This man has always been my personal choice as the man who shall rise from the dead. A careful study of a forgotten but very amazing prophecy in the end of the book of Daniel, is my reason. Let’s visit the book.
Most of the prophecy of Daniel 11 is so perfect that the critics have claimed that whoever wrote the book of Daniel simply pretended to be a prophet and when he came to the end of history, he just guessed the future, and was a bad guesser.
I approach the Book of Daniel as I do the entire Bible. It’s true. It’s all true. There was a Daniel. He did write a book. He wrote this book. An angel did appear to him. The angel told him the future, and here it is…
First, the end of the Persian Empire at the hands of the Greeks. Namely, Alexander. Next, Alexander dies and his kingdom is divided among his four main generals. The focus narrows then to only two of them, who become known as “the king of the North” and “the king of the South” in the text.
The conflict between these two kingdoms, namely the Syrian Empire and the Egyptian Empire, is spelled out from generation to generation, until in 11:21, the focus narrows even more. A vile king arises. We know him as Antiochus Epiphanes. A liar. A man convinced of his divinity, but truly a despicable man. A hater of Israel. He comes into conflict with the growing Roman Empire and is defeated. Later he dies a sickly death, eaten of worms. That historical figure would take us through Daniel 11:35.
But something happens in verse 36 that we are not ready for. Daniel sees things that have not indeed happened in our past. And verse 36 of Daniel 11 is the beginning of a series of events that take us right to the end of time!
A man rises to power, unopposed. He speaks out against God. He blasphemes. He is attacked by Egypt. And Syria. Meaning, this final king is outside the domain of both of these leaders. He enters into Israel and is destructive. But then come some armies against him. He takes a last stand. He is quickly defeated. A worldwide time of trouble is a part of all of this. Resurrections take place. Everlasting life is ushered in.
Daniel’s critics say, “See, the world has not ended. Daniel must be wrong!” The believer says, “There is a man coming that will continue the unfinished business of Antiochus Epiphanes. In fact, it may be the resurrected Antiochus himself.”
This latter section of Daniel 11 is indeed the antichrist , “number 8.” But his sudden appearance in a text dealing with the one we know to be Epiphanes makes us believe that this is the very same man, in an end-time context, where Syria and Egypt have new Kings, but the same animosity.
Paul even borrows from Daniel 11 when describing the man who will come in the last days. Daniel had actually seen him in chapters 8 and 9, but we’ll let those go for now. The bottom line here is that Antiochus, resurrected or not, fits the pattern of the antichrist-type men who have ruled in past ages, being directed by Satan to harm the people of God, and then take over the world. They have been cut down so far. Number eight will get a lot farther, but he too will pass to the Pit.
Older
Top
