Discourse 86 – The first and the second Antichrist

The number 666: a reference to a human and a demonic Antichrist  / Commentary, Barbey Blankenship, 2005-09-12

Why two Antichrists?

He who restrains the lawlessness.

Table – The Antichrist, the "queen" in the devil’s chess game.

The Antichrist in Paul: the man of lawlessness – 2The 2.

The Antichrist in the Revelation of John: the seventh head (7 world empires) of the beast from the sea – Rev 13,3-7.

Table – The World Empires in the Bible.

The Antichrist in Daniel: the fourth kingdom – Dan 7,7-8; 23 und 2,40.

The two witnesses of God

The other beast from the earth – the false prophet – Rev 13.

The dream of Nebuchadnezzar – Dan 2,40-43;

The end of the Antichrist – the battle of Har-Magedon (Rev 16; 17; 19; 20).

The last battle.

Table – The Great Tribulation – classified by events.

Table – Synopsis of the two Antichrists. NEW revised!!!

(Texts in a black frame are quotations from visitors to this site or from other authors.)

(See also Discourse 48: "An alternative view on the sequence of events in the Last Days")

There have been countless attempts in the past to interpret the number ‘666’ in the Revelation of John. As we are urged in Rev 13,18 to calculate the number as the number of the name of the Beast, it is clear that what is meant here is gematrics. Gematrics is based on the fact that neither the classical Greek script nor the Hebrew had any special signs for numbers; instead, both used letters in this function. Consequently, the first letter of the alphabet can also stand for 1, the second for 2 and so on. So, any word in these languages can also be read as a group of numerical signs. If we add up their total, we will find a number that stands for the word.

Especially in the first centuries after Christ the names of various Roman emperors (e.g. Nero, Domitian, Gaius etc.) were adapted, sometimes using quite adventurous methods, in such a way that their cumulative total resulted in the number 666. So, for example the title ‘Neron Kaisar’ in Hebrew adds up to 666, as also do the words ‘Balaam the son of Beor, the diviner’ from Jos. 13,22 and as does the Greek word ‘Lateinos’ (= the Latin or Roman empire?) – and so on and so forth. Even in recent centuries the name of Napoleon was used by some biblical commentators, with more or less realistic additions, for this gematric game – not to speak of the papal title (unsubstantiated) ‘VICARIUS FILII DEI’ (deputy of the Son of God) in Roman letters.

The fact that in these attempts people always wanted to resolve ‘the secret of the name’, and so were necessarily compelled to associate it with a ruler in the past, is also a reason for the fact that evidently there has been no interpretation up to the present day which projects ‘the number of the name’ onto a ruler of the future. People therefore suppose that the Beast in Rev 13 is a resurrected dictator of the past – as it might be, a ‘Nero redivivus’ – and in principle this is actually not so far off track, seeing that the text of Rev 13,18 does after all indicate that the name of the Beast or its number is the number of the name of a person (from the past).

Now the majority of the commentators are agreed that the Beast of Rev 13, of which we are told that ‘the dragon (i.e. Satan) gave him his power and his throne and great authority’  – which, by the way, corresponds to an aping of what God had transmitted to his Son (Mt 28:18) – that this beast is to be understood as the Antichrist. And so all the statements about this beast in the following chapters of the Revelation of John are also to be referred to the Antichrist. But there is equal agreement too in the interpretation of the passage 2The 2,1-12, where Paul writes to the Thessalonians about ‘the man of lawlessness... whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan’. So, we have here what is, apart from the Gospels, a rather unusual situation in Scripture, in that two independent sources are referring to the same event or the same person. And to take advantage of the opportunity this offers, let us now compare these passages in detail and check to see how far they agree.

Why two Antichrists? (Prolog)

When interpreting the biblical texts with regard to the Last Days, it is customary to speak only of "the Antichrist", and this then actually refers to just one person. The assumption that the Bible speaks of two Antichrists has arisen from a closer study of these texts, based on the fact that we have two different prophecies in Scripture about the death of a single Antichrist.

There we have first the well-known prophecy of Paul in 2The 2:3-9, with regard to the "lawless one". This "man of lawlessness" (Antichrist) will appear, as Paul writes in 2The 2:7, when the one who restrains this mystery of lawlessness has been removed. So, when the one who restrains has been removed, the "lawless one" will be able to work – probably for three and a half years.

Then the Lord Jesus will appear for the Rapture and will kill this lawless one, the Antichrist, "with the breath of his mouth and bring (him) to an end by the appearance of His coming." So that would mark the death of this Antichrist, and we would not have any uncertainties in the interpretation if Paul had not added another text immediately thereafter.

In 2The 2:9-10, after the death of the lawless one (the Antichrist), Paul declares: "that is, the one who’s coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish." This could, of course, refer to the lawless one mentioned at the beginning of his prophecy.

But the text does not quite fit, and it could also be the case that Paul has proceeded chronologically here and, after the death of the first lawless one (Antichrist), has consciously or unconsciously prophesied the appearance of a second lawless one (Antichrist). But actually, there is no need for this assumption at all, because we have, as already mentioned, in the Scriptures themselves the prophecy of another, a second Antichrist.

The prophecy in Rev 13:1-18 reports about the dragon (Satan), the beast from the sea (worldly system: Antichrist) and a second beast from the earth (religious system: false prophet). And exactly these figures we find also in Rev 16:12-16, at the continuation of these events. There these three, the dragon, the beast and the false prophet, make preparations for the battle of Har-Magedon, in which they will fight against the Son of God and his heavenly army.

In Rev 17:12-14 we have that prophecy where the kings (10 horns of the first beast), to whom the three have sent their demonic spirits in Rev 16:14, then go with their armies together with the three into battle. They will lose this battle against the Son of God and his heavenly host, as we can see from the further continuation of this text in Rev 19:11-21.

And in this text, in Rev 19:20-21, we read that the first beast (Antichrist) and the false prophet (second beast), after the lost battle, "were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. 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."

This is now the second death of the Antichrist, in the lake of fire. Since he has already died the physical death but was resurrected by Satan, he can only die the "second death" namely that of eternal damnation in the lake of fire.

He who restrains the lawlessness.

Paul’s prophecy, in 2The 2,3-10 below, is – as we will see further on – a hint at the interpretation of the two Antichrists. We have in verse 2,7, to begin with, the statement: "only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way." And then in verse 2:8, following the revelation of the lawless one, Paul prophesies his killing at the Lord’s return for the Rapture.

The mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.

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 he will be revealed in his time. 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; 3,9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 3,10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 2The 2,3-10;

(See Discourse 108: "Who or what still restrains the Antichrist?")

Based on our analysis in Discourse 108, we assume that the one who "now restrains" in 2The 2,7 is the Holy Spirit. And here below, in Jn 14,26, the Lord explains to the disciples that the Father will send them the Comforter, the Holy Spirit in his name; and he then makes it clear to them, in Jn 16,7, that it is good if he goes away – that is to the Father – because if he does not go away, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, will not come to them. But if the Lord is with the Father, he will send them the Holy Spirit.

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name.

Jn 14,26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. Jn 14,26;

It is to your advantage that I go away; If I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

Jn 16,7 "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. Jn 16,7;

And all this now reveals the following connection: if the Lord does not go to the Father, the Holy Spirit cannot come to earth. That means, conversely, that when the Lord – at his return for the Rapture – comes to earth again, the Holy Spirit, that is, the one who "now restrains" in 2The 2,7, must go back to the Father. But with that there is nobody left who "restrains" and thus the way is free for the revelation of the lawless one, the first Antichrist.

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 5,43 "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 5,43;

So, the way is clear – but not only for the Antichrist! About two thousand years ago, when the Son of God was still on earth, a battle took place in heaven. Satan seduced one third of God’s angels and persuaded them to seize power with him in heaven. They then fought the remaining two-thirds of God’s angels under the archangel Michael and lost that battle, whereupon they were all thrown down from heaven to earth.

And the great dragon he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Rev 12,7 And there was battle in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, 12,8 and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. 12,9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Rev 12, 7- 9;

And the tail of the dragon swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth.

Rev 12,3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. 12,4 And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. Rev 12, 3- 4;

(See also Discourse 137: "The battle in heaven")

The angels (who are often also called "stars" in the Bible) were thus cast down to earth. Here they could settle for a short time in the minds of people, though some of them were cast out by the Lord. Until then the Holy Spirit came, as Paul writes above in 2The 2,7, who transported them again into the orbit of the planet and "now restrains" them there, so that they have been waiting for about two thousand years in the orbit of the earth, until the way opens up.

And he said, "Legion"; for many demons had entered him. (A legion in the Roman military was a detachment of 6000 legionaries).

Lk 8,30 And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion"; for many demons had entered him. 8,31 They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss. 8,32 Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission. Lk 8,30-32;

John Glenn, the US astronaut, orbited the earth three times in 1962 during his Friendship 7 mission and, as appears in the video, saw many small balls of energy around him and exclaimed in amazement, "Myriads of stars" (John Glenn: "myriads of stars"). And that gives us our next key term right away. For in Scripture, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, it is prophesied that on the Day of the Lord "stars will fall from the sky".

But now, at the Second Coming of the Lord with the eclipse of the heavenly bodies and the ascension into heaven of the Holy Spirit, nothing can stop these angels of Satan and they can finally come back to earth to rejoin human beings and manifest themselves in their spirit.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky.

Mt 24,29 "But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give ist light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Mt 24,29;

The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood. and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs.

Rev 6,12 I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; 6,13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. 6,14 The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. Rev 6,12-14;

So, they are back on earth again at this time – the angels of Satan, the demons. And to get an idea of how many angels are to be expected at this point, we can take one statement from the OT and another from the NT:

A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him.

Dan 7,9 "I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire. 7,10 "A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, And the books were opened. Dan 7, 9-10;

Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands.

Rev 5,11 Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, 5,12 saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory, and blessing." Rev 5,11-12;

While the first of the above biblical passages, in the vision of Daniel, may possibly be referring not to angels, but to resurrected human beings, because this judgment would be taking place in heaven, there is no doubt in the second quotation, from Rev 5,11: ten thousand times ten thousand of the angels stood around the throne of God. That now would be a hundred million.

If we assume provisionally that these are the remaining two thirds of God’s angels in heaven, then the third that was thrown out of heaven with Satan would be 50 million. So, we would have 50 million demons here on earth in the spirits of some 9 billion people. The Antichrist should have an easy time of it.

Now to come back to Paul’s prophecy about the "lawless one": in 2The 2,4 above, Paul gives specific information about the behavior of this lawless one (the first Antichrist) after the departure of the Holy Spirit. He will exalt himself (already as the second Antichrist) "above every so-called god or object of worship", and he will sit down in the temple and pretend to be God himself. But here, with the first Antichrist, there is still no hint, until 2The 2,7, of an influence of Satan.

(See also the working table 22: "Synopsis of the two antichrists.")

The Antichrist, the "queen" in the devil’s chess game. (LANDSCAPE)

The first Antichrist in Paul: the man of lawlessness – 2The 2.

For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction

2The 2,3 No one is to deceive you in any way! 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 he will be revealed in his time.

2,7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is removed.

2,8 Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will eliminate 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 false signs and wonders, 2,10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not accept the love of the truth so as to be saved. 2The 2,3-10;

The text in 2The 2,8 has already been commented on above, but from 2The 2,9 on we are clearly dealing with a different individual. Paul still calls him "the lawless one", but after prophesying his being killed by the Lord, Paul then speaks of this lawless one coming "in accord with the activity of Satan".

In view of the fact that Paul’s prophecies here, since 2The 2,3, are in chronological sequence, we can assume that he also proceeded in this way in 2The 2,8 and 9 and therefore that the lawless one, after his death in 2The 2,8, will come "again" in 2,9. And so Paul reveals to us that this lawless one, although he died as a human being, has been resurrected "in accord with the activity of Satan" and thus will appear as a second demonic Antichrist, resurrected by the power of the devil.

Paul also emphasizes the great power and lying signs and wonders that this lawless one will work after his revival by Satan. And he further points out that this second Antichrist will proceed "with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not accept the love of the truth so as to be saved."

Alongside these prophecies of Paul, in 2The 2,3-9 above – where the first Antichrist, in 2The 2,8, after his appearance as "the lawless one", will be killed by the Son of God at his return for the Rapture, and then will be resurrected "in accord with the activity of Satan" as the second Antichrist in 2The 2,9 – we find the same sequence of events in the parallel passage in Rev 13,1-8

The Antichrist in the Revelation of John: the seventh head (7 world empires) of the beast from the sea – Rev 13,3-7.

 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

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.

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. Rev 13,1-8;

Here John sees in Rev 13,1 a "beast" coming up out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns ten diadems/crowns. The seven heads represent the seven world empires until the Millennium (Dan 7,17; see also the table above). And now it is interesting that this same beast then, in Rev 12:3, in reverse order, has "seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems", "and his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth." So, who is this "beast" here?

A great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads.

Rev 12,3 And another portent appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads. 12,4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth; Rev 12, 3- 4;

In order to answer this question, we must briefly look at Satan, his actions and above all his intentions. We know, from Luke 4:5-8, where Satan tried to seduce the Son of God, that Satan was given power over all the kingdoms of this world – evidently so that he would test people to see if they would stay with God despite Satan’s seductions and enter into eternal life, or if they would fall away from God and be condemned to eternal damnation at the Last Judgment.

I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

Lk 4,5 And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 4,6 And the devil said to Him, "I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 4,7 "Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours." 4,8 Jesus answered him, "It is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God and serve Him only.’" Lk 4, 5- 8;

In this text in Luke, we can see the true and only goal of Satan, this former archangel and current demon. He offers the Son of God power over all these kingdoms of the world: "Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours." It was this burning desire of Satan to be worshiped that had tempted him, shortly before this meeting with the Son of God, while Satan was still in heaven, to seduce God’s angels.

And he succeeded in persuading one third of the angels to start a battle with him in heaven against the remaining two thirds of the angels under the archangel Michael, in order to take power in heaven. At that time, two thousand years ago, he lost this battle and was thrown out of heaven to earth with his supporters. Since then, they have all been demons.

(See also Discourse 137: "The battle in heaven.")

And now we can also answer our question above about the identity of this "beast" in Rev 13,1, where the heads and horns are mentioned in reverse order as compared with Satan in Rev 12,3, and where the diadems / crowns are on the horns instead of the heads. It is still Satan – only about 3500 years later, after his expulsion from heaven.

In Rev 12,3 we see Satan still at the beginning of his earthly activity, in the time of the Pharaohs, when all world empires (the heads with the diadems / crowns) were still to come on the time scale. In the Last Days, however, the time of the Antichrist, all these world empires are already past. The last world empire that remains for Satan is precisely that of his seventh and last head, the Antichrist.

This can also be seen from the fact that this beast is described in Rev 13:2 with all those characteristics which in the vision of Daniel (to be dealt with shortly below) characterized each of the four beasts in reverse order: like "a leopard/panther" (Greece), "and his feet were like those of a bear!" (Medo-Persia), "and his mouth was like the mouth of a lion" (Babylonia). 

These are all those world empires which Satan has ruled in the course of time through the human puppets he has appointed. But the last world empire now is something special – "it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns." That is how Daniel describes it in his vision, in which he saw – similarly to the beast seen by the apostle John in Rev 13 – four beasts coming up out of the sea

The World Empires in the Bible (LANDSCAPE)

(See also Discourse13: "Which world empires do the 7 (or 8) heads (or kings) of Revelation 17 represent?")

The Antichrist in Daniel: the fourth kingdom – Dan 7,7-8; 23 and 2,40.

Just as Daniel in his interpretation of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 2,40) saw "a fourth kingdom", one that is "as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things", so here in his own vision (Dan 7,7) he sees "a fourth beast" coming up out of sea, "dreadful and terrible and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet."

And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another.

Dan 7,3 And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. 7,4 The first was like a lion but had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and set up on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it. 7,5 And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and they said this to it: ‘Arise, devour much meat!’ 7,6 After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.

7,7 After this I kept looking in the night visions,
and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and extremely strong;
and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet;
and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.

7,8 While I was thinking about the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them,

and three of the previous horns were plucked out before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like human eyes, and a mouth uttering great boasts. Dan 7,3-8;

As in Rev 13, here again, in Dan 7 it is easts "coming up from the sea". And, as then "one of those standing there" explains to Daniel in Dan 7:17, "These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth." They are therefore, as in the dream scenario of Nebuchadnezzar, the third through the sixth of the seven world empires, namely Babylonia, Medo-Persia, Greece and the Roman Empire, but without the first two world empires Egypt and Assyria (see also the table above).

(See also table: "The World Empires in the Bible." above).

And now it is interesting to note the development of this beast (Satan). In the prophecies here following, it has initially seven heads and ten horns and the diadems / crowns are on the heads. Then it is described in reverse order, with ten horns and seven heads and the diadems / crowns sit on the horns. Finally it has only the horns, neither heads nor crowns rating any further mention.

Now this could be interpreted as a successive loss of power. First the beast is in power in the seven world kingdoms (heads) (with crowns). Then he has lost power in the world kingdoms (heads) (no more crowns) and only retains power in the ten kingdoms (horns with crowns). In the end, only the ten kingdoms (horns) are left, but he has no direct power over them (no crowns).

Rev 12,3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon
having seven heads and ten horns,
and on his
heads were seven diadems.
Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.

Rev 17,3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous
 names and had
seven heads and ten horns.

Rev 13,1 Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea,
having ten horns and seven heads,
and on his
horns were ten diadems,

Dan 7,7 After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, (…) and it had ten horns.

On closer inspection, however, we see that this is deceptive. It is not a loss of power, but – as already mentioned above – simply the passage of time. Six of these world empires have existed in the past 3500 years and are then, at the time of the last world empire, that of the Antichrist, in the past.

Now, if we pursue the text of Dan 7, the most instructive point for our purposes is the explanation of this vision that Daniel is given by "one of those who were standing by".

The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth which will be different from all the other kingdoms.

Dan 7,15 "As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within me, and the visions in my mind kept alarming me. 7,16 I approached one of those who were standing by and began requesting of him the exact meaning of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things:

7,17 ‘These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth.7, 18 But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and take possession of the kingdom forever, for all ages to come.’

7,19 "Then I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet,

7,20 and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head, and the other (according to Dan 7,8 above: "little one") horn

which came up, and before which three of the horns fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts, and which was larger in appearance than its associates. 7,21 I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and prevailing against them,

7,22 until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.

7,23 "This is what he said: ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth which will be different from all the other kingdoms, and will devour the whole earth and trample it down and crush it. 7,24 As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise;

and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will humble three kings.

7,25 And he will speak against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be handed over to him for a time, times, and half a time. Dan 7,15-25;

Let us first look at this fourth "kingdom" that Daniel describes here. It will be "different from all the other kingdoms". Those earlier kingdoms / world empires had always attained power only by battles and wars. In the history of the world, one nation has always defeated the other and taken over its power.

And actually this fourth kingdom, the Roman Empire, was also, and very notably, an empire that was conquered by battle and war. However, there were rudiments of democracy in ancient Rome as well. Around 500 BC, the king was overthrown by the Roman nobility. He was replaced by two consuls, each elected for one year, and a parliament (legislative assembly) with 300 members (the Senate). This was a very different political style from that practiced by the rulers of the three empires that preceded it.

But Rome also behaved quite differently from its predecessors in dealing with its defeated enemies. While Babylonians, Persians and Greeks defeated other peoples, plundered them and imposed tributes on them, Rome often left other people’s independent after having won the victory. Hence it even happened that kingdoms voluntarily allowed themselves to be incorporated into Roman rule because they could expect protection and support. So much, then, for democracy in the ancient Roman Empire.

And now let us take a leap into the present and ask ourselves whether this doesn’t somehow sound familiar? Right here, in the European Union, we have a very similar situation. Why, then, did these European states join the EU? Was it not because our politicians, expected protection and support (including financial support)? And why are other states still pushing to join the Union?

This interpretation of the fourth kingdom in Daniel (7:7.23), as a continuation of the Roman Empire through the slowly but steadily growing democratization of countries worldwide up to our own day, is based among other things on the following political facts:

Democracy has "crushed and shattered" many other empires in the past (German Empire, Habsburg Empire, Soviet Union, Tito’s Yugoslavia, all European kingdoms). And moreover, democracy is indeed a "world empire", inasmuch as almost half of the world’s population lives in a democracy. If all the democratic states of the world were placed under the control of a single ruler, he would be a world ruler.

In democracy the ruler, the sovereign, is the people of each country. And power in democracy is achieved through free elections and not through murder and manslaughter. This fourth "kingdom / world empire" is indeed entirely different from all previous world empires. And although democracy has not yet spread over the whole world, it will undoubtedly end up "consuming the whole earth and trampling it and crushing it".

We are therefore living, at this time (2022), in a very interesting period from a biblical point of view. We are currently witnessing Russia’s attack on Ukraine, and this should not go well for Russia in a time of global democracy. So if Russia still wins, then this interpretation is wrong. However, if Russia loses and Ukraine becomes a free democracy in the EU, then this interpretation is correct.

(See also Discourse 138: "The fourth world kingdom of Daniel: worldwide democracy.")

So, would this last "kingdom" be worldwide democracy after all? But where does that leave the Antichrist? – First of all, let us look at the first Antichrist. He will be a Jew who will appear in Israel and claim to be the real Messiah, saying that Jesus of Nazareth was an impostor. He will start by proclaiming the Mosaic faith and will be joyfully received in Israel, especially by the Orthodox Jews, who have always said that Jesus was an impostor.

Especially the Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jews have been waiting for a Messiah for more than two thousand years, after having condemned the real Messiah to death and delivered him over to crucifixion. But also, the Messianic Jews, who – like the Christians – expect the return of the Lord, will join the general enthusiasm in Israel and celebrate this impostor as the returned "Christ" (Hebrew: mashiach, Messiah / the anointed one).

Through the miracles that this false Messiah will work, he will be appointed by the enthusiastic people in Israel as their religious leader (little horn). And here we can now also make sense of the biblical text about the eleventh horn (still a small one), in Dan 7,24 above: "and this one will be different from the previous ones". He will not be elected, like the politicians in a democracy, but (as was the case with Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran) appointed as a religious leader.

Just as this false Messiah begins to prepare to take the world stage, the sign of the real Messiah, the Christ, who comes for the Rapture of his own, suddenly appears in the sky. He kills this first Antichrist with the breath of his mouth and leads the resurrected and the still living, transformed believers to heaven.

But Satan does not hesitate for long. He will raise this slain Antichrist from the dead again: "and the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority" (Rev 13:2), and he sends him up to earth again as a demon and second Antichrist. After his ascension from the abyss (Rev 11:7), the eleventh horn of the fourth kingdom, the second Antichrist, will kill the two witnesses of God in Jerusalem as the first thing he does.

Here is a small table, with the most important biblical references for the above commentary.

What we can also see from this table above is the power that this second, demonic Antichrist will exercise during his three and a half years of activity. In Dan 7,25 it says indeed only "and they will be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time". But according to Rev 13,8.16 "authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him."

And finally, Rev 13:4 and 8 allow us to see a very important connection. First, Rev 13:4: "They worshiped the dragon, because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like unto the beast? And who is able to wage war with him?’" And then Rev 13:8: "All who dwell on the earth will worship him." Here we have the undoubted proof that the power of this second Antichrist will spread all over the world.

The whole mankind will worship Satan and the second Antichrist as "God" and "Son of God". Thus Satan – the ape of God (according to Luther) – has achieved what he wanted: an aping of God and his Son.

The two witnesses of God

After the two witnesses had afflicted mankind with plagues of all kinds for three and a half years and all attempts to eliminate or kill them had been in vain, because they were invincible for humans and all attackers were killed by them immediately, people are now glad to have finally gotten rid of these two prophets of God thanks to this "risen Messiah".

The beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.

Rev 11,1 Then there was given to me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, "Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. 11,2 Leave out the courtyard which is outside the temple and do not measure it, because it has been given to the nations; and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. 11,3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 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; and 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 on the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 11,9 Those from the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not allow their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. 11,10 And those who live on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who live on the earth. Rev 11,1-10;

And after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them.

Rev 11,11 And 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." And they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. 11,13 And at that time there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. Rev 11,11-13;

From this we can recognize the second Antichrist: the one who "defeats, destroys, overcomes, kills the saints (...)" is always the second – the resurrected, demonic Antichrist. This is important above all because with this guidance we can correctly assign and interpret the respective context.

Dan 7,7 After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, (…) and it had ten horns

Dan 7,21 I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and prevailing against them

Dan 7,25 And he will speak against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One

Rev 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

Rev 13,1 Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, (…)

Rev 13,7 It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them

The other characteristic mark of the false Messiah, which we can also find in Dan 7:25 and in as well as Rev 13:5-6, is the fact that this second, demonic Antichrist "will speak out against the Most High", i.e. against God, and he "opened his mouth to blaspheme against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle and those who have their tabernacle in heaven"; and furthermore "there was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies."

Another important insight, namely the period of activity of the second Antichrist, can be found in Dan 7,25: "a time, times and half a time" and in Rev 13,5: "and authority to work for 42 months was given to him," that is, three and a half years. What also becomes apparent in this context is the total duration of the activity, both of the two witnesses and of the second Antichrist.

According to Rev 11,2, the two witnesses of God will prophesy for 1260 days – parallel to the period of rule of the first Antichrist – and then, when they have completed their testimony, according to Rev 13,11, the second Antichrist will come up out of the abyss, kill them and then exercise power himself for three and a half years. This results in a total period of seven years, which again could be the seventieth week of years.

(See also working table 22: "Synopsis of the two antichrists.")

The other beast from the earth – the false prophet – Rev 13.

And he causes all,  (…), to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead.

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.

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. Rev 13,11-17;

And now, after this false Messiah / Christ has actually "risen", possibly even the Catholic Church and the Pope, who may well have hesitated a little to begin with, will succumb to the temptation to have power over the whole world. The Pope will join the general, by now worldwide enthusiasm and declare this demonic, second Antichrist to be the "Son of God" who has come back. The Pope would then be the second beast that John sees rising out of the earth in Rev 13,11, the false prophet (and the Catholic Church Babylon? Rev 18!).

With the support of the Catholic Church and its 1.3 billion members (with 50 million demons?), as well as the thousands of churches throughout the world, the Antichrist in Jerusalem thus has the necessary logistics and infrastructure to expand his power globally. He will no longer represent the Mosaic faith, but will have himself and his "Father", the dragon, worshiped as gods and have his image set up in the temple in Jerusalem. ("And in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifices and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate […]." Dan 9:27).

As a result he will finally be rejected by the Orthodox Jews again, but since he will be recognized as "God" worldwide by now, this will not bother him unduly. And so too the text in Dan 7,20 is to be understood in relation to the initially small horn: "that horn… which was larger in appearance than its associates."

Perhaps then also the Pope will decree that in all Catholic churches worldwide the Jesus crosses and pictures are to be taken down, and replaced with a large TV screen (or hologram?), so that the image of the beast, the second Antichrist, can speak to the faithful.

The dream of Nebuchadnezzar – Dan 2,40-43.

As already mentioned above, it was actually the prophet Daniel who first reported this prophecy of the world empires. In fact, he did this twice. Once in his own vision, which we have already treated above, in Dan 7,15-25. The first time, however, it was in the dream vision of Nebuchadnezzar, the ruler of Babylon, in Dan 2:31-41, where Daniel interpreted the king’s dream of a statue by the help of God.

There was a single great statue; that statue was large and of extraordinary splendor.

Dan 2,31 "You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome. 31,32 "The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, 31,33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 31,34 "You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. 31,35 "Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Dan 2,31-35;

As can then be seen from Daniel’s interpretation of this dream below (Dan 2:37-44), Nebuchadnezzar received a prophecy in this dream about his kingdom and the world empires that would come after him. The head of gold is Nebuchadnezzar’s own kingdom, that is, Babylonia. The breast and arms of silver stand for the Medo-Persian Empire, which replaced Babylonia as the pre-eminent power.

The belly and thighs of bronze represent Greece, whose armies under Alexander the Great were able to defeat the Persians, making Greece a world power. And finally, the legs of iron represent the Roman Empire, which took over world domination from the Greeks around 146 BC.

The feet and the toes partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom.

Dan 2,37 "You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory; 3,38 and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold. 2,39 "After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth.

2,40 "Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron;
inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces.

2,41 "In that you saw the feet

and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay.

2,42 And just as the toes

of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong, and part of it will be fragile. 2,43 In that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men;; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery. Dan 2,37-43;

This now is the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, and his version of that event of which we have read above in the Revelation of John and in Daniel. Since all these prophecies are based on world history and its world empires, they are of course largely identical in the "format, though always varying somewhat in terms of content.

But it is precisely these differences which can be of great help to us in the interpretation of the texts, and especially when it is a question of determining the true context. In this sense the circumstance that in this dream – in contrast with the other two prophecies – the fourth empire is to be seen with the legs also as the Roman empire, but then afterwards – in keeping with the structure of the human skeleton – yet another "foot empire", and what is more even a "toe empire" is mentioned, is the first indication that this fourth empire must have a continuation in the other revelations as well.

Although we can interpret this realization in a geographical sense as well, it does not matter in the end because the Antichrist will act on a worldwide scale anyway. Of course, we want, in this connection, to analyze the political-religious background, and here we find confirmation of the fact that, after the Roman Empire in world history, there is another "foot kingdom", which here, at Immanuel.at, following on after the "legs" of the Roman Empire, is interpreted as the worldwide democracy of our time. And in the time of this worldwide democracy the Antichrist will appear and, as described above, as a resurrected second Antichrist in the last of all human kingdoms on earth (the "kingdom of the toes"), he will take over world domination himself.

(See also Discourse 98: "The fifth kingdom in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar: America?")

But the text above, in Dan 2,41, gives us yet another insight into this eschatological event. If we study it more closely, we recognize the same constellation in the "kingdom of the feet" as we find in the figure of the Antichrist. Although he is a single person, he will appear on the world stage a second time through his resurrection.

And it is a similar situation with his kingdoms: the "kingdom of the feet" – that is, the worldwide democracy in which he will come to power as the first Antichrist in Israel – is indeed a single kingdom (the toes included), but the "kingdom of the toes" is mentioned separately as a "kingdom" in its own right. And it is therefore also this "kingdom of the toes" in which he will then ascend from the abyss as the second Antichrist, after his resurrection, and will attain to absolute world power as ruler and "God"..

And just as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong, and part of it will be fragile.

Dan  2,41 In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with [as]common clay. 2,42 As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. 2,43 And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery. 2,44 In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be eft for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. Dan 2,41-44;

(See also Table 03: "The historical world empires and their effects on Israel.")

It is of course already unusual that in Dan 2,41 the toes are mentioned separately at all. The term "feet" usually includes the toes. But then we have a more specific indication in the next verse: "As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle." Thus the "kingdom of the toes" is also a kingdom of its own.

And this now cannot refer back, to the "kingdom of the feet", because this was already mentioned in Dan 2,41 "In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron". The "kingdom of the toes" is therefore a kingdom in its own right, the kingdom of the second, demonic Antichrist. We also recognize from the ten toes, which represent the ten horns of the beast (the kings of the end times), that this will be the very last kingdom of this world before the Millennium.

So let us summarize: in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel recognizes in the statue of the dream the empires of this world (Dan 2:32-33.42) – without Egypt and Assyria at the beginning of the world history, but with democracy and the rule of the Antichrist at its end.

1.  The head of gold (Dan 2,32) – the first kingdom – Babylon

2.  The breast and arms of silver (Dan 2,32) – the second kingdom – Medo-Persian empire

3.  The belly and thighs of bronze (Dan 2,32) – the third kingdom – the empire of Alexander

4. The legs of iron (Dan 2,33) – the fourth kingdom – the Roman empire

5.  The feet, partly of iron and partly of clay (Dan 2,33) – the fifth kingdom – worldwide democracy

6.  And the toes of the feet, partly of iron and partly of pottery (Dan 2,42) – the sixth kingdom – rule of the Antichrist

And now it is interesting that Daniel mentions "iron" as a common feature in these last three kingdoms – thighs, feet and toes (2:40-43), although the Roman Empire, democracy and especially the rule of the Antichrist cannot have anything in common. But he gives us a hint in verse 43: "they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery."

So, iron and clay are somehow supposed to represent characteristics of human behavior: people do not "adhere" to each other, just as iron cannot be mixed with clay. This can – or even must – be a psychological reference. Solidarity is missing, people have no connection, no relationship to each other anymore, they lack mutual love. And here the discourse of our Lord on the Last Days comes to my mind:

Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.

Mt 24,7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 24,8 "But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. 24,9 "Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 24,10 "At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. 24,11 "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. 24,12 "Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. 24,13 "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. Mt 24,7-13;

Just like Paul, in 2The 2,7 above, the Lord too speaks here of "lawlessness". And like Daniel, he also says that the love of most people will grow cold in this future time, they will no longer "adhere" to each other. Put simply, then, it is a matter of how people treat each other, of their character. But this would give us an interpretation of the other metals in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

Evidently there is a relation between the quality of the metals and the quality of people’s relationships with each other. If in the last kingdom of the world (iron) the love of most will have grown cold, then at the beginning, in Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonia (gold), it must have been very intense. However, there is still a question to be clarified here.

It is noticeable that in all of the first four of the world empires mentioned just a single metal is indicated – Babylonia with gold, Medo-Persia with silver, Greece with bronze and the Roman Empire with iron. Only from the fifth kingdom, the world empire of democracy (as we understand it), does this mixture of iron with clay begin. And here the question arises: clay is not a metal, so what is actually meant by "clay"?

If we want to follow the system that has been outlined here, we could say that there is no metal of inferior quality to iron, on the one hand; while on the other hand, it is no longer a matter of "love grown cold", but already of direct hatred, so that the "loamy clay" (which could also be translated as "excremental clay"), would be the most suitable material. And here too the Lord tells us above, in his discourse on the Last Days: "You will be hated by all nations because of My name."

We will be hated by all nations because of the name of the Lord – that is, because of Christ, because we are Christians. And now we can also see what is meant here by the "clay", as a symbol for hatred: it is the ungodly who hate the Christians. But this also answers the question of who the "iron" stands for.

The "iron", and indeed the other metals in general, represent in their respective quality not only the love of the people for each other, but also the willingness of the people in the different world empires to believe in this God of the Bible. These two human qualities – love and faith – were very pronounced in the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar, and have since become successively less and less.

In the time of the fifth kingdom, the age of democracy, people’s faith in God will be lost for the most part (even without the Antichrist!), and will turn into the opposite, into godlessness and finally into hatred of those who still believe in this God. And so then also the statement in Dan 2,43 is to be understood: "And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery."

The translation’s reference to "combining in the seed of men" (Dan 2,43) is a euphemistic paraphrase for sexual intercourse, and shows that even the hatred of the ungodly for the Christians cannot prevent them from begetting children with them. This proves, by the way, that the human procreative instinct, which the Catholic Church has tried in vain to fight, with its priestly celibacy and the painful excesses of asceticism, is given by God and is impossible for man to eradicate.

With the loss of these two above-mentioned qualities, however, the loss of mutual respect and esteem throughout mankind is the inevitable consequence. At first almost imperceptibly and subtly, then later more and more openly and boldly, people will lie to each other, deceive each other and treat each other in deceitful and underhand ways.

Eventually, organized crime will become the norm at all levels, whether in politics, business, or the internet, and people will not only lie and cheat each other, but fight and kill each other. Police and the judiciary will be just as corrupt as the rest of the population and chaos will become the system. – And that is how it will be worldwide!

And that will then probably be the moment when this false Messiah in Israel appears on the world stage. His demonic miracles will bring it about that the situation slowly calms down again, and a certain normality returns. Of course, this comes at the price of now having to worship a "God" all over the world. Having spurned the true God, they will now cheer and acclaim this impostor.

The end of the second Antichrist – the battle of Har-Magedon (Rev 16; 17; 19; 20).

The gathering to the battle.

At the end of his reign, this second Antichrist must then fight against the Son of God and his heavenly army in the battle of Har-Magedon. Now the Antichrist is indeed the ruler of a world empire, but as a false Messiah he is a religious figure who has achieved his power on the religious level by deception, and is therefore quite different from the other rulers (Dan 7,7.24) who have fought for their power on the battlefield.

And so – like the Pope in our day – he has no army of his own and has to convince the secular powers, the "(ten) horned kings" to fight for him. Therefore, he and his false prophet, together with the dragon, Satan, send three demonic spirits to the kings of the world, to have them fight on their side with their armies.

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 16,12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east. 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. 16,15 ("Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.") 16,16 And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon. Rev 16,12-16;

It is astonishing that even the kings from the orient (the east) follow the call of the Antichrist with their armies to fight with him against the Son of God in Har-Magedon. This makes it look as if the Antichrist will unite not only the religions of the West, i.e. secular Christianity in the broadest sense as well as Orthodox and Messianic Jews, but also the religions of the East, i.e. Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism (China) etc. under his rule. Here, then, what has always been dreamed of in Catholicism would become reality: an international ecumenism "under the umbrella of the one and only great Catholic Church".

However, if you consider the religious loyalty of today’s Muslims, whether in Iran or Saudi Arabia, and especially the intransigence of the Islamists, it is rather doubtful whether these people will voluntarily abandon their faith. Unless, that is, he can also sell himself to Muslims as the "Messiah" promised in Islam. It seems, however, as if the Antichrist will influence all people spiritually in such a way that even strict religious believers will abandon their religions and worship only Satan and the Antichrist.

And it is only when we consider this possibility that we realize the full implications of these biblical prophecies, and the terrible reality of what they tell us:

Rev 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 13,16 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.

Dan 7,25 He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law;
and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.

These kings who "come from the east" therefore obviously also belong to the "10 horns / kings" of the kingdom of Antichrist. Since Rev 16,14 also refers to "the kings of the whole world", it can be assumed that the number 10 is to be interpreted here symbolically, as the "number of worldly totality or completeness" (12 stands for heavenly completeness). This symbolism of course also applies to the "10 toe kingdom".

As we have read above, Satan, the Antichrist and the false prophet send three spirits to these kings of the whole world to dope them spiritually and induce them to go to war. From this it can be concluded that the Antichrist has no army of his own, because his believers have to defend him as the supposed "God" on earth. These kings of the whole world therefore give their power and authority to Satan / the Antichrist.

And also the Son of God, the "Word of God", comes to the battle with his heavenly army of the "called, chosen and faithful". The sword that goes out of his mouth is that sword with which he killed the first Antichrist at his Second Coming for the Rapture. Now here, in the battle of Har-Magedon, he will use it to fight against the second Antichrist.

The ten kings and the beast will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings.

Rev 17,12 "The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. 17,13 "These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. 17,14 "These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful." Rev 17,12-14;

The Word of God and the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.

Rev 19,11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 19,12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 19,13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

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." Rev 19,11-16;

Just to revert to the sword – most interpreters take this sword to be symbolic, but I personally am of the opinion, that it is not! Based on my experience from the last thirty years, when interpreting scriptural texts we let ourselves be guided far too much by our earthly conceptions.

I came to realize this when I analyzed the "battle in heaven "battle in heaven". In the end, I had a completely new understanding not just of the connections and circumstances to be found in heaven, but also about its inhabitants. Then it became clear to me: God is an extra-terrestrial. And circumstances in the timeless (eternal) dimension of God are completely different than with us here on earth.

And this is not just a cheap "science fiction interlude", but simple reality. Only very few commentators deal so intensively with the analysis of the biblical texts and try to translate them into our earthly conceptions, on the one hand, while on the other most of those who would like to do so are afraid, they will not to be taken seriously, and so take the easy way out – and that is the reason why such a subject is never even mentioned, let alone openly spoken of.

Finally, it might be noted that the history of the Antichrist is not unlike the history of the Roman Empire. Just as Caesar, through his popularity among the citizens of Rome, was able to eliminate the Senate's ability to act, so too can the first Antichrist eliminate democracy, and just as Augustus then assumed rule as the first emperor of Rome, so too will the second Antichrist assume his world dominion.

The battle of Har-Magedon.

The beast and the kings of the earth gathered to make war against him who sits upon the horse.

Rev 19,17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, "Come, gather for the great supper of God, 19,18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great." 19,19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who sits upon the horse and against his army. Rev 19,17-19;

And just as was the case with the battle in heaven two thousand years ago, Satan, who manifests himself in the spirit of the Antichrist, overestimates himself. He cannot win this battle either. And so, the armies of the worldly kings will be slain with the sword of the Son of God, and the demonic Antichrist and his false prophet are thrown alive into the lake of fire.

And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet ; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire.

Rev 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 19,20-21;

(See also Chapter 07: "The Battle of Armageddon.".)

Satan bound in the abyss for a thousand years

Satan, the dragon, will be bound and thrown into the abyss for the thousand years of the now dawning Millennium, and then the Millennium will dawn, the nnial Kingdom of Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Speaking of the Millennium, some commentators deny the existence of this millennial period altogether, while others claim that during this period there will be no sinners, only believers. – You need to look for a trustworthy biblical commentator here.

And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

Rev 20,1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 20,2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 29,3 and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. Rev 20,1-3;

The last battle.

After the Millennium, Satan will be released again for a short time. He will then gather the people who will come to him "like the sand of the seashore" (this after a thousand years of theocracy!!) and with their help will try again one last time to fight against God in Jerusalem. But there these masses of people will be destroyed by fire falling from heaven, and Satan himself will finally be thrown into the lake of fire.

And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also.

Rev 20,7 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 20,8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. 20,9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 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 20,7-10;

The Great Tribulation – classified by events. (LANDSCAPE)

Synopsis of the two Antichrists.