Satan, the antichrist and the false prophet are represented as the dragon, the beast from the sea and the beast from the earth respectively as recorded in Revelation 12-13. Together they form an unholy trio, referred to by some as the unholy trinity. That’s not an accurate term though because it diminishes the doctrine of the Trinity which is unique and different than the relationship between these three figures. Satan is a created being, a fallen angel. The antichrist is a man who will emerge as a political leader in the end times. The false prophet is another man who will emerge as a religious leader with the satanic ability to perform miraculous signs and wonders. He will encourage people to worship the antichrist. Let’s take a closer look at each one of them.
Satan
We are introduced to the figure of the dragon in Revelation 12 in the midst of John’s vision in heaven. The vision reveals the birth of Christ and implies Satan’s attempts to kill Christ. The vision describes a dragon which is certainly Satan. Satan is sometimes referred to as a beast (Revelation 11:7), and sometimes the antichrist and false prophet are referred to as beasts. So there is some overlap in the imagery but Satan is at the core of it all. Later, after he has been confined to the earth, it refers to him as the serpent. We can confidently affirm that they are one in the same even though he is represented by different beings based on Revelation 12:9 which states “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray” (see also 20:2). Satan is said to give his power, authority and throne to the antichrist (Revelation 13:4-5). Satan is known as the dragon, the serpent, the devil and when the antichrist is in power, he is known as the beast.
“Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born.”
Revelation 12:3-4
The red dragon is said to have seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns on its heads (Revelation 12:3). This is different from the description of the beast from the sea which is said to have ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns (Revelation 13:1). The difference is the crowns are on the heads of the dragon and on the horns of the first beast.
A crown is a symbol of authority to rule. There are seven world powers which Satan has or will dominate throughout history and prophecy. The seven crowns on the seven heads of the dragon may correspond with these seven world powers. They are Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. The last world power will be a revived Roman confederacy comprised of ten leaders who will rule simultaneously and dominate the world in the end times. These correspond to the ten horns. They are the ones who will agree to a worldwide peace agreement confirmed by the antichrist (Daniel 9:27). That kingdom will be set up and run by these ten rulers, but they will ultimately give their power over to the antichrist who is an agent of Satan. Therefore, it is safe to say that the revived Roman confederacy of the end times will be under the control of Satan. So when we read that the red dragon has seven heads, ten horns and seven crowns on its heads, we recognize the record of Satan’s dominance. This is a graphic, all encompassing record of Satan’s dominance of the world.
The Antichrist
The beast out of the sea represents the antichrist. The first thing mentioned about the beast from the sea is it’s ten horns, then the seven heads, and ten crowns on its horns (Revelation 13:1). The similarity between this depiction of the beast and the dragon is remarkable. In the same way, the similarity between the antichrist and Satan will be remarkable, at times almost indistinguishable (Revelation 13:4). Though one difference between the beast and the dragon is that the crowns are on the horns of this beast, not on it’s heads. That is because the ten horns represent ten leaders who will combine to rule the entire world. These are evil rulers who will be under the influence of Satan. In Daniel’s vision of the kingdoms, he saw beasts that resembled a lion, a bear and a leopard which corresponded to Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece respectively (Daniel 7, c.f. Revelation 13:2). This future kingdom incorporates many evil characteristics of all the previous kingdoms but is more powerful, ferocious and evil than any of them. One of its heads had a fatal wound but had been healed. This is probably a reference to the historic Roman empire that fell in 476 AD. The Roman empire was the most dominant in history but it eventually crumbled and no worldwide power has existed since the Roman empire fell. The fatal wound is to the empire, not a person (Revelation 13:3). However, in the end times the Roman empire will be revived, come to life as a world power, and will be led by a ten ruler confederacy and dominate the entire world. The antichrist will gain control of three of these leaders first and eventually all ten (Daniel 7:8). The dragon will give the antichrist his power and his throne and great authority (Revelation 13:2). The whole world will be amazed by the splendor of the antichrist and will follow him. The world will actually worship the antichrist as a god, which is the same as worshiping Satan because Satan and the antichrist are as one. We may assume that the antichrist will be indwelled by Satan (Revelation 13:4).
“The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, ‘Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?’
“The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.”
Revelation 13:1-8
Later in John’s Revelation, the prostitute is pictured riding on a beast with seven heads and ten horns. That would be the same as the beast which represents Satan but with a different emphasis. The beast also represents the worldwide kingdom which he leads through the person of the antichrist. The prostitute represents the apostate church riding the beast. The imagery suggests that the false church has dominance over the political leaders for a period but then the tables are turned and the beast overpowers the rider, that is the empire overpowers the apostate church. The woman is also depicted as a city which may indicate a headquarters for the church much like the Vatican in Rome is for the Catholic church today. Rome was also known in John’s day as the city of seven hills as depicted on their coins.
“Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
Revelation 17:15
The rest of the imagery in Revelation 17-18 is hard to follow with certainty. It speaks of historic and future events using symbolic features which are not clearly explained. It’s hard to tell if ancient Babylon will be restored as a major city of commerce and religion or if Babylon is merely used symbolically of Rome (see 1 Peter 5:13) or as a symbolic term for the worldwide activity of commerce and false religion. In any event, what is recorded communicates enough to understand that Satan will be the force behind world events that culminate in the antichrist’s rise to power in the end times. Daniel chapters 2, 7 and 9 are keys to understanding what is recorded in Revelation regarding the antichrist and end times events.
The False Prophet
The false prophet is represented as the beast coming out of the earth. Since the sea represents the Gentile nations (Revelation 17:15), then the antichrist, the beast from the sea, is probably of Gentile descent. If that is accurate, then there is a distinction regarding the false prophet, namely that he comes from the earth and not the sea. Therefore it is likely that he will be an apostate Jew (the earth representing Israel). He is said to have two horns which may mean he will present himself as a counterfeit Lamb but his speech reveals his true allegiance to the dragon.
“Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.”
Revelation 13:11-17
Summary
The unholy trio of Satan, the antichrist and the false prophet will team up to wreak havoc on any true believers left on earth during the tribulation. They will blaspheme God and force people to worship the antichrist under penalty of death. With the help of these two men, Satan will gain more power and control in the world than he ever has in history.
The imagery in John’s Revelation gets a little confusing at times but the essence is that these three are working together to create an evil worldwide empire. That much is clear as can be. The last ditch effort of these three is when they gather the kings of the world together to fight against Christ when he returns at the Second Coming. The final demise for the unholy trio will be eternity in the lake of fire.
“The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.”
Revelation 16:12
“But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.”
Revelation 19:20
And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Revelation 20:10
All Scripture quoted from:
New International Version (NIV)
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