Revelation 13:1-10 “Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And 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. (2) Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. (3) And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marvelled and followed the beast. (4) So 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?" (5) And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. (6) Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. (7) It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. (8) 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. (9) If anyone has an ear, let him hear. (10) He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.”
In this section we want to discuss the anti-Christ’s immortality and his view of himself as being God in the earth. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle John describes the vision given to him of the beast i.e. the anti-Christ. There are numerous insights into the person of the anti-Christ given to us in this passage; the first point which we want to discuss is the anti-Christ’s throne and authority. John reveals to us in this passage that the dragon is the one who will give the anti-Christ his power, his throne, and great authority. The dragon in this vision represents the devil. We have already mentioned the fact that the anti-Christ will receive his power directly from the devil, nevertheless we see in this passage that the devil will also give the anti-Christ his throne and great authority. We discussed the anti-Christ’s kingdom in a previous section, and so we see that Satan is the one who will place the anti-Christ as ruler over that kingdom, i.e. he will give him his throne and his authority, which as we have already briefly mentioned, will be the authority of al-Mahdi the Muslim saviour. The second point which we want to discuss is the anti-Christ’s immortality. In this passage John tells us that he saw one of the beast’s heads being mortally wounded and his deadly wound was healed. The definition of a mortal wound is an injury that will ultimately lead to a person’s death. And so we see that if the anti-Christ were an ordinary man, then his mortal wound would have ultimately led to his death. John tell us in this passage however that the anti-Christ’s mortal wound was healed, thus confirming the truth that the anti-Christ, being immortal and thus unable to die, is no ordinary man. The third point which we want to discuss is the anti-Christ’s blasphemies. John tells us in this passage that the anti-Christ opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. We have already mentioned the fact that the anti-Christ views himself as being a superior being to men, but it goes further than that because the anti-Christ ultimately views himself as being God, demanding that men worship him as such. And so it is in this manner that the anti-Christ will blaspheme God, His name, His tabernacle and those who dwell in heaven. The fourth point which we want to discuss is the anti-Christ’s persecution of the Lord’s saints. John tells us in this passage that it will be granted to the anti-Christ to make war with the saints and to overcome them. The anti-Christ’s demand that men worship him as God will be resisted by the Lord’s saints, and for this reason the anti-Christ will have them put to death wherever he finds them.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 “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, (4) 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. (5) Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? (6) And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. (7) 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. (8) And then 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. (9) The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, (10) and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (11) And for this reason, God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, (12) that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul gives us further insight into the person of the anti-Christ. In this passage we see very clearly that the anti-Christ will set himself up as God in the earth, and that he will not tolerate the worship of any other than himself, for the scripture says that he “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”. It is interesting to note that the temple of God will be a focal point for the anti-Christ, for he will sit in God’s temple showing himself to the world that he is God. Clearly the third Jewish temple would have been built by that time. We also see in this passage that Paul confirms the present tense existence of the anti-Christ; for Paul tells us that he is currently being restrained and that he will only be revealed when the one who is restraining him is taken out of the way. We have already established that the anti-Christ is currently being restrained in the bottomless pit. And so we see that the anti-Christ will be revealed in the earth only when God ordains that his time has come, for the scripture says “that he may be revealed in his own time”. This passage also confirms the supernatural powers which will be available to the anti-Christ, for Paul teaches us that the coming of the lawless one will be according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders. In other words the anti-Christ will have power to perform great signs in the earth. Paul goes on in this passage to tell us that God will send the unbelievers strong delusion through the signs performed by the anti-Christ; the purpose being to deceive those who are perishing, that they should believe the lie that the anti-Christ is God in the earth. We will discuss this aspect of the anti-Christ’s reign in more detail in a later section.
Daniel 2:41-43 “Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. (42) And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. (43) As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the prophet Daniel describes the anti-Christ and his kingdom. I want you to notice the following comment that Daniel made, “they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay”. The “they” that Daniel is referring to in this passage are the anti-Christ and the false prophet. In other words Daniel is teaching us that because these two are hybrid angelic beings; even though they will interact with men, they will nevertheless still be separate from them. And so we see that because these two will be superior beings to men, they will view themselves as being gods in the earth, and men will view them in that same light.
Michael E.B. Maher
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