And through his policy also he shall cause craft to
prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace
shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;
but he shall be broken without hand [Dan. 8:25].
Antiochus was but a faint type of this king who is
coming. And he will do four things which Antiochus did in pygmy style:
1. “He shall cause craft to prosper in his hand.” We are
told in Revelation 13:17 that no man will be able to buy or sell save the
one who has the mark of the beast. He will control the economy with a
vengeance.
2. “He shall magnify himself in his heart.” Revelation
13:5 says that he is given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. He
will be given power to continue forty-two months. Humility is not a
characteristic of the Antichrist! He is like Satan who was filled with
pride.
3. “By peace shall destroy many.” He comes in as a lamb,
but he goes out as a lion. In Revelation 6 he is the rider on the white
horse. Notice that right after him comes the red horse of
war—he has brought in a
false peace.
4. “He shall stand up against the Prince of princes.” You
see, he will oppose and fight against Christ. One of the marks of Antichrist
and of that first beast in Revelation 13 is that he is against Christ.
McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible
Commentary. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997,
c1981, S. 3:581-582