Month: August 2017

There are many scriptures that describe the usurper to God’s throne commonly called the antichrist. He is seen as a beast (Revelation 13:1-10; Revelation 17:1-11), as a horn and king (Daniel 7:23-27; Daniel 8:23-25), a prince and desolator (Daniel 9:26-27), and a contemptible person (Daniel 11:21-23). But there is no illusion connecting the office of the antichrist to the ministry of Jesus in these scriptures. The real imposter that comes to oppose the ministry of Jesus is found in Revelation 13:11-18. He comes in the guise of a lamb to officiate the worship of the antichrist, presumably as the high priest of this religion.

What makes the scripture of Revelation 13:11-18 interesting is a similar understanding in Islamic eschatology. Islamic eschatology looks for the return of Jesus to earth but his mission is quite different. The mission of the Muslim Jesus is to correct the error of Christianity that Jesus is the Son of God, God has no son. The Muslim Jesus will confirm the Mahdi as God’s true ruler of the earth and Islam as the true religion. The Muslim Jesus eventually slays all those who do not convert to Islam and accept the rule of God’s true leader, the Mahdi.

There is no knowing if the Mahdi is the first beast of Revelation 13 or the Muslim Jesus is the same person depicted as the two horned beast. Still, it servers to illustrate that Satan will attempt to deny the divinity of Jesus and cause many to fall away (2 Thessalonians 2:3). Jesus said that He would praise before God His Father those who confess Him before men (Matthew 10:32). That confession is the great mystery of godliness (1 Timothy 3:16). Sadly, that is not what the world wants to hear.

May God bless you in your study of His word.

To the casual reader of end-time prophecy the mention of an image in Revelation thirteen and the statue in Daniel two may not seem connected. In modern commentary the components of the statue of Daniel two is interpreted as successive kingdoms that reign over Israel. The image of Revelation thirteen is interpreted as a likeness of the beast as described in verses one through four. Whatever the image, all will be required to worship it under penalty of death. A closer reading of these scriptures suggests a different understanding that exposes a connection between the two images.

In Daniel two the image is described as having a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, stomach and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet of iron and clay mixed (Daniel 2:32-33). It is a statue of a man. In the interpretation of the statue Nebuchadnezzar is told that the kingdom represented by silver chest and arms is “inferior” to his. That supposition applies to each of the following components representing kingdoms (Daniel 2:39). The word in the original text translated “inferior” actually means earth. Its usage in Daniel 2:39 connotes the direction downward. The English word “inferior” is accurate when understood to mean lower in position as in lower to the base. In context to Daniel two the word “inferior” does not mean lower in rank or degree. Removing the idea of rank from the components of the statue gives a cohesive connection of the statue with the other prophecies in the books of Daniel and Revelation. It also corrects the erroneous idea that the kingdoms that followed Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon where somehow inferior; they were not. Neither are they connected to this prophecy.

The scripture to build an image in Revelation thirteen requires some scrutiny. Depending on the English translation used, the scripture reads “of the first beast”, “for the beast”, or “to the beast” (Revelation 13:14). The definite article is used in the Greek and “to” is the more accurate. The false prophet instructs the world to build an image to the beast for all to worship. He will give the image a spirit by which it will talk and have power of life and death over all the earth (Revelation 13:14-17). The wording does not require that the image look like a beast composed of diverse parts (Revelation 13:1-2).

It is an interesting supposition to connect the image of Daniel two with that in Revelation thirteen. The connection of the two amplifies the Satanic component of the end-times Babylon. There will be a statue during the reign of the antichrist, perhaps a tall and terrifying statue (Daniel 2:31) that will speak blasphemies (Revelation 13:5-6).

May God bless you in your study of His word.

The empire of the antichrist is described as a beast with ten horns in the books of Daniel and Revelation (Daniel 7:7-8; Revelation 13:1; 17:3,7,12). Christians reading an English translation of the Bible might be surprised to learn that the ten horns of the fourth beast in Daniel seven are horns that make sound; synonymous with a cornet or trumpet. Yet, the word translated horn in Revelation thirteen and seventeen means an animal horn; a horn that symbolizes strength and power. The use of two different words is more than a coincidence of a casual writing style but is intended to reveal the depth to which Satan bends to corrupt the word of God.

Those familiar with Jewish customs may have already associated the use of the two words in Daniel and Revelation with the animal horned trumpet called a shophar. There are many uses for a shophar found in the Old Testament but those that have significance with the end-times are associated with the Jewish festivals. The sounding of the shophar has deep spiritual meaning that centers around the story of the sacrifice of Isaac. The substitute for Isaac was a ram caught by the horns (Genesis 22:12-13). It foretold of the love of our Heavenly Father that gave His only Son, a Son that gave Himself willingly, as a ransom for the lost. The sounding of the shophar represents the shout of victory over sin and death by God Almighty.

During Daniel’s time the sounding of the shophar was used in temple worship to call God’s people to worship. It was sounded during the festivals of Pentecost (Shavuot), Rosh Hashanah (New Year), and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). The sounding of the shophar at Shavuot is referred to as the first trumpet and the blowing of the shophar at Yom Kippur is referred to as the last trumpet. In keeping with Satan’s attempts to mimic all things holy with the unholy, Daniel seven takes on new meaning when Daniel tells that the antichrist will change times and religious festivals (Daniel 7:25). The ten horn trumpets of the beast shows that the empire of the antichrist is a theocracy that derives its power from Satanic worship, the sounding of which attempts to drown out the shout of victory of God Almighty; good luck with that. When the Israelites were told to come to Mount Sinai at the sounding of the shophar (Pentecost) the sound created great fear among the congregation (Exodus 19:16). The same will be true for all who are not in Christ at the sounding of the seven trumpets in the book of Revelation.

As a side note, the main contention among Rapture theologists is not if there is a Rapture of the saints but when will the Rapture occur. The Apostle Paul gives the definitive clue to the timing in his letters to the Corinthians and Thessalonians. The saints are raised, raptured, in an instance at the sounding of the last trumpet (1Corinthians 15:52; 2Thessalonians 4:16-17). Commentaries are filled with supposition as to the association of the last trumpet of Paul’s letters with the seventh trumpet of the book of Revelation. What most commentaries fail to consider is the significance of the trumpets with the Jewish festivals. The Apostles Paul and John were intimately acquainted with the significance. It is unlikely that Jesus intended to associate the seventh trumpet of Revelation(Revelation 11:15-19) with the last trumpet spoken of by Paul since Jesus told His disciples that no one knew the day or hour when the angle would blow the trumpet and gather His saints (Matthew 11:30-31). Everyone knows the day and hour of Yom Kippur. Even so, there will be a last trumpet that signals the gathering of the saints to Jesus.

May God bless you in your study of His word.

It would appear that the answer should be quite simple, Nebuchadnezzar is the head of Gold (Daniel 2:37-38). The statue of Daniel two represents Babylon, the nation by which God would not only chastise the nation of Israel but also bring in everlasting righteousness (Daniel 9:24). In the end-times the dominions that comprise the statue will rise but who will be the head of that Babylon?

Will the antichrist rule the world during the Tribulation? It is understandable how that perception might occur since he is the focal character of most prophecy concerning the end-times. Yet the books of Daniel and Revelation show his rule to be limited. His influence isn’t centered on economics or military prowess but is marked by a unifying religious influence throughout the world. Against such influence the executors of economic and military power have little sway.

At the center of the antichrist’s rule is a confederation of ten rulers, depicted as horns with crowns (Daniel 7:7, 20, 24;Revelation 17:3, 7, 16-18) . The dominion of these rulers with the antichrist is limited to one of the four beasts revealed in the vision to Daniel, the diverse beast (Daniel 7:7-8; Revelation 17:12-13). Over this confederation the antichrist exerts full economic, military, and religious power, the extent, of which, lies within the bounds of the Middle and Near East (Daniel 11).

But the influence of the antichrist extends far beyond the boundaries of his confederation. Through his demonic possession by Satan the antichrist will draw much of the world’s population into his religious order. For the more reticent, to joining his order outside his direct influence, he will institute a reward system requiring a mark in order to buy or sell (Revelation 13:11-18). For those who continue to resist he will proclaim an edict that his followers, throughout the world, eliminate the Christian and Jewish heretics; reminiscent of the Book of Ester (Daniel 7:21; Revelation 7:13-14). The secular world outside the confines of the antichrist’s confederation will be paralyzed to prevent the carnage.

What we fail to clarify in Christian eschatology is that the antichrist is merely the earthly representation of Satanic rule (Revelation 13:1-4). Satan, now confined to earth, exerts his rule to the maximum allowed by God (Revelation 12:7-17). No person has ever ruled with absolute power, and neither will the antichrist. All rule and rulers require the cooperation of subordinates. Through the demonic influence exuded from the antichrist humankind will become unfettered by the Law of the Almighty God and transcend national boundaries and laws. Who is the head of Gold?  Satan.

May God bless you in your study of His word.