Two Wild Beasts—the Antichrist and False Prophet

Before you start todays devotional, ask the Lord to use it to grow you up in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We’re engaged in a cosmic war, with characters symbolically described representing Israel, Satan, Michael the archangel, and of course, Jesus Christ, the victor. Now John describes the final two of the seven players. These are Satan’s agents: The wild beast out of the sea—a political power; and the wild beast out of the earth—a religious leader.

John pictures Satan standing on the shore and calling the wild beast out of the world, like the restless sea. This is the Antichrist, Satan’s masterpiece. His seven heads and ten horns and crowns link him directly to the dragon, and Satan gives him his power, throne, and authority. Of course, making yourself equal with God is blasphemy, but it fits Satan’s primary ambition to be worshipped as God.

Old Testament Daniel’s prophecy pictures this wild beast out of the sea. At the time John wrote Revelation, the first three beasts—Babylon, the lion; Media-Persia, the bear; and Graeco-Macedonia, the panther—had all been fulfilled. John now focuses on the fourth beast, the Roman Empire, because it had appeared—it was a current event. The little horn of Daniel 7 and the wild beast of Revelation 13 are identical.

The wild beast, the Man of Sin and Antichrist, is the final world dictator. The last verse of Revelation 13 identifies the number of the beast as 666. Even today the stage is being set in world politics, revealing what can be fulfilled—and Satan is going to supply the man. The Antichrist is the closest to an incarnation of Satan Scripture describes.

In his meteoric rise to power, the Antichrist appears to have risen from the dead (impersonating Jesus Christ). But only the Lord Jesus Christ can raise the dead. (See what Jesus says about this in John 5:21-29.)

The Antichrist’s fake resurrection will be the big lie of the Tribulation (see 2 Thessalonians 2:11). Those who reject Jesus’ resurrection will buy the fake one. The Antichrist will fool the world. Believers say, “Christ is risen!” And the boast of the unsaved will be: “So is Antichrist!” The Antichrist will promise peace and the people will put him into office. He’ll talk big and people will love his charisma. This is Satan’s supreme moment, and it will last three and a half years.

The Antichrist will rule the world like no one has ever done. God tells His own, “Don’t resist him,” instead, bear with the trials patiently.

The second wild beast is a religious leader, who most certainly will come from Israel. He has two horns like a lamb, imitating the Lord Jesus. But this pseudo-lamb doesn’t “take away the sin of the world,” he adds and multiplies it in the world. He will talk a lot about loving everyone, but underneath he’s a dangerous beast. He presents the world with something new to worship, the Man of Sin, the last world dictator.

In Satan’s power, both the Antichrist and the False Prophet can heal and work miracles. Their signs awe everyone and a strong delusion sweeps the world, with the exception of God’s elect who cannot be deceived. The Antichrist will put his own image in the temple at Jerusalem, just as Jesus described as the abomination of desolation (see Matthew 24:15). This image will appear to breathe and speak. Everyone is forced to bow and worship the image or else be killed. In order to buy or sell, they also must receive a mark on their right hand or forehead that signifies allegiance to the Beast.

Today we have shadows of how this prophecy can certainly happen. Better than speculation, we should spend our time telling others of Jesus Christ that we might reduce the population of those who have to go through the Tribulation.

Next: Previews of coming attractions—but for a special audience.

1. Even with all the power that Satan possesses there are still some things only God can do (like raising people from the dead), so Satan must use trickery to mimic God’s power. What does that tell us about God, and what does it tell us about our own susceptibility to deceit?

2. Abuse of political power in Revelation is accompanied by the abuse of religious power. The two work in concert together. How should we as believers, who know that this world is not our home, guard against both in our lives and churches?

3. A key to Revelation is knowing the difference between the truth and lies. What are some practical ways today that you, and the fellow believers you know, can help one another guard against believing lies?

Additional Resources

Listen to Dr. J. Vernon McGee’s complete teaching on Revelation 13:9-18, Revelation 13:2-8 and Revelation 13:1.