THE ANTICHRIST---PART ONE

THE ANTICHRIST---PART ONE

      In 1 John 2, the Apostle John tells us of an antichrist:  18) Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come.  This is how we know it is the last hour.  19) They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us.  For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

   20) But you have an anointing from The Holy One, and all of you know the truth.  21) I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.  22) Who is the liar?  It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ.  Such a person is the antichrist--denying the Father and the Son.  23) No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.  (NIV)

   There are many antichrists.  We have been studying the Book of Daniel, a book of prophesy, which includes THE antichrist of the end times.  Many considered that Antiochus Epiphanes fulfilled the identity of the antichrist.  Those who recognized the interval of many years between Daniel 11:35 and Daniel 11: 36, believed the emperor Nero to fit the identity, since he was the first Roman persecutor of the Christians.  Then there was Simon Magus, the impostor of Acts, chapter 8.  How about the prophet of Arabia, Mohammed?  Most would say it is the Catholic papacy.  

   The fact is that none of them fully meet the requirements for the case.  Therefore, THE antichrist is still to arise and will only come upon the scene in the Time of the End.   So, let us turn our attention to various leaders who are to occupy prominent positions in the coming day:

   First of all, as we have studied, the Roman Empire is to be revived in a ten-kingdom condition; ten European powers are to be united in one federation.  The European Union currently has 28 members.  In order to bring this about, there will be a union of socialistic and imperialistic policies.  These ten kingdoms will have a chief arbiter.  Now, skip to Revelations 13: 1 - 8.  This same ruler is described as "the Beast".  He is the "little horn of the West" in the seventh chapter of Daniel. Remember, West, East, North and South is termed in relation to Israel.
   This "beast" will have his seat in Rome.  He will be an infidel.  After the destruction of Babylon (Iraq), apostate Christendom will pay homage to this guy.  He will be brilliant.  He will dazzle nations with almost superhuman abilities and unparalleled success.

   From the East, we have another power that will dispute the preeminence of the Beast.  This will be the little horn of Asia.  This is the last Gentile ruler of the land now dominated by Turkey.  (This is not the little horn of the seventh chapter.)  This guy is, rather, identified as "the Assyrian" of Isaiah 10: 24, 25:  Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts, "O My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear the Assyrian who strikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you, the way Egypt did.  25) For in a very little while My indignation against you will be spent and My anger will be directed to their destruction."  (ESV)  He will be the special enemy of the Jews in the Time of the End.
   His destruction is described in Isaiah 14: 24, 25:  "Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand, 25) to break Assyria in My land, and I will trample him on My mountains.  Then his yoke will be removed from them and his burden removed from their shoulder....." (ESV)  The Lord's memory is long.

   The "Assyrian" will bring great wrath against the Jews, but not in his own power.  He is evidently backed by a more powerful nation:  Rosh (or Russia).  Yes, this ruler will join with the Turkish sultan (or Syrian ruler) in opposing the pretensions of the Beast.  This is found in Ezekiel, chapters 38 and 39.

   

   Then, there is the fourth leader:  the King of the South.  He is the ruler of an independent Egypt.  His opposition to the Turks is hereditary.  So, while opposed to Antichrist, he seems to act in conjunction with the Beast in opposing "The Assyrian".

   All four of these armies will be marching down upon Israel at about the same time.  This is Armageddon.  Blood shall flow to the horses' bridles for one thousand six hundred furlongs.  Revelations 14:  18 - 20.  Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe."  19) So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God.  20) And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses' bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.  (NASB)

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THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW THEIR GOD WILL FIRMLY RESIST HIM DANIEL 11: 25 - 35

THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW THEIR GOD WILL FIRMLY RESIST HIM
DANIEL 11: 25 - 35

   Daniel 11: 25) "With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South.  The king of the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to stand because of the plots devised against him.  26) Those who eat from the king's provisions will try to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall in battle.  27) The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time.  28) The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant.  He will take action against it and then return to his own country.

   29)"At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before.  30) Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart.  Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant.  He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.

   31) "His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice.  Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.  32) With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

   33) "Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered.  34) When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them.  35) Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.  (NIV)

H.A. IRONSIDE COMMENTARY

   Verses 25 - 35 describe the rule of the fearful monster who has well been called the "Antichrist of the Old Testament" because of his unfailing enmity to the people and worship of Jehovah.  He is the same one we studied in the eighth chapter--the infamous and blasphemous "Little Horn" that sprang out of one of the four horns upon the Grecian goat.  He was called Antiochus Epiphanes, or the splendid or magnificent.  He was stirred with such hatred against the Jews and their religion, that there was no atrocity too great for this wretched king to perpetrate.  He is well described as a vile person, who came in peaceably, and obtained the kingdom by flattery.    As I write this description, I see in my mind another who fits this bill.  This is pretty scary stuff.  But this he is not in Israel.

   It looks like North (Antiochus Epiphanes) went to battle against South (Pholometer) with a great and mighty army but he was unable to stand because of devices forecasted against him, namely, through the treachery of his own sons and household servant who betrayed him to Antiochus.  Antiochus proposes a truce but both North and South were just lying to each other.
   But Antiochus (North) was enraged by the exultation of the Jews who rejoiced at the rumors that he had been slain in Egypt.  So, he marched his armies against Jerusalem.  It was brutal.  He spared not the aged, children, women, nor the sick.  The Jews reached out to Rome for help, since Rome had helped the Grecians.  This is when the Maccabees had begun to fight Antiochus.
   Marching against the Maccabees, Antiochus was met by  Popilius Loenus and the other Roman envoys at the head of an army.  Popilius demanded that Antiochus at once cease his interference with the Jews, and bind himself to accept the decree of the Roman senate, keep the peace, and acknowledge Rome's authority.  He asked for time to consider the terms, but the Romans encircled him and demanded a decision before he stepped out of the ring.  Well, what would you do?  Antiochus accepted the conditions, with no intention of keeping them.

   The Romans didn't stay forever.  When they left, Antiochus turned his wrath on the Jews once more.  Some Jews aided him to punish the steadfast Jews.  Antiochus set up a statue of Jupiter Olympus in the temple at Jerusalem; sacrificed a sow upon the altar, and put a stop to the oblations to Jehovah, declaring that he alone should be an object of worship.  This was the placing of "the abomination that maketh desolate", predicted in verse 31 in connection with the pollution of the sanctuary and the abolition of the daily sacrifices.  The faithful of Judah were horrified beyond measure at this unspeakable sacrilege and joined the Maccabees against him but were slaughtered by the thousands.

   Verses 32 - 35 describe the conditions prevailing among the Jews in that awful time of suffering, never to be paralleled until the great tribulation of the last days.  In fact, they picture the whole history of the people of Judah from the time when they were joined to the Roman empire right on to the time of the end, or the 70th week of which we have already spoken.
   There is an interval of many centuries between verses 35 and 36.  Keeping in mind this explanation to Daniel was an overview of things to come, not minute details.  The history of the Kings of the North and South is now closed, and another dreadful character, of whom Antiochus Epiphanes was merely a forerunner is at once introduced; the willful king, the great personal Antichrist of the last days.

This concludes our study of Chapter 11. 

MY THOUGHTS

   Take a moment to think about all we have read in Chapter 11 of Daniel.  God has all of the future written down.  He knows what will be and who will be the actors.  He knows each one of us, how we will react or respond to any given situation.  He knows how far He will allow us to be tested.  He knows.......HE KNOWS!  And we are important to Him!  Do you know Him?  Click here for information about how to become His child:   https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html

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NORTH AND SOUTH BATTLE DANIEL 11: 14 - 24

NORTH AND SOUTH BATTLE   DANIEL 11: 14 - 24

Daniel 11: 14) "In those times many will rise against the king of the South.  Those who are violent among your own people will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success.  15) Then the king of the North will come and build up siege ramps and will capture a fortified city.  The forces of the South will be powerless to resist; even their best troops will not have the strength to stand.  16) The invader will do as he pleases; no one will be able to stand against him.  He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land and will have the power to destroy it.  17) He will determine to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the king of the South.  And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plans will not succeed or help him.  18) Then he will turn his attention to the coastlands and will take many of them, but a commander will put an end to his insolence and will turn his insolence back on him.  19) After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own country but will stumble and fall, to be seen no more.

   20) "His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor.  In a few years, however, he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle.
21) "He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty.  He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue.  22) Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed.  23) After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power.  24) When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did.  He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth among his followers.  He will plot the overthrow of fortresses--but only for a time.
  

H.A. IRONSIDE COMMENTARY

   When the King of the South died, his son, a mere child of six or seven years, was elevated to the throne.

   Antiochus (North) formed an alliance with Phillip the Third of Macedon, and sought to rally the Jews to his standard.  The faithful among them refused to serve in his army, but the apostates, called in verse fourteen, "the robbers of thy people," readily entered into covenant with him and proved a great help on a number of occasions.

   North went on a rampage against Egypt, besieging and killing the Egyptian garrison left in Jerusalem.  He defeated Scopias the Egyptian general at Paneas.  Scopias fled to Sidon but was destroyed there.  The Egyptian armies that came to reinforce Paneas were also routed.  Antiochus (North) found victory everywhere.  

   When North returned from the Egyptian wars to "the glorious land", he bestowed his favor upon the Jewish people for the help that gave him victory.

   The last clause of verse 16 should read, "which by his hand shall be perfected".  This refers undoubtedly to the fact that under Antiochus, Palestine became a more peaceful and fruitful country than it had been for half a century.

   North wasn't finished.  He wanted to undermine any remaining influence South might have, so North (Antiochus) gave South (Epiphanes) his daughter (Cleopatra) to wed.  Antiochus had coached Cleopatra to undermine Epiphanes but she proved to be a faithful wife to him against her father.  This guy must have really known how to please a woman.  Besides, who wouldn't want to be a queen rather than the daughter of a king?  Which has the most power and prestige?  Best laid plans of mice and men.....)

  Oh, well!  North decided to go off and conquer Greece.  He began with the Isles of the Aegan Sea and then crossed over to Greece.  Oh, but....a most unplanned event took place.  The Iron Kingdom, which was to be the fourth and last upon earth before the establishment of the Kingdom of The Son of Man was beginning to make its presence felt.  The Grecians had entered into an alliance, offensive and defensive, with the Romans; so they notified their powerful allies of the danger to which they were exposed.  The senate commissioned Lucius Scipio Asiaticus to go to their aid with an army of tried warriors.  North was utterly defeated.  Scipio is undoubtedly the prince, or captain, referred to in verse 18.

   Antiochus, humbled and in deep distress, turned toward "the fort of his own land" but according to the Scripture of Truth, he was to stumble and fall and not be found.  In his need and desperation, he and a band of his soldiers attempted to plunder the temple of Jupiter at Elymais but they were all slain by the infuriated populace who were incensed at what they considered an act of sacrilege of the gravest nature.  

   So, Seleucus Philopator became the King of the North.  He sent Heliodorus to plunder the temple of Jehova at Jerusalem because Antiochus (his father) had left the kingdom in wretched condition.  Upon his return with the booty, he treacherously assassinated his master after he had reigned only 12 years.

  We will leave all this drama for now and pick up from verse 25 upon our return.  Are you enjoying any of this? 

MY THOUGHTS

   I realize this is the future for Daniel, but for me it is history.  History has never been appealing to me, especially that long ago in a foreign land.  I study it because it proves God.  He revealed the future to Daniel and it came to pass.  What a great God I serve.  And He knows me by name!

What about you?  Have you been accepted into the family of God Almighty?  The work has already been done for you around 2000 years ago.  All you have to do is accept it and believe.  For more information, please click here:   https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html

You are encouraged to leave a comment with your thoughts, which encourages us.

You are also invited to visit Oma at http://omaspolitics.blogspot.com  and http://omaslife.blogspot.com.

ORIGINAL RAINBOW

ORIGINAL RAINBOW

   Have you had just about enough of the "rainbow" colors on your social media and on the television lately?  Please allow me to reset your spirit.  The rainbow was given to us in the Book of Genesis through Noah, after God had destroyed much of mankind.  It is a symbol of God's promise to us that He will not flood the earth again:  (Genesis 9: 8 - 17)

   

   "8) Then God told Noah and his sons, 9) "I hereby confirm my covenant with you and your descendants, 10) and with all the animals that were on the boat with you--the birds, the livestock, and all the wild animals--every living creature on earth.  11) Yes, I am confirming my covenant with you.  Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth."

   12) Then God said, "I am giving you a sign of my covenant with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to come.  13) I have placed my rainbow in the clouds.  It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth.  14) When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, 15) and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures.  Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life.  16) When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth."  17) Then God said to Noah, "Yes, this rainbow is the sign of the covenant I am confirming with all the creatures on earth."

   So, be happy when you see rainbow colors.  This is another way to proclaim The Good News.  The Deciever will try to steal your joy.  He imitates and mocks our God.  Go on the offense and reclaim the sign of this covenant with the God of Noah.  Maybe the one you witness to may not know where the "rainbow colors" originated.

   Our "Pathway to Salvation" page is a resource to study to lead someone to Jesus once they understand where the rainbow originated.

You are encouraged to leave a comment with your thoughts.

You are also invited to visit Oma at http://omaslife.blogspot.com  and http://omaspolitics.blogspot.com.

TAKE THIS AS OUR MANIFESTO

TAKE THIS AS OUR MANIFESTO

   Pastor gave an amazing message tonight at church.  The theme was Bible prophesy.  We are living in the worst of times but we are living in the best of times.  He suggested that we Christians take 2 Corinthians 4: 16, 17 as our manifesto.  Here is the New Living Translation:

  16) "That is why we never give up.  Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.   17) For our present troubles are small and won't last very long.  Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!"

   So, let us not be discouraged by events that are occurring today.  John 4: 35 reminds us "You know the saying, 'Four months between planting and harvest.' But I say, wake up and look around.  The fields are already ripe for harvest."  Let us make lemonade out of the lemons.  We, the Body of Christ, must witness to everybody.  The Kingdom of God is at hand!

You are encouraged to leave a comment with your thoughts on this blog.  We'd love to hear from you.

You are also invited to visit Oma at http://omaslife.blogspot.com  and http://omaspolitics.blogspot.com.