Dennis Edwards
Daniel 8: 23 And in the latter time
of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of
fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. 24 And
his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy
wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. 25 And
through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he
shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall
also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without
hand.
Many modern day scholars following the interpretation of the Jewish rabbis believe that Antichus IV fulfilled the prophecies in Daniel 8. Christian apolgetist Jerome who lived from around 345 A.D. to 420 A.D. vehemently refused to accept that interpretation. Jerome said that Antiochus IV was a partial fulfillment of the text which would be fulfilled later under the future Antichrist. Jerome also rejected the Jewish rabbi’s belief that Daniel 11 was mainly fulfilled by Antiochus IV. The Traditional View of the Church Fathers on endtime prophecy follows the idea that Antiochus was a partial fulfillment of the Scriptures. The Antichrist in the last days will be the ultimate fulfillment.
If we follow the Traditional View of the
Church Fathers, the above verses from Daniel describe the Antichrist. They are
in accordance with what we have read in other Scriptures concerning the
Antichrist. We see the Antichrist coming on the scene in the “latter time of
their kingdom.” We see he has his inspiration from the dark side. He will also
persecute and destroy the holy people and the mighty. Finally, the Antichrist
will stand up against Christ, but will be destroyed at Christ’s coming.
Reference to destroying the “mighty” could
be a description to the destruction of Babylon the Whore at the end of the
great tribulation period or during of the wrath of God. Revelation 17 and 18
give us a glimpse of the Whore’s destruction. Let us go over that destruction
briefly.
How Do the Ten Kings of Revelation 17 Relate to the Daniel Prophecies?
Revelation 17: 12 And the ten horns
which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one
hour with the beast. 13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and
strength unto the beast. 14 These shall make war with the
Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and
King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest,
where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
Here we see the ten horns are actually
representive of ten kings or leaders of nations in the future who will give the
power of their appropriate kingdoms or nations to the beast, who is the Antichrist. They will
also fight against the Lamb. Jesus is the Lamb of God which takes away the sins
of the world. We can assume that these kings together with the Antichrist will
be part of the Antichrist kingdom and will fight against true Christianity and
its followers wherever they may be. Any others who resist the Antichrist’s
authority will also suffer.
Revelation 17: 16 And the ten horns
which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make
her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will,
and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God
shall be fulfilled. 18 And the woman which thou sawest
is that great city,
which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
Very briefly in the above prophecy, we see
the ten horns, which are ten kings or rulers, are going to join together with
the Antichrist to destroy Babylon the Whore. Babylon the Whore is a merchantile
system that oppresses the nations of the world. In the mid 1800s, Benjamin
Wills Newton, a Christian scholar, commented that if he could designate one
country or empire or city during his day as Babylon the Whore, it would not be
the Roman Catholic Church in Italy. No, according to Newton, the description of Babylon the
Whore from Revelation 17 and 18 in the 1800s fit more with London and the
British Empire than any place else in the world.
Doubtless today, Newton would see New York
City and the present day capitalistic American Empire as the head of the
present day Babylon. The Antichrist, with the help of ten other nations, will
destroy Babylon in one day, in one hour. Will the Babylon that is destroyed be
the present day American Empire? Let’s review the verses in Revelation 18 to
see the description of Babylon the Whore and her destruction.
Revelation 18:2 And he (the angel with great power) cried
mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen,
and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and
a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of
her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with
her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her
delicacies…How much she has glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so
much torment and sorrow give her: for she says in her heart, I sit a queen, and
am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. 8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and
mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is
the Lord God who judges her.
Just as God let Nebuchadnezzer destroy
Jerusalem and take Judah, so Babylon, that great city, will be destroyed by the
Antichrist. God said Nebucadnezzer was his razor to clean the earth of those
evil nations who were practising child sacrífice, which included Judah, God’s
people. Though the Babylonians had other sins, they did not practice child
sacrífice. The Antichrist will be the modern day razor God will use to judge
Babylon the Whore. The Antichrist will also be used to judge God’s people for
their compromises with Babylon and their lack of submission and dedication to
righteousness and to following Jesus closely. Like Apostle Peter wrote,
1 Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house
of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall be of them that obey not
the gospel of God? 18 And if the righteous scarely be saved, where shall the
ungodly and the sinner appear?
God does promise to protect and help His
people during the great tribulation period when the Antichrist will be using
all his power to destroy them. But Jesus has warned us that serious persecution
is coming and it has come to God’s people over the centuries.
Mark 13: 9 But take heed to yourselves: for they
shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and
ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony
against them…12 Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father
the son; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put
to death.
Daniel 11: 33 And they that understand among the people
shall instruct many: yet
they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many
days…35 And some of
them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make
them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.
Revelation 6:9-11 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, does thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
Though God will be protecting His people,
some will die as testimonies of the truth. Just as in the beginning of the
Christian period, just as under other numerous ungodly governments, God’s
people were persecuted and killed for their unwillingness to serve the Roman
gods or obey the ungodly laws of the land. They were unwilling to give up their
faith and deny Christ. In the last days God’s people will once again be
persecuted for their unwillingness to receive the mark and worship the image of
the Antichrist and cooperate with his New World Order.
The following prophecy of Isaiah, spoken
against the Babylonian Empire of the past, seems altogether futuristic and
resembles what we have read in Revelation. Some of the Old Testament prophecies
spoken against Babylon of the past, may have a future ultimate fulfillment,
when present day Babylon the Whore is destroyed.
Isaiah 47: 8 Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to
pleasures, that dwells carelessly, that says in thine heart, I am, and
none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know loss of
children: 9 But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the
loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy
sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments. 10 For
thou has trusted in thy wickedness: thou has said, None sees me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it
has perverted thee; and thou has said in thine heart, I am, and none beside me. 11
Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it rises:
and mischief shall fall upon thee: thou shalt not be able to put it off: and
desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.
To go to Part 2 click HERE
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