The Antichrist [“the beast”] will be a human man possessed and empowered by Satan. His rise to power and confirmation of a seven-year covenant with Israel will signify the beginning of the Tribulation period, where he rules worldwide. At the end of the Antichrist’s seven-year reign, he will be overthrown and cast into the Lake of Fire by Jesus. This will occur after Jesus gloriously returns to the earth at His second coming.
During the first half of the seven-year Tribulation, the Antichrist will usher in a time of peace with Israel after signing a covenant with them offering sanctuary under his power. Three and a half years into this treaty, he will break his covenant with Israel and begin to make war against her. He will exalt himself above everything that is worshiped or called God and set himself up in the rebuilt temple of Israel, proclaiming to be God. This act is the Abomination of Desolation spoken of in Scripture. As a result, the wrath of God upon the earth will intensify immensely during the second half of the Tribulation, justifying its name as the Great Tribulation.
During the Tribulation, the Antichrist will perform many counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders and carry out every deceptive act of evil. He will suffer a fatal wound but be healed or resurrected, which could refer to his person or kingdom (Revelation 13:3). Additionally, he will be joined by another satanic figure, the false prophet. This individual will carry out the desires and exercise the authority of the Antichrist. He will draw the world’s attention to the Antichrist and cause them to worship him by performing great and miraculous counterfeit signs.
The Antichrist will rule the world during this time, having received great power and authority from Satan to exercise dominion over every tribe, people, language, and nation. He will receive worship worldwide and require everyone to receive “the mark of the beast” upon their forehead or right hand. This mark will be needed to buy or sell within the world’s commercial system. Given the necessity of this mark for commerce and the technological advances of modern times, many speculate this “mark” will be an implanted microchip containing each person’s data and banking information. Everyone on the earth will be required to receive this mark, and those who refuse it will be killed. Those taking this mark will offer worship to the Antichrist and will, in turn, not be saved.
Although the Antichrist will be in earthly power during the Tribulation, God will be pouring out His wrath against sin, evil, and wickedness upon the earth’s inhabitants during this period. There will be unmatched wars, famines, plagues, and natural disasters the world has never experienced before. Many will place their faith in Jesus and be born-again during the Tribulation; however, most of them will be martyred for their faith, Christian testimony, and refusal to worship the beast.
At the end of the seven-year Tribulation, the Antichrist will gather the kings of the earth and launch a final attack upon Jerusalem. This event is the Battle of Armageddon. Jesus will then return to the earth as a Man of war, along with His army of believers from heaven. The Antichrist will attempt to wage war against Him but be captured, along with the false prophet. These two will be thrown alive into the Lake of Fire, and his soldiers will be killed with the sword that comes from Jesus’ “mouth.”
Following that victory, Satan will be seized, bound with a great chain, and thrown into the bottomless pit for 1,000 years. Jesus will set up His Millennial Kingdom on the earth to rule and reign throughout this period. He will govern the believers who survived the Great Tribulation and those born to them during these 1,000 years.
(See the Scripture References link at the top of the page.)
