Last Kingdom of Man & The Return of Christ Daniel 7: 23-28

The Last Human Kingdom and the Return of Jesus

The last kingdom of man will rise and fall with impressive suddenness. The last king, a satanic puppet in human flesh, given the greatest power any human leader will ever have, will fall on the battlefield soon after he takes power. Jesus will return from heaven and defeat this coming evil leader.

In mankind’s darkest hour, when truly all hope is lost, the best of mankind will defeat the worst evil history has ever produced.

The last century gave us the two worst wars in humanity’s history. World Wars, one and two were the worst conflicts this globe has ever faced. Hitler, a symbol of evil, led Germany in an effort to conquer the world. He failed but the evil he perpetrated is a dark stain on humanity. “The Darkest Hour,” is a quote attributed to Winston Churchill when he gave a fiery speech in an effort to instill courage in Britain as they faced the military onslaught of Hitler’s Germany.

The Final Kingdom Comes

The good guys won that round. Another final round is on the horizon. It’s still years away unless you’re reading this article many years after I wrote it. There’s still time to find a place to hide if you can. There will be many trying to hide along with you. An evil kingdom and a wicked ruler is coming and there is only One who is able to defeat him and save the world from ruin. It’s a little dramatic but the story of God will reach its climax just like any great story–in a dramatic fashion.

When hope is lost, when it’s darker than ever, the Light of the world will shine and save the ones who cling to their last ounce of hope.

He will come. He will defeat evil and heal the world.

The last evil king–“the conspicuous horn”

Dan 7:23-27

Thus he said: “The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones and shall subdue three kings. He shall speak pompous words against the Most-High, shall persecute the saints of the Most-High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time. But the court shall be seated, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it forever. Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most-High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.”

The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom on earth:

This article is the fourth in a series covering chapter seven of the Book of Daniel. The chapter takes the reader from the high point of the Babylonian Empire, about 2500 years ago, to the end of humanity’s rule at the end of history-as-we-know-it.

Kind of ominous, I know, but that’s what the Bible predicts. On this site, I try to stick to the facts we find in the Bible. I avoid the crazy hysteria often found in many corners of the ‘prophecy world.’ There is a wild ride predicted at the end so at some point I need to address that insanity. In this chapter, the prophet is given a view from where he stands in Babylon all the way forward in history until the end.

That end will be very bad. Hitler will be a choir boy in comparison to who is coming. Daniel sees past the choir boy to the last evil kingdom and king.

Many Bible scholars and students believe the scriptures point to Rome as the final evil kingdom.

They are wrong. I won’t argue the details of that point now, but there is no question about that fact. Rome will not be the fourth and final kingdom as many have predicted. It’s not the Bible that is wrong, it’s the interpretation that is in error.

Different from all other kingdoms

This wording Daniel uses, in conjunction with other passages, makes it clear the fourth beast-kingdom will be different from anything that has occurred in history. There is going to be ten specific ruling entities in this empire. It will devour the earth. No kingdom has ever reached around the globe. This one will. Kings in history have boasted about ruling the world but none ever has. The Bible even uses language which indicates world rule for past empires. The language used in those passages and the context must be understood in connection with what we know from history. No kingdom ever spanned the globe, the last one will affect the entire world but…this is very important…the last kingdom will not reign over every tribe and nation of the world. Its evil reign will devour the earth but not actually rule over every nation.

This is in direct conflict with common teaching in Bible prophecy. God’s Word makes this clear so stay tuned for the details.

In the interest of trying to keep articles reasonably short, I will develop these thoughts as I go through the rest of the Book of Daniel.

The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom:

These ten kings are not part of a revived Roman Empire in the last days. Many will disagree with that but the Bible will prove correct, not the ‘revived Roman Empire’ theory. What do the words make clear? The ten horns Daniel sees on the beast represent ten kings. Many other passages allow us to piece together what this final beast will be.

Our first glimpse of this is seen in the second chapter. (Daniel 2) The ten toes of the statue are the same as the ten horns in other passages. (Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 and 17).

Bible students have been led to believe that they may not see this final kingdom. It’s the kingdom of the Antichrist, so Christians don’t need to worry about it. That’s a simple version of the teaching. That is wrong. In the last days, a group of ten nation-states will come together before the Antichrist comes into power. The Church will see the rise of this final kingdom. We will see the terrifying results of that rise to power. We are on the cusp of it now. (still years away at the time of this writing.)

And another shall rise after them.

After the ten come into combined power another leader will rise. The wording is clear. The first ten arise to power, then another leader, different from the first ones, shall come. Good Bible students should look for signs of ten nation-states combining forces to create a powerful coalition. It has been suggested these ten nations are a part of history. That is not possible because the ten come to power in the last days and are defeated by Christ when he returns. We see that truth in scripture and we’ll discuss it more fully as we go into other passages.

Just keep that in mind, the historical succession of the kings of Rome or other ideas is not what the Bible points to. It points to a final kingdom ruled by the Antichrist in the last days. The ten are taken over by the one final ruler. They rule at the same time.

The final ruler shall subdue three kings.

In taking control of this coalition of ten kings the Antichrist will subdue three of the rulers. The nation/states that these subdued rulers control will remain in the coalition but the rulers will either be killed or their power will be taken away. The military might and the people of these nations will remain under the full control of this final leader. This is the extent of the actual reach of the final world domination. The devouring the Bible refers to doesn’t mean they control every man, woman, and child on the earth. The evil and terror of this kingdom will affect the globe but everyone will not be under the iron hand of the leader.

Again, I understand this is different from what many have been taught. It is however what the Bible teaches. There will be a series of devastating wars between this final coalition and other nations that try to stop their growing power base. The Bible clearly teaches this so the final kingdom cannot possibly have control over every person and nation. If that was so, who would they be fighting against?

As I said, this will be laid out in more detail as I go through the rest of the Book of Daniel.

He shall speak pompous words against the Most-High:

The ‘He’ in this passage is the Antichrist who will rule over the last kingdom. One of the things that will make his identity clear is what he says about himself. Bible scholars and students have wondered and speculated about this leader for two thousand years. We are approaching the time in which his identity will become known.

His words will reveal him. He will declare to all the world that he is the god that the citizens of the world have waited for. He will be a little god in his mind and those who follow him. But he will not attain capital ‘G’ status. He will not be God, he will be a little man trying to take the place of God Almighty. The Devil will inhabit the flesh of this man. He will do great wonders and lead the foolish to believe it is truly a god among men.

Shall persecute the saints of the Most-High:

This portion of the passage brings us to more controversy. For well over one hundred years an error has been introduced and taught repeatedly regarding the last days’ church. I once accepted this teaching myself as have many others. The Bible teaches that followers of Christ will suffer persecution. That is clear. The erroneous teaching that has become prevalent is this.–The true Church of God will not endure the final horrible persecution. The Church will be removed before the persecution begins–so the false teaching says. I repeat; I accepted this teaching for years because that is what is taught in many evangelical churches.

This doctrine is not supported well by biblical studies. Yes, there are many passages used to support this teaching but I believe this is a great error. And again, in the interest of shorter articles, these subjects will be developed more fully in other supporting passages. For this article, we will take the word of the prophet that he saw the Antichrist persecute the “saints of the Most-High.”

Many in our churches today refuse to accept this fact. A final period of terrible persecution directed against the church will put believers in great danger.

Shall intend to change times and law:

This “little horn,” the leader who takes over the ten-nation confederation will do something to “change times and law.” I believe I know exactly what this is. I’m committing that to further study before I say for certain, but something will be done by this leader to confuse the timing and law issues of those who are under his rule. The law, I believe is a reference to religious law, not a ‘law-and-order’ issue.

Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time:

Here is another challenging passage for those in the church who teach that Christians will not suffer or even be around when the Antichrist is. There is only one class of saints in scripture. Those redeemed by the blood of Christ are the saints. God doesn’t have super saints and a lower class of not-so-super-saints. This teaching, which I now object to, and am very familiar with, says this refers to people who accept Christ during this time or it refers to the Jews.

Saints are Saints

No, saints are saints. The church, and yes, the Jews will endure terrible persecution during this period. The Jewish people during this time will not be saints, they will be persecuted nonetheless. There will be Jewish believers who the Lord will recognize as saints. That’s another important lesson also.

We also learn how long it will be. It will be three and a half years long. This is the time known in the Bible as the Day of the Lord or the Time of Jacob’s Trouble. At some time during this intense period, The Lord will interrupt what the Antichrist is doing against the church. The rapture or the rapid removal of the church from danger will happen during this 3 1/2 year period. This is something Jesus referred to when he said all flesh would be cut off if he didn’t put a stop to it.

The court is seated:

There are so many fascinating portions of this intriguing passage. This “court” refers to the council of God in the heavenly realm. God has many tens of thousands of angelic beings who serve Him in administering the affairs of the Kingdom. Daniel sees a court in heaven meet and determine the time is right to take the kingdom away from the Satanic leader and begin installing the Kingdom of Christ on earth. The Antichrist dies. Christians rule in his place. Jesus will be their king. It won’t be in heaven but on earth.

They shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it forever:

When Daniel first started to see these dreams and visions he was a young prophet in the service of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. In chapter two and now in chapter seven he sees the last earthly king removed abruptly from power and replaced by Jesus and His subjects, the saints of God.

The following quote is from perhaps the most respected Bible prophecy scholar of the modern era.

Because the kingdom of Jesus immediately succeeds this fourth kingdom, no event in the past answers this prediction in the smallest degree. Certainly, the church did not cause a sudden and catastrophic fall of the Roman Empire. “It is questionable whether the Roman Empire had any serious opposition from the Christian church or that the growing power of the church contributed in a major way to its downfall.” Walvoord

Jesus will reign on the earth over a physical kingdom in which Christians will have a role as joint heirs with Christ.

Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most-High:

This is a brief description of the beginning of the “millennial reign” of Jesus on earth. He will sit on the “throne of David,” in Jerusalem, for one thousand years. This will be the start of the peace on earth we all have hoped for. It will be real, and it will be spectacular.

Dan 7:28

This is the end of the account. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance changed; but I kept the matter in my heart.

My thoughts greatly troubled me:

Daniel saw the saints attacked repeatedly and viciously. The Antichrist takes nearly complete control of a large part of the world. The Devil will come very close to wiping out any good left in humanity.

God will stop the chaos, but seemingly at the last moment. As terrifying as it will be; if God doesn’t wait till the very end, many who have the opportunity to repent will have a chance to choose the One Good God instead of the little man who claims he is a god. The little man’s kingdom will fall into ruin. Christ will reign supreme.

Last Kingdom of Man & The Return of Christ Daniel 7: 23-28