In futurist interpretations of Revelation, is the Antichrist (or the "Beast from the Sea") considered an evil human, or a demon in human form? I've seen unsourced claims that he's supposed to be the son of Satan, birthed by a harlot who appeared to be a virgin (making him a half-demon?), or that he is Satan in human form (like a mockery of Christ). However, I can't find the biblical foundations of those ideas. Even if those specific ideas are incorrect, though, it doesn't confirm that he's supposed to be human. I guess another way to ask is, is the Antichrist a fallen angel (making him a demon), or a more recent creation/spawn/devotee of the Devil (making him maybe human, maybe a demon)?
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4All of the information is in the bible. But you appear to be concentrating on 'unsourced claims'. Much better to read the bible. A concordance will also help : just look up every reference to 'antichrist'. These studies take time. And a multitude of 'sources' will misrepresent every single fact that is relevant. I wish you well in your own studies of the bible. (Which is where I find my own information.) Kind Regards.– Nigel JCommented Jan 25, 2022 at 2:19
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1Although you refer to "futurist interpretations" you do not make clear to readers what that school of interpretation is. Many will not know. Your search seems to be heading into the realms of superstition and not biblical information, and will encourage speculation and personal opinions, which this site does not encourage.– AnneCommented Feb 8, 2022 at 17:55
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@Anne, do all mentions of schools of thought, -isms, etc. require accompanying definitions? I've known about the futurist, preterist, historicist, & idealist interpretations of the Book of Revelation at least since I took a gen ed Intro to Bible course in my freshman year of college. If readers don't know an -ism, they can look it up, and maybe they're not qualified to answer the question. Also, re: "superstition," I mentioned I can't find the biblical foundations, inviting others to point out any info I missed. Does this site encourage thinking Christianity beyond the Bible is superstition?– oilandsaltCommented Feb 9, 2022 at 23:57
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1The very fact that there are 4 main schools of interpretation about Revelation prophecy shows the inherent traps trying to use one (or to compare the 4). It is an exercise in futility which gives rise to clashes. Those best qualified to answer the Q are those who avoid such traps. Superstition is condemned in the Bible and all Christians ought to know that. This site does not encourage vain speculations, which superstitions always entail.– AnneCommented Feb 10, 2022 at 11:25
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@Anne, if multiple interpretations are a "trap" then why didn't you bring that up from the start? Also, I kept the scope of the Q clearly in futurism; anyone answering otherwise would be changing the subject, like if someone came on here and changed the subject of a Catholic question to Eastern Orthodox, or answered a Christianity question by talking about Hinduism. You answered neither of my two prev. questions, but here's one more: Should people on this religion site only ask/answer questions with definite, 100%-proven factual answers, like math questions?– oilandsaltCommented Feb 10, 2022 at 18:09
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3 Answers
So the antichrist in Revelation is not human but a beast, although there are antichrists who are humans that rejected God.
1 John 2:18
Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.
Matthew 24:24
For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
God came to the world as divine and human, to save us from our sins, show us his love and guide us. The devil cannot become human but can deceive, influence, and tempt humans.
The point is to be human means to choose between good and evil. Humans can receive salvation where that is not applicable to angels, demons, or Satan.
So there are antichrists who are deceived humans, but the antichrist in Revelation is, as indicated, the devil as a beast, which could — although being a beast in imagery — be seen as a human physically. There wouldn't be a means of recognizing or differentiating the antichrist otherwise, except that the antichrist would deny God, God's teachings and claim to be God.
The term antichrist is not a good fit for the first Beast, the Beast from the sea. But better corresponds to the second beast/false prophet (false Messiah) that rises from the earth/land ("Ha eretz," the land of Israel).
Why does the book of Revelation double the Antichrist figure? Why is the second beast that rises from the land (of Israel?), not from the sea (the Mediterranean where the pesky Gentiles come from)? . . . Greg Jenks distinguishes between two Antichrist personae, the older "endtyrant" figure and the false prophet. Of the two, only the second looks anything like a counterfeit Messiah, that is, someone who might be taken, by way of deceit, for the Jewish Messiah.
The first beast is in Rome, the second beast/false prophet points toward the individual shown in a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem (2 Thess. 2:3-10), who is the man of sin/son of perdition. This shows someone the Jews will accept as their Messiah. Jesus predicted they would reject him and chose another in his stead in John 5:43. There is actually a whole lot of passages showing this false Messiah.
Zechariah 11 shows a prophecy of Jesus being betrayed and killed followed by a prophecy of the Jews accepting someone else as their Messiah just before Jesus returns at the second coming.
"This passage in Zechariah 11 is one of the most poignant sections in Scripture. It describes two shepherds - Jesus as the true Shepherd of Israel Who was betrayed for the price of a slave (30 pieces of silver) - and here in this verse, we read about the coming worthless shepherd who abandons the flock of God and justly deserves condemnation. . . . There is coming a false and idle shepherd who will come in another name, pretending that he is the Messiah, and he will be accepted."
Source: https://dailyverse.knowing-jesus.com/zechariah-11-17
Here it is the passage from Zechariah 11,
12 And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.
13 And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.”
I assume you know how this was fulfilled in the New Testament, how Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver and threw the 30 pieces of silver into the temple, and the money was used to buy a potter’s field to bury the poor in. Jesus was the good shepherd.
Immediately after that it speaks of a foolish shepherd, who does the opposite of what Jesus did, not healing anyone, not feeding the poor, etc., but is selfish and greedy for himself.
15 “And the Lord said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.
17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock!”
Then the very next verses (chapter 12) opens with the day of the Lord which is the second coming of Jesus. If you look at the 2 Thess. 2 passage I referenced it shows Jesus destroying this son of perdition in the temple “with the brightness of his coming.” This must be the same false shepherd/Messiah. The Jews would only allow a perceived Messiah to take up residence in the temple.
In reference to the second beast/false prophet, he is described as having the appearance of a lamb but his words are from the dragon. Jesus is the lamb of God, its symbolizing a Messiah. And of course, dragon is a reference for the devil. So, the second beast appears like a messiah, but his words are from the devil.
We read in Revelation 13
11 “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.
12 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, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 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.”
There are other verses that speak of this coming false messiah. The Jews rejected the true Messiah and they are still looking for the Messiah to come. There is actually a Sanhedrin that has been formed in Israel to confirm a Messiah. A Messiah must meet several criteria. They have to trace his linage back to the kings of Judah, like King David. I think he must perform two verifiable miracles.
In 2004 a new Sanhedrin was formed. It will be tasked with recognizing a Messiah, and also for rebuilding a temple.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_attempt_to_revive_the_Sanhedrin
If you notice this second beast of Revelation 13 performs miracles,
14 “And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do. . . .”
That’s what we also read about the “son of perdition” in the Temple in Jerusalem in 2 Thess. 2:9-10,
“Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness. . . .”
So, this individual deceives people by performing miracles.
1 John 2:22,
“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.”
In other words, he denies that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah). He’s the antichrist. Anti in the Greek means against or instead of, and both apply. The antichrist is instead of the true Christ. Jews are looking for another to be the Messiah besides Jesus.
Matthew 24:15
“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)”
The holy place is a reference to a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem.
Matthew 24:21-27,
“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.
26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
After Jesus died there were a few who claimed to be the Messiah and tried to lead a revolt against Rome. The Bar Kochba War involved such a one. This article shows several alleged Messiahs ending in disaster.
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/false-messiahs-in-judaism/
But the Abomination of Desolation is a still future individual. Standing in the Holy place is a future temple. Regarding a warning not to believe these false Christ’s v.26 states,
“behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.”
This may be a reference to the inner chambers of a rebuilt temple, like we see in 2 Thess. 2.
"Jesus is the Divine Mercy made flesh." -St.Faustina writings.
Anti-christ simply means Anti-mercy.
"The heart of the gospel is Divine Mercy."-Pope Benedict XVI
"The name of God is Mercy, and the Divine Mercy is infinite but the Time of Mercy is not."-Pope Francis
So, opposing the Church teachings, magnifying the infinite mercy of God, is the Anti-gospel.
Satan and his demons hates the mercy of God. So, the "Antichrist" is a person infected by a spirit of Antichrist or Antimercy, and since it is a spirit, it can infect mankind and the spirit of Antichrist will animate his thoughts, words and actions, its like a possession. This can be connected with 1John2:18-19 and can be seen in our world today. How? There are so many priest,bishops & cardinals who are opposing Pope Francis teachings magnifying the mercy of God. Remember, Anti-christ means Anti-mercy, and Anti-gospel means rejecting the mercy of God. Antichrist will preach the Anti-gospel.
In 2015, Pope Francis was inspired to open the "Door of Mercy" and Amoris Laetetia teachings is one perfect example of magnifying the mercy of God.
Pope Francis teachings like Amoris Laetetia and changing the Death Penalty had expose all the hearts of the priest,bishops and cardinals who are infected with the "spirit of Antichrist", and St.John the beloved Apostle pointed this in 1John2:18-19. The Antichrist are former clergy & prelates who embraced schism, therefore no longer part of the Church.
In Book of Revelation, since it is talking about an Antichrist in the form of the Beast from the Sea, it is more of a strong person with control over the sea.
Since, in Revelation Chapter 12, it speaks of an ancient dragon, we can see that in order for the Second Beast to become oppressive, he must impose his power on all mankind, like a Draconian Rules. And the next chapter Revelation13:16-18, it speaks of a Cashless Society under Draconian Rules, and it will lead to the worship of the Beast of the Sea, and the beast of the sea is called "Hydra", it's like saying Hail Hydra.
And so, the battle between the Woman and the Dragon/Beast from Sea is like this,
Hail Mary vs. Hail Hydra.
Take a look at Greek muthology how they described the Hydra a Beast from the Sea.
Hydra, also called the Lernean Hydra, in Greek legend, the offspring of Typhon and Echidna (according to the early Greek poet Hesiod’s Theogony), a gigantic water-snake-like monster with nine heads (the number varies), one of which was immortal. The monster’s haunt was the marshes of Lerna, near Árgos, from which he periodically emerged to harry the people and livestock of Lerna. Anyone who attempted to behead the Hydra found that as soon as one head was cut off, two more heads would emerge from the fresh wound.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hydra-Greek-mythology
Now. if we look at what country the Cashless Society under Draconian Rules are existing, we can see a perfect example of this system in China, the land of Red Dragon.
Will the spirit of Antichrist, chose someone from China, and this person will become so powerful as if like a Beast. imposing his power on all mankind?
If this thing will happen, the a Beast from the Sea, will control everything to effect the prophecy in Revelation13:16-18, a Cashless Society and people will be led to worship the Beast.
Cashless Society is already existing not only in China but in other countries as well, a Cashless Society are emerging now, but the question is how can people be force or voluntarily lead or instructed to worship the Second Beast?
Worship is written in the hearts of men, even the instruction to worship God is written in the very DNA of men as designed by God..
Can human DNA be corrupted to instruct man to worship the Beast?
If this is possible thru modern science now like the gene therapy via vaccine, altering human DNA like CRSPR Cas9 Technology, then we can see a Cashless Society with people instructed in their DNA to worship the Beast under a Draconian Rules, govern by people who have no mercy & compassion, meaning infected by the spirit of Antichrist.
Satan is a messenger, he infected Eve in the garden, and we can see Cain do not know how to worship God, his DNA was altered. God is the one who put a mark on Cain, did Cain associated with worshipping other gods or a Beast?
Can science produce a messenger too, to forget to worship God alone, like what happen to Cain. Can modern science instruct men to worship the Beast?
Anti-christ simply means Anti-mercy.
And the Second Beast or Hydra must be the ultimate merciless person, who are fully indwelt by the spirit of Antichrist, and the one that will rule the world under Draconian Rules, No Mercy.
But since Mary is the Mother of Mercy, the Hail Mary vs. Hail Hydra were already concluded in Fatima apparition. The Hail Mary will prevails to crush the ugly head of Hydra or the Beast from the Sea..
No Mercy under Draconian Rules vs. Mother of Mercy leader of God's Army.
"IN THE END MY IMMACULATE HEART WILL TRIUMPH."
