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Following are the main verses (using the King James version (KJV, 1611 A.D) of the Bible first, then the same verses in modern English) which refer to what the Bible states is the last world ruler or dictator before the return of Christ. The term antichrist means "instead of", or "in the place of" Christ.
Daniel 8:23-25 "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
"And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
"And through his policy also he shall cause craft (fraud, deceit, treachery) to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand."
Daniel 7:20-21 "And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.
"I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
Daniel 7:24-27 "And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
"And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
"But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
Revelation 13:3-18 "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
"And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
"And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
"And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
"If any man has an ear, let him hear.
"He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
"And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
"And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
"And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
"And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
"And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
"And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
"Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." (666)
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The same verses in modern language:
(Daniel 8:23-25) "And in the end time of their rule, when evil men are at their worst state, a ruler with a powerful look and able to understand mysterious sayings, shall rise up.
"And he will have very great power, but his power is not from himself (it is spiritual): and he shall destroy terribly, and shall be successful, and accomplish, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
"And through his policy also he shall spread deceit; and he shall exalt himself in his own heart, and in the name of peace he shall destroy many. He shall also stand up against Christ; but he shall be destroyed by Him and not by the hand of man."
(Daniel 7:20-21) "And of the ten horns that you saw in his head, and the other horn which rose up, the one that had eyes and spoke very convincingly, whose appearance was stronger than the others.
"I looked, and that same horn made war with the God's children, and overcame them;
(Daniel 7:24-27) "And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall rise up: and another king shall rise up after them; and he will be different from the previous kings and he shall subdue three of those kings.
"And he shall speak strongly against God, and shall wear down Gods children, and he will change customs and laws: and he will have mastery over God's children for 3 1/2 years.
"But God's judges shall sit to judge, and they shall take away this little horns dominion, and bring it to a complete end.
"And all kingdoms and powers, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, for His kingdom will last forever, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.
(Revelation 13:3-18) "And I saw one of his heads...wounded to death; and his fatal wound was healed: and all the world was in wonder over the beast.
"And they worshipped Satan which gave the beast his power: and they worshipped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to fight against him?"
"And he was gifted with a mouth that could speak great & convincing things and blasphemies; and he was empowered to continue forty-two months. (3 1/2 yrears)
"And with his mouth he blasphemed God: His name, His tabernacle, and all that dwell in heaven with God.
"And he was empowered to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all races and languages and nations.
"And all those whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb (Jesus), will worship the beast.
"If any man has an ear that wants to hear truth, let him be given the ability hear and understand these words.
"Whosoever leads others into captivity shall go into captivity himself: he that kills others with the sword will also be killed with the sword. By confidence in this fact, the saints will receive patience and faith to endure their hardships.
"And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; with two horns like a lamb, and speaking like a dragon.
"And he has all the power of the first beast that came before him, and he causes them that live on the earth to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.
"And he performs great wonders, even to make fire to come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of all mankind,
"And he deceives them that dwell on the earth by the means those miracles which he had power to do in the beast's sight;
"And he tells them that dwell on the earth, to make an image to the beast, which had the fatal wound by a sword, and lived.
"And he had power to give life to the image of the beast, and causes the image to both speak, and arranges it that any who will not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
"And he causes everyone, the unknown and the famous, rich and poor, free and those in prison, to receive a mark either in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
"So that no one may buy or sell, except for those that have either the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
"In this lies wisdom. Let him that has understanding count the number of the beast because it is the number of a man; and his number is 666."
A commentary from the famous Bible scholar, the late Ray Stedman, describes this part of the Bible very clearly:
"In the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew the Lord Jesus was speaking of a yet coming time and said to the disciples, "When you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place" {Matt. 24:15}, then, he said, they would know it is time to get out of the city fast. Do not waste any time, he urges, do not even go back for your coat, just go, because then shall be great tribulation such as has not been since the world began. Now that was spoken more than one hundred and sixty-five years after Antiochus Epiphanes had desecrated the temple, so it clearly establishes a yet future fulfillment of this historic event.
With that in mind, let's look at what the angel says about this future fulfillment:
"And at the latter end of their rule, when the transgressors have reached their full measure, a king of bold countenance, one who understands riddles, shall arise. His power shall be great, and he shall cause fearful destruction, and shall succeed in what he does, and destroy mighty men and the people of the saints. By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall magnify himself. Without warning he shall destroy many; and he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes; but, by no human hand, he shall be broken. The vision of the evenings and the mornings which has been told is true; but seal up the vision, for it pertains to many days hence." {Daniel 8:23-26 RSV}
There are two factors here that mark the time of this fulfillment.
Notice that the angel says that it shall be
i.e., the rulers that would control the area of the country once dominated by Antiochus Epiphanes. It will be in the latter end of their rule. This suggests strongly the reappearance of the nation of Syria in history. It is very striking that a nation of Syria did not exist for centuries until 1944 when the French mandate over this area was dissolved and Syria once again appeared as a nation in the midst of the world. Its history as a modern nation dates only from 1944.
Second, we are told here that it would be a time "when the transgressors had reached their full measure." This suggests the final crisis of history when transgression, or, as it is described in other places, corruption and violence, lawlessness, is so widespread and so intense that, as Jesus said in Matthew 24, it would be once again like the days of Noah (Genesis 6:11-12). This was the characteristic mark of the days of Noah, widespread corruption and violence over the earth.
At that time (end time) a very singular individual appears. According to the description here he has two outstanding personal characteristics.
First, he is bold in appearance; "fierce" is the way it is translated in the KJV. He has a commanding presence, a strong, irresistable appeal.
Second, he has the ability to understand enigmas, the mysteries of life, to understand what motivates people.
We are told that "his power shall be great,...but not with his own power." We learn from this that his power will be supernatural. It will be great power, and will result in widespread destruction aimed against "the people of the saints," those who honor and love God in that day."
_Link: http://www.pbc.org/files/messages/3975/0365.html
Copyright (C) 1995 Discovery Publishing, Ray Stedman
For further reading on this topic:
http://www.raystedman.org/bible-overview/adventuring/daniel-on-the-way-to-the-future
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