201 - The Career of the Antichrist [B]

The Career of the Antichrist. Rev 13

1. In Daniel chapter seven we learned that the final kingdom is the second stage of the Roman empire , usually referred to as the revived Roman empire. Daniel 7:7-9, 19-25.
2. The Antichrist is referred to in that chapter as the little horn. He is actually an eleventh horn that arises after a ten-nation alliance develops. Daniel 7:24.
3. The Antichrist overthrows three kingdoms. He tears three horns out by the roots, Daniel 7:24, and he assumes control of the alliance.
4. The Antichrist is depicted in terms of his character as arrogant. This is his major characteristic, he elevates himself above everything. Daniel 7:8.
5. He is described as menacing and terrifying in 7:19, 20.
6. He is militarily powerful and victorious, always defeats his enemies, 7:23, and he persecutes believers.   

We will see all of these alluded to again in Revelation chapter thirteen. There is new information given in Revelation 13 but what is given there helps identify the person of that first beast because it pulls together all these threads from back in Daniel.

In Daniel chapter eight the focus is on the ram and the goat, and that does not depict the Antichrist at all. The goat has two horns, another little horn comes up but it is not the same little horn; it comes out of a different kingdom, Greece and not Rome, and it is an ancient historical figure who is chosen by God the Holy Spirit to foreshadow or depict certain aspects of the character and activities of the Antichrist. We have seen that there are three ways in which Antiochus Epiphanes foreshadows the Antichrist. The first is in terms of his character: he is brilliant, he is arrogant and insolent in terms of his orientation to divine authority, he is cunning, he is deceptive, manipulative, and he wins. He is able to solve problems and work out solutions to international difficulties that no one else can solve. In terms of culture he is antagonistic to all divine viewpoint and establishment truth. He attacks the truth; he hates the truth; he attacks the saints who represent the truth, and he desecrates the Tribulation temple in Jerusalem. He is the control freak of all control freaks. He controls through taxation, he controls the economy, he controls people through money and through the economy. These trends are there through all manifestations of kingdoms in the kingdom of man. The Antichrist's third characteristic is self-deification. He sets himself up functioning as a god. 

In Daniel chapter nine we saw that the Antichrist is the prince of the people who is to come, referring to the fact that the people who are to come are the Romans who destroyed the temple in AD 70. So he is Roman, European, he comes out of the revived Roman empire. Secondly, we saw that he enters into a peace treaty with Israel, Daniel 9:27. He will desecrate the temple. This is called the abomination of desolation. And he will set himself up as God to be worshipped as God in the temple. Later in Revelation 13 we see that he sets up an idol to himself to be worshipped in the temple.

In Daniel 11:36 we see that he is arrogant, he exalts himself above all deities in 11:36, 37, he is on the historical scene just prior to the "end of wrath"—an important point because it wipes out some of the arguments of the preterists. He is empowered by a foreign god which is Satan, 11:39. At the end he will be drawn into a military engagement in Israel in the Middle East with the king of the north and the king of the south as his antagonists, 11:44. The king of the north probably represents Syria or Syrian-Turkish—Iraqi alliance, or something of that nature; the king of the south represents an Egyptian threat. He will control the economic resources of the Middle-East. He will be destroyed by God, 11:46.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-9 we saw that the Tribulation will not come and the Antichrist will not be revealed until the departure [not apostasy] occurs. The Antichrist is referred to as the son of perdition, the same phrase that is used to describe Judas. He is called the lawless one because he rejects the law of God and wants to be a law unto himself.

Revelation 13:1 ^NASB "And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I [John] saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns {were} ten diadems, and on his heads {were} blasphemous names." This is a similar scenario as Daniel chapter seven where Daniel had a vision and saw these beasts coming out of the sea. That is the backdrop for understanding Revelation 13:1. John sees one beast coming up out of the sea. This beast is a composite of the four beasts that Daniel saw coming out of the sea. So this is the final manifestation, final representation in history of the kingdom of man. It is stage two of the fourth beast, the Roman empire, and he is represented by having ten horns and seven heads. The ten horns represent the ten nations, the seven heads represent the seven powers after the Antichrist takes out three of them. The ten horns or ten diadems represent rulership. The blasphemous names identifies each of them as being in rebellion against God. Each of these are apostate nations in Europe, which is no surprise because Europe is basically apostate. They were apostate for many centuries via the Roman Catholic church and are now apostate because they have rejected that and all religion. If there is any active religion in Europe it is Islam which has been growing by leaps and bounds. The sea represents Gentile nations, just as it does in Daniel chapter seven. This will be contrasted with the second beast who comes out of the earth, v. 9, and because of that there are many people who want to say that indicates the land. But if we do a word study of the Greek word ges [ghj] in Revelation this would be the only time it meant just the land of Israel. It is used dozens of times in Revelation and in every other place it refers to the earth itself. There is nothing that necessarily means that this is Israel and that he is therefore Jewish.

Daniel 7:2, 3 takes us to Daniel's vision: "Daniel said, "I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea." This shows the control that heaven has over the nations and over the history of the world. "And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another." So the sea seems to be the mass of unbelieving humanity, primarily Gentile humanity, and thus it represents the evil of the cosmic system. Revelation 17:1-3, 15 also refers to this, the great harlot who sits on many waters. This is the end-time kingdom. The beast is represented there as the great harlot who has polluted herself with the immoralities, with false religion. This is the control of those Gentile nations representing the kingdom of man. Revelation 17:15 ^NASB "And he said to me, 'The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues [languages]'." The Bible interprets itself.

Revelation 13:2 ^NASB "And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like {those} of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority." Notice the order, it is the reverse of what Daniel saw. Daniel saw first the lion with the wings of an eagle—Babylon; then he saw the lopsided bear—the Medo-Persian empire; then the leopard—Greece. Now John mentions these in reverse order showing that this kingdom picks up all of the characteristics of those previous kingdoms going all the way back. There is a lot of discussion as to whether the beast is the kingdom or the king. In the Bible the king and the kingdom are often spoken of in the same way. The king represents the kingdom. So when we talk about the beast—the lion, the leopard, the bear—that is the whole empire, the culture. All of this is personified in the ruler and he gets his power from the dragon, Satan. All that he has comes from Satan, and God in His permissive will has allowed this to take place and allowed evil to reach its greatest flowering at this time in order to show the ultimate consequences of unrestrained evil in human history. 2 Thessalonians 2 tells us about how the "restrainer"—who is God the Holy Spirit—is going to be removed during this period, and if it wasn't for God stepping in everything would self-destruct.

Revelation 13:3 ^NASB "{I saw} one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed {and followed} after the beast." This is an authenticating miracle that is going to appear to validate and authenticate the beast as being from God. He is a substitute messiah. He is not coming along and seeing he is not God, he claims to be God and so he is going to have his authenticating resurrection. It is a counterfeit resurrection, not because he is not really raised from the dead but because God isn't the source of the resurrection.

What is meant by the "head" here? If the heads represent a nation then what this would be saying is that it is if one of those nations is destroyed and thought to be dead and gone, and that it comes back in history. In Philip Goodman's book The Assyrian Antichrist he argues that position. The problem is that the head here isn't nation, it is the individual, the leader of that nation. The Antichrist is not one of the seven or one of the ten, he is the eleventh horn that comes up. If the head here represents a nation, the ten nations are all there, and this would indicate that one of them died at that time because it is talking about the existence of those ten nations. Another view that is put forth is that one of the heads is Assyria and that Assyria is going to come back, or it is even suggested that Tiglath-Pileser, Asher-bani-pal, Sennacherib or Antiochus Epiphanes even is going to be resurrected… or Nero. But the best reason why it is not a nation is found in the context. If we look down into the second half of the chapter where it talks about the false prophet we are told that one of his signs that validates him as well is when he restores life to the beast: v. 12, "He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed." That is talking about an individual. [13] "He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men." This is not a false fire, he is doing real miracles. The reason these miracles are false (and that is how it is stated in the Greek: pseudos/yeudoj, a lie) is that he is claiming that it is God who is performing the miracle, but God is not the source of the power, Satan is. Satan is allowed by God to do certain things. [14] "And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given [granted—God's permissive will] him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life." The word that is used for "wound" is the Greek word plege [plhgh] from which we get our English word "plague." The context indicates whether it is a wound—e.g. the Samaritan in the parable was beaten up and the word plege is used there to describe his wounds; they are not fatal.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:9 ^NASB "{that is,} the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders." Remember the Egyptian magicians in Pharaoh's court. They duplicated through the power of Satan some of the miracles that God was using to authenticate Moses. It doesn't say they were fake; they did real things but were under the power of Satan. There are some people who say that Satan cannot create life. In Genesis chapter one the Hebrew word bara is used, the main creation verb, and only God is the subject of bara in all of the Old Testament. But man can asah, one of the other words which means to make or do or create; man cal also yatsar, which means to mold or shape something. So there are different types of creation. Satan cannot create life ex nhilo—out of nothing, and Satan cannot make something alive that was never alive before; but Satan can create a pseudo resurrection, and that is what happens here. Whether he actually dies or truly dies is not really clear from the text, but what is clear is that everybody believes that he dies. The evidence is there to convince everyone that the Antichrist had a fatal head wound, that he died and that the false prophet brings him back from the dead.

The reason for thinking that he is truly slain is because in Revelation 13:3 it says ^NASB "{I saw} one of his heads as if it had been slain." Revelation 5:6 describes the throne room of God: "I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain…" Was Jesus really slain? Yes, He was. So this phrase is used to describe both the death of Christ and what happens to the Antichrist. It appears that just on the basis of the language that there is a genuine death that occurs and he is brought back to life miraculously, and this then is used to claim that he must be God.

There is a reason for this. In Deuteronomy 13 there is a test for the validation of a prophet. Deuteronomy 13:1 ^NASB "If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, [2] and the sign or the wonder comes true…" Moses doesn't challenge the validity or authenticity of the miracle. What we usually do when we hear about somebody who bring people down and claim to perform healings, what we usually do is say it was a hoax. Well it probably was in their case. But that doesn't mean that we are justified logically in extrapolating that to every miracle that doesn't seem to be right. There are miracles that appear to be real miracles, powers that appear to be real power, that are tapping into the limited Satanic ability under the permissive will of God that God allows for the purpose of testing people. That is what Deuteronomy goes on to say. Deuteronomy 13:3 ^NASB "you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul." We are going to assume that there are miraculous, supernatural things that happen, but that doesn't mean they are from God. That is why it moves from being a true miracle to a false miracle, not because it is phony but because it is not from God. It is the source that matters, not the miracle. This is what Moses is telling Israel. The issue is what they say, not what they do. It is content, and that content has to be consistent with the rest of the Word of God.

What is going to happen is that the test of all tests is when this first beast, the Antichrist who is setting himself up to be the head of his own religion, is raised from the dead. Now there is a pseudo messiah, the unholy trinity of the false prophet, the Antichrist and Satan, and the Antichrist is functioning like counterfeit messiah. But it doesn't validate anything, it is a test to show who is truly following the Lord and who is not. As a result of that in Revelation 13:3, 4 ^NASB "{I saw} one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth they [the earth dwellers] was amazed {and followed} after the beast; worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, 'Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?'" "Earth dwellers" is a technical term for unbelievers who will never trust in Christ as messiah in the Tribulation period. It is not a term that simply people who live on the earth. It is a term indicating that their orientation is earth bound, pure human viewpoint from the soul outward versus those who have a divine viewpoint. Notice: "… saying, 'Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?'" That question is really assigning omnipotence to the beast, i.e. that he is like God. So it is a religious statement in and of itself.

As we look at this passage we see three things. First of all, the beast is worshipped. But second, we see that the dragon is worshipped. Maybe not everyone understands that by worshipping the beast they are worshipping Satan but there are many who will understand that—those who are in the inner circle, those who are Tribulation temple devotees of the Antichrist, will know that it is really Satan. They worship the dragon, the test says; they understand very clearly that they are worshipping the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast. And they worshipped the beast, so it is very clear they are worshipping both. This sets up the context of the reign of the Antichrist to be one of the end time ecumenical religion that is going to have characteristics of many of the world's religions so that everybody can come under the same umbrella, the same tent, and they can all feel like all roads lead somehow to God. The Christians are the ones who believe in exclusivity, that there is only one way to God, and so there will be this harsh division. The arrogant self-righteous religion of the Antichrist in the end times will make it clear that everybody has to declare their religious devotion. That will be done through the symbolism of taking the mark of the beast.

2 Thessalonians 2:4 ^NASB "who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God." He will sit as God in the Temple of God. Even though it is an apostate temple in the Tribulation period it is still called the temple of God. Even at the time of Jesus when there was the Herodian temple that was dominated by the legalism of the Pharisees and the Sadducees it was called the temple of God because of its geographical location, because that was what was supposed to be there. [10] "and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved." Later on he will substitute himself with an idol so that of he is not there personally the people can come and worship the idol.

Revelation 13:5 ^NASB "There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him." The phrase "given to him" shows the sovereign control that God has over all of the events of history. This is reinforced in passages such as Revelation 6:4, 8; 7:2; 9:5; Daniel 4:17, 25, 32. His arrogance was seen in Daniel 7:8, 20, 25; 11:36. God gives him authority to act for only 42 months. The Tribulation period is identified by Daniel 9:26, 29. The seventieth week is a seven-year period. Half of seven years is three and a half years, so it is divided into two three and a half-year periods. The Antichrist has this authority to act for three and a half years, i.e. 42 months, so this terminology gives us a solid chronological peg. Is it going to be the first half or the second half? It has to be the second half because it is going to end with his defeat; it is not talking about the first half. So his real power and control is going to come in the second half of the Tribulation period. He is not in that kind of a position in the first half of the Tribulation period. It is not until the two prophets are sent to heaven that he takes over as an unopposed tyrant.

Revelation 13:6 ^NASB "And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, {that is,} those who dwell in heaven." This is the orientation of this empire, it is extremely religious. He assaults everything that is taught in the Scriptures. [7] "It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him." This is truly a global empire, there is nothing in the language that indicates it is only the ten-nation confederacy, that confederacy is only stage one in establishing his authority. There is going to be a massive attempt to exterminate all believers. [8] "All who dwell on the earth…" That is not saying every human being. This is talking about all of the unbelievers who have hardened their own hearts and are not going to ever trust in Christ. "… will worship him, {everyone} whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain." There are going to be millions who are saved during the Tribulation period and because they are saved their names their names will be written in the Lamb's book of life. But these are the unbelievers, the ones who never trust Christ.

Then there is a challenge, an exhortation. Revelation 13:9 ^NASB "If anyone has an ear, let him hear." If anyone is really positive, believe this; listen, pay attention. This is the same line that we saw in Revelation 2 & 3 in the seven letters to the seven churches. But notice, here it doesn't say anything about the church. The church isn't here, it is raptured before the Tribulation begins.

Revelation 13:10 ^NASB "If anyone {is destined} for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed…" This is just a restatement of the principle of capital punishment, an eye for an eye.  "… Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints." What John is doing here is stating a principle in the "if" clause, that there are those who are going to give themselves over to the Antichrist, to war and to violence, and they will reap what they sow. But what is important is for the saints to endure in obedience to God and not to be caught up in the vindictiveness and hostility of trying to change the nature of the fourth kingdom. They have to persevere, endure, and no allow the attacks on them to be a reason for them to get involved in wrong actions. Two wrongs don't make it right.

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