Led by the Unholy Trinity
Since the creation of man, Satan has been totally focused on wiping out the people of God from the earth and setting up a kingdom totally devoted to himself. Yet to date, he has been unable to complete this evil mission, as Jesus Christ continues to reign in the hearts of millions of His people. Knowing the purposes of the enemy, our Commander-in-Chief now provides His army with information regarding Satan’s future attempt to establish an anti-Christian power throughout the earth. This phase of John’s vision begins with Satan, the dragon, standing alongside the sea, knowing that his time is rapidly running out. If he is to successfully complete his mission of worldwide conquest, he must quickly rally the entire world to unify under his lordship. He is about to establish the greatest and most powerful kingdom in the age of mankind. This kingdom will be led by two men anointed with monumental satanic power, and their primary mission will be to rally the world to rise up and devour all those who faithfully proclaim the name of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
ANTICHRIST – THE FINAL WORLD RULER
From within this seventh kingdom will arise a leader who will perfectly personify the darkness of Satan in the flesh, an “anointed one” whom Satan has chosen to rule over this final demonic kingdom. This is the Antichrist, Satan’s messiah to the world, who possesses his father’s image and will require all the earth to bow down and worship his spiritual father. Just as Christ is the Son of God who came in the flesh to redeem His people out of the world, now the Antichrist is the son of Satan who comes in the flesh to eliminate the people of God from the face of the earth. Satan believes that by overcoming the people of God, he would have a legitimate claim to be the greatest and most deserving ruler over all of creation. Here we see this dragon in the world working to overthrow the Kingdom of God, but his ultimate ambition is to defeat God’s plan for His people and thus argue that he is more qualified to rule over all creation.
Antichrist will emerge on the world political scene, bringing new hope through a multitude of promised “changes”. He will honor all who acknowledge him and set them up as rulers and reward them with land and wealth taken from among the people. Because of the apparent relationship of the ten horns to the Roman Empire revealed in the book of Daniel, it appears as if the Antichrist may arise out of a modern culture that is descended from the ancient Roman Empire. However, he may or may not presently be a citizen of any contemporary European, Middle Eastern, or northern African nation that was once a part of the Roman Empire. It’s possible that he could even be an American whose ancestors came from a region that was once under the control of the Roman Empire.
ANTICHRIST – HIS POPULARITY
That person who will one day fill the role of the Antichrist is likely a national political figure somewhere in the world today and viewed by his constituents as another popular and successful politician. He will emerge on the world’s political scene in the aftermath of worldwide economic, environmental, and military disasters. He gains control by stepping up at this time and mesmerizing the masses into believing that he alone is the one who can lead the world into peace and prosperity through a multitude of promised “changes.” He probably is quite handsome and certainly has a charismatic personality that can mesmerize the masses like a popular rock music celebrity. He will seduce many with flatteries to the point that even the wise among the people will stumble and be led astray. These are people who have been raised on “Hollywood stuff” and are schooled in a godless public educational system. They have very little conception of the history of the United States or the Middle East. All they know is that when they see and hear this man speak, it makes them feel “warm and fuzzy” inside. They relish hearing vague terms such as “hope and change.”
Although the man known as the Antichrist will be charismatic, he will also be very firm in his speech and probably with eyes that appear hypnotic, along the lines of Adolph Hitler’s. Being possessed by Satan, he will also have the fierce countenance of a lion - flattering but very dangerous to those who will not idolize him. He will be perceived by the masses as their true savior.
THE COMING OF THE FALSE PROPHET
There is a second agent through whom Satan will carry out his war against the Kingdom of God. He is symbolized as a beast with two horns like a lamb but one who speaks with the mouth of a dragon. This second beast is less terrifying in appearance, but will be been anointed by Satan with miraculous power. He is commonly referred to as the False Prophet. He will personify the tenderness and love of a lamb, yet it will be a deceptive form of love, for he will soothingly preach comforting lies intended to gain the loyalty of mankind through trickery.
The primary mission of the False Prophet will be to bring all of mankind to worship the Antichrist. He will have supernatural skills of persuasion, which he will use to promote the Antichrist as a great man with a tremendous love for his people and one who will bring peace and prosperity to the world. The False Prophet is the workhorse who causes the people to turn to Antichrist. Both delude the masses and exercise their authority over the world. Antichrist represents the kingdom of the world in the political and military realms, while the False Prophet deals with the religious, moral, and commercial aspects of this society.
Together with Satan, the Antichrist and the False Prophet will constitute an unholy trinity of malicious evil. As Christ received authority from His Father, so Antichrist receives authority from the Dragon; and as the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ, so the False Prophet glorifies the Antichrist