The Antichrist: His Rise to Power

The Rise and Fall of the Antichrist Part I

We return to the subject of eschatology with this series of posts by looking at the career of the Antichrist. I'll set out the narrative of his rise and fall and connect it to the key bits of information the Bible gives us about him. I can't name names or give dates and times (no one can at this moment, honestly), but what we can understand I will do my best to communicate clearly.

At some point in the days to come, a figure will arise to dominate the world. We commonly refer to him as the Antichrist. He will be a willful, even maniacally manipulative, ruthless, politician, a nominal Muslim, and will probably hale from Turkey. It is possible that he will originate in the Balkans, in Syria, Lebanon, or Iraq, but my money's on the Turkish Republic (I'll share my reasons below). His first move to power will likely occur in his country of origin, and he will face a challenge which puts into question his legitimacy to rule relatively early in his rise. 

According to Daniel 7, what separates the actual from other contenders (or pretenders) for the title is his bold power-grab of his own (Turkey) as well as two other nations (one Syria, the other either Iraq, Lebanon or Azerbaijan) at the outset of his rise. He will be ceded imperial power by an alliance of ten nations, which include the ones he personally reigns over plus seven more (Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, and three of Greece, Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria and Azerbaijan). Some of the ten are identified quite clearly in scripture, some are the fruit of my conjecture; regardless, all are roughly bounded by that area that was ruled by both Alexander (Daniel 8) and the Romans (Daniel 7) in the Levant, the Balkans and Africa. 

The Antichrist is typified by the prophetic figure called the "little horn" in Daniel 8. That figure is Greek and arises to power within (upon) the conquests of the "shaggy goat" (Alexander) over the Medo/Persian Empire (the ram). Given the division of Alexander's empire after his death, and the description of the little horn's growth toward the south, toward the east, and toward (yes, in the Hebrew, the "toward" is mentioned thrice) the glorious land (Israel), the little horn could only bearise on  to the Seleucid Empire. 

The "little horn" prophesy is most immediately fulfilled in the Seleucid ruler named Antiochus Epiphanes, but it points, secondarily, past him to the ultimate Antichrist yet to come. Antiochus' domains included large portions of Syria, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraq in the time of the Maccabees, and he in turn is used as a type of the Antichrist in Daniel 11:21-35. So the type of the Antichrist, Antiochus, not only demonstrates the evil persona of the Beast, but also demonstrates where his domain will be in that kingdom that was, now is not, andwill be again.

In Daniel 11, Antiochus' description seamlessly morphs into the Antichrist's at verse 36. That, in turn, is carried on through to the end of Daniel 12. So, in understanding the rise and fall of the Antichrist, it is the type of the King of the North (Seleucid Empire) that is most descriptive of domain and action. However, his kingdom is Roman too, as can be determined from Daniel 7. What this tells us is that the domain of the Antichrist is located physically in the area controlled by both Alexander and the Romans (the Seleucid Kingdom fits that bill very well), and located in time after the Roman empire.

There, a little little horn (same symbol, different context) is seen arising from ten others in the fourth kingdom (the third was Greek, see above, the fourth was Roman). The Revelation says that those ten kings arise in the day of the Antichrist for the sole purpose of turning power over to him; however, it also says that the ten horned beast was not in existence at the time of John. It once was and would be again, but it wasn't in 95 AD when John was exiled on Patmos by the Roman empire and he received the Revelation! 

Specifically, we are told this empire represents a resurrection of a empire that was dead in the Apostle John's day, but would revive in the end times. That rules out Rome (western Europe) out of hand (so much for Common Market interpretations!), but tracks well with an Alexandrian/Seleucid interpretation.

Note: Daniel 8 prophesies the type of the Antichrist (Antiochus Epiphanes); Daniel 7 prophesies the actual Antichrist, the displacer of 3 kingdoms in a 10 kingdom alliance arising after the Roman Empire.

At some point, I think after the ten nations have ceded imperial power to the beast, he will sign a 7 year pact with Israel. It seems to me, the treaty will give Israel control over the Temple mount and the right to rebuild said structure. Whether or not this is the reason that the King of the South (Egypt) rebels, I am not sure, but Egypt most certainly does rebel. The Antichrist reacts so forcefully and utterly to this challenge that the rest of the world loses all desire to withstand him. 3 1/2 years into the treaty period, perhaps just prior to the Temple's dedication, the beast declares himself god above all that is called God, and requires everyone in the world to acknowledge his divinity by taking a mark on the right hand or forehead.

This mark will not be coercive, despite the fact that no one can buy, sell or trade without it. The combination of the Antichrist's forceful will, the deceptive signs and wonders done at his bidding, and a strong delusional influence sent by God upon the Gentiles of that day will result in a ready capitulation by the masses. They will gladly take the mark, and it will seem the good and right thing to do, they would feel indignation toward any who would not. The mark, however, spells their doom.

Not so with the Jews. Under the ministry of Enoch and Elijah, and the 144,000 in the first 3 1/2 years of the pact, the Jews will embrace Christ en masse and resist the mark. Many of them will be imprisoned and end up beheaded for doing so, but Christ will raise them up when he returns. Near the end of the 7 year compact, the armies of the nations will be mustered together in northern Israel to do battle against the expected invasion of Christ and his army of saints. My guess is that this will be spun as an alien invasion, but that is sheer speculation on my part.

Christ will come bursting through the skies, with his saints in tow (that's us, yeehaw!) and usher in a new age of peace and prosperity. The Antichrist and his chief lieutenant, the False Prophet, will immediately be thrown into the Lake of Fire, the Devil will be chained in darkness for 1000 years. To all of which I say, Maranatha!

We also learn from Daniel 7:8 that his rise to power comes at the expense of three of the ten kingdoms making up his empire. Antiochus Epiphanes arose in what is today Turkey (Antakya/Samandag), but was then known as Syria (Antioch/Seleucia). John locates the throne of Satan, the sponsor and inspiration of the Antichrist, in Pergamum (now Bergama, Turkey). Given these facts, and considering that the Kingdom of the North is the revived kingdom of the Antichrist, my opinion is that Turkey will be the nation of origin for the Antichrist. If history is the key to the future, that would make Syria and Iraq the prime candidates for the other two ripped out horns.

I'll talk about the rest of the horns, and the rest of the rest with my next post.

Index to the Entire Series
I, II, III