Who Is The Antichrist? 15 Characteristics of Satan’s Coming World Leader

In this article I will attempt to answer the question,  “Who is the antichrist?” not by naming someone’s name but rather by giving a biblical explanation of the characteristics that he has.

As the Tribulation period begins the first thing to appear on the scene is the first of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.  This rider is riding a white horse.   Revelation 6:1-2  “I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” ² I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.”

God gives us divine insight into the fact that the rider on the white horse is the antichrist because we know for certain that the True Christ will come riding back on a white horse per Revelation 19.  When the true Christ returns he will set up a kingdom that will last for 1000 years.  The first horseman of the apocalypse is also attempting to set up his kingdom.  He is carrying a bow but no arrows.   A bow is symbolic of aggressive warfare, however the fact that there are no arrows, signifies that he will conquer based on diplomacy. He will seem to solve the world’s problems. This is not to say that the Antichrist will never be involved in warfare, just that at the beginning He will come quickly on the scene as a conqueror bent on conquest.

Here is a list of some of the Antichrist’s characteristics.   By studying the Word of God we can answer the question, “Who is the Antichrist?”

Who is the Antichrist?

1. He will arise from the Revised Roman Empire

Daniel 9:26  “After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing.^[g] The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.”

 This is perhaps the clearest verse as to the area of the world the Antichrist will arise from.  This verse is from the powerful prophetic insight that Daniel had as God revealed to him Israel’s future.  God showed him that there would be seventy weeks of years.  My purpose is not to provide an explanation of that but to show that as God revealed to Daniel Israel’s future, that He also revealed the part of the world the Antichrist comes from.

Daniel 9:26 reveals to us that the Anointed one will be put to death. The Anointed One is Jesus!  When he died on the cross He fulfilled this prophecy.  Also predicted was that the “people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.”  This happened in 70 A.D. when the Romans conquered Jerusalem, and destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the sanctuary (the temple).

The phrase used is interesting. It doesn’t say the ruler and his people did this, but rather, “people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.”   The ruler who will come refers to the Antichrist and also reveals his identity. He will come from what used to be the Roman Empire.

2. He is a Deceiver.

2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 NIV tells us this “For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”

 This verse tells us that he will be able to tell “the lie” that will be used by God to allow a powerful delusion over the people who are not believing the truth and delighting in wickedness.  No one knows for sure what the content of this lie is.  But it could be some plausible explanation for the Rapture that will have already occurred. This lie will deceive many into a spiritual darkness so that they do not accept Christ or believe the gospel.  The lie could also be that the Antichrist is God and must be worshipped. It could even be that the mark of the beast that is needed to buy and sell in Antichrist economy is of no ill effect.

Who is the Antichrist? The Word definitely tells us that He is a deceiver.

He will also deceive the nation of Israel.   The following scripture declares that the Antichrist will make a covenant of seven years with Israel.  In the middle of that time period the Antichrist will break that covenant, put an end to sacrifice and declare himself to be God, setting up an abomination that causes desolation.  “He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”  Daniel 9:27 (NIV)

3. He is a Man.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 clearly states that he is a man.   This is not a super being, or a demon, this is going to be a man.  Just like Hitler and others have made grabs for power, so this man will also reach for world domination.

“Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3

Who is the Antichrist? God’s word is very specific. He is a man.  This also tells us his gender, he will be male not female.

4. He is a homosexual.

  “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women”  Daniel 11:37 (NIV) The meaning of this phrase “nor the desire of women” tells us that he has no natural desire for women.  I believe that this shows that the Antichrist will indeed be a homosexual.

5. He may be from a religious family (Is he a Jew?)

“Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women”  Daniel 11:37 (NIV)

He will not regard the God of his fathers. It is obvious by this phrase that his fathers believed in God.  He could very well be from a leading Jewish or even Christian family.  However, the antichrist has rejected God completely.

He will not regard God, or the laws of God, or the morality that comes from knowing God or being a religious person.  He will have his own sense of morality and do whatever he wishes to do.

6. He has a number. 666

”He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead,  so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.  This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666.”  Revelation 13: 16-18 (NIV)

This number 666 will forever be linked to the Antichrist.  Those who have insight into these things will be able to calculate the number of the beast.  This will be widely unknown by the masses, but for those who have insight, they will be able to positively identify him by this number 666.

7. He will perform miracles by the power of Satan.

 “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10b (NIV)

 The Antichrist will have working with him a man known in scripture as the False Prophet.  They will be able to perform supernatural miracles and will do so in the sight of the masses. These things will not be done behind closed doors. But they will be done as a public demonstration to get people to believe in the Antichrist.

The real power behind these miracles is Satanic.  The world is easily deceived by the supernatural.  These miracles will not be “evil” miracles, but the great deception will be that they will seem to help humanity.  Yet it is all a ruse in order to sway the masses.

8. He is known by many names.

These are names given in the KJV bible

• The Bloody and Deceitful man.- Psalms 5:6
• The Wicked One. – Psalms 10:3-4 (KJV)
• The Man of the Earth.- Psalms 10:18 (KJV)
• The Mighty Man.- Psalms 52:1
• The Enemy.- Psalms 55:3
• The Adversary.- Psalms 74:10 (KJV)
• The Spoiler.- Isaiah 16:4
• The Profane and Wicked Prince.- Ezekiel 21:25
• The Little Horn.- Daniel 7:8
• The Prince that Shall come.  Daniel 9:26.
• The Vile Person. – Daniel 11:21
• The Willful King.  Daniel 11:36
• The Man of Sin. – 2 Thessalonians 2:3
• The Son of Perdition.- 2 Thessalonians 2:3
• The Lawless One. 2 Thessalonians 2:9
• The Antichrist.- 1 John 2:22
• The Beast. – Revelation 11:7 & Revelation 13:1

9. He will desecrate the temple.

“He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.  2 Thessalonians 2:4 (NIV) This will occur in the middle of the Tribulation and is also known as the abomination that causes desolation.

10. He will appear to rise from the dead.

Imagine if John F. Kennedy whose fatal wound to the head was seen by millions on television had miraculously appeared the next day. Such a scenario will seem to happen during the Antichrists tenure. It will be a huge deception but many will follow the Antichrist as a result of this.

 “One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast.” Revelation 13:3 (NIV)

11. He will be in power for seven years, but the great devastation will last three and one-half years

“And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.” Revelation 13:5 (NIV)

12. He will behead the saints of God.

 One of the great benefits for the many who study the book of Revelation is the fact that there will be a great soul harvest that will take place following the rapture during the first part of the Tribulation. However, this will infuriate the Antichrist who proceed to set up a system to systematically behead those who profess allegiance to Christ.

“I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands.” Revelation 20:4 (NIV)

 Who is the Antichrist? He is the persecutor of the saints of God.

13. He will have influence in all the world.

“And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation”  Revelation 13:7b (NIV)

It is not that national lines will disappear entirely, it will rather be that nations will come into some type of agreement.  We know that authority is given by God.  Though the Antichrist will have rule and reign for a relatively short period of time (seven years) Jesus Christ will rule and reign for 1000 years.

14. He will become so arrogant that he will dare to fight against God.

“Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army.”  Revelation 19:19 (NIV)

One thing that I have noticed is that Satan is programming men and women for scenarios just like this through video games, apocalyptic movies and programs.  The entire prepper movement is a movement that is saying, we must do all that is necessary to survive.

The hatred toward God that will be prevalent at this time so that  people will actually think they can fight against God can only come as men and women continually harden their hearts by sin.

15. He will go down in defeat.

Yes, I saved the best for last!  The Antichrist will not prevail! He will be defeated and eternally punished for his actions.

“But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.” Revelation 19 :20-21 (NIV)

Who is the Antichrist? He is a defeated foe because what God says comes to pass!

If you have read this article this far you must be interested in what the bible has to say about end time events.

I want to encourage you to do the following three things

• GET RIGHT WITH GOD IMMEDIATELY!

• STAY RED HOT FOR GOD!

• GET RID OF ALL AREAS OF SIN IN YOUR LIFE!