The Antichrist: the first or the second beast
from Rev 13? / Book W. J. Ouweneel 00, page 343
Who has the miraculous power, the first or the second
beast from Rev 13? / Book W .J. Ouweneel 01, page 3558
Table – The Antichrist, the "queen" in the devil’s chess game.
Is the Antichrist a Muslim? / Lecture Tibor
Zelikovics 00, 2001-04-06
The Antichrist – a Plagiarism of the Christian Salvation Event?
Table – The World Empires in the Bible.
The first and the second Antichrist /
Death and resurrection of Antichrist – Discourse 86, 2007-02-05
Does the Bible say that the Antichrist will
be a Jew? / Discourse 101, 2010-02-16
Will the last Pope be the false prophet of the Antichrist?
/ Discourse 115, 2013-03-01
Every biblical interpreter who agrees that the Antichrist is an actual person is
bound to identify him either with the first or with the second beast in Rev 13. The majority see
him as the first beast, but some commentators, even at a very early date, identify him with the
second (Andrew of Caesarea in the 6th century points to this interpretation). It depends on
whether the Antichrist is taken to be a political or rather a religious world leader. In view of
the Johannine Epistles and 2The 2,3-8, I favor the latter view, and would identify the second
beast with the Antichrist.
W. J. Ouweneel
(This extract is taken from the book "Das Buch der Offenbarung" ["The Book of Revelation"] by W. J. Ouweneel
Christliche Literatur-Verbreitung e. V. [Society for the Dissemination of Christian Literature]).
In Rev 13 we are told about these two beasts. The first beast comes out of the sea,
the second out of the earth.
A beast coming up out of the sea and the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.
Rev 13,1 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.
13,2 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. Rev 13,1-2;
They worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast.
Rev 13,3 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; 13,4 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?" Rev 13,3-4;
This first beast, coming out of the sea, is invested by the dragon with his own
authority and with great power; it is even given the dragon’s throne. It derives its power
therefore directly from Satan.
Now, although the devil appears to have divested himself of all his authority and mighty power,
giving these to the beast, it is not the case that this first beast has replaced Satan. In Rev 13,4
we can see plainly that human beings know very well that the power of the beast comes from the
dragon, and so they worship both the dragon and the first beast from the sea.
This fact is of great significance for the differentiation of the two beasts, as it shows that the
dragon and the first beast are here worshiped as gods, in such a way that a clear "Father-Son"
relationship can be seen to subsist between them, similar to that we know of from the Lord Jesus and
His Father in heaven.
He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence.
Rev 13,11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he
had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. 13,12 He exercises all the authority of the
first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the
first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13,13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes
fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. 13,14 And he deceives those
who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the
beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of
the sword and has come to life. 13,15 And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the
beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the
image of the beast to be killed. Rev 13,11-15;
The second beast comes out of the earth, and it "exercises all the authority of
the first beast in his presence". By contrast with the first beast, however, the second beast
plainly does not receive its authority from the dragon, but by "inheritance" from the first
beast. Its power therefore derives from the first beast, and this also emerges plainly from the
text, where the second beast induces human beings to make an image to the first beast and compels
them to worship it.
So we have here the first beast, coming out of the sea, which acts as the "son" of the dragon,
so to speak, and along with the dragon is worshiped as a god; and then there is the second beast,
coming out of the earth, whose task it is to impress human beings with its signs and wonders and to
convince them of the authority of the first beast, from whom its own authority indeed is derived.
Although on this basis it cannot yet be determined beyond doubt which of the two beasts is the
Antichrist, one can at least say that the first beast definitely has a greater affinity with the
dragon than the second one. Besides, it is only the first beast that has religious worship paid to
it, not the second. The second beast, by contrast, has the task of promoting the worship of the
first beast. But in the text that we are considering the "Antichrist" is nowhere mentioned. This
term is to be found only in the Johannine Epistles.
This is the Antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.
1Jn 2,22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the
Christ? This is the Antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 1Jn 2,22;
This is the Antichrist who does not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh.
2Jn 1,7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who
do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the Antichrist.
1,8 Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a
full reward. 1,9 Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have
God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. 1,10 If anyone comes to
you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a
greeting; 1,11 for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds. 2Jn 1,7-11;
As John here says, the Antichrist will deny both the Father and the Son. And if the
dragon really wants to simulate a Father-Son relationship with the Antichrist, the Antichrist has
every reason to deny the true God the Father and the true God the Son. Nor will he want to admit
that the Christ, the Messiah, has already come "in the flesh" in the person of Jesus of Nazareth
and has therefore already lived on this earth. This allows us to conclude that the Antichrist, whose
name, "against Christ", could just as correctly be translated as "instead-of Christ", will
present himself in the guise of a "Messiah". And as a result of the satanic power and authority
that is conferred on him, he will be able to bring about signs and wonders, so that many human
beings will have faith in him and be led astray. And this is precisely what Paul confirms, in his
second letter to the Thessalonians:
The one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders.
2The 2,3 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, 2,4
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. 2,5 Do you not remember that
while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? 2,6 And you know what restrains him now,
so that in his time he will be revealed. 2,7 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. 2,8 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; 2,9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of
Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 2,10 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. 2,11 For
this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false,
2,12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in
wickedness. 2The 2, 3-12;
By contrast with these statements (note especially 2The 2,9) in which Paul warns us
that the "man of lawlessness", that is the Antichrist, acting in the power of Satan, will appear
on earth with great power and with delusive signs and wonders (identical with
Rev 13,2!!), Ouweneel asserts in the course of his
exposition (p.355) that the first beast from Rev 13 – that is, the Antichrist – will not perform
any signs and wonders at all.
"From a political point of view, the second beast is subordinate to the first;
it does all it can to ensure that all the earth’s inhabitants will worship the beast ‘whose
fatal wound was healed’, that is to say, the leader of the revived Roman Empire (compare the
verse Rev 13,3). ‘And he performs great signs’ (verse Rev 13,3a). This characteristic
feature is not to be seen in the first beast; what we really have to do with here is a ‘false
prophet’ who will try to prove through miraculous signs that he is a true prophet (...)"
(W. J. Ouweneel, The Book of Revelation CLV)
Even though 2The 2,3-12 does not expressly speak of the Antichrist but rather of the
"son of destruction" and the "man of lawlessness" (in Luther, "the evil one"), it is
nonetheless impossible to doubt that the Antichrist is intended. On the one hand it is the beast
from the sea and its kings against whom the Lord Jesus will fight on his Second Coming and whom he
will (along with the second beast, the false prophet) finally annihilate (Rev 19,19-21).
On the
other, the expression "the man of lawlessness/evil one" could only otherwise refer to Satan
himself; the latter, however, is mentioned explicitly and distinctly in the same sentence (2The
2,9). As John does in Rev 13,2, so Paul too here foretells that Satan will transfer his authority
and great power to the "man of lawlessness", to the beast that comes from the sea, to the
Antichrist – who then will take his place in the temple and proclaim himself as a god.
(See also Discourse 86: "The first and the second
Antichrist.")
And just as John expressly tells us in his first letter (1Jn 2,22) that the
Antichrist will be a liar, so Paul here too, in 2The 2,9, warns us that the Antichrist will try to
lead humanity astray with his lying signs and wonders, inducing them to believe in the lie.
Even if one might be inclined here to object that these signs and wonders in Rev 13,13-14 are also
performed by the second beast, one must take into account that the second beast derives its
authority from the first beast after all, that is to say from the Antichrist; so that its signs and
wonders, in consequence, are effected through his power.
The subsequent mention of these two beasts in the Revelation shows that the first beast occupies the
position of precedence.
The dragon, the beast and the false prophet.
Rev 16,13 And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of
the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like
frogs; 16,14 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the
whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. Rev
16,13-14;
And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet.
Rev 19,19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their
armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 19,20 And the
beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by
which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image;
these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. 19,21 And the rest
were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds
were filled with their flesh. Rev 19,19-21;
The lake of fire where the beast and the false prophet are also.
Rev 20,10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the
lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will
be tormented day and night forever and ever. Rev 20,10;
Here we see from Rev 19,19-21 that it is the (first) beast which – with the
support of the kings of the earth will make war on the Lord Jesus. Now, it is agreed by all that
the Lord at his Second Coming will fight against the Antichrist. Therefore, in all consistency the
first beast that comes out of the sea must be the Antichrist, and not the second one that comes out
of the earth, which is also referred to in the above passage, at Rev 20,10, as the "false prophet".
FROM WHERE |
W H O |
H O W |
W H A T |
W H E R E |
|||||||||||||||
In heaven |
dragon, old serpent |
great, red |
seven heads |
ten horns |
Rev 12:3-4 |
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Devil, Satan |
tail swept away 1/3 of the angels |
with seven diadems |
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From the sea |
beast |
<-- |
like a lion |
Dan 7:4 |
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wings of an eagle |
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wings were plucked |
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made to stand on two feet |
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like a man with human mind |
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From the sea |
beast |
<-- |
like a bear |
Dan 7:5 |
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raised on one side |
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in his mouth three rips between |
|||||||||||||||||||
his teeth: devour much meat |
|||||||||||||||||||
From the sea |
beast |
<-- |
like a leopard |
Dan 7:6 |
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four wings of a bird |
|||||||||||||||||||
it had four heads |
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dominion was given to it |
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From the sea |
beast |
dreadful and terrifying |
<- |
ten horns |
Dan 7:7-25 |
||||||||||||||
extremely strong |
little horn pulled out three horns |
||||||||||||||||||
with large iron teeth |
it had eyes like a man |
||||||||||||||||||
devoured and crushed and |
its mouth uttering great boasts |
-> |
|||||||||||||||||
trampled. It was different from |
speaks out against the Most High |
-> |
|||||||||||||||||
wears down the saints |
-> |
||||||||||||||||||
rules nations for 3 1/2 times |
-> |
||||||||||||||||||
From the sea |
beast |
--> |
like a leopard |
--> |
ten horns with ten diadems |
seven heads with |
Rev 13:1-8 |
||||||||||||
-> |
feet of a bear |
rules nations 42 months |
<- |
blasphemous names |
|||||||||||||||
--> |
mouth of a lion |
he overcomes the saints |
<- |
||||||||||||||||
V |
--> |
dragons power, throne, authority |
he blasphemes God |
<- |
|||||||||||||||
he speaks arrogant words |
<- |
||||||||||||||||||
V |
V |
||||||||||||||||||
In wilderness |
beast (Satan) |
scarlet, full of blasphemous names Babylon the harlot is sitting on it it was, and is not, and is about to come up and go to destruction. He is himself one of the seven and also an eight king. |
seven heads seven mountains/kings five have fallen, one is 7th has not yet come remains a little while, beast is one of them. |
ten horns ten kings receive authority one hour with the beast, and give their power and authority to him. They wage war against the Lamb which will overcome them. They will burn up harlot Babylon |
Rev 17:3-16 |
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____________ |
__ |
_____ |
__ |
__ |
__ |
__ |
___ |
_____________________________ |
___ |
___________________________ |
___ |
__ |
__ |
__ |
__ |
___________________ |
_______________ |
________________ |
__________ |
But it can also be seen that this false prophet in the Satanic trinity is always
mentioned in the third and last place, and this allows us to conclude that he comes at the end of
the hierarchy of these three, and so – for the same reason – cannot himself be the Antichrist to
whom "authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given".
And authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.
Rev 13,5 There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and
blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. 13,6 And he opened his
mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell
in heaven. 13,7 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. 13,8 All who
dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the
foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. Rev 13, 5- 8;
Finally, what we are told here, in Rev 13,8, about the first beast – "And all
who dwell on the earth will worship him" – confirms that this is the Antichrist, the "instead-of
Christ", who will be worshiped by human beings as the false Son of a false God the Father. The
second beast coming out of the earth by contrast is only a henchman who has received his authority from the Antichrist and
whose task it is to get human beings to worship Satan and the Antichrist.
So we can see that just those scriptural passages which Ouweneel quotes in order to prove that the
second beast is the Antichrist – the Johannine Epistles, that is, and 2The 2,3-8 – point without
a possibility of doubt, when more closely examined, to the identification of the first beast with
the Antichrist.
As for the fact that as early as the 6th century Andrew of Caesarea put forward the view
that the second beast is the Antichrist, this only goes to show that an interpretation is not
correct just because it derives from antiquity, or because it has been advanced by a famous person.
(See also Discourse 115: "Will the last Pope be the
false prophet of the Antichrist?")
For a serious biblical interpreter, moreover, it goes completely against the grain to base an
interpretation on the answer to the question "whether the Antichrist is taken to be a political or
rather a religious world leader". That would not be an interpretation of Scripture, but rather an
opinion poll. Any one who follows this course has already resigned his task as an expositor just at
the point where it properly should begin.
So we do not have the option of selecting a specific interpretation on the basis of personal
preference: on the contrary, we must take the trouble of examining the Scriptures so that we then
may be in a position, in the light of scriptural testimony, to come up with an interpretation that
the Scriptures will support.
Ouweneel’s conjecture at the beginning regarding the identification of the
Antichrist:
"The majority see him as the first beast,
but some commentators, even at a very early date, identify him with the second
(Andrew of Caesarea in the 6th century points to this interpretation). It depends
on whether the Antichrist is taken to be a political or rather a religious world
leader."
– is therefore easy to concretize. The Anti-Christ will be a
religious (world) leader. But not only that, he is the, from Satan sent, counterpart
to the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, he must also be – like
Jesus – a Jew. He will come to Israel and claim to be the ‘real’
Christ (=Christos, =Messiah, =maschiach =the anointed one), whom the Jews have
been eagerly awaiting for two thousand years, after they had the true Messiah ’
Jesus Christ ’ murdered. (A ‘goy’ would never be recognized by the Jews as their
Messiah!)
The Antichrist will come to power in Israel as a religious leader and – as prophesied
in the Bible for the real Messiah in the Millennium – will reach world
power with Israel. The false prophet – the beast from the earth – (the
Catholic pope?) will gladly help him to participate in this world power.
Bearing in mind the connections we have established between the first and second beast from Rev 13,
we now intend to examine another theory on the identity of the Antichrist that has been quite
frequently advanced.
At an event organized by the "Föderation für den Weltfrieden" [Federation
for World Peace] and held in Vienna in April 2001, the Jewish metaphysical thinker Tibor
Zelikovics declared that we already find ourselves at the turning point that heralds the
last days. And he advanced the opinion that the Antichrist, whose activities are to introduce
the last days, is already present on earth. He is said to be dividing his time between Egypt,
the Arabian peninsula and Iran, but so far is only operating covertly. An individual with
overwhelming charisma capable of appealing to the masses world-wide, he is expected to found a
new ideology, a "spiritual socialism", and elevate himself to the position of a world leader
whom even the United Nations will recognize. Having established a world government with
centralized economic control, he will then unite Europe and Russia against the United States.
The Jewish thinker Zelikovics holds that the Antichrist is a Moslem, and claims to know his
identity, but is unwilling to reveal it at this time
(From Tibor Zelikovics’ lecture at the "Federation for World Peace" conference in Vienna)
Muslims who were present on this occasion were understandably annoyed by this last
assertion, and representatives of the Christian churches also pointed to Mt 24,42-44, where the Lord
warns us to be constantly watchful, seeing that no one other than the Father knows when this time is
to come.
Now it is true that the Islamic fundamentalists have done everything imaginable in recent years, and
right up to the present day, to bring the displeasure, even to some extent the hatred of the world
upon themselves. And one probably will not go far wrong in assuming that the individual whose name
Zelikovics here declines to give is the famously notorious Islamic billionaire and terrorist leader Osama
Bin Laden, who operates in just the geographical area he mentions.
If we consider the connections we have set out earlier, however, there are clear and convincing
reasons why the Antichrist cannot be a Muslim. And these reasons apply with equal force to the idea
that he might be the second beast from Rev 13.
In the light of the interpretation put forward here – which most adherents of the two views just
mentioned likewise accept – the Antichrist will not just be an "against Christ" but
(relying on an alternative translation of the Greek preposition "anti") an "instead-of Christ".
Now "Christ" comes from the Latin "Christus", which in turn derives from the Greek word "Christos"
which was taken in the Septuagint (= LXX, the Greek translation of the Old Testament) as a
translation of the Hebrew expression "Messiah" (in the original Hebrew "maschiach", in
Aramaic "meschicha"). "Messiah" literally means "anointed", and in Jewish belief the
term stands for the glorious king and descendant of David who in accordance with the prophecies of
the Old Testament was one day to lead Israel to world dominion.
The Antichrist then will be above all an "Antimessiah", who will proclaim himself to the Jews as
the promised anointed one, the savior of Israel. This is likewise the light in which we must
understand 1Jn 2,22, where we are told:
This is the antichrist who denies that Jesus is the Christ.
1Jn 2,22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the
Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 1Jn 2,22;
He has of course a vested interest in denying that Jesus has already come as the
Christ, that is, the Messiah. And he will meet with a ready audience among the Jews, for the Jews
have always known that the Nazarene could not have been the Messiah. Of their Messiah it is written
that he will save the people of Israel and make it "chief among all peoples", that is to say,
raise it to a position of world power. While Jesus of Nazareth, on the other hand, could not even
save Himself from dying on the cross.
It is easy now to understand the reasons – resulting from this position – why it follows that
the Antichrist cannot possibly be a Muslim. The Jews would never, not in any circumstances, accept a
Muslim as their Messiah. In this view, the Antichrist can only be Jewish. Jn 5,4-6 gives us a
further indication:
If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.
Jn 5,41 I do not receive glory from men; 5,42 but I know you, that you
do not have the love of God in yourselves. 5,43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not
receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. Jn 5,41-43;
Here the Lord expressly points to the fact that He has come in the name of God his
Father, and the Jews have not received Him; but if another (the Antichrist) comes in his own name
(for he cannot call upon God), then they will receive him.
The fact too that the Antichrist is to set up his image in the Temple in Jerusalem – not to speak
of numerous other details – confirms that these events are to take place in Israel and among the
Jews. And if among the Jews, then the Antichrist cannot be a Muslim.
And precisely this is the reason why, on this view, the second beast from Rev 13 cannot be the
Antichrist. In that passage the second beast coming out of the earth, the false prophet as he is
also called in Rev 19,20 and 20,10, is represented as an auxiliary to the first beast, so to speak:
o it induces all human beings on earth to worship the first beast,
o it performs signs in the power given it by the first beast,
o it tells the people dwelling on earth to make an image in honor of
the first beast,
o it causes all to be put to death who do not worship the image of
the first beast,
o it allows no one to buy or sell unless they have on them the mark
of the beast, the name of the first beast or the number of his name.
From these statements in Rev 13,12-17 it is plain to see that this second beast
cannot be a world leader, seeing that it serves the first beast to the best of its ability – the
first beast, from which it has received all authority. It is inconceivable in consequence that the
Jews would accept this lackey as their long expected Messiah.
Finally it is also plain from the scriptural passages cited that it is the first beast that is
worshiped. So it is the first beast that will proclaim itself as the "Son of God" to whom
worship is due. The second beast, on the other hand, does everything in its power to compel the
inhabitants of the whole world, under pain of death, to worship its lord in this way.
The one who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached.
2Cor 11,3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his
craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
11,4 For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a
different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted,
you bear this beautifully. 2Cor 11, 3- 4;
As we can now see, the question which of the two beasts in Rev 13 is the Antichrist can be
unambiguously answered on the basis of what we are told in this very chapter. The reason why many
expositors get the idea into their heads that the second beast – the beast that comes out of the
earth, the false prophet – might be the Antichrist is presumably either because they want to
support some preconceived opinion by means of this interpretation, or else, quite simply, they have
not taken the trouble to read the text right through to the end.
(See also Discourse 101: "Does the Bible say that the Antichrist will be a Jew?")
What Ouweneel completely ignores is the fact that we are told of
this "beast from the sea" in Rev 13,3 that one of its heads was mortally
wounded. This may not seem very relevant at first glance, but it is – as we will
see in a moment – the key to a biblically sound interpretation of the complex
personality of the Antichrist.
Since the "sea" is a biblical symbol for political systems, and thus the cradle
of political leaders (the 7 heads of the beast), this beast from the sea stands
for human rulers, namely the seventh. Therefore it is a human being, identical
with the "lawless one", who according to Paul (in 2The 2,8 below) will be killed
by the Son of God.
As a human being, however, he must have been in the realm of the dead after his
death, according to the Bible. And thus the statement that his wound was healed,
and the beast became "alive" again, gets a meaning with much further reaching
implications.
A beast coming up out of the sea and his fatal wound was healed.
Rev 13,1 And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore.
Then I sawa 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. 13,2
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. 13,3 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; 13,4 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?" ?
13,5 There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and
authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. 13,6 And he opened his
mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that
is, those who dwell in heaven. 13,7 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. 13,8 All who dwell on the
earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the
foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. 13,9
If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 13,10 If anyone is destined for captivity,
to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be
killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints. Rev 13,1-10;
Most commentators agree that the "beast from the sea" is the
Antichrist. The "beast from the earth" in Rev 13,11, which is wrongly
interpreted by Ouweneel as the Antichrist, must come from a religious context,
because the "earth" biblically tends to stand for a religious background.
The "beast coming up out of the earth" exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence.
Rev 13,11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he
had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. 13,12 He exercises all the authority of the
first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the
first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13,13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes
fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. 13,14 And he deceives those
who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the
beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of
the sword and has come to life. 13,15 And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the
beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as
do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. Rev 13,11-15;
And according to this view, this second "beast from the earth"
can only be the false prophet (Pope?), who stands by the Antichrist and brings
the people to him. And exactly this, of course, is also expressed in the further
description of this beast, in Rev 13,12-15 above.
There it is documented that this beast from the earth has received all his power
and strength from the Antichrist – that is the "beast from the sea" (which, as
we will see later, is also the "beast from the abyss") – and that its whole
activity consists in seducing mankind to worship the Antichrist. – So much,
then, for the beast from the earth.
But what has not been noticed at all, in the description contained in the two
above Bible passages from Rev 13, is the fact that we are already talking about
two Antichrists here. In the course of the description we completely lose sight
of the fact that this beast from the sea was finally killed and – as mentioned
above – has been in the realm of the dead.
Now we know that a human being – and clearly the beast from the sea, thus the
first Antichrist, is a human being – can only come back to life from the realm
of the dead by raising from the dead. But this now means that this man, after he
became "alive again", is no longer the original human Antichrist, but a raised
up demonic being.
And this is what must now be taken into account. It is only the first two verses
in Rev 13 that actually speak of the first, human Antichrist (a politician?).
From verse 3-8 on and in the following description of the second beast from the
earth and its ministry, we only find mention of the raised up demonic being, the
second Antichrist.
However, this view that there are two Antichrists is also confirmed by the fact
that, according to Scripture, two Antichrists will die. On the one hand, we have
Paul’s statement here below, in 2 The 2,8, that the Lord Jesus, at His Second
Coming for the Rapture, will "bring to an end the lawless one" – who is
generally interpreted as the Antichrist – and "slay him by the breath of His
mouth."
That lawless one whom the Lord will bring to an end at His coming for our gathering together to Him.
2The 2,7 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.
2,8 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;
2,9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan,
with all power and signs and false wonders, 2,10 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. 2,11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding
influence so that they will believe what is false, 2,12 in order that they all
may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.
2The 2,7-12;
It may seem puzzling that Paul here speaks of the "breath of his
mouth" as the means whereby the lawless one is killed, whereas the wound of the
beast from the sea, according to Rev 13:14, is from a sword; but this question
can be quickly clarified if we look at the description of the Son of God at the
battle of Armageddon, in Rev 19:15 and 19:21:
From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations
Rev 19,14 And the armies which are in heaven,
clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.
19,15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike
down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He
treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 19,16 And on His
robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."
19,17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud
voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, "Come, assemble for the
great supper of God,
19,18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the
flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the
flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great." 19,19 And I
saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war
against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 19,20 And the
beast was seized, and with him the false prophet
who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had
received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these
two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.
19,21 And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth
of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
Rev19,14-21;
The "breath" from the mouth of the Son of God is therefore a
double-edged sword, with which the Lord Jesus will kill the beast from the sea
(the first, human Antichrist). Now Rev 13:14 says, however, that the beast had
"come to life again". Although often overlooked, there is biblical evidence for
this as well.
But before that we have to note that this man, the first Antichrist, was indeed
killed and has been in the realm of the dead. According to Scripture, the realm
of the dead is called "Sheol (Hebrew שְׁאוֹל -əʾōl). The name occurs 66 times in
the Tanakh and represents a place of darkness to which all the dead go, both the
righteous and the unrighteous, a place of silence and darkness cut off from
life." (Wikipedia).
Also in the Old Testament, we find a reference to Sheol in Job 26:6 for example:
"Sheol is naked before him, and Abaddon has no covering." "Abaddon" is a Hebrew
word meaning the abyss. Or in the NT Rom 10:7: "Who will go down into the abyss?
that is, to bring Christ up from the dead". And just this information, that
Sheol, the realm of the dead, is also called "abyss", leads us now to the
"coming alive", to the "raising up" of the slain first Antichrist.
Earlier, in the description of this first beast from the sea in Rev 13, we find
a somewhat mysterious statement. There it is stated in Rev 13,7: "It was also
given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them." While some
exegetes puzzle over who these "saints" might be, and many of course interpret
it primarily as the "Christian congregation", let us stay with Revelation and
look at an indirect parallel passage.
Here below, in Rev 11:3-12 is the account of the two witnesses whom God will
send and who will prophesy in Jerusalem, clothed in sackcloth, for three and a
half years. And in this report we find the statement, of particular interest for
us, that "the beast that comes up out of the abyss" (abussoz – abyssos – abyss) will fight
with these two witnesses and kill them.
The amazing thing is that these Two Witnesses have been endowed by God with
tremendous power. Thus during the three and a half years of their prophesying
they will withhold the rain, so that no rain falls on the earth. They will also
turn the waters into blood, and strike the earth with every plague whenever they
choose to do so.
They also have power to kill anyone who wants to attack them by fire coming out
of their mouth. And you can imagine that during these three and a half years
countless "supermen", fighting units and even whole armies would have already
tried to eliminate these tormentors of mankind.
These have the power to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.
Rev 11,3 "And I will grant authority to my two witnesses,
and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth."
11,4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the
Lord of the earth. 11,5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their
mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed
in this way. 11,6 These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not
fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to
turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.
11,7 When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up
out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.
11,8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which
mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 11,9
Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their
dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to
be laid in a tomb. 11,10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them
and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two
prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. 11,11 But after the three and a
half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their
feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. 11,12 And they
heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." Then they went up
into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. Rev 11, 3-12;
And so it is astonishing that there is nevertheless someone who
can defeat these two witnesses of God, namely here, in Rev 11,7 "the beast that
comes up out of the abyss". But as we have noted above, "abyss" is only another
name for Sheol, the realm of the dead.
This is why the conclusion is obvious that here, the "beast from the abyss" is
the same beast as that in Rev 13, namely the "beast from the sea", i.e. the
first Antichrist. He was killed by the Son of God, and after that was in the
realm of the dead, Sheol or the abyss. Then his "wound was healed" and he came
back to life and rose up out of the abyss.
If we thus have the proof of the "resurrection" of the first Antichrist, the
beast from the sea, we also have an explanation for the identity of the "saints"
mentioned in Rev 13,7, whom the beast from the sea will fight and overcome. They
are the Two Witnesses of God mentioned here above in Rev 11:7.
So we can see very clearly the problem of interpretation that is involved here.
The announcement that the beast from the sea will fight with the saints was made
in Rev 13:7, in connection with the rest of the description of this beast. That
the beast was killed in the meantime, however, is something we learn only
incidentally, in Rev 13,3 a few verses earlier.
According to the analysis presented here, however, that being which defeated the
"saints" is not the "beast from the sea", that is, the first,
human Antichrist, as Rev 13,7 might be taken to insinuate. This man was killed
previously, was in the realm of the dead / the abyss, and rose up as the second,
demonic Antichrist, as the "beast from the abyss", and defeated these
Two Witnesses of God.
With this, however, we also recognize that this beast with its seven heads is
actually Satan himself and the seven heads are the rulers of the seven
historical world empires: Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Greece, Rome, and
ultimately the yet to come Antichrist Empire. In the Antichrist (seventh king),
Satan will manifest himself and he will then at the end of the world become the
eighth king (See also the table at the end of the document: "The World Empires
in the Bible .").
The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction.
Rev 17,9 "Here is the mind which has wisdom.
The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, 17,10
and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the
other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.
17,11 "The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is
one of the seven, and he goes to destruction. Rev 17, 9-11;
According to this analysis the final Antichrist is neither the first nor the
second beast of Rev 13, but the beast coming up out of the abyss of Rev 11:7 ,
the resurrected "lawless one" of 2The 2:8 , who will start his ascent as "beast
out of the sea" and "rider on the white horse" in Rev 13:1 and Rev 6:1
respectively.
In the Great Tribulation there will be two Antichrists. The
first, a human ruler (Rev 6:1-2: the rider on the white horse, 2The 2:3-6: the
lawless one or also Rev 13:1-8: the beast out of the sea), will live and rule in
the time of the Seal Judgments of John’s Revelation (Rev 6:1-7). The number of the name of the beast, is the number of a man. Rev 13,16 And he causes all, the small
and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be
given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 13,17 and he provides
that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark,
either the name of the beast or the number of his name. 13,18 Here is
wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast,
for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred
and sixty-six. Rev 13,16-18; There have been countless attempts in the past to interpret the
number "666" in the Revelation of John. Since we are asked in Rev 13,18 to
calculate this number as the number of the name
of the beast, it may be assumed that gematria is intended here. Thus, it can be suggested that one of the reasons for counting (calculating) the number of the
Beast is because it contains as a component of, constructed within it, the number of a man.
Therefore, the ‘total calculated number 666’ of the Beast includes both the number of the
Beast itself and the number of the man Antichrist – the two become one. |
Kingdom of Egypt |
Kingdom of Assyria |
Kingdom of Babylon |
Kingdom of Medo-Persia |
Kingdom of Greece |
Kingdom of Rome |
Kingdom of Antichrist (The Great Tribulation) |
Millennium (Kingdom of peace) |
Last Fight |
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Rev 17:9-11 Thutmosis |
Rev 17:9-11 Assurnasirpal |
Rev 17:9-11 Nebuchadnezzar |
Rev 17:9-11 Cores (Cyrus) |
Rev 17:9-11 Alexander |
Rev 17:9-11 Augustus |
Rev 17:9-11 Beast |
Rev 20:4-7 Jesus Christ |
Rev 17:8-11 Satan (beast) |
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1st head / king he has fallen |
2nd head / king he has fallen |
3rd head / king he has fallen |
4th head / king he has fallen |
5th head / king he has fallen |
6th head / king he is |
1st Antichrist Sea Rev 13: Judgments of Seals |
7th head / king he will come |
2nd Antichrist Abyss Rev 13:7; 11, Day of the LORD |
1st Resurrection martyrs reign with Christ 1000 years |
8th head / king he was 7th |
Rev 6:2 |
R A |
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2Thess 2:3-7 |
2Thess 2:8 Mt 24:29 Rev 7:14 |
2Thess 2:9 |
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Eze 31:2-11 |
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P T |
Eze 39:1-13 Har-Magedon Rev 16:16; 19:19-24 |
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Eze 38:1-13 |
Isa 10:5-26 |
U |
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Dan 2:32.37-38 head of fine gold |
Dan 2:32.39 breast, arms of silver |
Dan 2:32.39 belly, thighs of bronze |
Dan 2:33.40 legs of iron |
Dan 2:33.41-43 feet iron, clay |
R E |
Dan 2:42.44 toes iron clay ten kings |
Dan 2:34-35. 44-45 mountain stone without hands |
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Dan 7:4 lion wings of eagle | |
Dan 7:5 bear raised side | |
Dan 7:6 leopard four heads | |
Dan 7:7 beast iron teeth ten horns |
2Thess 2:3-12 the lawless one | | |
Dan 7:8,11 ten horns little horn boaster |
Dan 7:13-14 Son of Man |
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V Rev 13:2 mouth of lion |
V Rev 13:2 feet of bear |
V Rev 13:2 like leopard |
V Rev 13:1 ten horns |
V Rev 13:3 slain to death (2The 2:8) but was healed |
V Rev 13:4.14 kings of the earth beast and false prophet into the lake of fire Rev 19:19-20 |
Rev 20:2-6 |
Rev 20:7-10 |