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We just finished talking about how the Antichrist will spend the first three and a half years of the seven-year tribulation period in the last study. He will spend time building his nation and will eventually attack Egypt. But it will actually be a time of peace and prosperity for most other nations.
This will be a time when Christians should prepare themselves. God has not left us without warning or instruction for how to survive the final half of the great tribulation.
Genesis 41:28-29
28 This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: What God is about to do he sheweth unto Pharaoh. 29 Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:
Genesis 41:34-36
34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. 35 And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. 36 And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine.
1 Corinthians 10:11
11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
Joseph explained to Pharaoh in the book of Genesis that there was going to be a time of plenty that would come before a time of famine. He is an example for us today who know what is soon to come upon the world. When we see the third temple built, it will be time to prepare. It signals the beginning of the tribulation. The final half of the tribulation will not be pleasant, and the church will not be removed from it.
In the first half we will not only see the temple and a seven-year covenant. We will also witness the Antichrist making his first military move. But it will not be against Israel.
Antichrist Attacks Egypt
The Antichrist is going to attack Egypt, and he doesn’t just attack Egypt once. There are three times he comes to battle against them during the entire seven-year period.
- At the beginning of the tribulation
- Just before the middle of the tribulation
- At the very end of the tribulation
Daniel 11:25
25 And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him.
Daniel 11:27-28
27 And both of these kings’ hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed. 28 Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land.
The first time he attacks Egypt will be during the first half of the tribulation. But it will end with him returning to his nation without a complete victory. Instead, there will be a diplomatic solution to end the fighting, at least for a time.
This is also when he begins to turn his heart against God and Israel.
Daniel 11:29
29 At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.
Daniel 11:40
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
Just before the middle of the tribulation he will come against Egypt again. This battle will not go well for him. The first time he attacked Egypt he came away with a stalemate. This second time, just before the middle of the tribulation, he will be forced to abandon his attack on Egypt.
At the end of the tribulation period Egypt will attack him. But the Antichrist will be too powerful, and this time he will defeat them.
Right now in our studies we are focusing on the middle point of the tribulation, so the final battle will be for another study. Instead, it’s important to understand how the second battle affects him.
The Hardening Heart Of The Antichrist
As we will learn in the next study, the Antichrist will actually have no plans to attack Israel at all originally. He will legitimately be at peace with them. But something happens that causes his heart to shift against them.
His first loss hardens his heart. His second loss turns it to stone.
Daniel 11:30
30 For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.
Chittim can also be written as Kittim. We find this name in Genesis 10 among the descendants of Noah. The lands he represents are found in that passage.
Genesis 10:4-5
4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. 5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
Many scholars see Chittim/Kittim as being Cyprus. But over time, “Chittim” was used more generally for western powers arriving by sea—the Gentile nations such as Greece and Rome. Some go so far as to say Chittim may even be referring to a western nation like the United States of America.
These ships oppose him and force him to abandon his attack against Egypt. For the second time he has not been successful, and the people he focuses his anger on as a result will be Israel.
He will be angry at them and their God. He will hate the temple, the sacrifices, and the worshipers. So when he returns to his land again for the second time, he will begin making plans against God and His temple. The Antichrist will work with Jewish people who have also forsaken God to plot against them.
He is getting ready to break his seven-year covenant of peace with many. What he does next will begin the last half of the seven years known as the great tribulation. Things are about to move quickly.
In the next study we will learn about the fifth seal of Revelation, the war with Gog and Magog, and the abomination of desolation.
Continue To Unit 7:21 – Ezekiel 38–39: The Gog and Magog Invasion Revealing the Antichrist OR
Return To Christianity 101 Unit 7 – The Latter Days – A Detailed Look