Just for fun, the other day I typed “Who is the Antichrist?” into Google and got 9.6 million hits, and some of the sites it led me to were AMAZING. Pro-Internet-Search-Tip: If you visit a website and everything on it is in all caps, bright red letters, with flames coming out both sides of the web page, you’ll want to stay away from that one. And don’t even think about typing in “What is 666?” Your computer will probably melt down right in front of you.
I’ve got an old book in my library from the late ’80s called 666: The Final Warning. It was written during the Reagan administration, and in its conclusion, it says:
“The goal of this book was to enlighten my readers with what I personally feel the Lord has shared with me over the past 12 years as I’ve studied his word regarding end time events and the possible key players involved. Does this book prove that Ronald Wilson Reagan (6/6/6) is the prophesied Antichrist and that Pope John Paul 2 (which in Latin, you can also get to add up to 666) will become the false prophet? In my opinion, the evidence offered in this book is overwhelmingly in favor of them being history’s prime candidates for these unholy positions.”
The book didn’t really age well.
So, who are the antichrist and the false prophet talked about in Revelation? More important than who they are is what they are. For reference, I’m going to treat the antichrist and false prophet together, since they work as a team. Here are a few notable characteristics:
1. They are Satan’s earthly vessels.
That’s clear. Not much else to say here, since everyone agrees on this. Moving on.
2. They are an imitation of Christ.
The false prophet looks like a lamb and does miracles, and the antichrist goes through some kind of resurrection, with a deadly wound that gets healed. Those aren’t random tricks; they are intentional imitations of the power of Jesus. This is one reason he’s referred to as the “antichrist,” not merely “the devil incarnate”—because he acts as a counterfeit Christ.
3. Their primary objective is to redirect worship away from God and onto man.
From the beginning, Satan has recycled one lie to humanity over and over: “You can be like God.” He said it to Eve (Genesis 3), used it to move the people to build the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11), and used it to move Nebuchadnezzar to attempt the Babylonian empire (Daniel 3).
4. They bring peace and prosperity (at first).
Revelation tells us that the seven-year tribulation starts peacefully because the antichrist brings stability and prosperity. The prophet Daniel even indicates that the antichrist will broker a peace deal in the Middle East that will restore the temple to the Jews.
5. They do miracles.
Revelation 13:13 tells us that the false prophet does great signs, even making fire come down from heaven. Verse 15 tells us he even gives breath to some kind of image of the antichrist that makes it look alive.
That’s disorienting, isn’t it? Can’t God alone do miracles? Well, yes and no. First, we have to realize that, throughout history, Satan has always done imitation miracles. Pharaoh’s magicians mimicked Moses’s plagues, and Nebuchadnezzar’s wise men mimicked Daniel’s prophecies. These “miracles” ended up being a combination of clever magic tricks as well as, sometimes, demonically empowered stuff. Demons can give some miraculous powers, though there’s a limit to what they can do. Think of demonic miracles as like “Grade B miracles.”
Second, some scholars have speculated that what we’re seeing here may point to the seemingly miraculous potential of modern technologies. Revelation 13:15 says that this image of the beast is given breath like he’s alive; it doesn’t say he’s actually alive. So perhaps it’s a technology trick.
John Lennox, an Oxford University mathematician and philosopher, wrote a fascinating book called 2084 (harkening back to George Orwell’s 1984), focusing on the changes AI is bringing in the next 100 years. Lennox speculates that what John is pointing to here in Revelation seems eerily possible given the rise in AI capabilities, especially the idea of simulated consciousness and God-like knowledge.
Is that what is being alluded to here? Technology so incredible that it almost feels miraculous, life-like? Technology that fuels this old Satanic lie that we can be like God, to the point we don’t even think we need him anymore?
Yes? Maybe? I’ll say this: I can’t say for certain it’s not what John is saying.
Just think about it: I don’t know about you, but using ChatGPT makes me feel like a divine genius, especially if I’m with some older person who doesn’t really know how to use it. They ask me a question, and I turn off to the side, ask my best friend Chat, and in 30 seconds I’ve got an organized, detailed answer complete with footnotes. (Yes, some of the footnotes turn out to be completely fabricated, but … they’re working on it, okay?)
One of the most popular AI projects right now is even called “Homo Deus,” which is Latin for “Man God.” The author of the project, Yuval Harari, said, “Human history as we know it began when humans invented gods; it will evolve into the next stage when humans become gods.” John Lennox believes AI is a crucial part of fulfilling a lot of these prophecies in Revelation, and he’s way smarter than me, so he just may be right.
6. Their number is 666.
OK, tin foil hat time. Nothing in Christian history has prompted more speculation than this number. Early Christians wondered if 666 referred to Nero. Why? Well, in Hebrew, every letter is assigned a number, and if you add up the number values of the letters in Nero’s name you come up with
666. So, some early church history tied this to Nero.
People have figured out how to do that with other world leaders, too. In the ‘90s it became popular to say this number represented the internet, since “w” in our alphabet corresponds to the Hebrew “Vav,” which is the sixth letter of their alphabet. So bascially “www” was internet slang for “666.” That means every time you type in www.jdgreear.com, in Hebrew you’re typing in 666.jdgreear.com … and there’s nothing I can do about that.
Ironically, this is actually one of the clearer metaphors in the book of Revelation. This number is not given to us as some kind of secret Bible code to figure out. John actually tells us in Revelation 13:18 what the number means, saying that it calls for wisdom, not speculation—666 is “the number of a man.” Numbers in the Bible do have special significance, and “6” in the Bible is the number of man, since humans were created on the sixth day. So “666” isn’t a cipher to point us to a specific person; it’s a symbol indicating how the antichrist will act—centered on man, highlighting man’s power, man’s might, man’s ingenuity, man’s glory.
7. They control commerce.
Revelation 13:17 says, “No one can buy or sell unless he has the mark.” In early church days, in order to buy and sell in the marketplace, some of the Caesars required you to get a “libellus,” which literally meant “permission to buy and sell.” To get it, all you had to do is offer a pinch of incense at an altar to Caesar and say, “Caesar is Lord.” John surely was thinking about this when he wrote these things.
Lennox’s book describes a program called SoCS—which stands for Social Credit Score—that was tested in China a few years ago. Basically, every citizen and corporation gets a unique ID and a starting score, say 300 points. You gain points for “approved” behaviors like paying your debts on time, volunteering, recycling, or reporting suspicious activity to the state. You lose points for “problematic” behaviors like associating with the wrong groups or posting the wrong things online. The result is an inescapable moral credit rating that determines your job options, what kinds of schools your kids get into, how easily you can get loans, even the level of medical care you have access to. With modern technology, implementing such a system becomes frighteningly easy.
8. They are two actual individuals. Probably.
I put “probably” on this one because Christians I respect disagree on this. Some think all this stuff about the antichrist and the false prophet refers to a general anti-Christian spirit that has been at work in the world. And that’s true. First John 4:3 tells us the spirit of the antichrist is already here.
But I believe it also refers to two actual people coming in the future. I believe that because both Paul (2 Thessalonians 2) and John (1 John 4:3) refer to the antichrist as a person. Paul’s name for the antichrist is “the man of lawlessness,” and when he refers to him, like he does in 2 Thessalonians 2:9, he uses the definite article, “the coming of the lawless one”—a specific guy, not just a general antichrist spirit already at work in the world.
9. All of this is relevant for us, even today.
We may not yet be in the literal Great Tribulation period of the Revelation. But we are living in the global struggle between the antichrist and God’s people. We are experiencing massive political things, seismic shifts on earth, turmoil, natural disasters, and 666 (the power of man rather than the power of God). The antichrist may not yet be here, but the spirit of the antichrist certainly is.
Here’s the question: If you had to identify Satan’s primary means of attack, what would you say it is: Persecution? Martyrdom? Social marginalization? Nuclear bombs? Satan can certainly use any of them.
Yet, as John tells us in Revelation 13:10, when describing the work of our great enemy, he identifies his primary weapon as a small, quiet voice, deep in your subconscious, whispering in your heart, accusing you:
- You’ll never amount to anything.
- You don’t have what it takes.
- You’ve messed up too many times.
- You’ll just fail again, you always do.
- No one likes you.
- You’re ugly.
- You’re a failure.
Some of you know that voice. So how do you overcome that?
By my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I can tell you that you are loved so much that God gave his only Son to save you. You are special: God saved you and chose you for good works; he’s appointed you for a purpose, to prosper you and to make you a blessing. You are not forgotten! Isaiah says even if it were possible for a nursing mother to forget the baby in her arms, God would not forget you. He’s engraved you on the palms of his hands. Literally. His thoughts for you outnumber the sands on the sea. If you made your bed in hell, he’d come to find you.
If you will simply receive his love—and that’s the great news, all you have to do is receive it!—you can rest assured in all your troubles that you are safe in him and that nothing can separate you from his love or his plan or his gracious care over your life. In the midst of all the confusion about the antichrist, that’s a certainty that can transform your life, your year, your today.
Pastor J.D. completed his Ph.D. in Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Chick-fil-A, serves as a Council member for The Gospel Coalition, and recently served as the 62nd president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Pastor J.D. and his wife Veronica are raising four awesome kids.
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