Title Characteristics of the Antichrist (Daniel 11:36)
Contents
Lecture 116 Characteristics of the Antichrist (Daniel 11:36)
11:36
This king will do his will, exalting himself and saying he is greater than all gods, opposing the gods of gods with extraordinary words, and prospering until his wrath has ceased;
Antiochus, king of the north, becomes the shadow of the Antichrist who will appear in the end times. Verses 36 to 45 tell us about the characteristics of the Antichrist that will take place in the last days and the war of Armageddon, a great war that will be fought in the last days.
Verse 36 describes the five characteristics of the antichrist who will appear in the last days. The first is "this king does his own will". The second is, "He exalted himself and said he was greater than all gods." The third is "against the gods of gods with extraordinary words." The fourth is “Prosperity until wrath has ceased.” The fifth and final word is “For the decree will surely come to pass.” Let's take a brief look at each in turn.
The first characteristic is that "this king does his own will". Of course, "this king" here means primarily Antiochus, king of the north. But he is the shadow of the Antichrist who will appear in the last days. So the Antichrist, who is the reality of the king of the north, will also take on the same image. "Do what you want." The power of the Antichrist will be enormous. No one dares to challenge the power of the Antichrist. He will do whatever he pleases. His words will soon become law. As 7:25 says, he will "will change times and laws." That is why, in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, the Antichrist is called “the man of lawlessness”. He will repeal all the laws of the world and the laws of God, and he will do as he pleases. However, there is no way in the world that people who do their own will prosper until the end. We have no choice but to be judged by God. Even though our Jesus is God, he did not come to earth to do his own will, but to do God's will. The Antichrist will do everything according to his will. So we can foresee how tragic his end will be.
The third characteristic is "against the gods of the gods with extraordinary words." The god of gods refers to Jehovah God. He spoke against the true God with extraordinary words. It was that no one had ever heard blasphemous words against God. We have already looked at Dan 7 and 8. It is said that the little horn that symbolizes the Antichrist has a mouth that speaks big words. "Large words" are blasphemy against God. Antiochus Epiphanes, the shadow of the Antichrist, tore all the Bible, the Word of God, and burned it. He also gave orders to kill anyone who had the Bible. Even the Antichrist will blaspheme God with extremely blasphemous words, blaspheme Jesus Christ, and will spare no insulting remarks about God's Word, the Bible.
The fourth characteristic is "Prosperity until wrath has ceased." "Anger" means the wrath of God. It is the wrath of the people of Israel for their sins. God sent his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, but the Jews did not accept him, but rather crucified him. When Pilate tried Jesus, he washed his hands, saying, "I am not responsible for this man's blood." What did the Jews say then? "Crucify him. Let his blood be on us and on our children." Eventually, they wandered without a country for 2000 years. Also, six million Jews were slaughtered by Hitler, a shadow of the Antichrist. Also, in the last three and a half years of the last one out of the seventy weeks, there will again be unprecedented persecution against the Jews. Until the end of God's wrath against the people of Israel, the Antichrist will proceed with his work successfully.
The fifth characteristic is “for the things that are decreed will surely come to pass”. It seems that the Antichrist is doing what he wants, but in reality it is nothing more than what God has ordained. Only the Antichrist does the work of God.