According to the Bible, the antichrist will come from within Christianity itself. Amazingly, the antichrist is an attack from within upon true Bible religion. The apostle Paul warned about its coming even in his day. He writes:
“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day (the 2nd coming of Christ), will not come unless the falling away (apostasy) 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 worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple (church) of God, showing himself that he is God . . . 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 a love of the truth, that they might be saved,” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-10)
Paul’s Warnings About Apostasy
Paul is writing in the first century after Christ, but already he could see the seeds of rebellion and lawlessness being sown in the church by certain members. He fought hard against any compromise with sin, and the introduction of a false gospel.
In writing to the believers in Galatia, he warns:
“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed,” (Galatians 1:6-8).
This ‘falling away’ which Paul warns the Thessalonians about, is a departure from the true gospel of Jesus Christ and the acceptance of an ‘easy gospel’ that allows one to be saved in his sins, and to compromise with the world. This is the essence of the antichrist system.
“Thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
The far-seeing Paul warned the Ephesians that after his departure,
“grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock. . . speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves.”
Remember, he pleaded, to watch:
“For in the space of three years I ceased not to warn everyone day and night with tears” (Acts 20:29-31).
The Church After Constantine
The early Christians fought hard against this pollution of the gospel, and while Christianity remained outlawed and believers a persecuted minority, the purity of the church was safeguarded.
However, once Christianity became legalised in the 4th century, and even the ‘flavour of the month’ under Roman Emperor Constantine, what Paul had warned about soon took hold on the church.
By the 6th century, it had developed into a full-blown rebellion against the gospel that Christ had lived, taught, and died for. So much so, that the church now joined with the government in an endeavour to force everyone to compromise their beliefs and to accept a man-made system of salvation.
Fearful persecutions of those who refused to compromise followed. Apostolic Christianity had lost its way.
The Antichrist in Daniel
In Daniel chapters 7 and 8, the prophet symbolises the antichrist as a Little Horn power that persecutes Christ’s true followers and destroys nations.
A ‘horn’ in Bible prophecy represents a nation or kingdom. The antichrist is a church that develops into a religio-political kingdom. (See Daniel 7:8, 20-21, 24-28 and Daniel 8:9-12, 23-25).
In God’s eyes such a union with the power of the state is illegal. He calls it spiritual adultery. True religion needs only its founder, Jesus Christ, for its support and power.
The Bible also reveals that the antichrist has two phases to its existence. One past and one future. Daniel deals mostly with the antichrist of the Middle Ages which is a prototype of the antichrist of the future which the book of Revelation tells us about. (See Revelation chapters 13 and 17).
We will now briefly explore what the Bible says about where the antichrist came from.
The Rise of the Little Horn
The Little Horn arose out of the Christian church in AD 538 and became a political and religious power by the decree of Justinian, Eastern Roman Emperor. The Christian church now became the official ‘corrector of heretics’.
Characteristics of the Little Horn Power
(Please read Daniel chapter 7 before continuing).
The Little Horn arose from the fourth beast of Daniel 7 (7:8), so it must be a Roman power.
It arose among the ten horns. The ten horns represent the divisions of the Western Roman empire after it was divided up between various tribal groups. Therefore, the Little Horn must have arisen in western Europe.
The Little Horn plucked up three of the ten horns ‘by the roots’ (7:8). This means that 3 nation-states were uprooted by it and disappeared from history (7:20-21, 24).
Which three of the ten horns disappeared from history? These were the three Arian nations who believed in religious liberty – the Visigoths, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths.
The Little Horn Speaks Against God
Daniel 7:8, 20, 25 – “The Little Horn speaks great (pompous) words against the Most High.”
Daniel 8:12 – “he cast down truth to the ground.”
Daniel 11:36 – “he shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods.”
Revelation 13:5 – “and he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies.”
Blasphemy is committed when a mere human being declares himself to be God and claims the right to exercise the prerogatives and functions of God. (See John 10:30-33; Mark 2:7).
The Little Horn power would claim to be the ultimate religious and civil authority in the world, a power which had jurisdiction over all the kings of the earth.
The Little Horn is a Persecuting Power
Daniel 7:21, 25 – “The Little Horn is a persecuting power.”
Daniel 8:24 – “he shall destroy fearfully . . . he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.”
Daniel 11:33 – “they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering.”
Revelation 13:7 – “It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them.”
Revelation 17:6 – “And I saw the woman (symbol for a church) drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.”
It is an undeniable fact of history that during the Dark Ages wars, crusades, massacres, inquisitions, and persecutions of all kinds, were the methods adopted to compel all to submit to the dictates of the Little Horn. Somewhere between 50-100 million are believed to have died for their faith during the reign of the Little Horn.
The Little Horn Changes God’s Law
“He shall think to change times and laws (the law RSV)” (7:25).
This power will also endeavour to change the law of God. To attempt to interfere with Divine law which is ‘perfect,’ ‘sure,’ ‘right,’ ‘pure,’ ‘true,’ ‘righteous,’ and ‘endures forever’ (Psalms 19:7-9), and which was written in stone by the finger of a God who ‘changes not,’ is the height of blasphemy.
(Read Exodus 31:18; 32:16; 34:1 and Malachi 3:6).
Other Characteristics
It is different from the other ten horns. It is a union of church and state (7:24).
It has ‘eyes like a man’. Eyes are a symbol of wisdom and cunning. The Little Horn power is noted for its far-seeing vision, its shrewdness, and its secret diplomacy – made possible by having the most sophisticated intelligence network in the world.
This power would dominate world affairs for ‘a time, times and half a time’ (7:25).
Prophetic Time Periods
‘Time’ refers to a year – Daniel 4:16, 23, 25. The Hebrew word ‘iddan’ used for ‘time’ can be translated as either ‘time’ or ‘year.’
“Times” (plural) means “two times.”
“Dividing of time” means “half a time.”
Together = “a time, two times and half a time” = 3 ½ years.
Comparing Prophecies
Revelation 12:14 – “a time, times and dividing of time.”
Revelation 12:6 – “a thousand, two hundred and threescore days.”
Revelation 11:2-3 – “forty and two months … a thousand, two hundred and threescore days.”
1 year = 360 days
2 years = 720 days
½ year = 180 days
3 ½ years = 1,260 days = 42 months
A prophetic day = one year (Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6).
The ‘year-for-a-day’ principle has long been applied to prophetic time and proven accurate, most notably in the 1,260 days and the 70 weeks (490 years) of Daniel 9.
Historical Fulfillment
The Little Horn religious power came into prominence when the last Arian king was driven from Rome in 538 AD and continued for 1,260 years until 1798 when its political power was removed by Napoleon.
But it continues today as a very powerful and influential church.
Two important events marked the close of the 18th century:
The establishment of the United States of America as an asylum for the oppressed people of the world.
The French Revolution, which rejected the authority of the church.
The Antichrist’s End-Time Role
The saga of the Little Horn did not end in 1798. The Bible tells us that it will continue until:
“the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end” (Daniel 7:26, 11).
Since 1798, the western world has enjoyed an unprecedented time of respite from religious persecution, but prophecy reveals that the Little Horn Antichrist will once again reclaim her dominance — this time on a global scale, but only for a short while.
(Read Revelation chapters 13, 17 and 18).
Cardinal Gibbons in his book Faith of the Fathers, in talking of the “infallible authority” of the Roman Catholic church in interpreting the scriptures, stated:
What the Bible Reveals About the Antichrist
According to the Bible, the antichrist came out of Western Europe after the breakup of the Western Roman empire in AD 476. It was simply a Christianised continuation of Imperial Roman rule.
It received a ‘deadly wound’ when it lost its political power, but the wound is fast healing, and just before Jesus comes again the Little Horn Antichrist will rise to dominate world politics and religion once more (Revelation 13:3-4, 8, 15-17).
Compelling power is found only under Satan’s government. Always keep this in mind when trying to determine who the antichrist is and where he will come from.
