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''Jinticbrist ''
(Con tinued from page 14)
But the spirit of antichrist wi ll
blanket the earth, holding nations
and kingdoms in its grip in this
generation! Yarious individuals will
personify that spirit in a powerful
way. In national distress, men will
turn to other
men
who appear to
offer solut ions.
The Bible specifically mentions
two such ind ividuals who wi ll come
to be vi r tually deified by mankind.
One is called the " Beast"; the other
the "False Prophet."
The term
Antichrist
is oftcn
applied to one or the other of these
prophesied personalities. Ofte n,
preachers and prophecy buffs con–
fuse the two and impute to one
sorne of the att ributes of the other.
Sorne even blend, falsely, the two
into one.
Satanlc System
Let us briefl y take a Iook at these
two satanic personalities, and d is–
cover what the Bible really says
about them.
The Beast is a great dictator of
the book of Revelation who is to
rule ovcr 1O nations or groups of
nations just befare Christ's return
(Revelat ion 17: 12-13).
In the Bible, a beast is the sym–
bol for a politicaJ system or its lead–
er. Yet how many ministers under–
stand this fact? In the Bible the
Beast is symbolic of the political
system we call the Roman Empire.
Throughout the centuries since the
fall of the Roman Empire in A.D.
476 (the " deadly wound" of Reve–
lation 13:3), numerous revivals of
the beast- the Roman political sys–
ten:t- arose in Europe.
In Revelation 17, the revivals are
represented symbolically by the
seven heads of a beast. Six have
already occurred from Justinian to
Mussolini . One last restoration of
this great political system is yet to
arise. The end-time Beast will rule
over this final restoration of the
Roman Empire.
In the book of Daniel, where he
is called the "king of the north,"
we learn that the Beast will ulti–
mately conquer portions of the
Middle East (Daniel ll :40-41 ).
Working hand in hand with the
September, 1981
Beast will be the False Prophet
(Revelation 16: 13; 19:20), a g reat
mi racle-working religious fi gure.
By means of lying wonders and
false miracles he will command the
obedience of millions ( Revelation
13:13- 14).
The apostle Paul wrote of the
False Prophet in 11 Thessalonians
2:3, calling him the " man of sin,"
and "the son of perdition." This
miracle-working individual-a
great religious fi gure- will declare
himself to
be
God ( II Thessaloni–
ans 2:4)! Many will believe him to
be Christ in the fles h!
Rlse of the Beast
Let's notice now
how
the Beast wiii
achieve great power and authority.
The Beast will not seize power
~~
The spirit of antichrist
will blanket the earth,
holding nations and
kingdoms in its grip in
this generation!
' '
by means of a coup or by military
conquest. Ten leaders wi ll
"give
their power and strength unto the
beast" (Revelation 17: 13). This
charismatic individual will be wide–
ly viewed as a deliverer-the
only
man who can lead Western civiliza–
tion out of its troubles!
The prophet Daniel sheds fur–
ther light on the Beast's rise to
power. He writes in a dual proph–
ecy-ancient ly fulfilled by Antia–
chus Epiphanes in 167-164 B.C.
and again to be fulfilled in these
last days (Matthew 24: 15)- that
the Beast will be a person "of fierce
countenance and unde rs tanding
dark trickery and craftiness" (Dan–
iel 8:23, Amplified Bible). He wiii
be a sly manipulator, cunning in
the ar t of political maneuvering.
"And his power s h all be
mighty," Daniel continues,
"but
not by his own power.
... "
This is
clearly a reference to the 10 rulers
giving
their power over to the
Beast.
"And he shall corrupt and destroy
astonishingly, and shall prosper, and
do bis own pleasure, and he shall cor–
rupt and dest roy the mighty men and
the holy people ... " the prophecy
continues. "And through his policy he
shall cause trickery to prosper in his
hand; he shall magnify himself in his
heart and mind, and in their security
he wiii corrupt and destroy many."
The prophecy concludes with a
clear statement of the time setting
of these events. " He [the Beast]
shall also s tand up against the
Prince of princes, but he shal l be
broken, and that by no human
hand" (Dan. 8:25). The Beast will
confront Jesus Christ at His Sec–
ond Coming!
Rellglous Support
It wiii not be political craftiness
alone that will propel the Beast to
the top. His rise to power will be
supported and encouraged by the
False Prophet.
The False Prophet presides over a
great, centuries-old religious system
labeled
"BABYLON THE
GREAT" in Revelation 17:5. This
system is an "image" or copy in the
religious sphere of the Roman civil
governmental system (Revelation
13: 14).
This religious power is also per–
sonified as a fallen woman (Revela–
tion 17: 1) and a scarlet woman
(17:3). In Bible symbolism, a
woman is r epresentative of a
church ( II Corinthians 11 :2; Reve–
lation 12) . A fallen woman thus
represents an apostate church.
In Revelat ion 17:3, we read that
this scarlet woman sits " upon a
scar let coloured beast .. . having
seven heads and ten horns." In
other words, this religious power
has historically presided over the
restorations of the Roman pol itical
system (symbolized by the heads),
and is
yet to be
associated with the
final restoration (seventh and last
head) , made up of 1O powers (the
·10 borns).
The Beast will be supported in
his rise to power by the False
Prophet. And in turn, the Beast
will
u s~
bis political mig ht to
enforce religious uniformity.
Beast' s Mark and Number
In this regard, many readers of
The
Plain Truth
have written inquiring
37