The Ascending Beast

The subject of the “Antichrist” raises certain questions. Who is he? When will he appear? How will we recognize him? What is his “mark” or “number”? In popular preaching, he is a global political leader who uses military might to subjugate other nations and attack Israel in the Middle East. However, if Satan is truly cunning, why would he do the very things we expect?

The Church has been inundated over the centuries by predictions and theories about the “Antichrist.” He has been identified with the Roman Emperor, the Pope, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin, and numerous other political figures.

In many cases, good and even excellent arguments were made to support the proposition. Nonetheless, not one of these past candidates ever became the world-dominating “Beast from the Sea.”

[Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash]

The several terms used for this figure in the New Testament include “Antichrist,” “Man of Lawlessness,” and “Beast.” Do they all refer to the same individual or entity?

The term “Antichrist” only appears in two of John’s letters, and nowhere in the Book of Revelation. Is it the correct label for the global leader of popular expectations? Are we certain John had the same figure in mind in his letters as the “Beast” of Revelation or Paul's “Man of Lawlessness”?

The language used for this figure is drawn from the Hebrew Bible, especially the Book of Daniel and its vision of the “Little Horn speaking great things.” However. Paul and John did not simply quote these passages verbatim. They reapplied them in the light of what God has done in Jesus, often in unexpected ways. 

If there is any hope of correctly identifying the “Beast,” we must seek it in Scripture, not the daily news headlines, church tradition, or popular opinion.

In Revelation, the “Beast is ascending from the Sea.” John uses a Greek participle in the present tense, signifying an ongoing action. Thus, he saw the “Beast” in the process of “ascending” or rising from the Abyss or Sea.

Its “Seven Heads” represent “Seven Mountains,” which, in turn, symbolize seven successive kingdoms rather than concurrent realms. By the first century, five had “fallen,” one existed, and the final or “seventh” kingdom had “yet to come” - (Revelation 17:8-11).

John used the characteristics of Daniel’s “four beasts from the Sea” to describe what for him was now a single entity, one “Beast.” Again, Revelation does not simply quote Daniel without any changes or new information.

In Daniel, the “four beasts” represent four successive kingdoms. However, John saw only one “Beast” that incorporates the animal features of all four of Daniel’s beasts, and he lists them in reverse order as if he is looking backward over the history of world empires.

AN ANCIENT STORY

Daniel linked the Babylonian incarnation of the World Empire to the “Land of Shinar,” the ancient kingdom of the Sumerians where Babel originated, and the first attempt to unite all peoples under one government - (Genesis 11:1-9, Daniel 1:2).

This is thus an old story. What is portrayed in the Bible is not a one-time event that occurs just before the end of the age. The satanic conspiracy to install this World Empire is history-spanning. It has been underway since the beginning of civilization. Prophecy teachers who previously identified this beastly regime as the Roman Empire or the government of Nazi Germany were not entirely wrong.

How do we identify the final incarnation of this World Empire, the “Seventh Kingdom”? Whether discussing the “Beast,” the “Antichrist,” or the “Man of Lawlessness,” certain characteristics are common to each description.

All three terms are linked to deception and apostasy. Jesus warned of coming “deceivers” who would propagate false information about the “End,” thereby “troubling” many. Their deceptions would cause many to apostatize – “Then will many be offended, and will betray one another, and will hate one another.” False prophets will use “great signs and wonders” to deceive “even the elect.”

Likewise, Paul instructed believers not to be “troubled” by disinformation about the “Day of the Lord.” That day will not come until the “apostasy” and the “revelation of the Man of Lawlessness, the Son of Destruction,” occur. He describes the latter as using “lying signs and wonders” to deceive those who refused the “love of the truth.” Likewise, the “False prophet” in Revelation will use “great wonders” to cause many to “pay homage to the Beast” - (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, Revelation 13:11-15).

In his first letter, John called false teachers in his congregations “antichrists,” using the plural number, forerunners of the final “Antichrist.” They were driven by the “Spirit of the Antichrist” that was active already. They were identifiable by their attempts to mislead believers, often “disguised as angels of light,” and denying the Son's true humanity - (2 Corinthians 11:14, 1 John 2:18-22).

Jesus warned that the “love of many would grow cold” due to “lawlessness.” He was not speaking about humanity in general, but his followers, the Church. “False prophets” will work overtime to deceive them.

Similarly, the “Man of Lawlessness” will appear in the “Sanctuary of God,” a phrase Paul applies consistently to the Body of Christ in his letters.

John likewise was concerned about the “many antichrists” that were disrupting his congregations.

In Revelation, the “Dragon” wages war against the “saints,” “those who have the testimony of Jesus,” the “men from every people and tribe redeemed by the blood of the Lamb,” not other nation-states.

Neither Jesus, Paul nor John stated that the Man of Lawlessness, the Antichrist, or the Beast would be a global political leader who wages war against the state of Israel. Whether he will do so was not their immediate concern. Their focus is on how deceivers will impact the Church. They do not assign any geographic location or limitation to this figure. Satan’s efforts to destroy the “saints” was and remains global.

So, where does this leave us? First, we must remain vigilant because the rise of the “Beast” is an ever-present reality. Secondly, since Satan and his agents can employ “signs and wonders,” the manifestation of supernatural power is no guarantee that an individual, church, or ministry is from God.

The “Dragon” is not sending his “Beast” to deceive an already deceived world, but to misdirect, mislead, and otherwise cause the followers of Jesus to apostatize and abandon their mission to preach the Gospel to every nation.

Satan's target in this great Cosmic Conflict is the Body of Christ,  the Church. Only by misdirecting or deceiving us does he stand any chance of destroying the Church and thereby overthrowing God's Messiah and King, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

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SEE ALSO:

• The Coming Storm - (Consistently, Scripture warns of the final apostasy that is linked to the "Man of Lawlessness" with his "lying signs and wonders")

• The Spirit of Antichrist - (The Spirit of Antichrist is at work in the church even now using deceivers and false prophets)

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