This chapter is one of the most widely-read chapters in Revelation because of the appearance of the AntiChrist. This is particularly interesting to many people who want to decipher who the AntiChrist is and where he will come from. There are many theories, much of them dubious. It is important to note that all theories of who the AntiChrist is, ranging from Napoleon to Barack Obama, fit the narrative of those who see evil where they want to.
One of the great debates is this: why would so many fall under his spell? Wouldn’t most people see him coming? The answer is more nuanced. The AntiChrist will operate under a veil of subtlety, working his way through times and culture, to emerge to a world, dulled of God and seeking answers elsewhere. It is in this world he will rise, and the sea of humanity looking for answers willing to him.
But before we get there, let’s remind ourselves of the Book of Revelation narrative. First, the is a continuation of chapter 12, the 7 signs. The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. The sea, for the Jewish people, was a sign of chaos and evil. The beast will rise out of this chaotic and dangerous place.
He has 7 heads, 10 horns, 10 crowns on its horns. On each of these crowns is a blasphemous name. Is this a description of a system or a person? The answer is both. A system is often identified with a leader, i.e. Hitler.
The beast resembles a: Leopard - Indicative of speed and power; also the description of Greece in Daniel’s prophecies. Feet of a bear - Crushing power; described as Persia in Daniel’s prophecies. Mouth of a Lion- Authority, ferociousness; described in Daniel’s prophecies as Babylon. How can we tell this is a man? We can’t tell yet, but as we move along in Revelation, we will understand this is in fact a man.
Beast is worshipped as a god His image is set up to worship He has a proper name Beast is eventually damned Called a son of perdition (like Judas)
The AntiChrist is also called out in scripture in a number of places: 1 John 2:22, 1 John 4:1-3, 1 John 2:18, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, 2 John 1:7, Daniel 7:25, Matthew 24:24, Daniel 11:21, Daniel 7:8
He is also given many names:
The little horn (Dan. 7:8), King of fierce countenance (Dan 8:23), Prince that shall come (Dan 9:26) Willful king (Daniel 11:36-45) The one who comes in his own name (John 5:43) Son of Perdition (2 Thess 2:3)
The AntiChrist will also have a spirit associated with him: 1 John 4:2-3 The spirit of the AntiChrist is the false teaching that rises around Christian teaching. It means to tear away those from the truth. As it gains in power it rises in ferociousness. The AntiChrist is the end-time culmination of this spirit (Matthew 10:16).
The AntiChrist will gain power and fool the world, but how can he gain power over the Temple, Israel and Islam in the final days?
The 12th Imam is the Islamic viewpoint of the end times and, remarkably, gives a nuance to Christianity and how this could happen. At the end times, there will be three driving perspectives: the Christian, Jewish and Islamic perspective. Why?: because this is the convergent of religion in Jerusalem, and the three factors that govern the temple. In the Islamic perspective, we see that after a 3 year period of chaos, the 12th Imam will bring harmony and peace after a massive war. He will roll over the Arabs for 7 years, judge them, and Jesus will accept his leadership, linking the two great branches of Abraham’s family. It seems eerily familiar with the Christian account, although misguided at the end. If we throw in the Jewish perspective, we see the Jews looking for a Messiah winning battles for Israel. He will be a descent of David and will arrive when most needed. In the Muslim mindset, there are devout Shiites who actively seek governmental appointments in order to push chaos so that the Mahdi (Guided one) can arrive. The most recent Shiite of prominence was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who said this:
“Imam ... will come with logic, with culture, with science. He will come so that there is no more war. No more enmity, hatred. No more conflict. He will call on everyone to enter a brotherly love. Of course, he will return with Jesus Christ. The two will come back together. And working together, they would fill this world with love.” - Ahmadinejad, 2009
The point is this: the convergence of the three faiths that dominate the temple all have a similar story, and could very well converge in some way in the end-time truth, creating a window for a man of devastation to emerge.
3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast.
The beast will have some sort of counterfeit persona. One head is wounded (six remain). His recovery will bring fame. This sort of “resurrection” is the first act we see of the counterfeit’s agenda. He will try to be like Jesus, yet come up short. It will not be a resurrection but the appearance of a resurrection.
4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”
People worship both the dragon (the ideal behind the beast) and the beast (the person). How can this be? Why would the world fall into this trap so easily? It’s a two-fold deception from the evil one:
And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. (2 Corinthians 11:14-15)
The AntiChrist will appear as an angel, a savior in a sense, and his “resurrection” will only gain him more fame.
3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4) People of the world will become desensitized to the truth. They will look for other sources to listen to. They will wander away and dull themselves over time. They will fail to teach the next generation. And suddenly we were be left with a society that only knows how to invent its own truth and has lost touch with God’s truth.
Psychology Today notes 8 examples why people easily succumb to power: A craving for a strong parental figure Assuming the best in others Admiration of transgressive behavior Drawn to superficial markers (money, looks, status) Feeling weak or uncertain in our own lives Cowardice/passivity/safety/survival Alignment with power Lack of critical thought
When you look at the biblical reasoning why people succumb to power, it isn’t much different: Lack of faith Idolatry Sloth Envy Pride Greed 5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.
The beast openly speaks against God and is given authority to do so. Even though the beast may have a plan, he is still working under the authority of God.
7 It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.
The fury is not unlike Antiochus’ fury against the Jews in Daniel 11. That hate is leveled at God’s people. He has the backing of the world system behind him. The people who follow him are not written in the book of life. Those are the forever lost, the ones who have willingly succumbed to his power and authority and follow him blindly.
9 Whoever has ears, let them hear. 10 “If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed.” This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.
Captivity relates to man’s responsibility. Your personal responsibility matters. The responsibility you accept is ultimately how you will be judged. The only way to victory is through endurance and steadfast faith in Christ.
The Beast out of the Earth 11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon.
This is a new beast, a second abomination. It is different in origin (from the land), different in rank (subordinate to the beast), and different in appearance (two horns). It speaks like a dragon. Despite a demur appearance, he has the same message as the first beast. He is known as the False Prophet. He completes the unholy trinity (counterfeit) of the Beast, Dragon and the False Prophet.
12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.
The False Prophet leads the world into worship of the beast. He performs great signs. He performs miracles to back up false teaching. He mimics Elijah’s miracle of fire. We must judge miracle workers by their message, not their miracle (Matt 24:24, 2 Thess 2:9)
The Prophet breathes life into the image of the beast. This seems almost like an animated image, an image that can speak. Is this the abomination? (Dan 9:27, Matt 24:5, 2 Thess 2:3-4). But note this: his power ends as soon as he speaks.
16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.
The False Prophet also creates a system in which all the world cannot conduct commerce unless it receives the”Mark of the Beast”. This amounts to a form of slavery to the system, a microchip or some sort of integration to the body that allows one to participate in society.
As we consider this, we can almost fathom a time when this could actually happen. Some high-tech way that people can simply wave their hand to buy a bottle of ketchup or buy a ticket to a MLB game. But the implications are terrifying. The entanglement of participating in society by taking this mark is really the way society easily becomes his: they want to continue their life. The other way, complete abandonment of society, is out of the question.
This is the AntiChrist’s final entanglement. This is how he cons the world into following him: create a society you are completely obliged to. Then wreck it. Show the true colors and the true agenda. Destory, conquer, kill.
18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.
This is the number of a man. There are many different ways to calculate this number and there are just as many interpretations of it. People throughout time have tried to decipher what this could mean. But the simplest is probably the most correct:
666 refers to imperfection. The 6th seal, 6th trumpet, 6th bowl all refer to God’s judgement on mankind. 777 refers to perfection. It is another way that the AntiChrist comes up short against Jesus.
The Perspective: Satan wants to make us fearful about his power and what he may do to us Remember: Satan was not powerful enough to defeat God (Rev. 12) He knows his time is short (42 months) He wants to portray himself as a victor, when in fact he can only take physical life, not eternal life Power of satan is allowed by God