CHAPTER XIX.

 

DEVELOPMENTS OF THE KINGDOM

OF ANTICHRIST.

 

 

TO think that all government is of God and that the devil advocates nothing but anarchy is a mistake.  It is true, anarchy is one phase of the devil’s work, but the spirit of anti­christ strongly advocates, and seeks to establish a government.  There are demons of anarchy whom Satan uses at certain occasions, but the devil himself understands the strength of organization, and knows the power of government.  To say that the governments of the world have and are today entirely under the control of Satan would be a mistake; to say that they have been and are today entirely under the control of Christ would be as great a mistake.  “The powers that be are ordained of God” (Rom. 13: 1), but because of the prevalence of wickedness in the world these “powers” are greatly hin­dered from being just what God would have them be.  On the other hand, the influence of God’s people in the world hinders Satan from making these “powers” just what he would have them be.  In our last chapter we said that Nimrod’s tower marked the beginning of all earthly sovereignties this side the flood, stating that it was the purpose of Satan to fully establish the kingdom of Antichrist at that time, and that he would have done so, no doubt, had he not been defeated by the Almighty.  Since the defeat of Satan at Babel, and the dis­persion of the people in the whole world, Satan has been seek­ing to establish a government similar to the one begun in the land of Shinar, and to fully establish the kingdom and reign of the Antichrist.  So far he has failed.  It is the purpose of this chapter to trace developments of the kingdom of Antichrist through the ages.  We can not think of discussing all points in this connection, or even mentioning all the governmental powers

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with which Satan has had to do, but we wish to trace the princi­pal heads.  In so doing, we shall see that Satan has had much to do with the governments of this world.

     1. Egypt.  First in the list after leaving Nimrod’s un­finished tower is Egypt.  Very little is known of political history between the confusion of tongues at Babel and the rise of Egyptian dominion.  When the historic curtain first rises from the mystic shores of Legendary, there were people living in the valleys of the Nile and the Euphrates.  Egypt is the first governmental power to attract our attention.  The ancient Egyptians were the chief people of the Hamitic branch.  The Hamitic branch were the children of Ham, the son of Noah.  Nimrod was the grandson of Ham.  Therefore, the Egyptians, likely, were the descendants of Nimrod himself.  Menes, the founder of the first Dynasty of the Pharaohs, as well as the Pharaohs, was, perhaps, a descendant from Nimrod directly through the royal family.  In our last chapter we stated that no government could exist without a religion.  The ancient Egyptians had a religion in connection with their government.  They worshipped bugs, animals, etc.  Their re­ligious ideas were filled with mysteries.  In a word, the pre­dominating characteristic of Egyptian worship was mystery.  Their religious belief reacted in a remarkable way upon the earthly life of the people of Egypt.  It was the cause and motive of many things they did, and of many of the laws they made.  Their religion was in no way connected with anything that pointed to the blood of Christ, and hence, it was the re­ligion of Antichrist.  Their religion and politics were closely allied to each other, and these had one common centre.  Such a state of affairs is often spoken of in the Bible as fornication.  God always regards the union of the state with false worship as spiritual adultery.  The Egyptians made effort to extend their dominion world‑wide.  Thus we see many of the charac­teristics of Nimrod’s kingdom springing up in ancient Egypt.

     2. Assyria.  Second in the list of world‑wide kingdoms

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after leaving Nimrod’s tower is Assyria.  The Assyrians are said to have descended from Shem, the son of Noah.  The founder of their dominion, however, was surely Nimrod him­self, for “He (Nimrod) went out into Assyria, and builded Nineveh.”—Gen. 10: 11. (Margin.)  The Assyrians also had a religion in connection with their government, but it was the religion of Antichrist Sennacherib, the most renowned of all the Assyrian kings, devoted much to great building enter­prises at Nineveh.  Representing the decoration of Nineveh, one of his inscriptions says, “I raised again all the edifices of Nineveh, my royal city; I reconstructed all its old streets, and widened those that were too narrow.  I made the whole town a city shining like the sun.”  Their religion seemed to prompt them to the work of architecture and painting.  Their devotion to this art was the cause of many things they did.  Much labor also was given to the work of sculpture.  In short, the pre­dominating characteristics of Assyrian religion were sculpture, architecture, and painting.  The Assyrians, like the Babylon­ians, sought to make their dominion world‑wide.  Thus in several ways we can see the characteristics of Nimrod’s king­dom in Assyria.

     3. Babylon.  Third in the list of world‑wide powers is Babylon.  The Babylonians, as well as the Assyrians, are said to have descended from Shem.  That Nimrod, however, was the founder of Babylon is certain.  From the time that Nimrod went down into the land of Shinar (Gen. 11: 2) until this present day Babylon has not been entirely lost from view.  Of the fact that the Babylonians play a great part in history before Assyria rises to her highest mark of power, I am not ignorant.  After the Assyrian kings had lorded it over the whole East for nearly or quite six centuries, their dominion was overpowered by Nabopolassar, king of Babylon.  For a short time, therefore, Babylon filled a great place in history.

For this reason it is proper to consider her as the third world-­wide power.

 

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THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS.

 

 

The Babylonians also had a religion in connection with their government.  They had quite a mixture of religion.  One important element of their religion was their worship of nature gods.  Nimrod attributed the flood to nature only, and this idea has ever been prominent among the Babylonians.  Another prominent feature of their religion, of which we must not lose sight, was the belief in spirits, particularly in wicked spirits, and the practice of magic rites and incantations to avert the malign influence of these demons.  Yet, no one can fail to see that the ever‑prevailing element of Babylonian religion was that of self‑exaltation.  This is so vividly brought out in the history of Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon’s greatest king.  As “He walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon, the king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?”—Dan 4: 29, 30.  After his res­toration from insanity, he said, “Those that walk in pride he (God) is able to abase.”—Dan. 4: 37.  This self‑exaltation was clearly the religion of Antichrist.  Thus we see the third development of the kingdom of Antichrist to be Babylon.

4. Persia.  Fourth in the list of world‑wide powers is Persia.  It is sometimes called the Medo‑Persian power.  The Medes were at first the leading people, but their leadership was of short duration.  Cyrus, king of Anshan, overthrew both the Medes and Babylonians, assumed the leadership of both Medes and Persians, and soon built up an empire more extended, so far as we know, than any established before his time.  The Persians also had a religion in connection with their govern­ment.  Of course, as in the cases already considered, there was no blood in connection with their religion.  It was the religion of Antichrist.  The Persians were moralists.  They taught that it was the duty of man to labor to eradicate every evil and vice in his own bosom, that the good would finally triumph, and all evil would be forever destroyed.  Thus we see charac­teristics of Antichrist in Persia.

 

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5. Greece.  The fifth in the list of world‑wide powers is Greece.  It is sometimes called the Graeco‑Macedonia power.  This kingdom immediately follows the down‑fall of Persia in its world‑wide authority.  The Greeks also had a religion in connection with their government.  One of the chief character­istics of the religion of the Greeks was the sacred games celebrated at Olympia.  Another chief characteristic, in close connection with this one, was their literary taste.  In a word, the predominating features of the religion of the Greeks was athletics and education—a religion without blood.  Thus we see that the fifth great world‑wide power was Greece.

6. Rome.  Sixth in the world‑wide powers is Rome. Greece, having held the reins of worldly authority for nearly two centuries, was overcome by Rome.  Rome held the au­thority of the world, more or less, after she had conquered Greece, for more than six centuries.  She also had a religion in connection with her government.  Mars, the god of war, was the favorite deity of the Roman race.  In their conquests, the Romans were often very cruel.  By inflicting all forms of cruelty upon the conquered, the Romans seemed to think that they were doing the will of the gods.  In fact, in a word, the chief characteristic of the religion of the Romans was cruelty.  This religion was a religion connected with blood, but it was blood that in no way pointed to the blood of Christ; and hence, it was the religion of Antichrist.  Thus it was that the sixth development of the kingdom of Antichrist was Rome.

In Rev. 13: 1, John says, “I saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads.”  From what is said concerning this beast in Revelation, he is taken by all Bible students, so far as I know, to be the final Antichrist of which John speaks in 1 John 2: 18.  What are these heads? This question is answered in Rev. 17: 9, 10.  “The seven heads are seven mountains, . . . . and they are seven kings” (R. V.).  Mountains they are, but not piles of material rocks and earth, for it is im­mediately stated, “they are seven kings.”  A mountain is one

 

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of the common Scriptural images, symbols, or representatives of a kingdom, regal dominion, empire, or established authority.  (See Jer. 51: 25; Dan. 2: 35.)  Such is the only reasonable explanation of these heads.  Concerning them, the angel said, “Five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come.”—Rev. 17: 10.  “One is.”  What empire was in existence at the time John received this Revelation?  Any school boy might tell you.  It was Rome.  “Five are fallen.”  Counting back­ward from Rome, we have Greece, Persia, Babylon, Assyria and Egpyt; these five, no more, no less.  Are these six regal dominions so many developments of the kingdom of Anti­christ?  Surely, for they spring from the antichrist spirit; in Antichrist they exist; he bears them on his shoulders; they are his heads.  Each of them has one or more characteristics of the religion of Antichrist.  These characteristics we have mentioned, but in order that every reader may keep them well in mind, we sum up as follows:

 

     1. Egypt, Mystery.

     2. Assyria, Sculpture, Architecture, and Painting.

     3. Babylon, Self‑exaltation.

     4. Persia, Morality.

     5. Greece, Athletics and Education.

     6. Rome, Cruelty.

 

     A common characteristic of all, Union of Church with State, or Spiritual Adultery.

     “The other is not yet come.”  Since the overthrow of Rome in A. D. 476, there has been no empire to exercise sole authority as these six which we have mentioned did.  However, there is one like unto them yet to come, and this one will be the seventh head of the beast.  Of this head we shall treat in our next chapter.