Bible prophecy speaks of a future time when a political leader will emerge to world-wide influence, power and popularity, immediately before the return of Jesus Christ. There’s enough detail in Scripture to give us quite a clear picture of his character, his beliefs, his actions, and even his appearance.
Given that we can know to a large degree what this man will be like, and what he will do, and that he will be adored by all those who side with him, it seems logical that we can also project a character portrait of those who will help to propel him to power, and who will therefore share his views and opinions.
What kind of people will love him? Do we see such people at work in positions of power today, or at least, attempting to negotiate themselves into positions of power? Can we recognize any preparatory activity, or party prototypes? God doesn’t vote left or right, and there isn’t one party of the saved and one of the damned, but perhaps we can see some indication of who is most likely to follow the Beast and help him in his quest for power. Of the many indications we have, here are a few which are most relevant:
1/ He will fill a position of strength and extreme power, including military power which outmatches any other (Revelation 13:4; Daniel 7:7).
2/ He will think a lot of himself and will be very boastful (Daniel 7: 8 and 11). His boasting will extend to blaspheming God and God’s people (Daniel 7:25).
3/ He will work to “change set times and laws” (Daniel 7:25). No doubt an entire book could be written on the meaning of this phrase, but briefly, it refers to rejecting the ways and natural laws God established for humanity, and which have guided people from the beginning. This would include natural marriage, family commitments, moral integrity, and a respect for life and property.
4/ He will be a “master of intrigue” (Daniel 8:23). “He will cause deceit to prosper” (Daniel 8:25). He will be a model for those who are deceitful. This is echoed throughout Bible prophecy-its a distinguishing feature.
4/ He will be helped by those who have become completely wicked (Daniel 8:23) . This is also echoed throughout Scripture. The question is, what does Scripture mean by wickedness? The answer is, to intentionally live life in disobedience to the ways of the Creator. Included in the list of wickedness which God will judge the world for is murder-a disregard for life- and immorality (Revelation 9:21).
5/ He will be a man of lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2:3). This doesn’t mean primarily that he will habitually break the laws of human government, although that may well be part of it-he will have no integrity in his dealings with others or those he leads. More directly it refers to the intentional turning from what we know to be true according to what our Creator has taught us, in Scripture and in our innate conscience and nature itself. Paul also informs us that his followers will “delight in wickedness” (verse 12). There will be no shame over the things they indulge in and teach others to do.
6/ He will be the ultimate globalist, as will his followers who will agree with everything he says (Revelation 13:7-8; Daniel 2:43).
7/ He will hate the nation of Israel, the nation which gave us Jesus Christ and the Judeo-Christian ethics which our civilization has been loosely based on (Matthew 24:15:22; Revelation 12:13-17). He will have a scheme to weaken and betray Israel (Daniel 9:27 with Matthew 24:15). The nations of the world, which will at that time be associated, will gather to attack Israel in an attempt to remove the Jews from Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:1-5). This ruler will be a hater of Judeo-Christian belief, history, religion and influence.
8/ He will hate and oppose Jesus Christ and Christ’s Church (Revelation 19:19; 13:7).
In summary, this man will be, perhaps quietly at first, a God-hater and a Church hater. He will oppose the nation of Israel and its possession of Jerusalem. Being hostile to the Church and Israel, it’s likely that he will agree with those who blame all kinds of wrongs or perceived wrongs on the Church, and on Israel. He will also despise Western history which to a considerable degree has been shaped by these.
He will want to change ancient, natural and established ways of decency, righteousness and goodness, while promoting and supporting immorality. He will be a globalist; the consummate controller of others via overbearing inter-national government. He will be arrogant and boastful. He will be incurably and shamelessly deceitful, accusing others of all kinds of things which he himself is guilty of. He will have a strong hand on all financial transactions (Revelation 13). He will take the reigns of a political entity which has awesome military power, which he will use. He will, of necessity, be backed by those who control and pass information onto the rest of us, i.e. news and information sources, or, if you like, “fake news”.
As time goes on, keep your eyes on such trends in government and on those who wish to govern us. Which party and which candidates in our political scene match up to the will of the Beast of Revelation?
Fuel for Faith 