Chapter Four

The Rise and Reign of the Antichrist

The world is in need of a superman who can heal their economic ills, unite their politics, end their religious squabbles, stop the wars, and bring peace and union to all nations—a one-world government. Arnold Toynbee, the famous historian, expressed this need when he said, “By forcing on mankind more and more lethal weapons, and at the same time making the world more and more interdependent economically, technology has brought mankind to such a degree of distress that we are ripe for the deifying of any new Caesar who might succeed in giving the world unity and peace.”

The former secretary general of NATO, PaulHenri Spaak, stated, “We do not need another committee. We have too many already. What we want is a man of sufficient stature to hold the allegiance of all people and to lift us out of the morass into which we are sinking. Send us such a man, be he God or devil, and we will receive him.” The Bible predicts that there will be such a man in the last days of man’s rule on earth who will temporarily save the world from total destruction just before Christ returns to rule it. To the world he is going to appear as an angel of light, the most perfect man, the greatest leader the world has ever known outside of Jesus Christ, clever enough to solve the world’s problems—economic, political, and finally religious.

From all that scripture indicates, it looks like this coming one-world leader will rise to power by peace and by flattery and by clever deceit (Daniel 11:21,24). By his supernatural craft, wisdom, and clever political maneuvering, he will temporarily solve today’s pressing military, political, and economic problems and will effect a peace pact between the conflicting superpowers, ideologies, and religions of the world.

Of course, only in desperation would they ever sign such a pact. Only under desperate lastresort circumstances would Israel and the Arabs, for example, agree to share the city of Jerusalem, or would opposite systems such as capitalism and communism agree to share the world in peace— universal détente. This capable and powerful oneworld government will at first be much better than the chaotic conditions of the world: There will be a world of peace, a world of controlled economy— peacetime economy, not war economy—a world of fair distribution. Under man’s most ideal leader and his one-world government, there will finally be a proper apportionment of the world’s resources and an end to their extravagant waste.

Man’s final world government is going to be the most perfect government man could ever contrive, the most idealistic, fair, the most equal, the most sharing. It will be like trying to have Christianity without Christ. But of course they will see that it needs a superman to make it all possible, and that’s exactly what this leader will pretend and claim to be—the messiah or savior of the world. In fact, he’s even going to ultimately claim to be God, when all the time he’s a phony and a fake, the Devil in disguise, “Satan himself, transformed into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14–15).—The Antichrist.

For a while it will seem to be an ideal rule, but the price to pay will finally be not only compliance with the world government and the control of freedom and personal religion and so on, but the eventual aim of the Devil himself, who controls it, will be: “Fall down and worship me or you cannot enjoy this utopia that I have created. Behold, I give you all the kingdoms of the earth, but the price is, fall down and worship me” (Luke 4:5–7). And that’s where the rub’s going to come.

“He shall confirm the covenant with many” (Daniel 9:27)

According to Bible prophecy, the final clincher wherewith the Antichrist comes on the international scene and begins his seven-year reign is the seven-year pact or covenant described in the book of Daniel. This covenant is spoken of many times in the scriptures and will be like a promise of religious freedom. That’s why it’s called the “holy covenant” (Daniel 11:30), because it’s a religious pact, a religious treaty which has to do with restoring worship, particularly Jewish worship, as it enables the Jewish people to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem and to restore sacrificial worship on its altar, a practice which was virtually the heart of their religious observance.

There is only one place on earth where they would consider such resumption of sacrificial worship—Mount Moriah, Jerusalem, where their ancient temple altar was located before the Roman legions marched into Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and destroyed it. The foundation of the ancient temple’s altar was the rock upon which Abraham was called by God to sacrifice Isaac on top of Mount Moriah. For this reason, the Muslims also revere this great city, ancient holy Jerusalem, and particularly Mount Moriah, as Abraham was also the father of Ishmael, through whom the Arab nations were born.

Since the 600s A.D., when Islam was sweeping the world, the “Dome of the Rock” has stood over this rock upon which the ancient Jewish temple altar once stood. And it’s quite obvious that the Muslims would never agree to the Jewish people coming in to their sacred shrine and rebuilding the temple. So they’re going to have to work out some kind of an agreement or compromise with each other, and the only way this could be done would be with the intervention of a third party, such as a world political government. This compromise or agreement is what is generally accepted as the covenant spoken of in the Bible prophecies of Daniel, time and time again.

It’s going to take some brilliant diplomacy to figure out some way for the Jewish people to rebuild their temple and reinstitute sacrificial worship on their altar with the Dome of the Rock standing right over it, for this is the holiest of all the Muslim holy places outside of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. As it now stands right over what was once the Jewish temple’s sacrificial altar, exactly what they are going to do in order to get the Jewish temple rebuilt, we don’t know. But whatever happens, we know that Mount Moriah, Jerusalem, is the most holy place on earth to the Jews, it’s the most holy place on earth outside of Saudi Arabia to the Muslims, and it’s even one of the holiest places on earth to many Christians. Therefore this sevenyear agreement will have to be a very ingenious compromise, and will no doubt deal with not only Mount Moriah but also the city of Jerusalem.

If there was ever any place where a mastermind’s compromise agreement was needed, it’s Jerusalem. Anyone who could solve this crisis would certainly be considered a mastermind and a genius and a superman, and no doubt all the world would wonder after him. Because no one has ever yet been able to solve the problem of the antipathy and the antagonism and the warfare in the Middle East. So anyone who could somehow reconcile their differences and make them come to an agreement would really be a genius, a superman. And that’s who it will be, the Antichrist.

According to the Bible, he settles the Jerusalem question. It says that he takes it over and makes it an international city. In fact, according to the Bible, this world dictator of this one-world government makes Jerusalem his political capital of his world government (Daniel 11:45). He promises to internationalize the city of Jerusalem with this seven-year covenant or pact, no doubt some kind of an international U.N. or world governmentsponsored treaty that will guarantee all religions the right to religious freedom there, enabling them to restore their various temples and sanctuaries, and all will be able to worship and have free access to Jerusalem.

“Search the Scriptures, whether these things be so” (John 5:39; Acts 17:11)

Now we’re going to turn to the book of the prophet Daniel and examine some of the specific scriptures that deal with this Antichrist and his covenant.

“And he”—the Antichrist—“shall confirm the covenant with many for one week” (Daniel 9:27). This word that’s translated “week” in our King James Bible is “shabua” in the original Hebrew, which means “seven.” Therefore a more accurate translation of this verse would be, “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one seven.” By carefully studying the marvelous messianic prophecy regarding the exact time of the first coming and crucifixion of Christ in verses 24 to 26 of this chapter, we know that “one week” here, or “one seven,” equals seven years. Thus the verse can be read, “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for seven years.”

As we will see from many other scriptures, he makes this covenant as a world peace treaty, and everything is going fine. He’s restoring the world, he’s trying to make everybody happy, and he’s managed to bring world peace, until he’s finally got everything firmly in his grip. When he establishes his worldwide government, he’s going to say, “Peace and safety. Everything’s going to be peaceful and safe now. No more wars. Everything’s going to be secure, everybody’s going to have plenty, and my kingdom’s going to be a kingdom of peace and safety” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

For there “shall stand up a vile person, who shall come in peaceably and obtain the kingdom by flatteries” (Daniel 11:21). People are going to think, “Look how wonderful he is! He saved the world. He saved us from the threat of atomic war and he saved the economy, he’s defused the Mideast crisis, internationalized Jerusalem, restored the Jewish temple, etc.” He will seem to be the greatest man that ever lived with the greatest power and wisdom—able to solve problems, stop wars, and put everybody to work rebuilding peace. But suddenly the balloon is going to burst with the Antichrist forbidding and abolishing traditional religious worship, declaring himself God, and requiring mandatory world worship of himself, with suppression, persecution, and even death to those who won’t bow to him.

“In the midst of the week”—after 3½ years—“he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” (Daniel 9:27). If “the sacrifice and the oblation” are going to cease, then they first have to start. Therefore this covenant which the Antichrist makes obviously must have something to do with the rebuilding of the Jewish temple and the restoration of their sacrificial worship.

It is in the midst of the “week,” or three and a half years into the seven-year covenant period, that the Antichrist abolishes the newly reinstituted Jewish sacrificial worship, profanes the altar, and exalts himself as God. “Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered” (Daniel 8:11–12).

“And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate” (Daniel 11:31). This is a very key scripture, as it tells us that at this point, three and a half years after confirming the seven-year covenant—“in the midst of the week”— he not only forcibly enters the newly rebuilt temple on Mount Moriah, Jerusalem, and “takes away the daily sacrifice,” but he also “places” something called “the abomination of desolation.”

Five hundred years after Daniel gave this prophecy, Jesus, in His famous dissertation on “the signs of his coming and of the end of the world” in Matthew chapter 24, said, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place”—obviously the Jewish temple in Jerusalem— “whoso readeth, let him understand.” This is very important; you’d better understand. “Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:15, 21).

Time and again the Bible refers to this last half of the Antichrist’s seven-year reign as the “Great Tribulation,” the last terrible tribulation period of which the Scriptures have spoken for millenniums. “A time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time” (Daniel 12:1). This is the end of man’s reign on the earth, the last three and a half years of the Antichrist’s seven-year reign. Daniel talks about it, Isaiah talks about it, Jeremiah and Ezekiel talk about it, Jesus talked about it, and Paul, Mark, and Matthew talked about it, as well as the apostle John, who wrote the book of Revelation.

Many of the prophets of God who wrote in the Bible talked about that last endtime of great sorrow and great tribulation, great trouble, turmoil, suffering, the world’s worst in all its history. The Bible is very specific about it and even tells us how long this tribulation period will last: 3½ years, 42 months, or 1260 days (Daniel 7:25; 9:27; 12:7; Revelation 11:2–3; 12:6, 14; 13:5).

But what did Jesus say the cue would be, the sign that would show us when this terrible tribulation period would begin? The Lord said, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet stand in the holy place, then shall be great tribulation.” So the placing of this abomination of desolation obviously introduces the Great Tribulation period, and when you see it standing there, you’ll know the Tribulation has begun.

The big question now is what is this abomination of desolation? Jesus said you’d see it “stand in the holy place.” Daniel 11:31 says he “places the abomination that maketh desolate,” and Daniel 12:11 says that “the abomination of desolation shall be set up.” He places it, he sets it up, and it stands there, and later on in the 13th chapter of Revelation we find out that it’s an “image of the beast,” of the Antichrist. As we study this image, you’ll see that it’s not a dumb statue of wood or stone, but it will be the most amazing computerized machine man has ever made, which will be able to “both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed” (Revelation 13:15).

In that most sacred of all places in the whole earth to the Jewish people, the temple area of Mount Moriah, Jerusalem, the Antichrist will erect or “set up” an image of himself, the “abomination of desolation,” to be worshipped by the whole world, when he abolishes all other religions and proclaims that they must now worship him as God. In fact, we know that he will not only place his image, this abomination of desolation, in the rebuilt temple for all to worship, but he will sit in the temple of God as God, showing himself that he is God. He’ll pretend to be God and will try to force everybody to worship him directly.

The apostle Paul wrote, “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, that the day of Christ is at hand” (2 Thessalonians 2:1–2). In other words, “Don’t be worried that the day of Jesus’ Second Coming and the Rapture of the Church is at hand.” “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day”—of Christ’s Second Coming—“shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3–4). What’s going to happen before Jesus comes? Paul said, “That day shall not come except there come this falling away first and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” The son of hell, the son of the Devil: the Antichrist. “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God.”

He is not only going to set up an idol of himself, his image, there in the “holy place” in Jerusalem and command the world to worship it, but he is going to sit in the very temple of God that the Jews have rebuilt and proclaim that he is God. “Worship me.” He’s going to sit down upon his throne in the temple of God, saying that he is God. “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work” (2 Thessalonians 2:7). That’s what the Antichrist and his kingdom are, a mystery that’s going to be so diabolical that it’s going to be a mystery of iniquity. “Doth already work.” The Devil was already busy working in Paul’s day, and he’s certainly working in ours.

“Only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way” (2 Thessalonians 2:7). The original meaning of this old English word “let” was “prevent,” or hold back. In other words, God and His Holy Spirit and their restraining influence are keeping the world in check. God has been holding back the floodtide of evil and the flood of iniquity. But one of these days, when “he who now letteth is taken out of the way” and the restraints of the Holy Spirit of God are lifted, like a dam being opened or removed, a flood of iniquity is going to circle the world under the reign of the Devil himself in the person of the Antichrist.

“And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming. Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:8–9). The biblical picture is that the Devil is finally going to get what he’s been after all the time, kingship of the whole world. He’s always wanted to rule the world and he’s going to get his final chance with the Antichrist, when he really will rule the world with tremendous power.

The Dragon and the Beast

God’s Word tells us in Revelation that it is in the midst of the seven years—when the Antichrist breaks the covenant and decides to set up an image of himself and commands the world to worship him—that the Antichrist will become possessed of Satan himself, and he will run the world for the next three and a half years.

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:7–9). At this time Satan is cast out of heaven with a third of the rebellious angels that follow him down into the earth for the last 3½ years of earth’s history (Revelation 12:4).

You say, “What do you mean? I didn’t know there were demons and devils and rebels in heaven.” In the book of Job, Satan is even called one of the “sons of God.” Although he is in rebellion against God, he still appears before Him in the courts of heaven, accusing the saints day and night throughout history. Job 2:1 says, “There was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.” And in Revelation after he’s finally cast out, it says: “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: For the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night” (Revelation 12:10).

Therefore the heavenly voice warns: “Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea. For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time” (Revelation 12:12). And therefore that last, short period of world history, 3½ years of Great Tribulation, is the worst in world history, in which the Devil rants and raves and rampages across the face of the earth.—No longer able to soar into the heights of heaven and accuse us before God, but cast out and cast down to the earth, confined here, and soon to be chained and confined to the darkness and flames of hell in the heart of the earth.

Because he knows his time is short and he only has 3½ years, he makes the best of that 3½ years by inspiring the Antichrist and possessing him. Then the earth will soon see that he is not the messiah. And instead of bringing the heaven on earth that he promised, he brings hell on earth.

“And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman”—the true church, the bride of Christ, those who have received Jesus as their Savior. “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent” (Revelation 12:13–14). Here again is the 3½-year period of tribulation of the church, with the dragon, Satan, cast out of heaven and persecuting the church, who has fled to her place for “a time (one year), times (two years) and half a time” (half a year), three and a half years, “from the face of the serpent.”

In these last 3½ years he’s no longer going to be able to go before the court of God accusing the saints in heaven. He’s going to be right here on earth, not only accusing the saints, but persecuting them and trying to kill them. “And the dragon was wroth with the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:17). In the next chapter we find that the Devil wages his war and wrath against the church through the bestial Antichrist world dictator whom he possesses.

“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea”—the sea of humanity—“having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy” (Revelation 13:1). If you read the 7th chapter of the book of Daniel, you’ll again see this great beast in its various forms, and learn that it represents various world empires that have ruled the earth. In Revelation 17 we learn that “the seven heads are seven kings”—or kingdoms. “Five are fallen”—Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, MedoPersia, and Greece had all come and gone—“one is”—the Roman Empire was in power when John wrote this—“and the other is not yet come”— the Antichrist’s final world empire. “And when he cometh, he must continue a short space” (Revelation 17:9–10). These seven heads represent the seven great world empires that come and go upon the stage of history, from the days of Egypt to this last great Antichrist Empire.

“And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour”—a very short time—“with the beast”—the Antichrist (Revelation 17:12). Because these ten kings, kingdoms, or powers had “received no kingdom as yet” during John’s day, at the time of the sixth head, the Roman Empire, it’s obvious that these “ten horns” are all on the final seventh head, the Antichrist. “These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast” (Revelation 17:13). In the book of Daniel, these same ten world powers that cooperate with and help put the Antichrist into power are described in further detail. (See Daniel 2:41–43 and Daniel 7:7–8, 20–24.)

“And the beast which I saw … the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority” (Revelation 13:2). That great red dragon that we just saw in the previous chapter—Satan himself who has been cast out of heaven, who in great wrath persecutes and wars against the church for 3½ years of Great Tribulation—gives this last world empire’s Antichrist emperor his “power and his seat and great authority.” The old serpent himself possesses this monster, this beast, this Antichrist man.

In Daniel chapter eight, we again find that the Antichrist’s great power is not of himself. “In the latter time, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many” (Daniel 8:23–25).

Now, back to Revelation 13: “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. And they worshipped the dragon”—the Devil—“which gave power unto the beast”—the Antichrist—“and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” (Revelation 13:3–4).

What does “one of his”—the seven-headed beast—“heads was wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed” mean (Revelation 13:3)? We know that this is referring to the seventh head, the Antichrist, because later in this same chapter we see that the Antichrist has a false prophet, a promoter, who “causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the beast, whose deadly wound was healed … 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” (Revelation 13:12–14).

“And there was given unto him”—to the Antichrist—“a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty-and-two months” (Revelation 13:5). There again we have the 3½ years of Tribulation. “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations” (Revelation 13:6–7).

In Revelation 17, again speaking of the Antichrist, it says that “they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is … the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition” (Revelation 17:8, 11). This beast that we’ve been reading about has only seven heads, representing the seven great world empires or kingdoms. So where does this eighth one pop up from? “The beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven.” This could possibly mean that “in the midst of the week,” 3½ years after confirming the covenant, he becomes possessed of the Devil and thus becomes a new government, the Antichrist. It looks like the same man, the seventh head, only he is now the eighth.

“He was and is not and yet is”—this would explain “wounded unto death and his deadly (fatal) wound was healed … which had the wound by a sword and did live” (Revelation 13:3, 14). It looks like the Antichrist will be assassinated, “wounded unto death,” yet he will supernaturally come back to life, a “resurrection” which could serve as his credentials to divinity. No wonder the Antichrist is so powerful and such a superman and wonderworker!

The Image and Mark of the Beast

The Antichrist has a false prophet who becomes his greatest promoter, his propaganda master, who promotes him and his worship and is actually the one who insists that this great image be built, a great idol of the beast, and that all the world fall down and worship his image or be killed. “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon” (Revelation 13:11). Here is the false prophet—not the Lamb of God, but the lamb of the Devil.

“And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast.”— The Antichrist. “And he”—this false prophet— “doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 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” (Revelation 13:12–14).

“And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six” (Revelation 13:15–18). His number is six hundred and sixty-six—666.

So there you have the conclusion of Revelation 13, a very unlucky chapter. The killing of all those who refuse to worship the image of the beast is obviously the beginning of the Great Tribulation. This image, which is “set up” in the “holy place,” is the “abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet” (Matthew 24:15). The image is given “life, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as should not worship the image of the beast should be killed” (Revelation 13:15). It sounds as if it’s some kind of a cybernetic robot, computerized so that it can speak and talk and move and even act like it’s alive and command the worship of the world.

“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Revelation 13:16–17). The medium of exchange will be fully replaced by a credit system in which every person in the world who belongs to the system will bear a credit number, without which he can neither buy nor sell, and by which he is accredited in his governmental account with the value of whatever goods or services he produces, and to which he can charge the goods and services that he needs.

Men will no longer buy or sell with money as a means of exchange, but with a number, which will be given to them permanently, without any possibility of counterfeit, change, manipulation, or forgery, because it will be branded on each person: “a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads.” Every man will have his own number, every member of the world system will be branded with the Mark of the Beast like cattle for the slaughter, and will be forced to worship the beast and his image or be killed. There will be a one-world economy and there will be no more differences in types of currency and all this terrible confusion there is about exchange rates today. The whole world will be on one medium of exchange, this system of credit, and it will be universal.

Satan has at last been cast out of heaven, and in his fury, knowing that his time is short, he possesses this Antichrist, this beast, and makes him a superman. He will run the world and command all to worship him, and attempt to slaughter all who refuse. Apparently at the “midst of the week” crisis point, when he breaks the covenant, stops the sacrifice, sets up his image and says, “Worship me,” he becomes possessed of Satan. So when the Antichrist sets up his image and says to the world, “Worship me,” it is really the Devil, the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). He always wanted the whole world to worship him, and he’s going to get it for a while—except from those who worship God and will dare to defy and resist him.