Article by: Kenneth J. Ester
The Antichrist and the End Times
When it comes to the antichrist and his part in the end times, there are a lot of theories that most Christians accept as correct today, that actually are not supported in scripture. For instance, most eschatologists seem to believe the antichrist will start the tribulation period by making a peace treaty that involves Israel. Yet there is nothing in scripture that says it is a peace treaty, nor does it say it is with Israel. Yet the vast majority of Christians seem to believe it does. I do not. This is my belief of what happens and how the antichrist comes about.
The 4th Beast of Daniel
In the book of Daniel, there are four beasts described. Daniel becomes fixated on the 4th beast. He describes it as having ten horns. When you continue to study this 4th beast, you realize it is talking about the beast of the end times. In Daniel 7:17, it tells us that the four beasts are four kings. Then in verse 23 it says the 4th beast is a kingdom. So Daniel is saying that the 4th beast is both, a king and a kingdom. Now in verse 7 it also says the beast has ten horns, but later, in verse 24, it tells us that the ten horns are ten kings. So we have a beast that is both a kingdom and a king and it has ten horns which are ten kings. Try as I might, the only way I could make sense of this was to see it as ten nations that were united as one. This would make them one kingdom ruled by ten kings. This next scripture holds some key information....
The 4th Beast of Daniel
In the book of Daniel, there are four beasts described. Daniel becomes fixated on the 4th beast. He describes it as having ten horns. When you continue to study this 4th beast, you realize it is talking about the beast of the end times. In Daniel 7:17, it tells us that the four beasts are four kings. Then in verse 23 it says the 4th beast is a kingdom. So Daniel is saying that the 4th beast is both, a king and a kingdom. Now in verse 7 it also says the beast has ten horns, but later, in verse 24, it tells us that the ten horns are ten kings. So we have a beast that is both a kingdom and a king and it has ten horns which are ten kings. Try as I might, the only way I could make sense of this was to see it as ten nations that were united as one. This would make them one kingdom ruled by ten kings. This next scripture holds some key information....
Daniel 7:24-25 NASB
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. 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.
So what we have here are ten kings and then another king will rise up from within the ten nation coalition and kill three of the kings. He will speak blasphemies against God and persecute the Christians. He will try to make changes to times and laws and the Christians will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time. This would be three and a half years. A "time" is one year. "Times" is two years. So a time, times and half a time would be three and a half years. Compare this to Revelation 13:5.
Revelation 13:5 NASB
5 A mouth was given to him speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.
There is no doubt that the little horn is in fact the antichrist of the end times. The beast in Revelation. In Daniel however, the 4th beast starts out as a kingdom with ten kings. Then once the little horn removes three of the ten kings, it begins writing as if the little horn is the beast.
So putting it together, in case you dont see the clear picture, the beast of the end times will begin as a coalition of ten nations ruled by ten leaders. Out of this coalition, a man will rise up and kill three of those leaders and take control of the coalition for himself. At this time, scripture stops referring to the ten nation coalition as the best, and instead sees the one man who is in control as the beast.
The 1st Seal
Revelation 6:2 NASB
2 I looked, and behold, a white horse, and the one who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
Some try to interpret this as Jesus. They connect the white horse to Jesus riding a white horse in the second coming and assume it is Him. Which is impossible. Jesus returns on the white horse in the second coming. Which happens after the 7 Seals, 7 Trumpets and 7 Bowls are all completed. Since the 7th Seal is literally the handing over of the trumpets to the seven angels, it is impossible for any of the trumpets to be sounded until after all 7 Seals are broken. So after the 1st Seal, we still have the other 6 Seals, 7 Trumpets and 7 Bowls to happen before the second coming can happen.
The rider of the white horse in the 1st Seal is the antichrist. He is given a crown, which we learn is after he removes three of the ten leaders. The Greek word for "bow" here is "Toxon". It simply means a cheap imitation fabric. This supports that this is the antichrist who will be a false messiah or a false god. The part that many seem to ignore is that it clearly says he will go out conquering.
Most Christians seem to have this image of the antichrist appearing and just deceiving the world to accept him as their leader or messiah. But that is not what scripture says. It says he goes out conquering. The problem with this is we have had plenty of unions between nations. We have the United Nations, NATO, the European Union, etc... If one man was to ever take control of one of those, he simply would not have the power to go out conquering anyone. So how could the antichrist go out conquering? The answer is to look to the president of France, Emmanuel Macron.
For years now, Macron has been trying to get ten nations to unite together. Not politically, but to literally unite their military strength. He wants to merge their armies into one massive army in order to police the Europen nations and keep peace without needing to depend on the United States for so much help. I believe the day is coming when he will succeed finally. Ten nations will merge their armies and create the most powerful army in the world. Then the antichrist will rise up and remove three of the leaders to take control.
Now if any ordinary man was to just kill three world leaders of a united ten nations, the other seven leaders would probably just have the man captures or killed. No ordinary man would be able to take control of a ten nation coalition in this way. The antichrist wont be an ordinary man. I have always heard and believed that the antichrist will be a man who is possessed by the devil himself. To some degree the Bible supports this...
2 Thessalonians 2:9 NASB
9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and false signs and wonders,
This man, being possessed by the devil will kill the three leaders in such a way that it will literally put the fear of god in them. Or fear of the devil to be more accurate. He is going to show them such power and fear that they will be too afraid to turn against him and will instead give him control. This the first Seal says he is given a crown. Since this was no ordinary union between nations but is one where they literally merge their military powers, the antichrist will immediately be in control of the most powerful army this world has ever seen. It will not take him long to decide to turn that power on other nations and go out conquering, just as the first Seal says.
The 2nd Seal
Revelation 6:3-4 (NASB)
3 When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come.” 4 And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.
The second Seal is often seen as war, and it is, but it is not any ordinary war. It is World War. The rider has a sword which is a symbol of war, but it is not an ordinary sword. It is a "great" sword, signifying it will be a great war. He is granted to take peace from the earth. Not from the land, but from the earth. This is clearly going to be World War 3.
When Russia attacked Ukraine, the biggest fear in people was whether it would start world war 3. One nation attacking another was enough to cause that fear. Imagine if Russia would have succeeded in taking Ukraine and then took over a second and a third nation. If the antichrist goes out conquering other nations, there is little doubt that world war 3 would soon be following.
The 3rd & 4th Seal
Seal-3
Revelation 6:5-6 (NASB)
5 When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”
Seal-4
Revelation 6:7-8 (NASB)
7 When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come.” 8 I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.
The 3rd Seal is Famine. Anytime food is scarce, its prices sky rocket. A denarius was about the value of a days pay for a skilled laborer. For a quart of wheat and three quarts of barley to cost a days wage, those are outrageously high prices, signifying that food is scarce. The 4th Seal is just as it says. It is death. Both Famine and Death are consequences of any war. With a world war those consequences are at an extreme.
The 5th Seal
Revelation 6:9-11 (NASB)
9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; 10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.
The first 4 Seals had connections to the antichrist going out and conquering. Naturally causing a world war and wide spread famine and death. In the 6th Seal we will be returning to the same storyline, but for the 5th Seal we change stories.
Most Christians tend to believe that when the antichrist comes on the scene, he will immediately be persecuting the Christians. They tend to believe the 5th Seal is the souls of the Christians who die from that persecution shwing up in heaven. It is possible that he may to some small degree, already be persecuting Christians, but logic would say that at first he will be too busy doing what the First Seal says he will do. Conquering other nations.
When you look at how this scripture is worded, you will notice something interesting. There is no connection to the antichrist at all. In Rev 20 when the tribulation saints come to life, it clearly tells us they were killed because they would not take the mark or worship the image of the beast. Here, it does not even mention the beast in any way. I believe that is because it is not the beast who persecutes the Christians here.
As I had pointed out, the antichrist will be too focused on conquering other nations. Being in control of a ten nation coalition and its armies would make him extremely powerful, but he would in no possible way be ppowerful enough to control the world. Logic would say that he would spend the first half of the 7 year tribulation focused on gaining that power. So who persecutes and kills the Christians in the 5th Seal?
In the end times there will be a one world religion (OWR) that will believe that every religion is good. They are all just different paths to the same God. Today they have recently opened a world headquarters, I believe in Dubai. I may be wrong on the location. It has a large plot of land that has a church, a synagogue and a mosque. One of the biggest proponents of this OWR stance happens to be the Pope.
As this religion grows larger, there will be more and more of them who will see Christianity as dangerous because the Christians will be the only ones who will maintain the testimony of Jesus, saying He is the "only" way to the Father. Some of there most zealous followers will even be willing to kill Christians. After the rapture, when the Restrainer is removed, they will become more and more willing to persecute others. As many who recognize the rapture for what it was turn to Christ, the OWR will begin to kill them more and more.
The 6th Seal
Revelation 6:12-17 (NASB)
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; 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. 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. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; 16 and they *said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”.
With the 5th Seal explained, Johns visions return to the previous story line. You will notice that the first 5 Seals were not so symbolic as many believe. Though the first 4 used riders of horses in a symbolic way, their explanations were fairly straight forward. The 6th Seal does the same thing. It is not near as symbolic as most make it out to be. It is simply a vision John receives of of a major event thousands of years in the future. Things he has no understanding of and so he describes it as well as he can from a first century understanding. This major event is where world war 3 escalates into an all-out nuclear war!
John sees stars falling to earth. If he saw a vision of a night skyline and saw nuclear warheads descending in the distance, and all he saw was the flares and streams they leave behind, he would think they were stars falling to the earth. The great wind could be a nuclear blast. The sky being split apart and rolled up into a scroll would be his description of a mushroom cloud.
An all-out nuclear war would have nukes striking the earth all over around the same time. The force of so many would cause the tectonic plates to snap back into their positions, causing massive earthquakes. They would cause volcanoes to erupt. The earthquakes would cause major tsunamis. Every mountain and island would be moved out of place. The people in caves could easily be in bunkers.
Something very important to point out here is that the last verse plainly says that the day of Their Wrath has come! In the end times, there are two major events happening almost hand in hand. The 7 Year Tribulation, which is Daniel's 70th Week, and the Day of the Lord, which is also known as the day of God's Wrath. Where the Tribulation is a time of trouble from the world, focused on the Jews, the day of God's Wrath is God pouring out His anger on the unbelieving world. Though I state it as His anger, it is also an action of love. Just as with the Jews, unbelievers tend to finally turn to God when things are bad. The Wrath of God, though it comes out from anger, is done to make more people turn to Christ. Then at a certain point, God finally says enough is enough. If they have not repented by this point, they never will. Then He pours out the worst of it and sends His Son back. THis day of Gods Wrath however starts in the 6th Seal and is finished with the Seven Bowls of Wrath.
The Tribulation
In Daniel 9:27 it says the Prince who is to come, which is the antichrist, will sign a covenant with many for one week (seven years). At one time someone with a lot of followers taught that the antichrist would sign a peace treaty with Israel for 7 years. Everyone bought into it and began teaching it. It was taught so much that today, most eschatologists teach the same thing. They have come to just accept it as true without ever questioning it. Yet I have never found any scripture that really supports this. Daniel 9:27 does say the antichrist will confirm a covenant for seven years, but it never says it is with the Jews and it never says it is about peace. These are nothing more than theories that have become overly accepted. This is what it actually says...
Daniel 9:27 NASB
27 And he will confirm a covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come the one who makes desolate, until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, gushes forth on the one who makes desolate.”
I just dont see how the idea of him signing a peace treaty with the Jews would fit into the First Seal saying he goes out conquering. I have another theory that I believe fits the First Seal as well as being a logical fit with the rest of this teaching.
I believe when the antichrist takes the most powerful army in the world to go out conquering, he will first pick a nation that is smaller and weak. He will not conquer this nation so much as he will simply wipe it out. He will utterly destroy it. Then he will send a message to many smaller nations and give them an option. They can join him and give him control of their militaries as well, or they can end up like that first nation he wiped out. They will of course, join him. They will sign a treaty to join him and that will be the covenant he confirms with many (smaller nations) to begin the seven year Tribulation.
The antichrist then spends the first half of the tribulation conquering nations and gaining world power. World War 3 will begin and at one point end with an all-out nuclear war. The antichrist, not being truly loved by any one nation, will not be affected as much by the nukes as the nations who send them. At the midpoint of the tribulation, the antichrist will enter the temple and claim to be God.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 NASB
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, 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.
I also believe that when he enters the temple, he will commit the abomination of desolation that once was committed by Antiochus IV and then take a seat and claim to be God. In 167 BC, Antiochus IV entered the temple and slaughtered a pig on the alter and had a staue of Zeus erected with his face on it. The Jews have referred to this act as the Abomination of Desolation ever since. I believe the antichrist will repeat it. Both Daniel and Jesus mention the abomination of desolation.
Daniel 9:27 NASB
27 And he will confirm a covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come the one who makes desolate, until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, gushes forth on the one who makes desolate.”
Matthew 24:15-16 NASB
15 “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place—let the reader understand— 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.
The Jews of course, will revolt when he does this and he will turn his wrath on them. They will escape into the surrounding gentile nations where they will be hidden. The antichrist will be furious with their escape and instead turn his wrath on the Christians.
Revelation 12:13-17 NASB
13 And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. 14 But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she *was nourished for a time, times, and half a time, away from the presence of the serpent. 15 And the serpent hurled water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon had hurled out of his mouth. 17 So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
Now when the antichrist enters the temple and claims to be God, it will not be a boast that anyone would willingly accept. Nobody would believe it, even coming from him. It is a boast that will need to be backed up.
Over the first three and a half years, there will be two individuals whom the Bible refers to as the Two Witnesses. They will walk the land and prophesy, preaching about Jesus. According to scripture they will have the authority to use all of God's plagues as they wish and will shut the skies up so no rain will fall. Scripture says that nobody will be able to harm them and any who try will be destroyed by the fire from their mouths.
To be clear, I am unsure if this will be real fire. The Bible sometimes symbolizes the Holy Spirit with fire. So this could simply be saying they will need to do nothing more than speak and their enemies will fall dead. I do not know. What I do know is that nobody will be able to do them harm. They will seem invincible to the people and the people will hate them for using the plagues.
The antichrist, will need to back up his claim to be God, so he will go out and confront the two witnesses and kill them. The people will be over joyed that they are dead and will begin to truly believe that the antichrist is in fact God. They will be so glad over their deaths that they will even send gifts to each other.
The antichrist will not let anyone touch the bodies. Nobody will be allowed to bury them. He will leave them in the streets for the world to see. Likely as a boast to show the world that he is God. But after 3 days, the two witnesses will take a breath and rise to their feet again, then they will ascend to heaven with all of their enemies watching.
Revelation 11:7-13 NASB
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
The Great Tribulation
The first half of the tribulation is finished. The second half begins. Now things get real bad. Along with the last three Trumpets, all of the Bowls will need to happen during the second half. But early on in the second half the antichrist and false prophet will issue the mark of the beast.
Revelation 13:16-18 NASB
16 And he causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 and he decrees 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. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.
No one can buy or sell without it. A lot of Christians believe that the world will behead those who do not take the mark or worship the beast. The Christians who believe in the post-tribulation rapture typically believe they will have to be prepared to die for their faith. What many do not consider is that the Christians who are here will need to be willing to watch their loved ones starve to death as well. I believe that is where most will falter. There will be plenty who will see their wives or babies starving and choose to take the mark so they can get them food. They will hope God will see it as a noble sacrifice and be lenient. It wont matter. They will still go to hell for taking the mark.
Conclusion
I could go on with plenty more that will happen yet. The second coming of Christ, the judgment of the Sheep and Goats, the Tribulation Saints coming to life, the Millennial Kingdom, the day of Judgment before the White Throne and the New Earth. But this article is about the antichrist's part in the end times. Not about the entire End Times.
In the end, when Jesus returns in the second coming, the antichrist and the false prophet will be caught and throne alive into the lake of fire. Everyone who follows the antichrist will be killed and thrown into the lake of fire as well. Only those who believed in Jesus as their Lord and Savior will be given eternal life.