The Assyrian Antichrist — Keith Malcomson

Praise God, please turn with me to Daniel chapter 11, Daniel chapter 11, and this is part 13 of our series on Daniel. And we have seen that this series is truly called The Heavens Rule, The Heavens Do Rule, Daniel chapter 4, 26.

We're gonna finish this Bible study next Wednesday night with Daniel chapter 12. But here tonight, the second part of Daniel chapter 11, we dealt with the first part of Daniel 11 last week, but we're gonna continue with it tonight.

The Assyrian Antichrist and Daniel’s Final Vision

And my message tonight, listen very carefully to what this title is. And we are gonna look at and give it its meaning here tonight in this message, the Assyrian Antichrist, the Assyrian Antichrist. And this is part 13 of our series.

And we're gonna read from Daniel chapter 11, starting in verse 36. Daniel chapter 11, verse 36, read in the last 10 verses of Daniel 11. And the king shall do according to his will, and he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every God.

And shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished. For that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any God, for he shall magnify himself above all.

But in his estate shall he honor the God of forces, and a God whom his fathers knew not, shall he honor with gold and silver and with precious stones and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strongholds with a strange God, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory.

And he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain. And at that 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. He shall enter into the glorious land and many countries shall be overthrown. But these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom and Moab and the chief of the children of Ammon.

And he shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver and over the precious things of Egypt.

And the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him. Therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and shall utterly make away many.

And he shall plant the tabernacles of his place between the seas of the glorious and holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end and none shall help him. Will you pray with me tonight so we come to this Bible study.

Father, we thank you for these Bible studies, Father, that have set our mind and heart aright to see that the heavens do rule in an hour where everything is breaking loose, in an hour where our entire world is changing, where we are about to see some of the most radical changes in world history, when we are at the very edge, at the very door of so much Bible prophecy coming to fulfillment.

Father, we cry out tonight as we realize that we are on the edge of some of the worst days in history, some of the most wicked days in history, some of the most evil days in history, where more blood shall be shed than in any other period in world history.

Father, we cry out tonight for revival. Use this message tonight to make us to cry out for the eight billion souls in our world. There's only a short window of opportunity left. And you have said while it is yet day that we are to labor.

My God, will you stir us to pray, to labor, to evangelize. Lord God, don't let us rest at ease in Zion. Don't let us be asleep in the church while the world is on its way to hell. Lord God, use this message to warn us of what this generation is about to face.

Lord God, the billions of people on this earth. And Lord God, make us a missionary church again. Lord God, send us revival again. Lord God, bring in a great harvest of souls. And Father, I do pray that you open our eyes, Lord God, to see what the word of God says tonight.

In Jesus' name, make this church a vessel, an instrument, and a new cruise. Lord God, to fulfill your divine purpose in this hour. In Jesus' mighty name, amen. Part 13, the Assyrian Antichrist. I have described in this message the Antichrist.

I've given him a certain name and title and description, the Assyrian. And you're gonna see in this message why I do that tonight. When we come to Daniel chapter 11, many Bible teachers, many authors, many expositors of scripture either put much of this chapter in the past and say that it was fulfilled in the past, or there are others that take much of it and put it in the future.

There are those that do not see Antiochus that we dealt with here. They don't see him in this chapter. And so they say from verse 21 through to the end of the chapter, verse 45, that it's all in the future, and it's all about Antichrist.

But then there are others who don't see Antichrist here. All they see is Antiochus. And so they take from verse 21 through to verse 45, and they put it in the past. They say it's been totally fulfilled in history, and that there's no further unfulfilled prophecy in it.

Well, I come right down the middle, like on so many other things, and I disagree with both and agree with both. I do believe that Antiochus is seen in verse 21 through until that portion is fulfilled.

But saints, there is more in this chapter, and we're gonna deal with it tonight. As we look at the Assyrian Antichrist, I believe Daniel chapter 11 begins to show us more about who the Antichrist is. It begins to reveal certain things about him.

And do you know what? If we don't know what the Bible teaches, if we're not clear in our understanding, we will get caught up in false teachings, ideas, and theories about Antichrist. While I've been teaching this Bible study on Daniel, I've had a man, an author pursuing me, asking for an interview who has written a book that Prince Charles is the Antichrist.

That's where you end up going if you do not know what the Bible says. Let me take you immediately into this message tonight. Point one, the shadow of Antichrist. I believe that here in Daniel chapter nine, we see the shadow of Antichrist.

The Shadow of Antichrist in Antiochus

What is a shadow? A shadow is a reflection from the substance of the real thing. In other words, that thing that is real, that thing that is true, when the light shines upon it, it casts a long shadow.

Now, when we think about Antichrist, we know he is future, he'll come at the end of time. But when the word of God shines upon him and begins to reveal him, his shadow is very long. In fact, the shadow of Antichrist shines upon him and it goes all the way back to Genesis.

His shadow doesn't go forward in time. His shadow goes back in time all through the Old Testament, through the book of Daniel and reaching onto Genesis. If you look closely through New Testament eyes, you're gonna find the Antichrist in the Old Testament.

When we come to Daniel chapter 11, we see from verse one through to verse 35, the shadow of Antichrist. In other words, up to 30, verse 35, we actually have information that is in history, in the past, that it goes back into the Old Testament, that is already come and gone, but it is a shadow for us that actually reveals something about Antichrist.

We've already said in Daniel chapter 11, that it covers a period of time of 365 years, that in 35 short verses, as we dealt with last week, there were 135 predictions about four details per verse. That's what we find in the first 35 verses up to the end of the life of Antiochus.

And I believe within those 35 verses that you find the shadow of Antichrist in a man called Antiochus. Read with me in verse 21, as we look at the shadow of Antichrist. And in his estate shall stand up a vile person to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom, but he shall come in peaceably and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

From verse 21 through to verse 32, you have Antiochus epiphanies. You have that eighth Syrian king who is a shadow of the Antichrist. What I mean, a shadow. I believe his life depicts what the Antichrist is gonna be.

He is a type of the Antichrist. When you look at his words, his actions, his name, his geography, the things that he done, you actually begin to see that he is a type of Antichrist. And that's what we see in the book of Daniel.

Also, when we looked at Daniel chapter eight, we also seen him there. This man called Antiochus, the eighth king of Syria, the kingdom of the north, also called the king of the north. We began to see the shadow of Antichrist in Daniel 11.

He was not the Antichrist. He was not the man of sin, but what he was was a shadow or a type. When you begin to look at his life, there is such a resemblance. There's a similarity to the real, to the substance, and to that which is gonna come in the last days.

He attacked Egypt, and after attacking Egypt, he then invaded Israel. When he invaded Israel, he stopped the daily sacrifice, set up the abomination of desolation in the holy place in the temple. That initiated a great persecution where he killed about 100 ,000 Jews.

He implemented one religion in his kingdom and dominion, and he tried to corrupt the entire nation of Israel, stamping out every other religion. He wanted to secularize the entire people of God, and he literally, and he completely fulfilled all that was spoken about him in Daniel chapter eight, and again in Daniel chapter 11.

It is a remarkable prophecy concerning Antiochus, this king of the north, this Syrian king, this eighth king. He was a shadow or a type of Antichrist, but you know what? He was a whole lot more than that.

Now, those prophecies about him say that he was gonna reign. There's gonna be a period of six years and four months, not seven years, not three and a half years. That is for Antichrist that's gonna come in the end, but this Antiochus was gonna be there for a period of time.

There is exact prophecies concerning him, but he certainly was not the Antichrist. Some say that these prophecies were about Antichrist and not Antiochus, but that is utterly impossible. It is a different man.

The prophecies were fulfilled. He was the shadow of the Antichrist. He come up out of the Grecian empire prior to the Roman empire, the fourth beast taking control. And we know that there is another Antichrist to come, but he was more than a shadow and a type.

Listen here on this first point. Antiochus in Daniel 8 and in Daniel 11 was more than a shadow. He was more than just a picture with the resemblance. He was actually an anti-type up to verse 35 here.

We have far more than just a shadow, far more than prophecy fulfilled in the past. There's certain things concerning the prophecy about Antiochus that are strange. I actually believe he was also an anti-type or a prototype, or he prefigured the Antichrist.

There are certain things written in Daniel 8 and Daniel 11, which it's hard to believe have been completely fulfilled. So when we look at Antiochus, we actually find that there was only an initial fulfillment and that there's still a further, fuller, and complete fulfillment that is gonna come in the career of the Antichrist.

So when we look at Antiochus, we see a picture of the abomination of desolation, his persecution of Israel, his war in the nations. In all of that, we see that there's more things involved in him that were prophesied that are yet to be fulfilled.

Let me give an example in chapter eight and verse 10. It says, and it, the little horn, waxed great, even to the host of heaven, and cast down some of the host of the stars to the ground and stamped them.

Now that was prophesied about Antiochus, the little horn that come out of the Grecian empire. And yet, how do we fit that into the life of Antiochus as just a man? It seems there's more, that he is an anti-type.

In other words, there's certain things there that only the Antichrist can fulfill. No other man in world history is gonna fulfill. He is a prototype, he is a plan. In fact, there is such a similarity, it is unnerving.

You see, the Bible doesn't point us to a Hitler or a Mussolini. He points us to Antiochus as a type and a shadow of Antichrist. If you hold the two of them up, it's more than a shadow, more than a type, more than a similarity.

It's like Antiochus, God molded him to be a prototype. Yes, small, yes, and fashion only a beginning, but there's more to him. He is an anti-type. He has been molded in a certain image. In Daniel 8 and 23, it says, and in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance and understanding dark sentences shall stand up.

Here talks about the little horn of this man when transgression comes to its full. I believe, again, this points to the Antichrist. So we see that Antiochus in his life, in the days of the Maccabees, when they read Daniel, they said, this is him.

He set up the abomination of desolation. When they read Daniel, they could identify him and say, this is the little horn. This is the one that's coming, putting the abomination there. They had understanding of the scriptures.

They knew how to act. It was an indication to run for their life because persecution was gonna begin. Antiochus was the last and the worst tyrant and persecutor of Israel in the Old Testament. But Antichrist, as we know him, will be the last persecutor of the church age.

We are gonna see that there's a great resemblance between Antiochus in the Old Testament and between Antichrist in the New Testament. There is a prophecy in Antichrist's life, that is, sorry, in Antiochus's life, that is remarkable, absolutely remarkable.

In the year 1932, Edith and Ralph Norton, American missionaries, who had gone through D .L. Moody's Bible School, were in Italy as missionaries. They were Bible preaching, fundamentalist Bible Christians.

And I'm a fundamentalist. Every true born-again Christian is a fundamentalist Christian. You are a fundamentalist, a Bible believer, a literal believer in scripture. Well, they were in Italy in 1932.

They studied Daniel. They knew their Bibles. And as they seen Mausoleum arise, they were very fascinated in what was happening in the nations. They actually got an interview with them, a talk, and they record there that they went to him and began to warn him about Daniel, the little horn, and what was gonna happen in the last days.

They thought it would be a warning to him of tyranny and of raising up Italy as a nation again and of ruling over other nations. As they sat and began to explain him to Mussolini, Mussolini showed great interest.

And he said, does it really say that in the Bible? Does it really say that? And he began to inquire. Then he began to ask them where it says it. And then he sat back and began to smugly smile. Do you know this man, Mussolini, when he heard about the little horn, he desired to be that little horn.

He actually desired, he longed to imitate such a man that he could be the fulfillment of that prophecy since there is a wickedness that one day is gonna come to this world. Worse than Mussolini, worse than Hitler, worse than Antiochus, and he is gonna be raised up.

But we have a shadow in our Bible. Daniel 11 gives us a shadow. That's my first point here. There's a shadow of Antichrist in Daniel 11 that's already being fulfilled. But second of all, the rise of the real Antichrist, the rise of the real Antichrist, verse 36.

The Rise of the Real Antichrist

And the king shall do according to his will. And he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every God. After having dealt with Antiochus from verse 21 through to verse 35 and the days of Antiochus, suddenly we come to verse 36 without announcement, without explanation, without commentary.

We suddenly move to a different king, a different era, and a different time. And I'm gonna prove it to you here that we suddenly move to the Antichrist and the rise of Antichrist. Having finished, having dealt with Antiochus, verse 36 speaks about another king who's going to arise in the very last day.

In verse 36, at the end of verse 36, it says he shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished. For that that is determined shall be done. Now notice what it says about him.

It calls him the king that shall do according to his will. He is a willful king. He will be a dictator. He will be a tyrant. It was Lord Acton who said a very fascinating thing and everybody misquotes it, almost everybody.

Lord Acton said, power tends to corrupt. He didn't say power corrupts. He said power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Men like Mussolini were corrupted by power. Hitler, Antiochus, and there is a common king in our world that power is gonna go to his head like no other man.

Power will absolutely corrupt him. Now look at this willful king here. It says further back in verse three, the exact same thing about Alexander the Great. In verse three, it's a prophecy about Alexander and a mighty king shall stand up that shall rule with great dominion and do according to his will.

What Alexander done with his will, he ruled, he was in charge, he made his decision, he triumphed over the world. So the Antichrist, no one is gonna tell him what to do. He will challenge everything. He will rise up by the power of his own will to be the greatest tyrant in world history, to conquer nations, to implement his own will.

Notice that this rise of Antichrist, that it is his will. He is determined to impose his will upon an entire generation. The ancient Jews in Israel used to believe that this verse, this scripture, concerning this king in verse 36 was the common Antichrist.

That's how they interpreted this king. They said, this is a king that would come in the last of the last days. Look at verse 36, it speaks about the king, but go back to verse 35 and the sentence before this, look what it says, even to the time of the end, because it is for a time appointed.

In this chapter, when it talks about Antiochus, it finishes with this, even to the time of the end, the persecution that the Jews were gonna go through, the troubles, the harassment of the Jews, the suffering of the Jews was going to continue until the time of the end or the last days.

Why is that? Because it is yet for a time appointed. Certain things are gonna happen to Israel as a nation, but there is a time appointed. In other words, a fixed time, a certain season that Israel is gonna continue suffering until.

In verse 35, we see that it leads directly to the last days with the history of the rise and the reign of Antichrist, who is also called the King of the North. The last five verses of this chapter are all about the deeds and the actions of the last King of the North.

He is gonna be a king who comes on the scene. He's gonna rise up in this region, in this time, at a certain set time, and he's gonna fulfill all of these things. It actually says in chapter 12 and verse one, and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time.

And at that time, it's still speaking about what we're dealing with at the end of chapter 11. It's talking about that time, a very specific time. What time? When this King is going to arise, there is coming a King on the earth who's going to suddenly begin to arise by the power of his own will.

And it is gonna be such a remarkable time. It's gonna be like no other era in world history. In chapter 10 and verse 14, it says, now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days.

You see, Daniel chapter 10 began with the last vision of Daniel. Chapter 10, chapter 11, chapter 12 is the last vision of Daniel. As we go through last week's study and next week's study, as well as tonight, we are looking at one complete vision.

What is it all about? What is the message of what we dealt with last week, tonight, and what we'll deal with next week? Well, Daniel actually was told by the angel that I have come to make you understand what is gonna befall your people, Israel, and the city of Jerusalem in the latter days.

For yet the vision is for many days. Do you realize this last vision, as we have looked at the Kings of Syria and the Kings of Egypt and Antiochus, and now we come to the real Antichrist, a person, a King, who's gonna rise up in the last days.

Do you know what all of this is concerning? The angel was telling Daniel what is gonna happen to the Jewish people and to Israel as a nation in the very last days. In other words, chapter 11, all of its details are written to show you what's gonna happen at the end.

That's why I said it's a shadow. That's why I said much of it is a type. It is to bring you to this point, to the very last days that I believe are just ahead of us. And I believe this generation is gonna see the rise of this man.

In fact, I would dare say he is on the earth today. I believe Satan has his hand upon him and is preparing him right now for this day and generation. He is gonna be a vessel prepared of the devil to come against Israel in the very last days.

And that's what all of this is about. In chapter 11, verse 27, and it says, and both of these kings, speaking about one of the earlier Syrian kings that sat at a table with Ptolemy. And this Syrian king, this king of the north was Antiochus.

Now notice what it says about him. Antiochus, the king of Syria, sitting at a table, a peace table, a table where they're gonna make an agreement. And they both sit at that table. And it says, both these kings' hearts shall do mischief and they shall speak lies at one table, but it shall not prosper.

Look at them. These two kings are making a peace deal, yet they're both planning to betray the peace deal and to attack the other. It happened in history, but it's gonna happen again in the future. As they sat at that table, they're both making plans.

But what did Daniel prophesy hundreds of years before this? It said, it shall not prosper, for yet the end shall be at the time appointed. In other words, these two corrupt, wicked kings of Egypt and Syria, they're planning betrayal.

They have hidden secret things in their heart, but God is watching over, saying, not yet, not yet. God is in control. And in fact, these evil men, God is organizing their plan. He knows exactly what they're doing.

You see, Mussolini thought he was having his way. Oh no, God had a plan on it. Hitler thought he was having his way. An antichrist will believe he is having his way. I assure you, God is gonna bring forth his purpose in all of the earth.

In verse 36, it calls him the king. It just simply announces him the king. One who we have heard about before, no explanation. It's taken it for granted that, you know, this king who suddenly comes in at the end of the story of Antiochus, of the prophecy concerning Antiochus, that there is another king like him.

He's not a shadow anymore. He is the substance. He is the full fulfillment. He is gonna be the embodiment of Satan himself. They announced the king here. There is a progressive revelation concerning antichrist from chapter seven through to chapter 11.

We are getting more and more of the story, seeing who antichrist is, what he will do, where he will arise, and what his nature and character will be. Since we are being taught here, and because men and women don't study this, because the church of our generation does not teach this, they say, we don't need to worry about antichrist.

We don't need to teach it. We're not looking for antichrist. We're looking for Jesus. Amen, I agree. I'm looking for Jesus. Come, Lord Jesus, Maranatha. I am consumed with the Lord Jesus Christ, but we must preach and teach what the Holy Spirit has revealed.

It is a warning to this entire generation. There is a revealing of who this antichrist is, and you'll never understand 2 Thessalonians 2 until you understand this. That's where so much wrong teaching comes from.

They jump into revelation without having studied Daniel. They don't understand Daniel 11, yet they think they're gonna understand Daniel 13. That's not possible. There is a revealing, a teaching of the Holy Spirit.

You see, we see this king announced in verse 36. He has been spoken about before. He's been spoken about in Daniel chapter seven. He was called the little horn. He's spoken about in Daniel nine. He was called the prince that shall come and sign a seven-year peace agreement with Israel, and then break that agreement and set up the abomination of desolation.

We see all of these things previously. This is the king, but I want you to notice this, that he comes at the end of a long line of kings. Why is it that all through this chapter 11, we have primarily focused in on the king of the north?

We have seen six kings of the north mentioned. Antiochus was the eighth king of the north, just like Antichrist is gonna be the eighth head that we read of in the book of Revelation. So we see all of this coming together, that Antiochus was the king of the north.

He was the king of Syria. And so we see Antichrist coming at the end of this. In verse 40, some try to create a battle between three kings. They say there's the king of the north, the king of the south, and then the willful king.

And they try to say that in verse 40, and we're gonna come to it shortly, they try to create three kings here, the king of the north, south, and the willful king, who is the Antichrist. They make them different ones, but that is not possible.

It's talking about two kings here. The willful king is the king of the north, and he is the Syrian king. And we're gonna see it before long. So we see this shadow of Antichrist. Then we see the substance, the rise of the real Antichrist prophesied in Daniel 11.

The angel revealed to Daniel concerning the rise of the Antichrist, who was gonna come right at the end of time. And he was gonna do certain things and say certain things. And he was gonna look a certain way, since we ought to know what the Bible says, and we won't fall for the false teaching.

The Religion of Antichrist

Third of all, the religion of Antichrist, not only the rise of Antichrist, but the religion of Antichrist. It's very important that you learn this here tonight. There are five distinct things that it says here that the religion of Antichrist will not be.

In other words, it strikes out or disqualifies five things concerning his religion. And then it gives you four comments concerning explaining what his religion is gonna be. You see, some people say he will be a professing Jew.

Others say he will claim to be a Muslim. And still others say he will be an apostate Christian. And then there's those who will say he'll just be an atheist. I wanna tell you, here in Daniel 11, we have a very thorough, in fact, as thorough as anywhere in the entire Bible, describing the religion of Antichrist.

If you understand what he says within these two verses, you're gonna dismiss an awful lot of teaching about who the Antichrist is gonna be and what his religion is. Let me point out five things that it says here that his religion is not.

And it's talking about five gods and five descriptions of gods, which he is not going to worship. Follow with me in verse 36. The first thing is, and he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god.

Notice here that when this king comes, when the real Antichrist comes, the substance of Antichrist, the first thing that he's gonna do is magnify himself above every single god in the world. In other words, every world religion.

You see, there's those that think Catholicism is gonna be the last religion of the world. Others say it's gonna be Islam. Others say it's gonna be new age-ism. Well, we have a description. When the Antichrist comes, he will exalt himself, raise himself up above every other single god and above every other religion.

In other words, his religion is marked by self-promotion. He is gonna be exalted above every god, above Jesus, above Muhammad, above the Jewish Messiah. He is gonna exalt himself above every single god that has ever been mentioned.

He is at the heart of his own religion. He puts himself at the center as the very vessel of worship. All religion, all names of every god are gonna have to submit to him. He makes himself higher and greater than any other single god.

This ties in with 2 Thessalonians 2, and it speaks about Antichrist, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped so that he, as God in the temple of God, showeth himself to be that he is God.

So look at him. He is not coming promoting one of the great world religions. He's not coming promoting one of the gods that is popular in our world today. No, not at all. He exalts himself above every god, every religious system.

That's only the first of five things it says. The second thing in verse 36, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods. This is the second thing, defining about his religion. This is the religion of the Antichrist.

Notice here, it's a reference to the true God of heaven. He is going to speak against the God of gods. Who is the God of gods? It is the God of the heaven. In Daniel, in the book of Daniel, in the books of the Old Testament, this term, the God of gods, in Daniel 2, in Deuteronomy 10, Joshua 22, and in Psalm 136, this is used for the God of heaven.

It is one of the most notable things about the Antichrist that he will speak against the true God. We see this in Daniel 7. And again, in Revelation 13, and here in Daniel 11, he is going to speak against the true God.

He's not imitating the true God. He's not selling himself as the true God. He is actually exalting himself against every god. And he speaks, his main focus of attack, of blasphemy, of accusation, is gonna be against the true God of heaven.

When the real Antichrist comes, he's not selling himself as an imitation. He speaks against the God of the Old Testament, the God of the Jews, the God of the Christians, the God of the New Testament, and the God of the Bible.

While he magnifies and exalts himself over every god, it is only the true God that he attacks in this manner. He will speak marvelous things against him. This means that he will go to great lengths in creating arguments, in creating accusations to destroy belief in the real God of heaven.

All of his talk is gonna be an attack against the God of heaven. He exalts himself above every god that is mentioned. And it says that he's gonna do this and he shall prosper. He's gonna prosper in it.

You see, some Christians and sinners, they think, well, if God allows certain things to happen, why is that? Surely God doesn't allow things to happen. God is going to allow him for three and a half years to blaspheme, to curse God, and yet no lightning is gonna strike him down.

Three and a half years. I'm sure he's gonna say things like this. I curse you, God. If you're real, strike me down. Nothing happens. You see, I believe he'll sue blaspheme and he will prosper. God will not judge him.

God will not stop him because there is a time appointed for judgment. And it says, for that that is determined shall be done. In other words, all that's in Bible prophecy for three and a half years, God will let this false religion to prosper, to go unchallenged.