Revelation 13 The AntiChrist; The Beast
Revelation 13 The AntiChrist; The Beast
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What are the dangers of too much speculation regarding the exact identity of the antichrist?
If the point is not to speculate about the precise identity of the antichrist, why does John give us this description?
This passage shows that Satan can work through both individuals and governments or institutions. How have you seen this to be the case in your life and in the world today?
Why does the beast imitate Christ in this passage? How is all sin ultimately a perversion of God's goodness?
Why do you think God allows the beast to reign and even blaspheme His name? How does this evil fit into God's ultimate plan?
1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. 4 And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?"
5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear:
10 If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes;
if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain.
Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
11 Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. 13 It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.
Following chapter 12 of Revelation we are introduced in Chapter 13 to the method of Satan the dragon's power upon earth during the Tribulation period of Persecution. We are introduced to the Satanic Trinity of Chapter 13: The Dragon, the beast from the seas and the beast from the earth. Next week we shall examine together the beast that rises from the land.
This week we shall look particularly at the Antichrist, the figure arising from the sea, in the first half of Chapter 13.
Just a few days ago (March 17 2021), Greg Sheridan, The Australian's Foreign Editor, said on Sky News that the EU, the European Union, is "essentially the work of the Devil." The operating procedure is this: it ties itself up in ludicrous regulatory knots and imposes grotesque cost disadvantages on itself. It then tries to export those cost disadvantages through the treaty system." Australia faces a very heavy levy for carbon from the EU.
Paul-Henri Spaak, the prime minister of Belgium in the 1930s and 1940s, reportedly made the following statement:
"The truth is that the method of international committees has failed. What we need is a person, someone of the highest order or great experience, of great authority, of wide influence, of great energy. Let him come and let him come quickly. Either a civilian or a military man, no matter what his nationality, who will cut all the red tape, shove out . . . all the committees, wake up all the people and galvanize all governments into action."
When the Antichrist ascends the global stage, the world will be waiting to receive him in precisely this way.
So who exactly is the Antichrist? While there are more than one hundred passages of Scripture that describe him, the title antichrist is mentioned in only five verses in the New Testament —each time by the apostle John. Four of the five occurrences refer to opponents of Christ and His work in John's day (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 7). Only once does this term refer to the individual who is the focus of this chapter: "Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour" (1 John 2:18).
Here John contrasts the many antichrists (lowercase a) with the Antichrist (capital A). The spirit of the antichrist, which is at work in our world today, will one day be concentrated in one being.
The prefix anti can mean both "against" and "instead of." Both meanings apply to this coming world leader. He will overtly oppose Christ and at the same time will try to insert himself in the place of Christ.
There are more than twenty-five different titles given to the Antichrist, all of which help to paint a picture of the most despicable man who will ever walk the earth. In the book of Revelation, he is referred to as the rider on the white horse (6:2), "the beast" (11:7), and the "beast rising up out of the sea" (13:1). Some people think he is Satan incarnate. We know for certain that Satan gives him his power, his throne, and his authority.
Here are some of the Antichrist's other aliases:
· The little horn (Daniel 7:8)
· The king of fierce features (Daniel 8:23)
· The one who understands sinister schemes (Daniel 8:23)
· The prince who is to come (Daniel 9:26)
· The one who makes desolate (Daniel 9:27)
· The willful king (Daniel 11:36)
· The man of sin (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
· The son of perdition (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
· The lawless one (2 Thessalonians 2:8)
The Counterfeit Christ | |
Christ | Antichrist |
Son of God (John 1:34) | Son of perdition (2 Thessalonians 2:3) |
Holy One (Mark 1:24) | Lawless one (2 Thessalonians 2:8) |
Came down from heaven (John 3:13) | Came up from the bottomless pit (Revelation 11:7) |
Energized by the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:14) | Energized by Satan (Revelation 13:4) |
Does the Father's will (John 6:38) | Does his own will (Daniel 11:36) |
Cleansed the Temple (John 2:14-16) | Defiles the Temple (Matthew 24) |
Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53:3) | Man of sin (2 Thessalonians 2:3) |
Humbled Himself (Philippians 2:8) | Exalts himself (Daniel 11:37) |
Called "the Lamb" (John 1:36) | Called "the Beast" (Revelation 11:7) |
Received up to heaven (Luke 24:51) | Sent to the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20) |
It is not possible to know the precise identity of this future world ruler. Yet! He will, however, have a name, and he will likely come from some European nation (Daniel 2, 7).
Note he arises out of the sea, a common way of describing gentile nations. 1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. This interpretation is confirmed in Revelation 17, when John records Jesus' words to him: "The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues" (verse 15).
Daniel 7 helps us understand what the lion, bear and leopard represent in Revelation 13.
Daniel delineates the four great empires of the world and describes them as beasts.
(a) The Babylonian Empire
Described as a lion. The rulers of Babylon were regal like the lion. The lion also has a ravenous appetite and incredible strength; he's able to terrify.
(b) The Medo-Persian Empire
Described as a bear. The bear has massive strength to grasp and to hold and to crush.
(c) The Greek Empire
Described as a leopard. The leopard has rapid movement. The Greeks conquered the known world with rapidity.
(d) The Roman Empire
The Antichrist will be the last of these world rulers. But he will have a link to the fourth world empire, the Roman Empire. Ceasar. Kaiser in German. Daniel prophesied that the prince, or the Antichrist, would come from the people who would destroy the city of Jerusalem and the sanctuary (Daniel 9:26). Those were the Romans who, under Titus, decimated Jerusalem and Herod's Temple in AD 70. Therefore, "the prince who is to come" might be a Roman prince. In other words, he will be a European Gentile. Daniel also saw the Antichrist as the "little horn" that arose out of the ten horns on the head of the fourth beast (Daniel 7:7-8, 19-26). This fourth beast represents the Roman Empire, which followed Greece, Medo-Persia, and Babylon in their conquest of the Jewish people.
And note once more in Revelation 13: 1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth.
The Antichrist combines the power of these four empires (and in reverse order). As the Greeks were fast, so shall be the Antichrist. As the Medes and Persians were brutal, so shall be the Antichrist. As the Babylonian Empire was Powerful so shall be the Antichrist in his own person! Could a Beast rising out of Rome affect the whole world? Last week Italy nullified Australia's importation of the Astravenica Vaccine for the Covid 19 Virus. Immediately millions of vaccinations were stopped. Australia has asked that our vaccinations go to our near neighbor Papua New Guinea ( a country of 16 million people), where suddenly perhaps half of the population of Port Moresby have been infected. We shall see what Italy does this week!
His Preparation
In the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. DANIEL 8:23-24
This Scripture passage says that this world leader will rise to power in the earth's last days. Whenever we read the words "the latter time" or "the last time" in Scripture, they refer almost exclusively to the Tribulation period. At the beginning of this period, an ominous personality will arise —inconspicuously at first —from among the masses. John says, "I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name" (Revelation 13:1).
Since the Antichrist will make a covenant with the Jewish nation, many people assume that he himself must be a Jew. But there are several reasons why this assumption seems improbable:
His Presentation
Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. . . . For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed. 2 THESSALONIANS 2:3-4, 7-8
According to Paul, "that Day" —a term for the seven-year Tribulation period during which the Antichrist will be revealed —cannot happen until there is first a "falling away." The Greek word for "falling away" is apostasia, which appears only one other time in the New Testament. There it is translated "forsake" (Acts 21:21). Paul is telling us that before the Antichrist can be revealed, there will be a falling away, a forsaking, on the part of professing believers. This will not be a time when just a few people abandon their doctrinal beliefs; it will mark a period of major, widespread departure from the faith.
In His Olivet discourse, Jesus predicted such a time: "Many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold" (Matthew 24:10-12). The apostle Paul describes this period in further detail: "The Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith" (1 Timothy 4:1). "The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires . . . they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables" (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
Contrary to what many people think, this present age will end not in a time of revival but in a time of apostasy. The Antichrist cannot be revealed before the great apostasy occurs, for it is this descent into chaos and rampant immorality that will set the stage for his arrival.
Up to this point, one thing has restrained the Antichrist from coming: he cannot appear until "He who now restrains" (the Holy Spirit) is removed (2 Thessalonians 2:7). When the church is raptured, the restraining work of the Holy Spirit, who is now holding back the man of sin and keeping the world from utter lawlessness, will be removed, and the earth will be subject to the full effects of sin. After the falling away and the Rapture, it will be time for the Antichrist to be revealed.
His Personality
He was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. REVELATION 13:5
According to the prophet Daniel, the Antichrist shall "speak pompous words against the Most High" (Daniel 7:25; see also 7:7-8; 11:36). The NIV translates Daniel's word pompous as "boastfully."
Revelation 13:2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority.
According to biblical scholar A. W. Pink, the Antichrist "will have a perfect command and flow of language. His oratory will not only gain attention but command respect. Just as the voice of a lion surpasses that of all other beasts, so the Antichrist will outrival orators both ancient and modern.
According to the prophet Daniel, the Antichrist will also be physically impressive. His "appearance was greater than his fellows" (Daniel 7:20). When this man walks into the presence of others, he will immediately capture their attention.
He will also be a man of great intellect. Daniel describes him as one who "understands sinister schemes" and "through his cunning . . . shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule" (Daniel 8:23, 25).
When the events of the Tribulation have begun and people are devoid of hope, this man will rise up. People will flock to him like desperate sheep, ready to do whatever he says.
His Plan
DANIEL 8:25 Through his cunning, he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule.
DANIEL 11:21 He shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue.
Daniel was given a picture of this world leader in his famous dream: "I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots" (Daniel 7:8). "Plucked out by the roots" literally means "to squeeze out, to push out by subterfuge, to come in and cleverly replace." Daniel goes on to explain: "The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; he shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings" (verse 24).
The little horn that Daniel sees rising would be the eleventh horn —a leader who subdues three of the ten kings, one by one. He will do so not by war but by clever political manipulation, and then he will claim their power for himself.
The Antichrist will begin as one of many minor political leaders, attracting little attention at first, but gradually grasping more and more power. His plan is to defeat all other world leaders and eventually take over the world through whatever means necessary —first by deceit and intrigue, and later by force.
His Pride
3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. 4 And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?"
5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it,
Dr. Henry Morris describes what will motivate the Antichrist's evil actions:
"Not content to merely rail against God, the dragon-inspired beast must utter diatribes and obscenities against all He stands for (His name), defaming His holiness, His love, His law, His grace. He curses the heavens (the dragon has recently been expelled from heaven) where God dwells. Those who dwell with God in heaven, including not only the holy angels but also all the raptured saints, share in his vilifications. This continual barrage of slander must now take place on earth, since the Devil no longer has access to heaven where he used to accuse the brethren."
This man will even despise false gods —an extreme demonstration of the Antichrist's pride: "The king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods. . . . He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor . . . any god. . . . But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know" (Daniel 11:36-38). "A god of fortresses" refers to his pride in his own military might. He will be the Supreme Secularist!
The Antichrist will acknowledge no religion at all other than the worship of himself and Satan. In his attempt to wipe the thought of God from the world's collective mind, he will try to change the moral and natural laws of the universe (Daniel 7:25). He will create his own morality, saying, "Forget about God's restrictive laws. Here's a new set of guidelines."
His Peace Treaty
He shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. DANIEL 9:27
The Antichrist will make a seven-year covenant with Israel at the beginning of the Tribulation period, promising to protect the Jews from their many enemies.
Mark Hitchcock writes, "[The Antichrist] will be the consummate unifier and diplomat. He will acquire power using the stealth of diplomacy. His platform will be peace and prosperity. Emerging with an olive branch in his hand, he will weld together opposing forces with ease. The dreams of the United Nations will be realized in his political policies. He will even temporarily solve the Middle Eastern political situation, which may well earn him accolades such as the Nobel Prize or being anointed TIME magazine's man of the year. He will bring such peace to the Middle East that the Temple Mount area in Jerusalem will be returned to Jewish sovereignty (Daniel 9:27). He will undoubtedly be hailed as the greatest peacemaker the world has ever seen."
Because of this treaty, Israel rebuild the Jewish Temple. However, halfway through the seven-year Tribulation period —after three and a half years —the Antichrist will break his covenant and turn against Israel: "In the middle of the week, he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate" (Daniel 9:27).
His Persecutions
REVELATION 13:7 It was granted to [the Antichrist] to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.
Daniel describes it this way: "I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them" (Daniel 7:21). He goes on to describe the persecution the Antichrist will enact: He "shall persecute the saints of the Most High" (verse 25), and "He shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people" (8:24).
The Antichrist won't just harass these believers; he will seek eradicate them, much like Hitler attempted t eradicate the Jews in the Holocaust —probably through economic pressure and public seizure of goods when they refuse to take the mark of the Beast (Revelation 13:16-17).
In His Olivet discourse, the Lord Jesus described this terrible time: "There will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened" (Matthew 24:21-22). How short? John tells us in Revelation 13:4-5 that "the beast," or the Antichrist, will be "given authority to continue for forty-two months."
His Power
The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders. 2 THESSALONIANS 2:9
Satan will empower him to perform certain counterfeit signs and lying wonders, which will cause the world to say "Who is like the beast?" (Revelation 13:4). He does a miracle much like the Lord Jesus' resurrection! 3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast.
It will appear that he has been killed, and then, to the astonishment of the whole world, he will be raised back to life by the power of Satan in a grotesque counterfeit of the resurrection of Jesus Christ: "I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast" (13:3).
"And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie" (2 Thessalonians 2:10-11).
Satan is the great deceiver and the great destroyer. He does not have the power to give life. He can imitate God, but he will never have the power to duplicate Him.
His Profanity
REVELATION 13:4 They worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?"
When the Antichrist breaks his treaty with Israel, he will surround Jerusalem with his troops and seize the newly constructed Temple. And then, as one last mockery of God, Satan will install his man of sin as a god in the Temple. At that point, "all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8).
The false prophet will erect an animated image of the Antichrist in the Jewish Temple and enable it to speak (Revelation 13:14-15). He will then command the world to worship the image, ultimately fulfilling Daniel's prophecy: "'When you see the "abomination of desolation," spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not' (let the reader understand), 'then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains'" (Mark 13:14; see also Matthew 24:15-16).
His Punishment
DANIEL 8:25 He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without human means.
John paints the scene for the Antichrist's destruction: "I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army" (Revelation 19:19; see also Zechariah 12:1-9; 14:1-3; Revelation 16:16). And when the Beast comes face-to-face with Christ, he will meet a swift end: "The lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming" (2 Thessalonians 2:8). As these writers tell us, when the Antichrist dares to defy the second coming of Jesus Christ after the Great Tribulation, he will be finished.
Christ's return will officially end the career of the Antichrist. But it will not be the end of him. When we are told that he will be destroyed, this does not mean that he will be annihilated but rather that he will be utterly defeated and rendered powerless. He and his evil partner, the false prophet, will be apprehended and will become the first two humans cast into the lake of fire for all eternity: "The beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone" (Revelation 19:20).
As we see the signs of the end times increasing and intensifying today, the world is being prepared for the coming of this evil one. As Christians, we must keep our lamps trimmed so we will be among those the Lord removes before this man's terrible career begins.
Here is a call for endurance.
At all times in the earth's history Satan has waged war against the gospel and the people of God. He is restrained at present. One day, at the rapture of the church, that restraint will be removed.
Those who thought themselves formerly to be Christians will discover they are not, and will follow the Antichrist in his deceptions.
Today we too must endure. Then?
I hope you are a Christian dear friend. If not you must turn to Christ now.
He who believes in the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the one sacrifice for sins, the one true Saviour will have eternal life. If you do not, you will perish with the Antichrist forever.
Sources: David Jeremiah, Agents Of The Apocalypse
Adrian Rogers Unveiling The End Times
Leman Strauss The Book Of Revelation
Akin Revelation
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