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The Antichrist – A Terrible Figure in the End Times

Published since 12. Jul. 2025
Bible passages:
2 Thessalonians 2:3-9; Revelation 13:11-17; 19:20; Daniel 11:36
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2 Thessalonians 2:3-9: "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders."

Revelation 13:11-17: "Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."

Daniel 11:36: "He shall exalt himself ... above every god."

Revelation 19:20: "Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone."

  1. What this Topic is all About

Who is the Antichrist? There has been much speculation about this man. Much has been written about him. Many dictators of this world have been falsely called "the Antichrist”. They have certainly revealed one or two traits of this man. The fact is, however, that the Antichrist has not yet made an open appearance. This will only be the case at the "time of the end," that is, after the rapture of the faithful. Let us see what the Bible says about this man.

 

  1. Who He Is

The Antichrist will one day be the political and religious leader of the Jews who have returned to Israel in unbelief (not believing Christ). The name Antichrist denotes an adversary of Christ in two ways:

  • "Anti" means, first, "against." He is against Christ, that is, he is one of the special adversaries of the Lord Jesus, along with the devil.
  • Second, "anti" means "in place of." In John 5:43, the Lord Jesus says that the one who came in the name of the Father was rejected. The one who would come in his own name – Antichrist – would be accepted. He is a false Christ.

Although the name "Antichrist" appears only five times in the Bible (only the writer John calls him that), the term is relatively well known. However, we find the person himself – under different names – more frequently in both the Old and New Testaments.

There is no doubt that the Antichrist is a Jew by birth. In Revelation 13:11 he is presented as the beast coming up out of the earth. This is in contrast to the beast coming up out of the sea (Rev. 13:1). The sea refers to the sea of nations (e.g., Isa. 17:12). The beast coming up out of the sea is the coming European (Roman) ruler [1]. In this passage, the earth refers to Israel. So the Antichrist comes from Israel. He is a Jew. Daniel 11:38 also speaks of the Antichrist. It says that he would not hearken unto the God of his fathers, nor to the desire of women. This clearly identifies him as a Jew. This is also indicated by the other names he bears (e.g., “prophet” and “shepherd”).

  1. What is Said about Him?

An important passage is Revelation 13:11-17, where we learn that the Antichrist will be very powerful. The horns indicate power and strength (Jer. 48:25), but also arrogance (Ps. 75:4-5). However, he will work very closely with and be dependent upon another beast – the European ruler. The Antichrist is a master of seduction, and people will believe him. Those who do not follow him must expect to die.

If we look at the various passages in which he is presented and the names under which he appears, we recognize a twofold character:

  • First, the Antichrist denies that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) (1 John 2:22a), as do all unbelieving Jews. Second, he denies the Father and the Son, thus denying the foundation of the Christian faith: the revelation of the Father in the Son and through the Son (1 John 2:22b). Instead, he will set up an occult religion in his realm. He will sit in the temple of God and have himself and the European ruler worshiped as God. He will set up an idol that must be worshiped (Dan. 12:11; Mt. 24:24; Rev. 13:13 ff.). Elsewhere he is called a "false prophet" (Rev. 16:13). He does not speak the words of God but comes with his own satanic message. He is the foolish and worthless shepherd (Zech. 11:15,17). He looks like a lamb but speaks like a dragon (Rev. 13:11). This shows that he imitates Christ (the lamb) and at the same time is associated with the dragon (the devil).
  • His political character: The religious influence of the Antichrist will be dominant. However, he will also appear politically – closely associated with the European ruler. He will be the regent (king) of the Jews (Isa. 30:33; 57:9; Dan. 11:36), but he will bind himself very closely to the leader in Europe and make a treaty (covenant) with him (Dan. 9:27; Isa. 28:15). This covenant is to protect him from Israel's enemies in the Middle East (especially the king of the north).

Daniel 11:36-39 also gives us a fairly detailed description of this man. It is remarkably consistent in many details with the statements of Revelation 13:11-17. All the arrogance and presumption of the Antichrist is revealed: "He shall exalt himself ... above every god" (Dan. 11:36).

He is also described in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8. There we learn more details about his true character. He is especially revealed when Satan is cast out of heaven in the half of the last seven years before the visible appearing of Christ (Rev. 12:9). He is called:

  • "The man of sin": He is an "incarnation of evil". In him is the perfect revelation of all evil.
  • "The son of destruction": He is completely characterized by sin and destruction and will spend eternity in hell (Rev. 19:20; 20:10).
  • "The lawless one": He is subject to nothing and no one in his wickedness. He recognizes no authority over himself.

 

  1. When Will He Appear?

There is much speculation about this point. No one knows exactly. It is useless to think about whether this person is alive today or not. The fact is, first, that the Antichrist has not yet been revealed (2 Thessalonians 2:3). [2] Second, the fact is that he will not be revealed until the believers of the time of grace have been caught up from this earth to heaven. 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 speaks of something holding back and of someone holding back before the Antichrist is revealed and shows his true character. That which restrains is the believers of the time of grace (the Church). The one who withholds is the Holy Spirit, who remains on the earth as long as the believers of the time of grace are still here on the earth.

 

  1. Where He Will Appear

Again and again the idea is expressed that the Antichrist will one day rule the whole world. But anyone who carefully reads the prophetic Word realizes that this cannot be the case. His political domain is limited to the people of Israel and the land of Israel. There he exercises the power of the European beast. However, his religious sphere of influence extends further. Through the power of the devil, he works great miracles and forces the people of Europe (and perhaps beyond) to worship the European ruler.

 

  1. The Antichrist and the European Ruler

Revelation 13 speaks of two beasts - one coming up out of the sea and one coming up out of the earth (Rev. 13:1, 11). The sea symbolizes the nations, while the earth symbolizes Israel. Together with the devil, these two beasts form a kind of "satanic trinity". Under his leadership, they are closely linked politically and religiously.

A condensed summary of the activities and interactions of the two beasts under Satan's inspiration in the middle of Daniel's last week is given in Revelation 13:11-17. The text – with brief commentary – reads:

“Then I saw another beast [the Antichrist] coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon [imitation of Christ under the instruction of the devil]. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast [the European ruler] in his presence and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed [a reference to the Roman Empire being revived as a European confederation]. He performs great signs so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs [here the words of the Lord Jesus in Mt. 24:24 are fulfilled] which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived [this is again the European ruler who is seen as the head of the revived Roman Empire]. He was granted the power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak [we realize how far the demonic influence will go] and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed [many would give their lives as martyrs]. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name [those who do not participate in satanic idolatry have virtually no chance of survival].”

The description speaks for itself. A terrible satanic idolatry will reign over a large part of the earth to which people will be completely enslaved. The consequences for those who reject this idolatry will be fatal. They will be persecuted and oppressed, and many will die (Rev. 13:7).

 

  1. The End of the Antichrist

There can be no doubt: The Antichrist comes out of destruction and goes into destruction. He will meet his end together with the second beast. This will happen at the infamous "Battle of Armageddon" (see Revelation 16:12-16 and 19:17-21). At this place, just before the Messiah appears in Jerusalem, there will be a massive deployment of troops where armies from various nations will clash. Europe will also be present, and the Antichrist will accompany the European ruler. Both will meet their end there together. We read: “Then the beast [the European ruler] was captured and with him the false prophet [the Antichrist] who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Rev 19:20).

The judgment is carried out by the Lord Jesus Himself (Rev 19:16). The Antichrist and the Roman beast are seized and thrown alive into hell (v.20)-without any further judgment. Their eternal destiny is certain. They will be the first two people in the lake of fire.

The end of the Antichrist (the false king) was already predicted in the Old Testament (see Isaiah 30:33). 2 Thessalonians 2 shows that the breath of the mouth of the Lord is sufficient to consume him at the appearance of his coming. As powerful as the Antichrist will be, the breath of the mouth of the Lord alone is sufficient to destroy him. This shows the greatness of the One who judges. Nothing and no one will be able to stand against him. Where the Antichrist has exercised his cruel rule, the Lord will shortly thereafter establish His wonderful kingdom, which will be characterized by righteousness and peace.

 

Summary

The Antichrist is a Jew who will reveal his religious and political character in the last days after the Rapture of the faithful. He is one of the great adversaries of the Messiah. In close alliance with the European ruler, both will try to assert their influence. To a certain extent, they will succeed. But in the end, both will be crushed by the Lord Himself and thrown alive into the lake of fire.

 

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Footnotes:

[1] The Antichrist must be clearly distinguished from this coming European ruler. They are two different people, but they will work very closely together.

[2] The spirit of the Antichrist (1 John 4:3) is not to be confused with the Antichrist himself. This spirit is already at work in the world today. We are seeing it very clearly. The same is true of the "mystery of lawlessness. This mystery is already at work, but it will only become fully visible when the lawless one (the Antichrist) is revealed.

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