One of the most well-known prophecies of Revelations is about the rise of the Anti-Christ. The book of Revelation tells us that the Beast will rise to power over a political entity of merged Western nations – and those nations are democracies at present. We will argue that the Beast and his supporters are now very active in politics in both America and in Europe. They are working to gain political power that will enable them to ultimately overthrow the democratic processes and take authoritative power – power they will use to achieve their ultimate political agenda and fulfill the prophecies of Revelation as the pertain to the Anti-Christ.
The news is filled with signs that we are near the End of Days — or may have already entered them. The creation of Israel has started the countdown clock for the return of Christ, as the Bible tells us that a “generation will not pass” from that moment in time until Christ returns. It has been over 70 years since the creation of Israel, so the time of the Anti-Christ will soon be upon us. We do not know who the Beast is or will become, but we can identify his children — those who prepare the way for his rise to power. Revelation tells us what the Beast and his children will do in the End of Days. By identifying those who work for those same political goals, we can know who his children are. Revelation says that among the evils that he will enact, the Beast will do the following:
1. He will ascend to power over a 10 league confederation of nations.
2. He will oversee the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, and upon its completion, will proclaim himself a god, demanding all to worship him.
3. He will command all to wear his mark and make it so that none can buy or sell anything without his mark.
4. He will use his power and influence to have the armies of the world march to the Middle East, the location of Armageddon, to oppose the return of Christ.
From the above prophecies, we can infer directly and indirectly, many of the political goals that the Beast and his children will seek to gain, prior to his final rise to power. The Beast is predicted to rise in the West, to gain dominion over democratic nations. This means that the Beast and his children will be very active in politics. They will have tremendous wealth and influence, as they will need to influence the politics of many nations to achieve their goal of political dominance.
By examining each of the 5 prophecies, we can infer the types of policies the Beast and his children will pursue to attain their unholy goals.
He will ascend to power over a 10 league confederation of nations.
The Beast and his children will look to undermine the sovereignty of individual nations and work towards the merger of separate nations into a single political body. His rise to power over a 10 nation confederation will be the culmination of such effort. The European Union and the Eurozone have identified as the most likely candidate for the rise of the Beast. Most if not all member nations joined without a national referendum on the issue. There is a separate prophecy that is interpreted to mean that the Beast will rise to power over a reconstituted Roman Empire — which again points to Europe as the place for the rise of the Beast.
Given this, we can see that the Beast and his children will look to not only support but also to actively move to facilitate the political merger of the European Union member nations. At this point, it is important to point out that there is a strong possibility that the EU may need to break up and reform in order to bring about the final constituent nations for political merger. It is at that juncture in time, when possibly the US (and maybe even Israel) will become part of the final political union of which the Beast will gain final ascendency over.
At present, the European Union and the Eurozone represent an economic and monetary union. Political sovereignty remains intact for each member nation. However, the government and private debt crisis in Europe has created momentum towards a political union of its member states. One could argue that the pursuit of certain fiscal and monetary policies, ones that lead to national bankruptcy, are a goal of the Beast and his children, as they would promote the erosion of national sovereignty and the promotion of political merger.
In a separate piece, I will argue that certain political groups in the US are pursuing a political agenda completely worthy of the Beast. The activity and success of the children of the Beast is so high in America, that we must confront the horror scenario where America may also fall under the power of the Beast. The children of the Beast in America will look to weaken the sovereignty of the nation and look to increase linkages with Europe. For example, this year, the US and EU have started negotiations to create a free-trade agreement between the two entities. Successes in these negotiations represent the first steps in the longer term goal of political union. The children of the Beast use treaties and international agreements to attain political goals that could not be so easily had through domestic political processes.
He will oversee the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem
The Beast and his children will support those in Israel looking to secure Jerusalem, both West and East Jerusalem, for the Jewish state, as ultimately this would be necessary since rebuilding the Temple would imply the destruction of the Dome-on-the-Rock — an Islamic holy site. Not only will the Beast and his children give Israel their complete support, but they may even look to include Israel into the final group of nations for political unification (Israel was part of the Roman Empire before it was destroyed).
There is an eerie resemblance between expectations of the Anti-Christ and those placed on the hoped-for Judaic mashiach. Both are expected to bring about the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple. Both are expected to be secular political leaders, wielding global political power. One could argue that the activities of certain Jewish groups are for the realization of their hoped for Judaic End of Days that would see a world under the secular, and benign, rule of the Jewish mashiach. Given this, one condition for this Jewish messianic period, is for all Jewish people to return to Israel. If the US, Europe, and Israel merge into one nation, the technically you could say that over 95% of Jewish people will be in the same nation as Israel — perhaps close enough to claim the start of the Jewish messianic era. Unfortunately for the sincere Jewish faithful, Revelation says the Beast will betray them and proclaim himself a god — usurping the Temple for himself and demanding that he be worshipped.
He will command all to take his mark, placing it on their right hand or forehead, and no one can buy or sell anything without his mark.
The final politically unified confederation of nations will have the same currency, will have an integrated electronic commerce infrastructure, and will have a national biometric identification system — the necessary technical factors for the imposition of the mark of the Beast as a requirement for economic transactions. The e-commerce infrastructure is being built out by private business, as electronic payment systems have been evolving for decades. The Eurozone has established the precedent and process for currency merger between nations. The European Union member states all have national identity cards, with many states making it mandatory to have one. The US does not yet have a national ID card, so this is a high priority political goal for the children of the Beast in America.
I have read that it is currently problematic to implemented biometric markings of fingerprints/retinal scans on a national scale (I imagine it will be a number of years for advances in computing speed and storage to solve this), but it is only a matter of time for technology to catch up to enable it. A private firm has already made a lot of headway in rolling out an ID system using fingerprint and retinal scans in India (where millions have already been scanned into the system), so the technology is being tested out already.
The children of the Beast will look to create a national digital ID system that eventually contains biometric data such as fingerprints and retinal scans. They will look to link that to the evolving e-commerce infrastructure, and then everything will be in place for the ascension of the Beast.
He will use his power and influence to have the armies of the world march to the Middle East, the location of Armageddon, to oppose the return of Christ.
This will be one of the final acts of the Anti-Christ. We can assume that the Beast and his children will be supporters of large military spending. America not only outspends China and Russia combined, it outspends the over 9 top spenders in the whole world. Since WWII, it is the only country to have invaded the Middle East – and done so repeatedly. The billions of dollars spent attacking countries in the Middle East are used to attack the sworn enemies of Israel – indeed, one could argue that the US military serves as a proxy agent for the Israel government. This would seem entirely consistent with a foreign policy that the Beast would support.
Implicit within the 4 prophecies of Revelations regarding the Beast, is that the Beast and his children will command authoritarian powers. Given this, we would expect the Beast to first weaken, and then destroy the democratic processes they used to rise to power.
Please refer to the write up, The Erosion of Democracy and the Ascension of the Beast, for further elaboration.
In summary, we are near to or have already entered in the End of Days as prophesized by the Book of Revelation. The Beast and his children are active in politics in the US and Europe, as they prepare the way for the Beast’s rise to ultimate power. We can identify the types of policies and laws that will support and lead to the rise of the Beast. Believers in every nation must work against the passage and implementation of the political agenda of the Beast. Successful achievement of the political goals of the Beast brings each nation closer to falling under his dominion in the End of Days. Believers must resist for the sake of their family, their friends, and their neighbors.