Let us now read II Thes.2: 1-9. The coming of the Lord will be preceded by THE FALLING AWAY, FIRSTLY, and the REVELATION OF THE MAN OF SIN, THE SON OF PERDITION, SECONDLY. He will sit as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. He is not yet revealed because the Holy Spirit is restraining him. The moment he is revealed, the Lord will consume him with the breath of his Mouth and will destroy with the brightness of His coming. It is now very clear that the coming of the Lord will be preceded by the revelation of the son of perdition. The works of the Antichrist and the False Prophet as revealed in the book of Daniel and in the book of Revelation do take place in the spiritual realm, not visible to our eyes. We will come to know about him only at the time of his revelation when he will sit as God in the Temple of God. Here also, he will not sit bodily in the physical temple of God in Jerusalem. Sitting as God in the temple of God means the world’s acceptance of a god other than the true God. To the Muslims, he will reveal himself as Prophet Jesus Whom they are awaiting. To the Christians who are deceived, he will reveal himself as the Lord Jesus. To the Jews, he will reveal himself as the Messiah. To the Hindus, he will reveal himself as Lord Krishna (of the international Hare Krishna movement).

Paul in his epistle to Thessalonians wrote, “The mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way”. This means that the power of the Devil as a mystery is already at work. This is not something new, which will happen at the close of the age. The work begun by the spirit of Antichrist will reach its peak in the last of last days. The Devil and his representatives are already at work.

After receiving many visions concerning the Antichrist, Daniel could not understand the same and asked the Lord, “O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?” The Lord replied, “Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end” (Dan.12:8-9). When did begin “the time of the end”? Paul in his epistle to Thessalonians starts opening the seal of the book of Daniel. Similarly, John in his epistles reveals us about the Antichrist and the antichrists. The time of the end began when Paul and John started writing about the Antichrist. Paul in his epistle to Thessalonians quotes from the book of Daniel and says that the man of sin, the son of perdition would sit as God in the Temple whom the Lord will destroy during His second advent.

We should not attempt to interpret the book of Daniel without knowing what Paul and John have written in their epistles. For us, the epistles of these two apostles are a key to the sealed prophetic book of Daniel. The numbers and figures, the symbols and the images given in the prophetic book of Daniel are only allegorical. The same should not be interpreted in a literal sense.

Till this day as you read this message, the Antichrist is not yet revealed. When he is revealed in the world, we will come to know of him. He will be revealed in flesh and blood. He may be an apostate Christian from the Jewish race. Paul reveals this person as “the Wicked”, “the man of sin”, and “the son of perdition”.

Antichrists

John wrote in I John 4:3, “Ye have heard that it (the spirit of Antichrist) should come; and even now already is it in the world”. When John wrote this epistle in the first century, it is seen that the spirit of Antichrist was already at work in the world. This means that the spirit of Antichrist is already at work in the world but is not yet revealed. The Antichrist is a spiritual being, and not a king in flesh and blood. However, there are antichrists in the world that are human beings in flesh and blood. John wrote in his epistle I John 2:18-19, “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us…” Even when John wrote this epistle, antichrists were there and that period was known as “the last time”. As such, we can call this time as the last of last days. It is apparent that those people who are with us today would go away and would become antichrists as had happened during the New Testament period. This is a very dangerous thing, which should serve as a revelation to us.

John writes, “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist….Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son” (II John 1:7-9).

Many religious leaders including Jews have not confessed that Jesus Christ, the Messiah or the Savior of the world, was manifested in flesh. The so-called Christians who call themselves as born-again Christians transgress and do not abide in the doctrine of Christ. They deny Jesus Christ through their lives today.

King of an invisible kingdom

The Antichrist is the king of an invisible kingdom, which will become powerful in the last of last days. This invisible kingdom will be visible to us through its world rulers. He influences some political leaders or the rulers of some powerful Christian nations to do his own will. If he influences non-Christian nations, we can easily identify him and his hidden agenda against the Church. In some Christian nations, certain laws are being passed which will directly affect the Church. These rulers, in order to win the great multitudes of non-Christian population in their countries and other nations, will compromise the Word of God and the Christian faith.

The visible political leaders will be puppets in the hands of the invisible king who is not yet revealed. A hidden king will control these visible political leaders with a remote control in his hand. It is an invisible and invincible kingdom, which will become powerful politically and spiritually. It will prosper through flatteries and deception. The puppet national leaders will dance to the tune of this invisible king. THEY WILL NOT LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF THE BODY OF CHRIST, THE CHURCH. This kingdom will prosper through violence and war. These leaders will declare war against other nations at will. They will take sword to annihilate their enemies, which is quite contrary to the doctrines of Christ. The people of those nations under the rule of these visible rulers will be greatly influenced by the flatteries of these rulers.

If the Antichrist reveals himself through an earthly king today, we can easily identify him. However, he is a spiritual being, functioning directly under the power of the Devil. It is saddening to note from the prophecies that he has cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them (Dan.8: 9-10). Some of the host and of the stars could be anointed servants of God or some Christian rulers, who were shining in the kingdom of God.

We should thank God for the book of Daniel and for the New Testament books of John’s and Paul’s Epistles and the book of Revelation.

Holy Covenant

The “holy covenant” means the covenant of God with His people through the blood of Jesus and not the Old Covenant. The Antichrist will wage war against the Church, the body of Christ. With the power of the Devil, He and his forces including the False Prophet will defile the sanctuary. The sanctuary does not mean the physical sanctuary in the Jerusalem Temple. The Antichrist will have nothing against the physical Israel who have not accepted Christ. They are not the holy people under the New Covenant.

Today we find that the defilement of the sanctuary has already begun with the sin entering the holy place in the body of Christ. The “daily sacrifice” means the sacrifice of the people of God in the body of Christ. This does not mean the “daily sacrifice” of the physical Jews in the synagogue. The Devil is not afraid of the traditional sacrifice of the physical Jews in the synagogue who have not yet accepted Christ.

This beast is the Antichrist and is the head of a hidden kingdom not visible to our eyes. Similarly, the beast is also a spiritual being, an invisible king, and not a king in flesh whom we can see. He heads a mighty political, religious and economic kingdom. He has seven heads and ten horns. There are ten crowns upon his ten horns. It is a confederated ten-kingdom empire. It is typical of the tyrannical rule of ancient Rome that started persecuting the Christians.

Ten kings' confederated kingdom

Let us now turn to Rev.18:9-14 to know more about the earthly kings through whom the first beast reign. The beast has seven heads likened to seven kings. The seven heads are the seven reigns that were affiliated with the beast, of which five reigns had already passed, and the 6th reign was in its term of office while the Revelation was given to John; the 7th reign would come later and would be a short one and then the eighth would be the humdinger. The ten horns which John saw are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet, but would receive power as kings one hour with the beast. As such, the ten kings’ cartel will serve with the 8th reign for a short time. The beast uses the ten kings’ confederated kingdom to align what he wants to do so as to destroy and take control of this world. This confederated kingdom would receive power as kings one hour with the beast. This confederated kingdom has one mind and would give their power and strength unto the beast. This means that this confederated earthly kingdom would surrender itself to the invisible beast. One hour is not an hour, in a literal sense, according to our earthly clock. It is a prophetic figure showing a very short period of time. I believe this confederated kingdom has already received power from the beast and now rules this world under the leadership of the invisible beast and that this confederated kingdom has already given their power and strength to the beast. We can discern this truth by knowing through the media of press and television what the world rulers do.

This unseen beast uses as puppets the ten kings’ confederated kingdom. In verse 2, we find the dragon gave the beast his power and his seat, and great authority. In other words, this invisible kingdom of the beast functions under the power and the authority of the dragon, the devil. It is the delegated power of the devil.

Appearance of the beast

“And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion” (Vs.2). This is the appearance of the beast. A leopard runs swiftly to catch its prey. Likewise the beast catches its prey. Its feet were as the feet of a bear. The feet of the beast are so strong that it tramples its prey. Its mouth is like the mouth of a lion. It has the carnivorous teeth of a lion to eat its prey. All this shows a mighty and strong kingdom which enjoys all political, religious and economic powers. This invisible kingdom is visible through its powers. It influences the rulers or the kings of the earth who are opposed to Christ. Through the visible, we can reach the invisible. It persecutes the Body of Christ, the Church in all ages.

Head wounded to death

“And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed; and all the world wondered after the beast” (Vs.3)

The book of Revelation is allegorical in its content. One of his heads was wounded to death. The wound was caused to the visible, and not to the invisible. Through the visible, we can reach the invisible. Many tyrannical kings did rise up in the past. Even now also there are some of them in our midst. Many more will rise up in future also. A tyrannical king will rule only for a short time and then will be overcome by its people or by an alien nation. He is thus wounded to death. His wound is then healed. This means another tyrannical king will step into his shoes. It need not happen in the same nation. It can happen in some other nation.

The kingdom of Nazis was headed by Hitler. He was overthrown by the Allies during the Second World War. The beast was thus wounded to death. Again after some years, the communists stepped into the shoes of Nazis and started persecuting the Body of Christ. This means that the wound of the beast was healed. The kingdom of the beast has its political, economic and religious wings. On the economic front, the beast supports the Babylonian system of world governance through its global economic policies. It entrenches itself on the world economy through its Dollar diplomacy. When the WTC towers collapsed due to the terrorists’ attack in Sept.2001, the beast was wounded to death. Now its wound has been healed with the passage of time. Please note that the beast represents a global economic system that is powerful enough to topple the government of any nation. It is not confined to the borders of any particular state. The first beast emerges out of the sea, and not out of the earth. Sea prophetically means nations or peoples.

Beast promoting all religions

On the religious front, the beast promotes all the religions of the world. If one of the religions is hated by the other religionists, it comes to the rescue of that particular religion. In Muslim countries, the beast promotes Islam but causes antipathy towards the other religionists. It wounds to death the other religions. The same beast causes hatred towards the Islam in other non-Muslim countries. It wounds to death the Islam in these nations. When in one nation it promotes one particular religion, in other nations, it causes hatred towards the same religion. In the name of religions, the beast sheds the blood of thousands of people throughout the world. Its religious head is thus wounded to death in one place but, at the same time, it is being healed in another place.

World wondering after the beast

All the world wondered after the beast saying, “Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” The entire world wondered after the ancient Rome. The entire world wondered after the beast. The entire world wondered after Hitler. The entire world wondered after the communist rulers. The entire world wondered after the WARSAW powers. The entire world wondered after the NATO powers. All the people wondered after the super powers of USA and USSR. The list goes on like this. Recently when the US and its allies overran Iraq, the world wondered, “Who is able to make war with him (the super power of USA)?”

Any earthly king who causes bloodshed by violence or by war is of the kingdom of the first beast. The earthly king concerned is the visible whereas the beast is the invisible. Through the visible, we can know the invisible.

Mouth speaking great things

“And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months” (Vs.5)

A mouth speaking great things and blasphemies! Many national and political rulers speak great things and blasphemies. While delivering speeches to the citizens of their nations, they speak like God. They arrogate themselves to the Throne of God and give false promises of security to their peoples. They believe in rhetoric and not in actions.

Power for a short period

Let us note that here power was given unto the beast to continue forty and two months. We find that the two witnesses prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days. This shows that the Christian witnesses have a longer period of ministry than the beast that has only forty and two months. This figure should not be taken in a literal sense. It is a prophetic figure for a short period. This means that the beast is active only during a season. Praise the Lord! God has given him only a limited period to rule his kingdom. For the people of God, the period of grace is much longer than the period of the rule of the beast. The beast cannot afflict the Body of Christ all the time but only for a short period, whereas the Body of Christ through the Christian witnesses can trample the devil and his kingdom always.

Blasphemy against God and war against the saints

“And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His Name, and His Tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven” (Vs.6)

Many national rulers do open their mouths against God. In some Christian nations, the Name of God is being removed from their statute books. These rulers openly speak ill of God and His Tabernacle, the Body of Christ. They also speak ill of the saints in glory. There has been affliction against the Body of Christ in all nations including Christian nations.

“And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations” (Vs.7)

The beast was given power over all the nations. No nation is exempted from his influence or power. He makes war with the saints in the Body of Christ. He can overcome the saints if they do not heed to the truth and if they do not form part of the Body of Christ.

Worshiping the beast

“And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Vs.8)

Today we find many people worship the beast knowingly or unknowingly. In non-Christian nations, there are many gods and goddesses that take the glory of God. In Christian nations, there are idols of materialism or idols of gold and silver. Witchcrafts, sorcery and astrology are spreading like wild fire all over the world.

Another beast coming up out of the earth

The second beast has two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon (Vs.11). He is coming up out of the earth (the bottomless pit), and not out of the sea like the first beast. This beast is in direct contact with the powers of darkness in the bottomless pit. He is the mouthpiece of the first beast. He executes the orders of the first beast.

Horns of a lamb and speech of dragon

He has only two horns, whereas the first beast has ten horns. His two horns are like a lamb. He pretends to be a lamb with his horns. He is a deceiver and imitator. He imitates the work of the Holy Ghost. He has no qualities of a lamb. He speaks as a dragon. He is very intelligent and speaks as a dragon. The term “dragon” is generally used for Net work speech solutions. Whatever we speak orally, it is converted into text.

Through speeches of national leaders, the beast mesmerizes the audience. Through speeches of religious leaders, it deceives the people. The speeches of these leaders get converted into law in the hearts of the people. Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran gave a commandment to his people to kill an Indian writer and the people in the Muslim world accepted it as the will of God. Many religious leaders give orders to their followers to kill those who are opposed to their ideologies or doctrines. When the American President George Bush addressed his nation justifying the Iraqi war, many people of God accepted his message as inspired by God. But ultimately they were deceived.

Worship towards the first beast

“And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed “(Vs.12).

The second beast, the False Prophet, exercises all the powers of the Antichrist, the first beast. The False Prophet exercises all the powers of the Antichrist. There is only one seat of authority and power. The second beast makes the people of the world worship the first beast. The second beast does not want the people to worship him. This is the height of deception. If he takes the glory for himself, the people will come to know of his deceits. The so-called national or religious leaders do not ask the people to worship them but exhort them to worship a god who is different from the God of the Bible.

The second beast influences the puppet national leaders to glorify the first beast. The second beast makes the national leaders dance to the tune of the first beast. The first beast, the Antichrist, manifests himself through the False Prophet. In fact, the invisible first beast represents the state power combined with the religious power, which is against the God of righteousness. Every government of the nation suppresses and tramples the truth and the righteousness, under the influence of the False Prophet, who draws his authority and power from the first beast.

Any form of worship towards any god other than God the Father, the true living God Who is revealed through His only Begotten Son Jesus Christ as revealed in the gospels is made towards the first beast only. Any nominal Christian who does not know Christ personally and offers his/her worship formally in a church service offers his worship towards the first beast only because he does not know the God he/she worships. He/she only offers worship through his/her lips towards some god he/she does not know.

We find that the state powers of the super powers are becoming stronger day by day. Of course, the state powers want religions to support them in the same manner the Roman Catholic Church supported the repressive Roman Empire. There are many states that promote their own religions and if there is any dissident voice against their religious practices or doctrines, that voice is suppressed by the state powers. We now see the state powers promoting the religions of their choices so that the state powers become strong.

Fire from heaven

“And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men” (Vs.13).

The second beast does great wonders. These days, we find in modern wars use of sophisticated missiles and bombs. Any ruler who uses missiles or any destructive weapons that bring down fire from heaven to destroy his enemies has already fallen into the hands of this beast. All over the world, people watch this event through televisions.

He deceives the people who dwell on the earth by means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast (Vs.14). We find the worship of the state powers that make great inventions in science and technology.

The people who dwell on the earth do worship the super powers of this world. The super powers of the communist world under the hegemony of USSR collapsed. However, China is emerging as the super powers of the communist world. The USA emerges as the super powers in the world of democracy. The people of this world look unto the super powers of the USA for bettering their standards of life. If the wheels of the USA’s economy slow down, the economy of those nations that are dependent upon the USA will be affected.

Image of the beast

The people of this world worship the god of materialism that is propped by the Super Powers of this world. They want better standards of lives but not the God of the Bible. They want religions to make them rich but not the God of the Bible who makes them rich in Christ Jesus.

The people of this world make an image of the beast under the influence of the second beast. Image is visible whereas the reality is invisible. The reality is the first beast who reigns over a kingdom. In this kingdom, his image is set by the people of this world. The image need not be a visible idol.

The people who dwell on the earth covet material prosperity and worship it. Material prosperity is a visible image of the unseen beast. To get at material prosperity, they kill even their own kiths and skins. They want a god of materialism who gives them material prosperity and thus fall into the hands of the beast.

They want a religious god who overlooks their sins and allows them to live in sin and thus fall into the hands of the beast. Those who worship such a religious god condemn sin but do not preach Jesus Christ. These people preach very good messages on morals and ethics. In the churches, the preachers under the influence of the Antichrist exhort the people to forsake sins but do not present the entire Personality of Jesus Christ. Instead, they ask the people to follow certain dos’ and don’ts of the Law. This is the height of deception in the churches.

They want a god of power who gives them power and authority over the people so that they can oppress the weak and entrench themselves in positions of power and authority.

Material prosperity, religion and power do form part of the visible image of the invisible beast.

The people of this world make such an image of the beast and worship it. You can find this image everywhere, even in the churches of God today.

The second beast had power to give life unto the image of the beast that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed (Vs.15). The False Prophet is giving life to the image of the beast. Material prosperity, power and religion go together and we cannot separate one from the other two. He blinds the eyes of the people to the gospel of Christ and turns them over to the Antichrist, the first beast. Before the eyes of the people, the False Prophet magnifies the image of the beast and thus gives life to it. The image of the beast speaks to the people of this world. They do not want to hear what God speaks to them through His Son. Instead, they want to hear what the image speaks to them.

Killing those who do not worship the beast

Those who do not worship the image are killed by the False Prophet. The people of God who do not worship the image of the Antichrist are being persecuted by the False Prophet through the state powers propped by the religious heads. The people of God are being killed by the second beast. During the persecution of Christians during the rule of Roman Empire during 13th to 16th centuries, many Christians were killed.

Jesus prophesied that in the last days there would be a tribulation for the people of God. They would be delivered up to councils i.e. judgment seats of the state powers; they would be beaten in the synagogues (in the churches) and would be brought “before rulers and kings” for His sake “for a testimony against them” (Mark 13:9). It is very clear that the true children of God would be brought before rulers and kings in this world because these rulers and kings would be against the Body of Christ. In every nation, there is persecution against the Body of Christ by the state powers.

Killing does not only mean physical death but also the spiritual death of the people of God. By preaching false doctrines from the pulpits of the churches, those pastors or church leaders under the influences of the False Prophet, cause the spiritual death of the flock under their care.

Many church leaders or ministers of God have seen lying visions and revelations given by the False Prophet and have thus been deceived. Falling into the captivity of the False Prophet, they also lead their flocks into the captivity of the False Prophet. “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity; he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints” (Vs.10). These preachers that lead their congregations into captivity go into captivity themselves. Those who spiritually kill their congregations would be spiritually killed by the False Prophet with his sword. Let the people of God be careful so as to guard their faith.

Mark of the beast

The False Prophet causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads (Vs.16). It is neither a physical mark like tattoo nor an electronic mark in their bodies. It is a spiritual mark on your spirit by which you are identified. If you are a child of God washed by the Blood of Jesus and baptized into the one Body of Christ Jesus, the Antichrist cannot put his mark on you. If your right hand does the work of the devil or his Antichrist, you will get his mark. If you worship the image of the beast, you will get his mark on your forehead.

The False Prophet deceives the people of God by making them worship the state powers so that he makes a mark on their foreheads. God has set in the Church the apostles and prophets so that these ministers expose the doctrines of the False Prophet and warn the people of God. Let us heed the apostles and prophets in the Body of Christ.

No man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name (Vs.17). If you do not have the mark of the beast, you cannot buy or sell the gospel or the truth. Buying or selling does not mean trading in a commodity. I do not believe the theory that in the last days the False Prophet will not allow the people of God to sell or buy any provisions or commodities in departmental stores, etc. Since the power of the Antichrist is derived mostly from his economic wing, he will not stand in the way of the people of God acquiring assets tangible or intangible. Rather, he would be happy to see the people of God sell or buy assets or properties.

It means buying the gospel or the truth from the ministers of God. It means selling the gospel or the truth to the people in captivity. These days, we find that many true ministers of the gospel are not allowed to preach in the churches or in the streets in some Christian nations. Those who bear the mark of the beast are allowed in the churches because they worship the image of the beast and bear his mark. The true ministers of God will be hated by the people because of the Name of Jesus Christ that they bear.

If you have the mark of the beast, you can sell or buy his doctrines. You can propagate his doctrines of wealth, religion and power amongst the people of this world. You can also buy the same from others who bear his mark. Those who bear his mark cannot sell the same to the people of God. Similarly, those who bear his mark cannot buy the truth from the people of God because they have been blinded by the god of this world.

Sign of 666

“Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man: and his number is Six hundred threescore and six” (Vs.18). It is the number of a man. It cannot be a numerical figure in a literal sense. This peculiar number ‘666’ shows the peculiar character of the Antichrist. It is the number of deception. He deceives any man. He adopts different methods in deceiving the people of God. He does not work in a stereotype manner. He works with sharp intellectual traits.

Three idols form his visible image i.e. god of religions, god of materialism and god of power.

Three are his functions i.e. duplication, deceit and destruction.

Three are his manifestations i.e. abominations, blasphemy and unrighteousness.

Numerically, 6 written three times look similar. His entire triune 666 personality can be discerned and identified in his image, functions and manifestations as above.

- Job Anbalagan