In our first two studies we concentrated upon the importance of prophecy and the role it plays in the life of the believer. We also noted the central location of prophetic events in Holy Scripture — the areas around the Mediterranean Sea and in particular that land that the Lord is pleased to call “my land”, (2 Chronicles 7:19, Isaiah 14:25 etc). In our third article, we went a little further and began to note the details of the prophecies given in these two chapters.
In this our fourth study, I would like to come to some more of the details given in these two visions granted to Daniel. The first vision, recorded in chapter 7, which centres upon the emergence of the four great kingdoms (verse 17) which “arise out of the earth”, will be our focus in this study.
The word translated ‘earth’ may be seen to be used in a context which clearly indicates that it is not a reference to the whole surface of the earth. In Daniel 2:39, there is a reference to the ‘third’ great kingdom, the Grecian empire.
“And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.” Now the Grecian empire did not rule over all the lands of the earth, so we can see that the word ‘earth’ here is used in a limited fashion. I believe that it refers to the ‘prophetic’ earth, the territories dominated by the four great kingdoms of holy Scripture which owe their mention in the Bible to the fact that they ‘interacted’ with the people and land of Israel, God’s land and people!
The fourth ‘beast’, or kingdom, is described as being “dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly”, verse 7. That kingdom is the ‘Roman Empire’!
I. I MUST STRESS THAT THE FOURTH KINGDOM, THOUGH EMERGING LONG AGO, AROUND 2171 YEARS AGO, AFTER THE FALL OF THE GRECIAN EMPIRE, WILL STILL BE IN EXISTENCE WHEN CHRIST RETURNS!
That is made very plain in Daniel 2:44. “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”
The kingdom that the Lord will set up is inaugurated at His return. That is made plain in Revelation 11:15. “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”
Note, this takes place after the sounding of the seventh and last trumpet!
Long Gone????
It is “in the days of these kings” that Christ will return. How can that be? Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome — are they not all long gone?
Well, not according to this Scripture.
What this means is that the ‘essence’, the ‘spirit’, the ‘essential character’ of these kingdoms is still in existence and will ‘re-emerge’ in manifested power in the time of the end, a short time before Christ returns.That will be the time of the ‘Antichrist’!
Paul’s statement in 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 helps us understand this truth.
“And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.”
What Paul here says is that the Lord is PRESENTLY restraining the workings of the “mystery of iniquity”, or the “secretive workings of lawless rebellion against God”, until the time appointed by God for the emergence of the Antichrist.
We will yet see more and more clearly, that which has been long at work in the lands around the Mediterranean Sea and which brought forth the four great empires, will become more and more evident as the end of this age draws near.
Remember what John said: “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time,” 1 John 2:18.
The spirit of antichristianity has been at work throughout this gospel age and it will reach its zenith in the time appointed of God, when He lifts His restraint upon it.
Consideration
I think that any Christian, who gives any consideration to events in the world in the light of Holy Scripture, will have noticed that the ‘European Union’, which is a political/mercantile union of nations, comprised of many of those which make up the territories of the four kingdoms, is giving a lead in today’s rebellion against God and His Word.
Many of the immoral and abominable laws, enacted by the British Parliament, whereby there has been a ‘legalising’ of that which was formerly deemed as unlawful in the light of God’s Word, has taken place at the prompting of the EU!
I am referring to laws that legalised abortion, sodomy and related evil practices. EU influences, so eagerly acted upon by immoral politicians in the United Kingdom, have transformed our land in a short time, a lifetime, into a 21st century Sodom and Gomorrah. It was the Dudgeon v United Kingdom (1981) case brought by Jeff Dudgeon before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) which radically changed the law regarding sodomy in Northern Ireland. On 22 October 1981, the Court agreed with the Commission that Northern Ireland’s criminalisation of homosexual acts between consenting adults was a violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. As a consequence of the judgment, male homosexual sex was decriminalised in Northern Ireland in October 1982.
II. IT HAS ALREADY BEEN NOTED IN STUDY THREE, THAT AT THE END OF THIS AGE, WITHIN THE TERRITORY OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, THERE WILL ARISE TEN KINGDOMS SUPPORTING THE ANTICHRIST
1. John has it made plain to him, what the allegiance of these ten kingdoms will be. “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast,” Revelation 17:12.
These kingdoms will only emerge in the time of the Antichrist and it is to be carefully noted that such will be given but a ‘short’ time to exist. They will ‘receive’, that is, they will be granted leave to act as kingdoms by the Lord and that ONLY for “one hour”! It is a time which begins and will end under the direct control of the Lord!
It is to be noted also that in contrast to the short-lived dominion of the Antichrist, Christ’s kingdom is one of absolute and everlasting dominion! “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed,” Daniel 7:13-14.
2. Daniel tells us that this ‘union’ of kingdoms at best was anything but harmonious! The alliances and leagues that nations make are short-lived! Nothing illustrates this more than the agreement that Hitler entered into with the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, the ‘Munich Agreement’, on 30 September 1938. On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland and the piece of paper containing the ‘Munich Agreement’, which Mr Chamberlain has so triumphantly and proudly waved to cheering crowds on his return from Munich and which he declared guaranteed ‘peace in our time’, was proved to be worthless!
There will be disharmony within the Antichrist’s camp but that will be but to advance the final rebellion of this age against the Lord.
3. The disagreements will result in the emergence of the ‘little horn’, God’s definition of the Antichrist. “I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things,” Daniel 7:8. “And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down,” Daniel 8:9-11.
This serves to underscore the great truth of God’s sovereign control over the nations, even the most wicked and rebellious against Him!
But then we see this same divine sovereignty exercised over the Lord’s chief enemy, the devil, so that he, to his eternal chagrin, has been and will yet be, made an instrument whereby the purpose of God is fulfilled. Nowhere is that more evidently seen than at Calvary. Peter demonstrated this truth for us.
“Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it,” Acts 2:22-24.
The ‘men of Israel were prompted and deceived into murdering the Lord Jesus by the devil and that to his eternal consternation!
4. I have already noted that the fact that the Antichrist is at the first denoted as a ‘little’ horn, suggests that his emergence will at the first be unnoticed. In referring to this in part three of our studies, I mentioned Judas and the ‘creepers’ referred to by Jude in his epistle as examples of the enemies of Christ adopting a very low profile in order to secretively infiltrate the ranks of God’s people in order to seek to work havoc there.
So the Antichrist will arise. It is worth quoting again the verses in Daniel chapter 11, which highlight the secretive and deceitful actions of the Antichrist.
“And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant. And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people. He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time,” Daniel 11:21-24.
III. I BELIEVE THAT IT IS INDICATED FOR US THAT THE ANTICHRIST WILL EMERGE FROM THAT TERRITORY WHICH WAS THE GRECIAN EMPIRE.
1. That is made clear, I believe in the second of these visions we are considering. Think about these verses please.
“And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered,” Daniel 8:5-12.
This vision is then explained to Daniel.
“And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision. Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright. And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. 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,” Daniel 8:16-23.
Evident?
Is it not very evident from these verses that out of the territories of the Grecian empire “a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up”? He is the Antichrist.
2. Following the death of Alexander, who is the ‘great horn’, the ‘little horn’ arises out of one of the four divisions into which Alexander’s empire was divided.
“Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came forth a little horn,” chapter 8:9.
Alexander died on either 10th or 11th June, BC 323, in Babylon, the city of Mesopotamia that he had planned to establish as his empire’s capital. In the years following his death, a series of civil wars broke out across the Macedonian Empire, eventually leading to its disintegration. The four generals who succeeded Alexander the Great, were Ptolemy, Cassander, Seleucus, and Antigonus. They divided Alexander’s vast empire amongst themselves after his death.
These are the “four notable ones” who followed Alexander and ruled over his divided empire following his death. We are told that it was “out of one of them” that the “little horn” will one day arise. Just which part of Alexander’s domain I cannot tell for no further information regarding that matter is given.
It is for this reason that we must study ‘the times and seasons’ that we might detect the arising of one who matches the Scripture’s description of the Antichrist in his early career.
3. We are told that the little horn ‘waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land’. The Antichrist, when he arises will begin the advance ‘southward’ and ‘eastward’ ‘toward the pleasant land’. That surely suggests that he begins to enlarge his political power from a position to the north and to the west of Israel, which is ‘the pleasant land’!
That would take us to present day Turkey, which is of course, no friend of Israel today, being a Muslim land. I can say no more than that Turkey lies in a position in relation to Israel, that if an invasion or attack upon Israel was to take place from there, it would entail a ‘southward and eastward’ movement.
Further north of Turkey is the ‘Black Sea’, which marked the boundary, directly north of Israel, of Alexander’s empire. To me, Turkey seems a very likely location for the arising of the Antichrist.
It is to be remembered that a Sky News headline, back in 29th July, 2024, read as follows: Turkish President Erdogan appears to threaten to invade Israel over their actions in Gaza.
That shows a belligerence that is even more threatening to Israel than anything Iran has said! Iran has launched rockets and drones at Israel, but I believe I am right in saying that it has not threatened to invade Israel. I feel that is a very significant display of animosity on the part of Turkey toward ‘the pleasant land’! It should also be remembered that Turkey has applied to become part of the ‘European Union’ and the application is presently under negotiations! Negotiations for full membership were started on 3 October 2005. Since 2016, accession negotiations have stalled because the EU has accused and criticised Turkey for human rights violations and deficits in rule of law. It would seem to be ‘fertile ground’ for the ‘lawless one’ to arise!
Rev Ivan Foster (Rtd)
July 19th, 2025