Haman – An image of the Antichrist
In chapter 3, we see how King Ahasuerus elevates “Haman”, the Agagite, in the kingdom and sets him above all the princes. Haman, “the adversary of the Jews,” is a picture of the Antichrist. His elevation in the kingdom is a shadow of the time when God will allow the Antichrist to take a place of supremacy and power on earth, especially in the land of Israel. Haman uses his power to glorify himself and forces everyone to bow down before him in reverence. The Antichrist, “the man of sin,” will do the same when he later demands worship (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).
Haman’s conspiracy to remove the Jews from the empire—A picture of the great tribulation
Mordecai’s refusal to bow down to Haman results in Haman’s hatred (Esther 3:2). Similarly, the Antichrist will not heed God and will try to wipe out the name of God from the earth.
Haman also sets out to “destroy all the Jews throughout the kingdom” (Esther 3:5–15), a picture of the terrible persecution that the Antichrist will bring about during the Great Tribulation in his attempt to destroy the God-fearing Jews, the remnant. Haman has ten sons who obviously help him carry out his plan (Esther 5:11, 14; 9:7–10). Perhaps they are a picture of the ten allied nations of Western Europe, called “the beast”, who will assist the Antichrist in carrying out his persecution of the God-fearing remnant. The king gives Haman his “signet ring” to authorize the evil plan (Esther 3:10).
This speaks of God allowing the Antichrist to pursue his plans of persecution against the God-fearing remnant for a time. He does this in order to test their authenticity and deepen His work in them. Haman’s evil intentions put the lives of the Jews in great danger.
The weeping and wailing in every single region is correspondingly great (Esther 4:1-3). It is a picture of the sorrow and deep soul-searching that the Jewish remnant will go through in the great tribulation. Mordecai also “puts on sackcloth and ashes and goes out into the city and raises a loud and bitter cry.” In this, we recognize Christ’s feelings. He will empathize in the deepest way with everything the remnant will go through during their time of tribulation (Isa. 63:9). Especially in the book of Psalms, we see Christ’s sympathetic suffering with the remnant presented.
