In the previous edition of 21st Century Watch, the article “What Will the Beast Be Like?” explained some of the attributes of the end-time Beast power. In this article we seek out the Biblical references to understand the characteristics that its leader will possess.
Today it sounds almost ridiculous to contemplate an emperor arising and even being accepted by the rulers and peoples of Europe.
Yet, some churches have been warning since the 1930s that such a one would arise: Popular, energetic, magnificent, exuding confidence and class, possessing all the qualities that would be needed to be the central figure for a United Europe and allies. One who can save Western Civilisation from being eclipsed by both internal and external enemies. A man who is popular and accepted by the nations of Europe. This excludes anyone who is woke, communist or even Nazi.
What will the Beast Look and Be Like?
The Bible provides some clues as to what to look for in the final Beast or Anti-Christ and these are listed below in an attempt to throw some light on the subject.
Note what one Commentary reveals, written over 220 years ago:
“The spirit of the Antichristian government is represented chiefly by three characters, arrogance, idolatry, and persecution.” (Alexander Fraser, A Key to the Prophecies of the Old and New Testament (1802), p. 113)
Fraser is correct and definitely on to something, but there is much more detail that we can enter into. The final Beast leader will start off seemingly good, peaceful and beneficial, but quickly descend into a monster. Not unlike Napoleon and Hitler.
While the aforementioned were ordinary looking men, the coming Emperor’s looks will be rather kingly and strong, possessing a “bold face” (Daniel 8:23) which apparently means one with a strong or “king face” as the term is used today. But a face that can be very fearsome and terrible. Demon influence would have a part to play in his facial expressions.
Understands Complexities and is Cunning
His capacity and understanding will be second to none. His deceitfulness and cunning beyond compare.
Note what is written about the final Beast/Anti-Christ in Daniel 8:23:
“And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise” (English Standard Version). The King James Version translates this verse in the following way: “And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.”
Compare the above with God’s approach: “With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold” (Num. 12:8).
Clarke’s Commentary explains: “If there be a prophet –– We see here the different ways in which God usually made himself known to the prophets, viz., by visions –– emblematic appearances, and by dreams, in which the future was announced by dark speeches, בחידת bechidoth, by enigmas or figurative representations, Num. 12:8. But to Moses God had communicated himself in a different way –– he spoke to him face to face, apparently, showing him his glory: not in dark or enigmatical speeches; this could not be admitted in the case in which Moses was engaged, for he was to receive laws by Divine inspiration, the precepts and expressions of which must all be ad captum vulgi, within the reach of the meanest capacity. As Moses, therefore, was chosen of God to be the lawgiver, so was he chosen to see these laws duly enforced for the benefit of the people among whom he presided.” [Emphasis mine] (The final Beast leader will be so different from God where He will be straight-forward; at other times parables etc. are utilised. Cp Psalm 78:1-4.)
This means that he is ultra-intelligent and can see through any foreign policy issues and conspiracies against him with ease and deploy the necessary counter-measures.
Deceitfulness
“His power shall be great — but not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction and shall succeed in what he does, and destroy mighty men [of Israel] and the people who are the saints. [i.e., Israel and sections of the Church]
“By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall become great [how like Napoleon, Wilhelm II, Mussolini and Hitler]. Without warning he shall destroy many [meaning sudden destruction]. And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken — but by no human hand” (Daniel 8:24-25, ESV).
The deceit he is involved in is explained by Strong’s Concordance #4820 and involves treachery, dishonesty, deception. He will offer “peace in our time.”
“He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant [traitors in the House of Israel], but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.” (Daniel 11:32). What happened anciently is a type of what is to come.
Relative Peace –– Initially
It is most likely that he will have a covenant or treaty with the House of Israel in the last days. In fact, there will probably be a 3 ½ year period of relative world stability and prosperity with a German-led United Europe as the world’s policeman and economic saviour.
“Why,” Israel’s leaders will probably think, “should we put so much money into defence in such a case?” (Cp Isaiah 28:18) “Let Europe take charge,” –– as Israel will have many internal issues to deal with (probably mini civil wars or other crises). Yet during that time, people will be saying, “There is peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them [Israel] as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (I Thess. 5:3, cp Luke 21:34-35).
Attempted Assassination and Miracles?
Something will happen –– perhaps an attempted assassination (Rev. 13:3) similar to the final attempt upon Hitler in 1944.
“Antichrist’s alleged death and resurrection will be a counterfeit of Christ’s death and resurrection, staged, as one of the ‘lying wonders’ perpetrated by the false prophet (13:12-15; 2 Thess. 2:9 NKJV). Antichrist’s death will be phony since he never really died.” (John MacArthur, “Revelation 12–22” The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, pp. 45-46)
As only God can resurrect (the Devil cannot), it is unlikely that he will be fully dead. Perhaps clinically dead in the sense of no heartbeat for a minute or two, or in a coma. In any event, he counterfeits Christ.
This will lead to his worship and increased rivalry with the Great False Church. Many will see this as the coming of Christ (II Thess 2:9 compared to verse 8).
“[W]hen they see such a miracle wrought in the person of Antichrist –– namely, in his resurrection from the dead [probably a coma], and his speaking death-dealing effigy –– there will be no room left for further scepticism, and they will at once render Divine homage to the man of sin or lawless one … that man-worship, which will be one of the worst signs of the last times.
“… he will become supreme king of revived Rome. To this dignity he will be elevated by the ten kings of eastern and western Rome … thus electing Antichrist as Emperor … as in the case of his prototypes, the two Napoleons …” (E. Hytche, “The Doom of the Antichrist,” The Prophetic News and Israel’s Watchman, June (1882), p. 173)
Of course, there may be some duality here. Could there also be a military/political application to the prophecy with fulfilments that match the revival of the Roman Empire as well as both Napoleon’s and Hitler’s attempts at comebacks which could have succeeded?
Worshipped Like a RomanEmperor
He will wish to be worshipped like a Roman Emperor –– a god (Dan. 11:37; Rev. 13:4). Let us consider precedents of the latter Roman Emperors who were considered as gods: Napoleon behaved god-like; Wilhelm II re-enacted Christ’s entry into Jerusalem on a Sabbath, riding on white horse; Goebbels called Hitler a god; Mussolini likened himself to God.
It is this that could lead to a falling out with the Great False Church, the Whore of the book of Revelation.
From Where Will the Final Beast Leader Originate?
Robert Anderson in The Coming Prince (1894) predicted that there would be a future 10 nation confederacy (pp. 140-41) and postulates, “That Antichrist is to arise from the eastern part of the Roman empire.” (p. 89)
This is of interest because in this writer’s book The Great German Nation, mention is made of the coming German-led United Europe which “Will comprise of 5 nations or groups of nations in each Western and Eastern Europe. The Beast himself may come from the eastern leg, particularly Austria. Notice in Dan. 7:8 & 8:9 he comes from the east.”
So, the Beast himself may come from the eastern leg of the next Roman revival. Note also that the prototype of the final Antichrist, Antiochus Epiphanes (meaning “God manifest”), was originally from Greece and his empire was mainly in the east. Hitler was born in Austria (Österreich in German, meaning “eastern realm”) which may type that of the future European Emperor who will probably be from the east and not Germany per se, though would be of German and royal stock like most Holy Roman Emperors were.
If we look at the resurrections of the old Holy Roman Empire and its Church dominance, that should provide us with a clue to the future.
Consider Napoleon’s, Mussolini’s and Hitler’s initial concordats with the Vatican. Yet Napoleon took two Popes into captivity and Hitler had definite plans to do the same (both of these men were deists). Mussolini was an atheist until his death and had a number of “run ins” with the Church.
This new system will commence as a restoration of the Holy Roman Empire in cooperation with the Church but will morph into Roman Emperor worship with ensuing rivalry between the political and religious entities resulting in disaster for the Church (Rev. 17:16).
As with the dictators referred to above, this system will not take Europe back to the feudalism of the Middle Ages. Instead, it will be modern and seek to uplift the general populace. Consider that Napoleon and Mussolini started off on the political Left, drifting to the radical Right but bringing with them social and economic reforms. Hitler, on the other hand, was always radical Right, but the original National Socialist Party had some economic socialist credentials, most of which Hitler eschewed to gain and keep power –– and to obtain (temporary) favour and support with the old aristocratic class, bankers and industrialists.
Napoleon in particular implemented legal, social, education and economic reforms. The country was stabilized and he was then able to pursue his dream of a United Europe.
From the above we can deduce that Europe and its allies will forge some sort of modern version of fascism, adoring the Holy Roman and the Roman Empires.
Will the Beast Leader Be Homosexual?
For decades, various evangelical authors of prophetic works speculated that the end-time Beast personality will be homosexual based on their interpretation of Daniel 11:37: “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.” (KJV)
It is doubtful that will be the case as this does not follow the historical model of Beast-type leaders over the centuries (including Antiochus Epiphanes, Holy Roman Emperors, Napoleon, Bismark, Hitler, Mussolini, etc). Indeed, the future Beast system in all likelihood will be a fascistic backlash against instability, political correctness/wokeness and globalisation with all its antipathy toward traditional values and the existence of nations.
He may be single or divorced and have women lovers (perhaps paralleling Hitler who did not get married until a day prior to his death). As the Beast is the final Anti-Christ, he may well be single as Christ Himself was.
Notice the following translation of Daniel 11:37: “He’ll recognize neither the gods of his ancestors nor those desired by women — he won’t recognize any god, because he’ll exalt himself above everything” (International Standard Version) [emphasis mine].
A number of other commentaries agree:
“Moreover, it is almost imperative that it be an object of worship that is here referred to. Taking ‘the desire of women’ as an object of worship, there is an interpretation which has come down to us from Ephrem Syrus and Jerome, that Beltis or Nanaea is here referred to; and the fact that in an attempt to plunder the temple of this goddess, in Elymais, Antiochus lost his life, supports this view. The worship is said to have been very lascivious” (The Pulpit Commentary) [emphasis mine].
“Neither … regard … the desire of women — (Compare Eze. 24:16, Eze. 24:18). The wife, as the desire of man’s eyes, is the symbol of the tenderest relations (2 Sam. 1:26). Antiochus would set at naught even their entreaties that he should cease from his attack on Jehovah’s worship [Polanus]. Maurer refers it to Antiochus’ attack on the temple of the Syrian Venus, worshipped by women (1 Maccabees 6:1, etc.; 2 Maccabees 1:13)” (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Critical and Explanatory Commentary on the Whole Bible) [emphasis mine].
From the above it can be seen that Daniel is not speaking of homosexuality at all. In fact, none of the Beast leaders have had any homosexual traits and were very much opposed to it. Expect the final leader to follow the old ways.
How does the Final Beast/Anti-Christ (and False Prophet) Compare to Christ? (click HERE for comparison chart)
The Beast power in all its iterations over the centuries has attempted, in some crude way, to be a savior and to mirror Christ. The final Beast will be much more deceptive (Matt. 24). The opposite chart demonstrates the deceitfulness of the final restoration of the Roman system and its leader by his attempts at appearing as a saviour and Christ-like.
Because the final Beast will be the ultimate culmination of the Anti-Christ system, he will be doubly deceptive with deceit at an all-time high. His influence under Satan will mask his true intentions during his first years in power, much like Napoleon and Hitler. A liar and deceiver, following in the footsteps of Satan!
For 3 ½ years his empire may be at the helm of a world superstructure, ushering in a period of global peace and prosperity –– which he will use to disguise his true intentions and warlike nature. But then he leads his people down the path of conquest just like his predecessors. This is the reverse of Christ’s role and second coming Who will enter into conquest followed by world peace. The Anti-Christ mimics Christ in some ways but also reverses the order of events –– such is Satan’s influence and deception.
As we have seen, there is enough information in the Bible and history to provide clues for the final leader. After all, he will be well known and probably be in office but initially with limited power due to the fact that 10 kings or leaders eventually transfer all their power to him (Rev. 17:12-13). This will then give him unlimited capacity to make war with any he wishes to attack and subdue.
A fitting completion to this article is a quote from political analyst, Yoram Hazony:
“The European Union does, despite the propaganda, have a powerful central government whose directives are legally binding on European nations and on their individual members…
“It lacks a strong executive –– an emperor –– capable of conducting foreign affairs and waging war…
“The European nations are, as everyone understands, dominated by Germany. The European Union is a German imperial state in all but name. However, as long as Germany seeks to avoid building up its military and taking responsibility for the security of the continent, the EU will apparently remain an American protectorate –– a protectorate that is also an empire in its own right. Should the United States ever withdraw its protection, all the talk of Europeans pioneering a new form of political order will quickly evaporate. At that time, a strong European executive will be appointed by Germany and empowered to maintain the security of the continent. Then the reconstitution of the medieval German empire in Europe will be complete, and the English-inspired experiment with an order of independent national states in Europe will have reached its end.” (The Virtue of Nationalism, pp, 152, 153, 154) [emphasis mine]
How insightful!
For further information on the terrors awaiting the world, be sure to go online to read our free booklets, Beast of the Apocalypse: What is it? and Who, What is the Beast of Revelation?
