End Times: The Antichrist

Prophet Elisee Yao / 17 Apr 2020

The first episode on the timeline of end time events is the revelation of the man of sin: also known as the antichrist or the beast (2 Thes 2).

Breaking the First Seal

Revelation 6:1-2, New International Version
¹I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” ²I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

Revelation 19:11, New International Version
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.

The first rider (in Revelation 6:1-2) on a white horse who has a bow in his hands, and is given a crown to conquer, is not Jesus but identified as the antichrist. The second rider (Revelation 19:11) is Jesus! He is the genuine Rider and Warrior on the white horse called ‘Faithful and True’. As you can see from the similarities in these two scriptures, the antichrist will impersonate Christ, but his intention will not be justice and salvation. When the first seal is broken the antichrist[1] (the beast) will come out; his mission will be to deceive the nations by signing a peace treaty (2 Thes 2) which will initiate 7 years of rule, ending in the great tribulation.

Forty-Two Months of Authority

Revelation 13:1-8, New International Version
¹The 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. ²The 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. ³One 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. ⁴People 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?” ⁵The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. ⁶It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. ⁷It 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. ⁸All 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 Bible tells us that authority is given to the beast for forty-two months (3.5 years) (v5). For the first half of the 7-year period, the antichrist will not have authority, but merely lead by deception. It is only in the second half of this period that full authority will be given to him by the dragon (Satan). This is the forty-two months referred to here. The antichrist will use this authority to persecute those who are called by the name of the Lord (v7), proving that the saints will be present for the second 3.5 years.

Free Will and Choice

The antichrist will not only use his authority to fight Christians but he will lead all the nations (v7). Verse 8 indicates that the names of those who worship the antichrist are not written in the Lamb’s book of life. We must grasp that while God does not choose who will be saved, He is omniscient and knows everything. Therefore, from the beginning of time, God knew who was going to choose Him and who was not.

Example 1: In Genesis 2 God creates man and woman, gives them the garden of Eden to attend to, and places the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the garden telling them not to eat of its fruit. When Adam and Eve chose to eat of its fruit many asked: was God not aware that they would eat of it, and if so, why did He plant that tree? God is not a manipulator and desires human beings to exercise their authority. He knew that they were going to eat, but He wanted them to exercise their free will to say no. God did not create and condition them to eat the fruit; He created them with the free will to say yes or no. Man simply failed to exercise his God-given authority.     

Example 2: In Mathew 4, after Jesus was baptised, He was taken to the wilderness to be tempted for 40 days and nights. Jesus could have fallen into the temptation of the devil because when the devil came to Jesus, the first thing he presented Him with was food. The food in the garden of Eden made them fall. But when Satan came to tempt Jesus, Jesus refused by quoting scripture: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ Jesus used His authority to resist Satan. Adam, by comparison, did not use his authority, so he fell.

God is not in the business of manipulating the free will of man.

When God created us, He created us with free will: it is entirely our choice to accept or reject Him. God is not in the business of manipulating the free will of man. So from the beginning of time, God knew exactly who, out of their free will, would ultimately accept Him and those who would not. Some might then ask why God does not force us to accept Him. And the answer is simple: because God is not the devil. God will not force you to get saved; He will offer salvation to you, but then you need to choose to accept it. This is what God meant by ‘all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life’ (Rev 13:8, NIV). God knows that there are those who will not exercise their free will to accept Him – but they will have to face the consequences of this decision.   

The Characteristics of the Beast

According to Revelation 13 and 17

The Leopard, the Bear, and the Lion

As described in Revelation 13, the antichrist…

• Looks like a leopard (speed),
• Has feet like a bear (strength), and
• A mouth like a lion (authority).

The combination of these creatures makes the beast a strong, powerful creature with the speed of a leopard, the strength of a bear, and the authority of a lion. In order to truly understand the book of Revelation, we must align scripture with scripture. In Daniel 7, we find evidence of a similar beast that matches the description in Revelation 13.

Daniel 7:2-6, New International Version
²Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. ³Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea. ⁴“The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it. ⁵“And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’ ⁶“After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.

The four beasts mentioned in the book of Daniel existed in the past. Later, John sees a beast rising out of the waters, similar to the one in the book of Daniel. Whenever the Bible mentions the sea, it generally refers to nations. This means that the antichrist will rise out of the nations proving that he will be a human being and not a demon possessed by Satan[2].

The Mortal Wound: the Rule of the antichrist

Revelation 13:3, New International Version
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. 

Revelation 17:3; 8, New International Version
³Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns...⁸The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.

Revelation 13 and 17 refer to the same beast. Revelation 13:3 tells us that the Beast has a mortal headwound (on one of his seven heads) that has healed, and Revelation 17 says that the people will marvel. This means that the antichrist (as a man) will be wounded[3] to the point of death and then Satan will bring him back. When Satan does this, Satan will enter[4] the antichrist and people will marvel saying, ‘who is this man who has such power that he can come back from death and still rule?!’

Seven Heads

Revelation 17:9-11, New International Version
⁹“This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. ¹⁰They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. ¹¹The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.

These are mysteries that require wisdom to decipher!

John talks about a beast with seven heads which are seven mountains/hills as well as seven kings: five have fallen, one is, and another one is to come. At the time John had this vision, one head was ruling, five had fallen before, and the one who was yet to come was said to remain for a ‘little while’ (Rev 17:10). The ‘one that is’ that John spoke about had to be Rome, because the entire world was under the administration of Rome at the time John had the vision. Therefore, if there are seven heads/hills/kings in total then five had fallen (#1-5), one was (#6: Rome), and one is to come (#7: One-world order).

In chapter 7:2-6, Daniel says that there will be four kingdoms: three of these were Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece (the kingdoms at that time). The fourth that Daniel referred to was in fact ruling at the time John had the Revelation 17 vision: the Roman Empire (Daniel 7:7-8). So Daniel’s fourth kingdom (still to come and promising to be powerful), was the ruling kingdom in John’s time. Daniel’s four regions were thus Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome.

The reason why John refers to seven kingdoms while Daniel only refers to four is because they existed at different times in history. At the time of John’s vision, five kingdoms had fallen: if Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece were 3/5, then which other 2 kingdoms fell in the old testament? Egypt (Exodus 1) and Assyria (2 Kings 17:3/4-6). Daniel did not mention Egypt and Assyria at the time he had his vision because they had already fallen.

Ultimately, when we combine John and Daniel’s visions, these are the 7 heads of the Beast (7 kingdoms/7 kings with royal power):

Eqypt – Assyria – Babylon – Medo-Persia – Greece – Rome – One/New-world order

The 7th kingdom will be led by the antichrist, whose head was wounded but came back (Rev 13:3). We know that the 7th kingdom is the one/new-world order because at this current point in history the Roman Empire (the 6th) has also fallen.

Ten Horns

Revelation 17:12-13, New International Version
¹²“The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. ¹³They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. 

The ten horns on the Beast are ten kings without royal power. The antichrist will come with the power of Satan, and when he rules the world he will rule as a king, not as a president. He will have control over the entire world. The ten horns depict that the beast will divide the world into ten regions which will be administrated by ten rulers of his choosing. The reason why the Bible refers to them as ten kings without royal power is because their power will be given to them by the antichrist as they submit to him. Their reward will be to rule for ONE HOUR with the beast. They won’t be called presidents because they will rule regions instead of countries. The ultimate goal of one-world order will only be possible for the antichrist to accomplish by dividing the world into ten regions (ten horns), and by delegating ten rulers to administrate these regions.    

One-World Order under One King

One-world order will come on the wings of one-world religion. One-world order implies one king that rules the world having divided the earth into ten regions whose ten administrators will submit their power to the beast. The antichrist will resurrect the power of the Roman Empire and create a one-world order with a one-world religion[5].

Breaking the Seals: the Rise of the Antichrist

Revelation 6:3-4, New International Version
³When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” ⁴Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.

• The second seal (Rev 6:3-4), the Red Horse, will bring hatred among the people [war].
• The third seal (Rev 6:5-6), the Black Horse, brings famine and economic collapse.
• The fourth seal (Rev 6:7-8), the Pale Horse, brings war and death [pestilence and persecution] 
• The fifth seal (Rev 6:9-11): comfort [from martyrdom/tribulation]. 
• The sixth seal (Rev 6:12-14): cosmic disturbances.
• The seventh seal (begins in Rev 8): the wrath and mercy of God (includes the seven trumpets).

All[6] the seals that are broken along with the high tech systems (e.g. mark of the beast, 5G, etc.) being put into place will set the stage for the antichrist to arise. The second seal brings war, followed by famine and pestilence and so on. As one disaster and catastrophe strikes after another the people will cry out for ONE PERSON to manage all of these crises. And that man will be the antichrist. The beast will rise out of the waters of the sea, because the nations (the sea) will cry out for a saviour; they will ask for him, desperately in need of someone with the knowledge to consolidate this world.

The Spirit of the Antichrist

From the very foundation of the world (Genesis), the spirit of the antichrist has been at work. The first person within which the spirit of the antichrist operated was Cain: he opened himself up, Satan entered him, and he killed his own brother. The spirit of the antichrist instigated the first murder in the Bible, just as it gave the people instructions to build the tower of Babel (Gen 11), and went on to continue ruling throughout the old testament. Both Daniel and John saw visions of the beast: the six fallen, historical kingdoms (Rev 17) were riding on the spirit of the antichrist. All six kingdoms’ fought to destroy Israel leading up to the Romans destroying Jerusalem in 70AD. All of these efforts (and so many more) reveal the same spirit operating against God’s people: the spirit of the antichrist.

From the very foundation of the world, the spirit of the antichrist has been at work.

Egypt taking the people of Israel captive was also the work of the antichrist spirit. From Exodus 3 onwards, the king of Egypt is the picture of the antichrist against the people of God because it is his nature to fight against the saints. The difference between Pharaoh and the people of Israel was the mark: the blood of the Lamb (Exodus 12). God put a mark on His people, so that when the angel of death struck, he would not strike God’s people, but rather the Egyptians. There was a mark placed on the doorposts. The spirit of the antichrist ruling through Pharaoh tried to destroy the people of God, but God took them out with His mighty hand.

The Passover will be repeated in the end times!

When the antichrist wars against the saints in the end times, the Bible says he will succeed in killing some of the saints (who will die as martyrs), but then the rapture will happen and we will be delivered just like the Israelites were taken out of Egypt. The Passover will be repeated in the end times! The antichrist will rule and will try to kill all the Christians that he can find, but he will not succeed because the blood of the Lamb is upon us.