The Scroll of Revelation, 20. The Beast, the Man of Sin, the Antichrist
Revelation 13, 17:7-17, and 19:17-21, Commentary.
(part one) Close-up: The man of sin and his helper.
Here is another of the many back-drops of Revelation.
Perhaps the most obvious of the long-term background descriptions is this one regarding "antichrist.
" It is proper so to refer to him, but John never does, in Revelation.
He here calls him "the beast.
" In Daniel 7, he is the "little horn " on the final of a series of beasts in his prophecy.
That horn rises up to supplant some of the ten horns originally on that beast.
It is this conquering horn that makes war against the saints and prevails against them (Daniel 8:9-12).
He controls the beast of which he is a part.
But here in Revelation 13:2, the same man is described in terms of ALL the animals in Daniel's vision.
He is especially reminiscent of the ferocious "fourth beast.
" Notice that both the revelator (13:1) and Daniel (Daniel 7:1-8) see ten horns, and they both see seven heads.
While in Revelation the seven heads are on one creature, it takes four creatures in Daniel: The lion has one, the bear has one, the leopard has FOUR, and the fourth creature has one.
Seven heads.
Note also that John says the beast is like a lion, bear, and leopard.
That is, he is like the three beasts of Daniel.
Then there is the "mouth" given the beast (13:5), as in Daniel 7:8, 11, 20, 25.
He continues 42 months (13:5), paralleling Daniel's "time, times, and half a time.
" (7:25).
He overcomes the saints in both descriptions (Daniel 7:21, 25 and Revelation 8:24).
And he receives worship (Revelation 13:4, Daniel 8:11).
There is no question that both visions speak of the same offender.
He sits in the Temple claiming to be God, according to Paul, II Thessalonians 2:4.
Daniel 8:11 discusses the way a certain prince, not necessarily the final world ruler, will take away the daily sacrifice, i.
e.
break the covenant with Israel, as in Daniel 9:27: "In the middle of the week (seven-year period) he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
" Then, after that man, comes one who makes desolate.
It seems in that Daniel passage that the man of sin picks up where the "Prince" leaves off.
We conclude from his aversion to worship rituals that from then on, worship is to be centered on Satan's man only, much like in the days of the Roman Emperors.
In Revelation 13:8, 14, worship of the Beast is seen, and by 13:15, it is required by law.
In Daniel 8, he is a latter-day outgrowth of one of the 4 successors of Alexander the Great.
This means that he can only come from somewhere within the ancient Greek Empire: southeastern Europe, the Middle East, Northern Africa.
A most impressive clue! Paul knows him as "the man of sin.
" Once more it is easy to get carried away with imagery and history, much of which can fit.
But when it's all over, this man and his partner are thrown into a lake of fire (19:20).
Literal lake.
Literal man.
Literal partner.
In Scripture it is nearly always better to take the Word as it is.
A close study of Daniel and II Thessalonians reveals that only ONE man is being talked about here.
His profile is laid out so clearly that no end-time saint will have any trouble recognizing him.
Yes, previews have shown up in men like Hitler and any number of Popes, but one man is still to come.
Let no one write him off before his time.
Everything written of him will be fulfilled.
What of the numbers describing the "beast from the sea"? (13:1) "Seven" and "ten".
The seven seems to be world empires and/or mountains, as in chapter 17, where the same beast is described in his relationship to Mystery Babylon (17:10).
Traditionally, Christian scholarship has pointed to Egypt, Babylonia, Assyria, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and revived Rome as the empires that have ruled mankind with their severe politicians and religious poison.
A closer look at Daniel 7 reveals another possibility.
We'll look at it shortly.
Whoever the past kings/kingdoms are, this person represents them all in one man, one final rule.
The ten corresponds to Daniel's "ten toes" and the "ten horns" of the beast of Daniel 7, and the ten horns of John's later revelation in chapter 17.
There is general agreement that there is a ten-nation confederation, perhaps akin to Common Market nations, that holds the final rule of this planet with the "beast.
" (17:13) He appears following a falling away from the faith, a time when the world will easily believe anyone who will save it from its mess (II Thessalonians 2:3).
He is Satan-inspired (13:2), as Christ was Spirit-inspired.
He dies, but is resurrected, as was Christ.
The world accepts him as its own, anticipating Christ's reception when He returns.
As to the blasphemies that are said to come out of his mouth (13:5), this point is underscored in Daniel 7:8, 11, 25 and 11:36-37.
Paul makes note of it in II Thessalonians 2:4.
His persecutions are successful (13:7), and are the reason for a great populating of heaven during this 42-month period (7:9-14).
He not only has authority over the world, but over the saints! This too is borne out in Daniel, 8:24.
He will be the object of worship, as stated above, aided by a false prophet described in 13:11-18.
All will be commanded to "make an image" of the beast, perhaps something as simple as watching him on television.
Those who do not worship his image must die.
Perhaps, by then, TV/computers will have become fully interactive.
He "was" and -in John's time, AD 90, he "is not.
" (17:8) Here is the crowning mystery, explained to us by John's accompanying angel in chapter 17.
For although chapter 17 is often considered to be all about Babylon, a full 9 verses, and parts of 3 others, concern the beast by which Babylon is supported, the very beast introduced in chapter 13.
The Revelation 17 beast is "full of names of blasphemy.
" 17:3, "having 7 heads and 10 horns.
" This corresponds exactly to 13:1.
It is the man of sin and his domain.
Notice that he supports Mystery Babylon until nearly the end, when, perhaps out of jealousy, he destroys her with fire.
(17:16)He wants all worship to center on himself.
The truly enigmatic portions of this passage begin in 17:8.
Let's analyze.
17:8, paraphrased, could read, "He once existed, but is not among us now.
He will, some day, ascend out of the bottomless pit.
" In my opinion, this is a perfect fit with II Thessalonians 2:7: "The mystery of lawlessness is already at work.
" Only he who is restraining, that is, the angel of the bottomless pit as in Revelation 9:1-2, will do so until he is taken out of the way.
Then the lawless one will be revealed! And his coming, 17: 9, is according to the working of Satan.
That is, we will have to have a full-scale resurrection from the dead.
God will send delusion on the world so that they truly understand the importance of this historical figure, and see him resurrected, and believe he is from God.
John says it like this: "Those who dwell on earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life.
" (17:8) He was.
He is not.
Yet he is! He lived, he's not with us now, but he is waiting somewhere, under restraint.
And Paul says, the mystery of iniquity is ALREADY working.
That means the person has ALREADY died.
In New Testament days, he has already died, and is waiting to be revealed! Clear analysis of the text frustrates the notion of a modern man rising to power, being shot, and coming back to earth immediately.
13:3 mentions a head wound that is healed.
But read more carefully.
It says, "one of his heads.
" This is not talking about the man of sin's head, but one of the heads of the 7-headed beast.
This is a picture.
The animal is not a real animal, and the sword-wound is not a real sword wound.
All are pictures.
Yes, these are kings that have lived in history, and one of them dies, but not necessarily by a "sword" or bullet to the head! (In fairness, though, one of the seven rulers, Tiglath-Pileser, did die by a sword wound, and is a candidate for antichrist also.
) Back to chapter 17, and the mystery unfolding: verse 10 says there are seven kings.
Five of them have already "fallen", or passed on.
The one that "is" (the sixth) must mean the head of the Roman Empire in John's day.
The one who has not come, the "seventh" of 17:10, refers, I believe, to a Prince Daniel saw (Daniel 9) taking the world by storm in his "70 weeks" prophecy, and who may be the conquering white horse figure of seal one (Revelation 6:1).
He rules over a revived Roman Empire for "a short time".
Perhaps the first half of the Tribulation? Then comes the "resurrection".
Of someone (17:11).
The beast - antichrist - man of sin - little horn is the "8th".
But he is really one of the seven.
Really one of the first five, since in John's day it is said that he "was".
And he will go back to perdition when he has played his role.
That narrows down the search for antichrist to several historic figures.
Will it be a past leader of Egypt, or Babylonia, or Assyria, or Medo-Persia, or Greece?
(part one) Close-up: The man of sin and his helper.
Here is another of the many back-drops of Revelation.
Perhaps the most obvious of the long-term background descriptions is this one regarding "antichrist.
" It is proper so to refer to him, but John never does, in Revelation.
He here calls him "the beast.
" In Daniel 7, he is the "little horn " on the final of a series of beasts in his prophecy.
That horn rises up to supplant some of the ten horns originally on that beast.
It is this conquering horn that makes war against the saints and prevails against them (Daniel 8:9-12).
He controls the beast of which he is a part.
But here in Revelation 13:2, the same man is described in terms of ALL the animals in Daniel's vision.
He is especially reminiscent of the ferocious "fourth beast.
" Notice that both the revelator (13:1) and Daniel (Daniel 7:1-8) see ten horns, and they both see seven heads.
While in Revelation the seven heads are on one creature, it takes four creatures in Daniel: The lion has one, the bear has one, the leopard has FOUR, and the fourth creature has one.
Seven heads.
Note also that John says the beast is like a lion, bear, and leopard.
That is, he is like the three beasts of Daniel.
Then there is the "mouth" given the beast (13:5), as in Daniel 7:8, 11, 20, 25.
He continues 42 months (13:5), paralleling Daniel's "time, times, and half a time.
" (7:25).
He overcomes the saints in both descriptions (Daniel 7:21, 25 and Revelation 8:24).
And he receives worship (Revelation 13:4, Daniel 8:11).
There is no question that both visions speak of the same offender.
He sits in the Temple claiming to be God, according to Paul, II Thessalonians 2:4.
Daniel 8:11 discusses the way a certain prince, not necessarily the final world ruler, will take away the daily sacrifice, i.
e.
break the covenant with Israel, as in Daniel 9:27: "In the middle of the week (seven-year period) he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
" Then, after that man, comes one who makes desolate.
It seems in that Daniel passage that the man of sin picks up where the "Prince" leaves off.
We conclude from his aversion to worship rituals that from then on, worship is to be centered on Satan's man only, much like in the days of the Roman Emperors.
In Revelation 13:8, 14, worship of the Beast is seen, and by 13:15, it is required by law.
In Daniel 8, he is a latter-day outgrowth of one of the 4 successors of Alexander the Great.
This means that he can only come from somewhere within the ancient Greek Empire: southeastern Europe, the Middle East, Northern Africa.
A most impressive clue! Paul knows him as "the man of sin.
" Once more it is easy to get carried away with imagery and history, much of which can fit.
But when it's all over, this man and his partner are thrown into a lake of fire (19:20).
Literal lake.
Literal man.
Literal partner.
In Scripture it is nearly always better to take the Word as it is.
A close study of Daniel and II Thessalonians reveals that only ONE man is being talked about here.
His profile is laid out so clearly that no end-time saint will have any trouble recognizing him.
Yes, previews have shown up in men like Hitler and any number of Popes, but one man is still to come.
Let no one write him off before his time.
Everything written of him will be fulfilled.
What of the numbers describing the "beast from the sea"? (13:1) "Seven" and "ten".
The seven seems to be world empires and/or mountains, as in chapter 17, where the same beast is described in his relationship to Mystery Babylon (17:10).
Traditionally, Christian scholarship has pointed to Egypt, Babylonia, Assyria, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and revived Rome as the empires that have ruled mankind with their severe politicians and religious poison.
A closer look at Daniel 7 reveals another possibility.
We'll look at it shortly.
Whoever the past kings/kingdoms are, this person represents them all in one man, one final rule.
The ten corresponds to Daniel's "ten toes" and the "ten horns" of the beast of Daniel 7, and the ten horns of John's later revelation in chapter 17.
There is general agreement that there is a ten-nation confederation, perhaps akin to Common Market nations, that holds the final rule of this planet with the "beast.
" (17:13) He appears following a falling away from the faith, a time when the world will easily believe anyone who will save it from its mess (II Thessalonians 2:3).
He is Satan-inspired (13:2), as Christ was Spirit-inspired.
He dies, but is resurrected, as was Christ.
The world accepts him as its own, anticipating Christ's reception when He returns.
As to the blasphemies that are said to come out of his mouth (13:5), this point is underscored in Daniel 7:8, 11, 25 and 11:36-37.
Paul makes note of it in II Thessalonians 2:4.
His persecutions are successful (13:7), and are the reason for a great populating of heaven during this 42-month period (7:9-14).
He not only has authority over the world, but over the saints! This too is borne out in Daniel, 8:24.
He will be the object of worship, as stated above, aided by a false prophet described in 13:11-18.
All will be commanded to "make an image" of the beast, perhaps something as simple as watching him on television.
Those who do not worship his image must die.
Perhaps, by then, TV/computers will have become fully interactive.
He "was" and -in John's time, AD 90, he "is not.
" (17:8) Here is the crowning mystery, explained to us by John's accompanying angel in chapter 17.
For although chapter 17 is often considered to be all about Babylon, a full 9 verses, and parts of 3 others, concern the beast by which Babylon is supported, the very beast introduced in chapter 13.
The Revelation 17 beast is "full of names of blasphemy.
" 17:3, "having 7 heads and 10 horns.
" This corresponds exactly to 13:1.
It is the man of sin and his domain.
Notice that he supports Mystery Babylon until nearly the end, when, perhaps out of jealousy, he destroys her with fire.
(17:16)He wants all worship to center on himself.
The truly enigmatic portions of this passage begin in 17:8.
Let's analyze.
17:8, paraphrased, could read, "He once existed, but is not among us now.
He will, some day, ascend out of the bottomless pit.
" In my opinion, this is a perfect fit with II Thessalonians 2:7: "The mystery of lawlessness is already at work.
" Only he who is restraining, that is, the angel of the bottomless pit as in Revelation 9:1-2, will do so until he is taken out of the way.
Then the lawless one will be revealed! And his coming, 17: 9, is according to the working of Satan.
That is, we will have to have a full-scale resurrection from the dead.
God will send delusion on the world so that they truly understand the importance of this historical figure, and see him resurrected, and believe he is from God.
John says it like this: "Those who dwell on earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life.
" (17:8) He was.
He is not.
Yet he is! He lived, he's not with us now, but he is waiting somewhere, under restraint.
And Paul says, the mystery of iniquity is ALREADY working.
That means the person has ALREADY died.
In New Testament days, he has already died, and is waiting to be revealed! Clear analysis of the text frustrates the notion of a modern man rising to power, being shot, and coming back to earth immediately.
13:3 mentions a head wound that is healed.
But read more carefully.
It says, "one of his heads.
" This is not talking about the man of sin's head, but one of the heads of the 7-headed beast.
This is a picture.
The animal is not a real animal, and the sword-wound is not a real sword wound.
All are pictures.
Yes, these are kings that have lived in history, and one of them dies, but not necessarily by a "sword" or bullet to the head! (In fairness, though, one of the seven rulers, Tiglath-Pileser, did die by a sword wound, and is a candidate for antichrist also.
) Back to chapter 17, and the mystery unfolding: verse 10 says there are seven kings.
Five of them have already "fallen", or passed on.
The one that "is" (the sixth) must mean the head of the Roman Empire in John's day.
The one who has not come, the "seventh" of 17:10, refers, I believe, to a Prince Daniel saw (Daniel 9) taking the world by storm in his "70 weeks" prophecy, and who may be the conquering white horse figure of seal one (Revelation 6:1).
He rules over a revived Roman Empire for "a short time".
Perhaps the first half of the Tribulation? Then comes the "resurrection".
Of someone (17:11).
The beast - antichrist - man of sin - little horn is the "8th".
But he is really one of the seven.
Really one of the first five, since in John's day it is said that he "was".
And he will go back to perdition when he has played his role.
That narrows down the search for antichrist to several historic figures.
Will it be a past leader of Egypt, or Babylonia, or Assyria, or Medo-Persia, or Greece?