The Little Horn, the Prince to Come, the Beast, the Man of Lawlessness...aka the antichrist

So, no body told me what they wanted to hear about so I'm just gonna pick a topic. Seriously, you all have no idea how hard it is to just randomly blog about something that I am learning. We are getting so much information stuffed into our brains - IT'S EXHAUSTING!

So I have decided to enlighten you all about the career of the Antichrist (as interpreted by my professor). I never realized how many names this man has in scripture and how many places he is described and prophesied about!

He begins as the "little horn" as described in Daniel, and takes over revived Rome, probably before the tribulation (Daniel's 70th week) starts. Then now in power, he makes a covenant with Israel for 7 years. This signifies the beginning of the 70th Week. Isaiah calls this covenant a "covenant with death". You'd think, with all this warning, the Jews of that time would be a little suspicious at such a covenant! but they are going to do it or nothing else is gonna happen! So, now as Israel enjoys her "protection", the "Prince to Come" wages war with the nations of the world and manages to take them all over except Moab, Edom and Ammon (present day Jordan, east of Israel). This military career takes place during the first 3 1/2 years of the tribulation. Then the antichrist is assassinated (which isn't surprising as he would have lots of enemies after taking over the world) and he goes into the abyss (which is bizarre). He is then resurrected and commits the Abomination of Desolation (setting his image in the temple) and goes back on his covenant with Israel, stopping the sacrifices and the false prophet forces all to get the mark of the beast and worship his image or die. This begins the beast's religious career as he wars against all who practice a religion other than his (includes Muslims, Jews, believers, Hindus etc). At this time the remnant of Jews in Judea flee to the wilderness, miraculously being saved from the antichrist and are nourished for 3 1/2 years. Finally the Beast launches his campaign of Armageddon (which is not a battle but a series of steps AND there is no actually fighting in Armageddon - it is a base camp for the antichrist's armies). As the armies of the beast threaten the remnant, Christ returns, "the stone cut without hands" prophesied in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, destroys the antichrist's kingdom and he and the false prophet are thrown into the Lake of Fire (the first beings to be put there).

And there you have it folks! A brief overview of this scary person who is going to rule the earth. The man who has pretty much been fictionalized by media, the apocalyptic 666, Satan incarnate. He could be alive today - Satan is ready at any time to reveal him as soon as the "restrainer" is "taken out of the way" (2 Thessalonians 2: 7).  Somehow, this Prince to Come, a Roman will rise from inconspicuousness to full authority over the revived Roman Empire and eventually dictator of the world. How does this happen? How does the world with all her nuclear warheads and weapons of mass destruction allow herself to be overtaken!?! It is only explained by his intelligence, diplomacy, deception  and cunning. Perhaps, he will come as a hero during a time of great distress and unrest - we know the Rapture must occur before the 70th Week so perhaps this aids the beast in his take over of the world. Who knows - only God, and how thankful I am that He does! It is so hard to study this powerful man and yet realize that all his authority is given to him because God allows it. God is in complete control and in fact ordaining all of this to happen as part of His judgement of the earth. So much destruction but in the end - HE WINS!