Daniel Chapter 8

It is my intent to try to get through the book of Daniel before I hit the road and move to Chicago, which means to outline how things I'm hoping will be going. Today we're going to go through Daniel 8. So if you'd like, you can turn over to Daniel 8. I'll be gone next weekend, and then the weekend after. We're going to do just four verses in Daniel 9. The bulk of Daniel 9 is a prayer of repentance by Daniel. I think that you can study that on your own and learn tremendous lessons about prayers of repentance by studying his prayer. But the last four verses of chapter 9 is called the 70-weeks prophecy. That is a very detailed prophecy, one of the most detailed prophecies in all of the Bible. I'm going to spend a full sermon just on those four verses. It's important to understand that prophecy because it shows when, hundreds of years before Christ was to walk the earth as a human, it shows when Christ is going to start his ministry, how long his ministry is going to last, and even what day of the week Christ is going to be crucified. So that's the last four verses of Daniel 9. The next Sabbath I'm going to be a little out of order. I'm going to take chapter 10 and chapter 12 in terms of the material. I think it can accomplish that in one Sabbath. And then the last Sabbath, May 28, that I'm here with you, I hope to go through Daniel chapter 11, which is the longest continuous prophecy in the scriptures.

So that is my goal. We'll see if that happens. Pray that I stay well and that that can go on. Okay, let's go over to Daniel chapter 8. As you know, in the days when Daniel was living, Judah and the beloved capital city of Jerusalem had been completely destroyed. The Jews are now living as exiles. Thousands upon thousands had been murdered by the Babylonians. Those who weren't murdered were taken into slavery. Daniel was taken into slavery. Other noble men and their children were taken into slavery so that the Babylonian kingdom could brainwash them and use them for the benefit of Babylon. Of course, we know as we've studied in previous chapters, Daniel didn't allow himself to be brainwashed. He stood very tall for God. He wouldn't eat the things he shouldn't eat. He made sure he followed the great God and went into follow the teachings religiously of the Babylonians. And that's certainly a good example for all of us. So having given that a little bit of background, let's go right into chapter 8. And if you've got something to mark this, because we're going to go to other locations today, please look at chapter 8 of Daniel. It says, In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that appeared to me the first time. I saw in the vision, and so it happened while I was looking, that I was in Shushan, the Citadel, which is in the province of Elem, and I saw in the vision that I was by the river Uli. Now, the time element here for verses 1 and 2 is roughly 548 B.C.

Two years have passed since Daniel's previous vision of the four beasts that we saw there in chapter 7. Daniel is now in a deep sleep, his face to the ground. He's transported in vision to the river Uli, and he's near the city of Shushan. From a historical perspective, Shushan was not a major city, but it was the winter residence of the Persian kings. And in terms of a little bit of history, two of the more prominent citizens that you know from Bible history that lived in Shushan were the young woman by the name of Esther and also Nehemiah.

I'm getting a little bit of feedback. I don't know if you're hearing that, Brian, but a little bit of feedback. Okay, verse 3. Then I lifted my eyes and saw there, standing beside the river, was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and a higher one came up last. So if you've got a chart I handed out to you some time ago, what I call the Beast Chart.

If you take a look at your Beast Chart, you'll see that in Chapter 8 of Daniel, this ram corresponds to the Persian Empire. A ram which had two horns. So this Persian Empire was really a combination of the Medes and the Persians. That's why you have two horns there. And it says the two horns were high. Now, prophetically, what that means is they were higher than all the other nations around them. They had succeeded in overcoming the nations around them and were the dominant power in the region.

It says, but one was higher than the other. And we know from history that eventually the Persians were the dominant force in the Medo-Persian Empire. So this is what we've got happening in verse 3. Verse 4, I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no animal can withstand him, nor was there any that could deliver him from his hand.

But he did it according to his will and became great. And so we see how the Persian Empire expanded. It did not expand to the east. It did not expand toward India. It was unstoppable. It was a charge west, north and south. It terrorized various nations. It captured Babylon, Syria, Asia Minor, and invaded certain areas of Greece, which is going to come to play a little bit later in this chapter. To the north, Persia conquered Armenia, and the Caspian Sea area, moving southward, Cyrus and his successors conquered Egypt and Ethiopia. So at that time, the Persian Empire was the largest empire that that part of the world had ever seen.

Okay? We go into verse 5 now. And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had a notable horn between its eyes. So now we see a switch in terms of powers that are on the scene. Verse 5 is talking about another power that's going to overcome the Persians. And we know that this power is Greece. Okay? So what we're looking at says here that they were moving across the whole earth, verse 5, without touching the ground.

In other words, it's like this group of people, this army, was flying. And of course, up until the time of Adolf Hitler and his Third Reich and their blitzkrieg of Europe, no army had marched farther and faster than Alexander the Great's army. And so that's what it's talking about here. Without touching the ground, like as though they're flying, they're moving so quickly. And the goat, and in verse 5, had a notable horn between his eyes. Horn is symbolic of power. There was a power driving this animal, this empire, and the notable horn was Alexander the Great. Verse 6, Then he came to the rand that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power.

Now, if you know a little bit about your world history, you know that Persia had attacked Greece. That angered Alexander and the Greeks. You probably have heard the story about the 300 Spartans at the pass of Thermopylae, and Xerxes and the army that was going against Greece at that time. Well, this enraged the Greek people. And so we see here in verse 6 that Alexander the Great is coming for some vengeance against the Persians.

He's coming with furious power. Verse 7, I saw him confronting the ram. He was moved with rage against him, attacked the ram, broke his two horns. So this is symbolic of Alexander the Great breaking the power of the Persian Empire. Middle of verse 7, There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him to the ground and trampled him, and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand.

So just as the Persian emperor had been strong and nobody could withstand the Persian Empire, it came to the place where it was now Greece's turn to be the dominant power in the area.

And brethren, this is important. It's important on a number of levels. But one of the great reasons this is important toward us, for us, is the language that Alexander's empire spoke. That Greek is the Greek that the New Testament is written in. And so we have a cultural influence here because of Alexander conquering the known world there in the Middle East. You know, the Greek language became the dominant language in international trade and commerce and literature and so forth. And it was the language in which the Bible, the New Testament, specifically, not all the Bible, but the New Testament, was written. Verse 8, Therefore the male goat grew very great, but when he became strong, the large horn was broken.

And as you know from world history, Alexander the Great basically conquered the whole world.

But then he died. Alexander the Great died in his early 30s. And that's what we're looking at in verse 8. The large horn was broken. That's referring to Alexander the Great. And in place of it, four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven. Now again, you know your world history. You know that Alexander had four great generals. They divided the empire between the four generals. Cassander took Greece and Macedon. Lysimachus took Thrace and Asia Minor or Turkey. Seleucus, which we're going to see about Seleucus later on in this chapter. Seleucus took all of Asia except Turkey and Palestine. And Ptolemy took Egypt and Palestine. So Palestine was under a couple of protectors there. Now we see something very interesting. And this is what's kind of driving the rest of the chapter. And out of one of them came a little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the glorious land.

Now chapter seven of Daniel talks about a little horn. Chapter eight talks about a little horn, but they're not the same. Chapter seven's little horn comes out of the Roman empire and has a religious affiliation to it. In Daniel chapter eight, this comes out of Greece and is totally secular. And we need to understand it. This is why prophecy can be so misunderstood by people. They don't know which way to carve up these prophecies, but God with His Holy Spirit instructs us how this should be. Of course, there are a number of historians who also see the truth in what I'm telling you here. And this is how the Church has always discussed this particular section of Scripture. So in verse nine, we see that He was great toward the south and toward the glorious land. And so what we're looking at is a man by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus Epiphanes. He came under General Seleugus, and he didn't have a very long reign, Antiochus Epiphanes, but a very eventful one. He was the eighth king of the Syrian dynasty. They ruled from 175 to 164 BC. Now, the significance of Antiochus, and we've got to be very careful here to appreciate what I'm about to say. It is evident as we go through the Scriptures here that there are some duality here. There are some parallels between Antiochus Epiphanes and the end-time Antichrist. And the end-time Antichrist is something we need to know about, because there's a good chance you and I are going to live during the time of the end-time Antichrist. People want to say, well, how do I know him when he's on the face of the earth? Well, in chapter eight here, we're going to see a number of different clues that show us how the Antichrist will act, what he's going to do. But we do need to realize that Antiochus Epiphanes was a secular ruler, but there are these parallels. So you've got this, verse nine, this Antiochus Epiphanes. And then we go to verse 10. And it grew, this little horn, Antiochus grew up to the host of heaven, and cast it down some of the hosts, and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. So how do we understand verse 10? How can any man grab stars out of the heavens and trample them on the ground? Well, a man can't do that. In the Bible, angels are referred to as stars. Can a man grab an angel and trample them underfoot? No, they're too powerful. So what are we understanding about verse 10 here? Well, let's go way back to Genesis chapter 15.

Genesis chapter 15. We have a discussion that God has with Abram, whose name was going to be changed to Abraham. Genesis chapter 15 and verse 1. After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward. But Abram said, Lord God, what will you give me? See, I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eleazar of Damascus. Then Abram said, Look, you have given me no offspring. Indeed, one born of my house is my heir. Verse 4. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, This one shall not be your heir. The one who will come from your own body shall be your heir. Now verse 5 is the key. Then he brought him outside and said, Look now toward the heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them. And he said, So shall your descendants be.

So here you see where the scriptures show that the children of Abraham are likened to stars. Now we go back to Daniel chapter 8, and we see that this Antiochus Epiphanes is going to cast down some of the stars, some of the people of God. In his day it was the Jews. And he said that he's going to trample them. And of course, that is something that Antiochus Epiphanes did.

He went afterward to tell the people, the Jews, the people of God. Verse 11, Daniel chapter 8, verse 11, He even exalted himself as high as the prince of the host. Now we're going to, you know, what we see, well let's continue on the rest of the, let's read the whole verse here. He even exalted himself as high as the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of a sanctuary was cast down. So here in verse 11 we see more about Antiochus, but we also see something else regarding the Antichrist. Here in verse 11 we see a parallel where you've got an individual who is going to exalt himself to the place where he calls himself God. And we see that in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2. I'm not going to turn there at this point. We'll go back over there later on today. So here we see where Antiochus is exalting himself as high as the prince of the host, the prince of God's people, Jesus Christ, and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of the sanctuary was cast down. And so this Antiochus is going to go to war with God's people and work to the place where they won't be able to properly worship. Satan hates the worship of the true God. That's what Antiochus was doing. But that's what the end-time Antichrist is going to do as well. Let's continue on. Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices. So as Antiochus had an army, so will the end-time Antichrist have an army. You know, we're not just looking at some charismatic preacher who's going to come on the world scene. This preacher is going to have force behind him. As you and I study the book of Revelation, we see the beast power that is spoken of. And of course, the Antichrist will control that beast power. Verse 12, because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices and cast the truth down to the ground. And he did all this and prospered. So God is going to allow there to become a time when the saints will be persecuted. Remember in Revelation, where the saints by Envision, they were under the altar. This is a vision. And they say, how long before you come Jesus? And the word is said, well, not until your fellow sermons, the saints, will be martyred like you were. Well, that's what this is talking about. And I bring that up, brethren, because sometimes people want to talk about a place of safety. And people get in their minds at the end of the age, every Christian is going to be safeguarded, and no one's going to be touched. Well, that idea is simply not biblical. Jesus Christ was touched. 11 of the 12 apostles were horribly touched. People in Hebrews 11 were touched. Who are we to say we're just going to walk through the worst time the Bible says the world has ever known, and we will walk through this all without a scratch. Let's not be naive. That's why, brethren, we have got to know what we believe and why we believe it. We've got to be rock solid, because when somebody is wanting to hurt you or your family, when they're telling you, you can't buy or trade or go to Kroger's and buy groceries because you keep that Sabbath, or you keep those holy days, then we better know why we do what we do. Right? And it says here, verse 12, he prospered. Things are going really well. God allows this. This is God's will for this to happen, because it's going to toughen up God's people. Verse 13, then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking. Now, first part of verse 13, who are we looking at here? We're talking about holy ones. We're talking about holy righteous angels here.

Middle verse 13, how long will the vision be concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation? This transgression of desolation is referred to in Matthew 24 as the abomination of desolation. When, you know, back in Antiochus' day, he brought in this wine, sacrificed them on the altar there in Jerusalem. But in our day, there's going to be some kind of sacrifices begun in the Holy Land. There doesn't have to be a full temple built, but there has to be at least an altar. Sacrifices will be taking place, and then they're going to be stopped.

That's a watershed event, brother. This is something you would say, what do we look for? This is something we want to look for. And, of course, people in the world even know that. That's why you always hear these rumors. Ah, they've got marble coming out to the docks in Jerusalem, and they're going to be building this temple. You hear that all the time.

If all that marble actually ever came, they would have had 10 or 15 temples by now.

But it hasn't happened yet. But all they need is a place to sacrifice. They don't need a full temple.

So how long is this going to happen? Verse 14, he said to me, For 2300 days, then a sanctuary shall be cleansed. So here you've got a prophecy, the 2300 days prophecy. People have had a lot of different thoughts about what this means. But in verse 14, it says, For 2300 days. And if you have a center margin, like I do, mine has a little one next to the word days. You go to the center margin. It says, Evening Morning. So in the language here, and it's interesting what God has done with language, the first part of Daniel, when it's written to God's people, is in Hebrew. Then from chapter 2 through chapter 7, where it's dealing with the Gentile word, that's all in Aramaic. And now starting in chapter 8 here and going through the end of the chapter, it's back in Hebrew because it's talking about God's people. So here in verse 14, where it's talking about these days, it could probably refer to the sacrifices. And there were two a day. There was a morning sacrifice and there was an evening sacrifice.

So what you would get here is not 2300 days, but 1150 days. And isn't it interesting that when Antiochus desecrated the temple in 168 BC, three years later, under the Maccabees in 165 BC, that the Jews celebrate Hanukkah with regard to this, the temple was cleansed.

So this is, again, just more evidence about the tremendous veracity of what Daniel's writing here. And, of course, next time we're together two weeks from now, when we take a look at the 70 weeks prophecy at the very end of chapter 9 of Daniel, and you see where it talks about using... and it's very going to be very complex, so you bring your thinking gaps. But when you see where it's going to say, here's when Christ is going to start his ministry, here's how long his ministry is going to be, here's the day of the week he's going to be killed, be cut off. That's also very astounding. We go to verse 15 of Daniel chapter 8. Then, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision, was seeking the meaning that something there stood before me, one having the appearance of a man.

Who's this? And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Uli, who called and said, Gabriel, make this man understand the vision. Now, what individual who can have the appearance of a man can command a holy, righteous archangel, Jesus Christ. So, he came near where I stood, and when he came, I was afraid, and I fell on my face. But he said to me, understand, Son of Man, that the visions refer to the time of the end. So, brother, we're not just speculating here in vain. The scriptures themselves tell us that there are parallels here for our day today. And Gabriel was one who brought messages, right? He's come to Daniel. He's going to go keep on coming to Daniel. He went to Mary to discuss with her who she was going to have as a son and so forth. Verse 18, Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground, but he touched me and stood me upright. He said, Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time. Again, a date stamp here. There's end time fulfillment here.

In the latter time of the indignation, for at the appointed time the end shall be. And then, very clearly, notice what it says here in verse 20, The ram which you saw having the two horns, they are the kings of media in Persia. Don't have to be, you know, a lot of speculation here. The Bible just tells us what the one ram was. And the male goat, verse 21, is the kingdom of Greece, the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king, Alexander the Great. As for the broken horn and the forested up in place are the four kingdoms. We've talked about those four generals.

The four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power. Now, why would it say this? Well, the empire under Alexander was the most powerful empire the world had seen to that point. But then, when you divide something in portions, you weaken it. Now, combine the four generals had the same power as before, but they were, you know, kind of started going their own separate ways. Verse 23, Notice the dates down again. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features who understand sinister schemes.

The end of the age. Somebody's going to arise, says, when transgressors have reached their fullness. Remember how we, on several occasions, brethren, have gone back to the book of Genesis regarding the flood, and we saw that God said, you know, the fullness of their sins have come upon them. And God said, I've given them slack, I've given them rope, but there comes a point where enough's enough, and that's when God brought the flood. And what does the Bible say about the end time, as in the days of Noah, when transgressions have reached their fullness? So, again, you and I watch what's happening on world news, we watch what's happening on national news and local news, we say, how much worse can it get? Well, apparently a lot worse. I was talking with somebody on the night to be. They were talking about, we were talking about child rearing, and they were lamenting the fact that in their little community, on a school bus, little children in fourth and fifth grade, same sex, having, trying to have relations with one another. On a school bus, little kids in the fourth and fifth grade. That's what this world is coming to. And you know what? The people who make our laws are going to make it to the point where, you know, if you have young children or young grandchildren, you don't want to see them going into the public school system. Not with those sorts of things being taught. So, you know, we are living in Sabbath and Gomorrah.

Verse 24, his power shall be mighty, but not on his own power. So there's another power fueling both Antiochus, Epiphanes, and also the end-time Antichrist. He shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive. God's going to allow this. He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. He shall destroy the holy people. In Antiochus's day, it was the Jews. In the Antichrist's day, they're coming after us. Verse 25, through his coming, he shall cause deceit, the prosper under his rule. He shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the prince of princes. What does it say there in the 2nd Thessalonians? Sitting in the temple of God, saying he is God. He shall even rise against the prince of princes, but he shall be broken without human means. When you study history, and you study Antiochus, Epiphanes, and you see how he died, he did not die in battle. He did not die at the hand of an assassin. His body was wracked with pain and worms, and he was just eaten throughout some sort of horrendous disease. It was by the hand of God. The Antichrist is also going to die by the hand of God. Verse 26, an Envision of the evening and morning. Notice that's why we believe it's the 1,150 days, not the 2,300 days, E-D-E, the morning sacrifice. An Envision of the evenings and mornings, which is cold, is true. Therefore, set up the vision for refers to many days in the future. So there are future parallels here. Verse 27, An I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days. Afterward, I arose and went about the king's business. I was astonished. I was amazed by the vision, but no one understood it. Well, we understand it. Now, what I would like to do from this point out, we're not done with the sermon by a stretch. We've done Chapter 8, but we're not done. I would like to share with you some of the traits of both Antiochus, Epiphanes, and the Antichrist. Now, in your notes, I don't know how you want to do this. I've got eight of these, eight different things. For each of the eight, I'm going to give you what they share in common. I'm going to give you a scripture for Antiochus. I'm going to give you a scripture for the Antichrist. I don't know if you want to draw a line halfway down your paper. Divide your paper into right-hand side, left-hand side. I don't know how you want to work it, but let's get into it. Number one, number two, number three, number four, number five, number six, number seven, number nine. Both Antiochus and the Antichrist will rise when sin reaches its height. Both Antiochus and the Antichrist will rise when sin reaches its height.

I've actually keep a marker in Chapter 8 of Daniel. Let's go to Daniel Chapter 8 in verse 23.

Daniel 8.23. And in the latter time, talk about the end of the age, in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, when the world is horribly, horribly wicked.

So this is one of the... when you're looking for telltale signs about the Antichrist, this is one of the telltale signs. Now, keep a marker here in chapter 8 of Daniel. Let's go to Matthew 24. Let's see the end time fulfillment of this. Matthew 24.

Matthew 24 in verse 12.

And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. Lawlessness will abound. Now, brethren, understand, this Scripture is specifically talking about the true church of God. And if lawlessness is abounding among some in the true church, how much more so those in the world? How much more so those in the world? We drop down to verse 15. Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, let him understand. So notice you've got the world incredibly wicked lawlessness abounding, and you've got this abomination of desolation. This cessation of sacrifices in the temple. These are all things that come together when you begin to see these things. People say Christ can't come at any day. There are certain things that have to biblically be fulfilled. And this is one of those things. Turn, if you would, please, to 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2. 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2.

Verse 3 and 4. 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 3 and 4.

Well, it says, "...let no one deceive you by any means, for that day will not come, unless the falling away comes first. And the man of sin..." You know, we can call this individual a number of things. We can call them the antichrist. We can call them the man of sin.

We can call them the son of perdition, as it says here at the end of verse 3. Verse 4. "...who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." Now, again, brethren, what are we looking for at the end of the age? We're looking for somebody probably going to be very charismatic, who can perform signs and miracles. There'll be lying signs and miracles.

Just as the magicians in Pharaoh's court were able to make things appear, God allowed Satan to work those sorts of things, the same thing will be true in our day.

When we see these lying wonders, and when an individual is walking around the earth, doing these lying wonders, people will say, you know, he's got to be God. What he's doing, he's got to be God. No, he's going to be the Antichrist. So, number one was both Antiochus and the Antichrist will arise when sin has reached its height. Number two, number two, both Antiochus and the Antichrist will be powered by Satan. Both Antiochus and the Antichrist will be powered by Satan. Daniel 8, verse 24. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power.

There is another power behind this individual, and that power is Satan's power. If you are still there in 2 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 9.

This is regarding the Antichrist, 2 Thessalonians 2.9. The coming of the lawless one, there's another name for him, the Antichrist, the son of Perdition, you know, any number of names, man of sin. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan with all power signs and lying wonders.

Now, do we see somebody on earth who's doing that now? No, we don't.

But there's coming a time when we will see somebody like this. And brethren, we need to be aware, because the Scripture is taught, especially in Matthew 24, says if it were possible, even the saints would be deceived. We have to know what we believe. And we have to know the counterfeit article when it's shown to us. So, number two is both the Antichrist and Antiochus will be powered by Satan. Number three, number three of the eight.

Both Antiochus and the Antichrist will cause widespread devastation. They'll cause widespread devastation. Daniel 8, verse 24. About the middle of the verse, he shall destroy fearfully and shall prosper and thrive. He shall destroy the mighty and also the holy people. So, we're looking at Antiochus who did his part against the Jews of his day. And I won't go for you know, you can read in history what Antiochus did to the Jews.

How he murdered little innocent babies. What he did to mothers who had their children circumcised. I mean, it was horrendous. I'm not going to get into that because it will. That's why it says at the end of chapter 8 of Daniel, Daniel just was stunned when he saw the depravity that was taking place. And that depravity will be in our day as well. We saw that with Adolf Hitler. We're going to live in worse times than when Adolf Hitler and Joe Stalin walked the earth.

Revelation chapter 16. Let's see the Antichrist and his widespread devastation. Revelation chapter 16. Revelation chapter 16 verse 12. Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl in the great river Euphrates, same part of the world. And its water was dried up so the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. And I saw three unplanned spirits, demons. I mean, when Satan realizes how short his time is, the demon world just springs forward. There's no, you know, they are just unleashed. Then I saw the three uncleaned spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, not of Satan's mouth, out of the mouth of the beast. This is a political power. And out of the mouth of the false prophet, the Antichrist. These are spirits of demons performing signs which go out to the kings of the earth and to the whole world and to gather them together for that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I am coming as a thief, blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments lest he walks naked and they see his shame. So Christ says, Be spiritually aware, he's saying in verse 15. He says, I'm coming as a thief. You don't know when thieves come. They don't announce when they're coming. They just show up. But it says, Blessed is he who watches. And today, brethren, we're giving you some things to look out for, some things to watch. And who keeps his garments. In other words, not only should we be watching world events, but we need to be watching ourselves spiritually. It does no good for us to know all the signs of the Antichrist, but for us to be living in a way that's ungodly. Our protection is a godly life.

If we're living a godly life, God will be there for us. Verse 16, and they gathered them to get it to the place called in Hebrew Armageddon.

So number three, both Antiochus and Antichrist would cause widespread devastation. In our day, we call it World War Three. Number four, both Antiochus and the Antichrist will seek to exterminate those who trust in God. And both Antiochus and his day against the Jews and the Antichrist in our day against the people of God will seek to exterminate us.

Last section of chapter 8, verse 24 of Daniel, he shall destroy the mighty and also the holy people. The holy people. In the Old Testament times, it was the Jewish people. In the New Testament times, it's New Covenant believers, New Covenant Christians. Revelation chapter 13. Let's look at that.

Here's the fulfillment in our day, what the Antichrist will do. Revelation 13, verse 7.

Revelation 13, 7. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them.

And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.

So this individual, this Antichrist, is extremely powerful. He's working in conjunction with a powerful political entity that is comprised of a number of nations. And it says, he will make war with the saints and overcome some of them. In other words, there will be an anti-martyrdom. Chapter 15, same chapter, Revelation 13, 15. And he was granted power to give breath of the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should go speaking, cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. In other words, what we're looking at there in verse 15, brother, and as you and I are looking at our own Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego moments.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had to stare that that furnace in the face. There's going to come a day when you and I will do if Christ is coming in our day, we will be in that same situation, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. That's why it's important for us to read those biblical examples and to learn and to have not the strength to be able to endure to the end. Number five. Both Antiochus and the end-time Antichrist will use deceit to achieve their goals.

Both Antiochus and the Antichrist will use deceit to achieve their goals.

Daniel chapter 8 verse 25. Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule.

To prosper under his hand. So, you know, we're talking about somebody who enjoys lying, who is the father of lying, who is the father of murder, who is the father of sin, who is the inventor of sin, of iniquity. It's obviously Satan the devil. Second Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 4.

Second Thessalonians 2.4. He talks about who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped. So he sits as God in a temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Talk about deceit. Talk about vanity. Talk about, you know, all those horrible sins of aggrandizement and ego, pride like Wayne was talking about in his sermonette today. Antiochus in the Old Testament, the Antichrist in the New are going to consider themselves above everybody else. Okay, number seven. Number seven. Number six. Can I skip one?

Okay, let me... Number five. Antiochus and the Antichrist would use deceit for their goals. Let's go back to Revelation chapter 13.

I was getting so excited in this, I think I skipped one.

Revelation chapter 13 and verse 14.

Revelation 13 and 14. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he is granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast, who was wounded by the sword and lived. And so again, you've got two entities here. You've got a religious entity and a political entity. And the religious entity is telling people to worship the political. And if they don't follow what the political says, then the political is going to put them to death. The religious entities say, my hands are clean to the matter. The church is going to be the one who says, you know, I think you need to go and take care of that family over there. And that's what's going to happen. So that's number five, talking about deceit. Number six is that the Antiochus and the Antichrist would consider themselves superior.

They would consider themselves superior. So back to Daniel 8 again.

We've covered one of these scriptures before. Chapter 8, verse 25, middle of verse 25, is that he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall exalt himself in his heart. So we're going to see somebody who is exalted in their own thinking, in their own heart. And now I gave you second Thessalonians 2.4, which goes with number six there. I've already read that for you. So let's move on to chapter number seven, our list. Number seven, both Antiochus and the Antichrist will attack and destroy people when they're living in peace and security. Daniel chapter 8, end of verse 25. It says, he shall destroy many in their prosperity. When times are good, you know, when times are good, people can get their eye off the ball. Satan understands that. He knows that. He knows our hot buttons. He knows where to push. He shall destroy many in their prosperity.

Now, the New Testament fulfillment, let's see 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5.

1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 1. The concerning of times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need I should write to you, for you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief and a night. So we've got a date stamp here. We're looking at the end time, the end of the age, the day of the Lord. It comes as a thief and a night. You don't know when thieves come. It comes unannounced. It comes upon you suddenly, unexpectedly. Now notice verse 3. For when they say, Peace and safety, then the sudden destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape. So in the midst of all the various things we've already talked about, there's going to be a lull. There's going to be, you know, this idea of peace and safety. The things are going well. There's a time of prosperity, and that's when Satan, this one, abounds. Lastly, number 8. Both Antiochus and the Antichrist will be destroyed by God himself.

By God himself. Daniel 8, verse 25, at the very end of their last sentence, it says, But he shall be broken without human means. He shall be broken without human hands.

God himself is going to take care of this entity. Two at last scriptures to look at, 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 8.

2 Thessalonians 2, verse 8. And then a lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth, and destroy with the brightness of his coming. It won't be left up to the saints to do battle with this Antichrist. It's up to Christ to do battle with the Antichrist, and Christ will prevail against the Antichrist. Revelation, last scripture for today, Revelation chapter 19.

Revelation chapter 19, verse 19. And I saw the beasts, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to make war against them who sat on a horse and against his army. Then the beast was captured, and within the false prophet, the Antichrist, the man of sin, the son of perdition, the lawless one, that's all the same individual. Then the beast was captured, and within the false prophet, who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast, and those who worship his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire, burning with brimstone. So again, Jesus Christ deals with the Antichrist. So, brethren, today we've taken a look at an historical figure, Antietas Epiphanes. But as Daniel chapter 8 shows again and again, there are parallels to the Antichrist to a religious individual at the end of the age. I'm hoping that we pay attention to these signals, these signs of who the Antichrist is, because he may well show up in our day today. Let us pray that you and I are close to God, and we don't have to be deceived by the Antichrist.