World Government / Antichrist

World Government

Rev.12:3 " And there appeared another wonder or sign in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, (Satan), having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. "

So this is another wonder, another sign;a sign that points to something else.

And behold a great red dragon. So it's a large, great in size, red dragon. This great red dragon is called the devil and Satan down in verse 9. And the Antichrist kingdom is empowered by this dragon in chapter 13:1,2--  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and I saw a beast rise up out of the sea.

Now this isn't the dragon. This is a beast.

Having 7 heads and 10 horns, and upon his horns 10 crowns, and upon his heads the names of blasphemy. And at the end of verse 2, it says the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. So the dragon is giving this Antichrist, (anti = against), system its power and authority. And this beast, it doesn't say there what color it is, but over in chapter 17:3 we see that this beast is also red. Verse 3, So he carried her away into the wilderness and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having 7 heads and 10 horns. It's that same beast. So this beast, you might say, is the spittin' image of its father, the devil, because it's the spirit of Satan that's in the hearts of men drawing them  through the lust of money and power and hatred of the truth-- that's what makes possible this beast system in the end of time.

So this beast, it says, has 7 heads.

It says, having seven heads and ten horns. Seven heads again points you to the parallel in Rev.17:9,10. It tells you what these 7 heads represent. Rev. 17:9, And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. Now mountains speak of kingdoms in the Scripture. And there are 7 kingdoms, 5 are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

So since Babel, and Babel is found in Genesis 11, there have been 7, you might say, world kingdoms; kingdoms of world scope and world power in terms of the Biblical world. Now there have been other kingdoms such as Gangus Kahn's kingdom when he tried to conquer all of China, and other world kingdoms. But in Bible terms, in terms of the kingdoms that the Bible talks about, there have been 6 powerful world kingdoms, and they are: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medio- Persia, Greece, Rome, the one that is, and one is yet to come, the Antichrist system at the end of time-- the 7th and last world system we see in Rev.12:3 and Rev.17:9-17.

Now, notice something very interesting here and something very relevant to what we can expect in the days ahead. That is, that this great red dragon has seven heads and ten horns before the manchild is caught up, Rev.12:5. The manchild has not yet been caught up here. So there is going to be a world government in the end of time, and we're going to be living under it before the Rapture comes. This is important, because if you don't have this truth; you will think there is no Rapture or your in the tribulation.

The 10 horns = 10 powerful kings that will reign with the antichrist in this last world government, Rev.17: 9-17.

Rev.17:9,10-- 5 have fallen: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medio- Persia, Greece, one that is, Rome, and one yet to come--the last world government with 10 kings that hold the power of the world. In 2 Thess.2:3, you see the first revealing of the antichrist, and in verse 6, you see that something is holding him back from taking full power-- withholdeth (Gr.)  " The thing holding down " which is the bride of Christ or more specifically the manchild. Now after the Rapture, you see the 2nd revealing of the antichrist, verses 7,8-- the antichrist will come forth with full power and fulfill Rev.13:7 and 2 Thess. 2: 9 --working of Satan, etc. with lying signs and wonders. Now notice back in verse 1 of 2 Thess. 2 that it is talking about the Rapture--us gathering unto him (1Thess.4:16-18) and verse 2 says, the day of Christ (Gr.)-- the Lord is at hand. He's saying don't be shaken or troubled, because the Rapture (verse 1) can not happen until verse 3, the falling away and the man of sin is revealed --these have not yet happened. So the Rapture can not happen until verse.3, the falling away and the first revealing of the Antichrist.

Rev.12:3 We see the first form of world government where the antichrist is revealed but not yet in power as you see in Revelation 13:1 with Revelation 17:9,10 where the ten horns are crowned. In 12:3, you see that the horns are not yet crowned, only the seven heads are crowned. In Rev. 17:9,10, the 10 kings have given the antichrist power and then the world marvels at him. That's when the antichrist rules with the working of Satan-- 2 Thess.2:9 (Greek for working) is Energia = to work in or work within, also, read Daniel 8:24. I believe Satan in the flesh is a counterfeit to Jesus, who was God in the flesh. This is when the whole world will follow the Antichrist-- Rev.13:3. I believe that after the first form of world government, the manchild will be born and have a powerful ministry ( Ezekiel 37:1-14; Daniel 11:32; Isaiah 66:5-11; Ephesians 4:11-17, etc.. ) and bring millions into the kingdom of God and bring a temporary death wound to the world government. During this temporary death wound to the world government, God will move in a mighty and wonderful way bringing in the great harvest. Then the Rapture, Jude 23--pulling them out of the fire, (Gr.) harparzo, same as in 1 Thess.4:16 and Revelation 12:5. The Rapture is pulling them out of the fire. Revelation 12:4 says Satan stands there ready to devour the manchild, but praise God He Harparzo's us to His throne forever. NOW THAT SHOULD BE OUR VISION! Then the 2nd form of world government (the 2nd revealing of the antichrist) when Satan will have rule over the whole earth through the antichrist and the ten kings during the Great Tribulation period.

Now let's look at Revelation 13:1-10 in more detail

Revelation 13:1 " And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name (or names) of blasphemy. "

" And I stood upon the sand of the sea. " The best Manuscripts instead of saying "And I stood," say " And it stood, or and he stood upon the sand of the sea. " And that would point us back to the dragon in chapt. 12:17. And so in those Manuscripts, what you would do is, you would connect this first clause of chapt. 13 onto the end of chapt. 12. So it would read "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. And it or he stood upon the sand of the sea. " End of chapt. 12.

And so if the above is true, then chapt. 13 would start out with, "And I saw " because the pronoun I is contained right in the verb saw, here in the middle of 13:1. So it would start out, "And I saw a beast rise up out of the sea," etc..

If you would read, "And I stood", then the point would be that John is now looking from an earthly standpoint. That is, he is going to begin to describe things happening in the world system. He is going to now go back and look at the same period of time that he has been talking about in chapt. 12:5-17, the Rapture, and the Tribulation upon the woman, the remnant church. And the fact that John is standing upon the sand of the sea, shows that he is in a realm, he is concentrating on a realm that deals with the people of the earth, because the sand of the sea points to the people on earth, the multitudes of the nations.

Now a second possibility, which is probably more likely. If we read, "And it stood", or "And he stood" upon the sand of the sea, that is, the dragon, Satan, this may point to the truth that we have already seen-- that now Satan is standing on the sand of the sea. That is, he is present on earth. He has lost his position in heaven and now he is going forth on the earth. And so now with Satan present, his previously death-wounded system now rises up again out of the commotion and out of the turmoil of the nations in a new form and with new power. The same dragon who was seen in chapt. 12 having 7 heads and 10 horns now being present on earth becomes the motivating power behind this new world government that rises up with new strength when it is revived, after the manchild is caught up. (Chapt. 12:3 we see the dragon still in heaven, but in v.7 there is a war in heaven, and Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, etc.. v. 9 the dragon (Satan) is cast out into the earth, and his angel were cast out with him). Remember, Satan has been behind all of the world governments since the beginning of time. He has been trying to use them to bring man into a one world system to worship him. Now, he gives this system its authority and power, and you read that in the last part of Rev. 13:2 "And the dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority. "

So the beast rose up out of the sea in verse 1. And the sea, of course, is the peoples of the nations. A couple of references: Rev.17:1,15, says the waters are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. That is what the waters are. They are the people of the earth.

So out of the commotion and the financial panic and the restlessness and the agitation of the nations on earth, and out of the quickly changing moods and fears, they are persuadable-- they're manipulable. So out of the passions of the people on earth crying out for stability, rises this new antichrist system (Don't we see this today). Great turmoil on earth has always given rise to dictatorships, because people are looking for somebody to save them. And so the whole world here is in turmoil, and they become willing to accept a world ruler.

Already as far as things have gone there are people that are saying, the only way out is for a world government with a world ruler to solve all our problems. One U.N. official said, " What the world needs today is a superman. " And the world is going to get a superman, but he is not going to do what they think he is going to do.

References: Luke 21:25; 1Thess.5:3; Daniel 7:2.... "Behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea." So you see the four winds of the heaven, and I believe that speaks about demonic oppression and agitation and turmoil upon the earth to whip up the nations into a frenzy (Isaiah 5:30).

Also, Daniel 7:3... Then in verse 4 and following, he goes on to describe these 4 beasts, and they are four Empires reaching from Babylon down to the end of time. And so again, he sees these beasts coming up out of the sea, out of the restless nations of the world (Psalms 65:7; Jer.5:22).

Now back in Rev.13:1, He says he saw a beast. And so this is a beast. It is not precisely the same as the dragon. In chapt.12:3, he saw a dragon with 7 heads and 10 horns. This time he sees a beast with 7 heads and 10 horns, but it is the dragon that gives this beast its authority, and we see that in the next verse.

Now this beast is both the Antichrist and his government system on the earth. The Greek is more specific-- it's a wild beast. That's what it says in the Greek. And all through the chapter here it refers to this beast as him, that is, in the King James Bible. But it is ambiguous in the Greek and could be translated either him or it, because the pronoun for both of them in the particular case that is continually being used here is the same whether it is masculine or neuter. It could be him, or it could be it. The only exception to that is found is in verse 8a where it says."....Shall worship him ", and there it is definitely him and cannot be it. "Him" does not agree with wild beast, which is neuter, and so this would point to the fact that they are worshipping the man. They are actually worshipping this man, the Antichrist. But aside from that, through out the chapter keep in mind that it is open-- it could be it, or him.

And so both are in view, both the man and the system behind the man because they are one. They are accomplishing the same purpose. It is his system.

Now this beast has 7 heads and 10 horns. And so it is the same 7 heads and 10 horns that were on the dragon in Rev. 12:3, also the same as the 7 heads that were spoken of in Rev. 17:9,10. And we saw already that those 7 heads are 7 world Empires down through time that have co-operated with Satan. The last one is the Antichrist system. Now these 10 horns here are all on the 7th head. They're all on one head. We know that because the 10 horns are said to reign one hour with the beast in chapter 17. So they have their power, they have their crowns in the time of the beast system, not back in the time of Babylon or Greece or Rome or any of these others-- they're all on the 7th head.

Now it says here that upon his horns were 10 crowns. So the horns now are crowned. If you compare that back to chapter 12 and verse 3, there you see that the great red dragon had 7 heads and 10 horns and 7 crowns upon his heads. So at that time, the 7th world government, that is, the last day world government, is in power because it's crowned. All the others have had power and now it has power. But, the 10 horns are not yet crowned. They have not received a kingdom as yet. But, chapter 17 tells us in verse 12... "And the 10 horns which thou sawest are 10 kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast." So in chapt. 13:1, the 10 horns are crowned. So we know that this is that one hour that they receive power to reign with the beast. It's that 42 month tribulation that chapt. 13 talks about.

Horns = power. So we're talking about 10 powerful ones who are crowned and they reign as kings. They are the 10 men who reign as kings.

Crowns here is Diadems. It's a ruling crown-a royal crown. It's not a victor's wreath. It's a crown of authority and ruler ship, so they are reigning as kings, Dan. 7:7,8,19,20,23-24.

10 Horns

         The ten horns are not 10 European Common- Market nations as almost everybody teaches, because if you look at scripture carefully, you'll see that, these are not 10 nations, and they're not 10 men who have national power as yet, Rev.17:12 (Read). When do they receive the kingdom? Well, the last part of the verse says, "But receive power as kings one hour with the beast." So it's not until that hour that they're reigning with the beast that they receive power. Up until that time, they have received no kingdom as yet. So it can't be France, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Italy, and these others, because the 10 kings have received no kingdom as yet. And even when they do receive power, they don't become kings of nations, it says, "They receive power as kings one hour with the beast", so they have power as kings. They don't become kings in the literal sense-- they don't have a coronation ceremony, necessarily and have crowns put on their heads, but they become as kings. They have the power as though they were kings, as though they had unlimited dominion, yet they're not kings in the traditional sense.

          Do these 10 kings have a kingdom at the time? No, they don't. The 10 kings have no kingdom as yet and that is really pictorially illustrated in Rev.12:3 because the 10 horns have no crowns. The 7 heads are crowned. It says, "There are 7 crowns upon his heads", and so the last world government has been crowned. It's now the time of the Antichrist Government at the end, but the 10 horns are not yet crowned. Down in Rev.13:1 you see that the Tribulation has set in, and now "There are 10 crowns upon his horns." So at that point, they have received power to reign as kings one hour with the beast. And even when they do receive power to reign, that doesn't necessarily mean that they divide off sections of territory and say, you're king over this and you're king over Europe, and you've got Australia, and you've got South East Asia. It's not like that. They're reigning as kings. They have a power, but it's not in the sense of a national power as we've seen before. They are 10 men that reign as kings but have no kingdom. Now there are reports that the Club of Rome has divided the world into ten political/economic regions, but that doesn't necessarily mean these 10 horns or 10 powerful men will reign over each one. Rev.17 says that they reign as kings but have no kingdom. So I believe that it's very possible that these 10 horns are speaking of 10 powerful men reigning behind the scenes.

          They aren't just powerless men and then all of a sudden they gain total power. It's not like that. It's not a simplistic picture. They've been building this thing-- they have been engineering this thing all along. And they have power now, but they don't have the power they're going to have. The best interpretation to make of these 10 kings would be to make them not 10 nations or literal kings but 10 powerful men; 10 mighty powerful men in the world scene. When you look at the world scene, you realize the Presidents and Prime ministers and kings of nations are not the men who really hold the power. The Presidents and Prime ministers are implementing policies that their advisors give them. If you know anything about the advisors of the President of the United States, you know that they're all members of the Council on Foreign Relations-- they are all influenced by the thinking of the Rockefellers and Rothschilds, etc....

          They're all having one frame of mind-- and that is that nationalism is becoming out- moded. We need a new world system. They're working toward that. The men who really hold the power are big money men.

          The founder of the Rothschild Banking family back in the 1700's said this, "You give the control of a nation's purse strings, and I care not who is king of that nation." Because he realized that the men who hold the financial power are the ones who really reign, because money and sustenance and food and making a living is what controls people's lives.

          These 10 men are 10 men of great financial power. They are international bankers. It's highly, highly likely that that's the best interpretation of what they are. They are international money men-- they are kings without a kingdom. They are kings who have received no kingdom as yet, and yet they have power. They are internationalists. They transcend the nations that we know of today. They're pushing for a system which goes beyond nations. They're trying to do away with the power and the sovereignty of nations so they can have a world control.

          And they will receive a kingdom as they pool their power and wealth together to support the beast. That's what it says in Rev.17:12,13. The end of verse 12 says, "They have received no kingdom as yet." So they're looking for a kingdom, singular. They want a singular kingdom. They want a World Government kingdom. They receive power as kings one hour with the beast. "These have one mind and shall give their power and strength unto the beast." So they pool their strength together and they have one mind to produce one system they can all control. And they give their strength and power to the beast so that they can bring in that system. So this proves they're not existing nations or heads of states, which are not really in control of things anyway.

          Now their motive is world financial and political control. That's what they want. They want to control the world through money. And by controlling the world, control money; they are looking for two things: they want money and they want control. Those are the two things they're looking for. And the control is so they can have money, but you could say the money is so they can have control too-- you see what I mean? It's one big fantastically demonic deception. It's a demonic force driving them to desire to control everything: all the people and the wealth of the world. 1 Tim.6:10 says, "The love of money is the root of all evil." It's the love of money which produces this culmination of all evil, the end time Satanic world kingdom.

          Now these men are not strong enough to accomplish this that they desire to bring in as individuals, but uniting behind their man, the beast, the Antichrist, they achieve their goal of world dominion. And even then, it's taken many years of a systematic brainwash-- step by step. In every area of society, they've had to work to get people into this frame of mind where they'll be forced to accept this system that they want to bring in.

          If they were strong enough to bring this in, they would have brought it in long ago; but they've been working toward it. They've had to try to tear down a lot of things and try to build up a lot of other things in order to bring it in. They've had to try to erode the United States; lower its morale; get the people away from God-- there's been many facets of this deception.

          It's hard to imagine, you think, real nice, real lovely plans they have. You can just imagine them getting together, whoever they are-- their cohorts together in their secret meetings-- like the Builderbergs. You can just imagine, you know, there's no joy, there's no singing, there's no hope, there's no love, etc... There's no unity of heart, they're only coming together because they see that they need one another to accomplish their end. And if they could, they would out do one another and monopolize one another and put each other down and each one of them would get the whole thing for himself if he could. They're just totally selfishly, demonically inspired.

          And they get together and, in effect, what they're doing is planning, how can we deceive? How can we get God out of people's minds so that they'll put away these old- fashioned ideas about God and be willing to realize that this is man's day and man is going to have his utopia? How can we manufacture an energy crunch? Let's see what we can do to drive prices up so we can make windfall profits, so we can buy up the other corporations-- this will get us where we want to go faster. How can we infiltrate the universities? We need to establish new educational foundations. And how can we build up a one world frame of mind in young people and get them to think patriotism is over and it's a foolish, old concept? And get them to laugh at it and think it's stupid? How can we get all the politicians and their advisors so that they will be influenced by us?

          Well, we have to have an organization prestigious enough so that people will think that if they don't belong to this, they don't really know what's happening in the world. We'll call it the Council On Foreign Relations, or we'll call it The Trilateral Commission or this or that.

          How can we get the young people away from religion and into sin and pleasure so that they will have no character to resist the advent of our system? How can we get them addicted to drugs and alcohol? Keep their minds full of lust and sex? They're actually doing this. I read an article several years ago that the drug trade with S.E. Asia, where there is opium fields and they're manufacturing heroine, is bankrolled by the Chase- Manhattan Bank. You know this is happening, there's big, big money in drugs. You know they are doing this, that's why it's still a major problem. They're making millions; hundreds of millions of dollars on this. So the Chase- Manhattan Bank in New York City is involved with these drug addicts in New York City who knock down old ladies and steal their purses. These old ladies don't know that's because the Chase- Manhattan Bank has brought the whole thing into existence.

          There's such a brainwash that people don't even know that it's spread-- the tentacles of this system. People think how can we, a free power nation be forced into such a system as that?

          In Vietnam, and many other things have been a part of lowering the morale of this nation and to paralyze it-- and many other political moves. The United States has gotten into such a frame of mind where we think we have to cultivate world opinion to support everything we do, and if world opinion is not behind us, we fear and tremble to do anything. We can't do anything as a nation, as an individual nation. We have to have one world opinion behind us. We are in such a mess!

          And you notice we appeal to the world court, the world bank, the U.N., etc... We now are in the frame of mind where we are getting into a pattern in which we will appeal to the world system for help, and we need the world system's sanction. And if the world system says we're just, then we're righteous; we're just. It's just another facet of the brainwash in the last days. And there are many, many other things that could be said. We are fast moving into a new world order!

          "Upon his heads the name of blasphemy." Name, Greek is plural-- "Names of blasphemy." He has names of blasphemy on all seven of his heads. And so all of these World Governments throughout time; they embodied principles, and they had idols, and they worshipped leaders who were glorified as gods. All of these things in God's eyes are names of blasphemy. You could probably conjecture what a few of them are. The Bible doesn't say.

I'll just name a few of them

1.) Nebo and Bill: the gods of Babylon.

2.) Nebuchadnezzar who made an image of himself, and that image was worshipped, and they played music and all had to bow down to it or be cast into the fiery furnace. That's a blasphemy of making him god.

3.) Athena and Zoos in Greece-- the gods who were just glorified men and women.

4.) In the Greek empire down in Egypt, the emperor Tolomy took on the title God the Savior. I am God the Savior, names of blasphemy.

5.) The Caesars were deified as god and there was emperor worship. So their names used in that way are names of blasphemy.

6.) Today, humanitarianism which is the glorification of man. Man is the goal of all things. Man can shape his own destiny. Man can bring about a perfect world. That's the names of blasphemy. It's not true, man needs God. He can't work things out by himself. That's a lie against the very way God has set things up, it's rebellion.

7.) Communism, Atheism, Evolution are names of blasphemy, saying that taking chance and making that take the place of God.

8.) The culmination of all these names of blasphemy is the Antichrist himself claiming to be God,

(2 Thess.2:4;Rev.13:5,6;17:3,5; Dan.7:25;11:36).

Revelation 13:2 "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, and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority."

          So it talks here about a leopard, a bear, and a lion. We see individual beast with these attributes mentioned in Dan.7:2-8, but they are mentioned in a reverse order. So we are going to see that there are aspects of this last day kingdom that are similar to the former world empires in past time. Why? Because Satan is the one that's behind them all.

          In Dan.7:6, Greece, the empire Greece, is compared to a leopard. Dan.8:5 is a parallel to Dan.7:6. This time Greece is shown under the image of a he goat coming from the west (Read). He touched not the ground, shows how fast he was going. The notable horn between his eyes is Alexander the Great. He was the emperor of Greece. This leopard is Greece. The image of it being a leopard, a he goat traveling at a fast rate are showing the speed with which Alexander conquered the world. In eleven years Alexander the Great conquered the entire known world to the border of India all the way from Greece.

          There's a quickness of his conquering. And probably that aspect is brought in here to show that the same is true of the Antichrist system in the last days. It will come upon the earth speedily. (Jer.13:23;Hab.1:8;Isa.5:26) Read.

          The beast in Revelation is said to have the feet of a bear. It had the body of a leopard and the feet of a bear. Dan.7:5, The bear is a symbol of the empire of the Medes and the Persians. So the Antichrist system in the end of time also is going to devour much flesh. In Revelation, the beast has the feet of a bear, and so that shows that it's stomping throughout the whole earth to devour much flesh. Not only the lives of men on earth, but the souls of men (Psa.2:3). Dan.8:6 speaks of this Persian empire as a ram that had two horns standing before the river. So Persia ruthlessly subdued the whole known world, so the Antichrist system will in the end of time. ( 1 Sam.17:34-37; 2 Kings 2:24; Hos.13:8).

          The beast in Revelation is said to have the mouth of a lion. And in Dan.7, Babylon is shown under the image of a lion. Dan.7:4 (Read) so the lion is Babylon. In Revelation, the beast has the mouth of a lion and so probably what we need to see here is that it speaks or manifests its authority in some way similar to the way Babylon did. It's deifying man as God. The Antichrist is worshipped as God, just as when Nebuchadnezzar commanded the image that he made to be worshipped by all. Nebuchadnezzar even had his own brand of music back then. So the Antichrist system does as well.

          Now it says in verse 2 that the dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority. And his seat is literally, his throne. The dragon gave him his throne because he gave himself to the dragon, and so   the dragon uses him. Dan.8:24;11:38 The Antichrist will worship the devil. Satan is the prince of this world,  John 12:31;Luke 4:5,6; 2 Cor. 4:4; 1 John 5:19.

Revelation 13:3 "And I saw one of the heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed; and all the world wondered after the beast."

          For more detail on this verse see the study on prophetic events.

Revelation 13:4 "And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?"

          The result is in verse 4, they worshipped the dragon. They worshipped the dragon because he gave power or authority unto the beast. That's why they worshipped the dragon, because of this awesome system of the dragon that is in power. And so by worshipping this system, they are worshipping Satan who is behind it. They are worshipping the devil who has been concealing himself behind the mask of all of these world governments every since Babylon.

          It says here also that they worshipped the beast. And that's primarily the system-- both the system and the man. But I believe the system particularly here is what's in view because in verse 3, all the world wondered (followed with wondering gaze) after the beast whose wound was healed--that speaks of the system coming up again. I don't think we're talking about the man somehow being killed and resurrected, but rather the system coming back in.

          So they are worshipping the beast that rose up again saying who is like unto the beast. God hates that! That is a blasphemous thing to say-- who is like unto the beast? Because this beast has deceived millions of souls, and now the beast is the greatest thing they know. Who's like unto the beast? They're totally locked into a worldly framework of the things in this world. They can't see beyond it. They are now spiritual prisoners in a realm far from God. They don't know anything about God's greatness, Isa.40:18-25 (Read).

          They also say, "Who is able to make war with him?" And so we see that the nations have submitted themselves and their armaments to a world government. And so they say, "Who is able to make war with him?" Nobody! The nations have given their power over to him and the international rulers are now in complete financial and political control as well.

Revelation 13:5 "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."

          So there was given unto him a mouth. And we saw already in verse 2 that he had a mouth as a lion. Again here you could read, "Was given unto him or it," that is, the beast, a mouth. So this mouth is the Antichrist. The system is the beast, and the mouth or mouthpiece that speaks for it is the Antichrist who is at the head of it. And if the beast has a mouth as a lion, then that would compare the Antichrist to a lion. We already saw that it is a strong possibility that this man is possessed by Satan who goes about as a roaring lion. So it has a mouth as a lion.

          Now this is a parallel to chapter 17:11, which says that he, the Antichrist, the man, is the eighth and is of the seventh. And so the mouth is at the head of this seventh world government system and he is the eighth. He is Satan's mouth during these 42 months, the one who speaks forth the will of Satan on earth.

Now it says that this mouth is speaking great things and blasphemies. Let's look at some parallels out of the book of Daniel

          Dan.11:36-39 (Read). We see that in 2 Thess. 2:4 that he will magnify himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped. He probably will actually sit in the holy of holies in the new temple that will be built in Israel. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, the true God and false gods, above every god, because he wants to be God. Satan is desiring to be worshipped by mankind. So this man having the heart of Satan will exalt himself above every god so that at last Satan can, in that short time, make one great attempt to fulfill his plan on the earth, which is to have all mankind worshipping not just false religions, not just idols, but him.

          God isn't fully pleased with His church yet, but Satan isn't fully pleased with his church. Even false religions that name the name of Christ, Satan is not fully pleased with. He is not satisfied with a religion that talks about Jesus dying for our sins and the blood of Jesus. Even if they think that the wine in the cup turns to the blood of Jesus, still they are talking about the blood of Jesus. Satan isn't satisfied to stop with bringing people into just a certain amount of darkness or a certain amount of deception-- he wants to totally deceive them. He wants them to come to a place where they openly and willingly acknowledge him as their god. That's the heart of the Antichrist, and Satan will use a man to do that. If they will worship that visible representation of the devil, in effect, they are worshipping the devil.

          That's why the Antichrist in 2 Thess.2:4 sits in the temple proclaiming himself to be God. It says in that verse that he exalts himself above all that is called God, true or false religion. He exalts himself above it all. He wants to be directly worshipped. Rev.13:4 shows the people of the earth worshipping the Antichrist and saying, who is like unto the beast, who is able to make war with him. See we have a world government now, a world leader-- who is able to make war with him? There has never been a world leader before. This is our savior.

      Also it says in Dan. 11:36, he shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished. After that, he won't prosper anymore. Verse 45 shows that he comes to his end, but he'll speak marvelous things against God. So Rev.13:5,6 show the Antichrist blaspheming God. Dan.7:8,11 fit with that as well.

          Dan.11:37-- He shall not regard the God of his fathers. Now that seems to indicate that the Antichrist will be Jewish because he won't regard the God of his fathers, the God of his fathers being Yahweh, the true God, the God that his fathers acknowledged. It seems to point to the fact that he is a Jew.

          Of course, that would make sense with a lot of other tie-ins in scripture. If Christ was a Jew, certainly it makes sense that the impostor Christ, the false Christ, would be a Jew in Satan's counterfeit scheme.

         Also the fact that he goes in and sits in the temple, the temple that the Jews will rebuild in the last days, claiming to be God would indicate to me that he is a Jew, and that on those grounds, he gains access to the temple. The only other way he could get into the temple is by sheer force. That is a possibility too. But I think that it is likely that being a Jew, he beguiles the Jewish leaders in the last days there in Jerusalem, and once he is in there, he proclaims himself God.

          Nor the desire of women-- what is that? Well, there are three possibilities.

          It could mean that he shall have no respect for women as the weaker vessel. He is not going to regard the desire of women. He is going to bring in a radical new system in which women go to war, men go to war. There is no men's room and ladies' room; there are already pushes working on those. In other words, not regarding women as the weaker vessel which the Bible calls them.

          Also there is a possibility and this is just a possibility, that he may be a homosexual, and therefore, he'll not regard the desire of women. Certainly it is not out of line for a man as filled with Satan as he is to be a homosexual. Luke 17:28 does talk about the last days as being as the days of Lot in Sodom. Jude 7 compares ungodly men to those in Sodom and Gomorrha.

          Another possible way to take this would be that he has no regard for the desire of women, namely the Messiah. Because the Messiah was the desire of women, all the godly women in Israel; the hope which they held in their heart was that they might be the one who would give birth to the Messiah. They had a very real and living hope that the Messiah would come, knowing the prophecy in Isaiah that said behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son. So this not regarding the desire of women again would imply that he is Jewish, that the Antichrist would be Jewish. But he has no regard for the true Messiah that had already come. He scorns him. He dismisses him. He rejects him and has no regard for the desire of women. Women are not desiring to give birth to the Antichrist.

          Nor regard any god. Again we saw how that is fulfilled by the Antichrist in 2 Thess.2:4. "For he shall magnify himself above all."

          Dan.11:38-- In his estate-- or in his place. This seems to refer to the Antichrist's position of power as a world ruler. In his place and in his estate, he shall honor the God of forces. Now that is not God; this is another god-- the god, small "g" of forces or fortresses. So the Antichrist will worship the god of power. He will honor the god of wealth, power, and military might. As it says in Rev.13:4, who is able to make war with him. And I think we're safe to apply this phrase the god of forces to the devil. Satan is that god of forces, of fortresses. The Bible calls our God, the God of peace-- now He is a God of force and He exercises very real force, but He exercises force in order to put away sin and to bring us into a relationship with Him where man can have peace. But Satan exercises force so he can exercise force, so he can control and rule and ruin and exalt himself.

      Rev. 6:2 talks about the Antichrist, Read. His purpose is to conquer. What for? Well, to conquer because he wants to rule, he wants to be magnified above all things. That is his heart. So he is honoring the god of forces.

          And a god whom his fathers knew not. Again that implies to me that he is Jewish and that his fathers knew not this god of forces, this Satanic god of forces.

      Shall he honor with gold and silver and with precious stones, and pleasant things. And so the Antichrist's kingdom is in honor of Satan. It glorifies Satan. All that power and wealth is amassed in honor of Satan. So he honors him with his kingdom.

          Dan.11:39 Read. So he increases the devil with glory. Thus shall he do-- that is, thus shall he make or prepare or do or accomplish. This is what he is going to accomplish. He is going to amass this great kingdom and honor the god of forces and blaspheme the true God. It shows the Antichrist building up his kingdom on the earth.

     In the most strong holds, that is, the strong holds of his kingdom. With a strange god-- that word strange can mean strange, alien, foreign. Truly, Satan is an alien god. He's a strange, foreign god. He is a god that was never intended to be a god, and realize I'm using a small "g" in all of these. He is an alien god, even to the Antichrist. No man was created to worship Satan. He is violating all the principles of his very being to do what he is doing. Thus we see the severity of the judgment upon the Antichrist-- he and the false prophet become the first residents of the Lake of Fire. Satan is an alien god to all mankind; he was never intended to be anyone's god. But he temporarily has taken the position of the god of this world. 2 Cor.4:4 says that the god of this world has blinded the eyes of those who don't believe the Gospel. So he is the god of the world system, not of the whole earth, but of the world, of those who are of the world. Satan is their god.

          And he shall cause them to rule over many and shall divide the land for gain. The N.A.S. makes it even clearer; "He will give great honor to those who acknowledge him, and he will cause them to rule over the many, and will parcel out land for a price." So this shows the Antichrist honoring those who acknowledge him, who assist him, who submit to him. The primary ones in that category are the ten horns, Rev.17:13-- those ten powerful men in the last days. So we see those honored who give their allegiance to him, and he causes them to rule over the many as it says in the N.A.S.

            And will parcel out land for a price. So to me that says that there is going to be a radical restructuring of society in the Antichrist system. It will be something we will be truly thankful to escape, Dan.7:25 Read. So he's parceling out land for a price. He is changing the whole structure of society, reapportioning land and, of course, with that he'll be reapportioning wealth and everything. It will be a total transformation of worldly society.

            Daniel 11:40-45 apply to the time of Armageddon just before the Antichrist meets his end.

            Daniel 8:23-25 (Read). And in the latter time of their kingdom. Now this applies first to Antiochus Epiphanes, but in a wider sense, it's pointing down to the time of the Antichrist at the end of time. When the transgressors are come to the full. Transgressors are going to come to the full in an even greater way in these last days than they came to the full in Antiochus' kingdom, in a much greater way. Jesus said iniquity shall abound in the last days. Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall grow cold, Matt.24:12.

            Iniquity did abound back in the days of Antiochus. Transgressors came to the full in that Jewish apostasy that took place under Antiochus Epiphanes, but there is a much greater apostasy coming in the last days, 2 Thess.2:3. Now back in the days of the Jews in Israel under Antiochus, the ear marks of backsliding were: beginning to love Greek drama, athletics, go to the stadiums, see the games, Greek dress (scanty), traveling, love of the arts, the rich people adorning their homes with rich art work from up in Syria, etc... just to begin to love the things of the world, and to value them more highly than their relationship with God. They were selling their relationship with God away. They began to fall into fornication, pagan worship, there were pagan temples that were built, there was Greek philosophy being brought in. Some of the wealthy Jews began to spend a lot of time at the baths like the Greeks did, and they had a disdain for the Word of God and the law of God.

            Today we have the same thing-- in some ways it's more blatant and in some ways it's more subtle, but it is greater all in all. We can see some things that correspond to what happened under Antiochus. We see ecumenicism which corresponds to the way they brought the philosophies of the world into the Jewish nation-- let's all be one, let's incorporate all these philosophies, let's not be so rigid and narrow, let's not shut these other people out, they have some truth, too. All of these kinds of ways of thinking-- let's be broad minded, you know, you're to narrow minded thinking that Jesus is the only way, let's all just be one, there's many ways to God, let's just all be one. This will lead to a heap of everything: I can still drink and  love God, this is the age of grace, and that's true it is the age of grace, but we don't sin that grace may abound. I can be a homosexual and still love God, or I can commit fornication and still be a Christian. You know it's true, God will still love you, etc.. but, it leads to sloppy Christianity and that's not what God wants. Well, there's two kinds of pressure against the people of God: one is temptation to compromise because of the glitter of the world, and the other is pressure to compromise because of restrictions and the government clamping down, and causing men to fear for their livelihood, their life, their safety, so they will be willing to compromise the truth just to preserve their life here. Those were the same two kinds of pressure that were brought upon the Jews in the days of Antiochus. Those worldly Jews who were compromising and who loved the things the Greeks were bringing in, they didn't feel great pressure when Antiochus came in and said, "In your cities offer a swine or you will be killed." They didn't feel any pressure. Well, OK, we will do that. But for those who are attempting to stand fast and walk with God, the other kind of pressure comes.

            So we see a great type of the end times here. So transgressors will come to the full in these last days, and we see that in the church that culminates in a third of the stars being swept from heaven, Rev.12:4. David Wilkerson had a vision and he talked about Satan's great last play to down the last day Christians, and the biggest thing that he talked about in that book was materialism, and how that Christians would grow sleepy and comfortable and loving to have an extra car or a boat down at the pier and things like these. Luke 21:34-36; Rev.3:16-20 Read. You can also see how that can really set people up to submit to the Antichrist system, because when they have been living so soft and so easy and so rich for so long, they grow attached to that life style. They are not going to lose it! And when you see their whole life being threatened and the way that they had lived, seeming like it is coming to a point where they just can't do that any more, they are going to become willing to reach out for somebody they think will bring peace and safety and preserve the world so they can go on in this natural life. If their eyes are upon this natural life, they are going to be looking to the man who seems to offer the most hope to make this natural life better.

            It will really tempt Christians to compromise in the last days. And also one of the great sources of apostasy in the last days will be the general lack of regard for the Word of God. A real lack of regard for what the Bible really says.

            A king of fierce countenance shall stand up. And particularly a king of fierce countenance toward the people of God. And understanding dark sentences. He will understand dark sentences. The Antichrist in the end of time will understand dark sentences. He will be speaking one thing-- flatteries: I'll bring you prosperity, I'll bring you peace and safety, I'll solve the world's problems, but to him they are dark sentences, he knows what he's really doing. He wants to conquer them for the sake of conquering them and ruling and doing the will of Satan, to whom he has sold out to. He understands dark sentences, he says one thing but means another. So those sentences that he speaks out into the world are dark, but he knows what they really mean.

            Dan.8:24-- And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power. Now this shows that Satan will be working through him. His power will be mighty, but not by his own power. 2 Thess.2:9 His coming is after the energizing of Satan, the inner-working of Satan, Read. Satan offered Jesus the kingdoms of this world. He said if you bow down and worship me, I will give you these kingdoms of the world. Well, the Antichrist does bow down and worship him in his heart, and Satan gives him the kingdoms of this world for an appointed time as God permits. So his power is mighty, but it is not by his own power in him. It is Satan that is working.

     And he shall destroy wonderfully or corrupt wonderfully. So in the last days there will be a great corruption. Now wonderfully doesn't mean that it is wonderful. It just means that it is something that is just amazing. It causes wonder. The extent of the corruption that this Antichrist system brings and the deception that it brings will cause great wonder.

            And shall prosper and shall practice. That is, carry out his designs again for a short time. And shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. Now here you have something that can't be fulfilled by Antiochus. He persecuted the mighty and the holy people, but he didn't destroy them. But in the end times the Antichrist will destroy the mighty and the holy people. The saints who are left in the tribulation are going to be killed, physically destroyed.

            Dan.8:25-- He shall cause craft to prosper in his hand. Probably like industry, man's livelihood. He's going to cause his hand to prosper. It won't prosper outside of his hand. It's going to prosper in his hand because if they don't take the mark of the beast, the people cannot prosper.

            By peace shall destroy many. That is, by their desire for peace and prosperity, he comes in saying, "Peace and safety, I'm the one you've been looking for." So he destroys many because when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them,

1 Thess.5:3.

            He shall also stand up against the Prince of princes. That is, God manifest in Christ. And we see in Rev.19 that the armies were assembled with him to make war against the Lamb that sat upon the white horse, Rev.19:19. They gathered together against Christ.

            But he shall be broken without hand. That is, without human agency. It's not going to be righteous men getting together and mounting an attack and killing him. It's going to be Jesus by the sword that proceeded out of His mouth, by the Word of God and the judgment of God who will destroy him, Rev.19:21.

            And we also see back in Dan.2 that there was a stone cut out of a mountain without hand, Dan.2:35. And it smote the image upon its feet. Those feet are the Antichrist kingdom in the last days. So this is the power of God that destroys the Antichrist kingdom, not men leading a rebellion or anything like that.

            Dan.8:9-12-- The primary reference here is to Antiochus Epiphanes who was an emperor of the Syrian Empire, the Greek empire that was based in Syria, who is a type of the Antichrist. Out of one of them. That is, out of one of the four notable horns of heaven came up toward the four winds of heaven, ( Read 8:8) the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. Now these are Alexander's four generals, those generals that had faithfully served under him. And those four notable ones, and those are four notable horns of course, correspond to the four heads and four wings on the leopard in chapter 7:6.

            Now the names of them were Seleucus, Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Cassander. And these generals didn't crown themselves kings right the day Alexander the great died. As a matter of fact, they tried for a while to hold the Empire together, and there were sons of Alexander. And out of reverence for Alexander they didn't divide up his kingdom. They kept it together for a time. But, then the most ambitious among them caused factions, and it finally split into four different kingdoms.

            So you have these four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. Cassander is west, Lysimachus is north, Seleucus is east, Ptolemy is south. Those four horns toward the four winds of heaven. We will get more specific and deal with just one of these kingdoms and the king that came out of one of these kingdoms.

Out of one of them came forth a little horn. So it is a horn growing out of a horn

            Now this little horn came out of the Seleucid Empire. That is, Seleucus becomes the Seleucid Empire. And the pleasant land here is Palestine. In God's eyes, that is the pleasant land-- Palestine in the Jordan Valley. So there is a king out of the Seleucid Empire that is waxing great and he is moving down toward Palestine, and that territory had been held by Ptolemy. But now this king is going to come down against it.

            This little horn happens to be the eighth king of the Seleucid Empire-- there were seven before him. Seleucus was first. So in this he, the little horn, is a type of the Antichrist, this eighth king. And his name is Antiochus IV, and he took upon himself the title Epiphanes, which means manifest. And he was saying, I am the manifest God. You see the tremendous pride.

            In that he is the 8th and he persecutes the people of God, Antiochus is a great type of the Antichrist. In Rev.17, it says about the Antichrist, he's the eighth and he is of the seventh. Well, in a typological sense, Antiochus is the eighth and he is of the seventh.

            Dan.8:10-- And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. And history tells us in the books of the Maccabbes how Antiochus came in, and he forced the Jews to deny the law, and he forced them into offering a swine, an abomination to the Jews.

            He came into their towns, lined them all up, and tried to make them submit to this offering. And if they didn't, he'd have them killed. So it was a tremendous persecution against the people of God.

        The books of the Maccabbes are historical accounts that were written by one of the Jews, and they are part of the Apocrypha; the Catholic Bible makes them scripture. They aren't scripture, but they are in some ways pretty accurate history.

            The persecution caused those who were too afraid to stand strong, to give up their faith and their law. Now this little horn, Antiochus the 4th, waxed great even to the host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host of the stars to the ground. Now this host of heaven refers to the saints in Israel. The saints he persecuted and tried to bring out of their position.

            And it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Casting down the host of the stars is talking about the Israelites who lost their position with God, because they gave into his persecution and his ultimatums through fear-- they lost their position.

            Again this is another striking type of the Antichrist in the last days, the Antichrist system causing Christians to apostatize and lose their position with God.

            Dan.8:11-- Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host....  I'm pretty sure that that prince is God Himself; that's the way I take it because this host, in verse 10 is saints, and they're called stars and they are cast down. Well, the prince of those saints is God.

            And you notice verse 25 (Read) the Prince of princes is God manifested through Jesus Christ. "But he shall be broken without hand." Now verse 25 clearly is pointing to the Antichrist. It's taken out of the type now, and it's actually way down there at the end of time with the Antichrist. You see the Prince of princes there, and I believe that is the same as the prince here in verse 11, the prince of the host being God.

            Antiochus did magnify himself even to the Prince of the host. Remember he took on himself the title of Epiphanes which means "manifest". He was saying, "I am the manifest God. I'm God manifest in the flesh." He magnified himself even to God, even to be equal with God. He was claiming to be the manifest God, and this is exactly what the Antichrist does, ( 2 Thess.2:4).

            And by him the daily sacrifice was taken away. History tells us that for about 3 years and 10 days, that is, about 1105 days, Antiochus had the temple desecrated. He went into the temple and offered a swine on the altar. Now this wasn't Solomon's temple. This was after the captivity, after the Jews came back out of Babylon. After they came back out of Babylon, they rebuilt the temple under Zerubbabel, and it was finished under him. But that temple that they built after the captivity, Antiochus came in later and desecrated it. He offered a swine on it, and it was in that position for about 3 years and 10 days, according to history. Now this is a perfect type of the Antichrist who will set in the temple claiming to be God.

            Dan.8:12-- And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice. Now this host refers to the many Jews who backslid under the pressure, and especially Jews in high positions who entered into agreements with him and agreed to go along with him. And there were actually Jews in high positions who were glad for what he was doing. They hated the law; they hated the strictness of it. They loved the Greek, loose, sinful, licentious life; and they wanted the Jews to be Grecianized. And this host was given to him. There were many Jews who were submitting to the temptation to get worldly in their minds and compromise with this Greek system.

            By reason of transgression. So you see it's their transgression in walking away from God, which is the reason they were given to him. And this will happened in the last days with the Antichrist, Christians will give themselves over to his system by reason of transgression.

            And it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered. And for a time there, Antiochus practised and prospered. His plan seemed to be working. And the same will be true with the Antichrist system.

            Dan.7:8,19-21,23-25-- I considered the horns. So one thing you see is that the 10 horns are there before another horn, the Antichrist, comes up. I believe that even now the 10 horns are here looking for their man, looking for a means to achieve their end. They are planning world control. And then later on, they'll see that uniting with the Antichrist is their means to accomplish world control.

            And, behold, there came up among them another little horn. This other little horn he sees is the Antichrist himself. It has the eyes of man. All of these horns are men. He's the man that's ruling over the earth.

            Three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. It appears that the Antichrist succeeds in taking away the power of 3 of the 10 horns. When it comes up, 3 of them are plucked up. Now that doesn't tell us precisely when they are plucked up, it doesn't mean they're necessarily plucked up right when he comes into power, but they are plucked up before him at some time. And this probably involves him confiscating their financial power somehow.

            They are plucked up by the roots, and that shows a complete tearing up. And possibly they are killed as well, 3 of these 10 horns.

            It is not that one of the ten horns plucks up three of the others. There are actually eleven. There are 10 there (Dan.7:7) and then Daniel says, I saw another little horn, another one besides the ten. So there are the ten horns, and then there is the Antichrist which is not one of the ten.

            Now this cannot be made to fit Rome. There were no 3 Emperors that some other Emperor came in and plucked up 3 of them. This just doesn't fit the time of Rome. It has to be in the last days.

            Eyes like the eyes of man. They are set totally on the things of man. They are set on earthly things. They are set on pride and power. Satan is ruling and looking out at his world kingdom through the eyes of that man.

            And a mouth speaking great things. The Antichrist will speak great lies, boasts and blasphemies against God.

            Dan.7:19-- He is particularly wanting to know about this fourth beast because it was so dreadful and so much different than the others. Notice here, iron and brass. He had iron teeth and brass nails or claws. Now in Dan.2:39,40, we see that iron was used to represent Rome and brass to represent Greece. Now this fourth beast is Rome, but then it moves on into the Antichrist system. So we see here Rome incorporating aspects of the anti- God heart and spirit of Greece, and the Antichrist kingdom incorporating here different aspects of Greece and Rome. I believe that's the best way to take the iron and brass here.

            Dan.7:20-- And of the ten horns that were in his head. So now he moves clearly down to the end of time. Of course, we saw the ten horns, the Antichrist supplanting three of those. It says here concerning the horn representing the Antichrist, "His look was more stout than his fellows." N.A.S. says "Which was larger in appearance than its associates." His associates being the 10 horns. So this shows that he is supreme among the other ten. They give their power and strength to him, according to Rev.17:13.

            Dan.7:21-- So this horn prevailed against the saints, and that's in the great tribulation. He prevailed against them, not by taking their souls, although many will apostatize, but what's in view here is that the Antichrist physically made war against the saints and killed them. Rev.13:7 Prevailed against them by taking their physical lives.

            Dan.7:23-- This fourth kingdom on earth. Now of course we mustn't take that in an all encompassing sense as though these were the only four kingdoms that ever existed on earth. We know better than that, because the book of Revelation shows us 7 world kingdoms and there were other kingdoms besides, although they weren't of that same stature. There were many other kingdoms throughout history.

            What the angel means is that this is the fourth major world kingdom from Daniel's time on. He is only talking within the scope that he is dealing with. The fourth kingdom, Daniel, from your time.

            This fourth kingdom is both Rome and the Antichrist system, but the emphasis is on the Antichrist kingdom now. Remember verses 20 & 21 which were talking about the ten horns and the Antichrist making war on the saints, so we're seeing the end time aspect of that fourth kingdom.

            And it says here that it shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. This shows a tremendous oppression of the Antichrist coming in to rule the earth. We see in Rev. 6:1-8 the destruction that the first 4 seals bring, the Antichrist bringing war, famine, death. And then it said something about the fourth part of the earth, a fourth part of humanity loosing their lives at that time.

            So you can see how it will tread down and break in pieces the whole earth. Now none of the previous kingdoms ruled the whole earth, but this last day one will. This again shows that the fourth kingdom cannot be just Rome because Rome did not devour the whole earth.

            Dan.7:24-- So it says the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first. So we are dealing with the last days aspect of that kingdom because it is the ten horns out of this kingdom. And it says that the Antichrist, the horn that rises up after the ten, shall be diverse from the first, diverse from the other ten. That one way, in which he is diverse from them, is that he is probably possessed by Satan himself.

            This verse is a strong indication that the ten horns are ten powerful men, not nations, because it says here that the ten horns are out of one kingdom. It says the ten horns out of this kingdom. So there are ten powers out of one kingdom, and that shows they are kings within that one kingdom. It is not an irrefutable proof, but the tone of it shows that it's dealing with ten men in one kingdom.

            It says that the Antichrist shall subdue three kings. Within that kingdom he subdues 3 kings. Again that shows men rather than nations, because it is one kingdom, but ten rulers, ten powers.

            Dan.7:25-- He shall wear out the saints. You have to qualify that by other scriptures. It's those saints that are on earth at that time. The Rapture is not directly in view in this chapter, what is mainly in view is the bringing in of the kingdom of God.

            It says that the Antichrist will think to change times and laws. Those are drastic measures and restructuring of the whole society. Who knows, he may even re-date history starting with the year one from the beginning of his reign. That's entirely possible.

            And they shall be given into his hand. They = the saints. Until the time and times and dividing of time. And of course we see that time is one, times are two, and dividing of time is ½, that's 3 ½ years. The same time that Rev.13:5 speaks of-- the Antichrist continuing 42 months. Also Rev.11:9.

            So this is that Antichrist speaking great things and blasphemies.

Revelation 13:6 "And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven."

            So he opens his mouth in blasphemy against God and the main way he does that is by claiming to be God. We already saw that he exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, claiming to be God.

            And to blaspheme his name. His name, of course, is Yahweh or Jesus. So by blaspheming God's name, he may well be claiming to be Jesus, to be Yahweh manifest in the flesh. This seems incredible to Americans that a man could do that and actually pull it off, actually deceive the world. But remember, America is in the process of being paganized and deceived and conditioned by crises and fear that they will, by that time, seek a world superman right along with the rest of the world. America will be brought to the place where they will be willing, in order to find some kind of a salvation in this life, to accept a world superman, to actually seek one.

            Others who have already claimed to be Christ have been easier to see through. For instance, Rev. Moon. You don't see the whole world seeking after Rev. Moon. But when the Antichrist comes on the scene, the whole world will seek him.

            What is going to happen when they are in desperate need and their very way of life is crashing down around them and suddenly there comes one who has all power and signs and lying wonder. You can see how people would be willing to accept him and even worship this man, the antichrist. In Germany, in the second world war, churches were instructed to teach concepts that pointed to Hitler as an embodiment of Jesus. So we can see how these things would happen, even in modern times.

            It also says here that He opened his mouth to blaspheme his tabernacle. Now this is speaking of God's tabernacle or His tent. But the interesting thing here is that the word "and" after tabernacle is not in the original language. It just says "to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle, them that dwell in heaven, or his tabernacle, even them that dwell in heaven." The tabernacle is those who are dwelling in heaven. So we're talking here about the Raptured saints, the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God that He has desired throughout all the ages, which is now there with Him in heaven. So somehow the Antichrist is blaspheming these saints of God who are in the heavenly places.

Possibilities of how he would do that

            1.) He may claim that these several millions of people who are missing are missing because he did away with them. He could claim to have secretly done that.

            2.) Another way is by saying that these true saints were fanatics or of the devil, and that the world church represents true Christianity-- at last this is God's will brought on earth, the saints brought to unity. The church is now one and Jesus' words are fulfilled. Just by saying that, he would be blaspheming the tabernacle of God in heaven (the true unity that God had brought, the true perfection that God had brought about in the lives of men). By comparing this harlot system to that, he would be blaspheming the work that God had done in His true saints.

Revelation 13:7 "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."

            So he makes war, a concentrated deliberate war against the saints. We see that in chapter 11 verse 7, it says about the two witnesses (Read). When they shall have finished their testimony... the beast shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. (for more detail on the two witnesses, see the study on the two witnesses). Also read Dan.7:21,22,25. So he makes war against them.

            Now some have used this statement "he makes war against the saints" to prove that the saints will go through the tribulation, because otherwise how could he make war against the saints.

            Well the answer to that is fairly simple. In Rev.12:5,6, we see that the manchild was caught up and the woman (the church that the manchild came out of) fled into the wilderness. So we're seeing, yes he made war against the saints, but not all the saints. There are saints left on earth because not all of the saints were caught up. So he is making war with the saints who are left.

            Rev.12:17 says that the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed. So we see it's not all the saints he's making war against. It's the remaining ones, the left over ones.

            Also in Rev.3:10, Philadelphia is promised that they will escape the hour of trial, but in verse 18 Laodicea is counseled to buy gold tried in the fire. So they are going to go through the trial and those are the ones whom he makes war against.

            The last part of Rev.13:7 says (and if you want to be precise in the Greek, it is a little bit different) "And power was given him over every tribe, and people, and tongue, and nation." So it inserts "people" and it says it a little bit differently. Some say this is not worldwide, read Dan.7:23 and Rev.13:7 these verses seem to defeat that position.

            This same power was offered to Jesus by the devil in his temptation. Satan said if you'll bow down and worship me, I'll give you power over all the kingdoms of the earth, for they are delivered unto me, but Jesus said get thee behind me because he knew that God had an eternal plan, not a worldly plan.

            Now, this same power is given to the Antichrist by Satan. God allows him to have that power but just for a short season. Read Dan.4:32, so God allows this. Also read Rev.17:17, God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

Revelation 13:8 "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."

            So all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him. And I've pointed out before that the word "him", here, is tied down to the man because it is masculine, it is not neuter, so therefore it doesn't agree with the beast, the system. It is him, the man, they are worshipping the Antichrist.

            Now this is not only a statement of fact that "all that dwell on the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life", but it also becomes a stern warning and an admonition of love from God to the tribulation saints, to hold fast unto death and not worship him and not be blinded or dazzled by any of his words or deceptions that he brings. God tells them to remember that all those who are not in the book of life shall worship him-- so don't worship him.

            A parallel is in chapter 14:9-12 (Read). In other words, in knowing this-- that those who worship the beast will be damned, is the faith and the patience or perseverance of the saints. Read Matt.24:13; Jas.1:1-4; Rom.8:18. Having that knowledge, they become strengthened in their spirit to hold out and not succumb when they compare the glories of heaven with the awful punishment of caving in, in this hour of tribulation.

            And it says that those whose names are not written in the book of life will worship him. Now we know from Rev.20:15 that everyone who was not in the book of life is cast into the Lake of Fire. So we're talking about damnation here.

            Now the way it is written here would cause some to think that we're talking about predestination in this verse, because they're worshipping him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. So if your mind is conditioned that way, it would sound like, well, if your name is not in the book, you're going to worship him, you know, it just happens to be the way it is. But this is not what it is saying, it is not saying that they are predestined to be lost. All it means is that they are not in the book, and that God already sees ultimately that when the judgment comes and the book is opened, their names will not be in the book. In other words, it's a simple statement of fact that those who worship him will not be in the book of life. They will not have eternal life.

            Now this is the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. He's slain from the foundation of the "cosmos", not the earth, not the clouds and the heavens and the seas, but the cosmos. The cosmos means "an ordered system", and it speaks about the world from a human standpoint as a civilization, an ordered system of men, and because of the state of man's heart, it has come to mean a corrupted and fallen system of things on this earth; it is man's civilization apart from God.

            So this Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world, of the civilization of man. And if we look back in Genesis, we see that right when Adam and Eve were thrown out, a Lamb was slain (1 Peter 1:19,20; John 1:29). When they were put out of the Garden of Eden, God immediately slew an animal and clothed them with the skins of this animal. We have strong reason to think that the animal that he slew was a lamb. Also right after that, in Genesis, Able slew lambs as a sacrifice to God; he was a shepherd and he offered some of his lambs up to God. And right at that time, Cain killed Able and became the father of an ungodly civilization. Cain went out and founded a city and he begat children and very soon there was a whole civilization of men who did not know God, and did not keep His sacrifice that He had ordained. So right from the start there was an Antichrist system, you might say, an ungodly system. But there were others who walked with God and trusted in the lamb sacrifices that God had instituted. So there were godly men and ungodly men and there was a lamb slain. There were those that kept that lamb sacrifice right from the start, and there were those who rejected it and went along with the world.

            These lambs that God commanded Able to slay as a propitiation from the very beginning pointed to Jesus Christ. And so he is called the Lamb that was slain,  typologically, by foreknowledge from the foundation of the world. All of these lamb sacrifices were looking forward to Jesus Christ. So there were those who held onto the sacrifices of God.

            In Gen.6:2, they are called the sons of God, and then there were also those who became part of the corrupt civilization. And so this is an example and a warning to the tribulation saints, that right at the beginning there was a separation, and He is calling them to keep the sacrifices, to keep the covenant of God.  (Titus 1:2; Eph.1:4-11; Gen.3:15)

Revelation 13:9 "If any man have an ear, let him hear."

            So those who are willing to receive this warning from God and this admonition and keep it, you're going to receive a reward. He that has spiritual ears, let him hear what my word is saying.

Revelation 13:10 "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."

            The meaning is that what they know is going to happen becomes their basis of patience. What they know is the outcome of this whole thing will cause them to endure. We see the fact that they know this and they are speaking this forth in Rev.11:5 (Read). So they are speaking the Word of God. They're speaking judgment on this system and they are saying, those who stay in it and continue to harden their hearts against God are going to be lost, and so they are proclaiming the very thing that is written here in chapter 13:10.

            Now the meaning is that first of all, He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity, or more properly, "he that is into captivity or he that is for captivity." Leadeth is not in the original Manuscripts. But the implication is that he that is into captivity, he that is leading or bringing into captivity shall go into captivity. This means that the ones who put the martyrs in a physical prison or captivity will be put in a greater prison, in captivity, in hell eternally. Therefore the martyrs can be patient enough to endure this because they know that whatever temporary trial they have to endure, that those inflicting the trials will be taken into eternal prison and torture and will apostatize, and if they fall into that system, it would bring them into a much worse and eternal torment than they will ever have to experience during the 42 months. So God is comforting them through this stern declaration here. He that is into captivity shall go into captivity. Obad.verse 15 and 1 Sam. 25:39 Read.

            Then he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword, (Matt.26:52). This has the same idea as the phrase above. That is, he that brings physical death upon the martyrs will be executed by the Lord and brought into eternal death. So it is the knowledge of these things that will cause the martyrs to endure. And that explains the next statement: Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. That's why this is the patience and faith of the saints. Those saints enduring the great tribulation know that the short trial of their faith, which they must endure, can never compare to the eternal rewards that result. But also those that torment them will surely experience eternal sufferings for their rejecting the truth and  troubling the saints of God (Luke 21:19; 2 Thess.1:4-10).

            So to sum this up, Their faith and their patience come from two things: 1.) Rev.13:10 says that those who torment them will be judged by God, so that is a source of patience to them, to realize that God is judge and God will avenge them. 2.) We see in Rev.14:9-12, another aspect that gives them patience-- those that receive the mark will be damned. You might say that's a negative motivation for them-- it's a motivation arising from the consequences that would come if they don't walk with God. Christians in that hour will need this revelation of the punishment of their tormentors, and they will need the revelation of their eternal glory with Jesus. They will need to hold that revelation in their heart in order to keep seeing things the way they really are and to have the strength to go on in God. They will need to keep the outcome of these things in their heart.

Now we will look at Rev.17:7-13 for some more insights

Revelation 17:7 "And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns."

            So this angel is going to show John the mystery.  That is, he is going to tell him what it means. The mystery is going to be revealed to him.

            A parallel passage 1 Cor.10:11. The ends of the world are come upon us, and God would reveal these things to us in a fresh way, so that we can know what's happening in the world and be not deceived.

Revelation 17:8 "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition; and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is."

            This beast that was and is not, of course, refers to that revived world government system in the end of time.

            Here it says "It ascends out of the bottomless pit". Now what does that mean? How can the beast, the Antichrist and his government, ascend out of the bottomless pit?

            Well, we see in another passage, Rev.9:1,2, that there were  hordes of demons that ascended out of the bottomless pit and they were in the form of locusts.

            Now later in time, at the end of the Millennium, Satan will be loosed from the bottomless pit for a short season, Rev.20:1-8. So when it says this beast rises out of the bottomless pit, we're saying that the Antichrist system and the Antichrist have Satan as its source, just as Jesus, the man, said I came down from heaven. He meant that heaven was his source. His source was God, the heart, plan, and mind of God and therefore, he came down from heaven in the fullness of time.

            So this beast has Satan as its source. A parallel passage is Rev.11:7. So this is talking about the beast again with Satan as its source. Rev.13:2-3, the dragon gave the beast his seat, his power, and great authority.

            This was, and is not, refers to the wounding of the seventh head of that world government at the time of the manchild's birth and ministry. That wound is inflicted. The seventh head was, then it was wounded unto death, and that corresponds to "is not" here in 17:8, and then it's revived.

            Rev.13:3 "And I saw one of his heads, that is the seventh head......." Rev.13:12 "And he, the false prophet... cause all to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed." Rev.13:14; Rev.17:11 Adds another aspect of understanding to the scripture. So when that world government system and he, the  Antichrist, in the sense that he is trying to bring it in, is put to death. It receives its deadly wound because of the work of God that is going on in the earth. Then after the saints are raptured, it rises up again. And this time it says he is the eighth. The eighth refers to the Antichrist himself being in full power over that system. There was a world government, but now he is the eighth-- he is now in full control of it.

            It says in verse 8, They that dwell on the earth shall wonder. So that restoration of the 7th head, of that world government, will amaze the people of the world. How quickly it comes in, it just comes in like a flood, and it's there in full power-- he's in full control in a very short period of time, and the people wonder about it. Was, and is not, and shall ascend, simply shows the progression in time. It's past, present, and future. It shows a process of time. First, we see the Antichrist revealed, then the system is wounded, and then it's revived coming from the bottomless pit. Satan is now at the helm of the system-- he's the source. This is when the Antichrist is empowered by Satan himself, 2 Thess.2:9.

Revelation 17:9 "And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth."

            And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The mind that knows the meaning of the following, has wisdom-- here's what follows.

The 7 heads are 7 mountains, on which the woman sitteth. Mountains in the Bible are representative of kingdoms

            Psalm 30:7 (Read) Jer.51:24,25 (Read) where Babylon is called a mountain. Eze.35:2,3 (Read) where Edom is referred to as Mt. Seir. Amos 4:1 (Read) speaks of the mountain of Samaria, northern Israel. Dan.2:35,45 (Read) Jesus Christ becomes a great mountain or a great kingdom which fills the whole earth (his Millennial kingdom). Obad.8,9,19 speaks of the mountain of Esau, and that is the kingdom of Edom.  Zec.4:7 (Read) God says concerning the kingdom coming against Zachariah, and also in type, the world system which contests the plan of God in Jesus Christ.

            So this woman of false religion has been involved with every world empire. She's been sitting on them all. The Egyptian priesthood and religious leaders, the Assyrian priesthood and religious leaders, the Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman, and Antichrist have all been a manifestation of the same harlot system seated upon these various world empires. And that's why it says here in verse 9, the 7 heads are 7 mountains, on which the woman sitteth. She's been seated on all of these world kingdoms. All of these religions and religious leaders have heavily influenced the nations with their spiritual sorcery and spiritual drugs. Also real drugs have seduced, and have intoxicated the nation with lies and deception.

Revelation 17:10 "And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space."

            So in John's day he's seeing that 5 have fallen. The 7 kings represent the 7 kingdoms. For instance, in Dan.2:38,39, when Nebuchadnezzar saw an image and the head was gold and the shoulders and breast were silver and the loins were brass, the legs were iron, he spoke of that head and said to Nebuchadnezzar, "Thou art that head of gold, Nebuchadnezzar, thou art this head of gold."

            But then he said, "After thee shall arise another kingdom." And then he was speaking of the Medio- Persians, you see. Thou art the head, and after you shall arise another kingdom.

     Nebuchadnezzar is being identified with his kingdom, and then there comes another kingdom. So it's both a king and the kingdom.

          So these 7 kings here represent 7 kingdoms, and 5 are fallen. In John's day, there were 5 of them fallen: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Greece. And he says one is and that is the Roman kingdom, and one is not yet come and when he cometh, he must continue a short space-- that's the Antichrist world government system at the end of time.

Now some commentators would make this: five are fallen, and they would say, those were Emperors of Rome that had fallen.

          But the problem is that in John's day, at the time that this was written between 96 and 100 A.D., there had already been at least 10 Roman Emperors who had fallen. So it can't be referring to Roman Emperors when it says 5 are fallen, because there were at least 10:

          1.) Augustus

          2.) Tiberius

          3.) Gias

          4.) Claudius

          5.) Nero

          6.) Galba

          7.) Otho

          8.) Vitelius

          9.) Vespatiamus

          10.) Titus

          11.) Dometianas

          12.) Nerva

          Now Tragen was Emperor in John's time, at the time of the book of Revelation between 98 and 117 A.D. But after Tragen, there is not just one more to come which must continue a short space, there were 45 Emperors up to and including Constantine the Great. I think that is 45 total including the ones I've already mentioned. And after Constantine, there were 21 Emperors up to the fall of Rome. So the total number you come up with is approximately 77 to 79 total Roman Emperors. So you can see that can't possibly fit Rome.

          Furthermore, it says there are 7 mountains and therefore there has to be 7 separate kingdoms. They can't be 7 kings of the same kingdom. There are different kingdoms being spoken of here. These 5 fallen cannot be 5 Emperors, neither can they be 5 of the 7 hills of Rome.

          Some also say the 7 heads are 7 mountains, on which the woman sitteth, and that's the 7 heads of Rome that sit on the 7 hills of Rome, and that's the Catholic Church. Nice parallel but it doesn't fit, because 5 of the hills of Rome have not fallen. They're still there, so they can't be these 5.

          They must mean 5 kingdoms. According to the typology of scripture, these 5 mountains must be 5 kingdoms. They have to be something along the lines of the order and the magnitude of the Roman empire. They have to be world kingdoms because they're all classed together. There's been many, many more than 7 kingdoms in the earth's history, but as far as these major world conquering kingdoms and by that in past time, we've been speaking about the known world. But in the end of time, the Antichrist kingdom conquers the entire earth. These have to be world kingdoms that we're speaking of.

          And one is, and the other is not yet come. "And one is" = the Roman Empire. "And the other is not yet come" = the Antichrist Empire.

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."

          Again, we're speaking of that 7th head, that end-time world government. "And it was, and is not." So this is the government that is going on at the time of John's vision, that is, in the end times, in the Day of the Lord.

          And the 7th head we saw already was wounded unto death, and that, of course, corresponds here to "is not".

          Even he is the eighth. That is, when the Antichrist system is restored from its deadly wound by the sword, the Word of God, then the 8th, the man, the Antichrist himself takes his seat in full control of this world government. That happens after the Rapture, and he reigns for 42 months, Rev.13:5.

          It's the same world government system as before the Rapture but now it is restored, and when it is, Satan's man is at the head of it in full control. So that's why it says, "He is the 8th."

          Rev.6:1,2 is a parallel to this. It speaks about the Antichrist as a rider upon a white horse with a bow. And it says, "He went forth conquering and to conquer." And a crown, a victor's wreath, was given to him. This is the same period of time when he rises up as the 8th-- it corresponds exactly to that rider with the bow going forth.

          And is of the seven. That means the 7 world kingdoms are the foundation of the mystery of iniquity which now has it's final maximum fulfillment and culmination in the man of sin, the Antichrist.

          So this beast is dealt a death wound and then when it's revived, it's called the eighth, and is of the seventh. The seventh world government was already in existence before the Rapture, and then it was dealt a death wound, then it's revived, and so now it's called the eighth which is of the seventh.

          And goeth into perdition. Perdition is destruction. He goes into destruction. In Rev.19:20, we see him going into destruction-- they are the first residents of the Lake of Fire.

Revelation 17:12 "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast."

          So they're 10 kings, which have received no kingdom as yet. These horns are not there in John's day. They are all on the 7th head. They have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive power one hour with the beast. That is, they're all in power during that 7th head, that beast system in the end of time.

     These 10 kings are 10 financial powers. We know they cannot be nations for a variety of reasons, and I'll be pointing some of them out here.

          One reason is that the nations of the earth are not truly what is wielding the power of the earth. The nations are pawns which are being manipulated by men who are in control of these nations financially.

          The most common interpretation is that these 10 are the common market nations of Europe. That's the most wide spread, standard interpretation. But this can't be true because they don't receive their kingdom until they reign one hour with the beast.

          They can't be nations that have kings and are existing now as nations. They can't be France and Spain and Italy and Germany and these others because it says they have received no kingdom as yet. When do they receive the kingdom? In verse 12 it says they receive power as kings one hour with the beast. So it's not until the reign of the beast, the Antichrist reign, that they receive their official kingdom.

          Now that doesn't mean they don't have power before then. We know they are not going to be ten totally average men working at Boeing and so on. They can't be 10 totally powerless men and then all of a sudden receive absolute power. We know they've had power before the Rapture, Revelation 12:3.

          But as far as reigning in full control with the beast in total dominion over the earth, having fully surrendered up their power to him with one mind reigning with him-- that does not occur until the 3 ½ year Tribulation.

          But receive power as kings one hour with the beast-- that's the beast's hour of dark glory, the Tribulation. It's spoken of in Rev.13:5, where it says that the Antichrist was given 42 months to reign.

          This hour is symbolic. An hour can be a literal hour or it can be a period of time, a designated special period of time. And concerning that hour, we read in Rev.3:10 that because we have kept the word of His patience, He shall keep us out of that hour of trial which shall come upon all the earth. We're going to be kept out of that hour. That's the same hour we're speaking of here in Rev.17:12 where they reign one hour with the beast.

          We know clearly in the last days that the real source of power is money. It's a financial system. And as Rothchild said, "Give me the purse strings of a nation and I care not who sits upon its throne." Because he knew where the real power was. The real power is not in the President of the United States. It's not even in any of the world leaders. It's in the men behind the scenes. It's a mystery to people out in the world-- they don't know what is happening. They really don't, there's a brainwash in the news media.

          Most people know that there are big international bankers who are running the world. We know that everything is going in that direction. Global this and global that, its all around us.

          So they're reigning with the beast in that appointed hour. And that hour has another parallel: 2 Thess. 2:6 (Read) that's his appointed time, his allotted time, the Tribulation period where he reigns.

          Now the crowns on these horns in Rev.13:1 show that that hour of power of the beast has begun. Earlier in Rev.12:3 the hour had not come because the Rapture had not occurred. But now after the Rapture, in the Tribulation, the 10 horns are crowned. And so the 42 months of Rev.13:5 and the beast rising out of the sea, Rev.13:1, correspond to Revelation chapter 6, seals 1-6, the Great Tribulation.

       Revelation 17:13 "These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast."

          And that is, they are entirely united in mind and purpose and action because of their ravenous desire for control of money and of men and of nations. They are willing to pool their resources in order to reach their goal. They're willing to come to terms at one conference table and work hand in hand for world control.

          And shall give their power and strength unto the beast. Literally, "they shall give their power and authority unto the beast. And you can see therefore, the intensity of their desire and their lust for money and control, if they're willing to give their authority to someone else in order to attain it. Each one of those men if he could attain it, would be over the whole ball of wax. He would share it with no one. But being realists, in a worldly sense, they see that the only way that they're going to achieve their dominion, at least in their life times, is by pooling their authority. So they give their power and strength unto the beast. Read verse 17, it is God who puts it in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

Some Titles of the Antichrist

          He's called the little horn (Dan.7:8;8:9). He's called fierce countenance (Dan.8:23). He's called the prince to come (Dan.9:26). He's called the king that shall do according to his will (Dan.11:36). He's called the man of sin, the son of perdition, the wicked one  (2 Thess.2:3,8).

          Zechariah 11:17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

          Some feel that this is a description of his physical appearance.

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