Apocalypse Rising: 21b The Beast with Seven Heads

‘And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.’ (Rev. 13:1)

In the descriptions and prophetic allusions of the events of the seventh trumpet, we immediately see a change in imagery from that which was used in the sixth trumpet. In Revelation ch.13, Antichrist is not simply the end-time king of the north, he is now described as the end-times Beast,[1] one of two beasts presented to us in that chapter. This language, together with the imagery and allusions associated with it, are from the book of Daniel, of course.[2]

A common symbolic interpretation of ‘the beast’ of Revelation ch.13 sees it as any kind of human government which exalts itself above God and effectively demands worship of itself, and which then often persecutes those who believe in God and follow his word. Nebuchadnezzar of ancient Babylon, the Roman Empire, and the various atheistic Communist regimes of the last century or so, are all good examples of this, so there is certainly some truth in such an interpretation.

However, ‘the beast’ is not simply a form of human government, it also expresses the concept of ‘empire.’ In the book of Daniel, the language of beasts is the language of empires, as we shall see further below. So if we are to interpret ‘the beast’ of Revelation ch.13 specifically in the context of the end-times post-rapture period, and if we are to find an interpretation of it which fulfils the various criteria described in that chapter, and which is also consistent with its historical types in the book of Daniel, then we are led to interpret it, as many commentators do, as an end-times worldwide politico-economic system headed up by Antichrist. ‘The Beast’ refers therefore both to this end-times empire and to the person who heads it up, Antichrist. The former is simply the practical outworking of the evil, satanic nature and intentions of the latter.

It is here in Revelation ch.13 that we see the full establishment of the man Antichrist as the end-times Beast. In my descriptions in the previous two chapters, I have sketched the emergence of Antichrist from the Euphrates region, followed by his rise as a regional power in the Middle East, and this leads finally to his establishment on the worldwide scene as the end-times Beast.

It is in Revelation ch.13 that the king of the north becomes the world-dominating Beast. So, in terms of him being a political power broker, we can certainly discern the various stages and gradations in Antichrist’s rise to worldwide power. This is therefore why this third woe is the culmination of the first two woes. It is at this point, when Satan is hurled down to earth, and when Antichrist has taken over Jerusalem and made it into the seat of his power, that I believe that the man Antichrist becomes possessed by Satan. This seems to be implied by the words of the following verse (in which ‘the dragon’ refers to Satan, of course):

‘The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.’ (Rev. 13:2)

When Antichrist proclaims himself to be God in the temple and demands that everyone in the world worships him, then we know for sure that Satan is possessing and working through him. And in consequence, Antichrist continues to rise in power and influence, and he soon becomes the figure that dominates and controls the entire world.

1. The ten horns with crowns

So how does Antichrist advance from being master of the Middle East at the end of the sixth trumpet, to having a worldwide empire during the Great Tribulation? The answer to this question lies in what Revelation ch.17 teaches about ‘the ten kings’:

‘The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings – and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.’ (Rev. 17:12-14)

The dominion of Satan, the prince of darkness, in this world has a hierarchy of authority just like any other dominion or kingdom does (cf. Col. 1:16). So, after Satan and his fallen angels have been hurled down to earth, all the spiritual forces of darkness in this world will gather around Satan and the one he has possessed, Antichrist. The man Antichrist will be the central focus of the powers of darkness, because he will be possessed and controlled by Satan. These forces of darkness will then work under Satan’s authority with the one purpose of extending and establishing Antichrist’s rule, and therefore Satan’s rule, worldwide. This is the end-time trap which Jesus referred to, which will be worldwide in scope and from which, after the rapture, people will not be able to escape.

However, in order for this to happen, from a human perspective Antichrist will need the power and support of these men described as ‘ten kings’ in Revelation ch.17. These men will evidently already be established in their power and authority in the global new world order before Antichrist emerges onto the worldwide scene. He will need to harness them to himself, so that he can then rule through them. So the spiritual forces of darkness will be actively influencing and working in and through these ten men, so that they grant their power and authority to Antichrist. Again, this reflects the superimposition of the physical and spiritual worlds.

From a human perspective, Revelation 17:13 makes it clear that these ten men will have one united purpose, and that is to give their power and authority to the Beast. They each and all will have the same anti-Judeo-Christian spirit which drives them to willingly unite themselves with Antichrist. The phrase ‘who have not yet received a kingdom’ (17:12) suggests that they are not ‘kings’ in the traditional sense of being monarchs over different countries.

1.a. So who are these ten men?

Notwithstanding the fact that, certainly at the present time, we do not know in detail how the new world order will develop as it emerges and implements its vision of a one-world order, and also notwithstanding the fact that people’s thinking tends to change and develop as time goes on, there are two suggestions that I would like to mention. The first is an older idea, and the second reflects much more recent thinking. I am not saying that I believe categorically that either of these is the way in which things will work out. I am simply presenting them here as suggestions which do reflect serious thought on this subject. It would be wrong to be dogmatic and categorical about such areas of end-time events, especially when the word of God itself gives us only a few general statements. In both of these suggested scenarios, we can easily see their relevance to the ten kings of Revelation ch.17, suggesting at least therefore that this prophetic passage could certainly be fulfilled in our generation.

So the first, but older suggestion is the well-known prototype vision which the Club of Rome think tank produced in 1974, in which it envisaged that, as the new world order emerges and establishes itself, it would do away with the concept of national sovereignty and at least partially with national boundaries, and divide the world up into ten regional politico-economic entities or ‘kingdoms.’[3] Obviously, the geopolitical world map has changed in some ways since 1974, but roughly speaking these ten entities would presently consist of:

1. Canada and the USA.

2. The European Union, Scandinavia and Turkey.

3. Japan.

4. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Israel, and the Pacific Islands.

5. Russia and allied republics.

6. Latin America – Mexico, Central and South America.

7. North Africa and the Middle Eastern Islamic countries.

8. Central Africa.

9. India and South / South-east Asia.

10. China and Central Asia.

Clearly, some changes would now have to be made to this scenario. For example, in which regional bloc would the UK be placed, since Brexit? Perhaps Mexico would be placed with the USA and Canada? Perhaps Turkey would be placed with the Middle Eastern Islamic nations? However, in general terms, this scenario would remain pretty much as it was originally conceived. Presumably, in this scenario the ten kings would be the political leaders of these ten politico-economic blocs.

Alternatively, I think that there is some weight in the more recent suggestion that, initially, these ‘ten kings’ are ten men who each become leaders in a major national or international sphere of influence in human life as the new world order arises and is established. So they would be what are nowadays often called ‘oligarchs,’ each exercising a significant level of power and influence behind the scenes, but they would not necessarily be leading a country. They would also probably be tremendously wealthy, far more so than most traditional monarchs. So they may be authoritarian political leaders who are presidents, leaders of major corporations in areas such as computing or AI, giants in the world of social media perhaps, leaders in the area of international banking and finance, or perhaps even significant monarchs, and so on. But taken together as a group, these ten men would be wielding a significant and dominating level of power and authority over human life in the new world order.

In support of this view, it is clear that, in order to complete his longer-term projects of making an apparently living image of Antichrist, and of creating the mark of the Beast and rolling it out worldwide, the False Prophet will certainly need the combined and willing co-operation of significant world leaders in the areas of computing, banking, technology and logistics (see further below).

These ten men will willingly submit themselves to Antichrist and yield to him their authority and power over their areas and spheres of power, influence and rule. They will become his servants and will from then on operate with delegated authority from him. Antichrist will then rule in human affairs upon this planet through this group of ten men. So they will receive delegated authority as ‘kings’ to rule along with him for the short duration of the Great Tribulation.

Whichever scenario proves to be true, and whoever these ten men ultimately prove to be, put simply, these ten men will actively want and desire to have Antichrist ruling as worldwide leader. So they will join him, and they will facilitate the emergence and unifying of his worldwide rule in the way described above. Antichrist does not arise to create his worldwide rule from scratch, he arises to take over the new world order the structures of which by then will already have been established in the world. This then becomes Antichrist’s worldwide ‘ten-toed kingdom’ on planet earth (cf. Dan. 2:33,41-43). These ten kings will join Antichrist in his fight against Christ and all things Judeo-Christian on earth, but they will finally be overcome at the Second Advent (Rev. 17:14).

Furthermore, the words of the following verse give us God’s divine perspective on the relationship between Antichrist and these ten kings:

‘For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God’s words are fulfilled.’ (Rev. 17:17)

God has no problem with handing over wilfully defiant people to the consequences of their own sinful desires (cf. Rom. 1:18-32). These ten kings will want and desire to have a world without God or his Christ, so they will actively co-work with Antichrist to this end, exalting him (and therefore Satan as well) as the one and only final authority in this world. What they want, they will get. But they will also get all of the dreadful consequences of their choice, both during the Great Tribulation and the seven bowls of wrath, and ultimately in eternity.

1.b. The fourth beast with ten horns in Daniel ch.7

The new world order which culminates in the end-times worldwide rule of Antichrist was foreshadowed prophetically as the terrifying fourth beast which the prophet Daniel saw in his vision of the four beasts:

‘After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast – terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.’ (Dan. 7:7)

That this is speaking of the Beast of Revelation ch.13 is supported by the fact that this hybrid Beast is described as having the characteristics of a leopard, a bear and a lion, which were the other three beasts in the same vision (Rev. 13:2, Dan. 7:4-6).

As this vision continues, the rise of the man Antichrist is described as ‘a little horn’ coming up among this beast’s ten horns (Dan. 7:8). As this ‘little horn,’ he is again the end-times parallel of his historical predecessor, Antiochus Epiphanes, who also was seen prophetically as a ‘small horn’ rising up within the Seleucid Empire (Dan. 8:9-12,23-25). The vision confirms what we saw in the previous chapter, vis. that this little horn, as the end-times king of the north, invades and overcomes Israel just like his historical predecessor did:

‘While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully… As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them…’ (Dan. 7:8,21)

The vision continues with the scene of judgement in heaven (Dan. 7:9-10), and Antichrist is then defeated and thrown into the lake of fire. As I will relate in chapter 23, this will happen at the Second Advent of Christ:

‘Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.’ (Dan. 7:11)

When Daniel seeks the interpretation of this vision, he is given the following explanation:

‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on the earth. It will be different from all other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time. But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever.’ (Dan. 7:23-26)

From this interpretation, and also from what I have said previously, we can therefore establish the following points:

· The ten horns or ten kings will be established in the new world order’s system before Antichrist himself arises and appears on the scene.

· Antichrist will receive the support of these ten kings to establish his worldwide rule.

· He will at some point subdue three of them, leaving seven kings, and himself as the eighth king who rules over them and through them.

· He will invade and conquer Israel, he will blaspheme God, and his rule will last for 3½ years.

· He will be destroyed at the Second Advent of Christ.

1.c. Antichrist, the European Union and the three kings

Using the Club of Rome’s 1974 prototype model as a suggested potential end-times scenario of the global regionalism sought by the NWO, but without being dogmatic, the ‘three kings’ which Antichrist will subdue would evidently seem to be the global regions of North Africa and the Middle Eastern Islamic region, the European Union close by, and Israel. This should be clear to the reader from the diagram of the model (which can be accessed at www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/468304061234899161/). In the model, these are presented as three separate global regions, or at least part of one in Israel’s case.

That Antichrist subdues North Africa and the Middle Eastern Islamic region is clearly supported by the fact that he arises in the Euphrates region, and then expands southwards and eventually also overcomes Egypt, Libya and present-day northern Sudan (Dan. 11:40,42-43). In the course of this expansion, he attacks and overcomes Israel too, of course (Dan. 11:41,45; Rev. 11:7, 13:7). If Antichrist then also subdues the EU, in whatever way, or is simply willingly embraced by the EU and given authority over it, then, broadly speaking, he will in great measure have occupied the area once controlled by the ancient Roman Empire, in each of its Western, Eastern and North African parts. Many people, of course, trace the historical re-emergence and continuation of the Western Roman Empire via the Holy Roman Empire to the present-day EU. And hence the so-called ‘revived Roman Empire’ of the end-times.[4] The EU has now expanded eastwards and north-eastwards since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Antichrist is embraced by the ‘ten kings’ (including the EU) who willingly give him their power and authority, and he becomes world ruler over the ten global regions (Rev. 17:12-13). So we can therefore see how the iron legs of the statue in Daniel ch.2 (which represent the Roman Empire) prophetically become the end-times ‘ten-toed kingdom,’ and how the fearsome beast of the vision in Daniel ch.7 (also representing the Roman Empire) prophetically becomes the end-times Antichrist system.

The inherent instability of this end-times ten-toed world empire is pictured in the image of iron mixed with clay (Dan. 2:41-43). Such instability is exactly what we would expect in such a multicultural worldwide scenario in which different global regions (each themselves consisting of peoples of different cultures, languages, worldviews, ways of life, and economies) are coerced into a one-world system which is ultimately controlled from one centralised authority. Such instability also seems to be suggested by the words of Daniel 11:44, ‘But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many.’

2. The seven heads of the Beast

‘And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.’ (Rev. 13:1)

The understanding in Revelation ch.17 of the ‘ten horns with crowns’ as ten kings gives us a helpful perspective on how Antichrist’s worldwide rule will be established and unified. If this is a distinctly Gentile perspective on Antichrist’s rule as the Beast, because of its worldwide context, then the revelation about the seven heads of the Beast which is related in the same chapter gives us a Jewish perspective in particular.

Although Antichrist’s rule will indeed extend worldwide, yet, as we shall see below, the seven heads of the Beast speak particularly into the context of Israel and the Jewish people. That there is an understanding of such an Israel/Jewish context wrapped up in the end-times Beast of Revelation ch.13 should be no surprise, given that this same Israel/Jewish context was the subject of the first half of Daniel’s seventieth week in the sixth trumpet. This continues on as a significant subject of the second half of the seventieth week, which is the Great Tribulation of the seventh trumpet. Put simply, just as Antichrist will rule as the evil Beast over Gentile nations and peoples, he will also rule in particular as the evil Beast over Israel and the Jewish people, with terrible consequences (see further below in the section that deals with the final holocaust).

We are told in Revelation 17:9-11 that the seven heads of the Beast represent seven kings:

‘The seven heads… are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.’ (Rev. 17:9-11)

Many commentators are agreed that, whereas the word ‘kings’ in vv.12-14 clearly refers to individual men (as I explained in the section above), its use in vv.10-11 is to empires. So v.10 refers to five historical empires that existed before John’s time, one that was existing in John’s time (so that would be the Roman Empire), and a seventh empire which would follow on after the Roman Empire fell.

The description of the beast in Revelation 13:2 below as a hybrid of a leopard, a bear and a lion, lends weight to this understanding of ‘kings’ as empires:

‘The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion.’ (Rev. 13:2)

This is a clear allusion to the vision of Daniel ch.7, and in particular to vv.4-6. In this vision, these different beasts represented the Greek Empire, the Persian Empire and the Babylonian Empire respectively.[5] And it is in the interaction of these and several other historical empires with the Jewish people and Israel that we find the key to understanding these seven heads of the Beast. This antichrist beast has manifested itself seven times through seven historical Gentile empires, each of which at various times and in different ways have been involved in the history of the Jewish people and Israel. Indeed, in Hosea, God said that he would bring judgement against sinful Israel through the leopard, bear and lion:

‘So I will come upon them like a lion, like a leopard I will lurk by the path. Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open. Like a lion I will devour them…’ (Hosea 13:7-8)

With this understanding, Antichrist’s end-times worldwide empire is therefore the eighth ‘king.’ It is the eighth and final manifestation of this Beast which has manifested in different ways seven times previously. The antichrist spirit which undergirded and empowered these seven historical Gentile empires, will also undergird and empower its final manifestation through Antichrist in the end-times:

‘The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.’ (Rev. 17:11)

So when we study the Scriptures closely, we can find details of how at least six of these empires interacted with the Jewish people and Israel. These six empires were the ancient Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman empires. The seventh empire, which was the Islamic Empire in its various forms, came into being long after the canon of Scripture was completed. It is the empire referred to in Revelation 17:10 by the words ‘the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while.’

Rather than describing in detail how each of these empires interacted with the Jewish people and Israel, I have simply summarised these facts briefly in Table 21.1 below. These various interactions affected the Jewish people, their land, the city of Jerusalem, and the temple in the ways described. The reader can look up the biblical references that I have given in the Table to fill in the relevant historical details, and also to see how these empires were described figuratively in visions. Given the nature of these historical interactions with the Jewish people and Israel, it is then no surprise to learn that Antichrist, the end-times Beast, will act in the ways I have noted in the Table.[6] Some of the detail pertaining to Antichrist has been described in the previous chapter, and the rest is dealt with further below in the section on the final holocaust.[7]

Table 21.1 below gives a summary of these seven heads of the Beast:

Head

Empire

References and notes

Seven kings

Head 1

Egyptian

Ex. ch.1

enslavement of the Hebrews

attempted genocide of new-born Hebrew males

‘five have fallen’

Head 2

Assyrian

2 Kings ch.17

exiled the ten northern tribes

re-settled the northern kingdom

Head 3

Babylonian

head of gold

lion with wings of an eagle

2 Chr. 36:5-21

Jer. chs.39-45,52

Dan. 1:1-7

Dan. 2:32,38; 7:4

occupied the land

exiled Judah and Benjamin

destroyed the city and first temple

(587 BC)

Head 4

Persian

chest and arms of silver

bear

ram

2 Chr. 36:22-23

books of Esther and Ezra

Dan. 2:32,39; 7:5; chs.8, 11:1-2

occupied the land

Haman planned annihilation of the entire Jewish race

allowed the Jews to return to their land and re-build

Head 5

Greek

belly and thighs of bronze

leopard

goat

Dan. 2:32,39; 7:6;

ch.8; 11:3-35

occupied the land

Antiochus IV Epiphanes’ persecution of the Jew

abomination that causes desolation

Head 6

Roman

legs of iron

terrible fourth beast

Dan. 2:33,40; 7:7-27

occupied the land

crucified Christ (33 AD)

destroyed the city and second temple (70 AD)

built temple of Jupiter on Temple Mount (c130 AD)

exiled the Jews, re-named the land and city

‘one is’

Head 7

Islamic

Rev. 17:10

occupied the land from 629 AD until 1948/1967 AD

replaced temple of Jupiter with Dome of the Rock (688-691 AD) and built Al-Aqsa mosque on Temple Mount (707 AD)

denies the Father and the Son (antichrist spirit, 1 John 2:22)

‘the other has not yet come’

The end-times Beast

Antichrist

feet and toes of iron-clay

terrible fourth beast

Dan. 2:33,41-43; 7:7-27; 11:36-12:12; Rev. 13:1-12, 17:11

invades Israel and Jerusalem

kills the Two Witnesses

abomination of desolation

initiates the final holocaust

the eighth king

Table 21.1 The seven heads of the Beast

3. A comprehensive, pervasive and all-inclusive system

So, with the help of the ten kings, Antichrist the Beast will succeed in setting up his rule over the entire world. He will head up the end-times politico-economic new world order system that will be worldwide in its scope and influence. In fact, it seems that the whole world will, at least initially, follow and submit themselves willingly to his rule:

‘The whole world was astonished and followed the beast.’ (Rev. 13:3, cf. 17:8)

‘And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All the inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast…’ (Rev. 13:7-8)

‘He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place.’ (Dan. 11:36)

However, this one-world system of Antichrist is not something that will suddenly appear overnight out of nothing in the time of the seventh trumpet. Even now, and indeed for many decades previously, globalists have been and are working patiently and incrementally towards the goal of establishing this ‘new world order.’ They are dreaming of it, talking openly of it now, and working together towards it.

So the emergence of this worldwide politico-economic system in the time of the seventh trumpet will be the ultimate expression of this ‘new world order’ that globalists all over the world desire to bring into being and establish. All the steps and advances that are presently being made towards establishing wider global awareness, global thinking, and global cooperation among people and nations everywhere are designed to bring us ultimately to this one-world system of Antichrist.

The foundations of this end-times worldwide system are even now being laid and put together, and as time passes it will begin to coalesce visibly and openly more and more. So when Antichrist does finally arrive on the scene, the groundwork for establishing his worldwide system will already have been completed, and the essential structures that need to be in place will already be in place and functioning. As I said above, Antichrist arises to take over what has already been put in place.

Therefore, what we as believers can expect to observe as time passes, is an increasing emerging and coalescing of this global system, before Antichrist arises. Crucial and demanding global issues are already becoming the basis on which the global world community unifies and acts together (see chapter 15). We can see this happening with climate change, environmental sustainability, and the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic through the WHO, for example. Other major building blocks that will soon be put into place in the emergence of this worldwide system will be digital ID, the replacement of physical cash with ‘digital currency,’ and the increasing and pervasive use of artificial intelligence in human society. This latter will be done not simply to facilitate workplace and daily life activities, but also to regulate and control human life, and to enforce every aspect of the longer-term globalist agenda.

The globalists’ agenda is therefore working towards establishing a ‘one-world order.’ This will have a unified one-world government, with a unified economic/financial system, a one-world health system, and a one-world education system. We can already clearly see the progress that is being made in the areas of health and education, with the increasing lead of the WHO in global medical matters which then filters down through national health systems to local areas, and the dissemination of the UN’s one-world core curriculum down into national education systems. I discussed these in more detail in chapter 15.[8]

Ultimately, the aim is to establish a comprehensive, pervasive and all-inclusive one-world system through which the global community can be regulated and controlled. Some of the inner core values of this one-world order were discussed in chapter 15. It is this emerging one-world order that Antichrist will head up and through which he will rule the world.[9]

Anyone who has ever lived under a communist regime, or who knows anything about the practical realities of everyday life under such a regime, or anyone who has read George Orwell’s book 1984, will have a good idea of what it will be like to live under and be trapped in Antichrist’s end-times worldwide regime. I am not saying that it will be a communist regime, but that it will have many of the characteristics of such a totalitarian and authoritarian regime. The surveillance state, the curtailment of freedom of speech and expression through widespread political correctness and self-censorship, the censorship of the media including the internet and social media, and the expectation of having to bow to every dictate of the liberal left (which we as Westerners are already experiencing), are only a foretaste of things to come.[10]

There will be little or no freedom of movement (except for the elite, of course), and no freedom of thought or expression. There will be no freedom to buy or sell, except only as people submit to receiving the mark of the Beast. Daily life, right down to the smallest details, will be regimented and controlled by the dictates of the local expression of the regime. There will be informers and spies everywhere. People will fear to talk openly, even in their home and with their own family members. Intimidation, open and veiled threats, terror, dread and fear will reign everywhere. There will be an increasing lack of consumer goods and the rationing of basic food items the longer this regime goes on. This will certainly be true when the world experiences the outpouring of the bowls of wrath, which will break down and destroy the grip of this regime on the world (see chapter 22). Any and all dissent, small or great, will be mercilessly crushed, and no opposition will be tolerated. Ultimately, even though people may have welcomed Antichrist in the beginning, yet the longer his rule goes on, the more they will groan and suffer under the misery and the total repression that they will experience. The prophet Daniel summed this up aptly in the following words:

‘…a fourth beast – terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left.’ (Dan. 7:7)

The first sentence of the verses below from Revelation 13:9-10 is a warning from God to everyone. Not everyone has ears to hear and eyes to see, and not everyone wants to know what will happen and what will take place when Antichrist rules. Some prefer to hide their head in the sand and pretend as though the evil day will never come their way. But, as with all evil and brutal dictators, although Antichrist may well be lauded and feted when he first arises, yet for all those who resist his rule, and especially for those who believe in Christ, it will mean loss of liberty, incarceration, and even loss of their life:

‘He who has ears to hear let him hear. If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.’ (Rev. 13:9-10)

4. This evil worldwide domination of Antichrist will be short-lived

When we consider that, in the Great Tribulation, Satan will trap and enslave the whole world to himself through Antichrist the Beast, and that the centre of his rule will be from Jerusalem, then we could be forgiven for thinking that what he is attempting to do, is to set up his own millennial kingdom on earth which he would rule through Antichrist as a false Messiah and then through his successors, in a desperate attempt to prevent the Lord Jesus from returning to set up his true messianic millennial kingdom, in fulfilment of the prophetic scriptures.

The concept of an earthly millennial kingdom, undergirded and empowered behind the scenes by the evil spiritual powers of Satan’s dominion, was certainly part of Nazi thinking in the mid-twentieth century. When Hitler rose to power with his Nazi hordes in Germany in 1933, he boasted proudly to the German people that his new Third Reich would last for a thousand years. However, as we know from history, it lasted only twelve short years, collapsing in 1945 at the end of World War 2. All his arrogant boasting came to nothing but dust and ashes, quite literally, bringing calamity on the German people as well as on millions of others.

In a similar way, Antichrist’s boasting and blasphemies will also be short-lived, and in fact his rule will last for a much shorter time even than Hitler’s Nazi regime did. Antichrist’s worldwide domination will last for only 3½ years (Rev. 13:5), and it will be brought crashing down through the worldwide catastrophe of the seven bowls of wrath, followed by the Second Advent of Christ. So it will actually prove to be one of the shortest-lived empires that has ever existed, perhaps even the shortest. Antichrist’s rise will seem to many people to be swift and meteoric, but his fall will also prove to be just as spectacular! Jesus said that the days of Antichrist’s rule, the Great Tribulation, will be cut short for the sake of the elect, so that at least some might survive it (Matt. 24:22).

Copyright Notice

[1] In order to distinguish this end-times Beast from other beasts which are referred to, I have denoted Antichrist as ‘the Beast’ in this book (i.e. spelled with a capital ‘B’).

[2] This first Beast is described as ‘coming out of the sea,’ and so some commentators draw a parallel between this end-times Beast and the dreaded mythical sea-serpent Leviathan which is mentioned in Isaiah 27:1. In Babylonian-Sumerian mythology, this sea-serpent had seven heads. We are told prophetically that the Lord will slay this monster, and therefore this is seen as referring figuratively to the destruction of Antichrist at the Second Advent of Christ: ‘In that day, the Lord will punish with his sword, his fierce, great and powerful sword, Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster of the sea.’ (Isa. 27:1).

[3] For example, see the map diagram at www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/468304061234899161/, accessed on 15.10.2021.

[4] The misconception that Antichrist will arise from the European Union (seen wrongly as the end-times ‘revived Roman Empire’) – and therefore that he will perhaps be the president of the EU – is due in large measure to the way in which church history is often taught in Bible schools. After around 500 AD and the fall of the western part of the Roman Empire, the focus of study is then generally placed on the development of Christianity in the West, with scant attention being paid to the continuing history of the Eastern Roman Empire. The Roman Empire had two administrative parts, Western and Eastern, together with control over North Africa. The EU, therefore, represents only one part of the ancient Roman Empire, vis. its western part. Antichrist, as the end-times king of the north, will be a Middle Eastern figure, and he will arise from the area of the Euphrates, i.e. from an area which was part of the Eastern Roman Empire. As he subdues the ‘three kings,’ he will then gain control over each of the Western, Eastern and North African parts of the ancient Roman Empire.

[5] A less common alternative viewpoint sees the lion, bear and leopard as empires which will exist in the end-times prior to the emergence of Antichrist. So Antichrist’s worldwide empire would follow on from them, as the fourth beast seems to do in Daniel ch.7. This viewpoint sees these three beasts as representing USA-UK (the lion with the wings of an eagle), Russia (the bear) and Islam (the leopard). In this book, I will not discuss the strengths and weaknesses of this viewpoint. However, whichever of these two viewpoints we follow, we still end up with Antichrist being the terrifying fourth beast.

[6] In this Table, the Roman Empire is the sixth head of the Beast. It is represented by the legs of iron in the vision of the statue in Daniel ch.2, and by the terrible fourth beast in the vision of the four beasts in Daniel ch.7. As such it is therefore the historical prophetic foreshadowing of the end-times empire of Antichrist.

[7] The cryptic reference in Revelation 13:3 to one of the heads of the Beast having a fatal wound, but then being healed would therefore seem to refer to one of these empires. On this basis, some commentators believe that the end-times Antichrist empire will have its origins in a resurgence of the Middle Eastern Islamic Caliphate, the seventh head of the Beast. In its final form as the Turkish Ottoman Empire, it was abolished in 1924 by Ataturk’s secular government. However, the similar reference in Revelation 13:12 seems to refer to the man Antichrist, so some believe that at some earlier stage of his career, Antichrist will apparently have been killed, but he will then be claimed to have miraculously come back to life (doubtless enhancing thereby his aura of Christ-like invincibility).

[8] Although many commentators have believed that this end-times system will create and use a single one-world currency, yet the present worldwide development of CBDCs has caused one commentator to suggest differently: ‘There is no practical difference between 195 “interoperable” and interconnected digital currencies, and one single global currency.’ Such an interoperable system would certainly be easier to set up and run in terms of the differences and speeds of different national economies worldwide. See https://www.globalresearch.ca/2024-year-global-government- takes-shape/5845204, accessed 05.01.2024.

[9] Note that the references in Daniel 2:41-43 and Daniel 11:44 imply that there will be a degree of instability in this worldwide system, as we would probably expect. The larger an empire grows, the more difficult it is to govern and rule it.

[10] As I said in the first part of this book, if it were to be adopted worldwide, the new Chinese model of manipulating and controlling the whole of their vast society through a personal social credit score, would quickly manipulate people everywhere into subjection to a new world order under Antichrist.

Apocalypse Rising

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21b The Beast with Seven Heads

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