A Biblical View Of The End Times
Sermon #2
Daniel 8:23-27
THE TRUTH ABOUT SATAN'S SUPERMAN
Intro: To say the least, the Bible is a complex book.
Nowhere is this more true than in the area of prophecy.
Just about every Bible teacher has his on opinion about
how things will work out. What this results in is
confusion on the part of the Christians in the pews.
What I would like to do is shed a little light on a few
areas of prophecy. I do not claim to have all the
answers, but I am going to attempt to preach about
several prophetic themes that are presented in the
Word of God. I would like to try to present these
studies in the order in which they will happen on God's
prophetic calendar. Last Sunday, we looked at the
Rapture of the Church. Today, I would like to preach
for a while on The Truth About Satan's Superman.
This sermon will focus on the life and work of the
person who is known as the Antichrist.
Why a series on prophecy? Because many in our
modern churches do not know what lies ahead.
Because many all around us need to prepare for the
coming of the Lord. Because the time is short and we
need to hear the truth.
Some 40 billion people have lived on the earth since
Adam was created in the Garden of Eden. Since that
time, the world has witnessed the advent of many
talented, intelligent and powerful people. However,
none of these who has ever lived is able to match this
man who will known as the Antichrist. He will be
powerful, deceitful, intelligent, brutal, ruthless and
efficient. He will represent the pinnacle of all that man
can achieve apart from God. He will literally be Satan's
Superman. Let's see what the Bible says about him.
I. V. 23 THE APPEARANCE OF
SATAN'S SUPERMAN
(Our text tells us that in the end times, a fierce king will
stand up. But, what are the signs of his appearing?
Can men know when this man will appear? The answer
to that question is both "Yes" and "No". I am certain
that no man knows exactly who the Antichrist is or
exactly when he will appear, but the Bible does tell us
that there are certain sings that accompany his
appearance. It is these signs that I would like to look at
for a few minutes.)
A. The Condition Of The World - when this man
makes his entrance, the world will be in a terrible
moral condition. This is evidenced by two
passages that make reference to the end times,
Luke 17:26-27; 2 Tim. 3:1-5. It is easy to see
that our world already bears the marks that
suggest a fulfillment of these conditions. It is my
conviction that the world itself is ready for
Satan's Superman to appear.
B. The Corruption Of Religion - 2 Thes. 2:3 tells
us that the Antichrist will appear during a time of
a religious apostasy, which the Bible calls "a
falling away." This refers to a time when
organized, visible religion will depart from the
doctrines of the Word of God. Since the New
Testament was written for and about believers,
it makes since to conclude that this falling away
will be apparent in churches and denominations
which operate under the umbrella of Christianity.
(Ill. I hope everyone understands that just
because a church or denomination calls itself a
Christian work, that does not truly make it so! In
fact, the days in which we live are marked by a
rapid departure from the foundational truths of
Christianity. There was a time when, if a man
said he was a Christian, you pretty much knew
what he believed. There might have been a few
doctrinal difference, but for the most part, this
person believed in the virgin birth of Christ, the
substitutionary death and resurrection of Christ,
the return of Christ, the fact that the Bible is the
Word of God. In other words, a Christian was a
person who was in a personal relationship with
Jesus and accepted all that the Bible teaches
concerning Him and His work. Now, however,
things have changed! A person may deny the
virgin birth and still claim to be a Christian! A
person may call themselves a Christian and cast
doubt on the accuracy of the Bible. A person
may doubt that Jesus really died and rose from
the dead and still claim they are saved.
Something is wrong with this picture! We are
living in the midst of a "great falling away!"
Cults are growing by leaps and bounds while
genuine Christianity consistently finds itself
under the gun from society, government and
organized religion.)
(Ill. Just this summer the Southern Baptist
Convention took steps to remove from their
doctrinal statement any room for liberals and
modernists to wiggle. This move brought cries of
protest from the world and from the liberal crowd
within the convention. This is just another
indication that the tide is swiftly turning against
those who believe the Bible and who know Jesus
Christ.)
(Ill. When denominations have to take votes on
whether to marry homosexuals, or to allow
homosexuals to be ordained, something is
wrong! There are things that are nailed down so
firmly in the Word of God that there should never
be a question about them. However, we are
seeing every major doctrine under attack. We
see churches and denominations turning away
from the truth with alarming speed. Truly we are
in the midst of apostasy!)
(Ill. If this is the case, then what hinders the
Antichrist from appearing at any moment and
what keeps the Tribulation from starting? There
is one event that must take place before the
Antichrist can be revealed and before the
Tribulation Period can commence.)
C. The Completion Of The Church - 2 Thes. 2:6-7
- These verses teach us the truth that the church
must be removed before the Antichrist can be
revealed. Verse 6 tells us that there is
something that "withholdeth". Verse 7 says that
there is One Who "letteth". The two words are
translated from the same Greek word and both
mean "to hinder". The Bible tells us, verse 7,
that the spirit of Antichrist is already at work.
That is why we can see the evidence all around
us. However, there are two forces that hinder
him from stepping onto the stage and making his
presence known. What are those two
hindrances? The Church and the Holy Spirit!
The work of the Spirit in convicting and judging
the hearts of men is a tremendous retraining
force in the world, John 16:8-11. The Spirit's
work in filling the Church to stand against the
tide of evil is also a great hindrance to the work
of the spirit of Antichrist. However, one day,
both of these forces will be removed! When? At
the Rapture!
(Ill. It is worthy to note at this point that the
Tribulation is not for the church! It is called, "the
time of Jacob's trouble", Jer. 30:7. It was told
to Daniel that the Tribulation was a time for
Israel, Dan. 9:27. The Tribulation Period is also
known as a "time of God's Wrath.", Rev. 6:16-17; Rev. 16:1. The Bible clearly teaches that
God's children have been saved from wrath
through Jesus, Rom. 5:9. One of the greatest
proofs that the church will not se Tribulation is
Christ's promise to the church at Philadelphia,
Rev. 3:10, "Because thou hast kept the word
of my patience, I also will keep thee from the
hour of temptation, which shall come upon all
the world, to try them that dwell upon the
earth.")
(Ill. There are some who would tell us that the
church will go through the first 3½ years of the
Tribulation. However, to believe this view, you
have to believe that many of the Lord's
prophecies to Israel also apply to the church.
The fact of the matter is, if you interpret the Bible
literally, you have to believe that the church
leaves this world before the Tribulation Period.)
II. V. 23b THE ABILITIES OF
SATAN'S SUPERMAN
A. He Will Be A Man Of Popularity - Rev. 6:2 tells
us that this man will be "given a crown". That
is, the peoples of the world will embrace him as
a godsend. No doubt this man will arrive on the
scene with a workable formula for world peace.
He will have a viable explanation for the
disappearance of the Christians. He will embody
all the world has ever looked for in a leader. It is
said that the Antichrist will possess:
1. The Leadership of a Washington or a Lincoln
2. The Eloquence of a Franklin Roosevelt
3. The Charm of a Theodore Roosevelt
4. The Charisma of a John F. Kennedy
5. The Popularity of a Dwight Eisenhower
6. The Political Savvy of a Lyndon Johnson
7. The Intellect of a Thomas Jefferson
My friends, whether we will admit it or not, the
world stage is set for the appearance of such a
man! He will be popular!
B. He Will Be A Man Of Peace - Rev. 6:2 tells us
that when he appears, he will be like one riding
a white horse. This gives him the appearance of
good. It also states that he will have a bow, but
no arrows. This indicates that he will no come
making war, but will come making peace. This
is proven by what Daniel saw in Dan. 9:27. It
seems this man will make a 7 year peace treaty
with the nation of Israel.
(Ill. Again, it can be clearly seen that our world is
looking for such a leader. The world is tired of
war! Economies are in need of help and people
want to prosper and dwell in peace and safety.
The world will readily embrace a man with a
message of peace.)
(Ill. The world will never know peace apart from
Jesus Christ! While this world is in turmoil this
morning, the children of God know peace in their
hearts, John 14:27. When Jesus returns to this
earth, He will usher in a genuine peace that will
last. If you are looking for peace, you will find it
only in Jesus!)
C. He Will Be A Man Of Prosperity - Dan. 11:43;
Rev. 13:16-17. The Antichrist will eventually
control the wealth of the world. He will bring
prosperity to those who have lived in poverty. I
am convinced that the Antichrist will bring an end
to world hunger. That he will do away with much
of the class distinction that exists in our world.
That most people under his reign will be better
off financially that they were before he rose to
power.
(Ill. This is one area of this rule that will bring him
lasting success. People like to prosper! Just
look at America! We have a President who has
been impeached. He is morally bankrupt. He
heads an administration that has witnessed
more scandal that any other in American history.
All around him, people in positions of power
have been convicted of crimes and are doing
prison time. He, himself, is about to be
disbarred as a lawyer, and he faces criminal
charges when he leaves office. In spite of all
that, most Americans support Bill Clinton. Why?
Because they are better of financially than they
were before he came into office. The bottom
line? A world leader who can promise and
produce prosperity will be a very popular man!)
D. He Will Be A Man Of Power - Rev. 13:7-8 These
verses tell us that Antichrist will eventually rule
the entire world. Conquerors down through the
ages have sought this lofty goal without success.
He will achieve it! What men won't recognize, or
won't care about is the fact that he receives his
power from Satan himself, Dan. 8:24. He will
become so large in the eyes of humanity that
they will literally worship him as their god.
(Ill. All of this will be true of him in the beginning of his
reign. However, in the middle of the Tribulation, this
man of peace and prosperity will show his true colors.
This brings us to our third thought concerning this
superman from Hell.)
III. V. 24-25b THE ABOMINATIONS OF
SATAN'S SUPERMAN
A. He Will Attack The People Of God - Dan. 7:25
The Antichrist will break his covenant with Israel
and will attack the people of the Lord. He will try
to do what Hitler, Stalin and others failed to do:
exterminate the Jew. More than anything, this
man will hate everything having to do with God
and Jesus Christ. He will lash out at the Jews
and try to completely destroy them.
(Ill. We are seeing in our day that this spirit is
already at work! It is becoming increasingly
unpopular to be a Bible believer. In fact, we are
often labeled as being intolerant. You watch and
see it that is not the buzz word you hear used
against the church. We are told that we must
tolerate homosexuality and lesbianism. We are
told that we must protect the spotted owl while,
at the same time, we tolerate the murder of
millions of innocent unborn children. We are told
that we are bigots when we speak out about the
evils of society. We are told that we have no
voice in the government. We are told to soften
our stance. You keep an eye on things in the
next few years. If the Lord doesn't return soon,
it my become illegal to be a fundamental, Bible-believing Christian! The church us under attack,
and this will continue until the Rapture. Then,
the focus of Satan's anger will be the nation of
Israel.)
B. He Will Attack The Prince Of God - Dan. 8:25 -
Here, we are told that this Mon of Sin will stand
up against the "Prince of Princes." This is none
other than the Lord Jesus Christ! It appears that
anything having to do with godliness, holiness or
Christ will be the focus of the attacks of this
madman. He will make every effort to stamp out
the name of Jesus from the face of the earth!
(Ill. While he is doing this, the Lord will raise an
army of young, Jewish men, 144,000 in all, who
will go throughout the world preaching the gospel
of the Kingdom, Rev. 14. The Antichrist will be
powerless to stop them! Aren't you glad that
even in the midst of Chaos, God is still on the
throne?!)
(Ill. Again, this attitude is already being
manifested in our day. When was the last time
you heard someone use the name of Allah as a
curse word? When did you hear someone in a
fit of anger make use of the name of Buddha.
When was the last time you heard your favorite
actor take the word "damn" and place the name
of Krishna before it? The fact is, you haven't!
And you won't! The name that is attacked with
alarming frequency is the name of Jesus! I hear
that blessed name used as a byword by a Christ
rejecting world and it makes me sick to my
stomach. You might as well face it, the devil
hates the name of Jesus! He will hate it and he
will attempt to discredit it and destroy it until he
is cast away in to Hell's flames. Why is it that
Jesus, and His doctrines, are the most hated
things in the world? Because if men admit the
fact that He is Lord, that He died and rose again,
that He is in fact the Savior. Then man must
admit that he is a sinner or be doomed to Hell.
If the Bible is right about Jesus, then it stands to
reason that it is right about everything else as
well. The world hates His name because it
points out their sins!)
C. He Will Attack The Place Of God - Dan. 8:25;
Dan. 11:36-37; Dan. 9:27; 2 Thes. 2:4; Matt.
24:15 - All these verses tell us that the Antichrist
will break his 7 year covenant with the Jews.
That he will attempt to wipe Israel from the map
and that he will enter the newly constructed
Temple in Jerusalem, walk into the Holy of
Holies and set up his throne. He will declare
himself to be God and he will demand worship
from all the people, but especially the Jews. He
will desecrate their Temple. The Jews
(Ill. The passage we read as our text this
morning was directly fulfilled by a man named
Antiochus Epiphanes.
a. He was a Syrian.
b. He came to the throne in 175 B.C. and ruled
until 164 B.C.
c. He was anti-Semitic to the core. He
assaulted Jerusalem, murdering over 40,000
in three days, and selling an equal number
into cruel slavery. It is thought that on
September 6, 171 B.C., he began his evil
actions toward the Temple.
d. On December 15, 168, his Temple
desecration reached its ultimate low, for on
that day this idolater sacrificed a giant sow on
an idol altar he had made in the Jewish
Temple. He then forced the priests to
swallow its flesh, made a broth of it, and
sprinkled all the Temple. He finally carried off
the golden candlesticks, table of shrewbread,
altar of incense, various other vessels, and
destroyed the sacred books of the Law. A
large image of Jupiter was placed in the Holy
of Holies. All this was termed by the horrified
Jews as "the abomination of desolation," and
is referred to by Jesus in Matthew 24:15 as a
springboard to describe the activities of the
future antichrist.
e. All through Palestine altars to Jupiter were
set up and the Jews were forced to sacrifice
on them. But at a little Jewish town called
Modin (seventeen miles northwest of
Jerusalem) there lived a Jewish priest named
Mattathias, of the House of Hasmon. He had
five sons and this brave old man not only
refused to worship Antiochus' idols, but
boldly slew the king's religious ambassador.
The Jewish revolt was on. One of his sons
was named Judas and he was called the
Maccabee (meaning, the hammer).
For the next few years Judas successfully
led an army of Jews against the Syrians.
Their brave exploits are described in two
Apocrypha books, first and second
Maccabees. On December 25, 165 B.C., the
Jewish patriots cleansed and rededicated the
Temple Antiochus had defiled. This later
became a Jewish holiday known as the Feast
of Dedication (see Jn. 10:22).
Note: In 8:14 there is a time period of
2300 days mentioned. This apparently
began on September 6, 171 B.C. and
ended on December 25, 165 B.C. It was,
however, on the basis of this period that
William Miller, founder of the modern
Seventh Day Adventist movement, went
astray. He made the days stand for years
and arrived at the date of October 22,
1844, for the return of Christ!
f. Antiochus died in Babylon in 164 B.C. after
being soundly defeated in battle.
What Antiochus did is part will be done in full by
the Antichrist. He will declare to the world that
he is God and that he must be worshiped. The
sad thing is that the Bible tells us very clearly
that the world will be lead to worship this devil
from Hell, Rev. 13:8. The world will not bow to
the Lord Jesus Who loves them and gave
Himself for them, Rom. 5:8; Rev. 1:5. But, they
will worship this satanically charged madman
and will give him the praise that should be
reserved exclusively for God!)
(Ill. Friend, who are you worshiping this morning?
Are you giving you worship to yourself? Your
things? Your life? Are you reserving your
worship for the Antichrist? The fact is, your
worship will be directed somewhere. I would
advise that you worship the Lord God through
His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.
IV. V. 25c THE AFFLICTIONS OF
SATAN'S SUPERMAN
A. It Will Be Sudden - Dan 8:25 says that the
Antichrist will be "broken without hand." This
means that the Antichrist will be defeated, but
not by man! His kingdom will be over thrown,
but it will be a supernatural defeat. This is made
even clearer by Rev. 19:20. When God judges
this man, He will do it swiftly and harshly. Defeat
is sure for the Antichrist.
B. It Will Be Serious - Notice that Rev. 19:20 says
that Antichrist will enter the Lake of Fire alive!
Then, 1,000 years later, Satan himself is judged
and condemned to the Lake of Fire. When he is
thrown in, the Bible tells us that the Beast is still
there, Rev. 20:10. In spite of the man's abilities,
in spite his power, in spite his greatness, in spite
of the fact that he received the worship of men,
he is still defeated. All the while he was ruling
the world in great power, he was nothing more
than a puppet in the hand of God. He was just
a pawn fulfilling a divinely directed purpose. This
man, like so many others found himself on the
wrong side!
(Ill. My friend, which side are you on this
morning? Are you in line with the Word of God?
Have you trusted Jesus as your personal
Savior? If so, you will never see the Antichrist in
this world. If so, then you will be in Heaven, in
the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ while the
world writhes under tribulation. If not, then you
need to be saved! You are on the wrong side!
If the Lord doesn't come in your life time, you will
die and go to Hell if you don't get right with God.
If He does come and finds you lost, you will enter
into the Tribulation and you will probably give
your worship to the Antichrist,
2 Thes. 2:12.
Where do you stand today?)
Conc: We
may wonder what all this has to do with us.
The answer is that Jesus is coming and the world is
poised to enter a time of trouble like nothing she has
ever experienced before. What happens to you all
depends on what you do with Jesus Christ. I invite you
to come to Him this morning and be saved. If you are
saved, I would ask you to look at you life to see if you
are pointing men to Jesus or away from Him by the life
you live. I do not fear the Antichrist! I will be gone
before he makes his appearance. What about you?
Where will you be when Satan's Superman takes the
world by storm? When Daniel looked into these things, he fainted and
became ill. He was a godly man! What effect do these words have on
your heart this morning?
