The World Is Paving the Way for the Antichrist 1

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¹¹Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 

¹²It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. 

¹³It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 

¹⁴and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 

¹⁵And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. 

¹⁶Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 

¹⁷so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 

¹⁸This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666. (Revelation 13:11–18 ESV)

The world is full of all kinds of people: good, bad, kind, unkind, selfless, selfish, loving, unloving, egalitarian and autocratic, etc. Sad but true, we had countless autocrats in our history, and there are quite a few rulers who are constantly oppressing their citizens today. 

What do you call autocrats? Some people call them absolute rulers, somebody brand them as dictators, some politicians name them as despots, and many of their citizens identify them as tyrants.

Dictators do whatever they want. They do not respect law and order. Please don’t mention international law to them, because it means nothing to them. Tyrants rule with iron fists. In a nutshell, their policies are strict and harsh. As a rule, they suppress their opposition and demand their subjects absolute obedience through force and ruthless power. Living under dictatorship, commoners often have fear, anxiety, and enforced conformity. They feel they are lacking personal, political, and economic freedom. Also, they are forced to keep quiet so that they could avoid surveillance, harassment, or violence. 

Autocrats think they are very powerful, but compared with the most powerful dictator who will appear on the political arena, they are just small potatoes. The most powerful dictator in human history is the Antichrist. He is an accomplice of Satan, and the chief perpetrator of the Devil’s evil scheme. Satan has another helper, that is, the false prophet. With the assistance of the false prophet (Revelation 16:13), the Antichrist will rise to absolute power (Revelation 13:11-18). By performing signs and wonders, the false prophet will enable him to convince the world that the Antichrist is the leader the world has been looking for. Where does the false prophet receive his supernatural power? It is definitely from the Devil. 

Based on Daniel’s prophecies (Daniel 7:19–28), numerous Bible scholars believe the Antichrist will emerge from the revived Roman Empire. Very likely, the Antichrist comes from a democratic state. Isn’t it strange that the most dictatorial person comes from a democratic country? When the time comes, the Antichrist will claim divinity and assert dominion over the entire globe. Being fully energised by the Devil, the Antichrist will dominate the world politically, religiously, and economically (Rev. 13:4–5, 15–18). If you like, you can see him as the emperor of the world. 

In the future, all living human beings, including all dictators, have to worship the Antichrist. Without the mark of the Antichrist, no one can buy or sell (Revelation 13:16–18). A word to all the dictators around the world—the Antichrist is greater than you! 

Only the eternal God is all-powerful and all-loving. Most important of all, only God deserves our worship because He is the Creator and the Ruler of the universe. Satan or the Devil is simply a fallen archangel. The Devil, the Antichrist and the false prophet are just God’s created beings. No human beings should worship God’s creatures but we should worship God alone. God is our loving heavenly Father. He loves us unconditionally. His unconditional love is fully revealed on the cross of Jesus Christ. Like the apostle Paul says, “For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans  5:7–8 ESV)

Today’s growing tyranny is just a foretaste of the coming greatest dictatorship. The world is paving the way for the Antichrist. Friends, I sincerely urge you to commit your life to God by trusting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Do that before it is too late. Dear Christians, let’s encourage one another and spread the unconditional love of Jesus Christ far and wide.