I John 4:2, 3  By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

II John 7  For many deceivers have gone out into the world, who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

The Antichrist—perhaps nothing else has brought about such fear and speculation as the question—who is the antichrist? When is this mysterious figure to arise? From where is this dreaded rival of Christianity to arise? These questions are all clearly answered by the Word of God, but before identifying the Antichrist itself, a prophetic panorama of the political world is necessary to understand when and where this elusive figure will appear upon the stage of action, but before identifying these important points, we need to get the background behind prophecy and the antichrist. We will look at God’s challenge, why we should study prophecy and then move into the foundational prophecy which will lay the groundwork for the deceiver, antichrist who has gone out into the world.

God’s Ultimate Unanswerable Challenge

God has given a challenge that, although throughout history man has tried to prove it false, still stands out in blazing accuracy. God’s challenge reveals to all mankind who is the true God and which book is the true Word of God.

Isaiah 45:21, 22  Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, a just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me.  Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is none besides me.

Isaiah 46:9, 10  Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.”

The God of heaven’s ultimate, unanswerable challenge is that He alone can accurately foretell the future, and not only that He can foretell it, but that He can control it as well. For millennia various men and groups have attempted to predict what the future holds, but to no avail. They may have hit the mark a few times, but the inaccurate predictions overshadow the few correct guesses, eliminating them from answering God’s challenge. God alone has been able to predict what the future holds with one hundred percent accuracy, and He has done this through His Holy Word, the Bible. By studying prophecy the undeniable fact is established that the God of heaven is the only true God and His Word, the Bible, is the only true Holy Book.

Why Study Prophecy?

The importance of studying prophecy is greatly overlooked in our world today, but it is the foundation of a correct understanding of God’s Word. Without prophecy, our faith could falter in God’s Word. Without prophecy, our faith could falter that Jesus is our Savior. Without prophecy, our faith could falter in the existence of God Himself. While we desire none of these things to happen, I have seen them all happen because prophecy was not studied and understood. The study of prophecy is obviously of paramount importance.

Revelation 1:3  Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

Matthew 24:15  “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand).

Not only does prophecy establish our faith in God and His Word, but God has pronounced a special blessing for all who search His prophetic utterances. Revelation, the New Testament book of prophecy, is not a sealed book; it is open to all who desire the blessing of investigation. Daniel, the Old Testament book of prophecy, is the only book that Jesus specifically said we should understand. Indeed, there is a divine mandate for studying the prophecies of the Bible.

Daniel 12:4  “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

Another important point to recognize regarding the importance of studying Bible prophecy, is that prophecy was given specifically for our time! God did not give prophecy only for those who lived in the patriarchal and apostolic ages, but has given end-time prophecy for us, who are living in the end of time. How do we know that we are living in the time of the end? This will be a topic for another night, but the two points given in Daniel 12:4 should be enough to convince us—many running to and fro and knowledge increasing.

The Foundational Prophecy

During this seminar, we are going to be focusing on the prophecies that deal most directly with those of us living in this exciting time of earth’s history, but in order to understand the rapidly fulfilling prophecies around us, we must understand the first major prophetic vision of the end-time prophet, Daniel. This prophecy lays a groundwork and a foundation for all subsequent prophecy, and thus in order to understand further prophecy, we must start at the beginning. The events that led up to this prophecy are most fascinating.

Daniel 2:1-6  Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.’”Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.” The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. However, if you tell the dream and it’s interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.”

Daniel 2:12, 16, 17  For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon… So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions.

Daniel 2:19-23  Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him. I thank you and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have made known to me what we asked of You, for You have made known to us the king’s demand.”

The Dream

Daniel 2:31-35  You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.”

Interpreting Prophecy

God’s Word gives for explaining itself. If we keep in mind and follow the two rules for interpreting Bible prophecy the mysterious of God will open before our eyes.

·         Bible prophecy is given in symbolic language.

·         The Bible itself explains the symbols.

Hosea 12:10  I have also spoken by the prophets, and have multiplied visions; I have given symbols through the witness of the prophets.

Revelation 1:1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,

Obviously, the prophecy that we have just begun to look at is in symbolic form. It has no meaning and makes no sense by itself. The Lord gave the dream in symbolic form, and thus it is with most prophecy. Most of the Bible is given in literal language and is to be understood literally: but when it comes to prophecy, it is clearly given in code or symbols.

Isaiah 28:9, 10  Whom will he teach knowledge? And to whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.

I Corinthians 2:13  These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

If we are going to arrive at a correct understanding of prophecy, we must allow the Bible to interpret itself. If we just interpreted it by what we thought or what the majority thought (the majority has always been wrong in matters of religion), we may come up with some interesting ideas, but they would be as varied as the people who came up with the thoughts. God has given prophecy and God alone can teach us what it means. If we search through the Bible, we will find that God has done just that. The symbols used in prophecy are always explained in other parts of the Bible. The Bible is its own expositor. Having seen how to understand Bible prophecy, let us apply these simple principles to discover the meaning of Nebuchadnezzar’s mysterious dream.

Head of Gold — Babylon 605 – 538 BC

Daniel 2:36-38  “This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold.”

The head of gold represents Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Therefore, this head of gold represents the kingdom of Babylon! In Isaiah 14:4  Babylon is referred to as “the golden city.” Babylon was world renown for it abundant use of gold. It had a golden temple for its golden god Belmarduke. This golden god sat on a golden throne before a golden table by a golden altar in a golden temple. Babylon was “the golden city,” so accurately represented by God as “the head of gold.” Babylon was a city of luxury. It had peacocks. It had the river Euphrates running right through it, and at the bottom it was lined with tile. Archaeologists found some of these tiles; they are beautifully, intricately painted with peacocks and fine blue. Babylon was the home of the hanging gardens of Babylon. The walls of Babylon were two hundred feet high, and they were so wide that you could race two chariots around the top. Babylon had food for all its inhabitants that would last for many years. It was an impenetrable fortress in the desert. This was the head of gold that Nebuchadnezzar had built to prominence. A clay tablet was unearthed, probably written by Nebuchadnezzar himself. Speaking of Babylon, he says, “These portals for the astonishment of multitudes of people with beauty I adorned. May it last forever.” Nebuchadnezzar had built Babylon up to this splendor, to this golden city, and it was his dream that this last forever as an eternal, unconquerable city.

Chest & Arms of Silver — Medo–Persia 538 – 331 BC

Daniel 2:39  But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.

Although Nebuchadnezzar had envisioned Babylon lasting forever, God was revealing to this proud king that He was in control and that this was not to be. And exactly as God had foretold, Babylon was conquered by an inferior kingdom. This kingdom was made up of two kingdoms. The kingdoms of Media and Persia joined to subjugate the provinces of Lydia and Egypt and finally Babylon. On one of Babylon’s feast days to their god, was the fatal night that brought an end to the magnificent empire of Babylon. Cyrus of the Persians had was camped outside of Babylon, but why should they care? They had food and water for years and who could penetrate those massive walls? So instead of being watchful and guarded they threw an enormous feast of drunkenness and debauchery. That very night Cyrus turned the waters of the mighty Euphrates, and filling huge reservoir, and lowering the water level enough to march underneath the city into the very heart of Babylon. He still would have been powerless to enter Babylon unless the gates to the city had been left open. The most phenomenal thing about this incident is that the God of heaven had predicted that Cyrus, by name, would conquer Babylon in exactly this way one hundred and fifty years before he was even born.

Isaiah 44:27, 28; 45:1  Who says to the deep, “Be dry! And I will dry up your rivers;” Who says of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and he shall perform all My pleasure”?… To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held—to subdue nations before him and loose the armor of kings, to open before him the double doors, so that the gates will not be shut.”

Belly & Thighs of Bronze — Greece 331 – 168 BC

The dream continues, though. Notice in Daniel 2:39 that after the inferior kingdom, was to come a third kingdom of bronze, which was to rule over all the earth. Although Nebuchadnezzar had envisioned Babylon lasting for ever, God was revealing to this proud king that He was in control and that this was not to be. Although Nebuchadnezzar had envisioned Babylon lasting for ever, God was revealing to this proud king that He was in control and that this was not to be.  By studying history it is readily seen that it happened exactly like God said. There was the youthful Greek general named Alexander the Great, who with fifty thousand men conquered the Persian military might of a million men. On the fields of Arbela, Darius king of the Persians, sent word to say, “You can be the king of the West, and I’ll be the king of the East.” Alexander the Great retorted, “As there is not room for two suns in the sky, there is not room for you and I.” And he totally defeated Darius, with about one man to every twenty of Darius’s. From there he went and conquered the entire known world from Greece to India in about eight years. They marched incessantly, conquering and conquering. They stopped only because it seemed like there was no one left to conquer and his soldiers where tired of constant warfare.

Legs of Iron — Rome 168 BC – AD 476

Daniel 2:40  And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all others.

The fourth empire that arose, so accurately depicted by the legs of iron, was none other than Rome, which continued for six hundred years. It was strong and terrible—exceedingly terrible. It was Rome that called Joseph and Mary to make the journey to Bethlehem. It was Rome that killed all the babies in Bethlehem. It was Rome that crucified Jesus. It was Rome that put her seal on Jesus’ tomb. It is from Rome that we have the legacy of our months of July and August, from Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar. And it bore sway over the entire world, just as God had predicted. The historian of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon, saw an exact fulfillment of the metallic image of Daniel 2 when he said: “The arms of the Republic [Rome], sometimes vanquished in battle, always victorious in war, advanced with rapid steps to the Euphrates, the Danube, the Rhine and the ocean; and the images of gold, or silver, or brass, that might serve to represent the nations and their kings, were successively broken by the iron monarchy of Rome.” Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 3, ch. 38, pg. 634.

Feet of Iron & Clay — The Division AD 476 – ?

Daniel 2:41-43 “Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.”

To our human thinking, we would expect that a fifth empire would conquer the fourth of iron, but that is not what God foresaw and that is not what happened. Instead of a fifth world power arising, God predicted a breakup, a fragmentation of the legs of iron. Was this fulfilled? From the years AD 351 until AD 476, barbarian tribes swept across Western Europe, dividing up the once mighty Roman Empire. There were the Anglo-Saxons who went to the shores of England, the Franks who established France, the Alemanni who built Germany, the Burgundians, Vandals, Ostrogoths, Suevi, Heruli, Lombards, and the Visigoths—ten in number.

Rome was divided and God had predicted that it would never again unite. Many have tried to reverse this prophecy, but to no avail. Charlemagne in the 800’s, Charles V, Louis XIV, Napoleon, Hitler, but not one has been able to prove the vision of Daniel to be false. Napoleon declared, “I wanted to found a European system, a European code of law, a European court of appeals.” Europe would have become one nation, one people. But that was not what God had foretold. When Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo, he said, “God Almighty has been too much for me.” God’s Word has said, “They will not adhere to one another,” and not once from the ages of Rome have those words been contradicted. God’s Word is sure. When we see those who are trying to unite Europe again, on the authority of God’s never-failing Word, we know that it will once again end in miserable disaster.

The Challenge Answered

In the sixth century BC, when this foundational prophecy was given, the Lord gave a panoramic view of what is now world history. Any history student today studies the rise and fall of these four successive empires, but when this vision was given it was still a prediction. Today that prediction has been fulfilled so accurately that none dare doubt that our God can see what will transpire in the last days from the very beginning. If this prophecy had failed, every skeptic in the world would have heralded high and low that God’s Word had failed and it could not be trusted, but you have never heard this once. Why? Because the sure word of prophecy has not failed, but has proven God’s ultimate challenge.

Let’s apply the law of chance to this prophecy to see the odds of this prophecy just fulfilling by chance. In the law of chance if you had ten numbers from one to ten in a box, you would have a one in ten chance of pulling out the number one. If you put the number one back in the box, you would have a one in one hundred chance of picking out the number two. You would then have a one in one thousand chance of randomly pulling out the number three and so on. In this prophecy there are at least fifteen points that must occur in that exact order. (The four empires, Rome dividing into ten fragments, and Europe never reuniting.) The law of chance states that for all fifteen of these events to happen in that exact order, you would have one chance in 437,890,893,380,859,375 tries. Was it just a coincidence that this prophecy was fulfilled to the very letter? Not a chance in the world. God has proven beyond doubt that He alone can accurately foretell the future and that His Holy Book is a sure guide that we can trust, but one last act in this foundational prophecy is seen. Turning to the next prophetic chapter in Daniel, we see the arrival of the antichrist.

The Antichrist Arises!

Daniel 7:8, 23-25  I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.... Thus he said: “The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; he shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings. He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.”

The antichrist must arise sometime after the division of Rome and sometime before the next major event brought to view in the vision of the metal man. As we look to Daniel 7, we find this very event predicted. A horn, a little one with eyes and a mouth speaking great words, arises from the fourth beast, corresponding with the fourth metal of Daniel 2. Although we are unable to study this extensively, we will positively identify this power another time, but for now, a few quick notes. Several identifying criteria can be noted:

·         He was to arise after the division of Rome.

·         He was to arise from the Roman empire.

·         He was to arise not too long after the division of Rome.

The antichrist could not arise before Christ, as some think, because it had to arise after Rome was divided. To look for the antichrist before the division of Rome is trying to find a figure not yet present. You will not find him in history before the break-up of Rome, no matter how hard you look.

Secondly, the antichrist must arise from the shambles of the Roman empire. Some want to look to South America. Others look to Asia and still others look to Jerusalem for where the antichrist is to arise, but all these are looking in the wrong place. Imagine a man scanning the sky to find the big dipper. He looks night after night, but to no avail. He uses all the charts and information he can, but from his observatory in Antarctica, he never spots it. No matter how hard he looks, he will never find it. Why? Because he is looking in the wrong place. You can not find the big dipper and the northern star from the southern hemisphere. So many today are looking hard all around the world for the antichrist, but they are looking in the wrong place. You will only be able to find the antichrist arising from the break-up of the Roman empire and no where else.

Our third point is that it was going to arise not too long after the division of Rome. Daniel saw this power arising right during this time period. There was not a span of millennia in between because it was even going to be involved in the division of Rome, even plucking up three of the other horns.

So the arrival of the antichrist was to come sometime after the division of Rome; he was to arise from the territory of the Roman empire and was going to arise not too long after its break up; but the most important event of all brought to view in the prophecy is the overthrow of the antichrist’s kingdom and the setting up of an everlasting kingdom.

The Everlasting Empire

Daniel 2:44-45  And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.

Although the prophecy pictures the rise and fall of world empires, the din and strife of the world, God does not leave us without hope. After portraying the history of this world, He opens to our view the greatest promise that He could give. The earthly kingdoms rose and waned. Nebuchadnezzar wanted Babylon to endure for ever, but it lies a heap of ruins in the desert. Although earthly powers will fail, God is so soon going to set up a kingdom that will never pass away. A kingdom in which the bloodshed and injustice in our world will cease. A kingdom with no sorrow, pain or death—and best of all a kingdom that will know no end. In the days of a divided Europe and divided world, God will send the rock which will dash all the kingdoms of this world into pieces.

Matthew 21:42-44  “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?” Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”

Revelation 3:20-21  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

The Rock that will become a kingdom that will fill the entire world is none other than Christ Jesus, our Lord. If we want to become a part of that perfect, everlasting kingdom, all we have to do is open the door of our heart to Him and let Him in. Do you want to be a citizen of that kingdom? That kingdom finally gives stability to your life in this world of change. Will you open your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ tonight and allow Him in? Will you allow Him to be the Lord of your life so that you can live with Him through eternity?