The Empire of the Antichrist is the Earthly Kingdom of God

The Bible teaches that the kingdom of the Antichrist is the earthly Kingdom of God.

[That an earthly kingdom was always envisioned by Jesus He made clear when He prayed, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven”. Matthew 6:10.]

According to the Book of Daniel, Rome is the last empire to precede the establishment of God’s everlasting Kingdom. Yet all expositors of the Book of Revelation who subscribe to the teaching of a personal Antichrist agree that the Antichrist’s kingdom is an empire that precedes God’s Kingdom.

Is the Empire of the Antichrist interposed between the Empire of Rome and the coming Kingdom of God?

Assuming that the popular expositors are correct, how do we reconcile the books of Daniel and Revelation?

Daniel begins his survey of universal prophetic history in chapter 2. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, was given a dream of a human image, representing the successive empires destined to exercise control over the Promised Land. Daniel states:

[28] But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
[29] As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.
[30] But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
[31] Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.
[32] This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,
[33] His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
[34] Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
[35] Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

[John the Baptist referred to the same Kingdom of God when he stated, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire”. Matthew 3:11, 12.]

Daniel interprets the different aspects of this human image as their respective “kingdoms” beginning with Nebuchadnezzar’s own kingdom, Babylon.

In successive chapters, Daniel identifies the same kingdoms under the figures of various beasts.

Medo-Persia and Greece (Macedonia) are mentioned by name in Daniel 8:20, 21. Rome is mentioned implicitly in Daniel 7:7, 19.

In Daniel 7, Rome is further depicted in a fractionated condition represented by ten horns.

These horns stem from the head of the Roman Beast, indicating that Rome survives metamorphosed into the kingdoms and republican democracies of the West. In them, Rome still lives!

It is a mistake for expositors to conclude that the Roman Empire will be reborn in Europe. Rome has no need of being reborn because she has never died. Rome lives within the legacy of its republican form of government.

Daniel makes it clear that Rome proper (distinguished from its fractionated republics) will not be succeeded by another man-made empire. It will be succeeded at last by the Empire of God, which is established without dependence on “human hands” (chapter 2:45).

Daniel concludes his survey of history in chapter 2 with the final appearance of God’s everlasting kingdom:

[44] And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
[45] Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

Daniel leaves no room for an empire appearing “in the days of these kings” other than the Kingdom of God. Yet popular expositors insist on the imminence of the Empire of the Antichrist.

They rely on Revelation 13 and the chapters thereafter to support their belief in a worldwide empire under the sovereignty of the Antichrist. John does assert in Revelation 13:3 that “ALL THE WORLD wondered after the beast”.

An examination of the Greek word for “wondered”, including its root words, suggests to us this sense:

“To marvel, to be had in admiration; to marvel at a wonderful thing; to behold; look upon, view attentively, contemplate (often used of public shows) and important persons that are looked on with admiration; to learn by looking with the eye of perception”.

“ALL THE WORLD” is indeed enraptured by the Beast.

What is the relationship between this Empire of God and the Kingdom of the Antichrist (Revelation 13)? They are one and the same. This is how we reconcile the books of Daniel and Revelation.

The Antichrist Beast is represented as having absorbed all of the aspects of his/its predecessor rulers and empires. Revelation 13:2.

After having exhausted all forms of human governance (absolute monarchy, constitutional monarchy, democracy, and republic), the people of the earth prefer and return to their original submission to the reign of God.

It cannot happen soon enough Neron. I still do not understand the date you say the AC was born. In fact, that it is a singular person is not to my understandings. I believe there are many ACs alive that become one when given authority and power to rule.

the case you lay out is pretty much what the false church/ synagog of satan (judaeo-christianity) preaches fom the modern pulpit.

Rome is inferred by the term 'city of seven hills'
i take 'Rome' to mean the forceable rule under the veil; Law-&-Order

i also question the 7 mountains where the whore rests as meaning 'Rome'
in contrast to the 7 Noahide Laws, which the whore uses as authority
to lavish treasures on her corruption & those that join in with her undertakings.

if one applies anatomy to the description of Nebuchadnezzars dreamt image; head of gold, arms & chest of silver, belly & thighs of bronze....

that means the 'Legs of Iron' indicate 3 seperate divisions of the leg;
the calf, the ankle, the feet w/toes mixed of clay & iron

so the final 3 empires could be a progression or evolving of Roman Rule
(as you propose) or even that type of government which had-has an ineffectual Senate, under the thumb of a latter-day Caesar or Furher or Unitary-Executive/Comander-in-Chief as is quickly coming to fruition in the USA



what you propose can fall into the theme the RCC calls the 'Mystery of Faith', IOW convoluted & entertaining

ben91069,

There is only one ultimate Antichrist. Any other “contenders” are foreshadows of this one last literal person. The line of popes, for example, could properly be considered as forerunners.

Why only one Antichrist?

The answer relates to the question of who has the authority to speak for God.

The answer must be established beyond a reasonable doubt. The future of the planet cannot be put at risk based upon the word of imposters.

Thus, identifying the characteristics of the Antichrist and then weighing a contender against them is of the utmost importance.

The truth that a messiah, whether Jesus Christ or the Antichrist, has the authority to speak for God is illustrated and proven by the following encounter recorded in the seventeenth chapter of Matthew:

[1] And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
[2] And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
[3] And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.
[4] Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
[5] While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
[6] And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
[7] And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.
[8] And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.

There are so many voices in the world contending, and contradicting, and spewing forth confusion and disorder; that, people need a SOLID ROCK upon whom to rest and trust. MANY antichrists would only add to the confusion.

Thanks for the article. Antichrist is misunderstood a lot and also almost nobody sees how this all works on multiple levels. Even regime today and 'war on terror' are in prophecies, but they attribute all to Antichrist.

About revealing who Antichrist is, i am not sure if he even wants that. Maybe his plans are different.

According to the Book of Daniel, Rome is the last empire to precede the establishment of God’s everlasting Kingdom.

Ehhh... well there have been other empires since Rome, not least of which are the Ottoman and British empires.

en.wikipedia.org...

en.wikipedia.org...

Why don't you ever PM me back? I have a few questions about your threads.