The seventieth week and the antichrist

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Dan 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
Dan 9:25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
Dan 9:26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

The Messiah, Jesus the Prince of Peace, was to be killed or cut off at the end of the 69th week of Daniel. Herod's temple and the city of Jerusalem would be destroyed by the Romans 37 years after the death of the Messiah. The church age would come at Pentecost and is continuing; delaying the start of the 70th week of Daniel.

Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

In the 70th week, a seven year covenant is confirmed requiring a temple for sacrificing. It is assumed that a new temple will be built in order to have sacrifices. The prince from the Roman empire will come as the final antichrist. He will make a peace treaty with the nations. At the middle of the 70th week, after three and a half years he will cause the sacrifices and oblations (offerings) to cease. He will set himself upon the throne of God as Messiah and demand to be worshipped and will defile the temple in Jerusalem.

Jesus warned of the coming abomination

Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Mat 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
Mat 24:16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Mat 24:17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Mat 24:18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
Mat 24:19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
Mat 24:20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Mat 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Mat 24:25 Behold, I have told you before.
Mat 24:26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
Mat 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
The false prince will be received as the Messiah

The four horsemen

Rev 6:2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

This is the antichrist, the false messiah, the man sent by satan to fool the nations. He would be called the man of peace, but he was an evil dictator, seeking souls and death. He had a bow, not a sword. He was after the type of Nimrod, the mighty hunter who ruled over Babel (Babylon).

Rev 6:3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
Rev 6:4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

A man on a red horse. Red reminds us of blood and death. This was a man or a spirit loosed by God, God allowed satan to loose it. The Holy Spirit brings peace, so by this time the church may have been removed. The Holy Spirit and the church restrains death and destruction.

Rev 6:5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
Rev 6:6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

A black horse, perhaps representing a burned earth, resulting from war and famine. What if a nuclear war came about? There would be many killed and much land destroyed that would have been producing food. Food would be scarce; with war comes famine.

Rev 6:7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
Rev 6:8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

One-fourth of the earths people will be killed in this time of tribulation before God pours out his wrath. How would they die? Killed by the sword, by hunger and starvation, by death:

The antichrist beast in Revelation 13

Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

John's vision shifts to earth, standing on the seashore. The sea represents the restless people of the world.

Isa 57:20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
Isa 57:21 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

Coming from the restless sea comes trouble. I saw a beast come out of the sea. The word here for beast is therion, representing a wild beast. A beast of prey, like the venomous beast that bit Paul's hand.

Rev 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

He had all the fierceness of past conquerors.

The leopard is fast, representing the Greek empire and Alexander the great.

The bear represented the Medo-Persian empire. The bear was strong and was hungry for the flesh of men to conquer. The Islamic nations are of this empire.

The lion; King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, was described both as a lion and an eagle. Both represent the strongest of the species. Some say that the Eagle is the United States and the Lion Great Britain; perhaps as modern day Babylons.

The dragon; his power and authority was given to him by satan. The antichrist will embody all the ferocious power and strength of the most powerful forces of evil.

Rev 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

The beast was as a son of satan. Jesus is the Son of God, representing his kingdom and power. The antichrist would be the opposite. He will represent the power of the darkness; as a son of belial, a son of perdition, as a son of the dragon. No power in the natural could overcome this evil spirit controlled ruler. But we know that God is greater.

Rev 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
Rev 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Rev 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

His lying tongue would speak against God and Jesus; his angels and his saints, for three and a half years of Daniel's final week. Power was given to him from satan? Yes, but more importantly God put a time limit on his rule. God is in control.

Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

All on earth shall worship the antichrist beast. Not all, but all whose names are NOT written in the Lamb's book of life. He has made himself as a god, as satan has made himself god of this world. If we are still here, we shall not worship him, even if it means death; and for this cause, many saints shall lose their heads, as is the favorite Islamic execution. But, Goliath who mocked God's people lost his head too.

Rev 13:9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.

There is a price to be paid to remain faithful to God. Is anything in this world more important? Are we understanding this, even now?

Mat 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

If Jesus is not Lord of your life now, how will you survive the antichrist? Will you take the mark of the beast and be cursed? Now is the time to get our hearts with God. If we wait, we may be as the five foolish virgins who missed Jesus when he came. They had no oil, the symbol of God's presence. They were left behind when Jesus came for his bride.

Mat 25:8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
Mat 25:9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
Mat 25:10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Mat 25:11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
Mat 25:12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

If we are not in the Spirit, ready for his return, we may be left behind to go through the persecution of the antichrist.