Revelation 12:7-12 “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, (8) but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. (9) So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. … (12) Therefore rejoice O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
In this section we want to discuss when the reign of the anti-Christ will begin in the earth. Scripture reveals to us that there are two distinct periods in the reign of the anti-Christ. The period most Christians know about is the final period of forty two months. Nevertheless scripture teaches us that there is an earlier period to his reign, which lasts for at least another three-and-a-half years, although it may be slightly longer than that. So when will the first half of the anti-Christ’s reign begin? In an earlier section we saw that there will be a global nuclear war and we discussed how that war would impact the kingdom of the anti-Christ. We also saw that at the end of the global war there will be a period of relative peace and stability on the earth, which will last for a minimum of one full generation i.e. approximately seventy years. We also said that one of the main reasons for peace breaking out on the earth during that period is because war will break out in heaven, as Michael and his angels go to war with the devil and his angels. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle John reveals to us that Satan and his angels will lose that war, because of which they will finally be cast down to the earth. This passage goes on to say that the inhabitants of the earth will be in for a rough time once that happens, because the devil will come down to the earth having great wrath, knowing that he only has a short time left. And so we see that at the end of the seventy years, the period of relative peace and stability on the earth will come to an end.
Revelation 13:1-2 “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.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle John describes a vision of a beast rising up out of the sea. The beast in this vision represents the anti-Christ and the sea represents the nations of the earth. John describes the dragon in this vision giving the beast (the anti-Christ) his power, his throne and great authority. The dragon in this vision represents the devil. John was shown this vision immediately after he saw the dragon (the devil) being cast down to the earth. And so we see that it is when the devil is cast down to the earth that the anti-Christ will finally be released from the bottomless pit to begin his reign in the earth. In other words the reign of the anti-Christ will begin after the seventy year period of relative peace in the earth. This passage declares that Satan will give the anti-Christ his throne and great authority. And so we see that Satan and his angels would have prepared the anti-Christ’s kingdom for him prior to him being released from the bottomless pit. It is important to note that if the timelines discussed in this series prove to be relatively accurate, then the earth can expect to see the anti-Christ manifested within the next eighty years from the writing of this series. In other words the generation born into the earth today can expect to see the anti-Christ revealed towards the end of their time on the earth.
The extent of his reign
Daniel 2:31-39 “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendour was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. (32) This image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, (33) its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. … (36) “This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. (37) You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; (38) and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all--you are this head of gold. (39) But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.”
In this section we want to discuss the extent of the anti-Christ’s initial reign in the earth. Before we discuss the first half of the anti-Christ’s reign, we first need to address the extent of his reign in the earth. We have seen earlier that at the end of the age there will be four main kingdoms on the earth, one of which will be ruled by the anti-Christ. In other words because the anti-Christ will not reign over the three other kingdoms, it is self evident that he will not physically reign over the entire earth. Someone will say but then why does scripture teach us that he will rule over all the earth (Revelation 13:7)? To explain this apparent contradiction we can look at the statement made by the prophet Daniel in the above quoted passage of scripture. In this passage Daniel gave King Nebuchadnezzar the interpretation of a dream that he had received from the Lord. In the interpretation Daniel tells us that the first kingdom in the dream was the Babylonian Empire. With regards to that empire God said that wherever the children of men dwelt, He had made Nebuchadnezzar ruler over them all. In other words God had made Nebuchadnezzar ruler over all the earth. Historical records reveal to us that the Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar incorporated the geographic area from Iran to Egypt. Clearly that empire did not span the entire globe. The second kingdom mentioned in the dream as being inferior to the Babylonian Empire was the Median Empire, which historical records confirm was indeed inferior to the Babylonian Empire. The third kingdom mentioned in this dream was the kingdom of bronze which God said would rule over all the earth. Historical records reveal to us that this was the Persian Empire, which incorporated the geographic area from Greece to Egypt and reaching to the northern parts of India. Clearly that empire did not span the entire globe either. So why is there an apparent contradiction with what is recorded in scripture and historical records? When the Babylonian and Persian Empires were on the earth, although there were other empires on the earth at the same time, none of them were able to challenge the power of these two. And so in that light they reigned as supreme in the earth. In a similar manner the three kingdoms that will be on the earth during the anti-Christ’s reign will be unable to challenge his power, thus ensuring that he will reign as supreme in the earth. That’s not to say that the anti-Christ will not endeavour to physically extend his reign over all the earth however; because as we will see in a later section, in the last forty two months of his reign the anti-Christ will make a concerted effort to physically extend his reign over all the earth. Nevertheless his time will run out before he is able to accomplish this.
Daniel 7:23-24 "Thus he said: 'The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, Trample it and break it in pieces. (24) 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.”
We have already looked at the above quoted passage of scripture when we discussed the person of the anti-Christ. Nevertheless this passage also provides us with substantial insight into the first half of the anti-Christ’s reign. This passage describes the ten kings arising from the fourth kingdom in the last days, referring to the leaders of the ten Islamic states which we discussed earlier. This passage then goes on to tell us that another king shall arise after them and that he will be different from the first ten, referring to the anti-Christ. We have seen in a previous section that the anti-Christ will emerge as the Muslim saviour called the al-Mahdi (the guided one), who is believed to appear in the end times to rid the world of evil and injustice and lead the Muslims to rule the entire world. We have also seen that the devil will ensure that, as their saviour, the anti-Christ will enjoy overwhelming support among the populace of the Islamic states. The anti-Christ’s popularity will begin in Iran, because we have already established that he will enter this world in South Western Iran. Nevertheless the anti-Christ’s popularity will very quickly spread to all ten of the Islamic states, i.e. Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Jordon and Turkey. As the anti-Christ’s popularity grows in their nations, the ten Islamic leaders will quickly align themselves with him, pledging their full support to his rule. The anti-Christ’s ascension to power will not be all plain sailing however, because this passage teaches us that three of the Islamic leaders will doubt the anti-Christ’s authenticity and will thus resist his claimed authority. Of the ten Islamic states that we have identified, three are ruled by monarchies i.e. Saudi Arabia, Jordon and the United Arab Emirates. And so it is quite possible that these three will be the ones that choose to oppose the anti-Christ’s authority. Nevertheless whichever the three leaders are; because of his popular support within their countries, the anti-Christ will orchestrate not only their overthrow but also their execution. The anti-Christ will then replace them with leaders who will fully submit to his rule. We do not know how long it will take for the anti-Christ to consolidate his rule over all ten nations, but it is more than likely that he should be able to accomplish this within a few short months.
Michael E.B. Maher
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