The Beastly Connection

When the prophet Daniel was able to interpret King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream concerning the statue of the Gentile kingdoms, Daniel blessed God and made an astounding chronos declaration. “He [God the Creator] changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding” (Daniel 2:21).
 
Later Daniel would offer a parallel declaration about the Antichrist. “He [Antichrist] shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints [the newly revived Jews who have finally accepted Jesus as the Messiah] shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time” (Daniel 7:25).
 
By the way, the time period given in the passage equals 3½ years, which allows us to mark the time when the Antichrist makes this prideful remark and what he intends to do about it.
 
The phrase “pompous words against the Most High” should remind us of someone else. Yes, Lucifer, the fallen angel we know as Satan and the Dragon. Revelation 13:2 confirms that the Dragon gives his power, his throne, and great authority to the Beast. The Beast is the human embodiment of the counterfeit evil kingdom that seeks to control the earth and the heavens.
 
The Antichrist is exactly what he sounds like: he is against Christ, which means he is also against God, the Holy Spirit, and God’s kingdom. The Apostle John identifies the Antichrist this way: “By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world” (1 John 4:2-3).
 
Throughout history, the spiritual power behind the Antichrist (Satan/Dragon) has been turning people against God, and particularly against Christ. Likewise, that beastly spirit has manifested in evil kingdoms and leaders, such as Hitler, who sought to destroy the Jews. We see this same spirit at work in ungodly governments and economic institutions today. The final leader of this Beast shall be THE Antichrist. We’ll learn the identity of his beastly kingdom shortly.
 
So now we know the cosmic crime that brings the war to a final climax: the intention to change the times and seasons. Only God the Creator has that privilege. And we have the cosmic indictment against Satan for usurping mankind’s original mandate to keep and govern this earth.
 
And we have two more major characters in the Final Saga. (1) The Antichrist or Beast is the counterfeit of Christ. Only the true King, Jesus Christ, inherits the earth and the nations. (2) Israel, God’s chosen people, who have been promised to be the head of the nations, and not the tail. In the next few blogs we’ll identify two more characters, the true Bride and the counterfeit bride.