Transcript

Mr. and Mrs. Brown had two sons. One was named “Mind Your Own Business” and the other was named “Trouble.” One day the two boys decided to play hide and seek. Trouble hid while Mind Your Own Business counted to 100.

Mind Your Own Business began looking for his brother behind garbage cans and bushes. Then he started looking in and under cars when a policeman approached him and asked, “What are you doing?” The boy replied, “Playing a game.”

The officer questioned, “What is your name?” The boy said, “Mind Your Own Business.” Agitated, the policeman inquired “Are you looking for trouble?!” The boy replied, “Why, yes, yes I am.”

If you’re looking for trouble, just look at the Anti-Christ. The Anti-Christ will be nothing but trouble to this world after the Rapture of the Church.

In this episode, we will look at the Anti-Christ, who is a key figure in Revelation.

Revelation 13:1-2: “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

“And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.”

Though there is speculation continuously as to his identity, as members of the Church, the Body of Christ, we will never know who the Anti-Christ is. 2 Thessalonians 2 teaches us that the Anti-Christ will not be revealed until after the Rapture of the Church.

But there is always a potential Anti-Christ in the world. Satan doesn’t know when the Rapture is going to happen. So there is always someone who would be the one that Satan would use should the Lord come.

Following the Rapture, he will step forward onto the stage of the world and quickly rise to prominence. But we won’t be here to find out who he is. We’ll be in heaven with all members of the Body of Christ when God resumes His prophetic program with Israel.

An elder minister once told a young preacher who was graduating from seminary, “Son, you’re going to find out in your ministry that there are a great many people more interested in Anti-Christ than they are in Christ.” God doesn’t want us to be of that number.

We should not waste our time looking for the Anti-Christ. We are taught by God under grace to look for Christ and the blessed hope of His return at the Rapture.

But God has information about the Anti-Christ in His Word for a reason. First and foremost, it’s for the people in the future after the Rapture to be able to identify who he is, having the Scripture to compare against him to reveal his true identity.

And it’s also a comfort for those future saints us in knowing God will overwhelm and triumph over this wicked man one day.

And in a secondary sense, it’s an encouragement for our faith in knowing that God knows the future, is in control, and that being on the Lord’s side, we are on the side of victory.

The “beast” in verse 1 is the Anti-Christ. In being called “a beast” it teaches us what he will be like. He’ll be like a wild animal, predatory, fierce, vicious, strong, and dangerous.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, Paul calls him “that man of sin.” We learn by this that he is a man, not an angel, not a demon, not Satan, not part this and part that. He is a man. And he is a man bent on sin and rebellion against God. He will be the embodiment of evil.

He’ll be utterly depraved and unspeakably vile in his character and leadership.

The “sea” in Scripture often refers to the nations of the world. Revelation 17:15 says, “The waters which thou sawest…are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.”

In rising “up out of the sea,” when he is revealed to the world, we are taught that the Anti-Christ will rise up out of the nations, and not Israel or Jerusalem.

Daniel 11:37 gives us more information about the beast: “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.”

This passage tells us that he will not “regard the God of his fathers.” This shows us the Anti-Christ will be a Jew, as the phrase “God of his fathers,” is a Jewish expression referring to the fathers of the Jewish nation: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob.

Speaking of the Jewish king Amon, a king of Judah, 2 Kings 21:22, says of him, “And he forsook the LORD God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of the LORD.” So the beast will be a Hebrew who comes from one of the Gentile nations.

When we say he is the Anti-CHRIST, Christ means anointed and refers to the Messiah. He will be the Anti-MESSIAH. And the Jews would never accept him or believe on him as their Messiah, if he were not a son of Abraham. So we know he will be a Jew.

Daniel 11:37 also says that he will not regard “the desire of women.” This has been given numerous possible explanations: that he’ll be a homosexual, or he will be single, or he will be so driven and strong-willed he’ll have no desire for women.

Or that he will have no regard for the true Messiah of Israel. Because the “desire” of every Jewish woman was the honor of giving birth to the long-promised Messiah.

This seems the most likely explanation based on the structure of the verse speaking of him disregarding the authority and sovereignty of the true God, the God of his fathers, and the promised Messiah. And he will not regard “any god,” but will “magnify himself above all,” opposing all worship and religions, demanding only the worship of himself.

As Paul says of him in 2 Thessalonians 2:4, he “opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped.”

As the tribulation opens, Revelation 6 describes the seal judgments. The first seal judgment that is opened reveals how Satan’s Anti-Christ will enter the world’s scene, and he is pictured as counterfeiting the true Christ, by riding in on a white horse.

Revelation 6:2 reads, “And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.”

The Anti-Christ will come riding on to the stage of the world at the beginning of the Tribulation with “a bow” and he will go “forth conquering, and to conquer” (Rev. 6:2).

He comes in with a bow with no arrows, teaching that he will come in under the guise of being a peaceful political leader. His conquering without arrows speaks of a bloodless victory, won by means of deceptive covenant, agreement, policy, and politics.

Daniel 11:21,23 teaches how “he shall work deceitfully…he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.” By this, he will rise to power and be given a crown.

Also, this wicked deceiver will sign a 7-year covenant and peace pact with Israel which marks the beginning of Daniel’s 70th week (Dan. 9:27).

Daniel 9:27 tells us: “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week [or 7 years]: and in the midst of the week [or after 3 1/2 years] he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations.”

He signs a covenant of peace with Israel which ensures her protection and makes it possible for Israel to rebuild her temple and re-establish the sacrificial system of the law.

The “seven heads and ten horns” in Revelation 13:1 speak to his power structure and alliances with kings and kingdoms in the future Tribulation (Rev. 17:9-13).

According to Revelation 17, the seven heads are seven kingdoms with seven kings. The ten horns with ten crowns are ten kings who have no kingdom.

Horns in the Scriptures express strength and power, both offensive and defensive power. A bull with one head and two horns is a powerful creature, but a beast with seven heads and ten horns has that much more power.

The image of the Anti-Christ here in verses 1 and 2 hearkens back to Daniel chapter 7. In the chapter, Daniel had a dream and a vision of four beasts rising up from the sea.

The first was like a lion, the second like a bear, the third like a four-headed leopard.

The fourth beast that Daniel saw in his vision was “dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces…and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns” (7:7). The fourth beast is the Anti-Christ and his kingdom.

And here in Revelation 13, the Anti-Christ and his kingdom are seen as gathering in the symbolism of three preceding empires: the lion portraying Babylon, the bear portraying Media-Persia, and the leopard portraying Greece.

And as it’s been said, “This symbolism suggests that the Anti-Christ of the future Tribulation will embody the sum total of all the world empires that opposed God and His people throughout history.”

So the superpower of the Anti-Christ’s empire will entail all the incredible wealth, splendor, glory and military might of the ancient kingdoms of Babylon, Persia, Greece combined. It’ll be greater and more powerful than all of them put together.

Verse 2 says about the beast, “and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.” He will be empowered by Satan and given authority by him.

In Christ’s temptation in the wilderness, Satan took Him “up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto Him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me” (Matt. 4:8,9).

Christ, of course, refused this at the hand of Satan, telling him, “Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

However, when Satan offers the Anti-Christ “all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them,” he will accept and will fall down and worship Satan. And Satan, the dragon, will give him his power and seat and great authority over the world’s kingdoms.

Revelation 13:3-4: “And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

“And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?”

In verse 3, one of the heads of the beast was “as it were wounded to death.” The word “wounded” means “to put to death by violence…mortally wounded, fatally wounded.”

Speaking of Christ, the Lamb of God, Revelation 5:6 reads, “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been SLAIN.”

Also here in verse 8 of this chapter: “the Lamb SLAIN from the foundation of the world.” “Slain” is translated from the exact same Greek word translated as “wounded” in verse 3.

One commentator wrote, “…the statement is the counterpart of that in Revelation 5:6, where we read of the Lamb, as though it had been [slain or] slaughtered.

“In both cases there had been actual death, and in both revival. The one is a mocking counterpart of the other.”

Revelation 17:8 reads, “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”

The “was” refers to the first 3 ½ years of the Tribulation when the beast will solve so many of the world’s problems, rise to power through politics, and bring in a supposed world peace, so that people in that day will be saying “peace and safety,” 1 Thessalonians 5:3 says.

The “and is not” refers to his assassination in the middle of the Tribulation. At his death, his soul will descend into hades in the center of the earth, or “the bottomless pit.”

Then, under the permission of God, in giving the world what it has always wanted: a Savior other than Jesus Christ, the Anti-Christ will be allowed by God to return from the dead, and “his deadly wound was healed” and he “shall ascend out of the bottomless pit.” And it is more than likely that this occurs after 3 days.

Through the Anti-Christ, Satan will counterfeit the death, burial and resurrection of the true Savior. Christ ministered for 3 ½ years and was crucified.

And likewise, as Revelation 17:8 says, “The beast was (first 3 ½ years), and is not (assassinated), and yet is (comes back from the dead).”

This catapults the Anti-Christ to an even higher exalted earthly position before the world.

And unbelievers at this point will then “wonder” at the beast Revelation 17:8 says. Revelation 13:3 states, “and all the world wondered after the beast.”

But I love the little addition in Revelation 17:8 about the future of the Anti-Christ. After stating that he was, and is not, and that he will ascend out of the bottomless pit, the verse adds that he will “go into perdition.”

He might ascend out of the bottomless pit for a little while, but ultimately he’s going to “perdition,” or eternal damnation in the Lake of Fire.

Paul calls him “the son of perdition” because he’s fixed for that. Nothing will change that fact. Perdition is his destiny.

As a result of his death and resurrection, the Anti-Christ will grow to such immense heights of power and influence in this world that he will successfully demand that the world worship only him. And out of their wonder of him, they will willingly and obediently worship the Anti-Christ.

Unlike our Savior who was “despised and rejected of men” (Isa. 53:3), the Anti-Christ will be gladly and freely worshipped, admired, and accepted by men.

And not only will the world worship the beast, in verse 4 we learn that they will even worship “the dragon [or Satan] which gave power unto the beast.”

Because of his seeming invulnerability to death and supposed power over it, he will gain worldwide acclaim, and the whole world will say, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

The implied answer to these rhetorical questions in verse 4 is “No one!” They will believe him to be all-powerful and invincible and God in the flesh.

These kind of words, “Who is like?” and “Who is able?” as seen in Scripture are reserved for the worship of God. Exodus 15:11: “Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods?”

But people in that day will believe the beast to be God, so that’s why they will say them.

And it’s at this point, the mid-point of the Tribulation that the Anti-Christ rises to the point of reigning supreme in the political, military, and religious realms on the earth. As verse 8 of this chapter states, “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him.”

Revelation 13:5-10: “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

“And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

“And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

“And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.”

Verses 5 and 6 states that because of the adulation of the world and his massive pride, “there was given unto him [the beast] a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies” and he “opened his mouth in blasphemy against God.” And this is why the beast has “the name of blasphemy” upon his heads in verse 1.

Daniel 11:36 says of the beast that he “shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods.”

Unlike our Savior, who came to do the Father’s will, the Anti-Christ in his unbridled pride will do his own will. And unlike Christ, who humbled Himself, the Anti-Christ will “exalt himself, and magnify himself.”

His arrogance is demonstrated in speaking “marvelous things,” or astonishing things of blasphemy “against the God of gods,” or our God, the one true and living God. His blasphemy will not be subtle, but open and monstrous.

Verse 6 states that he will open “his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.”

His blasphemy will be directed against the true God and His name. God’s name encompasses all that is true about Him. But believing himself to be God, he will tear down, scoff at, belittle, and taunt the living God.

He will also blaspheme God’s “tabernacle.” This includes mocking God’s tabernacle, His dwelling place in heaven, and His heavenly temple and throne.

Also, in Revelation 21, with the descent of the new Jerusalem “coming down from God out of heaven,” John “heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the TABERNACLE of God is with men.” The Anti-Christ will deride and ridicule God’s new Jerusalem.

And he will also blaspheme “them that dwell in heaven,” which in the context of the Book of Revelation is speaking of the marytrs of the Tribulation. They’ll be a joke to him that they would die in the name of Jesus Christ.

In reference to his blasphemy in verse 5, it states “there was GIVEN UNTO HIM a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies.” Satan gives him his mouth of blasphemy. The beast will be the mouthpiece of Satan. He will voice Satan’s absolute rage against God.

The arrogance and blasphemy of the beast will reach such heights that at the mid-point of the Tribulation he will go to the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, and he will boldly march straight into and through the holy place, then pull back the veil, and enter the holy of holies, and sit on the mercy seat, the ark of the covenant.

And as Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 2:4, he will “[sit] in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”

After having died and risen again, he will say that he is the antitype of the sacrifices of the temple and that he is God and will demand that all Israel and all the world worship him and him alone.

But showing that God is in control, verse 5 says that the beast will continue without restraint only for a period of 42 months, which equals 3 ½ years, the last half of the 7-year Tribulation. The Anti-Christ will operate only within the time limit set by the true and sovereign Ruler of the Universe.

Verse 7 shows that the Anti-Christ won’t be all talk. It will be “given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them.”

In his hatred against God, the beast will wage war against the saints of God. From Satan’s own hatred of the saints, he GIVES UNTO the Anti-Christ the same hatred and murderous fury against the people of God.

After posing as their protector for the first 3 ½ years of the Tribulation, the Anti-Christ shows his true colors halfway through it, and he will betray Israel and break his 7-year covenant with them and unleash a persecution unparalleled in history.

He will “make war with the saints,” those who believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah.

It is at this point that the Lord’s words in His Olivet Discourse need to be obeyed, “Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:

“Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day” (Matt. 24:16-20).

The beast will demand that the Jews and the world worship him as God and the true Messiah. He will pursue, “overcome,” and destroy those who do not. Daniel 7:25 says he will “wear out the saints of the most High.”

Leaving his peace program in the past, during the 2nd half of the Tribulation, he will devour and pulverize people and nations, and crush and trample underfoot whoever is in his path (Dan. 7:7). He will pursue and hunt the saints of God to kill them all.

Unlike our Savior, who came “to seek and to save that which was lost,” the Anti-Christ will come to destroy and to kill.

Verse 7 states that his power and authority in that day will be “over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. His empire will be worldwide. He will be a world dictator. He will counterfeit Christ’s worldwide kingdom reign on the earth, and have one himself, but only for a time. It will be the last world empire before Christ’s reign.

And the beast will have the worship of the world, of all unbelievers, “whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

This vision in chapter 13 concludes with a call for spiritual understanding: “If any man have an ear, let him hear” (v. 9). That simple statement is a reminder for us that we need to always hear and heed the Word.

Verse 10 is a message of comfort for the future saints of the Tribulation. And the message of is basically this: let the beast do his worst and have his hour.

Those that lead you into captivity will go into captivity, those that kill you with the sword will be killed with the sword.

Vengeance is the Lord’s, He will repay. God is righteous and just. It will be: captivity for captivity, torment for torment, sword for sword, death for death.

And the beast and those who do his bidding will face God’s vengeance at Armageddon and in the Lake of Fire forever.

They will be punished for the sins and atrocities they commit against God’s people. To the Tribulation saints the Word says: Here is your patience, here is the truth for you to trust to endure through it all. Because God is faithful to His Word and to all His promises.