words from Henri Spaak, who was one of the early planners of the European Common Market: "We do not want another committee, what we want is a man of sufficient stature to hold the allegiance of all people and to lift us out of the economic morass into which we are sinking. Send us such a man and be he god or devil, we will receive him."

The dearth of great leadership is a significant development as we approach the end of this age, for after the Church is raptured, the world will be searching for a man who will be able to lead them. At the right time, from the right place, that man will come.