The resistance of the Antichrist to the Church In this chapter, the Apostle sees how the dragon fights the Church through the two beasts: 1- The first beast 1-10. 2- The second beast 11-18. 1 .THE FIRST BEAST "Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name” [1]. The Apostle stood on the sand to see a sad view, a beast rising up out of the sea, or out of troubled nations. He has the same descriptions as the dragon (12:3). This beast which is the Antichrist1, is in reality, clothed by Satan who works through him. The mission and the diadem of this beast are, “to blaspheme against God,” as for his description, it is a metaphorical image which declares his great hatred to the truth and to the Church, for he is: 1- "Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard." His color is disfigured by vices. He is fast in his move to persecute the Church; he is a betrayer, and no compassion or mercy is in his heart! 2- "His feet were like the feet of a bear." That is to say, his feet are strong and harsh. He is inflexible in his war against the Church. 3- "And his mouth like the mouth of a lion." Bishop Victorianus says, [His mouth is armed; in it dwells blood shedding, and from his tongue comes out nothing but ferocity.] 4- "And the dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority"[2]. As the Father gave all authority to the Son, the dragon likewise, gives all his satanic power, his evil throne, and his authority to the Antichrist, until he captivates and deceives people, in order to worship him, and abandon the worship of the living God. 5- "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"[3]. Satan does not delay to use every means to deceive. As he sees that the wounds of the Lamb are the subject of praise of the angels, the departed saints and the militants, and that heaven and earth tremble praising Him; likewise he too, i.e. the Antichrist, simulates as if he was wounded, and his deadly wound was healed, to let people worship him. In fact, many were deceived by him and bowed down to the dragon, in the person of the Antichrist. As the Apostle says: "So they worshipped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?’"2[4]. This is realized, through what Satan bestows on his followers of ability to talk with blasphemy, insolence and pride. And with authority during the time of his work, 1 St. Irenaeus, Tertullian, and other Fathers affirms that the beast is the Antichrist. 2 Dan. 7:7, 25; 11:36, John 10:33, 2 Thess. 2:3-9. 6 which is three and a half years. "And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle" [5- 6], or to blaspheme against the Church, the house of God, when he enters the churches and defile them. "And those who dwell in heaven"[6]. He also blasphemes against the angels of God. 6- "And it was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue and nation"[7]. He wrestles the believers, and pursues them in every country, and in every nation. He will conquer them through physical strain, that he makes them fall in. Yet they will conquer him by their faith and their firmness, knowing that their names are written in the book of Life of the Lamb who was slain. "And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose name have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain, from the foundation of the world"[8]. The prophet's saying applies to it, "Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done... for he shall magnify himself above them all (Dan. 11: 36-37). It is so painful news, that almost no man will believe how horrible is what about to come . Therefore he says: "If anyone has an ear, let him hear”[9], addressing this call to all mankind, in order not to be swept away behind him. He encourages the suffering Church not to be afraid of what the Antichrist is doing, for his work will turn back on him "He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity, he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints"[10]. His punishment will be of the same kind as his deed, according to what the Lord says (Matt. 7:2), and Jeremiah the prophet said as well (Jer. 15:2). It is a time of enjoyment for the patient militants to be crowned, showing the truth of their faith and their firmness in it. 2 .THE SECOND BEAST "Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed" [11-12]. St. Irenaeus, Tertullian, Ibn-al-Assal, and others think, that he is the false prophet (Matt. 24:24), who comes before the Antichrist or accompanies him. For this reason, St. Irenaeus calls him "carrier of the arm of the Antichrist." He and the Antichrist are one; he works on his behalf, under his name, and with his power. Therein he imitates the Holy Spirit and witnesses to the Antichrist. Fr. Hyppolitus1 explains, [It was meant by the beast who is coming out of the earth, the kingdom of the Antichrist; and the two horns point to the Antichrist and those 1 A treatise on Christ and Antichrist 49. 7 who are with him, or the false prophet. By saying, "he spoke like a dragon," he means that he is a deceiver, who does not say the truth.] This liar has the following qualifications: 1- He seems meek (as a lamb), as he tries to be like the true Lamb in His gentleness and love, but his language reveals him, as he speaks a satanic language, deceiving and ferocious. 2- He incites people to worship the Antichrist, and he affirms that with satanic signs and wonders, i.e "He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth, in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs, which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast, who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed" [13-15]. St. Irenaeus says, [No one should think that he performs these miracles by the divine power, but it is by magic. Do not be surprised at that, as far as devils and the resisting spirits are in his service. Through them he does great things, which lead the inhabitants of the earth to deviation.] Bishop Victorianus says, [The magicians do these things in our days with the help of the resisting angels. He will keep the horrible image of the "Antichrist" in the temple in Jerusalem, and the opposing angel will enter there and perform sounds and wonders. Moreover, he will suggest to his servants, his sons, to accept a sign on their foreheads and on their right hands, with the number of his name... Daniel had prophesied before, about his disdain for God and his struggle against Him. He says about him, that he will erect his temple in Samaria, and erect an image (a statue) on the holy mountain in Jerusalem, as Nebuchadnezzar has done. Concerning this abomination of desolation, the Lord advises His Churches about the end of times and its dangers saying, "When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, whoever reads let him understand" (Matt. 24:15; cf. Dan. 9:27). It is called the abomination of desolation because of causing God’s anger by prompting to the worship of idols instead of the true God, or because of the sneaking of groups of heretics into the Church. Many will deviate, and get deceived by the false signs and threats, and will abandon their salvation.] 5- "And He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 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” [16- 17]. We, the children of God, are proud of the mark of the Lord Jesus with which we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. In the same way the Antichrist makes for himself a mark which is prompted by the second beast that men be sealed with it. About this, it was said that: a) It is the mark of cherishing evil and blaspheming God. Thus it is printed on the forehead. Also the mark of the violence of evil and of resisting the children of God, therefore it is printed on the right hand. b) St. Ephram the Syrian thinks, that the Antichrist prints his mark on the 8 foreheads of his followers, or on their right hands, that they may think no more of making the sign of the cross with their right hands on their foreheads, thereby he is sure that his evil authority permanently dominates them. c) Fr. Hyppolitus1 says, [It is because they are completely deceived, that they glorify him by this mark. Thus to vigorously annoy and persecute the servants of God in the world, those who do not glorify him, or offer incense to him. None of the saints can buy or sell if he do not offer sacrifice to him. And that is what he means by the mark on the right hand.] CONCLUSION ABOUT THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST: "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"[18]. "Here is wisdom." Means that the matter needs special wisdom, as the human wisdom is still inadequate to know the name. Here are some opinions: 1- Ibn al-Assal thinks, that God had hidden the name, so that none of the kings or the heretics may adopt it, and confuse the prophesies. 2- The second opinion: Many of the Fathers think that he mentioned his number simply to confirm the truth, that he is in fact a man and has a name, and man can count his name to find that it is 666 (In the Greek, Latin and the Coptic alphabet it has numeric indications. Each letter has a special number. If we add the indications of all the letters of the name, we find it sums up to 666). 3- The third opinion: Someone said that the numerical indications of the name of the Lord "Jesus" is 888. St. John Climacus says, that number “8” indicates the eternal life, as number “7” indicates the temporal life, and the new day of the following week is "8". Therefore, in the past, God asked that circumcision be performed in the eighth day, and the resurrection of the Lord was accomplished at the dawn of Sunday, or the eighth day, or the beginning of the new week. So the number of the Lord "Jesus" is 888, which means heavenly, surely and completely. The number “6” is inferior to “7” or incomplete which indicates that the beast is not only temporal but also totally incomplete. 4- St. Iranaeus2 thinks, that number 666 indicates that the beast carries all kinds of evil and deceit, and all forces of resistance are blocked up within him. This meaning was previously symbolized in different ways: 600 years, the age of Noah when the deluge destroyed the world because of corruption and evil. 60 cubits long was the length of the statue that Nebuchanezzar erected for worshipping (Dan 3:1 ) 6 cubits wide, and because of that statue the three young men were thrown into the furnace of fire. 666 The number 666, meant the anger of God at mankind until He drowned it. The Church tolerates every hardship for the sake of the truth. There is another opinion of St. Iranaeus. The number 666 is probably the number of heresies, which have come to rise from the beginning of mankind to the day of the coming of the Lord, and they all represent the Antichrist. 1 A treatise on Christ and Antichrist 49. 2 St. Irenaeus: Adv.Haer 28-39. 9 We think, as this same saint, that many investigated the matter, and came up with Greek names counting 666. But they should turn back from their thoughts, because it is not their job to prophesy, as he will be disclosed at his appearance. So they better be on guard of him and steadfast in the Lord. Fr. Hyppolitus1, Bishop Victorianus and others were about accepting this opinion. The first one says that many names in Greek total 666, but the word "I deny," in Greek also totals 666. Therefore it is enough for us to know, that he will come denying and refuting faith in the Lord Jesus, appointing himself as a king.
Welcome