Reading in Daniel 11:36-45 is where this prophecy really becomes what I call a prophetic parallel. This scripture describes Epiphanes as an antichrist but it also looks into our future and the coming “big” antichrist.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!We’ve quickly moved through history from Medo-Persia to Greek and now the angel gives a glimpse of Roman rule, the revived Roman empire that is. The previous rulers mentioned in chapter 11 are Ahasuerus, Alexander, Antiochus the Great, Antiochus Epiphanes and the final ruler we know currently as AntiChrist. I wonder if his name will begin with A like the others? Interestingly the name Antiochus means against possession. There were 13 Seleucid kings with this name and none of them allowed possession of their Syrian domain. The next antichrist ruler will be a combination of all four of these previously identified kings except on steroids.
This last section of scripture can be somewhat controversial, some people say it only refers to the Greek empire and with Epiphanes specifically. Verse 36 says “The king will do as he pleases. He will say unheard of things against God and he will be successful–until the time of wrath is completed”. FYI, the “time of wrath” will not be completed until Jesus returns. That is the cold hard truth Daniel began to realize as the angel continued with this revelation. His people will only have a few small temporary moments where they will be permitted to return to Jerusalem, but over all they won’t be able to fully have their land back until Jesus returns as King. We can see through history those brief periods of time. Currently, Israel is occupying their own land and Jerusalem has been identified and their capital.
Verses 36-39 does switch its focus to the coming antichrist. To reference the vision in Daniel 9 this is the seventh seven noted in verse 27. This section in chapter 11 gives us a pretty detailed description of what type of person the coming antichrist will be. He will have similar characteristics as the little horn but they will be magnified, more distinct and more horrific.
He is described as a king who will do as he pleases, meaning he will make all the decisions, he will be an absolute ruler and an absolute dictator if you will. His decisions will be based on his own personal agenda, what he thinks, feels and wants. The one caveat is he will be influenced by Satan, Satan will be behind the scenes leading him and giving him full support of hell’s demons. He will have the ability to perform signs, wonders and miracles all with the intention of deceiving people meaning he will have a supernatural power.
He will rule the world, he will establish himself as a protector of Israel. He will have ten other kings, but they will be more like “minion” kings, Antichrist will be the true ruler and will call the shots. Once he is established other kings will try to rise up and conquer him, but they will not be successful. According to Rev. 13 at some point every human on the face of the earth will be forced to take what the Bible calls “the mark of the beast” if they intend on maintaining a sense of life as they know it. We can see how easily this can happen. We’ve experienced or at least witnessed first hand how easily people will do what the government decrees or more specifically what one person of influence can incite. Whether it’s legal or not.
The coming antichrist will set himself up above all gods, including the God of Heaven. He will say unheard of things against God of heaven. He will show no regard to the gods of his ancestors. This gives us an indication that he likely will not come from a Jewish or Christian heritage because god is spelled with a little g in vs. 37. He will oppose ALL forms of religion. Anything or anyone that is worshipped including all deities, all shrines, all images, all altars. Rev. 17 says, “He consumes the whore, the harlot, the false church.”
He wants people to think he is the messiah, which is what antichrist means, instead of…instead of Christ. His goal will be to deceive the religious world. Do you get that? He wants to deceive those who have faith in God. Not necessarily to destroy, but to deceive, he wants to confuse you, he wants to mislead you, he wants you to listen to false doctrine, he wants you to question who God really is and why you follow him.
Israel will worship in their reconstructed temple for a short period of time then this antichrist will come in and desecrate it by putting himself as the one to be worshipped over everything. He will be slaughtering Jews to the extent that 2 out of 3 will lose their lives. Right on the temple mount, inside the newly constructed temple, the antichrist will place his throne. He will be proud of his accomplishments and he will speak horrible things against God of heaven while sitting in the very place I Am is to be worshipped. He will literally be the mouthpiece of Satan. He will be speaking the hatred of hell, the hate filled words of the enemy.
He will try to change the moral laws of God, for example, what marriage is and looks like. He will change the standards of basic human life like creation of man and woman for example, what makes men men and women women. The family unit will break down, families will not care for one another. Losing respect for parents, for traditions or family heritage, cancelling culture if you will. The beliefs typically passed from one generation to the next will be disregarded. People will lose a general sense of affection toward one another, becoming indifferent to those around them and their needs. He will rewrite history. This is the type of man that will lead and this will become the way of people in general.
There is a statement in vs. 37 (KJV) saying “not the desire of women”, which is interesting to me. This part like many is interpreted in many ways. I think it boils down to a man who will have a disrespect for women, including moms, grandmas, daughters. That he will be perverted in his affections toward women and the way he views them. Given what we are faced with in the news today, he could be homosexual or transgender.
The scariest thing about the antichrist is knowing that the world is ready for a leader like this. The past few years have prepped and prepared us for this type of world leader. It’s not really that big a deal to have a leader who is from a broken family or one who has no regard for family, a bachelor if you will, a man who doesn’t want to settle down, or even want to be with a woman. A homosexual leader would be welcomed in our world, a transgender king? Can you imagine? Can you see how this is all possible and can you see how we’ve been groomed to accept this? People are being groomed to accept an antichrist world ruler and I believe it is a subtle shift, based on the description here in Daniel and what I’ve observed presently.
The religion thing wouldn’t be a big deal either. Most Christians do not know how to spot a true man or woman of God. They haven’t taken the initiative to learn theology, they have no clue how to study the word and they believe God is a genie who is only here to make their personal lives better. So most people would believe an imposter when he speaks lies about God, because they don’t know the truth in the first place.
Verse 38 and 39 tell us how powerful he will be. He will have a bottomless pit of finances that he will put towards a military fortress using it to devour the whole world. The people who prove themselves loyal will be given leadership positions and in order to solidify their loyalty he will give them land to govern on his behalf.
At this point in the future we’re probably about 3 ½ years into the tribulation, this is the time where it seems like a honeymoon. This ruler is accepted, he’s sweet talking leading people to believe he can solve all the world’s problems. Israel has temporary peace, he has promised to protect them. This man is the man.
But in verse 40 there is a bit of an insurrection from the South, could be Egypt, which is who the south was all throughout this chapter, Egypt could side with Africa. We can also look toward Iran, Libya, Ethiopia and Russia. Basically, the nations who would get irritated that Israel is its own nation and is protected. They would want to own this land and it appears they get upset at the antichrist for his protection and they wage a war against him. Remember he put everything he had into building this massive military and so with chariots, horsemen and many ships he fights back. The ships we get, it’s the navy. To me chariots might be military tanks, just think of modern day weapons. Basically, he will attack back with everything they’ve got, invading country after country, sweeping through like a flood.
Vs. 41-43 He will set his sights on Israel. He doesn’t bother with Edom, Moab and Ammon. Those nations are more southeast, he focuses more on conquering the southwestern areas like Egypt and every other Arab nation that attempted to come against him. He will go in and take control over all their resources.
Vs. 44 Sets out to fill the second half of the final prophecy for the end of days. He will become bloodthirsty. He will fill his lust for power by worshipping power, the antichrist will receive a news report that will set him out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many. This is most likely the point in which he flips a switch and sets himself up as God, returning to his headquarters in Jerusalem, desecrating the temple, slaughtering Jews and anyone else who refuses to worship him. All of hell is influencing him, enabling him. His god will be power and he will stop at nothing to obtain it.
Vs. 45 He will set up a tabernacle, he will establish himself as god on Mt. Zion. Yet he will come to an end and no one will help him. Now his end is written in the book of Revelation and it includes a whole host of judgement. As for Israel, when it literally cannot get any worse, the Savior will come, their King will finally sit on His throne and receive the honor due to him.
