Christianity and Anti-Christianity in Their Final Conflict - Samuel J. Andrews

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and terrible day," "the time of the birth- throes"; as the end of the age or dispensation, it was "the last day," or "last days;" and as forming the transition to the Messianic age, it was the con- clusion or "end of this world" and "the beginning of the world to come."

      It was in "the last days" that both good and evil would come to the full, and the distinction between them be most manifest, and, therefore, the hostility the greatest. Among all peoples there would be division and strife and hatred; and in the physical world, great disturbances and cosmical changes (Joel ii, 30; Zech. xiv); the end of all being "new heavens and a new earth" in which the righteous would dwell (Isa. lxv, 17).

      But whilst the Jews believed that the nations would

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      assemble together, and fight against the Messiah at His appearing (Ps. ii, Joel ii, Zech. xiv, 2), did they believe that their enemies would then be united under one head—the Antimessiah? It is not wholly clear what the Jews believed on this point.* The prophecies of Daniel were much read, and largely moulded the popular expectations as to the future. This prophet uses the symbol of a beast to represent the kingdoms which wasted and oppressed his people. He saw four different beasts coming up from the sea —four successive kingdoms—each with its special characteristics, but all hostile to the Jews (Dan. vii). In the image seen by Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. ii, 81), four kingdoms were symbolized by its differing parts of gold, silver, brass, and iron. That the fourth and last is the Roman has been generally held. This beast (vii, 24) has ten horns (the horn being every- where a symbol of some form of power), which here represent the fullness of its kingly power: "The ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise." Among these came up "a little horn," having eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows, and who thinks to change times and laws. That this eleventh horn symbol-

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      *What is said by Bertholdt (Christologia, 16) of the Anti- christus is taken from later, and for the most part Christian, sources. Eisenmenger, "Entdecktes Judenthum," quotes only from the later Rabbis. It is said by Jowett, "Essay on Man of Sin": "It was a current belief of the time in which St. Paul lived that the coming of Messiah would be preceded by the com- ing of Antichrist;" referring to Gfrörer as his authority.

      Dr. Todd "Discourses" affirms that the fourth kingdom is that of the Antichrist. Against this interpretation there are very strong objections.

      6 THE TEACHINGS OF THE SCRIPTURE.

      ized some great persecutor is plain from the words spoken of him; and it is not likely that the Jews of the Lord's day believed that they had had their ful- fillment in Antiochus Epiphanes, or in any persecutor of the past. It is more probable that they saw in Antiochus a type of a greater enemy to come, and the last, for after his destruction the kingdom would be given to the saints of the Most High. Understand- ing the one "like unto a Son of Man" (vii, 18) to be the Messiah, who now takes the Kingdom, this would certainly lead to the conception of this last enemy as an antimessiah; but that the Jews so under- stood it, is more than we can positively affirm.

      The same may be said of "the little horn" (Dan. viii, 9), and interpreted as a symbol of "a king of fierce countenance," who "shall destroy the mighty and the holy people." And also of "the willful king" (xi, 36), though not a few now understand the fulfill- ment of this prophecy to be wholly in the future. Of the prediction of the "one that maketh desolate" (ix, 24—) we shall speak in considering the Lord's teachings.

      If we turn to the other prophets, the words of Isaiah xi, 4: "With the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked," are translated in the Targum, "With the breath of his lips shall he slay Armilus." This shows that at the time of this translation there was a belief that the Messiah would be confronted by a chief personal enemy whom He would destroy. St. Paul applies this to the man of sin (2 Thess. ii, 8). Of this passage Delitzsch ("Messianic Prophecies") says, "We have an indication that the apostasy of the earth will finally culminate in the Antichrist." Other typical references to the Antimessiah in this

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      prophet are found by many interpreters in x, 6, where the "Assyrian" is mentioned; and in xiv, 12, where "Lucifer," " the shining one," or "son of the dawn," is spoken of, who says, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. . . I will be like the Most High." In the mention of Leviathan (xxvii, 1), "the swift serpent," "the crooked serpent," "the dragon that is in the midst of the sea," some find a symbolic pointing out of the Antimessiah.

      A reference to an Antimessiah is found by some in Psalm cx, 6. "He shall wound the heads over many countries" (in R. V. "He shall strike through the head in many countries"). The singular "head" being used in the Hebrew, they understand it as equivalent to "prince," and to foretell that many countries are to be united in that day—"the day of God's wrath" when He shall judge among the nations—under one man as their chief.

      A union of many peoples under one head is spoken of by Ezekiel, xxxviii, 2. But it is not easy to identify Gog, "the chief prince of Meshech," with the blasphemous oppressors of Daniel. He seems rather to be a distinct enemy, and not improbably a Chris- tian power, hostile to the Jews, who will invade their land and oppress for a short time the Jewish people; but at what time or under what conditions we cannot now understand.

      Whilst then we do not find in the Old Testament any distinct mention by name of an Antimessiah, we do find predictions that at the time when the Messiah was expected to appear and take the Kingdom, there would be arrayed against Him the nations acting together in unity. This implies a head, some one

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      who is the leader, and possessed of great, if not supreme power. (See Joel iii, 2. "I will gather all nations against Jerusalem," and Zech. xiv, 2, "I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle," also Ps. ii.) The characters of the oppressors mentioned by Daniel, their hatred of the holy people, their selfish exaltation, their contempt of God and of His times and laws—all mark a period when "wickedness is come to the full," and the most bitter enemies of God and His Christ appear. It is not without ground that we may believe that the imprecatory Psalms, especially cix, may prophetically refer to this man in whom would be concentrated all hostility to Jehovah and the Saints.

      We may, then, accept the language of Prof. Briggs ("Messianic Prophecy"), "It is not unnatural, but rather in accordance with the analogy of prophecy, that the hostile kingdoms should not only in- crease in extension, but also increase in intension; we might reasonably expect that a great hostile monarch, an Antimessiah, would precede the advent of the Messiah Himself. . . The sufferings of the people of God would reach their climax under the Antimessiah."

      That the Jews of the Lord's day, or at least many of them, believed that the general hostility of the nations to them as the Covenant people, would find its last expression in some mighty one, their leader, who would be overthrown by the Messiah, although nowhere distinctly asserted by the prophets, cannot well be doubted. But was this Antimessiah to be a heathen man, or an apostate Jew? Some have seen a prophetic intimation that he would be a Jew, in the mention by the prophet Zechariah (xi.

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      17) of "the idol (foolish) shepherd." Thus Delitzsch says: "If the good shepherd is the image of the future Christ, the foolish shepherd is the counterpart of Christy that is, the lawless one in whom the apos- tasy from Christ culminates. A heathen ruler is not meant, but one proceeding from the people having the name of the people of God." But on the other hand, those whom the later Jews regarded as types of the Antimessiah were heathen, as Balaam and the Assyrian. It is not likely that the Jews believed that anyone of their number would so fall from the faith as to deny the special calling of his people; or that an apostate Jew would be received by the heathen as their head. They saw rather in the Anti- messiah, if, indeed, they had any definite conception of him as an individual, one who did not recognize their claim to be God's chosen people, or the claim of their Messiah;

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