Daniel 9.27, 2 Thessalonians 2.3-4, Revelation 13.11-18-The World-Wide Worship of the Antichrist
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday June 1, 2008
The Day of the Lord: Daniel 9:27, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, Revelation 13:11-18-The World-Wide Worship of Antichrist
Lesson # 14
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 9:24.
This morning we will continue with our study of the prophetic subject called, “the Day of the Lord” by noting that during the middle of Daniel’s Seventieth Week, after Antichrist breaks his treaty with Israel and the destruction of the Russian led invasion of Israel by the Lord, the false prophet will cause the entire world to worship the image of Antichrist (Dan. 9:27; Mt. 24:15; 2 Th. 2:4; Rev. 13:14-15).
“Daniel’s Seventieth Week” refers to the last seven of the four hundred ninety prophetic years of Israel’s history, which is called by students of prophecy, “The Seventy Weeks of Daniel” and is recorded in Daniel 9:24-27.
A “week” in the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 refers to seven prophetic years of three hundred sixty days; therefore, the prophecy of the seventy weeks of Daniel refers to four hundred ninety prophetic years of Israel’s history.
“Daniel’s Seventieth Week” refers to a seven-year period that extends from Antichrist’s peace treaty with Israel after the rapture of the church to the Second Advent of Christ and is concerned with the nation of Israel exclusively and will be the worst period in all of Israel’s and the world’s history (Daniel 9:24-27).
This seven-year period is divided into two three and a half year periods with the first three and a half years characterized as a cold war (Mt. 24:6) whereas the last three and a half years are characterized as a hot war (Mt. 24:21-22).
This period will end with the Second Advent of Jesus Christ, which is the visible return of Christ to planet earth with the elect angels and the Church in order to deliver Israel from her enemies and establish Jesus Christ’s millennial reign (Dan. 2:44-45; Zech. 14; Mt. 24:29-31; Rev. 1:7; 19:11-21).
Daniel 9:24-27, “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”
“The people” refers to the Romans who destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 A.D. and the phrase “the prince who shall come” refers to the Antichrist.
Antichrist will be a Gentile since he arises from the sea according to Revelation 13:1 and the sea depicts the Gentile nations according to Revelation 17:15.
He will be a Roman since he is a ruler of the people who destroyed Jerusalem (Dan. 9:26) and Daniel 7:23 reveals that the little horn will have a world-wide kingdom (Compare Revelation 13:7).
In Daniel 9:27, the statement “he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week” refers to Antichrist making a seven year covenant with Israel, which actually begins Daniel’s Seventieth Week (See 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4).
“In the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate,” refers to the Antichrist stopping the Levitical sacrifices that will be reestablished in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem in the middle of Daniel’s Seventieth Week.
The Russian led invasion of Israel recorded in Ezekiel 38 and 39 will cause Antichrist to break his treaty with Israel and occupy Israel according to Daniel 11:41.
The statement in Daniel 9:27, “on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate” means that the Antichrist will proclaim himself as God and seat himself on the mercy seat between the wings of the two cherubim on either the recovered Ark of the Covenant or one built by himself, which will be located in the Holy of Holies in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem.
In Matthew 24:15, the Lord Jesus Christ specifically referred to this event.
Matthew 24:15-16, “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.”
In 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, Paul teaches that at that time, Antichrist will declare himself to be the object of the world’s worship and display himself as being God in the rebuilt Jewish temple.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, “Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”
Paul’s statement that the Antichrist “opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship” means that he ranks himself superior to all the supreme beings worshiped by the various religions of the world, which will be a fulfillment of Daniel 11:36.
Paul’s statement in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 that Antichrist will “take his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as God” is a reference to the statement in Daniel 9:27, “on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate.”
Revelation 13:14-15 also mentions Antichrist exalting himself as God and receiving the worship of the world as such.
Revelation 13:1-12, “And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast. They worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?’ There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints. Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.”
This second beast is called in Revelation 16:13, 19:20 and 20:10 “the false prophet” and will be a religious leader as indicated in that he is depicted as a lamb, a symbol of sacrifice with two horns, which speak of power but he will be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Revelation 13:13-14, “He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.”
This passage teaches that the second beast, i.e. the false prophet will promote the worship of the first beast, which refers to the Antichrist and not the Revived Roman Empire since first beast is said to have “had a wound of the sword and has come to life,” which refers to surviving a fatal wound from an act of violence.
Rome was never destroyed by the sword, i.e. militarily but rather disintegrated from division and deterioration from within, thus indicating that Antichrist will survive an assassination attempt.
Revelation 13:15-18, “And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead. And he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.”
To enforce the worship of the beast and to make life impossible without his worship, men cannot buy or sell without the mark of the beast.
Millions of believers will be killed because they do not have the mark and re-fuse to receive it or because they starve to death since they cannot buy or sell.
Some will survive, however, by living off the land or because other believers who have food share with those who do not (cf. Matt. 24:15¬-25 and 25:31 40).
To receive the mark of the beast is tantamount to the worship of the beast and rejection of Jesus Christ (cf. 13:8; 17:8; 14:9 12; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4).
Revelation 13:17 say that the mark is his number, which is defined in verse 18 as 666 and is one of the options for the mark, either his name or his number and will be the means by which believers in the Tribulation period will identify the beast.
This will not be just a number or identification mark on a plastic card but rather it will be on the person himself and symbolic of the fact that he is only a man and not God as he claims to be.
This leads us to the communion service and so therefore, could we have our ushers 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.
1 Corinthians 11:23, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread.”
1 Corinthians 11:24, “and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’”
1 Corinthians 11:25, “In the same way {He took} the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink {it} in remembrance of Me.’”
1 Corinthians 11:26, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.”
