Unveiling the Antichrist: A Dive into Revelation 13

Well, the beast of the sea, Revelation chapter 13, verses 1 through 10.

Revelation 13:1–10

Says, And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore.

Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads.

And on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.

And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like the does

of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. and the dragon gave him his

power and his throne and great authority.

I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain and his fatal wound was healed

and the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast.

They worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast and they

worshiped the beast saying, who is like the beast and who is able to wage war with him?

There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words

and blasphemies and authority to act

for 42 months was given to

him and he opened his mouth and blasphemies against

god to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle

that is those who dwell in heaven it was

also given to him to make war with the saints and

to overcome them and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation

was given to him all who dwell on the earth will worship him everyone one whose

name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life

of the lamb who has been slain.

If anyone has an ear, let him hear.

So, and then he goes on to say, if anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes.

If anyone kills with a sword, with the sword he must be killed.

Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.

So y'all think about it tonight. In the chaotic times here that we're in,

in Revelation, we're looking at of confusion, uncertainty, unrest that's going

to prevail, obviously, during the tribulation.

The world is going to long for who? For a leader, right? They want a leader.

They want somebody to make it better.

And people are going to desperately be hoping for someone powerful,

influential to unite the divided and contentious nations of the world.

Someone to bring hope in the midst of helplessness, somebody to provide a sense

of security to them, an unsettled time of apprehension and fear,

people are going to desperately be seeking a strong.

Charismatic, authoritative leader to pull the world back from the brink of disaster.

And those longings will be fulfilled, according to Scripture.

The powerful leader that the people are going to desire is going to come.

He's going to unify the world under his rule.

And he'll appear at first, as you know, that to be everything that people thought

they were looking for, right?

And for a brief time, he'll bring peace and prosperity.

But he will turn out to be far more than the world bargained for.

He'll be a dictator that's more cruel and powerful than any other leader the world has ever known.

And this man, often called what?

The Antichrist, will be the culmination

of a long line of would-be world conquerors. He's the ultimate one.

When men like Alexander the Great and Roman emperors in ancient times and Hitler

and Stalin in modern times are only dreamed about doing, the Antichrist actually will do it.

He will rule the entire world, Scripture says, and receive its worship.

And just as the Antichrist will be the culmination of a long line of political

rulers, so also he'll be the ultimate false religious leader, right?

In fact, in the broadest sense, if you will, an Antichrist is anyone who denies

the Father and the Son, according to 1 John 2.22.

Because one who does, listen to this, does not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming

in the flesh is the deceiver and the antichrist, it says in 2 John chapter 7.

And such charlatans have been around throughout human history.

In the first century, you know, the apostle John lamented that even now many

antichrists have appeared.

If you remember in 1 John 2 and 1 John 4, he talked about that but the bible

predicts that the end times will see an unprecedented.

Proliferation of false Christ and Antichrist.

Jesus warned this himself in the scriptures.

He said, many will come in my name saying, I am he, and will mislead many, Jesus said.

If anyone says to you, behold, here is the Christ, or behold,

he is there, do not believe him.

For false Christ and false prophets, Jesus said, will arise and will show signs

and wonders in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect.

Those are the words of Jesus.

Mark 13, 6, Mark 13, 21, and 22.

Those satanic impostors, if you will, they're going to culminate in this final

Antichrist, who will be more vile, he'll be more evil, powerful than all the rest.

And as we look here, the astounding description of the Antichrist presented

in the opening verses of this chapter is the most gripping, thorough,

and dramatic one in all of Scripture that's given.

In fact, it was not new teaching to John's readers, though.

John wrote in his first epistle that his readers had heard that Antichrist is coming in 1 John 2.18.

And after describing Antichrist and his activity,

the Apostle Paul actually reminded the Thessalonians, if you remember,

do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these

things in 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 5.

2 Thessalonians 2:5

So those passages indicate that the truth about Antichrist was common knowledge

in the New Testament, in the New Testament times, I should say.

And the original source of the biblical teaching about the Antichrist,

does anybody know where that would have been? What book in the Bible?

Starts with a D, I'll give you a Yeah, Daniel, right?

Daniel 7 pictures the Antichrist as a little horn in verse 8.

Arising from the ten horns of the fourth beast of Daniel's vision.

And that horn represents a person, by the way, since it possessed eyes like

the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boast.

He talks about in verse 8 of Daniel 7.

And earlier, though, in that verse, Daniel notes that three of the first horns

were pulled out by the roots before Antichrist, indicating that he will destroy

three of the other rulers.

It talks about that in verse 24 of that chapter and subjugate the rest during his rise to power.

And actually later in chapter 7 of Daniel, we see that the horn Antichrist was

waging war with the saints and overpowering them.

He talks about that in Daniel in verse 21 of chapter 7. So Antichrist is seen

leading a savage persecution of God's people,

Listen to this, until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor

of the saints of the highest one, and the time arrived when the saints took

possession of the kingdom, Daniel 7.22.

Daniel described Antichrist's kingdom, a revived Roman Empire,

as one which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the

whole earth and tread it down and crush it in verse 23 of chapter 7 of Daniel.

So, as previously we shared with you, Antichrist, unlike other tyrants in human

history, is going to rule the entire world.

In fact, in verse 25, Daniel said that Antichrist will speak out against the

Most High and wear down the saints of the highest one, and he will intend to

make alterations in times and in law,

and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.

And so this counterfeit Christ will, as previously noted earlier,

we shared this, he will persecute God's people.

He'll also institute a new religion, the worship of himself, right?

That talks about that even in Daniel chapter 11, 36 and 37, 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 4.

Daniel 11 · chapter mention 2 Thessalonians 2:4

So a reign of evil, we've got to get the picture. It'll rewrite history to suit his purposes.

And helping him to do so is going to be his associate, the false prophet.

And Daniel, though, in Daniel 8, the second half, I think, of verse 23 through

verse 25, he gives another glimpse of Antichrist and his reign of terror.

I think it's worth reading tonight to y'all to share it with you.

He said, a king will rise insolent and skilled in intrigue.

His power will be mighty, but not by his own power, and he will destroy to an extraordinary degree.

And prosper and perform his will. He will destroy mighty men and the holy people,

and through his shrewdness he will cause deceit to succeed by his influence,

and he will magnify himself in his heart,

and he will destroy many while they are at ease.

He will even oppose the prince of princes, but he will be broken without human agency.

You see, he'll be an insolent intimidator. He's devious. He's possessing a power

not his own, a fierce destroyer of his victims.

And he's so arrogant, it talks about, that he'll dare even to oppose the prince of princes.

Who is who? The Lord Christ, right? That move, by the way, Brother Ronnie,

you know this, is going to prove fatal.

And God's power will fall on Antichrist, who will be broken,

as it says, Daniel, without human agency.

And Daniel's prophecy of the 70 weeks describes Antichrist as the prince who is to come.

In Daniel 9, 26, listen to this. He says, he will destroy the city,

Jerusalem, and the sanctuary, and its end will come with a flood.

Even to the end there will be war, desolations are determined,

and he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week.

But in the middle of the week, he'll put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering,

and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate,

even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.

That's Daniel 9, verses 26, 27.

Daniel 9:26

So Antichrist here is going to make a pact with Israel for seven years.

And halfway through that seven-year period, however, what's going to happen?

He's going to break that covenant, and he's going to attack the Jewish people.

And his plan will be to wipe them out so that God's promised kingdom cannot

come. Y'all, the devil's up to the same old tricks all throughout the Old Testament.

He's been trying to do this, right?

And that's going to be his plan. Antichrist assault will also include believing

Gentiles, those who have given their lives to Christ in the tribulation as he

seeks to destroy all believers.

And I think another important passage, though, regarding Antichrist and his

career is also found in Daniel chapter 11.

Daniel 11 · chapter mention

And I hope y'all don't mind me reading these because they go together here.

Daniel's prophecy, Daniel 11, 36 through 45, I feel like this is worth sharing with you.

He says, then the king will do as he pleases and he will exalt and magnify himself

above every God and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods.

And he will prosper until the indignation is finished for that which is decreed will be done.

He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women,

nor will he show regard for any other god, for he will magnify himself above them all.

But instead, he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know.

He will honor him with gold, silver, costly stones, and treasures.

He will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of a foreign god.

He will give great honor to those who acknowledge him and will cause them to

rule over the many, and he will parcel out land for a price.

At the end time, the king of the south will collide with him,

and the king of the north will storm against him with chariots and with horsemen

and with many ships, and he will enter countries, overflow them, and pass through.

He will also enter the beautiful land, and many countries will fall,

but these will be rescued out of his hand. And he goes on to list them.

He says, Edom, Moab, and the foremost of the sons of Ammon.

Then he will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt

will not escape, but he will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold

and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt.

And Libyans and Ethiopians will follow at his heels.

But rumors from the east and from the north will disturb him.

And he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate many.

He will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful holy mountain.

Yet he will come to his end and no one will help him.

But according to this prophecy, Antichrist, and I want you all to miss this,

will have absolute power.

He will do as he pleases.

And as the leader of a worldwide false religion, he will exalt,

it says, and magnify himself above every God.

He'll show no regard for the gods of his fathers, nor will he show regard for

any other God, for he's going to magnify himself above all.

And so worse, his arrogant pride that is described here will lead him to blasphemy.

Just saying monstrous things, it says, against the God of gods.

Like his evil master, by the way, Satan.

Antichrist is going to be blasphemous. He's going to be profane and proud.

But also like his master, he will come to his end, and no one will help him.

In addition to Daniel's prophecy, though, that we see, really the original readers

of Revelation had information about the Antichrist from the teaching of who?

The Lord Jesus Christ, right?

In fact, Matthew 24 that we said earlier in verses 15 and 16,

Jesus himself, church, actually quoted Daniel's prophecy about Antichrist.

Warning those alive in that day, he said, Therefore, when you see the abomination

of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet.

Standing in the holy place, let the reader understand, then those who are in

Judah must flee to the mountains.

Remember, we talked about that the other week, right?

And another source of information about the Antichrist that's available to John's

readers was the book of 2 Thessalonians.

Written several decades earlier, The Apostle Paul actually describes the Antichrist

in words that are reminiscent of Daniel's prophecy.

Paul says, Let no one in any way deceive you,

for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first,

and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction who opposes and

exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship,

so that he takes his seat in the temple of God,

displaying himself as being God.

Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?

And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed,

for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.

Only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.

Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will slay with the breath

of his mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of his coming. Wow.

I mean, it's just the breath of his mouth, the word of his mouth,

and just the appearance of him coming. He's gone.

Annihilated. God takes care of him, wipes him out, right? He comes to an end.

That is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan,

with all power and signs and false

wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish,

because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

So in that passage, I want y'all to see tonight that Paul clearly delineated

Antichrist's character, describing him as what? Do you remember?

Man of lawlessness. I was talking to my Sunday school class this morning.

Do you know how the Bible defines sin?

Sin is lawlessness.

Transgression of the law, right? It's lawlessness. And so this will be the man

of sin or the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction.

And he's also described Antichrist's wicked career that we read about in Revelation.

When Antichrist actually takes his seat in the temple of God,

displaying himself as being God, he'll break his covenant with Israel and commit

the abomination of desolation that both Daniel in Daniel chapter 11 and Jesus

Daniel 11 · chapter mention

in Matthew chapter 24 warned about.

Matthew 24 · chapter mention

And after deceiving the world there into worshiping him during the last half

of the tribulation, with all power and signs and false wonders,

it says, Antichrist will be destroyed.

And the Lord will slay Antichrist, again, with the breath of his mouth and bring

him to an end by the appearance of his coming.

That just always blows me away. It's just like, wow, what an awesome God we have.

The chapter 13 in Revelation, it gives us the most detailed description of Antichrist

in Revelation that we're looking at tonight.

This is not his first appearance in the apocalypse, right?

I mean, Antichrist was introduced back in chapter 11, verse 7,

as the beast who will assault and kill God's two witnesses.

If you remember, his wicked career, which began in chapter 11,

is fully developed here, beginning in chapter 13 that we're looking at tonight.

And if you remember, chapter 12 actually showed us the beginning of Satan's

long war against God and his people.

Chapter 13 that we started tonight follows logically to record that war's culmination, if you will.

And then in chapter 12, Satan is seen being cast from heaven to earth.

And in chapter 13, he is described here, as we'll see, as, you know,

beginning his massive effort on earth to defeat God and his purposes.

Satan will try to prevent, again, Jesus Christ from setting up his earthly kingdom

by, you know, Remember, it said in that passage we read, he's going to give him his power.

And as a spirit being, Satan depends on humans to carry out his evil plans on earth.

And he controls all unbelievers, by the way, since they are of their father,

the devil, and want to do the desires of their father, according to John 8, 44.

And they walk according to the course of this world, according to the prince

of the power of the air and the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience,

according to Ephesians 2.2.

So apart from Christ, all unbelievers are the devil's children,

according to Scripture.

But some humans have been and are under Satan's or his demon's direct control.

For example, Satan used Judas to betray Jesus to his death.

In the terrifying words of Luke chapter 22, verse 3, it says,

Luke 22:3

Satan entered into Judas, who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve.

During his earthly ministry, Jesus showed us that his mastery over Satan by

casting out demons, right?

We read some about that even this morning, right?

Out of people, he also delegated power over the demonic realm to the apostles

to actually aid them as they confronted Satan's kingdom in Mark chapter 3.

Mark 3 · chapter mention

And by so doing, he and the apostles not only freed people from demonic bondage,

but also hindered Satan from carrying out his plans, his earthly agenda.

And so having been cast permanently from heaven, as we read in chapter 12,

verse 9, Satan will know, as we said last week, that the time remaining to him is very brief.

And to lead his last desperate onslaught against God, he's going to empower

his final Antichrist. In the opening verses of this chapter,

they reveal seven features of this ultimate dictator.

His ancestry, his authority, his acclaim, his adoration, his arrogance,

his activity, and his admirers.

And we're going to break those down from this passage we opened up with.

We're going to look, first of all, at his ancestry.

Look at verse 1 again of chapter 13. It says.

The first sentence of this chapter here belongs as the last sentence of chapter

12, since it concludes the account of the dragon, which is Satan, right?

In chapter 12, verse 9, and his war against God and his people.

And some Greek manuscripts actually read, I stood. The older and more reliable ones read, he stood.

In fact, in the New American Standard Bible, I believe it was the 94 and 95

text of that, the NASB, the translators actually inserted the phrase the dragon in place of he.

Since the dragon is, look at it from an English perspective,

the antecedent of the verb translated he stood.

So the imagery of the sand of the seashore that we see here in this verse,

it depicts the nations of the world.

The nations of the world.

In fact, in John's vision, Satan takes his place dominantly there in their midst

as if it was his rightful possession.

But in reality, as we know, he is a usurper who seeks the world's worship here,

and he wants their adoration.

And as John's vision actually unfolds, the dragon here summoned the Antichrist,

described as a beast coming up out of the sea.

The theory on beast is also used to describe the Antichrist in chapter 11, verse 7.

It doesn't refer to a domesticated animal, by the way, but it refers to,

in Greek, a wild, savage, vicious monster.

Thus, it describes Antichrist as a ferocious personality here.

It just is evil. And the beast must be understood, I think, here as representing

both a kingdom, right, and a person.

The beast must represent a kingdom because, as we look at this,

the complex description of him, right, in the latter half of verse 1.

Yet the beast here also represents a person since he's always described,

as we look here in Scripture, with personal pronouns, like his, him, and he.

And so Daniel and Paul, by the way, they also describe the Antichrist as a person.

And in fact, in that manner, Scripture views the final world empire church as

inseparable from its ruler.

Much as Hitler, if you want to think about it, is inseparably linked to the Third Reich.

So there's been much discussion, though, about what the sea symbolizes.

Some argue that based on such passages as Isaiah 17, chapter 57,

Revelation 17, that it refers to the Gentile nations.

But since in chapter 11, verse 7, and I believe we'll see over in chapter 17,

verse 8, those chapters actually state that the beast comes up out of the abyss.

So it's probably best for us to equate the sea with the abyss.

And that interpretation, by the way, it really is in harmony with the Old Testament,

which also uses the metaphor of the sea to picture actually the realm of satanic activity.

You can see that in Job. You can see it in Psalms. You can see it in Isaiah.

And some of the demons actually are currently incarcerated in the abyss.

According to chapter 9, verses 1 through 11, Luke 8, 31, right?

And Satan will be imprisoned in that abyss during the millennial kingdom in

chapter 20, verses 1 through 3, before that final, he gets cast into the lake of fire, right?

But the Antichrist, I want you all to see this tonight, will be a man.

2 Thessalonians 2, verse 4. But at some point in his life, in this man's life,

2 Thessalonians 2:4

he'll be born in this world, grow up a man that walks this earth.

But at some point in his life, he will be indwelt by a powerful demon from the abyss.

And that demon-possessed man will be a gifted orator.

He'll be an intellectual genius. He'll possess great charm and charisma.

He'll have immense leadership power.

Added to those natural qualities will be the hellish power of Satan himself.

And so the result is going to be a person of superhuman power,

vast intelligence, and just unimaginable wickedness.

And so while all unbelievers, as we talked about earlier, are children of Satan,

according to John 8, 44, no one in human history, church, will be more completely

the devil's child than the Antichrist.

His family likeness to Satan becomes strikingly apparent.

If you look from John's description of him having ten horns,

seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems.

And that same grotesque description, by the way, was applied to Satan in,

if you remember, back in chapter 12, verse 3.

Then another sign appeared in heaven, and behold, a great red dragon having

seven heads and ten horns, and on his head were seven diadems.

So the description of Antichrist emphasizes the importance of the ten horns

by mentioning them first, right?

And associating the diadems there with them instead of the heads, if you notice there.

In fact, horns in Scripture, anybody know? We talked about this a little bit,

I think, once before, but horns in Scripture symbolize what?

Power, strength, both for attack and defense. We see that in 1 Samuel.

We see it in Job, Psalms, Micah.

In fact, in this passage, though, they represent the great power of the kings

who will rule under Antichrist's absolute authority here.

And 10 actually fits the imagery, by the way, of the fourth beast in Daniel

Daniel 7:7

chapter 7, verses 7 and 24.

And it's a symbolic number representing all the world's political and military might.

So Antichrist is going to arise or he'll rise from among these 10,

as it talks about in Daniel, and will not rule merely 10 nations, but the entire world.

In fact, unlike the seven heads here, which look to represent successive world

empires, all of the rulers symbolized by those ten horns will rule at the same time.

As we look in chapter 17, a little bit down the road, we'll see that in verse 12.

But Daniel actually described this final coalition, if you will, headed by Antichrist.

Just a few verses here. He says in Daniel chapter 2, verses 41 through 44,

Daniel 2:41–44

he says, In that you saw the feet and toes partly of potter's clay and partly

of iron, it will be a divided kingdom, but it will have in it the toughness

of iron, and as much as you saw the iron mixed with common clay,

as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery,

so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle.

And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay that will combine with another

in the seed of men, but they will not adhere to one another,

even as iron does not combine with pottery.

In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will

never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people.

It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.

Oh, yeah, right? Hallelujah. I mean, the final world empire will be,

in some sense, a revival of the Roman Empire.

The iron legs and the ten toes of the statue in Daniel chapter 2.

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

But it will far exceed in both its power and extent there.

It'll be much more than like a European confederacy. It's going to be more than

that. It'll cover the entire world.

And ultimately, an Antichrist empire here will be crushed again by who?

God himself, right? The stone, if you remember back in our study in Daniel,

the stone that was cut out without hands in Daniel chapter 2,

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

when he comes to establish his earthly kingdom, that's the one that's going to take him down, right?

In fact, in addition to his 10 horns, the beast is described by John as having seven heads.

And it's going to be seen as we discuss more down the road here in Revelation

17 later, a little bit later down the road, that those seven heads represent

seven successive world empires.

Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, and Antichrist's final world kingdom.

The ten diadems, or the royal crowns, it really indicates the horns,

their regal authority, right? That power, that victorious power.

And John also noted that on the beast heads were blasphemous names.

And like many of the Roman emperors and other monarchs before them,

these rulers will blasphemously, they will just have like divine names that

they have, titles to themselves that actually dishonor the true and living God.

They're going to follow the pattern of their master, Antichrist,

who opposes, it says in Scripture, and exalts himself above every so-called

God or object of worship so that he takes his seat in the temple,

the very temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

That's from 2 Thessalonians we read earlier.

So we see his ancestry.

And then this is where I'll stop tonight, his authority. Okay,

we'll wrap up with this one tonight.

In verse two, look back in verse two of chapter 13.

And the beast which I saw was like a leopard and his feet were like those of

a bear and his mouth like the mouth of a lion and the dragon gave him his power.

And his throne and great authority.

So as John looked more closely at the beast, he saw that it incorporated the

characteristics of the animals from the vision that was recorded by Daniel in

Daniel chapter 7, verses 3 through 7.

Daniel 7:3–7

Listen to what Daniel said. He said, and four great beasts were coming up from

the sea, different from one another.

The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle.

I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground

and made to stand on two feet like a man.

A human mind was also was given to it. And behold, another beast,

a second one resembling a bear.

And it was raised up on one side and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth.

And thus they said to it, arise, devour much meat.

And after this, I kept looking and behold, another one like a leopard,

which had on its back four wings of a bird.

The beast also had four heads and dominion was given to it.

After this, I kept looking in the night visions and behold a fourth beast,

dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong.

And it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet.

And it was different from all the beasts that were before it. And it had 10 horns.

So the leopard, the bear, the lion were well-known in Palestine.

They dramatically, they emphasized the characteristics of the nations that they represent.

You see, let me break this down quickly. The lion was a fitting symbol for the

fierce, consuming power of the Babylonian empire.

The ferocity, the strength, you know, the stability of the Medo-Persian empire

led to its depiction as a bear.

The Greeks, their swift conquest, particularly if you remember under Alexander

the Great, reflect the speed and the viciousness of the leopard.

And John lists the three animals in reverse order from Daniel.

Since he was looking backward in time, Daniel, looking forward in time,

lists the animals and the kingdoms they represent in chronological order.

So as we look at this, this indescribable fourth beast of Daniel 7,

Daniel 7:7

verse 7, which represents the Roman Empire,

Antichrist's final empire, is going to be a composite, if you will,

of the empires that preceded it.

It'll incorporate all that ferocity, that viciousness, that swiftness,

that strength of the other world empires. This powerful empire is going to be

unparalleled in human history.

It's going to be Satan's last, his greatest attempt to stop the reign of Christ.

But like all of Satan's other attempts, I just have to say tonight,

it will ultimately fail.

Because the dragon, which is who?

Satan, is the source of Antichrist's power.

No human force is going to be able to withstand him. The dragon works his power

through the beast, using him to make war against God.

Nor will the holy angels intervene because God's supernatural restraint of Antichrist will be removed.

It says that in 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 7.

2 Thessalonians 2:7

And that will allow Antichrist to rise to power. You know when he'll rise?

At God's appointed time.

And he will temporarily let sin run its course.

The Antichrist, I want you all to say this, will share Satan's throne just as

the true Christ shares his father's throne.

Antichrist will possess great authority over the entire world.

He'll have complete unrestrained freedom of action and will answer to no one.

Some find it really incredible that anyone could rise to such a position of

absolute authority. What about y'all? Can you just imagine this?

How could anyone do this? We never think that that could happen, right?

But we've got to realize that, I mean, this guy is demon-possessed,

but he's empowered by Satan himself, right?

You had something you want to

say, Brother Ron? I'm just going to hate our victory. Yeah, you're right.

People were desperate for a leader and desperate for recovery from World War I. Yeah.

The impoverished defeat and impoverishment. Yeah. Same thing.

You're right. He told them what they wanted to hear. That's it.

You know, and there are parallels, as Brother Ronnie's bringing out,

and I would expect him to.

This history guy here right and in human

history on a much smaller scale you know

he just mentioned those dictators gain control by offering

solutions to society seemingly unsolvable problems right brother ronnie mentioned

adolf hitler he took advantage of that chaotic economic and political conditions

that were in germany following world war one and he promised the german people

that under his leadership,

their downtrodden nation would again rise to a place of prominence, power, and wealth.

And desperate for a way out of their dilemma here, many people did believe his

message, as Brother Ronnie said.

And eventually the Nazi party grew so strong that Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany.

And from that position, he went on to actually seize absolute power.

But Antichrist will be a dictator more powerful, and if you can imagine,

more evil than Hitler ever thought about.

He'll rise to power amid that frightening, unprecedented chaos of tribulation.

Remember all the things we've talked about that have been happening.

It's just people are going to be like frantically looking for an answer,

right? And they don't want to accept.

They don't want to repent. We've seen that before, right?

Well, next week, we'll stop there tonight. I think that's a lot to digest tonight,

but we'll pick up next Sunday night, Lord willing, talking about his acclaim

in this same passage next Sunday night.