Daniel 7-The Rise of the Antichrist and the Revived Form of the Roman Empire
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday November 4, 2007
The Day of the Lord: Daniel 7-The Rise of the Antichrist and the Revived Form of the Roman Empire
Lesson # 7
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 7:1.
This morning we will temporarily suspend our studies in the book of Romans by continuing our series dealing with the prophetic subject called “the Day of the Lord,” which we conduct the first Sunday of every month when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper.
“The Day of the Lord” is “not” a literal twenty-four period but rather is an extended period of time beginning with God’s dealing with Israel after the rapture at the beginning of the tribulation period and extending through the 2nd Advent and the millennial age unto the creation of the new heavens and the new earth.
In our last two studies concerning the subject, we have noted the Tribulation Period, i.e. Daniel’s Seventieth Week in relation to the “Times of the Gentiles” since the former will bring an end to the latter.
This study will also help us to understand the first major event that will take place during the first half of the Tribulation period, namely, the rise of the revived Roman Empire under Antichrist.
In Luke 21:24, the Lord Jesus Christ makes mention of “the times of the Gentiles” in relation to the Tribulation period in His Olivet Discourse.
Luke 21:23-24, “Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people; and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
“The times of the Gentiles” refers to an extended period of time when the Gentiles are the dominant world powers and Israel is subject to those powers and extends from the Babylonian capture of Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzar (586 B.C.) and continues through the Tribulation (Revelation 11:2).
Concerning this study of the Tribulation period in relation to the Times of the Gentiles, we studied the prophecy that appears in Daniel chapter two, which views the Times of the Gentiles from the perspective of man.
We also studied the prophecy in Daniel chapter seven, which views the Times of the Gentiles from God’s perspective.
These two prophecies reveal that there will be a revived form of the Roman Empire during the Tribulation period under Antichrist, which will be destroyed by the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.
In Daniel 7, Daniel presents to us the record of the revelation he received from God of four beasts that correspond to the Nebuchadnezzar’s image in his dream that is recorded in Daniel 2 and both visions give us a panoramic vision of the Times of the Gentiles.
Daniel 7:1-4, “In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and related the following summary of it. Daniel said, ‘I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it.’”
The first empire symbolizes Babylon since the first beast corresponds to the head of gold in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel chapter two, which Daniel identified as being Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon (See Daniel 2:37-38).
Daniel 7:5, “And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, ‘Arise, devour much meat!’”
The bear symbolizes Medo-Persian since she conquered Babylon and corresponds to the arms of silver in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel chapter two.
Daniel 7:6, “After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.”
The leopard represents Greece since it corresponds to the sides of brass in Nebuchadnezzar’s image in Daniel chapter two.
Daniel 7:7, “After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.”
The fourth beast represents the Roman Empire since it corresponds to the legs of iron in the image that appeared in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel chapter two, which we noted represented the Roman Empire.
Daniel describes this fourth beast as having ten horns, which corresponds to the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar’s image in Daniel chapter two.
The ten horns do not represent a fifth kingdom but rather they grow out of the head of the fourth kingdom and are the last development of the beast, which corresponds to the ten toes on the image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel chapter two and refers to the Revived Roman Empire.
Daniel 7:8-10, “While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts. I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, its wheels were a burning fire. A river of fire was flowing and coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, and myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, and the books were opened.”
In Daniel 7:8-10, we have the vision of the Ancient of Days, God the Father in heaven just preceding the final destruction of Gentile world power and the Antichrist and the establishment of Jesus Christ’s millennial reign, which will take place at the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.
The Second Advent is the visible return of Christ to planet earth with the elect angels and the Church in order to terminate Daniel’s Seventieth Week, the Times of the Gentiles, deliver Israel from her enemies and establish Jesus Christ’s millennial reign resulting in the fulfillment of the four unconditional covenants to Israel (Dan. 2:44-45; Zech. 14; Mt. 24:29-31; Rev. 1:7; 19:11-21).
Daniel 7:11-12, “Then I kept looking because of the sound of the boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was granted to them for an appointed period of time.”
The little horn refers to the Antichrist since it is identified with the Revived Roman Empire and Daniel 7:19-26 describes it as waging war against God’s people up to the time of Jesus Christ’s Second Advent to establish His millennial reign, which corresponds to the depiction of the antichrist in Revelation (Daniel 7:11, 20-26; 8:25; Revelation 13:1-10; 19:20).
The Scriptures give the Antichrist many titles and names: (1) “The beast” (Revelation 13:1-2) (2) “The prince that will come” (Daniel 9:26-27) (3) The “man of lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-10) (4) The “scarlet beast” (Revelation 17:3) (5) The willful king (Daniel 11:36-40) (6) “The man of sin” (2 Thessalonians 2:3), (7) “The son of perdition” (2 Thessalonians 2:3) (8) The Desolater (Daniel 9:27).
He will not appear until the Day of the Lord has begun (2 Thessalonians 2:2) and his manifestation is being hindered by the Restrainer (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7) and this appearance will be pre¬ceded by the rapture of the church (2 Thessalonians 2:3).
Antichrist will be a Gentile since he arises from the sea according to Revelation 13:1 and since the sea depicts the Gentile nations according to Revelation 17:15, he must be of Gentile origin.
He will arise from the Roman Empire, since he is a ruler of the people who destroyed Jerusalem (Dan. 9:26).
Antichrist is the head of the last form of Gentile world dominion, for he is like a leopard, a bear, and a lion (Revelation 13:1; compare Daniel 7:7-8, 20,24; Revelation 17:9-11) and as such he is a political leader.
Daniel 7:13-20, “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within me, and the visions in my mind kept alarming me. I approached one of those who were standing by and began asking him the exact meaning of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: ‘These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth. But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come. Then I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet, and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head and the other horn which came up, and before which three of them fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts and which was larger in appearance than its associates.’”
Daniel 7:8 reveals that the little horn came after the ten horns, which represent ten kings, who were in existence and then were contemporaneous with them and uprooted three of the ten horns and was intelligent.
Daniel 7:11 revealed that the little horn was arrogant and boastful, which corresponds to the actions of the first beast in Revelation 13:6.
Daniel 7:21-22, “I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.”
Daniel 7:21-22 reveals the following regarding the little horn: (1) He will persecute the saints of the Most High and is thus a person and Daniel 7:24 says that he is a king. (2) He will overcome the nation of Israel and will bring that nation under his authority (Revelation 12:13-17; 17:7). (3) He will be judged by God (Revelation 19:19-20) and Israel will thus enter into her millennial reign.
Daniel 7:23, “Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it.’”
Daniel 7:23 reveals that the little horn will have a world-wide kingdom (Compare Revelation 13:7) and it will be an overwhelming conquest, which anticipates a coming one-world government under a worldwide dictator.
Daniel 7:24-25, “As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings. 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.”
Daniel 7:25 corresponds to Revelation 13:1-10 and gives us three more additional facts about the little horn: (1) He will oppose God’s authority as indicated by the phrase “He will speak out against the Most High” (Compare Revelation 13:6). (2) He will oppress born-again Israel as indicated by the statement “wear down the saints of the Highest One”. (3) He will introduce an entirely new era in which he will abandon all previous laws and institute his own system as indicated by the statement “he will intend to make alterations in times in law” (Compare Daniel 11:36-37; 2 Thessalonians 2:4).
Daniel 9:27a indicates that he will pretend to be Israel’s benefactor and make a treaty with her but will turn against her in the mid way point of Daniel’s Seventieth Week and will persecute Israel and occupy Jerusalem for three and a half years.
The expression “for a time, times, and a half time” refers to the last three and a half years of Daniel’s Seventieth Week called the “Great Tribulation” with “a time” meaning one year, “times” two years and “half a time” six months.
This equals the 1,260 days in Revelation 12:6 and the 42 months in Revelation 11:2 and 13:5.
Daniel 7:26, “But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever.”
Daniel 7:26 refers to the Supreme Court of Heaven, (God the Father) passing down the decision to remove the little horn’s power, which will take place at the Second Advent of Christ, which terminates Daniel’s Seventieth Week (See Revelation 19:11-20:6).
Daniel 7:27, “Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.”
Daniel 7:27 is a reference to the millennial reign of Christ that will follow the Second Advent of Christ and the judgments of Israel (Ezekiel 20:37-38; Zechariah 13:8-9; Malachi 3:2-3, 5; Matthew 25:1-30) and the Gentiles (Matthew 25:31-46).
Daniel 7:28, “At this point the revelation ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were greatly alarming me and my face grew pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”
This ten-nation confederacy that will take place in the future will be a revived form of the Roman Empire since it is portrayed in Daniel 2 and 7 as emerging from the fourth kingdom, Rome.
The little horn will seek to prevent Christ’s rule on the earth by attempting to destroy God’s covenant people Israel but his reign will be short, only three and a half years and will be terminated with the Second Advent of Jesus Christ who at that time will establish His millennial reign on earth in fulfillment of God’s covenant promises to Israel.
This prophecy concerning the little horn will take place in the future since no such ruler has attained world-wide rulership over a one-world government, no such ruler has subdued 3 of 10 kings who were ruling at once and no such ruler has persecuted Israel for three and a half years and no such ruler has been destroyed by the return of Jesus Christ!
This leads us to the communion service and so therefore, could we have the deacons pass out the communion elements and let us take a few minutes to meditate upon the Lord and prepare ourselves for the Lord’s Supper.
The Lord’s Supper is a commandment given by the Lord Jesus Christ to every church age believer to bring into remembrance His Unique Person and Finished Work on the Cross, both of which serve as the basis for fellowship with God and each other as members of the Body of Christ.
In the communion service, the bread portrays the sinless humanity of Christ, which was sacrificed for us and the wine portrays His spiritual death as our Substitute, both of which serve as the basis for fellowship with God and each other.
Luke 22:14, “When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him.”
Luke 22:15-16, “And He said to them, ‘I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’”
Luke 22:17-18, “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, ‘Take this and share it among yourselves for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.’”
Luke 22:19, “And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’”
Luke 22:20, “And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.’”
