DAILY MANNA SATURDAY JANUARY 14, 2023 THE COMING ANTICHRIST
KEY VERSE: “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 8:23)
TEXT: DANIEL 8:13-27
It serves little or no purpose predicting who the Antichrist will be. Back in the 1950s, many Christians wondered if the brutal German Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler, was the antichrist. Others thought it was Joseph Stalin, the strong man of the USSR. In the 1980s, it was then thought that the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, was the antichrist because of the mark on his forehead which some said was the mark of the beast. All these leaders have come and gone, but the Antichrist is yet to be revealed.
In the passage under consideration, Daniel saw a vision that knocked out every strength in him. In the vision, angel Gabriel gave him understanding concerning the various kingdoms and their strength. The vision which was represented by the metaphor of two rams and a goat was about the kingdom of Persia and Media, which will be followed by the Grecian empire. The next empire (the Roman Empire) will also rise and fall. The vision concludes with the description of the reign of the Antichrist, who is called ‘a king of fierce countenance’. The Antichrist will be possessed by the spirit of Satan; he will speak blasphemies and will unite and prosper the world’s economy. He will reign for a period of seven years during the great tribulation.
The wicked reign of the Antichrist is well documented in Scriptures. The book of Revelation contains details of the evil and wickedness of this regime; how everything starts with peace and prosperity, but ends in bitterness and sorrow. He will compel people to take the mark 666, and those who take the mark will be doomed forever.
The lessons from visions like this are to prepare us ahead of the imminent second coming of Christ. Kingdoms will rise and fall, but the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ will remain forever.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Being in Christ is the only antidote for the fury of the coming Antichrist.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 41-44