Revelation 13:4: “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

The Book of 2 Thessalonians describes the entrance of the antichrist, after: “He who now restrains is taken out of the way.” For the revealing of the antichrist to happen before He who restrains is taken out of the way, the antichrist must already be on Earth.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-7 “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 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, 4 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? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 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.”

Because all of the antichrist’s first works will be wonderful, the world will not suspect that he is the antichrist, the one who seeks to take the place of Christ.

When most people think of the antichrist, they think of satan and the evil works that this man will do. What most people miss is that when the antichrist first appears on earth, he will not be recognized because of his many good works. Revelation 13:4 gives us a hint of the antichrist’s mass deception, as many in the world will glorify him as one who is unstoppable, unopposable:

“Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

Is there anyone on earth today who has been unstoppable in his efforts to make peace and stop conflicts?

In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, Hebrew scholar Paul describes the introduction of the antichrist by deception—during a time when many people will no longer believe in the God of the Bible:

“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.”

In the last 10 years, there has been a mass exodus of people who claimed that they were once a believer in Jesus and the Bible. In reality, Jesus said that these persons were never really His. During the final days before Jesus comes again for His church, He will first begin a time of “sifting,” when “everything that can be shaken, will be shaken.”

Luke 22:31: Jesus said, “…satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat…”

Hebrews 12:27: “All of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain.”

The power that restrains the antichrist from being known will be the Holy Spirit working through the church, the people that Jesus called to follow HIm. The church will see before he is introduced who the antichrist is. Some in Jesus’ church will reveal his identity because the texts of the Bible make his identification easy to discern.

How Will The People Who Follow Jesus Recognize The Arrival of the Antichrist?

He will have ten attributes, five of which will be seen BEFORE Jesus’ church is removed from earth and the Tribulation begins.

Who is the antichrist? No one, today, knows. We do know what the Bible says about this man and what his attributes will be. Do we see anyone on earth today who exhibits the FIRST FIVE attributes of the antichrist?

1. He will be a peacemaker (Daniel 9:27).
2. He will be a master negotiator. (Daniel 11:21).
3. He will be a financial genius. (Daniel 11:43).
4. He will be a military genius (Daniel 7:23, Daniel 11:39, Revelation 13:4).
5. He will be a political genius (Daniel 7:8 11:36).
6. He will be boastful and arrogant (Daniel 7:8, 25,  Revelation 13:5-6).
7. He will be empowered by satan (Revelation 13:2).
8. He will perform false signs and wonders during the Tribulation (2 Thessalonians 2:9, Revelation 13:13-14).
9. He will persecute God’s people during the last three and a half years of the Great Tribulation (Daniel 7:21, 25, Revelation 13:7).
10. He will declare to the world that he is God (Daniel 11:36-37, 2 Thessalonians 2:4).

Attributes 6-10 will not be seen by the people of Earth until Jesus’ church is removed from Earth, and the seven-year Tribulation begins.

A Man Like No Other, Accomplishing Things No Man Ever Accomplished

The Bible describes the antichrist as the most influential and powerful leader ever seen on earth. He will accomplish incredible success through political, military, and financial skills. He will not be recognized as the “beast” that will usher in the seven-year tribulation when he first appears. Because the world will see him as a successful leader who accomplishes things no one has achieved before, they will not understand who he really is.

• antichrist: first three and a half years
• beast: second three and a half years

A Comparison of How God And The World Sees Events of History

At the beginning of this essay, we saw an image that depicts the Four Beasts, the Four Kingdoms of this world. The following chart illustrates what the Bible says this image is illustrating:

In Daniel chapter 2, the world sees the four world empires that will exist as a great statue. In Daniel chapter 7, God sees these same four empires as vicious and destructive beasts.

When the antichrist arrives and is revealed, he will have all the attributes of the leaders of the first four empires that have existed:

When we examine these four kingdoms in the book of Daniel, we see that the kings of these empires had certain characteristics that will also be a part of the characteristics of the antichrist.

1. Babylon: (605-539 B.C.) Nebuchadnezzar was fierce in his rule, like a lion.
2. Medo-Persia: (539 B.C.) Cyrus was as powerful as a bear when he overpowered the world.
3. Greece: (331 – 168 B.C.) Alexander was quick, like a leopard, in conquering the entire world in just 11 years.
4. Rome: (168 B.C.- 476 A.D.) The ten emperors were brute beasts—murdering, crucifying, and reigning in terror.

The first four attributes: Fierce, Powerful, Quick to Conquer, will be seen when the antichrist is not yet revealed, as he orchestrates peace through strength all over the world. The last attribute will be seen when the antichrist is revealed to the world, after Jesus’ church is removed from the earth, at the beginning of the seven-year Tribulation.

Revelation Chapter 6 Is The Beginning of the Seven Year Tribulation

In the first two verses of Revelation 6 we see that when the antichrist arrives, he will conquer by peace:

Revelation 6:1-2: “As I watched, the Lamb broke the first of the seven seals on the scroll. Then I heard one of the four living beings say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked up and saw a white horse standing there. Its rider carried a bow, and a crown was placed on his head. He rode out to win many battles and gain the victory.”

The First Seal

As Jesus opens the first seal on the scroll, in Revelation chapter six, the church is no longer on earth; we see the redeemed of the Lord in heaven as the Tribulation begins. In chapters four and five of Revelation, we previously saw the church in heaven. Here in chapter six, the first seal is opened in heaven, resulting in the events of the first three and one-half years of the seven-year Tribulation.

The antichrist comes out on a white horse with a bow but no arrow. He comes to make peace by the signing of a seven-year peace treaty between Israel and many nations (Daniel 9:27).

This treaty will allow the Jews to rebuild their third temple at the Temple Mount, next to the Islamic Dome of the Rock. This is all necessary in order for 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 to be fulfilled. We know today that the Temple could be rebuilt on the existing Temple Mount without disturbing the Arab holy sites. We will cover this in depth in chapter 11.

Revealing Of The Antichrist

As Jesus breaks the first seal of the seven that are on the scroll, the seven years of Daniel’s seventieth week begins. As the first seal is broken, we see the antichrist riding on a white horse—much like Jesus will ride back to earth on a white horse, in chapter 19 of Revelation.

This is not a coincidence; the antichrist is the antithesis of Christ. This man will seek to imitate Christ in his conquering of the world and command worship from the inhabitants of earth. From the beginning of Lucifer’s story in the Bible, he wanted to be worshiped as God. It was this evil desire that caused his heart to rebel against God and resulted in his fall.

The antichrist must arise from the most powerful nation on earth.

He must be the most powerful man on earth. He must be hailed as a savior of the nation that was on the path of destruction. Although he will rescue the financial woes of this nation, he will not deliver these people from the true source of their downfall, pride and sin.

The nations that the antichrist emerges from will not recognize him for his true nature, satan incarnate on earth. The reason? He will not be evil in his first actions. He will be a uniter, a man capable of bringing the nation into a time of prosperity.

I Don’t Know Who The Antichrist Is

Because the Bible describes the antichrist as unknown until Jesus’ church is removed, neither I nor anyone else on earth at this time can positively identify him. We can, however, watch and see a man emerging who is manifesting the power and charisma the antichrist will exhibit at the beginning of his reign on earth.

He Will Manifest The First Five Attributes:

1. He will be a peacemaker (Daniel 9:27).
2. He will be a master negotiator. (Daniel 11:21).
3. He will be a financial genius. (Daniel 11:43).
4. He will be a military genius (Daniel 7:23, Daniel 11:39, Revelation 13:4) .
5. He will be a political genius (Daniel 7:8 11:36).

Revelation chapter 6 describes the introduction of the antichrist as a man of peace. He will seek to be known as a peacemaker; his early works will display an innate ability to stop wars, conflicts, and death.

Who Said The Following on January 20, 2025:

“My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That’s what I want to be: a peacemaker and a unifier.”

Daniel recorded the most concise prophecies about the antichrist nearly 2,600 years ago. Daniel described the antichrist as a leader who makes a seven-year peace treaty possible between Israel and the surrounding nations:

Daniel 9:27 “Then he (antichrist) shall confirm a covenant with many for one week (7 years); but in the middle of the week (3 1/2 years) he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering (stop the daily sacrifices in the newly-built Temple at Jerusalem). And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”

In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus cited this text from Daniel’s prophecy as the moment when the antichrist will enter the newly built Temple at the Temple Mount site at Jerusalem, and enter the Holy of Holies. The false prophet will erect a statue of the antichrist, and it will come alive and speak. The statue of the antichrist will command the world to worship the antichrist as God. Jesus called this event “the abomination of desolation.” This event will take place three and a half years after the church Jesus removes from earth, disappears, and the antichrist makes his formal entrance into the world.

Matthew 24:15-23 (NKJV) The Great Tribulation (Mark 13:14–23; Luke 17:23, 24, 37; 21:20–24)

15 “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”

See Rob’s New Book: “Days of Wrath: The Final Sign” at Amazon in both Kindle eBook and Paperback.

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• The Return Of Jesus For His Church: If Not Now, When?
• Why Jesus Will Remove His Church From The Earth Before The Tribulation Begins
• The Current Peace Agreement Between Iran and Israel Will Bring Russia, Iran And China From The North To Attack Israel
• Iran Attacked By United States B-2 Bombers: The Prophecy of Ezekiel 38 Implications
• The Parallel Between Psalm 83 And A Confederacy Of Nations In The Prophecy Of Ezekiel 38

Categories: Robert Clifton Robinson