DANIEL DESCRIBES THE FINAL EVIL DICTATOR
Before he is destroyed by a returning Christ and His saints, he will exalt himself beyond measure.
Daniel 11:36, “And the king will do his pleasure; he will put himself on high, lifting himself over every god, and saying things to be wondered at against the God of gods;” (BBE)
He will not believe in any traditional religion except the god of war and military forces.
Continuin in verse 37, “He will have no respect for the gods of his fathers or for the god desired by women; he will have no respect for any god: for he will put himself on high over all. 38 But in place of this he will give honour to the god of armed forces, and to a god of whom his fathers had no knowledge…"
Probably he will put in a statue of himself this time in desecrating the Temple for the world to worship only him.
Daniel 11:39-45, “…to those whom he takes note of he will give high honour: and he will make them rulers over the mass of the people, and will make division of the land for a price.”
He will bribe leaders to gain support and is certainly a lover of corruption. He is definitely not above using money and power to corrupt other leaders.
Verse 43, “But he will have power over the stores of gold and silver, and over all the valued things of the south…44 But he will be troubled by news from the east and from the north; and he will go out in great wrath, to send destruction on, and put an end to, great numbers. 45…but he will come to his end with no helper.”
The New Testament reveals even more of the man's characteristics and behavior.
THE APOSTLE PAUL FURTHER REVEALS THIS MAN OF SIN
The brethren had over reacted to Paul's first letter to them, so he writes to them again to clarify when the Beast will come and the wonderful second coming of Christ.
2 Thessalonians 2:2-4, “That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” (KJV)
False clerics had written counterfeit letters to deceive the brethren. Paul further explains that a great, highly significant falling away from biblical truth must come first. Then he says:
Verse 4, “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the templeof God, shewing himself that he is God.
This evil leader is highly audacious, to have the nerve to takeover the Jerusalem Temple on the holy mountain and from there declare that he is God. Woe!
2 Thessalonians 2:5-6, “Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.”
Apparently Paul had explained to them probably in person, that God was holding back for now, Satan's unleashing of the full deception and the final Beast.
2 Thessalonians 2:8-11, “And then shall that Wicked be revealed…9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:”
Paul says that it is clear that God has not released the blocking on him at this point in time. Further, the Beast is a leader who exemplifies deceptions and lying wonders, and the carnal side of human nature will love being deceived. Why? The people do not LOVE THE TRUTH.
THE BOOK OF REVELATION REVEALS THE FULLNESS OF HIS EVIL
This beastly leader is a very small minded, petty man who loves to gloat when he is finally allowed to be victorious over the two witnesses.
Revelation 11:6-8, “These have power to shut heaven…as often as they desire. 7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.” (NKJV)
He will not allow the bodies of the two witnesses to be buried but instead will encourage a worldwide celebration of their killing. The dead bodies lying out in the open for all to gawk at in some square. This kind of gloating reveals a petty character trait. Furthermore, with the help of Satan, he will pull off one of the greatest hoaxes in history.
Revelation 13:3-4, “And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?’”
Satan will possess and energize the evil man and place him into some kind of occult trance. He will appear to be dead. The details of how this will be done are unknown to us now. But he will appear to have died only reviving later to an apparent resurrection. He may have marvelous tales from the pit of hell and his glorious overcoming of it. He will then appear to have ascended from the bottomless pit.
Revelation 13:8-9, “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear.”
This Messiah like resurrection will assure his deception of the spiritually lost world. But we true believers in the Bible will know enough to not be led astray into worship of the Beast, a mere man. It might be likened by their propaganda, to Jesus' resurrection, and or the revival of the ancient Babylonian religion. Note Revelations chapter seventeen.
Revelation 17:8 , “The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth and whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see that the beast was, and is not, and shall be present.” (WEB)
In accordance with his back stabbing nature, the Beast will double cross the great whore or religious system and clerics and churches that helped him gain power.
Revelation 17:16-17, “And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.” (NKJV)
The political beast power will refuse to share power with the religious power. They will burn and attack the universal church. The man is completely power mad and not trustworthy to any ally.
After a very short reign, by historic standards, the King of Kings –– Jesus –– will destroy the beast and the false prophet.
ISSUE:
HOW POWERFUL WILL A FALSE RETURN TO LIFE FROM A DEATH BED BE TO THE PUBLIC?
