How It Ends

The 11th chapter of Daniel is fascinating, as it reveals the antichrist in type through the story of Antiochus Epiphanes. If you ask most Christians, they would say they never heard that name, and yet here he is, the original man of lawlessness in the Intertestamental period, giving us a shadow of the world leader to come. 

Daniel 11:36 (ESV) “And the king shall do as he wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done.

Verse 36 is where the facts of Antiochus Epiphanes life and the "king" spoken of for the rest of this chapter separate. Scholars know the history doesn't match this text. Thus, the rest of Daniel 11 is what Jesus told us to look for in the final figure to appear and exalt himself before the return of Christ. 

What will the antichrist do? He will exalt himself above every god and speak against God. The original temptation to be as gods will be fulfilled in the antichrist. He will rule as his own imagined god over the Jews first and, ultimately, the world. 

Have you ever noticed how much of a "god complex" governmental officials have? It's why they want to "take care of you" and determine who can be put to death and how we can bring humans to life. It's growing more and more evident that the governments of this world want people to be beholden to them as the source and sustainer of their lives. 

Daniel 11:37 (ESV) He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for he shall magnify himself above all.

Reading in the NKJV: 

Daniel 11:37 (NKJV) 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.

Questions might be asked if this antichrist figure will be celibate or homosexual. And with the increase in both a culture where men and women put off marriage or sex altogether and the proliferation of homosexuality, you can clearly see those signs appearing. 

Daniel 11:39 (ESV) He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and shall divide the land for a price.

We will see political games in full swing during this time as leadership over lands will be granted in exchange for unquestioned allegiance to the new world order. 

Daniel 11:40–43 (ESV) “At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through. 41 He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Cushites shall follow in his train.

Of course, there will be rebellions as this takes place. The world has never been peacefully subdued. But Antichrist will be a successful leader, striking down such insurrections and gaining control through warfare of the financial systems by which he will impose economic sanctions on those who do not take his image (Revelation 13). 

Finally:

Daniel 11:44–45 (ESV) But news from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction. 45 And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.

What we see here is Armageddon. A worldwide war with untold casualties, the culimination of tribulation before the return of Jesus. And what does Daniel see happen? The antichrist "shall come to his end". Paul tells us that the battle between Christ and antichrist will not be much of a fight. 

2 Thessalonians 2:8 (ESV) And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.

We have two things to consider. Yes, the world will coalesce and in many ways get confusing and dark. But at the climax of what may seem an unstoppable world domination, Christ, in glory, will come and put it all down and take dominion in physical reality over all things. So dear Christian, do not despair, for the darkness is only a sign the light is closer than ever.