We have prepared several questions/answers about about the character and actions of the Antichrist.  For a detailed discussion of the Book of Revelation please read: Book of Revelation Articles.  For an overview of the Book of Revelation, please read: Book of Revelation Frequently Asked Questions. 

Q.  Who is the Antichrist?

The Antichrist will soon come to power and control the governments, militaries and economies of the world.  He loves power and wants to be glorified by all of the peoples of the world and will attempt to take His place as the political, military and economic leader of the World.  He  will be a great orator and will be initially respected and admired by  most of the people of the world.  When he comes to power, there will be very serious economic troubles in the world and he will announce that he has solutions to these problems.  When he shows up on the world scene, he will have a detailed plan on how to restore the countries of the world to a stable and prosperous economic condition.  His plan will include the formation of a one-world economy and a one-world government.

Q.  Why does God allow the Antichrist to rise to power and rule the world during the Tribulation?

Jesus is ready to return to the earth, establish His Kingdom, and rule over it for one thousand years.  He needs to accomplish several things before He returns and includes the testing by fire of the following:

Q.  How will Antichrist receive his charisma, his ideas on how to solve the world's problems and his great oratory skill?

When Jesus started His mission, He was led by God to undergo a 40-day fast in the wilderness.  He was then tempted by Satan.  One of the temptations was to give Jesus Christ all of the kingdoms of the world if Jesus would worship him. Of course, we know that Jesus said no to this temptation. Jesus perfectly completed His mission of being the sacrifice for our sins by His death, burial and resurrection.

Antichrist will also be tempted by Satan. Because of his huge ego and desire for power, Satan will offer the kingdoms of the world to him and Antichrist will say yes.  There's a payment for this power.  Antichrist will then be completely controlled by Satan. Because Satan also controls the governments of the world, he will force the leaders of the various countries to listen to and to obey Antichrist.  Satan has a plan to bring the world governments under his unrestrained control and this plan will simply handed to Antichrist and executed by him.

Q.  Who is the False Prophet?

The False Prophet will be a great, well-known religious leader.  He will arrive on the world scene at the same time the Antichrist takes over as the leader of all of the world governments.  The False Prophet will be able to perform false miracles, such as calling fire down from Heaven, possibly in the form of religious apparitions.  He will use these miracles to deceive the world's peoples into believing that Antichrist is actually the Messiah.  We don't know what these miracles could be at this point, but when they are produced by the False Prophet, they will be so believable that many of the world's peoples will be deceived into worship of Antichrist.  The False Prophet will be the worship leader for Antichrist and lead many people astray from the worship of the one and true God--God the Father, Yahweh; God the Son, Jesus Christ; and God the Holy Spirit.

Q.  Please give a comparison of Jesus Christ and the Antichrist.

Antichrist will join with Satan and the False Prophet to deceive mankind into serving and worshipping them instead of the one true and living God: God the Father; Jesus Christ, the Son of God; and the Holy Spirit of God.  The comparison of the one true and living God to the false or unholy trinity is shown in the following table:

God will allow this deception because of the sin of mankind of today is very great and God the Father will deal with this sin by bringing the trials of the Tribulation upon the earth in the very near future. Jesus Christ is given the mission to carry out  each trial by the opening of  the seven seals of the scroll described in the Book of Revelation.

Q.  Please explain Seal One of the Seven-Seal Scroll in Heaven that is opened by Jesus at the very start of the Tribulation.

Revelation 6:2 (KJV) And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

Antichrist will be the rider on the white horse of seal one.  The time of Seal One will encompass most of the time of the first half of the Tribulation.  For about 3 years, Antichrist will conquer many countries and bring them into his orbit of influence.  This conquering could include military conquests, but will mainly be conquests of the major problem that now plagues the whole world--the failure of the stock markets and economic systems of most of the countries of the world.   At the very beginning of the Tribulation he will conquer Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia (The Burden of Egypt).  During this brief war Antichrist will send nuclear weapons upon Egypt and almost completely destroy it.  He will then take over the oil fields of Iraq and Saudi Arabia.  After this, he will lower the price of oil substantially, thus making himself  "loved" by the countries of the world that need oil to drive the wheels of production and commerce. 

This victory over Egypt will provide him a means to instill loyalty to him from the manufacturing countries of the world.  He will also provide a plan that will succeed in turning around the failed economies of the rest of the world and thus allowing for a comfortable living for most peoples of the world.  This low-priced oil will only be provided to  those countries and peoples that pledge their loyalty to him.    The other major victory Antichrist will have is to bring peace to Israel.  This will be via a seven-year peace treaty between Israel and the Arab countries around it that want to destroy it.

Q.  Please explain the unwalled cities of Israel.

"You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’ (NKJV Ezek 38:11).

In order for Israel to have peace in the Middle East, it will most likely be forced to surrender all of its military arms to Antichrist, including both conventional and nuclear weapons.  Antichrist will send troops into Israel and protect both its cities and its borders.  For almost 3 years, Israel will experience peace within its borders.  When the first half of the Tribulation is almost finished, Jesus will open the second seal.

Q.  Please explain Revelation 13:4: And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast?  Who is able to make war with him?

The False Prophet will glorify the Antichrist (the beast) to start with using the television, and the Internet.  Later in the Tribulation, the False Prophet will then force the people of the world to also worship the dragon, which is another name for Satan.  Satan will be presented as a benevolent "god" and people will appreciate the economic benefits that he provides via Antichrist.

Because the military of Antichrist will destroy most of the Russian military after Seal Two is opened, no government of the world will dare to rebel against him, even when he is taxing them and probably exploiting them.  Just as faithful Christians have a healthy, loving fear of The Lord (Proverbs 1:7 -- The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.), the unsaved of the world will have a fear of Antichrist and will be looking over their shoulders in fear of being destroyed by him.

Q.  Please explain the mortal head wound described in Revelation.

And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. (Rev 13:14)

The sword mentioned in the above verse is the Greek word for a dirk, which is not really a sword but a short, sharp weapon, such as a short knife or other weapon.  Since world leaders of today are heavily protected by their own personal body guards, it would be almost impossible for a attacker to get close enough to actually stab Antichrist in the head.  If they could get close enough to attack with the dirk, they would probably not stab him in the head, but in the stomach or abdomen.  The dirk would thus need to be launched from a point beyond the protection of Antichrist's bodyguard.  The weapon could not be an arrow, because the apostle John would know what an arrow is and would have stated it as such in the above verse.  We need to understand that the dirk is John's best description of what he thought the weapon was and simply used first century terminology to describe it.  We believe that the dirk used to wound, but not kill Antichrist was a bullet launched from a rifle from a safe distance by a sniper.

And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. (Rev 13:3)

Because he was severely wounded by the bullet, Antichrist was close to death and even if he could survive, he would not be mentally fit to lead his country.  Because of this severe head wound, it was announced that he had died and was seemingly buried in a prominent location. His government was then taken over by another leader.  Antichrist was operated on by a neurosurgeon and the wound was eventually healed, although it took many years for his actual recovery.  When Antichrist reappears on the world scene, the people of the world will recognize him (although he will be somewhat older) and then wonder, because when he appears, it will be just like he had been resurrected from the grave.

Q.  What is the physical appearance of the Antichrist? 

Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened. (KJV Zech 11:17)

The dirk or bullet that struck Antichrist in the head damaged the optic nerve to his right eye.  Thus his right eye is blind. Also, one of his arms will be completely withered and useless because of  another wound that damaged the nerves to his right arm. Reconstructive surgery will have been performed on the head of Antichrist, but he will be normal in appearance, and have a fierce countenance. He will also have a full head of white hair that will mimic the appearance of Jesus Christ in Revelation.

Q.  If Antichrist seeks to deceive mankind into believing he is Christ, will he also have a resurrection like Jesus had?

Yes he will.  Antichrist will appear to have been resurrected from the grave in some prominent place where he had supposedly been buried for a number of years.  The grave is completely ensconced with numerous very large stones to protect it from vandalism. When Antichrist appears to have been resurrected from the dead, his opened grave will most likely been shown on television newscasts.  The world will marvel over this event and believe that he is actually--The "Christ".

Q.  Will Antichrist be a Jew or a Gentile?

Antichrist will arise from among the Gentiles, but he will be a Jew from the tribe of Dan, one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel:

Genesis 49:17 (ASV 1901) Dan shall be a serpent in the way, An adder in the path, That biteth the horse's heels, So that his rider falleth backward.

The Jews of the world have been waiting for their messiah for many years to be their ruler and king, and to lead them into peace and prosperity. The people of the nation of Israel are so desperate for peace that when Antichrist appears and solves their turmoil with the Arab nations around them, and gives them peace, they will gladly accept him as their Messiah. This is true for reformed, conservative and orthodox Jews.

Some Biblical scholars believe that a Tribulation Temple will need to be built on the Temple Mount, where Solomon's temple was built almost 3,000 years ago and where Herod's temple was standing when Jesus walked the earth almost 2,000 years ago.  A Tribulation Temple could be built on the Temple Mount, and with today's construction techniques, it could be built fairly rapidly.   This would be very hard to sell to the Arab community because two of their temples are now on the site.  It would take great fear of Antichrist from the Muslim countries that surround Israel to allow a Jewish temple to be built on the same site as their temples.

A second possibility is that archaeological investigations could place the Temple Mount as some other place than today, where the two Muslim temples now stand.  To effect this, a convincing archaeological discovery would need to be made that confirmed the place of the archaeological dig was the site of the original Temple Mount.

A third possibility is that the temple Antichrist will place his image at is the Great Synagogue of Jerusalem.  The layout and design of this synagogue was inspired by the first temple--Solomon's Temple.  As of today, this is the most probable place where that Antichrist will desecrate.

When the Temple is desecrated by Antichrist at mid-Tribulation, the Jewish people will protest this event.  Antichrist will then persecute the Jewish people and kill many of them.  The remnant will flee to the wilderness and be protected by Jesus Christ during the second half of the Tribulation.  This wilderness is thought by many Biblical scholars to be near the ancient city of Petra, in the country of Jordan.

And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

Q.  What kind of changes to the times will Antichrist make?

Here are some possibilities. Jesus Christ was born in year 0001 (some scholars say 3 or 4 BC); Antichrist will make his first year as the "president" of the world, the start of the Tribulation, as year one (0001) of the new era.  He will call it "the beginning of a new age", thus attempting to rid the world of the memory of Jesus Christ.  In the media, there is already an attempt to remove the significance of Jesus' birth 2,000 years ago by redefining BC (before Christ) as BCE (before common era) and AD (Anno Domini--Latin for in the Year of The Lord, also known as After Divinity) as CE (common era).  The beginning of a year could be redefined from January 1st to the first day of the month Antichrist assumes power of the world or the month of his birth.  Since Antichrist will consider himself a modern Caesar, he may even force the calendar itself to be changed.  To honor past Caesars, the month of July is named after Julius, August after Augustus and October after Octavius.  So, Antichrist may rename one of the calendar months after his first name.  Antichrist may also substitute his own holidays for the holidays of many countries.  He will also remove any holidays that are of religious significance to many countries.  He will make sure that he removes Christmas from the calendar.

Q.  What are the laws Antichrist will change?

Here are some possibilities. When Antichrist comes to power, he will desire to form a one-world government by which he will control all other countries. The military and economy of two great world powers, the United States and the European Union, will be the enforcers of any decisions that he makes as supreme ruler of these powerful countries.

Any laws of countries of the world that allow any kind of religious freedom will very likely be removed from their law books.  Antichrist will specifically make being a Christian a crime.  The Holy Bible will officially be named as "hate material" and made illegal to own.  Any laws that were created as a result of the influence of the Holy Bible will be removed or greatly changed.  These would be laws that are drawn from the Ten Commandments, such as "Thou shalt not steal and Thou shalt not murder".  A change would be something like: "You shall not steal from a citizen loyal to Antichrist."  Faithful Main Harvest Christians will not be loyal to Antichrist, and thus it will be legal to steal from them.  You can probably imagine the violence that will be done to Christians by the unsaved during the first half of the Tribulation when resources such as food, clothing and money will be scarce.

On regular television, as well as satellite and cable television, the religious programs will be replaced with programs that make fun of and blame Christians for many of the ills of society.  The non-Christian will believe the untruths shown on TV and other media about Christianity and will have no problem with Christians being persecuted or even murdered.

Q.  How will Antichrist wear out the Main Harvest Christians and for how long?

Antichrist will be given 3 1/2 years to persecute/test Christians.  This is the same amount of time that God the Father gave Jesus Christ for His ministry upon the earth.  At the beginning of the Tribulation, Antichrist will begin his persecution of Christians by not allowing them to meet in churches for any kind of worship of God.  Next, the Holy Bibles, Christian books, websites, radio programs, podcasts and television programs will not be allowed, and Bibles will be confiscated whenever possible.  He will then take away their means of employment, their property, money, and businesses.  By the time seal two of the Seven-seal scroll of Revelation is opened, any Christians that become faithful during the Tribulation will be arrested and moved to detention camps and literally worked to death like slave laborers were so brutally treated by Hitler in his concentration camps during World War II. Before the middle of the Tribulation, in Seal five, many Christians will be murdered, mainly by decapitation by guillotine.

Faithful Main Harvest Christians will show their faith by meeting with other faithful Christians and studying and obeying the verses in the Holy Bible; by praying and worshiping God; by keeping their faith in Jesus even when threatened with persecution; by obeying God and accomplishing any kind of good work He has prepared for them to do; by encouraging each other to be faithful to Christ and watching for Christ's return for the Main Harvest Rapture.  Many church members, pastors, teachers, deacons and church leadership that are left behind after the First Fruits Rapture will become very dedicated to serving Jesus and will keep their faith in Him, even while experiencing the strongest persecution that has ever been inflicted upon Christians.  During the first half of the Tribulation, Christians will be treated much worse than the Christians were treated in the time of the persecutions in Rome where many were rounded up and used as sport in the Roman coliseum.  Their living conditions will be similar to the conditions experienced by Jews in the Nazi concentration camps of World War II.

Unfaithful Main Harvest Christians will be indistinguishable from the unsaved and will not be persecuted because they will not identify themselves as being Christian.  They will live in safety because they will see the faith shown by most Christians and the persecution that they will receive, but will not join to serve God with them.  Because there will be much suffering by the faithful, the unfaithful Christian will want no part of it and will remain silent and in effect, will be invisible.  At the Main Harvest Rapture, all Christians will be taken to Heaven including both faithful and unfaithful believers.  However, there will be a severe reprimand by Jesus for the unfaithful Christians at the Judgment Seat of Christ.  Because of God's grace, they will still be saved, but will suffer loss of reward and glory and honor in the Millennial Kingdom and in Eternity.

Q.  What will be lost by Main Harvest Christians?

Before the First Fruits Rapture, Jesus has determined His most faithful believers who are the members of the Church of Philadelphia (Rev Chap 3).  They will be co-rulers with Jesus over Heaven and Earth.  Although most of the Main Harvest Christians will show great faith in Jesus for the 3 1/2 years they are being persecuted, it will be too late to be co-rulers with Christ in the highest level of the kingdom.  They will not be able to share Jesus' throne with Him and to experience the level of glory that will be shared by all of His most faithful believers, the Bride of Christ.  Main Harvest Christians will still receive glory, but it will be less than the glory with which the First Fruits Christians will be rewarded.

The following questions are given as response to the following scripture:

And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. (Revelation 13:6 KJV)

The State of Massachusetts Blasphemy Law defines blasphemy very well:

Whoever willfully blasphemes the holy name of God by denying, cursing or contumeliously reproaching God, His creation, government or final judging of the world, or by cursing or contumeliously reproaching Jesus Christ or the Holy Ghost, or by cursing or contumeliously reproaching or exposing to contempt and ridicule, the holy word of God contained in the holy scriptures shall be punished by imprisonment in jail for not more than one year or by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars, and may also be bound to good behavior.

Q.  When will this blasphemy occur?

This blasphemy will occur during the first half of the Tribulation and intensify towards the middle of the Tribulation.  This blasphemy will get even worse during the second half of the Tribulation because Antichrist will have the False Prophet set up his image at the temple of God in Jerusalem and claim to be "god".

Q.  How does Antichrist blaspheme God, His dwelling place and God's saints of NT and OT?

Antichrist will blaspheme God's character and authority (i.e., “his name”). He will also blaspheme God’s tabernacle, which is the Church still on the earth, and them in the Church that have been taken to heaven to dwell (i.e., “them that dwell in heaven”). This verse confirms the separation where some of the Church is still on the earth, but some have been taken to heaven to dwell.  

God only tabernacles (i.e., indwells) the Church, and not the Jews or the Gentiles who will be saved during the tribulation period. Therefore, this verse proves that at least part of the Church is still upon the earth at the time that Antichrist is railing against God and his people. Antichrist does not turn against the Jews until the last half of the tribulation period when his 42 months have ended. The Church will be persecuted severely during the first half of the tribulation period. 

Q.  Please explain the relation between the name of Antichrist and the mark of the beast--the number 666.

The economy of the world is in a terrible condition and will get much worse in the near future.  Because of this, Antichrist will arrive on the scene and make suggestions that will seem to work, at least in the beginning of his worldwide leadership.  A worldwide constitution will have been drawn up and all citizens of all countries will need to take some kind of "oath of allegiance" to Antichrist. If a citizen takes this oath, there are benefits they will receive.  Those that take this oath will be required to receive an implanted computer chip which will allow them to buy and sell merchandise, but will then be destined for hell.  This is the mark of the beast. Associated with the mark will be the number 666.  A unique number modeled after the universal product code (UPC) will assigned to each human that takes the oath of allegiance to Antichrist. Only those humans that have the implanted chip will be able to buy or sell any goods or services. Those humans that do not take the computer chip implant will be in serious trouble, because they will have no direct access to food, clothing, medical treatment and employment.

The Antichrist's name really stands for three names—Antichrist, False Prophet, and Satan.  The number 666 represents these three.  This number summarizes the attempt by the unholy trinity to supplant God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Q.  What is the image of the Beast?

The image of the Beast will very likely be a giant display screen such as those set up in large sports stadiums.  The False Prophet would likely place it outside of the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem and it would carry live and past speeches of Antichrist and praise of Antichrist.   Those that are in the Temple area would be expected to agree with everything Antichrist or the False Prophet say.  Any sign of disagreement by viewers would be met with arrest, imprisonment and possibly execution.  Antichrist will expect homage to be paid to him similar to the adoration that the citizens of Germany had for Hitler during the 1930s and 1940s.  The image of the beast will also be a reality for all of the rest of the world, and anyone that has a television, a computer or a cell phone with an internet connection would be required to view the programs about Antichrist.  There will be severe punishment and even death for those humans that do not pay homage to the Antichrist by viewing programs about him.

Q.  When does God destroy Antichrist and False Prophet?

At the very end of the Tribulation, Jesus will lay hold onto Antichrist and the False Prophet, and then He will judge them for their persecution of God's faithful believers: the Main Harvest Christians persecuted during the first half of the Tribulation; the Gentiles saved by Christ during the seven year Tribulation; and the Jews who will be persecuted during the second half of the Tribulation.  Christ will then cast them into the Lake of Fire and they will be tormented there forever and ever.  They will receive the strongest punishment of any humans that will have ever walked upon the face of the earth.

Q.  Please explain who is the "evil one" mentioned in The Lord's Prayer.

Jesus has given a command to the most faithful of His disciples in the Gospel of Luke:

Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. (Luke 21:36 KJV).

The Lord's Prayer is the response that all faithful Christians should have to the commandment by Jesus to be watching for His return given in the Luke passage above.  We should greatly desire to avoid persecution by Antichrist and want to be taken to Heaven in the First Fruits rapture.

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.  Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13)

The evil one is Antichrist and Jesus commands us to want to be taken to Heaven to be with Him.  This prayer ensures that Jesus will indeed deliver His most faithful saints from the persecution of Antichrist.

Q.  Will there be any persecution of Christians before the start of the Tribulation?

It is possible that some Christians will be persecuted before Antichrist is revealed.  We already know of the persecution of Christians in many countries of the world, although it is infrequently reported in the mainstream media.  In the Middle East, Christians are currently being killed or imprisoned if they will not convert to Islam.  Christians are also being persecuted in the Far East in countries such as India and in communist countries, such as China and Cuba. 

Satan and his fallen angels currently know the names of all Christians that are now living faithfully for Jesus.  He will know of any Christian websites and authors, preachers and teachers that are announcing the very soon return of Jesus for the First Fruits Rapture of His most faithful followers, the Church of Philadelphia.  In the near future, some of these faithful believers may be arrested and held in jail or in concentration camps.  We don't know if any will be tortured or murdered before the First Fruits Rapture.

If God allows this persecution, the reason is to wake up at least some of the Main Harvest Christians who do not currently have a close walk with Jesus Christ. Hopefully, they will wake up to their need for repentance and their need to renounce self-centered ways and to be watching for the return of Jesus for the First Fruits Rapture.  If this persecution happens, God will make the arrests of His most faithful believers known to the less faithful Christians, and because of this suffering, perhaps some will repent and then become members of the Church of Philadelphia.  The article How to Crucify Self gives suggestions on how to now start a faithful walk with Jesus.  If you are not currently living faithfully for Christ, and refuse to repent before the First Fruits Rapture, here are a few suggestions on walking with Jesus during the first half of the Tribulation for Christians Left Behind.

Events involving Antichrist are summarized: