I have described this abomination of desolation as Daniel speaks of it
in his prophecy; I also discussed what other Scriptures say about the
Antichrist. But there is one more chapter in the Bible that gives us a
detailed description of Antichrist. This is found in Revelation 13, a
chapter you should read before you read the rest of this forum article.
It would help you understand this chapter better if you would read
Herman Hoeksema’s chapter on Revelation 13 in Behold, He Cometh. I can only make a few remarks about it.
John sees two beasts, one coming out of the sea and the other coming
out of the earth. John saw this vision while he was exiled to the island
of Patmos by the emperor, Domitian. Mrs. Hanko and I were on the island
of Patmos several years ago and we were standing at the entrance of a
cave on a high point of the island. We could see far out over the water,
and we could visualize what that must have looked like when John saw
this beast rising out of the water. What a dreadful sight it must have
been.
One of the first things John noticed is that its death-causing wound on
one of its heads was healed. That wound was given the beast by God at
Babel and was God’s act of dividing the people of the world into nations
and races, and all with different languages. This work of God prevented
the Antichrist from coming too soon and the wicked from building an
antichristian kingdom prematurely, for if that would have happened,
Christ could never have come, and the church would never have been
gathered, for Antichrist destroys the church.
But now John sees the wound as healed. That means that this beast is a
universal kingdom in which all differences in languages, racial
characteristics and patriotic feelings of nationalism are gone.
Antichrist rules over one world-wide kingdom. The dreams of the wicked
will become reality. The League of Nations, the United Nations, the
European Union, NATO and SEATO are all steps in that direction.
That means that the Antichrist is a political figure who succeeds in
bringing the entire world together into one universal kingdom. When
George W H Bush was president of the United States, he, Khrushchev of
Russia, and the pope spoke of a new world order. They argued among
themselves about who would lead that world-order, for they all wanted
the post. A man by the name of Malachi Martin wrote a book at that time
with the title, The Keys of this Blood. Martin was a Jesuit who
was high in the Vatican and had knowledge of its inner workings. He
makes a case in his book for making the pope the head of this new world
order, which was a one-world kingdom. The book is fascinating and worth
reading.
The description of this beast in Revelation 13 makes clear that
Antichrist is a political power, but operates by the permission and
encouragement of Satan: “The dragon gave him his power, and his seat,
and great authority” (2). He brings peace to the whole world, though
sometimes it is forced on them: “Who is like unto the beast? Who is able
to make war with him?” (4). He, as the tool of Satan, is the
realization of Satan’s purpose: to depose God from His throne in this
creation and rule to establish his own kingdom. It will be therefore,
violently opposed to God (5). And he will persecute the church, for the
church stands for the cause of God and His Christ (7).
The second beast came out of the earth (11). It is clear from verses 4,
11-17 that Antichrist is also the head of a one-world church. A
one-world church is also the dream of the wicked and apostate church and
explains their push in ecumenism. The World Council of churches is
probably the most powerful manifestation today of this power of
Antichrist. The Medieval popes came the closest to becoming the head of
the nations and of the church, and today’s popes would still grab that
position if they could. See also Revelation 17:6-8, where the woman clad
in scarlet and riding the beast is the false church who directs the
Antichrist in its plans to destroy the church.
That apostate church will be hand in glove with the Antichrist, doing
his bidding and serving him as much as they are able. This too is
happening today as one by one all the major denominations in the world
approve of divorce and remarriage, abortion, homosexuality and same-sex
marriages. This beast is the religious side of Antichrist and makes all
men worship the one-world ruler (12).
But it seems as if this second beast also represents culture in general
and especially culture from the viewpoint of its scientific and medical
achievements and the great advances in science and technology. He is
able to do miracles in science and the medical field; he is able to
subdue the earth and make all its powers, put there by God, serve Satan:
TV, hand phones, atomic power, iPads and all the wonders of modern
communication, miracles of surgery, powerful industrial tools run by
robots, etc., etc.
So religion and culture are in the hands of Antichrist. You can imagine what that means for the church!
Above all, Antichrist is one who persecutes the church. He makes war
with the saints and overcomes them (7). He deceives the whole world with
his miracles (14). He uses a mark to identify his followers and kills
all those who will not take the mark (16-17).
But he is also the abomination of desolation that stands in the Holy
Place where he is worshipped. That means that in every church or place
of meeting for the church, Antichrist will place an image of himself,
something easily done in our electronic society. If you intend to
worship God on a Lord’s Day morning, you will discover that the only one
whom you can worship is the image of the beast. You either worship his
image or you cannot worship at all!
This is the meaning Revelation 11:7. The witnesses are a symbol of the
witnessing and preaching church. They are slain. That is, the church is
destroyed and there is no longer in the entire world any preaching or
witnessing of the saints. There is no longer any worship of God possible
– anywhere!
Notice though that the text says, their testimony is finished. The work
of the church is finished. It is finished because the whole church is
saved; there are no more elect that still have to be brought to faith in
Christ by the preaching.
Notice too that this silencing of the church is the reason for the
saints to flee. There is no point in staying where the church is, for
the church has been silenced.
And we must notice too that, although the church is silenced and the
saints killed, they have the victory after all (11). The bodies of the
witnesses are raised in the sight of the wicked; and then comes the
judgment when Christ shall vindicate the cause of His people and show
all the world that it was His cause after all, and His cause is
victorious.
We must prepare ourselves and our children for those days that shall surely come!
Prof. Herman Hanko
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