The Anti-Christ: The Wilful King; Revelation 6:1-2; Daniel 11:36; 12:1

Revelation 6:2 ^NASB “I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.” The judgment here is a judgment where God allows an individual to conquer and to establish a global kingdom that will hold sway and tyrannise the human race during the Tribulation period. Each of the horsemen in this passage represent the judgment that is coming.

Daniel 11:1-35 give us a remarkable outline of what will take place in Israel’s future. In the context (vv. 11-13) Egypt is defined as the king of the south and Syria is defined as the king of the north. In vv. 21-35 we get a picture of the despicable king who is Antiochus Epiphanes. He stood as a type of the Antichrist in the ancient world. Now a shift occurs between vv. 35 and 36. Up to and through verse 35 we have history and beginning in verse 36 we have prophecy.

Daniel 11:36 ^NASB “Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done.” This is a shift to a future king and this is indicated by a number of things in the text. First of all we see that there is a break between Daniel 11:35 and 36, and this is typical of breaks that occur in other prophetic passages. Daniel 2:40 breaks before 2:41, Daniel 7:23 shows a break in time before Daniel 7:24. These are not unusual in Scripture. Another thing that shows that a break has occurred is the king mentioned in verse 36 is not the king in verse 35 is that none of the things that are described as relating to the king in vv. 36 to the end of the chapter have occurred. They did not occur in the life of Antiochus Epiphanes; but everything from 20-34 did occur precisely as revealed in Scripture. In verse 40 we see that this new king is distinguished from the king of the North, so that indicates he is not in the line of the Seleucids. Then in 12:1 ^NASB ““Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands {guard} over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time...” This mirrors what Jesus says about the Tribulation period in Matthew 24:21; that it is a time of unprecedented warfare, a time of unprecedented horror. Never at any time in history have these kinds of things happened. Jesus Himself interprets the material in Daniel 11:36 and following as future in His time, so these events have not taken place yet.

This king is described as the king who will do as he pleases. This fits with other passages that we find on the Antichrist. For example, in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 it is the mystery of lawlessness which is already at work and he is known as the lawless one. In Daniel 7:25 describing the little horn it is describing the Antichrist: “He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.” The point is that the Antichrist sets himself up as his own authority and he is going to be the ultimate reference point for law. He will seek to change traditional law and will set himself up as the tyrant who rules over history. He will not tolerate any other system or anyone else and will recognise no higher law or authority than himself. This is because he is indwelt and empowered by Satan. This is Satan’s last great attempt in history to be able to establish his kingdom on earth and show that he can rule the planet as god. The time when he truly does exalt himself over every other god is when he sets himself up to be worshipped as god, when he sets up his image in the holy of holies in the Tribulation temple and wants to be worshipped as god. The time for these events is near the first half of the Tribulation period leading up to his self-exaltation and overlapping the mid point of the Tribulation.

In 11:36 there is the emphasis on the fact that God as the sovereign God of the universe is going to allow him to prosper and to establish his kingdom only to bring it to its final and ultimate judgment. The phrase that he will “speak monstrous things” is really a mistranslation. The Hebrew word refers to miracles, so it is not that he is speaking monstrous things but he is speaking miracles and causing signs and wonders. Cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:9, 10 ^NASB “{that is,} the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.” So what is it that frees us from being deceived from anything? It is a knowledge of the truth. Those who have a love for the truth are those who are motivated to know the Word.

One of the most convicting chapters of Scripture is Nehemiah chapter eight. In that chapter the Jews have been back in the land for some 80-90 years and they really haven’t done a whole lot. Nehemiah was finally sent back by Artaxerxes to finish the rebuilding of the city and the walls and establishing them, and while they had been back in the initial return under Zerubbabel and later under Ezra the people had become spiritually complacent. Spiritual complacency always opens the door to spiritual deception because people just give lip service to the truth. They just give formal acknowledgement to Bible study. Positive volition is recognising that learning the Word of God and studying the Word of God isn’t just something I do, it is my life. That is what the love of the truth is.

So when we look at a passage like the one we have here we see that those who are deceived are those who “did not receive the love of the truth.” It goes beyond simply accepting Christ as Saviour because this is talking about the Tribulation period, Tribulation saints. It is not talking about justification salvation there, it is talking about deliverance from within the period of the Tribulation.

Illustrations