Antichrist - Part 5
The Character of the Antichrist
For thousands of years Satan has spent his time in study of the nature of human beings, fallen from our first father, to discover our weakest points, and to learn how to make man do his work.
The devil knows full well how to dazzle us by the attraction of money, lust, fame and power. He knows exactly how to bring before our eyes those things we seek in our hearts. We should recognize the strong power he holds. If he can transport, almost magically, the Lord from the desert to the mountaintop and then to the highest pinnacle of the temple in the blink of an eye, his strength toward our temptation is truly of the highest nature.
He knows how to stimulate our energy and questioning, as well as to dangle in front of us the curiosity of mystical things. He is able to bestow great power to individuals and then to control those men after they are powerful to work against God and His children.
IT CANNOT THEN BE HARD TO UNDERSTAND THAT ALL THESE ABILITIES WILL BE USEFUL TO THE ONE WHO WILL SPRING FROM HIM, TAKING THE POSITION OF ANTICHRIST.
While we are understanding of the position now concerning the restraint of the powers of darkness, we cannot ignore the much greater darkness to come when the Holy Spirit is removed (as II Thess teaches us). We see the same idea taught in Isaiah 60:2:
“… the darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people…”
It is at that time that Satan will be incarnate upon the earth (imitating Christ) and his son, the son of perdition, will possess all of the dark power that Satan has accumulated through his time as the prince of this world. Perhaps with only Jesus as the exception, he likely will be the most remarkable person to appear in human history.
What impressions may we gain from scripture concerning the character of this person who rises as an international leader, and is able to deceive so many, including, for a time, the most skeptical and inquisitive people, the Jews?
We do find some strong thoughts concerning this one if we are willing to look and learn using, as always, scripture as our best friend under the guiding hand of the Spirit.
An intellectual genius:
He will hold within himself extraordinary intelligence. He will be the Devil’s imitation of the blessed one in whom we are taught:
“… in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”. (Col 2:3).
It is likely that this man will equal or even pass Solomon in wisdom. We see in Daniel 7:20 that he is a “horn that had eyes”, giving us a double symbol with the horn showing strength and the eyes showing wisdom.
In Daniel 8:23 he is a king of fierce countenance who understands dark sentences. That which is baffling to others will be easy to him. The Hebrew words describing him here is the same one describing Solomon in 1 Kings 10:1, meaning “hard questions” concerning the inquiry made by the queen of Sheba to Solomon when she tested his wisdom and in Samson’s riddle in Judges 14.
The thought is that this new man will be the master of all things intellectual and occult. Ezekiel 28:3 says it best:
“Behold thou are wiser than Daniel: there is no secret that they can hide from thee”.
His mind will captivate the world with knowledge of hidden things and he will be looked up to in all things of the mind for a time.
A genius of speech:
In Daniel 7:20 we are told that he has “a mouth that spake great things”. Here again we see the imitation of Christ as we recall that Jesus was described as “one who spake as never man spake” and we are further taught that people were “astonished” at Christ’s doctrine (Matt 7:28). Even further we are taught in Matt 13:54, “Whence hath this man this wisdom?”.
So this son of Satan will also be revealed to have command and flow of the gift of language, and it seems sure that he will gain attention and respect through his oratory. Rev 13:2 advises that his mouth is “as the mouth of a lion” which is a symbol for the awe-inspiring effect of his voice. If his voice is as the voice of the king of beasts, then he will command by that voice.
A commercial genius:
As we noted once before, Daniel 8:25 reveals that he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand. As he establishes his rule, he will be in absolute control of commerce, as all things will be centralized under his rules. Rev 13:17 shows that none may buy or sell except under his approval. Therefore the wealth of the entire world will be at his disposal to use to further his empire.
As we look back at the OT for a view we see Psalm 52:7 reveals that “Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches; and strengthened himself in his substance”.
Daniel 11:45 reveals that “… he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt”.
It is likely that his supreme control of all commercial activity will make him wealthier than all who came before him, and make Solomon himself look poor by comparison.
A military genius:
He will have the most extraordinary powers so that “he shall destroy wonderfully and shall prosper and practice and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people”. (Dan 8:24).
None will be able to stand up to him. Think about the overwhelming power of the military if weapons of the USA & Israel were combined and even these will not conquer him. Rev 6:2 teaches, “he will go forth conquering and to conquer”. As he sweeps all resistance away, the words of Rev 13:4 will be fulfilled completely:
“Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”
His military might will be seen across the world and will be vast in scale. The prophet Isaiah said in 14:16 that he can shake kingdoms and make the earth tremble.
A governmental genius:
This evil one will weld together opposing forces. He will unify those who had been in conflict under his control as he assembles his armies. We see a wonderful symbol of this power in Rev 13:1-2 which teaches of the beast standing up with seven heads and ten horns, and the dragon gave him his power.
The old empires of Rome, Greece, Persia, Babylonia will all be settled within his control along with the modern power of other nations as well as he prepares for the final war. We see the most amazing thought in Rev 17:17 that the ten kings shall give their kingdoms to him. It may make sense to view him as the greatest and last Caesar.
A religious genius:
We must keep in mind that the son of Satan will indeed perform one of the most dishonorable acts possible when he takes his seat in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and proclaims himself to be god and demands worship.
It is urgent that we remember he will have performed miracles and have been seen to solve many of the world’s problem issues. His ability to keep secret who he actually is while appearing to resolve so many problems will be surely something to behold. This man of sin will combine in himself, through powers received from his father, Satan, all the varied genius factors known to mankind.
It seems likely that he will be invested with and show mastery of nature’s forces, science, commerce, military, and governing authority, in order to consolidate his sovereign hold over much of the world. Rev 13:3 says “all the world wondered after the beast”. We know he will be wounded and thought dead and will come alive again. This marvel, along with many others will create a wish for so many to pay him homage. Now he will be considered as divine and his very image will be worshipped (Rev 13:14-15). His new faith, based upon worship of himself, will probably accept many millions of converts. He will appear to the world as the long awaited answer and final savior appearing to gather to himself in new power those who are still looking beyond Jesus Christ for salvation.