His Career
The career of the Antichrist can be broken down into four stages. These stages or phases characterize his progression and ultimately his demise.
Prior to the Tribulation
According to Daniel 7, the Antichrist (“little horn”) will come out of the revived Roman empire which means that he is coming from the West. At this stage, he will most likely be the political leader of a powerful western country, powerful enough to enter into a covenant with Israel and guarantee her safety. The restored Roman empire will result from the coming together of a western federation of nations, which appears to take place after the beginning of the tribulation. We may very well be witnessing the initial stages of this prophecy as we witness the coming together of many western European countries who have forged a federation or union socially, politically, and economically.
According to Revelation 6:2, early in the tribulation, the Antichrist will go out to conquer.
I looked, and there was a white horse. Its rider held a bow; a crown was given to him, and he went out as a conqueror in order to conquer.
In Daniel 7:8, 20 we are told that he successfully conquers three countries and either conquers or subdues seven other countries, these are possibly the nations that were part of the federation from which he emerges as its supreme leader through force.
While I was considering the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. And suddenly in this horn there were eyes like the eyes of a human and a mouth that was speaking arrogantly… I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three fell—the horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke arrogantly, and that looked bigger than the others.
Daniel 9:27 tells us that the Antichrist will emerge in power during the “Seventieth Week” and after the fulfillment of the previously prophesied sixty-nine weeks.
During the First Half of the Tribulation
During the first half of the tribulation period, the Antichrist will have successfully become the ruler of the revived Roman empire. Through his rise to power, the Antichrist will have made many enemies who, midway through the tribulation will assassinate him. To the astonishment of the whole world, the Antichrist is brought back to life. As a result, he is to be followed and both the Antichrist and Satan become the object of worship.
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. 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?... 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… 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 (Revelation 13:3, 4, 12, 14).
When Scripture describes the Antichrist as a “beast,” it has nothing to do with his appearance; it has everything to do with his character. In the eyes of the world, he will be an appealing individual. He will be smart, articulate, educated, politically savvy, clever, handsome, charming, and charismatic. But he will be ruthless.
Worldwide Domination
During the third stage of the Antichrist’s career, he achieves worldwide adulation which affords him with the ability to become the dictator of the world.
The beast was given a mouth to utter boasts and blasphemies. It was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It began to speak blasphemies against God: to blaspheme his name and his dwelling—those who dwell in heaven. And it was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them. It was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation (Revelation 13:5-7).
For the remaining three and a half years, he will have literally achieved what many sought before but never accomplished, namely, worldwide domination and control. His control over the world will be such that people will not even be able to live life or conduct routine business without having submitted to his authority.
And it makes everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast’s name or the number of its name (Revelation 13:16-17).
His Defeat
But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
But the beast was taken prisoner, and along with it the false prophet, who had performed the signs in its presence. He deceived those who accepted the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image with these signs. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur (Revelation 19:20).
With the second coming of Christ, the reign of unparalleled terror and the careers of both the Antichrist and the false prophet come to an end.
Similarities and Differences Between Jesus Christ and the Antichrist
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Jesus Christ |
Antichrist |
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Miracles, signs, and wonders (Matt. 9:32–33; Mark 6:2) |
Miracles, signs, and wonders (Matt. 24:24; 2 Thess. 2:9) |
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Causes men to worship God (Rev. 1:6) |
Causes men to worship Satan (Rev. 13:3–4) |
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Followers sealed on their forehead (Rev. 7:4; 14:1) |
Followers sealed on their forehead or right hand (Rev. 13:16–18) |
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Violent death (Rev. 13:8) |
Violent death (Rev. 13:3) |
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Crowned with many crowns (Rev. 19:12) |
Crowned with ten crowns (Rev. 13:1) |
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Worthy name (Rev. 19:16) |
Blasphemous names (Rev. 13:1) |
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Resurrection (Matt. 28:6) |
Resurrection (Rev. 13:3, 14) |
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Second coming (Rev. 19:1–21) |
Second coming (Rev. 17:8) |
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One-thousand-year worldwide kingdom (Rev. 20:4–6) |
Three-and-a-half-year worldwide kingdom (Rev. 13:5–8) |
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Part of a holy trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) |
Part of an unholy trinity (Satan, Antichrist, false prophet) |
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Has the power and throne of God (Rev. 12:5) |
Has the power and throne of Satan (Rev. 13:2) |
The False Prophet
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf and compels the earth and those who live on it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed (Revelation 13:11-12).
There is a second “beast” mentioned in Revelation, the third member of the evil trio (Rev. 13:11-18) who is subservient to the first “beast” (Antichrist). He is also called the “False Prophet.”
Then I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming from the dragon’s mouth, from the beast’s mouth, and from the mouth of the false prophet (Revelation 16:13).
But the beast was taken prisoner, and along with it the false prophet, who had performed the signs in its presence. He deceived those who accepted the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image with these signs. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur (Revelation 19:20).
The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Revelation 20:10).
The name False Prophet clearly indicates that he will be the leading religious figure in the Tribulation and that his activities are religious in nature. He will be capable of working miracles, which will be important in deceiving the unbelieving world into worshiping the Antichrist.
The job of this Satan inspired creature will be to mimic the Holy Spirit’s relationship to Christ. The Holy Spirit’s role is to bring praise and worship to Christ, so the False Prophet’s assignment will be to bring praise and worship to the false Christ, the Antichrist.
It also performs great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in front of people. It deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs that it is permitted to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived (Revelation 13:13-14).
The False Prophet will use all types of religious props to deceive people. Today, we see the satanical influence of counterfeit Christianity enticing people into its web. Religion without Jesus is the tool of Satan to draw people into his realm. During the Tribulation, religiosity will be intense, and the False Prophet will use every counterfeit tool in his arsenal.
Malachi 4:5-6 says,
Look, I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.
Without a doubt, the False Prophet was performing these miracles to use as evidence to convince the people and validate his claim to be the Elijah whom Malachi said would come before “the great and terrible day of the Lord.” The claim will be made, and the Antichrist will be promoted as the true Messiah. During the last half of the Tribulation, the focus is on the temple in Jerusalem where the image of the Antichrist is set up and worshiped (the “abomination of desolation”).
The False Prophet, with his use of miracles and wonders, leads the world in worshiping the image of the Antichrist and kills those who will not do so.
It also performs great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in front of people. It deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs that it is permitted to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. It was permitted to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could both speak and cause whoever would not worship the image of the beast to be killed (Rev. 13:13-15).
His power will come from Satan, and his authority will be delegated to him from the Antichrist. The evidence from Revelation 13 is that economics and religion will be inseparably linked together during this time. Those who refuse to worship the Antichrist not only face death but will not receive the image of the beast (666), which is essential for any buying or selling.
All Scripture quotations, unless indicated, are taken from The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Copyright © 2021 by Miguel J Gonzalez Th.D.
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