Sat.’s Devo - The Antichrists

Read: Daniel 11:2-35; 1 John 3:7-24; Psalm 122:1-9; Proverbs 29:1 It would take a small book to explain how this chapter came true in history but every word of what Daniel saw happened just as he wrote it. The three Persian kings were Ahaserus, Artaxerxes, and Darius. The forth was Xerxes of Esther. Then a “mighty king” - Alexander the Great rose to power. He was the worse and most powerful. He gained much land and spread his kingdom across the earth. When he was killed, the kingdom was broken into four parts. In verse 5 and 6 it refers to Egypt as the kingdom of the south and Syria as the kingdom of the north. Judah was sandwiched between them. Egypt and Syria fought among themselves for years. Egypt, led by Ptolemy Philadelphus finally went down to Syria and captured a fortified city. On his way home he stopped in Israel with plans to destroy it. Ptolemy came up with a plot to marry his daughter, Cleopatra, with a king in Syria to ally with them but it failed when she chose her husband over her father’s plan. When he saw that his plans were ruined he turned his attention to cities on the coast. There he met a commander who sent him home in shame. The next great leader was Antiochus Epiphanes who was a despicable man who won his battles with flattery and lies. He was small in number but became great plundering the wealth or the rich and giving it to his friends. He attacked Egypt but did not succeed as someone in his own household caused his downfall. He set down with Egypt with both of them plotting against each other. On Antiochus’ way back to Syria, he stopped by Jerusalem and attacked it. He killed 80,000 and took 40,000 as prisoners. He sold another 40,000 as slaves. He entered the sanctuary of God shouting blasphemies. He took the gold and silver vessels. With the help of the high priest, Menelaus, he sacrificed a pig on the altar and sprinkled the brother-in-law’s through the Temple. Menelaus as well as other Jews believed that religion was good to keep the masses in check but had turned their hearts against God and chosen the gods and philosophy of the Greek. When the took Jerusalem, Antiochus decreed that all, on pain of death, should conform to the Greek religion, and the temple was consecrated to Jupiter Olympius. He identified himself with that god, wishing to make his own worship universal. This was the first time the Jews had had their religion threatened, even when taken into exile to other nations. There were faithful Jews, in the midst of the "abominations" against "the covenant," who stood firm and fought against Antiochus. One of these families was the Maccabees lead by Judas Maccabeus. Antiochus was the Old Testament type of the Antichrist. The Romans conquered the kingdom next, being the fourth beast in Daniel’s dream. The Romans continued the desolation of righteousness. The Romans emperor Adrian erected a temple to Jupter Capitolinus where the temple of God had stood in A.D. 132. The mosque of Omar was also erected on the temple mount and Mohammedanism began to prevail in 610. This was three years before the idolatry of the Church of Rome which brought on the final blasphemy of Christ. All of these were types of antichrist would reign on the earth until the final Antichrist appears. It was during the Roman Empire that God chose to send Christ to earth to bring us salvation and hope. It will be the same when he comes again. John cannot make it more clear. We can not keep on sinning and belong to Christ. The evidence of our choice to follow Christ is that we love one another. Cain was an example of the evil people who do not belong to Christ. He was a murderer and that is the characteristic of a person who chooses to be an enemy of God. He will hate us also because we belong to Christ and live as he did. If we understand our righteousness in Christ then we will not live in guilt but have confidence to come to God boldly and ask of him what we need knowing he will give it to us. Lord, may we walk with you in forgiveness and righteousness. May we boldly come into your presence to receive grace and mercy. Thank you for your great love toward us.