Forerunner of the Lawless One

In his visions, Daniel saw a dark ruler called variously the “Little Horn,” the “King of Fierce Countenance,” the “Contemptible One,” and the “King who does according to his will.” He was an arrogant ruler characterized by a “mouth speaking great things.” He profaned the Jerusalem Sanctuary, caused the cessation of the daily burnt offerings, erected the “Abomination that Desolates,” and “exalted himself against God.”

This pagan ruler “made war against the saints” and caused many in Israel to ally “themselves to him [the malevolent king] through his flattery” - (Daniel 7:20-21, 8:8-9, 8:22-25, 11:21-36).

[Photo by David East on Unsplash]

In Paul’s second Letter to the Thessalonians, this historical figure becomes the model for the future “Man of Lawlessness, the Son of Destruction” that the Apostle describes as appearing “in the Sanctuary of God” before the arrival of the “Day of the Lord.”

• (Daniel 11:36) - “And the king shall do according to his will, and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and he shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for that which is determined shall be done.”

• (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4) - “Let no man beguile you in any wise: for it will not be, except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, he that opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.”

The “Little Horn” represented a king from the fourth Beast with the “ten horns.” He seized power by removing three of the “ten horns.” In Daniel’s vision, the identities of the fourth kingdom and its “Little Horn” are ambiguous – (Daniel 7:1-8).

In Chapter 8, the “Kingdom of the Medes and the Persians” was overthrown by “Greece” and its first “Great King,” undoubtedly, Alexander the Great. After Alexander’s death, his domain was divided into four “lesser kingdoms.” From one of them came the “Little Horn,” the “King of Fierce Countenance” who would desecrate the Sanctuary, erect the “trespass that desolates,” cause the cessation of the daily burnt offerings, and “destroy the saints.” Additionally, he would “magnify himself against the Prince of Princes” – (Daniel 8:9-25).

The only historical figure that fits the description is Antiochus IV. He was the eighth ruler of the Seleucid Empire. He was “diverse” from his predecessors because he was not the legitimate heir to the throne. He gained political power by removing three contenders for the throne (thus, the “ten kings, three of whom were removed”). Antiochus styled himself Epiphanés,” that is, “god manifest.” He portrayed himself as the incarnation of Zeus Olympias on coins and other objects.

For three years he suppressed the Jewish people by profaning the “Sanctuary,” causing its sacrifices to cease, erecting an altar to Zeus Olympias in it, outlawing many Jewish customs and rituals, and Jewish books including the Torah. Thus, Antiochus IV fits the description in the Book of Daniel perfectly.

IN THESSALONIANS

Antiochus became the model for Paul’s “Man of Lawlessness.” The “King of Fierce countenance destroyed wonderfully, but not by his own power… he destroyed the saints.” Likewise, the “Son of Destruction’s arrival will be according to the in-working of Satan.” Just as the “Little Horn” magnified himself against the “Prince of Princes,” so the “Man of Lawlessness” will “exalt himself against God” and take his seat in the “Sanctuary {naos} of God.”

Just as the “Contemptible King” in Daniel perverted many in Israel and who did wickedly “against the covenant by his flatteries,” so the “Lawless One” will cause “apostasy” and deceive those who “receive not the love of the truth with all power and signs and lying wonders.”

The verbal and conceptual links are pronounced between the descriptions of the “Little Horn” and the “Mystery of Lawlessness” in 2 Thessalonians:

• (2 Thessalonians 2:5-8) - “Now, you know that which prevails to the end he may be revealed in his season…until he comes out of the midst. Then will be revealed the Lawless One whom the Lord Jesus will consume with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the appearance of his arrival.”

• (Daniel 7:8, 21-26) - “I considered the horns and there came up among them another horn, a little one…this horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them until that the Ancient of Days arrived and justice was granted to the saints of the Highest, and the season arrived that the saints should possess the kingdom…and words against the Most High will he speak, and the saints of the Highest will he afflict and will presume to change seasons and law, and they will be given into his hand for a season and seasons and the dividing of a season; but Judgment will take its seat, and his dominion will they remove to consume and to destroy unto an end.”

Like the “Little Horn” that appeared “among the ten horns.” the “Man of Lawlessness” will “come out of the midst” at his appointed “season.” At the “arrival” of Jesus, he will be “consumed” and “destroyed” just as the “King of Fierce Countenance” was “destroyed without hand.”

As for taking his “seat in the Sanctuary,” Paul uses the Greek noun for the “sanctuary” proper, the inner sanctum, or naos, not the term for the “Temple” complex itself, the heiros. Likewise, the “Little Horn” profaned the “Sanctuary” where the altar of burnt offerings was located.

It is noteworthy that Paul consistently applied the term “Sanctuary of God” (naos theou) to the Church elsewhere in his writings (“For we are a sanctuary of the living God” - 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16, Ephesians 2:21).

In 2 Thessalonians, Paul was not simply quoting passages from the Book of Daniel. He adapted terms from Daniel that applied to the “Little Horn,” Antiochus IV, and his campaign against the Jews. He applies them to the Church, its coming confrontation with the “Son of Destruction,” and the “Apostasy.”

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• Seated in the Sanctuary - (The Man of Lawlessness will be unveiled when he seats himself in the House of God - 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)