Part 1…Background
(2 John 1:7) “For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an ANTICHRIST.”
The term “antichrist” is mentioned in only four passages of the Bible, all in the letters of John. In each case, the term is used to portray a false teacher or a deceptive power that corrupts faith within the church.
Take a look now, at the word itself. While the prefix “anti” can mean “against,” it can also mean “in place of.”
The antichrist of the last days will not be an open opposer of Christ, but will actually seek to take the place of Christ.
Consider this: the great deception of the last days will result in “all the world” following the beast of Revelation 13 (Revelation 13:8). Now if someone would come in open opposition to Jesus, standing against Him and refuting the Word of God, that person would not succeed in deceiving “all the world,” especially the Christian world. But a power that pretends to have Christian virtues and appears to represent God would be far more likely to deceive the planet and that is exactly what is happening.
It is actually Lucifer who first wanted to take the place of Christ (Isaiah 14:12-14), and it is he who continually opposes and misrepresents Him. The point of this study will be to answer the following question. “Through whom or what will he work in earth’s final days?”
Paul gives a little more description to this power that will endanger the world.
(2 Thessalonians 2:3) “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the MAN OF SIN is revealed, the son of perdition”
If you read this passage in context you will see Paul is saying that before Jesus returns to this planet the church would experience a major spiritual “falling away” that will reveal the “man of sin”.
1 John 3:4 tells us that “sin is lawlessness” or in the KJV it says “sin is the transgression of the law”. It can be expected that the great falling away of earth’s last days will be characterized by disrespect for God’s authority and in particular, His law.
It wasn’t too long after the early church got kick started at Pentecost that we saw the amazing conversion of Paul. It wasn’t too long after that that he wrote this following passage.
(Acts 20:29-30) For I know this, that after my departure savage WOLVES will come in AMONG YOU, not sparing the flock. [30] Also from among yourselves, MEN will RISE UP, speaking PERVERSE things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.
Paul is making it clear that these “wolves” would rise up from among them, from WITHIN the church. Don’t forget this very important point. Later when writing to the Thessalonians and speaking of “the man of sin” Paul said “he sits as God in the TEMPLE of God, showing himself that he is God.”
Now we know that the earthly temple and its services became obsolete when Jesus died on the cross, any rebuilt temple would NOT be of God. When the Bible states that the last day antichrist will sit “in the temple of God”, it is stating that this power will rise up IN the Christian church. The New Testament refers to God’s people or God’s church as a “temple” numerous times. (See 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16; and Ephesians 2:20-22)
Let us begin by reading the passage in Revelation most people are familiar with in regard this topic of the beast and the mark of the beast. It makes sense to be able to first clearly identify who or what the beast power is according to the Bible before making any attempts at pinpointing what the “mark of the beast” will be.
(Revelation 13:1-4) Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having SEVEN HEADS AND TEN HORNS, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a BLASPHEMOUS NAME. [2] Now the beast which I saw was like a LEOPARD, his feet were like the feet of a BEAR, and his mouth like the mouth of a LION. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and GREAT AUTHORITY. [3] And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. [4] So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”
At first glance, this looks and sounds like something that comes straight out of a nightmare. Here in vision, John saw what seemed to be a hybrid beast pieced together from four different beasts, an indescribable one, a leopard, a bear, and a lion… with a total of seven heads and ten horns. If this was all we had to go by in identifying this beast power, or antichrist…it wouldnt be much. but amazingly and miraculously, like with much of the book of Revelation, God has blessed us with the capability of comparing scripture with scripture to help us clearly identify what all of this means and signifies….using the Bible alone. In order to do this we will have to go to Daniel chapter 7 where you will see some very familiar scenes to the one we just read.
Quick note: In Bible prophecy, symbols are used to represent important realities. We even looked up some of those symbols together. We saw that a “beast” represents a kingdom or nation. (Daniel 7:17,23)
We saw that “the sea” represents multitudes of people. (Revelation 17:1,15)
One we didn’t look at is “wind”. In prophecy “wind” represents strife or warfare. You can get this from Jeremiah 49:36,37 and Revelation 7:1-3.
In Daniel 7 we see a repetition of what we learned in Daniel 2 except it keeps going and adds more details. Daniel 2 was a prophecy that laid out the fall of the Babylonian empire and the superpowers that would dominate after Babylon. Instead of using a giant statue here, God gives the same message using very descriptive beasts with more detail. (Refer to the table below)
(Daniel 7:2-4) Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. [3] And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. The first was LIKE A LION, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.
This kingdom represented Babylon. If you were alive at the time of this kingdom then there would be no doubt of what nation the winged lion symbolized. Even today we see winged lions still among the ruins of this ancient empire and also all over the excavated gates of the city. Notice also Daniel said “it was made to stand on two feet like a man and a man’s heart was given to it”. Do you remember the story of where God took away Nebuchadnezzar’s sanity and the king was like one of the beasts of the field even eating grass like oxen? After a time God restored Nebuchadnezzar again and the king glorified and praised God. He was then converted. (Daniel 4:31-37)
Let’s look at the second beast now.
Daniel 7:5 “And suddenly another beast, a second, LIKE A BEAR. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’
We know from history and the Bible that the armies of Media and Persia conquered Babylon and became the next superpower at that time. The three ribs in its mouth represent the three nations that this superpower defeated and destroyed to gain dominance. Those three nations were Babylon, Egypt, and Lidya. It was standing up on one side to symbolize that eventually the Persians overruled the Medes. Remember the story of Daniel and the lion’s den? And King Darius who was tricked into putting Daniel in the den? King Darius was the king of the Medo Persian empire during this time.
Let’s look at the next one.
Daniel 7:6 “After this I looked, and there was another, 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.
We know from the Bible and also history who the superpower was that defeated the Persian empire. It was Greece. Alexander the Great was young, very young, but the man was a military genius and the speed that he conquered the then known world has never been matched since. A leopard is known for its speed naturally and then add not only two, but four wings to it. Unfortunately for Alexander he died at a very young age and on his deathbed he divided and gave his empire over to his four generals, that is why you see four heads on the leopard.
Let’s check out the next beast now.
Daniel 7:7 “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.“
Daniel knew what animals looked like. It was easy for him to recognize a lion, a bear, and a leopard, but he had never seen anything like this fourth beast. We know from history who this superpower was that conquered Greece along with most of the rest of the European continent. It was the empire of Rome. This is the empire that was in control during the time of our Lord Jesus.
If you remember the study on Daniel 2 you will once again see that here is an identical prophecy. Just as the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream had ten toes that represented the eventual division of the Roman empire into ten separate and small kingdoms, so too this beast had ten horns. Just as the dream in Daniel 2 ends with an everlasting kingdom so too does this Prophecy.
| Daniel 2 | Daniel 7 | Kingdom | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | Lion | Babylon | 605-539 B.C. |
| Silver | Bear | Medo-Persia | 539-331 B.C. |
| Bronze | Leopard | Greece | 331-168 B.C. |
| Iron | Dragon Beast | Rome | 168-476 A.D. |
| Iron Toes | 10 Horns | Divided Rome | 476-538 A.D. |
| Clay | Little Horn | Religious Rome | 538-1798 A.D. |
| Stone/Mountain Kingdom | Most High | Christs Coming | No One Knows |
“I, Daniel, was GRIEVED in my spirit within my body, and the VISIONS of my head TROUBLED ME. [16] I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: [17] ‘Those GREAT BEASTS, which are four, are FOUR KINGS which arise out of the earth. [18] But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’
The angel assured him that these would be four kingdoms that would arise but not too worry, God will have it under control and in the end His kingdom will reign forever and ever.
Ok so now that we established these beasts, next we can get back on track. You’re probably wondering what all this has to do with antichrist. We will see soon enough.
(Daniel 7:8) I was considering the horns, and there was ANOTHER HORN, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, IN THIS HORN, WERE EYES LIKE THE EYES OF A MAN, and a mouth speaking pompous words.
Ok so he’s saying there were ten horns, plus a very intimidating “little horn”. This “little horn” was a very distinct and small kingdom and “different” then the others. If you read on in the chapter Daniel says he watched till all the kingdoms were “thrown down” and judgment started. (verse 10) He was intrigued by the “words” that this little horn spoke and kept watching till this “beast” was destroyed and cast into the fire. If you go on to verse 15 to 27 you will see Daniel repeats himself again. He must have been really really intrigued and troubled by what this beast and little horn was and what it was doing to God’s people. Fortunately for Daniel and for us today, the angel gave him the following explanation.
(Daniel 7:24-28) The ten horns are ten kings Who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones, And shall subdue three kings. [25] He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time. [26] ‘But the court shall be seated, And they shall take away his dominion, To consume and destroy it forever. [27] Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’ [28] “This is the end of the account. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance changed; but I kept the matter in my heart.”
Isn’t it amazing friends? Here we see all these individual beasts that John saw as recorded in Revelation 13. In Daniel’s time, he had the vision in Babylon, the period of the lion. The other powers to come were still future, and are listed as Lion, Bear, Leopard and Indescribable Beast. In Johns time he is living in the period of the Indescribable Beast and lists them in order going backwards, Leopard, Bear, and Lion. What severly troubled both John and Daniel is the actions that were done by fourth beast, specifically the Little Horn power of the fourth beast. You will see that here we can clearly identify the antichrist.
Part 2, The Little Horn
I love this part. God leaves no room for guesswork. In the year 351 AD, the Roman empire fell apart. Ten tribes rebelled at once and the Roman army crumbled. Rome was divided into ten different nations or groups of people…but…there’s a but…this “little horn” arose also.
Now we can start to identify it.
Let’s look at ten different characteristics of the little horn.
#1. It arises from Western Europe, from “among” the rest of the horns. (Daniel 7:8)
#2. It is small. (Daniel 7:8)
#3. It arises “after” the 10 tribes of Europe are established. (Daniel 7:24)
#4. It destroys three of the other horns/nations. (Daniel 7:8)
#5. It is “different from” the other 10 powers. (Daniel 7:24)
#6. A man would speak for the little horn. (Daniel 7:8)
#7. It blasphemes against God, speaking “pompous words against the Most High” (Daniel 7:25)
#8. It would “persecute” God’s people. (Daniel 7:25)
#9. This power “shall intend to change times and law” (Daniel 7:25), this indicates that an attempt would be made to change the law of God.
#10. It would reign for 1,260 years, “a time and times and half a time” (Daniel 7:25).
In Bible prophecy, a “time” is one year, “times” is two years, and “half a time” is six months. This totals 3 and a half years.
Based on the 30-day calendar used by the ancient Scriptures, three and-a-half years is 1,260 days. In Bible prophecy, a day is a symbolic code for a literal year (Ezekiel 4:6). So 1,260 days represent 1,260 years. Seven times in the books of Daniel and Revelation, this same time period is given—using different phrases—to represent the length of rule for this power.
So there are our ten identifying marks. Let’s see if we can clearly identify this “little horn”. The truth of the matter is there is only one power that fits all those marks.
As we go through this remember what both John and Paul both said about antichrist..that it would arise from within the church. When Christianity stays faithful to God’s Word, the church is a source of light, grace, and blessing. But when Christian’s stray away from faithfulness to the Bible and allow Bible truth to be buried by traditions, false doctrines, and church rules, the church cannot fulfill the position God has called it to fulfill. Disaster follows. This is exactly what happened to the church. This is what Paul was so worried about when he said “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.” (Acts 20:29-31)
What I will now do is name the power that all those points we went over, from scripture, are talking about. And then we will go through each point step by step.
The “little horn” that is being revealed is The Roman Catholic Church, Papal Rome. When I say this I want to be very clear about this. We are NOT talking about Catholic people. I have many Catholic friends and I know them to be kind and loving, sincere, people. We are talking about a system. A very corrupt system. A system that has influenced the entire world and is currently working on influencing it even more.
#1. It arises from Western Europe, from “among” the rest of the horns. (Daniel 7:8)
Yes. The Papacy arose in Western Europe and its headquarters are there today.
#2. It is “small”. (Daniel 7:8)
Yes. The Vatican to this day is the smallest nation in the world at only 109 acres. Yes. It is it’s own nation.
#3. It arises “after” the 10 tribes of Europe are established. (Daniel 7:24)
Yes. The Vatican arose after the other 10 nations that divided Rome. These 10 nations were established by 476 AD. The Vatican came to full and complete political power in 538 AD.
#4. It destroys three of the other horns/nations. (Daniel 7:8)
Yes. Any history student should know the Vatican conquered three nations as it arose to power. The emperors of Western Europe were largely Catholic except for three of them. The Heruli, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths stood up and against the church. All three of these were “plucked out by the roots” and completely disappeared from Europe. The last to be officially ousted were the Ostrogoths in 538.
#5. It is “different from” the other 10 powers. (Daniel 7:24) Yes. The Vatican is “different” from the other nations in that it is both a religious and political power. Even currently 184 countries have full diplomatic relationships with the papacy, including the United States.
#6. A man would speak for the little horn. (Daniel 7:8) Yes. This “man” is the Pope, whom has complete and total authority over the Vatican and the entire church. It’s interesting that every other nation in Europe has at one time or another had at least one queen as its head, except for the Vatican which has always had a pope.
#7. It blasphemes against God, speaking “pompous words against the Most High” (Daniel 7:25)
Yes. The Bible defines blasphemy as a person having power to forgive sins (Luke 5:21) or a person claiming to be God (John 10:33). The Vatican blasphemes against God by claiming to have the power to forgive sin, and by claiming authority that belong to God alone. In their own words, the following is out of the book “The Complete Catechism Of The Catholic Religion” by Joseph Deharbe, 1912 edition, page 279, it is in question and answer format.
“QUESTION: Does the priest truly forgive the sins, or does he only declare they are remitted? ANSWER: The priest does really and truly forgive the sins in virtue of the power given to him by Christ”
The Papacy further undermines Jesus by setting up a system of confession to an earthly priest, completely bypassing Jesus, our High Priest (Hebrews 3:1; 8:1-2) and ONLY Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5).
Consider the following two statements from the Popes themselves.
Pope Leo XIII, June 20,1894 in an Encyclical letter titled The Reunion of Christendom wrote, “We [the popes] hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty”.
In The Catholic National, a printed news publication it is written “The Pope is not only the representative of Jesus Christ, but he is Jesus Christ, Himself, hidden under the veil of the flesh”.
#8. It would “persecute” God’s people. (Daniel 7:25)
Yes. That the church was a persecuting power is no secret. The Church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any other institution that ever existed among mankind, that fact will not be questioned by any Protestant who has a competent knowledge of history. I have to say I do admire the sincerity of Pope John Paul II on March 13, 2000 when he publically and sincerely asked for forgiveness for the mistakes made by the Roman Catholic church over the last 2000 years. It took a lot of courage and humility to do that.
#9. This power “shall intend to change times and law” (Daniel 7:25), this indicates that an attempt would be made to change the law of God.
Notice that the text says that this power “shall INTEND to change times and law”, meaning it would make an attempt to do so but we know that Gods Law cannot be changed. In Psalm 19:7 it is written, “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;” also Psalm 111:7-8 reads “The works of His hands are verity and justice; All His precepts are sure. They stand fast forever and ever, And are done in truth and uprightness.”
Yes, the Roman Catholic Church has made an attempt to change God’s law in several ways. They attempted to change God’s law by substituting Sunday for the Bible Sabbath, the sabbath commandment is the only law which is also a “time”. They also completely removed the second commandment about idols from their official teachings and then split the tenth commandment in two so as to still have ten commandments. Check this out for yourself by comparing the Ten Commandments in any Catechism to Gods list of the commandments. (Exodus 20:2-17)
#10. It would reign for 1,260 years, “a time and times and half a time” (Daniel 7:25)
Now this one is absolutely amazing. This same time period is mentioned seven times in Daniel and Revelation. (Daniel 7:25; 12:7; Revelation 11:2,3; 12:6,14; 13:5) Three times it’s mentioned as “time, times, and half a time, twice it’s mentioned as 42 months, and twice as 1,260 days. Based on the 30 day Jewish calendar these time periods are all the same amount of time. 3.5 years = 42 months = 1260 days.
In Bible prophecy a day equals a year. (Ezekiel 4:6; Numbers 14:24)
The Vatican gained complete control in 538 AD right after ousting the last of the three Arian tribes. It reigned until 1798, exactly 1,260 years. In 1798, the emperor Napoleon had Pope Pius VI taken captive, beheaded the priests and prelates and the Vatican lost its title as a self governing power. The Pope later died in captivity.
Part 3: The Wound is Healed.
Please understand that the information you just read through is not something new or something that I came up with. This is old news already preached by the early reformers including our Anabaptist forefathers.
So why is the Papacy thriving and there is a Pope today? It is absolutely amazing how God laid this all out for us.
Let’s go back to Revelation 13 now where we started from. Here we see a repeat of what we saw in Daniel 7, a repeat where God then goes on to add even more information.
(Revelation 13:1-2) “Then I stood on the sand of the SEA. And I saw a BEAST rising up out of the sea, having SEVEN HEADS and TEN HORNS, and on his horns TEN CROWNS, and on his heads a BLASPHEMES NAME. [2] Now the beast which I saw was LIKE A LEOPARD, his feet were like the FEET OF A BEAR, and his mouth like the MOUTH OF A LION. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great AUTHORITY.”
This first beast here in Revelation 13 and the little horn of Daniel 7 are the same entity. Notice the similarities. Both speak blasphemes (Daniel 7:25; Rev. 13:5,6) Both persecute God’s people (Daniel 7:21,25; Rev. 13:7) and both rule for 1,260 years (Daniel 7:25; Rev. 13:5)
So yes, this is a repeat of Daniel 7. I want to now show you what the Bible said would happen after this power rules for 1,260 years.
Immediately after John saw this beast come up out of the sea, he also saw this happen…
(Revelation 13:3) “And I saw one of his heads as if it had been MORTALLY WOUNDED, and his DEADLY WOUND WAS HEALED. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.”
A mortal wound is a wound that you die from. It kills you…but John tells us that its deadly wound was then healed. We read that in 1798, exactly 1260 years after the Papacy was official in power, Napoleon put an abrupt end to the Papacy by taking the Pope captive and it seemed the Papacy was done for. It’s interesting that same chapter in verse 10 says “He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.” When Napoleon’s general, Bertier, took captive the Pope, he also had the priests there in the Vatican beheaded.
So how was this deadly wound healed? We go ahead in time 131 years to the year 1929. I’m willing to bet that our great grandparents remember the newspaper headlines that day.
That day the “deadly wound was healed”. An agreement was made between Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, and the crippled papacy that was known as the Lateran Treaty.
Upon ratification of the Lateran Treaty, the papacy recognized the state of Italy, with Rome as its capital. Italy in return recognized papal sovereignty over the Vatican City, a minute territory of 44 hectares (109 acres), and secured full independence for the pope. A number of additional measures were agreed upon. Article 1, for example, gave the city of Rome a special character as the “centre of the Catholic world and place of pilgrimage.” Article 20 stated that all bishops were to take an oath of loyalty to the state and had to be Italian subjects speaking the Italian language.
Ever since then the Church of Rome has been ever increasing in power. Not only in religious power over the masses but also politically. Today there are almost 190 countries that have ambassadors to the Vatican. It has been almost 36 years since the United States sent their first ambassador to be recognized and blessed by Pope John Paul II. No other church on earth can claim such influence. This influence is and will continue to increase more and more each day and through her influence the Bible tells us that she will unite with another beast, another power, that will enforce her deceptions on the entire world in direct opposition to the word of God. The events that will take place as a result of these two powers is a subject for a future study. The very word “Catholic” derives originally from the Greek word “katholikos” which means “universal”. A whole separate write up could be done on all the churches who have now made peace with the “mother church” and declare the protest to be over.
(Revelation 13:3) “And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And ALL THE WORLD MARVELED AND FOLLOWED THE BEAST.”
Churches don’t typically set out to misrepresent the Word of God. In fact, in most cases, those who are teaching unbiblical doctrines are unaware they are doing so, and are intending to be a blessing to the world. But when Bible truth is rejected, churches can only offer the world a gospel that is riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies. Such errors cause a lot of harm, and some are dangerous and misleading. False teachings also misrepresent the character of God, making it difficult for people to truly understand God’s grace and mercy, and the beauty of the gift of eternal life.
Jesus pledges to live in the lives of all who surrender themselves completely and fully to Him. When your life is given to Christ, you have the assurance that His power fills you, directs you, and keeps you. No one is left to fight the power of evil on his or her own. Jesus living His life in you enables you to live a life of faith and victory! Romans 6:16 (KJV) says, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”
The Bible describes the group of people in the last days who will not receive the Mark of the Beast. “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (Rev. 12:17; 14:12)
I hope and pray this study was an eye-opener for you and will help you in preparing yourself and examining yourself in whom it is you are serving and if the things you believe and practice are biblical, or influenced by a long line of traditions that go against the word of God. Stay tuned for a future study in which we will directly identify what the mark will be.