Antichrist

The video link is at the bottom of the page.

1. Introduction

The popular teaching is that the Antichrist (sometimes called anti-Christ) is still to come, resulting in the Great Tribulation.

In earlier teachings, we learned that Jesus prophesied the Great Tribulation would happen within One Generation of His death and resurrection. He clearly stated there would never be another event like it.

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Matthew 24:21

The Great Tribulation happened between the two scriptures, restricting it to the generation alive during Christ’s time. (after Matthew 23:36 and before Matthew 24:34):

Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Matthew 23:36

And:

Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.

Matthew 24:34

In the study “False Christs and Prophets“, we learned that Jesus prophesied false Christs and prophets would appear during the 40 years after His death and resurrection. Although false Christs and prophets will always exist, we can’t use current examples to fulfil Matthew 24 because that has already taken place. The same study also told us that the spirit of the Antichrist was Gnosticism, which suggests that Jesus did not come in the flesh

There are only two references to the person of Antichrist in the Bible. The Apostles Paul and John assert he was alive when they penned the epistles from 52 CE to 64 CE.

Our lesson “Victorious Eschatology” offers a more optimistic view of the end times.

2. Different Names for the Antichrist

A. Antichrist.

The Bible mentions the Antichrist five times, all by the apostle John.

The term Antichrist is made up of two Greek words:

ἀντί anti; a primary particle; opposite, i.e. instead of or because of

And:

Χριστός Christos; anointed, i.e., the Messiah, an epithet of Jesus: — Christ.

Christos comes from the word:

χρίω chriō; through the idea of contact; to smear or rub with oil, i.e. (by implication) to consecrate to an office or religious service: — anoint.

Therefore, we can say that the Antichrist spirit opposes the anointing and the anointed one, the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

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 4:3

The Antichrist also goes by two other names: the beast and the lawless one.

B. The Beast

We will do a complete lesson on the Beasts of Revelation (to be released October 2025)

The Book of Revelation is the only New Testament book to mention the beast.

The Greek word for the beast is:

θηρίον thērion; a dangerous animal: — (venomous, wild) beast.

The book of Revelation first mentions the beast emerging from the abyss, with an apparent reference to it being a spirit.

When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.

Revelation 11:7

The beast directly refers to the spirit-being mentioned in Daniel.

After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; and was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.

Daniel 7:7-8

The beast is not the Antichrist; rather, it is the spirit that influences the Antichrist.

C. The Lawless One

The only reference to the lawless one is in Thessalonians:

And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

2 Thessalonians 2:6-10

In three instances, John mentions the Antichrist and the spirit of antichrist twice.

3. John’s References to The Antichrist

John refers twice to the Antichrist and the spirit of antichrist in three instances.

A. John’s First Reference to The Antichrist:

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 4:3

In the original Greek, it appears as shown below. The words highlighted in red refer to the Antichrist rather than the spirit of antichrist.

The third word in blue (pneuma for spirit) appears in the Greek text. Followers of Jesus believe the Son of God came in the flesh; therefore, John refers here to the spirit within believers.

The initial word marked in red is ‘the’.

The masculine form of the word ‘the‘ is then repeated. John is referring to THE Antichrist, not the spirit of antichrist, because ‘pneuma’ does not occur.

Let us pause to consider the consequence of a mistranslation, namely that this verse refers to ‘the spirit of Antichrist’. The Antichrist spirit has existed since Herod Agrippa tried to kill Jesus. Therefore, John’s assertion that the spirit of Antichrist was approaching is illogical until we realise it is a mistranslation.

B. The Antichrist is in the World

Examining the final phrase of this verse closely, John indicates that the Antichrist was already present in the world between 61 and 64 CE when John wrote this epistle.

and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

1 John 4:3

C. Which You Have Heard is Coming

John declared that the churches knew of Antichrist’s coming.

And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

1 John 4:3

We must remember that John was speaking to the believers of that time. The believers lived among the Jews and their culture. His teachings probably included many Messianic prophecies from the Old Testament, as the New Testament had not yet been written.

How had they heard that the Antichrist was coming? The early church would have recognised the terminology of the Book of Daniel. They would also have known that Jesus’ prophecy of the Last Days would come to pass within one generation.  We will examine Daniel’s prophecy in detail below.

4. The Last Hour

A. John’s Other Reference to the Antichrist

Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.

1 John 2:18

John is directly referencing Jesus’ teachings.

B. Jesus’ Teaching on the Last Hour

Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Matthew 24:42-44

In the previous section, I mentioned that the church had heard about the coming of the Antichrist. Here, John says they heard from Jesus about the appearance of the Antichrist. He states that the last hour Jesus referred to is approaching very soon. Soon, we will see that they had also heard from the Apostle Paul.

C. Jesus is Not a Thief

Not only that, but he identifies the thief as Antichrist. Some well-known Futurists have infamously theorised that the thief is Jesus Christ!

John wrote this epistle sometime between 61 and 64 CE. He states that the Antichrist is imminent and that now is the last hour. Indeed, it was the last hour, as we will see that the persecution by the Antichrist began in 64 CE.

5. Paul’s Reference to the Antichrist.

A. The Lawless One

Paul refers to the lawless one in his letter to the Thessalonian church sometime between 51 CE and his martyrdom in 62-67 CE.

And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

2 Thessalonians 2:6-10

In this scripture, Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica, not to people 2000 years later. It is clear, when read from the perspective of the Thessalonians, that the Antichrist was already on earth in 49-52 CE.

Paul is stating the Antichrist is currently restrained and about to be revealed.

B. The Antichrist was in the World Between 51CE and 64CE

Considering the teachings of Paul and John together, the Antichrist was already present in the known world between 51 and 64 CE.

Later in this study, we will identify:

• Why was he “not revealed”?
• Who was holding him back, and
• Who the Antichrist was between 61 and 64 CE.

We see that John said the believers in 61-64 CE had heard the Antichrist was coming. They heard it from:

• Jesus in His last day’s prophecy, and from
• Paul, in his second letter to the church of Thessalonica, and
• The prophecy of the Book of Daniel.

6. The Antichrist in the Book of Daniel

A. The Beast Comes into a Man

‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth.

Daniel 7:17

This scripture clearly explains that the beast enters people to fulfil the devil’s desire. We must understand that the beast is a spirit that rules over the kingdom and possesses its leader.

B. The Antichrist Dominates

“I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame.

Daniel 7:11

The word pompous is:

• רַבְרַב raḇraḇ; (Aramaic)huge (in size); domineering (in character): — (very) great (things).

Daniel prophesies that the Antichrist would dominate the people of God.

C. Timing of the Antichrist in the Book of Daniel

Most theologians teach that the fourth beast in the Book of Daniel represents the Roman Empire. The individual who utters grandiose words is essentially a mouthpiece for this beast. Since it is the Roman Empire, Futurists often seek a connection with modern Rome when searching for the Antichrist. However, we will see that this is unnecessary. The timing is clear, as it occurs around Jesus’ ascension and enthronement, shortly after His resurrection. It is at this point that God gave the kingdom to Jesus. Daniel 7:11 is positioned before Daniel 7:13-14.

“I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, One like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed.

Daniel 7:13-14

7. False Teaching Concerning the Antichrist in Daniel 9.

One of the major errors in John Nelson Darby’s Futurist theology is his belief that the Messiah mentioned in Daniel 9 is the Antichrist. Charles Spurgeon’s warning about the Darbyites concerns their teachings on the Millennium. Before we take a closer look at the Messianic interpretation of Daniel 9:24-27, let’s revisit Charles Spurgeon’s writings on Darby’s eschatological views.

“With the deadly heresies entertained and taught by the Plymouth Brethren, in relation to some of the most momentous of all the doctrines of the Gospel and to which I have adverted at some length, I feel assured that my readers will not be surprised at any other views, however unscriptural and pernicious they may be, which the Darbyites have embraced and zealously seek to propagate.

Quote Charles Spurgeon from Grant, James (1875). The Plymouth Brethren: Their History and Heresies.

A. Summary of Futurist teaching on Daniel 9

Those familiar with popular Futurist teachings will recognise the following rhetoric: 

1. The Temple will be reconstructed in Jerusalem now that the Jews have returned to Israel.
2. The Red Heifer will be found, and sacrifices will be restored.
3. The Antichrist will establish a seven-year agreement with Israel.
4. During the middle of the seven years, the Antichrist will set up the “abomination that causes desolation” in the temple by installing an idol.
5. He will then put an end to sacrifices.

We have a separate lesson on the Seven-Year Peace Treaty that corrects this false teaching.

8. When was the Book of Revelation Written?

For a comprehensive grasp of this subject, please read the lesson “Introduction to Revelation.”

In that lesson, we established that John wrote his epistles between 61 and 64 CE. Futurists claim that John authored Revelation in 96 CE during his imprisonment by Domitian, but there is substantial evidence supporting an earlier date for its composition.

9. The Number of the Antichrist

A. The Number of a Man

Revelation reveals the number is that of a man:

Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

Revelation 13:18

It’s NOT about the number of a mark. We will examine the beast’s mark in another study, which won’t involve an implant or physical mark.

There are a few interesting words in this verse. We need to remember that John is addressing people living between 61 and 64 CE who were already facing persecution. They were aware that the Antichrist was in the world, as shown in John’s and Paul’s epistles.

B. Wisdom and Understanding are required.

Wisdom and understanding differ from prophetic insight. If I told you that something needed prophetic insight 2000 years into the future, that would be true. However, we need wisdom and understanding to make informed decisions given the current political situation. Therefore, this verse applied to the people alive at the time.

C. Time Limitation for the Appearing of the Antichrist

The timing limitation of the Antichrist is outlined in Jesus’ prophecies in Matthew 24 and Luke 21. The Antichrist needed to appear within one generation of Jesus’ Last Days Prophecy.

We know:

1. The number of his name is 666, and,
2. He was ‘not revealed’ when Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, and
3. He was restrained when Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, and
4. The Antichrist was in the world in 61-64CE, and finally
5. He had to be revealed as the Antichrist by December 66 CE for the start of the Great Tribulation.

So, can we name the Antichrist? Yes!

10. Was Nero the Antichrist?

A. The Number of the Beast

In Hebrew, each letter has a numerical value:

Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

Revelation 13:18

Rome, under Nero, persecuted Christians, and John wanted to prevent interrogators from accusing believers of maligning the powerful Antichrist when they carried the Book of Revelation. So, Christians used his number instead of his name. They used his name in Aramaic, which was then translated into Greek, rather than translating it directly into Latin. Using this code allowed them to stay innocent without lying.

B. NRON QSRN

Nero’s name in Aramaic was NRON QSR for Nero Caesar. An Aramaic scroll from Wadi Murabba’at, dated to “the second year of Emperor Nero”, refers to him by his name and title, Nero Caesar, spelt NRON QSR.

 נרון קסר is the Hebrew word for the Greek name of Nero Caesar ‎

Each letter in Hebrew has a numerical value, and these letters add up to 666.

The Jews knew who the Antichrist would be!

C. NRO QSR

However, when we examine the Latin translation in Hebrew, it is NRO QSR. In Hebrew, there is one letter missing. It, therefore, adds up to 616.

Having an alternate explanation was necessary for the Christians because the language of the Romans was Latin. So if Romans interrogated them, they could say that Nero was 616 rather than 666. Therefore the number 666 was used as the number of the man to try and protect the Christians from persecution.

11. Was Nero the Lawless One?

Now let us look again at 2 Thessalonians written 51 – 54 CE to see if Nero fulfils the requirements:

And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

2 Thessalonians 2:6-10

Nero became Emperor in 54 CE, which is why he was not exposed yet and was being restrained from revealing himself

A. What is Restraining Nero?

Some people have tried to say that the Spirit of God is restraining the Antichrist.

The Greek word for ‘what is restraining’ is:

katechō; to hold down (fast),: — have, hold (fast), keep (in memory), possess, retain, seize on, stay, take, withhold.

For those who understand parsing in grammar, this word is a Verb, Present, Active, Participle, Accusative, Singular, and Neuter.

In other words, it is an active action time of writing and is neuter, i.e. not a person.

So, it is not God or a person; it is a “what,” as correctly translated. We need to examine Nero’s early life to understand what was restraining the Antichrist.

B. Nero’s Early Reign

Nero Caesar ruled the Roman Empire from October 54 CE to June 9, 68 CE. He was only 16 years old when he ascended to the throne. Due to the character of both his father, Domitius, and his mother, Agrippina, the senate feared that he would be a dangerous leader. Nero was assigned two tutors, Seneca and Burrus, during the early part of his reign to have a restraining influence on him, as seen in this excerpt.

C. Senate’s Approval of the Restrained Nero

Most historians agree that while he was under the care of his tutors and mother, his reign was progressing well. Nero’s tutor, Seneca, prepared Nero’s first speech before the Senate. During this speech, Nero spoke about “eliminating the ills of the previous regime”.  H.H. Scullard writes that “he promised to follow the Augustan model in his principate, to end all secret trials intra cubiculum, to have done with the corruption of court favourites and freedmen, and above all to respect the privileges of the Senate and individual Senators.” His respect for the Senatorial autonomy, which distinguished him from Caligula and Claudius, was generally well received by the Roman Senate.

Wikipedia

D. Removal of Restraint Means Nero is Revealed

Nero was directly involved in the deaths of the three restraining influences, either by murder or by forced suicide.

Once Nero removed the restraining influences of Agrippina, Seneca and Burrus, historians agree that Nero quickly revealed his true character.

Now, let us look at the following verse, which determines who was being directed by the senate to restrain Nero

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.

2 Thessalonians 2:7

Nothing in the original text states that the word ‘he’ must be capitalised. So, the question is, who is ‘he’ in verse 7? It will be the restraining influence of Seneca or, less likely, Burrus.

12. Nero as the Revealed Antichrist

For Nero to be the Antichrist, the following had to be true of him:

1. a man of sin
2. the son of perdition
3. produce signs and wonders
4. sit as God in the temple of God
5. no one can buy or sell without the mark

A. Man of Sin

There is plenty of evidence in Nero’s history that shows him as a man of sin, even before the Great Tribulation.

• Committed adultery with Poppaea Sabina
• murdered his own mother
• murdered/forced suicide his tutors
• started the fire of Rome
• persecution of Christians
• Became the bride in a homosexual marriage to Pythagoras.

B. Son of Perdition

Son of perdition means son of destruction. Another person called the son of perdition was Judas Iscariot, who killed himself.

While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

John 17:12

Like Judas, Nero is believed to have committed suicide. Like Judas, Nero liked to look good when it came to giving to the poor.

C. Signs and Wonders

The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,

2 Thessalonians 2:9

Remember that Futurist eschatology originates from dispensationalism and cessationist theology. Purists of Futurist eschatology must agree that healings, signs and wonders ceased with Paul if they are faithful to their beliefs.

Therefore, futurist teachings claim that any healings, signs and wonders happening now are the devil’s work. Of course, this is false teaching. 

Furthermore, Cessationist theology has fostered the mistaken idea that the Antichrist will perform healings and miracles like those Jesus did. This view grieves the Holy Spirit because it creates division within the body of Christ.

A careful examination of the Greek and the Book of Daniel yields a different interpretation.

D. Antichrist Power

The Jewish believers in Thessalonica would have understood Paul easily. They would have recalled what the prophet Daniel said:

“I was watching, and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them,…
He 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 shall be given into his hand
For a time and times and half a time.

Daniel 7:21,25

So when Paul referred to signs and wonders, he was talking about them as described in Daniel, which included persecution and pompous words.

God did not prevent Satan from empowering the Antichrist, thus handing the Jews over to his control. Nero wielded that demonic power against the Christians from July 24, 64 CE, and later against the Jews by sending Vespasian to attack all of Judea and Samaria until Nero’s death in 68 CE. Jesus would come in judgment upon the Jewish nation during the Great Tribulation, which took place from December 23, 66 CE, to April 10, 73 CE.  The onset of the Great Tribulation is attributed to Nero’s decision to seize Jerusalem by force on or around that date, at Cestius’ request. We will look at this in depth in our series on the Great Tribulation.

E. Two Thousand Three Hundred Days

In the next vision, God reveals to Daniel that the Great Tribulation will last 2300 days, consisting of three and a half years or forty-two months.

Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?”
And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”

Daniel 8:13-14

Of Daniel’s 2300-day (six years and four months) Great Tribulation, there is a forty-two-month period of intense persecution of the Jews, from Nisan 15 (April 19), 67 CE to Elul 14 (September 8), 70 CE, as calculated using the Jewish lunisolar calendar. We will examine the Great Tribulation more closely in our lesson.

F. Signs of the Antichrist

The word signs in Greek is:

σημεῖον sēmeion; a sign, mark, or token by which a person is distinguished from others and is known

Jesus did not perform sēmeion. The word for Godly signs is different to sēmeion.

Paul warned the Thessalonians that the Antichrist would give them evidence of who he was by his actions (signs). These signs included demanding that they worship him.

Therefore, the signs that the Antichrist would perform were meant for Christians to recognise that Nero was the Antichrist. There is little doubt that Nero produced signs and wonders that convinced people he was indeed the promised Antichrist.

Nero “inflicted upon the Christians punishments exquisitely painful.” And wrote how thousands of Christians were tortured, being covered in animal skins then torn to death by dogs, or nailed to crosses, or being covered in tar and then lit on fire to illuminate Nero’s gardens while he entertained guests in the evenings. Multitudes suffered a cruel martyrdom amidst derision and insults, and among the rest were the venerable apostles, Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

Tacitus (55 – 120CE)

G. Lying Wonders of the Antichrist

The Greek word for ‘lying’ is ‘pseudos‘, the origin of the English word ‘pseudo’. 

The Greek word for wonders is:

• τέρας teras; of uncertain affinity; a prodigy or omen: — wonder.

This term refers to a sign or warning that a major or disastrous event is about to occur. Nero demonstrated this well by sending the Fuminata XII legion to encircle Jerusalem in 66 CE.

Jesus never performed teras, as teras was always in a negative context.

H. Antichrist Sits as God in the Temple of God.

who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

2 Thessalonians 2:4

Futurist teaching is that the Jews will rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, and the Antichrist will sit there as God. However, outside of Futurist eschatology, there is no need to rebuild the temple. We will look at the temple of God in a separate study. Jesus clearly knew that the temple He was building was not a natural temple.

Futurist teaching is that Matthew 24 refers to the Antichrist when it says:

“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand),

Matthew 24:15

I. Jesus’ Teaching on the Temple

However, the words’ holy place’ is Hagios topos in Greek.

The words ‘Hagios topos’ do not refer to the temple. The abomination that causes desolation is not referring to something inside the temple; instead, it relates to the armies of Rome surrounding the city of Jerusalem. Again, we go into more detail on this subject in our lesson on the Great Tribulation.

We will look at the temple separately; however, Jesus did not refer to a physical temple. Instead, He was talking about the temple of the Holy Spirit, which resides inside every believer. 

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are

1 Corinthians 3:16-17

So God was telling the believers of Thessalonica that the Antichrist would cause them to worship him instead of Jesus. Many would die by refusing to worship Nero or his Roman gods. The Romans believed that the Christians were the cause of disasters because their prosperity depended on everyone worshipping their pagan gods. As Emperor, he claimed to be God.

That is what it means when it says that the Antichrist will set himself up as God in the temple of God, their hearts.

13. Nero, the Antichrist, Would be the Sixth Caesar of Revelation.

The seven Caesars of Rome are the seven kings of Rome mentioned in Revelation 17:

There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time.

Revelation 17:10

The seven Caesars of the Roman Empire referred to in Revelations 17 were Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, and Galba.

From the phrase “five have fallen,” we know the first five of these Caesars had died when writing this verse. Therefore, when John wrote “one is,” we know that he talks about Nero, the sixth Caesar, who was in power at the time John wrote. Finally, John tells about one who is yet to come and must remain a little while. This is Galba, who reigned for only seven months.

14. Resurrection of the Antichrist(?)

Futurists believe that Satan will resurrect Antichrist from the dead because it says in Revelation:

And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

Revelation 13:3-4

A. The Beast, Not the Antichrist

However, the resurrection is the head of the beast, not the Antichrist himself. We have found that the Antichrist is NOT the beast.

Daniel tells us that the beast appears at different times in various forms, which no man can do. We also understand that the multi-headed beast can only be a spirit, not a natural man. 

Therefore, Nero did not need to rise from the dead. However, the spirit that governed Nero was revived. Within a year of Nero’s death, Emperor Vespasian was crowned and sent his son with four armies across the Euphrates to sack Jerusalem.

15. Mark of the Beast

Many Christians today have become overly fascinated by the “mark of the beast”, thinking that somehow a barcode will be imprinted

and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Revelation 13:17

A. No One Can Buy or Sell

Roman coins featured the Emperor’s head, as we saw above. To buy or sell, you could not do it without using coins bearing the head of the representation of a deity.

B. Mark of the Beast

We need to understand that this is not the mark of the Antichrist, but rather the mark of the beast. The Beasts of Revelation will examine these spirits closely. However, we need to understand that these refer to three different marks related to spiritual covenants, not a physical mark.

C. Jewish Culture

The mark of the beast is a direct reference to Deuteronomy.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

Deuteronomy 6:4-8

The Jewish Torah text is and was recited twice daily, with a tefillah around the arm and then around the head, with the tefillah box on the forehead. Jewish people, both today and in antiquity, fulfil this commandment by literally tying the words of the Living God found in Torah to their hand and head almost every day of the week. This Practice is called “the laying on of a tefillin.”

So when the beast (a principality of the devil) used Nero to force people to bow down to the Roman gods, they were denying the truth that the LORD our God, the LORD is one!

By bowing down to Roman gods, they were no longer declaring their love for the LORD their God with all their heart, soul, and strength.

D. The Father’s Mark

It seems to me that people get more excited about the mark of the beast than knowing they are marked by the Father. Because the very next verse says this:

Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.

Revelation 14:1

We are no longer under the Old Covenant but under the New Covenant, through which we invoke the name of the Father. It is my wish to be recognised by the Father and to carry His mark in my heart. I want to think of the Father with my mind, and I want to do the work of the Father with all my strength.

E. Attitude of the Heart

16. Summary

1. Futurist eschatology teaches that we are currently living in the last days. It states that the early apostles did not know when Jesus would return and that the apostles were mistaken in believing they were in the last days!
2. We must remember that the Bible is the Word of God. When the apostles taught that they were in the last days, it was because they were in the last days! The last days began with Jesus’ death and resurrection and concluded in 70 CE, just as Jesus had said they would. The end of the age is still in the future.
3. John writes in 61-64 CE that they are in the last hour of revealing the Antichrist and the Great Tribulation before Jesus’ return in 66 CE!
4. Jesus’ time limit for the Great Tribulation was one generation. Therefore, the Antichrist must also appear within one generation.
5. The Antichrist was known to John between 61 and 64 CE.
6. The Book of Revelation was written by John sometime between 61 and 64 CE, when he was sent to Patmos by Nero, not Domitian.
7. Antichrist was restrained when Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica sometime between 52 and 54 CE.
8. Antichrist was soon to be revealed when Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians.
9. Nero’s character met the requirements of the Antichrist described by Paul.
10. Nero’s number in the Greek translation into Aramaic was 666.
11. Nero is the sixth king of Rome in Revelation 17.
12. The mark of the beast is not the mark of the Antichrist, although he symbolised the beast. 
13. The Greek word “epi”, meaning “on” a person’s forehead or hand, does not include the word “in,” excluding chip implants.
14. The mark of the beast is a direct reference to the practice of Jews tying the law around their foreheads or around their wrists.
15. The mark of a beast is an anti-type of the mark of the Father.
16. We should be carrying the mark of the Father.

© Use by Permission Awakening Impact Ministries / Dr Neville Westerbeek van Eerten D.Miss. 2026