"This king will do as he pleases. He will proudly claim to be greater
than any god and will insult the only true G-d. Indeed, he will be successful
until G-d is no longer angry with His people. 10He will show
no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women, nor
will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. Instead of
them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his fathers he
will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.
He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and
will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over
many people and will distribute the land at a price.
"At the time of the end, the king of the south will engage him in battle,
and the king of the north will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry
and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through
them like a flood. He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries
will fall, but Edom, Moab, and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from
his hand. He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape.
He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches
of Egypt, with the Libyans and Nubians in submission. But reports from the
east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to
destroy and annihilate many. He will pitch his royal tents between the seas
at the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one
will help him."11
"Earlier, I told you that the anti-messiah (antichrist) would probably come from
a country which was part of the old Roman Empire. I also think that his
country of origin would have been part of the Seleucid kingdom," Darryl
commented.
"That would be a country in the Middle East, like Syria," Brian
deduced.
"Yes, that's right. However, that is only speculation on my part and
there is no way of knowing for sure who he is or where he will come from
until the tribulation period," Darryl was quick to point out.
He continued, "The angel told Daniel that the anti-messiah (antichrist) will be selfish
and he will magnify himself above every god and he will curse the G-d of
heaven. II Thessalonians 2:4 states: 'He will oppose and will exalt himself
over everything that is called G-d or is worshipped, so that he sets himself
up in G-d's temple, proclaiming himself to be G-d.' The angel also told
Daniel that he will not worship the gods of his fathers. This is one reason
I do not believe he will be Jewish. If the angel was describing a Jewish
person, he would have said 'the G-d of his Fathers.'"
"What did the angel mean when he said he will not regard 'the one desired
by women?'" Jamie asked.
Elizabeth joined in, "The desire of every Jewish woman was to be the
mother of the promised messiah."
"So he won't have any respect for Yeshua (Jesus)," Brian surmised. He then
asked, "What does it mean that he will honor the god of fortresses?"
"Another way of saying it would be 'the god of war.' The anti-messiah (antichrist)
will be a military man. After he proclaims that he is G-d, there will be
one war after another until the end of the tribulation period. The anti-messiah (antichrist)
will reward those who support his efforts with land and make them rulers
over the various people who have been conquered. The angel described an
invasion of Israel by the armies of the south and the north. This will be
Syria and Egypt with their allies, coming against the anti-messiah (antichrist) in the
land of Israel. The anti-messiah (antichrist) will defeat Egypt along with many other nations.
He will take the spoils of war in Egypt. However, he will not be able to
take Jordan, which is made up of ancient Edom, Moab, and Ammon. Remember,
the Jewish people will flee into the mountains. We said earlier that Petra
is a natural fortress located in southern Jordan and it would make an excellent
fortress. It seems that G-d will make Petra off limits to the anti-messiah (antichrist)."12
"The angel said he will hear disturbing news from the north and the
east. What do you think it will be, Dad?" Jamie asked.
"I believe this will be reports of the armies of the world heading
to Israel for the battle of Armageddon. In Revelation 16:12, John tells
us that the river Euphrates will be dried up so that the kings of the east
can cross on dry ground. He also wrote in Revelation 9:16 that the army
from the east would be made up of 200,000,000 soldiers."
"That's an enormous army!" Brian cried.
"Yes, it is! This will be made up of various far east countries; China
is sure to be among them. Let me read from Zachariah 14:2-5 and verse 12.
'I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city
will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the
city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from
the city. Then the L-rd will go out and fight against those nations, as
He fights in the day of battle. On that day His feet will stand on the Mount
of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two
from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving
north and half moving south. You will flee by my valley, for it will extend
to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah
king of Judah. Then the L-rd my G-d will come, and all the holy ones with
him . . . This is the plague with which the L-rd will strike all the nations
that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still
standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their
tongues will rot in their mouths.'"
"That describes the second coming, doesn't it?" Brian asked.