Where the Antichrist Rises:

The Antichrist himself will come out of Assyria, better known today as the area of northern Iraq (Kurdistan) Mosul/Nineveh, which is currently dominated by Islam and the worship of the pagan Moon god Allah.  History records that both the Islamic religion and the ancient city of Nineveh were devout 'Moon Worshipers' – Moon god Sin and New Moon goddess Inanna/Ishtar (Artemis).  This can even be evidenced today when viewing Islam's coveted symbol of a 'Crescent Moon' atop Moslem Mosques.  Therefore, as Scripture reveals, (emphasis added)

"There is one come out of thee,[Nineveh] that imagineth evil against the Lord, a wicked counsellor." (Nahum 1:11)

"And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men." (Micah 5:5)

"Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. [9] And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land." (Daniel 8:8-9)

Thus, following the death of Alexander the Great in Babylon, his Grecian empire was divided into four divisions:

(1) Cassander took Greece, Macedon and the western parts of the Empire.

(4) Ptolemy took the kingdom of Egypt, the southern part of the Empire.

Alexander's Empire was literally divided "toward the four winds of heaven" as stated by the Prophet Daniel 8:8.  It is from the Seleucus division the Antichrist (Little Horn) will arise.

Moreover, the Antichrist will most likely either be from the Tribe of Dan or have a strong affiliation with them.   When the Jewish patriarch Jacob was dying, he declared,

"... Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days." (Genesis 49:1)

"Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. [17] Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. [18] I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord." (Genesis 49:16-18)

In the Book of Deuteronomy 33:32, it is revealed, "And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp: he shall leap from Bashan."

In support of these Scriptures, we find in the Book of Revelation that whenever the 'Servants of God' were sealed to go through the 'Trumpet Judgments' the Tribe of Dan was excluded and replaced by Joseph's son Manasseh.

"And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. [5] Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. [6] Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. [7] Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. [8] Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand." (Rev. 7:4-8)

In addition, the prophet Jeremiah revealed that the Antichrist would come from Dan.

"The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein." (Jeremiah 8:16) 

Jesus also reveals an association between the Antichrist and the Tribe of Dan whenever He prophetically discloses to His disciples where His return will take place.

Anyone who studies Judaic history knows that Jewish tradition holds that the Tribe of Dan marched and encamped under the banner/standard of an Eagle (formally a serpent) with the Tribe of Judah represented by a Lion, Ephraim an Ox and Reuben the Face of a Man.

The Prophet Daniel makes it clear that the Antichrist will derive his economic wealth by taking control of the Middle Eastern oil fields.

"He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time." (Daniel 11:24)

However, with regard to the Prophet Daniel, Dan. 9:27 was NOT fulfilled by Antiochus IV Epiphanes when he chose the Tobiad family and Jason as the new High Priest to replace Onias III (190-174 BC) who was murdered by Andronicus?  

After Jason wrongly hears that Antiochus had died in battle in Egypt, he forsook his covenant with Antiochus (Daniel 11:30).  Thus, midway through the seven years covenant (Daniel 9:27; c.f. 7:25; 8:14, 26; 12:7), Antiochus concludes there is a revolt at hand, and responds by violating and plundering the Holy Jewish Temple (Daniel 11:31; 1 Maccabees 1:20-23), and banning the traditional Jewish practice of Daily Sacrifices (Daniel 9:27; c.f. 7:25; 8:11-13; 11:31; 1 Maccabees 1:41-53).  He even made the Temple an altar for Baal/Zeus - the "abomination that desolates" (Daniel 9:27; 8:11-13; 11:31; 1 Maccabees 1:54-55).  

"And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. [12] And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed." (Rev. 13:11-12) 

While the man who will become the Great Tribulation Beast Antichrist will most certainly be alive before the onset of the last half of Daniel’s 70^th Week, he will in no way be the much-dreaded man Antichrist as described in prophecy.  He does NOT become the Beast man Antichrist until he arises and is possessed (infused with power) by the fallen angelic Abyss Beast Abaddon/Apollyon, marking the onset of the Great Tribulation – last 31/2 years of Daniel’s 70^th Week.   

It only makes sense that if Yeshua Jesus is the One and Only True Prophet then, the Man Antichrist is the One and Only False Prophet (mouth).  Therefore, Rev. chapter 13 reveals that the False Prophet rises after the First Beast (Abyss Beast Apollyon) and only exists 31/2 years.  

Therefore, the UNHOLY Trinity consists of Satan, Abyss Beast, and the Man Antichrist.

"And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings." (Daniel 7:24)

As the above Scripture indicates the Antichrist, (Little Horn) when risen to full power marking the Middle of Daniel's 70th Week (at the beginning of the Great Tribulation), from among the 10 Kings that come out of the old Roman Empire, will subdue three kings and the other seven kings will freely capitulate to his rule.

"I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things." (Daniel 7:8)

"For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled." (Rev. 17:17)

As such, the old Roman Empire had two powerful capitals.  The west had the celebrated capital city of Rome while the east had the capital city of Constantinople, today's modern city of Istanbul, Turkey.  As such, loosely speaking, these ten kings will probably include nations such as Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Rumania, Serbia, (all Balkan states) Syria, Turkey, and the three kingdoms of Iraq.  To this end, these Islamic states will be Daniel's 'toes of iron, while the Balkan states will fulfill the toes of clay'.  There will most likely be five Kings from the western part of the Roman Empire and five from the eastern part of the Roman Empire.

"[41] And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. [42] And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. [43] And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay." (Daniel 2:41-43)

Thus, the Antichrist's ten-nation kingdom will be a mingled confederation of countries ruled by the brutal iron grip of dictators while the other member states will be ruled by much weaker and less aggressive democracies or the will of the people.

Then, after the Antichrist has successfully taken full control of this revised ten-nation confederation at the onset of the 'Great Tribulation', he will immediately begin his military conquest towards the south, the east and towards Jerusalem, Israel.

"And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land." (Daniel 8:9)

One of his first targeted goals after capturing Jerusalem, will be to march eastward and capture the current nation of Iran (ancient Persia – feet of the bear - Rev. 13:2).  It would appear that Iran is presently on the threshold of a successful nuclear program and baring some miracle, will result in Persia developing their own nuclear weapons.  That being the case, Persia's capture will fortify the Antichrist and his waxing kingdom with a position as a major world power.  He will move aggressively to control the rich oil resources of the Middle East catapulting his kingdom into both a military and an economic global threat.

As the U.S. grapples to find a viable exit strategy from Iraq and the realistic possibility of a sustainable democracy appears to be unattainable, the Israeli government is currently involved in a diplomatic dance with the devil on its own behalf.  To their own unsuspecting, future demise, Israel is expanding its long-standing relationship with Iraq’s Kurds and establishing a significant presence on the ground in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan.  Israeli intelligence and military operatives are now quietly at work in Kurdistan, providing training for Kurdish commando units and, most important in Israel’s perception, conducting covert operations inside Kurdish areas of Iran and Syria, utilizing their Mossad, Israel’s clandestine foreign-intelligence service.

In addition, Israel is quietly supporting an independent Kurdistan, which will serve as a friendly ally buffer state between Syria, Iran and her own national security interest.  Why? Israel feels particularly threatened by Iran's nuclear potential, one whose position in the region has been strengthened by the Iraqi war.

With the above in mind is it any wonder why the Israelis will be deceived by the Man Antichrist who comes from a region they consider to be a long-time friend and ally.  Meanwhile, the Antichrist will most likely use Israel as a land bridge between his northern kingdom and his military expansion ambitions southward to the continent of Africa. 

Moreover, it is only reasonable to assume that it is next to impossible to nuke or defeat an unsuspected enemy you have willingly invited into the living room of your own home.

In conclusion, it must not be overlooked the rise of the Antichrist and his confederated kingdom will occur at lightening speed as Scripture reveals,

"And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast." (Rev. 17:12)