Darryl looked up from his Bible and into the perplexed faces of Jamie
and Brian. "Well now, who wants to explain this passage? Brian?"
"No, sir, not me!" Brian said taken aback.
"Don't look at me, Dad. It's all yours!"
Darryl smiled, "It's a tricky passage, and a very important one. This
passage has dual fulfillment. The little horn that came up after represents
two evil men who were to come in the future. The first man has already come.
The second man is soon to come."
"The second evil man must be the antichrist," Jamie caught on
quickly, "but who was the first?"
"The first man came out of the Selecuid kingdom about 175 B.C. His
name was Antiochus Epiphanes, which means 'Antiochus, god manifest.' He
had 80,000 Jewish people killed. He sold another 40,000 into slavery. He
substituted Greek worship and culture for the Jewish religion. Instead of
celebrating the feast of Tabernacles, he introduced the feast of Bacchus,
the god of pleasure and wine. He forbade the observance of the Sabbath and
the reading of the Holy Scriptures. He burned every copy of the Torah he
could find and forbade the Jewish people to practice anything Jewish under
the penalty of death. He did many, many, horrible things, and the Jewish
people called him Antiochus Epimanes, which means 'Antiochus the Madman.'"9
"He certainly sounds like a madman," commented Brian.
"He must be a type of antichrist," Jamie chimed in.
"Yes, he is a type of the antichrist. He stopped the daily sacrifice
at the temple and he set up an image of Zeus in the temple. Then he sacrificed
a pig on the altar and took the blood and sprayed it all over the inside
of the temple. It was 2,300 days from that time until he died and the temple
was cleansed and back in use again."10
"He was a scary guy," Jamie said, shaking her head.
"Not half as scary as the antichrist to come I'm afraid," Jamie's
father explained. "The antichrist will do many of the same things as
Antiochus Epiphanes. He will stop the daily sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem."
"Excuse me," Brian interjected.
Darryl paused, "Yes, Brian."
"You said earlier that you believed all these things would happen in
our lifetime."
"Yes, that's right."
"Well, there isn't any Jewish temple in Jerusalem."
"That's true, Brian. However, the Jewish religious scholars and rabbis
in Jerusalem have been busy for over the last thirty years preparing for
the rebuilding of the temple. I believe it is only a matter of time before
the actual construction on the temple begins."
"Wow!" said a surprised Brian.
"Dad, didn't you tell us that he will set up an image of himself in
the temple?"
"Not exactly. The false prophet will set up the image of the antichrist
in the temple."
"False prophet? Who is he?" Brian was lost.
Darryl took a deep breath, "In Revelation, chapter 13, the apostle
John explains in great detail what will happen. First, there is going to
be a great religious leader, known as the false prophet, who will head up
a one-world religious organization."
"Excuse me," Elizabeth said, "I heard that a world-wide religious
organization is now being formed. I believe it will be called 'United Religions.'
The charter will be drawn up in June of 1997. The organization will be in
place by the year 2000, and fully operational by 2005. I believe this could
be the one-world religious organization the false prophet will lead."
"Great comment, I have to agree with you. It will be interesting to
see what becomes of this new organization.
"Now getting back to the false prophet. He will perform great miracles
by the power of Satan. He will cause the image of the antichrist in the
temple to speak. The false prophet will have everyone who will not worship
the image to be put to death. He will also force all the people to receive
a mark on their right hand or forehead. This mark is commonly called the
'mark of the beast.' Without this mark on the right hand or forehead, no
one will be able to buy or sell."
"Won't it be the number 666 tattooed on the hand or forehead?"
Jamie asked.
"Elizabeth, you're the computer expert here. Why don't you tell us
what you think?"
Elizabeth smiled and began. "Well, the world is rapidly heading toward
a cashless society. Soon, cash will become obsolete. We are currently seeing
debt cards introduced which, unlike credit cards, deduct money directly
from your bank account. The problem with carrying a card is the possibility
of it being lost or stolen. To solve this potential problem they now have
on the market something that I firmly believe will be used as the mark of
the beast."
"What is it?" Jamie and Brian asked together.
"A microchip transponder the size of a grain of rice. It can be injected
under the skin, with a hypodermic needle and is invisible to the human eye.
The chip transmits an identification number that can be read by an electronic
scanner. At this point, the person's unique number can be used to look up
personal data in a central computer database. These microchips are already
being used to track animals in some areas."11
Brian asked, "What will G-d do to the people who take the mark of the
beast?"
Darryl turned the pages of his Bible to the last book and said, "In
Revelation 14:9-11, G-d's Word tells us: 'Here is what will happen to you
if you worship the beast and the image and have the mark of the beast on
your hand or forehead. You will have to drink the wine that G-d gives to
everyone who makes him angry. You will feel his mighty anger, and you will
be tortured with fire and burning sulfur, while the holy angels and the
Lamb look on. If you worship the beast and the idol and accept the mark
of its name, you will be tortured day and night. The smoke from your torture
will go up forever and ever, and you will never be able to rest.'"12
Brian was dumbfounded. He sat staring at Darryl with his mouth open but
not a sound came out.
Jamie gently nudged him. "Brian, are you okay?"
"Forever and ever," he whispered. "They will burn forever?"
"Yes, I'm sad to say it's true."
Brian sighed. He was deeply disturbed by this new information.
"I think it's time to finish up chapter eight. Let's see what else
Daniel has to say."