Chapter 13
There is an unholy trinity in the tribulation. We have already been introduced to the dragon which is satan but there are two beasts that rise up in this chapter that complete the counterfeit unholy trinity. Much like there is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the devil’s imitation is satan antichrist and the false prophet. The antichrist and false prophet are introduced here in this chapter.
The antichrist has been subject to much conjecture and anticipation among believers throughout history and there have been many guesses and declarations of who he may be. There are two things that you need to keep in mind throughout any discussion around antichrist.
Firstly, we won’t know who he is until we are in heaven so there is no use in trying to figure it out. Who the antichrist is cannot be revealed until the restrainer, which is the Holy Spirit in the Church, is removed (2 Thess 2:6). This means the guy can’t even come to power until after the rapture. To apply it to today, let me say that our job as believers is not to look for antichrist but to look for the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:7, 1 Thess 1:10, Titus 2:11-13, Hebrews 9:28, James 5:7-9, 1 Peter 1:13, Jude 21, Revelation 3:11, Revelation 22:7, 12, 20). We are told time and again to do so.
Secondly, satan himself doesn’t know when the restrainer is being removed so he has to have a man ready at all times. This is important to remember because there may have been antichrists raised up by satan before but God is the one who holds all things in His hands. The antichrist comes to power not because satan gains the power to do so, but because Jesus permits it.
The beast that rises up out of the ocean is the political system of the antichrist but it is also the man who will lead this system. There is a wound that he suffers which kills him but through trickery or satanic power, he comes back to life (13:3), imitating the Lord Jesus once again. There is no creative power in satan, he can only imitate, but whatever power is used to perform these supernatural miracles is granted by God for a short time to achieve His purpose on the earth.
This miraculous coming back to life causes the people of the earth to worship him and pronounce that no one can defeat him or win a battle against him (13:4). With the power granted to him, he blasphemes God, the raptured Church and the temple (13:6). He then sets himself up as God in the temple (2 Thess 2:4).
Once established as the world leader and lord, he uses that power and worship to make war with the tribulations saints. Essentially there will be a world wide religion that worships satan through the antichrist and anyone not submitting to the government rule and dictates will be killed. Countless lives who believe on the Lord Jesus will die at his hands.
The second beast that comes up out of the earth is the false prophet (13:11, 19:20). The false prophet is a counterfeit Holy Spirit represented by a lamb with two horns but who spoke like a dragon. Much like the Holy Spirit points to Jesus and reveals the heart of the Father, the false prophet will point to the antichrist and speak with the nature of the dragon. As much as the Holy Spirit leads men into the truth of Jesus Christ through powerful miracles and signs (John 6:44, Luke 24:49), the false prophet will deceive many through counterfeit signs and power to the beast (13:13-15). In addition, much like the sorcerers of Egypt matched some of the miracles that God used Moses for, the false prophet also seems to imitate some of the miracles of the two witnesses (11:5-6, 13:3).
The second beast, the false prophet, causes all humanity, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, to worship satan, the image of the beast and the antichrist.
These two will usher in the globalist government dream that satan inspired at the tower of Babel and for a time it is permitted in the end. It includes a system that if you don’t mark yourself as compliant with the beast’s system then you will not be able to buy, sell or trade.
His number perfectly represents this time in the end. It is an unholy trinity of humanism. Six being the number of man and three being the number of God, the antichrist number will be perfect humanism, 666. It represents a complete removal of God by man, inspired by satan in true Babylonian fashion, the birthplace of humanism. He is empowered by his wicked intent to be worshipped by all humanity which in the end leads them to destruction. Like it always has.
Here’s what we can live from these verses:
- We Are To Look For the Lord Jesus Christ. No matter what the world looks like. There is no need to be looking for antichrist. He simply cannot come to power until the church is removed anyway. If you do figure out who the antichrist is, I’ve got bad news for you. You are in the Tribulation. Today, let’s fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).
- God Determines the Exact Time The beasts Have Power. The beasts that rise up and do unspeakable damage are only doing so because they have been permitted to and the time frame in which they can do it and for how long is entirely up to God. Always keep in the front of your mind that God is the one who holds all seasons and governments in control (Daniel 2:21).
- We Are the Restrainer. The devil has had to have a man ready in every season because he simply can’t get his man into power as long as the salt and light of the church is in play. The Holy Spirit in the Church is the very reason why evil cannot get a foothold. So as much as God holds all seasons and appoints Kings, we as the Church have been asked by Him to also govern the world with the testimony of His light, and the decay preventing message of our salt. Holy Spirit-filled believers walking in power of the Spirit are simply too powerful for evil to contend with.
