THE FINAL TYRANT

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on September 29, 2024 under 2024 |

Bethany Bible Church Sermon Message from September 29, 2024 from Daniel 11:36-45

Theme: Even the most troublesome tyrant in history can do no more than what God has decreed to be done.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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Over the past few weeks, we’ve been looking together at the last of the four visions that the prophet Daniel had been given by God.

It all began when Daniel had been fasting and praying for his fellow Jewish people for three whole weeks.  At the end of that time, God sent a mighty angel to tell him the things that God had in store for the nation of Israel all the way into the far distant future.  And as we’ve looked through this vision in verses 2-35, we’ve done our best to carefully consider the details of these things—certainly not in an exhaustive way, but with enough attention to affirm to us that these promises were indeed all fulfilled in actual history.

But now we come to the promises contained in verses 36-45. And we have to deal with this portion of Daniel’s vision differently.  What we now find before us are events that have not yet been fulfilled in history—things that are still in our future.  We know this by the fact that, in Daniel 11:35, the angel spoke of events “until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time”.

A definite shift of focus occurs after the end of verse 35 and at the beginning of verse 36; and between these two verses is an undisclosed period of time that has—so far—stretched out for almost 22 centuries. And what follows is what verse 40 refers to as “the time of the end”.  Because these events have not yet happened, we can’t describe them with the same kind of accuracy of detail that we can with past history. We can only speak of them broadly, and add to our understanding of them as best we can through other passages of prophecy.

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Now; when we looked at the previous portion of this vision—which we find in verses 21-35—the focus of attention was primarily on one man, King Antiochus IV, who reigned from 175 to 164 B.C. He was a brutal tyrant who viciously oppressed the people of Israel; and we saw that God permitted this tyrant to arise for a certain period of time in order to purify His chosen people. But this particular tyrant, Antiochus IV, was meant to serve as a prophetic picture of yet another king that was to come in the future—a king who would be a far worse oppressor of God’s people than Antiochus. And beginning with verse 36, we learn the story of what this later king would be like.

We’ve already encountered this future tyrant in our study of the Book of Daniel. He was called “the little horn” in Daniel 7:8. Daniel was given a prophetic vision of the future revival of the Roman Empire in the form of a terrible beast with ten horns; and Daniel wrote,

I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words (Daniel 7:8).

We were told more about this “little horn” in verses 24-25; that …

“He shall be different from the first ones,
And shall subdue three kings.
He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,
Shall persecute the saints of the Most High,
And shall intend to change times and law.
Then the saints shall be given into his hand
For a time and times and half a time” (vv. 24-25);

We were told that this tyrannical “little horn” would be arrogant beyond measure, would seek to force people into tremendous changes with respect to the basic order of life, would torment God’s people for three-and-a-half years, and would then be destroyed. And then, his kingdom will be followed by the reign of Jesus Christ on earth. This future tyrant is referred to as “the prince who is to come” in Daniel 9:26-27; where Daniel was told about his deceitful nature … and the horrible destruction he will bring upon the Jewish people:

“And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate” (Daniel 9:26-27).

We learn more about this future tyrant in the New Testament. In 2 Thessalonians 2, for example, the apostle Paul wrote about his blasphemous nature—calling him “the man of sin” and “the son of perdition”; and saying,

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 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 is revealed, the son of perdition, 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 (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4).

Apparently, at some point in the future, the Jewish people will be permitted to rebuild the temple of God on its former site in Jerusalem; and this wicked deceiver will actually help them to do so. But once that temple is built, he will dare to seat himself in that temple and blasphemously declare himself to be God. We might ask how such a horrible thing could happen. Paul went on to call this man “the lawless one” and explained;

The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness (vv. 9-12).

The apostle John also wrote about this coming tyrant. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John gave this vile king the name with which we’re most familiar. In 1 John 2:18, John wrote;

Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour (1 John 2:18).

The prefix “anti” suggests the idea of opposition; but it can also mean “in the place of”. And that’s what the devil will present this future tyrant to be—a world ruler “in the place of” Christ, who is the opposite of Christ Himself. And we’re given even more information about him in the Book of Revelation. The apostle John refers to him as “the beast” in Revelation 13:1;

Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name (Revelation 13:1).

What Daniel saw as a fearsome and brutal nation was now being presented to the apostle John as summed up in one single man. John went on to say;

And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.  Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 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. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (vv. 5-8).

John was later told about this ‘beast’s’ world dominance and warlike nature in Revelation 17:12-14;

“The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful” (Revelation 17:12-14).

This evil king’s reign of terror will be brought to a decisive end at the glorious return of King Jesus to this earth. And just to show you how truly wicked this coming prince will be, we learn a startling fact about him in Revelation 19:20. He will have advanced his deception on the world through the aid of a satanically-empowered ‘false prophet’ who works all kinds of signs and wonders on his behalf; and we’re told that when the Lord Jesus returns,

Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone (Revelation 19:20).

In other words, at the return of the Lord Jesus to this earth, this wicked tyrant—this “little horn”—this “coming prince”—this “man of sin”—this “son of perdition”—this “lawless one”— this “beast”—the Antichrist—along with his false prophet—will be cast alive into the lake of fire 1,000 years before any other human being will be castin … and even before the devil himself and all his diabolical angels! It staggers the mind to even think of it!

Now; that’s a lot of information to bring to bear on this passage that we find in Daniel 11. But it was important for us to consider it all; because it provides us with the biblical material by which to understand the prophecies about this ‘prince who is to come’ when there isn’t any other historical background to draw upon. Those New Testament details help us understand clearly what this Old Testament vision is saying, and serve as the best commentary we can find on what it means to us.

And dear brothers and sisters in Christ; the most important thing that it all shows us is that God’s promises about the future are reliable and trustworthy; and that they affirm to us how even the most troublesome tyrant in history can do no more than what God has decreed to be done.

That is always true whenever any tyrant arises; and it will be especially true with respect to this final tyrant of Gentile human history.

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So; with all that in mind, let’s now look at Daniel 11:36-45.  Let’s see what Daniel was shown about this ‘prince who is to come’ concerning …

1. HIS CHARACTER.

Verse 36 tells us;

“Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done” (v. 36).

And dear brothers and sisters; pay careful attention to that phrase that “what has been determined shall be done”.  It’s not the Antichrist himself that determines what shall be done; but rather the God of heaven.  This coming prince will remain completely under God’s sovereign control; and we can know that this is so, because God has declared all of his actions before they occurred.

But still—amazingly—we’re told that this coming king “shall do according to his own will”.  He will be a king—under God’s sovereign hand—who seems to be unhindered in his aspirations and programs. And perhaps in part because of this, he will exalt himself above God. He will be like the devil himself; who, according to Isaiah 14, sought to exalt himself above God by a series of ‘I will’ declarations. But it will only be for as long as God Himself permits; because he will only prosper “till the wrath (or “indignation”) has been accomplished”. The one true God remains in control.

But consider how this monstrous man will exalt himself. Verse 37 tells us;

“He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all” (v. 37).

Other kings of the past have dared to declare themselves the manifestation of God on earth. Even Antiochus IV minted coins for his kingdom that had his image with the words, “King Antiochus, God Manifest”.  But all those other kings declared themselves to be merely the manifestation of a god. Not so this man.

He won’t regard “the God of his fathers”—that is, the one true God of the Bible.  Nor will he regard “the desire of women”.  Do you remember when the angel came to Mary and greeted her by saying, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you: blessed are you among women”?  That’s because it was the secret longing of every Jewish girl to be the one who would give birth to the Messiah. And this beastly king will not regard “the desire of women”—that is, he will not regard the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, he won’t have the time of day for any other so-called ‘god’ at all. He won’t consider himself to be a mere ‘manifestation’ of a god; but will consider himself to actually be God! As Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 2:4, he “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”.

He will even seek to eradicate the worship of any other god but the god that he declares himself to be.  And the god he will declare himself to be is a god of military power.  Verse 38 says;

But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things (v. 38).

He will obtain the wealth of this world; and will require that no one can buy or sell unless they worship him. He will gather to himself those nations that will swear their allegiance to him, and to them, he will give power and authority. As it says in verse 39;

Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain (v. 39).

So; that’s the nature of this coming king. He’s the one that was spoken of at the beginning of Revelation—when the Lord Jesus opened the first seal; where John wrote;

Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer (Revelation 6:1-2).

Those two verses aren’t talking about the Lord Jesus at His return, as some have mistakenly thought. They are describing this false Christ—the Antichrist—whose coming commences the ‘great tribulation’ period with mighty conquests. He’s all about ‘conquering’. But always remember that he only comes onto the scene when the Lamb—Jesus Christ—opens the seal and allows him to come.

This leads us, next, to consider …

2. HIS CONQUESTS.

The angel goes on to tell Daniel in verse 40,

“At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through” (v. 40).

The king of the South—in all that we’ve read from Daniel’s vision so far—would be over the realm of Egypt.  And the king of the North would be over the realm of Syria.  It seems that whatever there is left of these two realms “at the time of the end” will feel threatened by the Antichrist’s conquests.  They will come suddenly and fiercely against him with whatever military resources they have from two directions, in a kind of pincer movement against him. But this coming king—who will most likely have his kingdom centered in the regions of the west in what was formerly the old Roman empire—will come into these countries, easily overwhelm and conquer them, and then “pass through” in seemingly-unhindered victory.

Now; because the land of Israel is stuck between these two countries to the South and the North, the Antichrist’s conquests apparently bring him into that land. It may be that this would be when he enters into the false ‘covenant’ with them that will characterize the first half of the seventieth week of Daniel’s former prophecy. Verse 41 tells us;

“He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon” (v. 41).

Edon, Moab, and Ammon were the nations that make up modern-day Jordan. They were the historic enemies of the people of Israel. But the Antichrist will apparently make peaceful arrangements; and will seem like a brilliant geo-political problem-solver. He will seem to have finally brought about the solution to the ‘middle east crisis’.  Verses 42-43 go on to say;

“He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels” (vv. 42-43).

Again, since these verses are describing history that hasn’t yet occurred, we need to interpret things with care.  But it seems that the wealth of Egypt will be taken by him.  Even the regions of the African continent that are south of Egypt will become submitted to him, and “shall follow at his heels”. He will acquire the wealth of nations—which will only add to his pride and his power.

Now; it’s important to remember that at some point along the way—in the second half of that seventieth week—he will seat himself in the temple of God and show himself that he is God. Israel will then know that it had been deceived. As Daniel 9:27 warns us, “He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.” His conduct will change; and his true nature will become clear. It seems that this is when the thing we find in Daniel 12:1 comes to pass;

“At that time Michael shall stand up,
The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people;
And there shall be a time of trouble,
Such as never was since there was a nation,
Even to that time” (Daniel 12:1).

It will be the time that our Lord Jesus described in such dreadful detail in Matthew 24;

“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:15-22).

And praise God! Shortened those days will be! That leads us to one more thing we need to see about this coming prince. So far, we’ve seen his character and his conquests. But now; let’s consider …

3. HIS CONCLUSION.

In verse 44, Daniel is told;

“But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many” (v. 44).

Who will be to the east of the “Glorious land” that he will be occupying?  That would be China. And who will be to the north? That would be Russia. And have you noticed that—even in our day—those two nations have been entering into cooperative campaigns and military activities? Both of these nations are mentioned in the Bible as playing a significant part in end-times prophecy; and we may even be beginning to see this combined threat—that will one day ‘trouble’ the Antichrist—taking shape in current events today.

Now; in the land of Israel—between the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and the regions around the city of Jerusalem is a large valley. That valley is called the Jezreel Valley. It’s about 20 miles long and 10 miles wide; and is flat and filled with lush farmland. It’s also known as the Valley of Megiddo. And it will apparently be in this valley that the armies of the nations will be gathered in battle against the Antichrist—where he will meet his end. Verse 45 tells us;

“And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him” (v. 45).

Then at this great battle—the Battle of Armaggedon—the Lord Jesus will suddenly return and rescue His people Israel. As the apostle Paul tells us in 2 Thessalonians 2:8;

And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming (2 Thessalonians 2:8).

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So then; this is the character, the conquests, and the ultimate conclusion of this ‘coming prince’. It’s told to us as something that has yet to happen—but in such a context as would require the same kind of complete confidence we would have in events that have already occurred in history. It must have been bewildering to Daniel in his time. But the Old Testament promises about this coming prince match perfectly with the events described in other—more clear—prophetic testimonies from the New Testament concerning the Antichrist.

So; what do we do about all this? How should we respond to these prophetic promises? Let’s consider what the apostle Paul wrote about it. At the end of his own description of these horrible times, he wrote to his brothers and sisters in Christ and told them;

But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work (2 Thessalonians 2:13-17).

We should rest assured then of our destiny in Christ—and remain established in the faith with confidence; remembering that even the most troublesome tyrant in history can do no more than what our mighty God and heavenly Father has decreed to be done.

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