Will the Antichrist be from the Tribe of Dan?

The Mystery of the Missing Tribe: Dan in Revelation 7

The absence of the tribe of Dan in Revelation 7 has intrigued scholars and theologians for centuries. While the Bible does not explicitly state why Dan is excluded, ancient Jewish and Christian sources provide insights into the tribe’s prophetic role and its potential connection to the Antichrist.

Dan in Ancient Jewish Writings

One of the earliest references to Dan’s significance comes from the Testament of Reuben, part of the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, a pseudepigraphal work dated to the second century B.C. In chapter 6, verses 7-8 and 12, it states:

“since God gave Levi the authority, and to Judah with him, [as well as to me and to Dan and to Joseph] to be rulers. It is for this reason that I command you to give heed to Levi, because he will know the law of God and will give instructions concerning justice and concerning sacrifice for Israel until the consummation of times; he is the anointed priest of whom the Lord spoke…. Prostrate yourselves before his posterity, because (his offspring) will die in your behalf in wars visible and invisible. And he shall be among you an eternal king” (The Testament of Reuben 6:7-8, 12).”¹⁾The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (Ed. James H. Charlesworth) Doubleday (New York, NY: 1983), Vol. 1,  pp. 784-785

The mention of Dan and Joseph in brackets is noted by the translator as “possibly a later Jewish interpolation, since Dan and Joseph did not have messianic significance in Hasidic or Essene circles, nor in early Christianity.”²⁾The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (Ed. James H. Charlesworth) Doubleday (New York, NY: 1983), Vol. 1, p. 784 However, Jewish traditions concerning Messiah ben Joseph, a warrior messianic figure from Ephraim who dies in battle against Gog and Magog before being resurrected by Messiah ben David, challenge this assumption.

Dan as a Possible Source of the Antichrist

The Testament of Dan explicitly associates Dan with apostasy and opposition to the messianic figures of Levi and Judah:

“For I know that in the last days you will defect from the Lord, you will be offended at Levi, and revolt against Judah; but you will not prevail over them. An angel of the Lord guides them both, because by them Israel shall stand. To the extent that you abandon the Lord, you will live by evil deeds, committing the revolting acts of the gentiles, chasing after wives of lawless men, and you are motivated to all wickedness by the spirit of deceit among you. For I read in the Book of Enoch the Righteous that your prince is Satan and that all the spirits of sexual promiscuity and of arrogance devote attention to the sons of Levi in the attempt to observe them closely and cause them to commit sin before the Lord.” (Testament of Dan 5:4-6)³⁾The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (Ed. James H. Charlesworth) Doubleday (New York, NY: 1983), Vol. 1, p. 809

This passage suggests that Dan’s future ruler will be animated by a spirit of deceit and that his “prince is Satan.” While no such reference exists in the Book of Enoch, this tradition aligns with early Christian interpretations of Dan’s exclusion from Revelation.

Early Christian Testimony: Irenaeus on Dan

The Church father Irenaeus explicitly connects Dan to the Antichrist in Against Heresies (Book 5, Chapter 30):

“This, too, the apostle affirms: When they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction shall come upon them. [1 Thessalonians 5:3] And Jeremiah does not merely point out his sudden coming, but he even indicates the tribe from which he shall come, where he says, We shall hear the voice of his swift horses from Dan; the whole earth shall be moved by the voice of the neighing of his galloping horses: he shall also come and devour the earth, and the fullness thereof, the city also, and they that dwell therein. [Jeremiah 8:16] This, too, is the reason that this tribe is not reckoned in the Apocalypse along with those which are saved.”⁴⁾The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D., & James, Donaldson, LL.D., Hendrickson Publishers (Peabody, MA: 2012), vol. 1, p. 559

Irenaeus interprets Jeremiah 8:16 as a prophecy of the Antichrist, likely connecting it with the rider on the white horse from Revelations 6:2, reinforcing the belief that Dan’s exclusion in Revelation 7 is intentional.

Rabbinic Insights on Dan’s Role

Jewish midrashic sources also suggest an association between Dan and eschatological figures. Genesis Rabbah (97:9) states:

“Judah is a lion’s whelp. R. Hama b. R. Hanina said: This alludes to Messiah the son of David who was descended from two tribes, his father being from Judah and his mother from Dan, in connection with both of which ‘lion’ is written: Judah is a lion’s whelp; Dan is a lion’s whelp.”⁵⁾Genesis Rabbah, 97; in Midrash Rabbah, ed. H. Freedman and Maurice Simon), Soncino Press (New York, NY: 1983), Vol. 2, p. 906

The Rabbis connected the term “lion’s whelp” used for the prophecy of Judah in Genesis 49:9 and again in the prophecy of Dan in Deuteronomy 33:22 to conjecture the Messiah would descend from these two tribes.

Furthermore, the Sibylline Oracles (Book 2, verses 170-175) suggest that only ten tribes will remain in the end times, aligning with Revelation 7’s omission of Dan.

The Antichrist and the Gentile Connection

Despite the Jewish and Christian traditions linking Dan to the Antichrist, there is also strong support for the Antichrist being a Gentile. Many Rabbinic text viewed the antichrist figure to be the emperor of Rome, often named Armilos. This was the majority view of ancient Judaism. Genesis 49:10 states:

“The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”

When Herod the Great died, his son Archelaus was deposed in 6 A.D., and Judea was placed under Roman rule:

“And now Archelaus’s part of Judea was reduced into a province, and Coponius, one of the equestrian order among the Romans, was sent as a procurator, having the power of [life and] death put into his hands by Caesar.”⁶⁾Josephus, The Jewish Wars, 2.8.1 [2.117]; inThe New Complete Works of Josephus (Revised and Expanded) (Trans. William Whiston, Introduction and Commentary by Paul L. Maier), Kregel Publications (Grand Rapids, MI: 1999), p. 736

This marked the beginning of the “times of the Gentiles,” as referenced in Luke 21:24:

“And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”

Given this historical context, the Antichrist is likely to be a Gentile, aligning with early Christian views of the Antichrist as a revived Nero.

Conclusion

It is currently unknown why Dan is omitted from Revelation 7. Ancient texts suggest that Dan was associated with apostasy and opposition to the messianic line of Judah and Levi, leading to interpretations that the Antichrist would arise from this tribe. However, biblical prophecy indicates that the Antichrist will be a Gentile ruler, possibly from Rome. Whether Dan’s exclusion is due to its role in producing an eschatological opponent of Christ or other reasons, its absence remains one of the intriguing mysteries of biblical prophecy.