Antichrist's Geographic Origin

Daniel 8:1-26 “In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me--to me, Daniel--after the one that appeared to me the first time.  (2)  I saw in the vision, and it so happened while I was looking, that I was in Shushan, the citadel, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision that I was by the River Ulai.  (3)  Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the river, was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last.  (4)  I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no animal could withstand him; nor was there any that could deliver from his hand, but he did according to his will and became great.  (5)  And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.  (6)  Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power.  (7)  And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand.  (8)  Therefore, the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven.  (9)  And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land.  (10)  And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them.  (11)  He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.  (12)  Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.  (13)  Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, "How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?"  (14)  And he said to me, "For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed."  (15)  Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.  (16)  And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, "Gabriel, make this man understand the vision."  (17)  So, he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, "Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end."  (18)  Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me, and stood me upright.  (19)  And he said, "Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be.  (20)  The ram which you saw, having the two horns--they are the kings of Media and Persia.  (21)  And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king.  (22)  As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.  (23)  "And in the latter time of their kingdoms, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes.  (24)  His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; He shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.  (25)  "Through his cunning He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; and he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without human means.  (26)  "And the vision of the evenings and mornings which was told is true; therefore, seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in the future.”

The above quoted passage of scripture is an account of Daniel’s second vision relating to the end times, the Antichrist, and his kingdom. In this section we want to concentrate our discussion on the kingdom of the Antichrist, i.e. its origin and its present state. In this passage Daniel links this vision to the earlier vision that we have already discussed, for he mentions that this vision was given to him after the first one that he had received.

The vision culminates with the entry of the Antichrist into the earth, for the angel tells us that when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes; referring to the person of the Antichrist. This passage gives us a number of insights into the reign of the Antichrist which we will discuss in detail in a later section.

In this section however, we want to concentrate on the kingdom of the Antichrist and more specifically its location. In light of that, it is important to note that the Lord placed Daniel at a very specific geographic location when He gave him this vision. Daniel was not physically at that location when he received the vision; the Holy Spirit transported him there in the spirit, and by the direction of the Holy Spirit Daniel recorded exactly where he was standing. Daniel found himself standing next to the river Ulai in the citadel of Shushan in the province of Elam.

So why was it so important for Daniel to record his exact location when he received this vision? The reason is because this vision reveals where the Antichrist will finally emerge into the earth and where his kingdom will be located. We know that, because this passage tells us that beginning at the location where Daniel was standing, the kingdom of the Antichrist (the little horn) will grow exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east and toward the Glorious Land. And so by identifying the geographic location mentioned in this passage we can identify the locations of both the Antichrist and his kingdom.

There are six specific kingdoms shown to Daniel in this vision, beginning with the Babylonian kingdom and ending with the kingdom of the Antichrist. Nevertheless, when the angel mentions the Antichrist emerging 'in the latter time of their kingdoms,' he alludes to additional kingdoms beyond the first five before culminating in the kingdom of the Antichrist. Clearly the angel mentions all these kingdoms to provide us with a trail that will lead us to the identity of the kingdom of the Antichrist. And so in following that trail we will discuss each kingdom in turn.

Michael E.B. Maher

The Last Days

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