Should This Matter?

Besides Satan himself, there is perhaps no other Biblical villain as mysterious and ominous as the antichrist. Although he is not called out by his specific name, he is given a variety of descriptive titles in the Bible such as “antichrist” (1 John 2:18), “Little Horn” (Daniel 7 & 8), “Willful King” (Daniel 11:36), “King of Fierce Countenance” (Daniel 9:26), etc. Sadly, the teaching of the antichrist is mostly abandoned by the church today leaving our understanding of the antichrist to form from Hollywood.

The Bible actually has a lot to say about the antichrist and even provides a distinct warning to Christians to learn about this evil man to come.

Revelation 13:9

If any man have an ear, let him hear.

Revelation 13:18

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.

Of course, our study of the antichrist should not be rooted in fear since (spoiler alert!) Christ will easily defeat him as Revelation 19 describes. However, as Revelation 17:10 tells us, the antichrist is given a short time to accomplish what God allows him to. So, we know he is coming and that he will be given time to prosper. But why should we pay attention?

Matthew 24:24

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

The Bible is clear that the wise man will see who the antichrist is and not be fooled into following him. Many will be deceived (2 Thessalonians 10-12) likely even those who claim to know Christ. We must secure ourselves against this man because the people “who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receive the mark of his name” will be destroyed (Revelation 11:11).

While there is a wealth of information on the antichrist to focus on, in this post, I hope to focus on one facet of the antichrist that is somewhat controversial. I want to examine whether or not the antichrist is possessed by Satan at some point during his rule. I do believe that there is scriptural evidence to suggest that he is possessed by Satan in the very middle of his rule, which is 3 ½ years (42 months/1260 days) in and which corresponds to the abomination of desolation spoken of by Christ and Daniel. After the possession takes place, the antichrist’s rule becomes violent, dominant, and particularly evil until he is destroyed by Christ at Armageddon.

At the end of the day, whether or not the antichrist is possessed doesn’t necessarily matter in the scope of our salvation. However, I do believe that it does explain the manipulative and vicious nature of his rule. In addition, possession of the antichrist clarifies some of the passages in Revelation and Daniel that seems contradictory and difficult without it.

Satanic and Demon Possession and the Bible

Possession of a human by Satan himself shouldn’t come as a surprise to us. Luke 22:3 tells us that Satan entered into Judas, one of his 12 disciples, shortly before the Passover. Judas then goes to the chief priests to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver (Luke 22:4, Matthew 26:14-16).

Jesus addresses Satan when he commands, “Get thee behind me, Satan” when Peter will not acknowledge Christ’s destiny to suffer (Matthew 16:21-23). While this passage doesn’t tell us that Satan had possessed Peter, it does at a minimum indicate that the Satan was influencing Peter and was present with Peter and Christ. His influence was strong enough that Christ needed to address it at the time.

In addition to the above scenarios, the Old Testament contains examples of possible human possession by Satan. In Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, God addresses the kings of Tyre and Babylon, but also addresses Satan calling him the “king of Babylon” and the “king of Tyre.” God speaks to the earthly kings of Tyre and Babylon but then continues on to specifically address Satan. As in the situation with Peter, Scripture does not directly tell us the kings were possessed, but again, at a bare minimum Satan himself was present and had a large influence over the kings of Babylon and Tyre, enough so that God could actually address Satan as king of those nations (the spiritual king, that is).

Throughout the whole New Testament, there are many examples of demons inhabiting human hosts. Jesus spent a lot of his earthly ministry casting out these demons. Christ even speaks to them on occasion. Satan, the leader of these demons would certainly have the same ability to possess a human as these other demons do.

The fact is that Satan has much more direct influence on this world then many churches prefer to address. Most churches today stay away from the topic of Satan, but the Bible highlights his influence. After all, Job tells us that “sons of God” presented themselves before God and “Satan came also among them” (Job 1:6). While there are many who attest that “sons of God” here are referring to angels, I firmly believe that this term is reserved for followers of Jehovah (certainly another great topic for a post!). These men were offering sacrifices or praying or meditating before God and Satan was there! In fact, Satan goes on to tell God that he had been “going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it” (Job 1:7). So, Satan is present on this earth. Peter agrees with this concept and adds in that not only is Satan present on the earth but his motives are most evil when he says, “your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Also, Jesus directly communicates with Satan as Satan tries to tempt in Him in the wilderness (Matthew 4).

The Beast of Revelation

In Revelation 13, we can find the description of the infamous “beast.” The imagery used may be symbolic but a thorough reading of the chapter along with other passages regarding the antichrist tells us that these symbols represent a physical reality, a human being who emerges with power from Satan. I believe that this chapter is clearly depicting the point at which the antichrist is possessed by Satan.

Revelation 13 describes a beast arising from the sea and he has a very specific look. He has seven heads, 10 horns, each with a crown, and he looked like a leopard, bear, and lion all at the same time. Each descriptor of the beast represents something. Revelation 13 and 17 as well as various references in Daniel help to illuminate the meaning behind each facet of the beast. The chart below summarizes the beast’s characteristics and the most likely meaning behind them. As for how I have come to my conclusions regarding the meaning of the symbolism of the beast, please see my articles on the imagery of the beast titled “The Beast of Revelation 13” posted 1/14/2019 and “Revelation 12: Past and Future Spiritual Warfare” which list lots of scriptural evidence that is too detailed to provide here.

This description of the beast gives us several clues to who the antichrist really is and his relationship to Satan.

He is both the 7th and 8th/final king.

As the chart above indicates, the 7 heads of the beast represents kings. When we follow the description of the beast in chapter 13 and 17 of Revelation, the information there provides valuable insight into our discussion. Revelation 13:3 is clear that when John sees the beast, he sees one of the 7 heads wounded to death but then healed. This healed head is related to the 7th head but is now the 8th. Revelation 17:10-11 tells us that the 8th head is the final king, the antichrist who is to come and will be destroyed.

Revelation 13:3

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.

Revelation 17:11

…the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short spaceAnd the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

What we can clearly take from these passages is that the antichrist comes onto the scene as the 7th king (7th head of the beast) but at some point, he becomes the 8th king (8th and final head) after which he will be destroyed. What defines the moment of his transition from the 7th king to the 8th king? The deadly wound that is healed! The chart below illustrates the 7 major kingdoms that have ruled over Israel throughout the ages. For the details on why these kingdoms are selected, please see my post titled “The Beast of Revelation 13” which describes why these 7 kingdoms must be the the kings described in Revelation 17.

Here is another more visual graphic of the same information.

The mortal wound is the moment of possession.

There are several verses that specifically speak to this deadly wound.

Revelation 13:3

And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and the world wondered after the beast.

Revelation 13:12

…to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

Revelation 13:14

…that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

Revelation 17:8

The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit…behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

Revelation 17:11

And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

The Bible does NOT say exactly what this mortal wound is or how the antichrist receives this mortal wound except that it was “by a sword” (Revelation 13:14). This phrase could refer to a literal sword or perhaps contains a more symbolic meaning such as war or weapon. What is clear from these verses is that the antichrist (beast) is injured to the point of death but still lives. In fact, we can see that he “was, and is not, and yet is” which is likely referring to his death and revival.

Now we must wonder…does the antichrist actually die and resurrect? The verses above hint to that, but 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11 tells us that he is “after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders” and that God will “send [unbelievers] a strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” These verses tell us that wound and miraculous healing may be a deception, and this deception is allowed by God! Revelation 13:11-15 tells us that the 2nd beast (the False Prophet) is able to do “great wonders” and even “give life unto the image of the beast.” But, Daniel 8:23 & 25 also indicate that the antichrist will deal in deceit and fraud when he tells us that the antichrist will come “understanding dark sentences” and “through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper.” The Hebrew for “dark sentences” means “puzzle” or “trick,” and the Hebrew for “craft” means “fraud” or “deceit.” It is hard to determine how much of the signs and wonders produced by the beast and false prophet are true power or merely a deception.

Regardless, the antichrist experiences some sort of death and resurrection moment and it is this miraculous event (or seemingly miraculous event) that correlates with a “new” antichrist so to speak. We see once the antichrist “dies” he comes back different! The antichrist moves from just being another dominating world leader to something else entirely: a beast. And when he returns, the antichrist’s reign will be different.

He is the beast and so is Satan.

Now that we understand what this beast represents, it is a good time to put some context into Revelation chapter 13. Before the beast surfaces in chapter 13, a great war is described in chapter 12. This war is between the “great red dragon” and God with Israel stuck in the middle. The dragon is Satan (Revelation 12:9), and we see that he looks a lot like the beast. He too has 7 heads and 10 horns. The difference is that he is described as a dragon, he is red, and the heads have crowns on them (whereas the horns have crowns on the beast). He desires to consume the child of the woman wearing a crown with 12 stars (likely Israel as the woman and Christ as the child). He is unable to do so. Then the woman flees to the wilderness to hide, protected by God for 1260 days. At that time, there is a war in heaven between Michael and his the angels and Satan and his angels. Satan loses and is cast down to the earth. Now that he is earth bound, Satan is very angry and sought to persecute the Israel. The fact that Satan is now earthbound to destroy Israel is why Israel must flee to the wilderness for the 1260 days, which is 3 ½ years.

Here is where chapter 13 comes in to the picture. After Satan is cast down to earth ready to destroy the saints, we see the beast arise from the sea in Revelation 13. The beast is generally attributed to the antichrist, which is absolutely valid, but I believe this beast represents much more than that. The beast not only represents the antichrist, but also the spiritual influence behind him: Satan. It is important to understand that the beast of chapter 13 is the same as the dragon of the 12 chapter. Satan is behind ALL of these empires. The king may have been different, the nation may have been different, the year may have been different, but the spiritual influence behind of them is Satan. And Satan will be behind the final king/kingdom of the antichrist as well.

But, after Satan is cast down, his look changes. Why? He is bound to earth and angry! He is preparing his final assault on God’s people. I believe that this illustrates a different relationship between Satan and the 8th king than the other kings before him – possibly possession or some greater degree of influence.

So, when we the Bible speaks of the beast, we need to understand that not only the antichrist is meant, but also Satan. After all, the 7th king, which is the king of what I am calling the Rome-revived empire, is the same as the 8th king. The difference is the influence behind this king and that influence is the the same old serpent, Satan but his authority changes and his anger increases. He is desperate now and he now possess the antichrist which explains his new look.

He arises from the bottomless pit.

In Revelation 13:1, we are told the beast arises from the sea. Generally, the “sea” represents many nations or people, possibly specifically gentiles. This detail may emphasize that the antichrist will be 1) a man and 2) a gentile. However, Revelation 17:8 tells us that the beast arises from the “bottomless pit.” Context is important here. John’s initial introduction to the beast in Revelation 13, is just as one of the 7 heads is wounded and then healed (8th head), so he views the beast as a man being possessed. Later on, in Revelation 17, we see that the beast after the wounding and healing of the head is then described as ascending from the pit.

Revelation 17:8

The beast that thou sawest was, and s not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition…

The “bottomless pit” is mentioned 7 times in the Bible, all of them can be found in Revelation. In Revelation 9, we see a demonic army emerge from the bottomless pit. Twice the beast is said to ascend out of the bottomless pit. In Revelation 20, Satan is chained in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years. There are other likely references to this pit which can be found in Jude 6 where fallen angels are “reserved in everlasting chains under darkness” and Isaiah 14 when God is speaking Lucifer (the “King of Babylon”) about his eventual destiny which is the “pit.” From all of these references, one thing is clear, the bottomless pit is associated with demons that are sitting in darkness awaiting judgment.

So, when the antichrist comes back, he does so ascending from the place where demons are being held. You see, after the antichrist “dies,” he doesn’t come back like he was before, he comes back likely possessed by a demon or Satan himself.

Examining both Revelation 17:8 and 17:11 together by comparing each phrase of the verses, we can see that the beast who is to come is both the beast who ascends out of the pit and the 8th king (the antichrist). And this specifically happens after the mortal wound. This chart reveals that the astonishing “resurrection” from the mortal wound is the beginning of the reign of the 8th king and the moment of possession by a demon from the bottomless pit or Satan.

From this information, we can surmise two things:

o The beast is a man

o The beast is demonic

The mortal wound corresponds to the 3 ½ year (42 month, 1260 day) time period.

The timing of this mortal wound happens to correlate perfectly with other significant end-time events that speak to the change in the antichrist’s behavior. These events point to the likelihood that the antichrist is possessed at the time of the healing of the deadly wound. I have included a chart to demonstrate each time that the 3 ½ year timeframe is mentioned and they all seem to be describing the same exact timeframe.

Let’s go through each of these events and examine the details.

1. The Abomination of Desolation

This event is spoken of in Daniel 9:27 and is even addressed by Jesus Christ in Matthew 24:15. In fact, according to Jesus, it is the MAIN sign that the end is near.

In the passage in Daniel, Daniel is describing the prince that is to come. He explains that this prince will make a covenant for “one week” with “many.” The “prince” discussed is clearly the antichrist but who the “many” refers to is debatable. Most believe that Israel or the Jews are involved which explains the peace the world experiences and the reinstitution of the sacrifice before the abomination of desolation. Either way, Daniel is clear that in the middle of the week, the antichrist will break the covenant, stop the sacrifices, and desecrate the temple. The term “week” used by Daniel is an interesting term. It takes a little bit of knowledge of the Hebrew to understand it. The hebrew word used here actually means “seven”, not a week. So, the word can refer to “seven” anything: years, days, weeks, months, etc. Based on scriptural evidence the likely reference is 7 years (not days). This subject is incredibly popular and a quick google search will reveal many articles that provide the reasoning behind this determination. I don’t have adequate space to breach the topic here.

So, the abomination of desolation occurs in the middle of a 7 year period, that means that it happens at exactly 3 ½ years. In the Biblical Jewish calendar, there are 360 days in a year (again google is a great resource for the reasoning on this fact). Therefore, we know that the 3 ½ year period is equal to 42 months or 1260 days.

In Matthew and Daniel, it is clears that the world endures a distinct change at the time of the abomination of desolation. The saints are persecuted at unprecedented levels, antichrist sets up his throne at the temple, and Christ is soon to return and destroy the antichrist. A likely explanation for this is that the antichrist is possessed at the moment of the abomination of desolation which results in the final empire (8th) and the vicious rule of the beast (the antichrist + Satan).

2. Power is given to the beast

Revelation 13:5 states that the beast will rule with power (from Satan see vs 2) for 42 months. As described above, according to the Biblical 360 day Jewish calendar year, that period equals 3 ½ years and therefore correlates with the abomination of desolation that takes place in the middle of the 7 year tribulation period. From this, we can surmise that the rule of the beast (8th king) takes place specifically at the 3 ½ year mark. Before that period, the dragon with 7 heads (satan supporting the previous 7 kings) ruled, but now, we see that there is a new relationship. The antichrist and beast rule together for 3 ½ years until the end.

3. Israel’s persecution

The Bible also links the extreme persecution of Israel to this same time period in several instances (Revelation 12:6,14, Revelation 13:5-18, Daniel 7:25, Daniel 12:7). Christ reiterates this difficult interval will result in deception and persecution in Matthew 24:15-22 like never before. Believers will have to run without time to take anything with them.

What precipitates this period? In Revelation chapter 12, it is the war in heaven when Satan is cast down to earth to stay. He is angry and seeks to destroy the people of God for the short span that he has left. Please see my post on “ Revelation 12: Spiritual Warfare Past and Future” for more details here. In Daniel 9:27 and Matthew 24:15, it is the abomination of desolation. As I have shown throughout this post, it is at this time that the rule of the antichrist changes from that of an earthly evil ruler to that of a possessed evil ruler intent on destroying God’s people.

Fortunately, in Revelation 12:6-17, we are told that Israel will be protected by God for 1260 days (= 3 ½ years, = 42 months) but the beast will war with the “remnant of her seed”. Revelation 12:14 and Daniel 12:7 also provides an additional term for this span of time which is “a time, and times, and half a time.” This phrase appears non-specific on the surface, but it is actually very clear when looked at closely. The word Daniel uses for “time” here is Aramaic (‘iddan), which only means “a set period of time” and doesn’t tell us exactly what length of time is being referred to. To understand the span of time, we must look at context. Daniel uses this exact same Aramaic word just two other times in his writings, Daniel 4:25, 32. In this passage, he uses this word to reference 1 year. These verses are speaking to Nebuchadnezzar’s punishment by God where he is turned into a beast for 7 years. The context illustrates that the term must be a year (see my article “Revelation 12: Spiritual Warfare Past and Future” for more details here). If Daniel remains consistent in his usage of the word “time” (‘iddan), than we can surmise that “a time, and times, and half a time” is saying this: 1 year, and 2 years, and half a year. This is 3 ½ years which fits with the wealth of Biblical references to the persecution of Israel lasting for that exact period of time.

4. The temple is trodden by Gentiles

We are told in Revelation 11:2, that for 42 months the temple will be taken over by the gentiles. This correlates well with Daniel 9:26 which states that the antichrist will destroy the city and sanctuary until the end comes as well as Daniel 11:45 which tells us that the antichrist (the final king) will “plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain” which occurs right before the time of trouble for Israel.

In Daniel 8:9-14 describes the abomination of desolation and cessation of the sacrifice. And angel explains that the sanctuary will be “trodden under foot” for a total of 2300 days. This period specifically includes 1) the “daily sacrifice”, 2) the “transgression of desolation”, and 3) the “sanctuary and host to be trodden under foot.” So, here we are given a different number than we have seen before since 2300 days does not equal 3 ½ years, 1260 days, or 42 months. What could this be referring to? It is likely including the time that the sacrifice begins which would be before the 3 ½ year mark. But the take away message here is that the antichrist will

5. The ministry of the 2 witnesses

Revelation 11 describes the ministry of 2 witnesses. We are told exactly how long their ministry is: 1260 days (Revelation 11:3). At the end of their ministry, the beast will kill them as the world applauds their murder. They resurrect in 3 days and ascend to heaven. Revelation 11:7 is clear that the “beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit” kills them. Based on what we know so far, we can confidently say that the antichrist kills them after the mortal wound and abomination of desolation while he is possessed by Satan. Since their murder occurs at the end of their ministry, we cannot say for certain whether the time span of the 2 witnesses is before the abomination of desolation (the 3 ½ year mark) or after (at the end of the 7 total years) since the beast may kill them as soon as he is healed from his mortal wound and takes over the temple.

When we put all of this information together, we can form a relatively clear picture of tribulation events.

Conclusion

All of this information leads to one conclusion: the antichrist is possessed by Satan after Satan is cast down to earth and the antichrist receives a deadly wound that is miraculously healed. It is at this moment, that he becomes the “beast.” It is at this point that he is officially the 8th and final king. It is at this point that he chases down Israel. It is at this point that he enters the temple. It is when he will kill the 2 witnesses.

The relationship of Satan to the antichrist clarifies several things. We can now understand why the term “beast” is used for the antichrist. We can better understand the abomination of desolation. We can understand the motivation that he has for destroying Israel. He will not be just an evil leader, but a possessed leader. He will have the power of Satan behind him!

The antichrist may not be here yet, but his spirit is! We must understand that spirit and keep far away from it. Many will be drawn into his deception, but by holding firm to the promises of Jesus Christ, we can avoid being fooled. We have no need to fear him but we must watch for him.

Revelation 13:18

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.