Ep 510 – Revelation 13:11-18

In the gospels, Jesus refers to Satan as the father of lies. He is a deceiver and deluder, the angel of light who can only attempt to mirror the power of God. And as we will see in Revelation 13:11-18, one of the things he does is in the closing days of the tribulation is create a false, unholy trinity, seemingly intended to replicate the relationship between God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Satan enlists the aid of the Antichrist and his false prophet, turning these two individuals into poor counterfeits for Jesus and the Spirit. Satan has always aspired to be god and, in an attempt to deceive the nations, he presents himself and his two companions as a kind of mirror image of the real Trinity. These three will wreak havoc on the world and bring a tremendous amount of pain and suffering on all those who refuse to bow down and worship the Antichrist or bear his mark. Their decision to reject his mark will prevent them from buying and selling, causing them great suffering as a result. While many have tried to speculate the identity of the Antichrist, the Bible does not provide us with any real insight into who this individual will be. But we do know that, because of his relationship with Satan, he will prove to be a formidable force during the days of the tribulation.