Please read this carefully. I’ve been hesitant to write this, even more than when I tackled UFOs and Nephilim. This carries weight. Let me be clear — I am not saying this man is the Antichrist. Let me say it again — I am not saying he is the Antichrist. However, what’s happening right now is the clearest real-world example of the rise of the Antichrist that we’ve seen since 175 years before Jesus was born. And no, it’s not Trump. It’s not the Pope. It’s someone most people haven’t even noticed. I wouldn’t have, either, if a friend hadn’t pointed it out.
I sat on this for a month, worried about how it would be perceived. I’ve seen too many self-published books claiming to have identified the Antichrist handed to me at prophecy conferences by guys walking around with stacks to distribute. I don’t want to be that guy. But I also can’t ignore what’s happening right in front of us.
The Bible is very specific about where the Antichrist will emerge and how he will rise. For most of my life, I assumed the only way to identify him was by decoding 666. But Scripture provides far more than that. In my last article, I laid out one of the biggest clues — his empire will be a revived Islamic Caliphate, what Revelation 17 refers to as the eighth kingdom, rising from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled from Turkey. However, Daniel gives us something even more specific. He doesn’t just mention that the Antichrist comes from the revived Ottoman Empire — he pinpoints a particular historical empire as its forerunner.
Daniel saw a vision of the Antichrist as a “little horn” emerging among 10 horns — a ruler who starts off small, gains power through deception and ultimately overthrows three kings. The key? Daniel 11:21-23 outlines his rise — “A contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. He shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom by flatteries… And from the time that an alliance is made with him, he shall act deceitfully, and he shall become strong with a small people.”
The Antichrist does not begin as a king. He is not destined to rule. He emerges from nowhere, gains influence through underhanded deals and grows in power from a small faction until he ultimately takes control. This is the rise of the “Little Horn.”
Daniel repeats this pattern throughout his visions, linking it to one specific empire — the Seleucid Empire. After the death of Alexander the Great, his empire divided into four parts. Daniel focuses on two of these:
• The Ptolemaic Empire (South) — Egypt
• The Seleucid Empire (North) — Centered in Syria, covering Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, much of Turkey and parts of Iran, Afghanistan and beyond.
Repeatedly, Daniel refers to the Antichrist as the “King of the North.” This suggests that his rise follows the Seleucid model. It indicates that we should pay attention to Syria and the surrounding region, not just Turkey. The Ottoman Empire incorporated the Seleucid territories, but Daniel highlighted the Seleucid much more. And the last time a leader from the Seleucid Empire ascended in this manner? It was Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the most significant prototype of the Antichrist in history.
Antiochus was a nobody. He had no legitimate claim to the throne. Yet, through deceit, he seized power and became a terror to Israel, desecrating the Temple, slaughtering Jews and demanding to be worshipped as a god. He was a shadow of the Antichrist, but not the final one — Jesus made that clear in Matthew 24:15 when He referred to the Abomination of Desolation as still a future event.
The notion of a leader rising from obscurity to absolute power isn’t merely an anomaly — it’s a recurring pattern in history, with the most cruel and dangerous rulers adhering to it:
• Antiochus IV Epiphanes — The Seleucid ruler who rose through deception, crushed opposition and persecuted the Jews.
• Julius Caesar — Manipulated the Roman Republic, rising from a minor general to dictator for life.
• Napoleon Bonaparte — A little-known officer who seized control of France and nearly all of Europe.
• Adolf Hitler — A failed artist turned dictator who manipulated Germany into global war.
• Joseph Stalin — A seminary student turned ruthless Soviet tyrant.
• Fidel Castro — A revolutionary nobody who took over Cuba with guerrilla tactics.
• Ayatollah Khomeini — A cleric exiled from Iran who returned to take absolute control.
• Mao Zedong — A librarian who built a communist empire through deception and mass slaughter.
Every single one of these men followed the Little Horn pattern. One moment, they were nobodies, the next, they ruled with absolute power.
For the first time since Antiochus, a leader has emerged from the Seleucid region in this manner. His name is Ahmed al-Sharaa, previously known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani. A few months ago, he was a jihadist warlord. Today, he serves as the president of Syria. Julani began as a low-ranking Al-Qaeda operative in Iraq before founding the al-Nusra Front, an extremist group fighting against the Assad regime in Syria. Over time, he distanced himself from Al-Qaeda, rebranded as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and positioned himself as a more moderate alternative to Assad. For years, he was regarded as a militant, not a leader. Then, in December 2024, everything changed.
His forces launched a lightning-fast offensive, overthrowing the Assad regime. By the end of January 2025, he was named the interim president of Syria. He transformed from an international pariah into a recognized world leader within weeks. And what followed? The world embraced him.
Julani has been welcomed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz — even U.S. State Department officials have met with him. The same governments that once hunted him now shake his hand.
His rise exactly mirrors the prophetic pattern — a King of the North emerging from obscurity, gaining power through deception, alliances and war.
Once more, I am not suggesting he is the Antichrist. However, his story is unfolding precisely as Daniel described. At the very least, it stands as the clearest modern example of the “Little Horn” emerging from the Seleucid Empire.
If nothing else, this serves as a wake-up call and a real-time lesson. The blueprint is unfolding right before our eyes. A man from the very place Daniel prophesied has suddenly risen to power through deception, war and alliances.
This is not just history repeating itself — it is prophecy revealing how it will unfold when the final King of the North emerges. And if the world can accept a man like Julani so quickly, how much easier will it be when the real one steps onto the stage?
The Little Horn isn’t here yet, but the shadows are growing longer. The world is preparing itself, and we should be paying attention.
