CHAPTER 5: “Who is Able to Wage War with Him?”
At the beginning of the Antichrist’s bold mission to the world, he is given a divinely-decreed crown to ensure his nonstop success.
Rev. 6:1-2
Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
From time immemorial, heroes have ridden on white horses. People have greeted them as rescuers. But this one has a secret ambition to conquer wherever he rides. He carries a bow, which in Scripture means military might (Ps. 46:9). But he has no arrows.
The bow threatens, but the lack of arrows implies negotiation, not war. Yet “a crown was given to him,” to ensure that he will accomplish his mission. He wins by persuasion. Moreover, the world marvels as he negotiates peace treaties in such strife-torn places as Israel.
As we have seen, the Antichrist even manages to allow the rebuilding of the Jewish temple where, for decades, Islamic powers forbade it (Dan. 9:27). He finally achieves the long-sought-for, yet long-despaired-of, Middle East peace deal. Also he promotes religious toleration. He may even replace certain “racist” and “bigoted” priests and mullahs with more politically acceptable leaders.
Battles over religion have often provoked nations to rise against nations, and kingdoms against kingdoms. The Antichrist uses smooth words and deception to advocate instead a peaceful, unifying global religion, in which there are many ways to God.
The idol of religious toleration is a mask for the fear of man—and therefore humanistic and irreligious. Already this idol has lured many Christians away from the faith. This trend will accelerate during the great apostasy. The worldwide media will celebrate peace treaties which replace religious conflict with religious toleration, and proclaim, “Peace and safety!” (1 Thess. 5:3).
But the peace will not last.
Rev. 6:3-4
When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come.” And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.
The breaking of the second seal takes peace from the earth. Peacemaking changes into war-making. Again, people turn to the Antichrist, their hero in peace, hoping that he will also prove to be their valiant hero in war.
Did he design the peace treaties to fall apart easily, so he could conquer easily? In any case, it was never the Antichrist who held back war, but Christ Himself, the Prince of Peace. “He makes wars to cease to the ends of the earth” (Ps. 46:9). But once Christ breaks the second seal, war breaks out in every place where He has long held it back.
SCENARIO
We don’t know what the geopolitical gameboard will look like at that time. Based on our time, in addition to civil wars, we can visualize sudden simultaneous attacks of China against Taiwan, North Korea against South Korea, Pakistan against India, Russia against Kiev, Sunni Muslim nations against Shiite Muslim nations, Iran against Israel, African Muslim-majority nations against African Christian-majority nations, Muslim-minority uprisings in Europe, and China-backed attacks from Cuba and Venezuela against the US—to name only a few of the conflicts now simmering in the world.
Nuclear bombs would end wars quickly. For that reason, Christ will likely keep holding back nuclear warfare, but keep unleashing conventional warfare in places where He has long restrained it.
Through the Antichrist’s previous peace treaties, he has made connections which will support his drive to global power. He has positioned himself to be the ultimate winner of the world wars. But his brilliant career suddenly ends in the eyes of his adoring public. One of his enemies deals him a fatal head wound (Rev. 13:3).
All the nations mourn. His open-casket funeral packs an immense cathedral. Between two heavily armed rings of security forces, hundreds of thousands surround the cathedral and watch the proceedings on giant screens. Billions watch the TV broadcast. Eloquent political and religious leaders say they will do all they can to carry on his grandiose mission.
But some break down in despair and weep. The world has lost its acclaimed peace-maker and hoped-for savior from world wars. Who else can end wars that God Himself will not stop, despite the multitude of prayers lifted up to Him?
The surprise answer: Satan.
The singing of an all-faiths hymn by the entire audience stops mid-stanza. Gasps all around quickly turn to wild shouts and cheers, as their fallen hero in war and peace rises to a sitting position. He takes a deep breath and smiles as he surveys the awestruck and elated crowd. A close-up shows no trace of the head wound. Deafening applause and commotion breaks out as the security guards hasten to assist him out of the casket. He takes center stage and bids the audience to quiet down.
“Well, that was quite a vacation.” He allows the eruption of laughter to settle down. A few are about to call out, “Where did you go?”, but refrain. “Thank you for all of your prayers for me. I am glad to be back with you again.”
Noisy applause follows his every pause.
“In view of all this, I have a confession to make. I can no longer keep my faith a secret. It’s a faith I share with the most powerful people in the world. We have been humble and discreet enough to keep its sanctity till now, since it has been so misunderstood. But if you wonder by what power or authority I have come back to you, I can hide it no longer. For many of you, it will be no surprise. It is in the name of Lucifer that I stand before you today.
“The more you know him, the more you will realize that he has been the true God all along.
“He is the true God of Communism, which has no God but the State. Because he is the ultimate authority of the State. He is the true God of Democracy, which is the People. Because he is the power of the People, and final choice of the People. We need no more elections.
“All authority and power in heaven and earth have been given to me.
“You may ask, how do I have authority in heaven? Ask your authorized religious leaders. They all honor the god of Islam, the god of the Freemasons, and the gods of Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism, animism and all other religions.
“But at the same time, all of your authorized religious leaders have told me they agree there is one world religion, which embraces all their gods. Many wars have been started by those who insist on their own religious prejudices. Now is the time to stop them.
“I must add that all of your authorized political leaders have told me they agree there is one world order, which embraces all their governments. But wars have been started by those who don’t agree with our world order. We must stop them now too.”
The applause that keeps punctuating his speech grows louder.
“The Lord of all heaven and earth has raised me to life today to show you that He is God of gods and King of kings. He is the Lord of light, Lucifer, the Star of the morning, and the Prince of darkness.
“Many Christians and Jews falsely call him Satan, the adversary. But most denominations have agreed to stop calling him by that name. To prove their allegiance to Lucifer, from now on I charge them all to call themselves Luciferians or, if they prefer, Light-bearers[i]—but Christians no more.
“As for the Jews, I showed them favor despite worldwide opposition. I allowed them to restore their temple services, and asked only that they give me due honor for doing so. In some ways they have complied. I still believe we can come to a more lasting agreement. For that reason, tomorrow my first official visit—as your risen Lord under my Lord—will be to the temple in Jerusalem…”
…
On the next day, in front of the western gate of the Jerusalem temple, the Antichrist receives the accolades of priests who support him. With their collaboration, he has deposed the remaining dissident priests. Armies surround Jerusalem to enforce his decisions (Lk. 21:20-21).
After further ceremonies, crowds of Gentiles follow him into the broad outer court of the temple. At the eastern end, the priests have prepared an elevated emperor’s throne. The crowds give him a rousing ovation as he “takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God” (2 Thess. 2:4).
The Antichrist exalts himself as Savior. He castigates the God of Israel and other gods for letting the world war go on for so long. In his first act as emperor, he orders the seizure of all weapons and military bases that do not already belong to the one-world order. With the cooperation of his allied leaders who now gain the upper hand in the nations, the wars in the world end all at once with the Antichrist as victor.
No one dares to wage war with him. You cannot wage war with someone you cannot kill.
Instead, the whole world worships him and worships Satan. Satan has given not only his authority, but his personality to their new emperor. When they worship the Antichrist, they know they are also worshiping the power behind his throne.
Rev. 13:3-4
“And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority…his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?’”
The Antichrist had led the way toward religious tolerance. But it was only to prepare the world for exclusive worship of himself. Now he makes world war with the saints who refuse to worship him. He takes authority over every people and tongue and nation, firmly determined that no Christian will be able to escape him.
“It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him” (Rev. 13:7).
A second beast—a false prophet—arises to share that authority…
[i] Also “Light-bearer” is one meaning of the Latin Lucifer, translated from the Hebrew in Isa. 14:12.
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