The Ascent of the Beast

To identify the Antichrist, we must first understand what the relevant passages say about him, his methods, and his agenda.

The subject of “the Antichrist” raises many questions. Who is he? When will he appear? How will we recognize him? In popular preaching, he is a global political leader who uses military might to subjugate other nations and attack Israel in the land of Palestine.

Scripture foresees a malevolent figure who is determined to deceive the followers of Jesus, causing them to abandon the true faith. The goal is to destroy the Church of Jesus Christ. And this effort has been underway for thousands of years and is much larger than just one man or government that will appear at the end of the age.

[Dragon Photo by Ryan Moulton on Unsplash]

The Church has been inundated by predictions and theories about the Antichrist over the centuries. He has been identified with several Roman emperors, the Pope, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin, and other political figures. Reasonable arguments are often made to support these propositions. Nevertheless, not one of these proposed candidates ever became the world-dominating “Beast from the Sea.”

The several terms used for this dark figure in the Bible include “Antichrist,” “the Man of Lawlessness”, “the Son of Destruction”, and “the Beast.” Do they all refer to the same individual? There is no direct literary link, for example, between John’s “Antichrists,” plural, of his first epistle and “the Beast from the Sea” of the thirteenth chapter of the Book of Revelation. The identification of John’s term, “antichrists,” with “the Beast” is an assumption. That term only appears in two of John’s letters, and nowhere in Revelation or the rest of the Bible – (1 John 2:18-22, 4:3, 2 John 1:7).

The language used by the authors of the Bible when describing this evil man is from the Book of Daniel and its vision of “the Little Horn speaking great things.” However, the New Testament documents do not simply quote those passages verbatim. They reapply them in the light of what God has done in Jesus Christ, and often in unexpected ways. If there is any hope of correctly identifying the Antichrist or Beast, we must seek it in Scripture, not the daily news headlines.

In the Book of Revelation, John sees the Beast “ascending from the Sea.” He describes this image with a participle in the Greek present tense, signifying an ongoing action. John saw this Beast in the process of ascending from the sea.

The Beast has “seven heads,” which, we are told, represent “seven mountains.” The seven mountains, in turn, symbolize seven kingdoms. By the first century, five of these kingdoms had “fallen,” one was in power as John wrote Revelation, and the final or seventh kingdom was “yet to come” - (Revelation 17:8-11).

John the Revelator uses the characteristics of Daniel’s “four beasts from the Sea” to describe what for him was one entity, a single but terrifying monster. In the Book of Daniel, the four individual beasts from the sea represent four successive kingdoms. John saw only one Beast, but it incorporated the animal features of all four of Daniel’s beasts, and John listed them in reverse order as if reading the history of world empires starting from the end of the book.

AN ANCIENT STORY

The Prophet Daniel links the Babylonian incarnation of the World Empire to “the Land of Shinar,” the ancient kingdom of the Sumerians from which Babel or Babylon came. In the Book of Genesis, we find the first attempt to unite humanity under one government when that kingdom gathered all nations, peoples, and tongues to the plain of Mesopotamia and erected the Tower of Babel:

• “And the whole earth was of one tongue and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar. And they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Come, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime for mortar. And they said, Come, let us build us a city, and erect a tower, whose top may reach heaven, and let us make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth” - (Genesis 11:1-4).

• “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, came Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God; and he carried them into the land of Shinar to the house of his god. And he brought the vessels into the treasure-house of his god. And the king spoke to Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring in certain of the children of Israel, even of the seed royal and of the nobles; youths in whom was no blemish, but well-favored, and skilful in all wisdom, and endued with knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability to stand in the king's palace; and that he should teach them the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans” - (Daniel 1:1-4).

• “Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and its width six cubits. He erected it on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon <…> Then the herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and tongues, that at what time you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you fall down and venerate the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has erected. And whoever does not fall down and venerate will the same hour be cast into the burning fiery furnace” - (Daniel 3:1-6).

Wittingly or not, the new King of Babel was implementing the same plan as the men who erected the Tower of Babel, by gathering all nations, tongues, and peoples to be ruled by one government, where they would speak “one tongue.” The golden image erected by Nebuchadnezzar corresponded to the Tower of Babel, and its dimensions are reflected in the “number of the Beast” of Revelation:

• “And he deceives the inhabitants of the earth by signs which it was given him to do in the sight of the beast; saying to the inhabitants of the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who has the stroke of the sword and lived <…>. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free man and the slave, that there be given them a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead <…> He that has understanding, let him count the number of the beast, for it is the number of man. And his number is Six hundred and sixty and six” - (Revelation 13:14-18).

The Book of Daniel wants us to hear the verbal and conceptual parallels with the story of the original Babel of Genesis. We ought also to note well the verbal allusions to the story of Nebuchadnezzar found in the thirteenth chapter of Revelation when describing the Beast, its image, and its number.

What the Bible presents is not a one-time event at the end of the age. The plot to install a World Empire spans the history of human civilization. Bible teachers and commentators who identify the beastly regime of Revelation with past empires like Rome are not entirely mistaken.

So, how do we identify the final incarnation of this World Empire, the “seventh kingdom” of Revelation Chapter 17? Whether discussing the “Beast,” the “Antichrist,” or the “Man of Lawlessness,” certain common characteristics are found.

All three designations are linked to deception and apostasy. Jesus warned of coming “deceivers” who will propagate false information about the end, thereby “troubling” many of his disciples. These deceivers will cause many believers to apostatize and turn against one another. False prophets will use signs and wonders to deceive us:

• “Take heed that no man misleads you, for many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and they will mislead many” – (Matthew 24:3-4).

• “Then many will be offended and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise, and mislead many” – (Matthew 24:10-11).

• “For there will arise false anointed ones, and false prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect” – (Matthew 24:24).

When Jesus warned that the “love of many will grow cold” due to “lawlessness,” he was not speaking about humanity in general, but about his disciples. “False prophets” will work overtime to deceive the saints and sow discord among them.

Likewise, the Apostle Paul instructs believers not to be “troubled” by misleading information about the Day of the Lord. That day will not come until the “apostasy” occurs and “the Man of Lawlessness, the son of Destruction” is revealed in the church - (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4).

The menacing figure described by Paul will use “lying signs and wonders” to deceive those who refuse “the love of the truth.” He will be energized by Satan “with all deceit of unrighteousness for those who are perishing.” His appearance will be the product of the Mystery of Lawlessness that is working even now among us. This Son of Destruction will be destroyed when Jesus arrives. Only those saints who “stand fast and hold tightly to the traditions” taught by Paul and the Apostles will avoid deception - (2 Thessalonians 2:5-16).

Whether Paul also believed this Lawless Man is a global political leader who wages war on nations or Israel, he does not say. That is not his purpose in the passage. We must not assume things that the passage does not even mention.

The “Man of Lawlessness” will appear in “the Sanctuary of God,” a phrase Paul applies to the Church in his letters. When writing his epistles, John likewise was concerned about the “many antichrists” that were disrupting his congregations.

In his first letter, John calls false teachers in his congregations “antichrists,” forerunners of the final “Antichrist.” They are driven by “the Spirit of the Antichrist” that is active in the world. They can be identified by their deceptive activities and their denials of the humanity of Christ - (1 John 2:18-22, 4:3).

The Beast of Revelation is given the Dragon’s authority over the nations, and this indicates that he is a global political leader. However, we must observe how he uses that authority, and against whom he wages war. Politician though he may be, the target of his malevolence is the Church.

The Beast makes war on “the saints.” The Dragon prosecutes his war against “those who have the testimony of Jesus,” and “those who have the faith of Jesus.” The Beast from the Abyss kills “the Two Witnesses,” but only after they have completed “their testimony.” These witnesses are identified as “lampstands,” and in Revelation, lampstands symbolize churches - (Revelation 1:20, 11:7, 12:17, 13:7, 14:12).

Neither Jesus, Paul, nor John wrote that the Man of Lawlessness, the Antichrist, or the Beast will wage war against the State of Israel or the other nations of the earth. Whether he will do so is not the concern of the relevant passages. The focus is on how events will affect the Church. Satan’s goal is to destroy the saints of Jesus through persecution and deception.

So, where does this leave us? First, we must remain vigilant because the rise of the “Beast” is an ever-present reality. Second, since Satan and his agents can employ “signs and wonders” to deceive us, the manifestation of supernatural power is no guarantee that any individual, church, or ministry is from God. Third, however small it may begin, the Antichrist program will become global in scope, since it targets faithful believers wherever they are found.

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SEE ALSO:

• Antichrists in the Assembly - (Throughout the present age, the Church is being plagued by deceivers from within who are sent to destroy the Body of Christ)

• The Apostasy - (Paul warned the Thessalonians of the future apostasy, which he linked to the unveiling of the Man of Lawlessness, the Son of Destruction)

• The Spirit of Antichrist - (The Antichrist Spirit works to destroy the church from within, especially through deception spread by deceivers and false teachers – 1 John 2:18-22)

• Howling Imposters - (The New Testament warns repeatedly of coming deceivers and false prophets who will cause many to depart from the faith)