Today John is going to reveal more to us about the Antichrist. What John is going to tell us is that the Antichrist will run a smear campaign against God. That is what I aim to show you this in verses 5 and 6, which say: “And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven.”
We begin seeing that the Antichrist is “given” something.
John writes, “And the beast was given…” Given is the past participle for the word ‘give’ which means to present voluntarily; to bestow; to place in someone’s care; to provide to; to entrust to. So the first thing John wants us to know is that the Antichrist after he rises to power, after he fakes his death and resurrection, after the world has been deceived to follow and worship him, the Antichrist will be entrusted with something. What is that something? What is that the Antichrist is given that God reveals to John to reveal to us?
The Antichrist is entrusted with a “mouth”.
John writes, “And the beast was given a mouth…” What is a mouth? It’s an opening or cavity. So, the Antichrist is given an opening, a cavity, for which he might eat through and speak through, and whatever else a mouth might be used for. Now, does that mean the Antichrist did not have a mouth before? No. He has always had a mouth. So why does John record that the Antichrist “was given a mouth” if he already had one?
It’s because John wants us to know after the Antichrist fakes his death and resurrection to deceitfully convince the world to follow and worship him, the Antichrist will use his mouth for a particular purpose. John wants us to know the mouth the Antichrist is given to do something. It’s given to accomplish something. It’s given for a specific cause. But what is that something? How will the Antichrist use the mouth given him?
The Antichrist will use the mouth given him in a very egotistical way.
John writes, “And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty…words…” What does haughty mean? It means disdainfully proud; scornfully arrogant; snobbish. And here John uses the word “haughty” as an adjective, he is describing the kind of words that will be coming from the mouth of the Antichrist.
So John is telling us that after the Antichrist fakes his death and resurrection, and all the world is following him and worshiping him, he will use his mouth to speak words that are arrogant. He will speak with words that are contemptuous. He will speak with words that are indifferent. He will speak words that are snobbish. They will be words that are not humble or meek but proud and disdainful. They will be words that are meant to tear down rather than build up.
But haughty words will not be the only words the Antichrist shall speak, he will also speak words of blasphemy.
John writes, “And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words…” Notice in the text that John is using the word “blasphemous” to describe what kind of words that Antichrist will be using. What John is telling us is the Antichrist will use words that are heretical. Words that are disrespectful. Words that are insulting. Words that are profane. Words that are impious. Words that are sacrilegious. In other words, these are words that are not godly, not pious, nor are they reverent.
Not only will the Antichrist be given a haughty and blasphemous mouth, but he is also given power to do as he pleases for the remainder of the Tribulation.
John writes, “And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months.” So according to John, after the Antichrist, by the activity of Satan, fakes his death and resurrection, and has the world following and worshiping him, he will then be given a mouth that allows him to speak haughty and blasphemous words. In addition, the Antichrist is given the authority and the permission to do whatever he wants for 42 months, which is all that remains in the Tribulation period. For 42 months the Antichrist will be allowed to do anything he wishes and be permitted to speak arrogant and blasphemous words. But who will the Antichrist speak against? Who will aim his haughty words to? Who will he blaspheme?
For the remainder of the tribulation the Antichrist will blaspheme God.
John writes in verse 6, “It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God.” So for the last half of the Tribulation the Antichrist will use the mouth and authority given him to speak terrible words about God. To disrespect God. To insult God. To profane the name of God. To curse the name of God. How will he do that?
First, the Antichrist will slander the name of God.
John writes, “It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name…” Blaspheming the name of God is to revile and talk dirty about God. It is to speak with contempt about God. It is to be defiantly irreverent against God. It is to speak with contempt against the character of God and the works of God. The Antichrist will belittle God, he will try to defame God, he will try to malign the name of God, and try to smear the name of God. The Antichrist will spend the remaining 42 months bad-mouthing the name of God, blackening the name of God, and running a smear campaign against God in order to tarnish and vilify and tear down the name and character of God.
How will the Antichrist do this? How will the Antichrist slander the name of God? He will call what is good evil and call what is evil good; meaning, what God has ordained as unholy, the Antichrist will say is holy. What God has ordained as immoral, the Antichrist will ordain as moral. What God has ordained as unrighteous and sinful, the Antichrist will ordain as righteous. He will try to do and say what only God can do and say; meaning, he will attempt to do the works that are only capable by an all-powerful God; he will attempt to create something from nothing, as only God can do; he will try to speak things into existence, as only God can do.
And although it will appear he has created something out of nothing as only God can, the works he does will be counterfeit; meant to deceive people into believing that he, the Antichrist, is God. Anyone who tries to rob God of his glory, anyone who calls good what God calls evil, anyone who attempts to do what only God can do, while claiming to be God, has committed blasphemy.
Secondly, the Antichrist will slander the people of God.
John writes, “It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven.” The “dwelling” that John refers to is the temple of God and in the New Testament the temple of God is not a building but a people; a living, breathing group of people. What John wants us to know is that for the last half of the tribulation the Antichrist, after he rises to power, after he fakes his death and resurrection, and after he convinces the world to follow him and worship him, will not only slander the name of God, but will also slander the people of God; and not only those who will come to believe in Jesus after the rapture, but also those who are already in heaven.
But who will give the Antichrist the mouth and authority to do this? John says the Antichrist is “given” this “mouth” and is “allowed” to exercise this “authority”, and I want to know who has given the Antichrist the authority and mouth to run the blasphemous smear campaign against God?
My answer is Satan.
While I firmly believe that God is sovereign and that ultimately Satan can do nothing without God allowing him too, we must remember that when the Antichrist rises, according to Paul in 2 Thessalonians, he will do so by the activity of Satan. Also, John tells us plainly in Revelation 13:2 that “the dragon (who is Satan) gave his power and his throne and great authority.” Then in Revelation 13:4 we read that the same people who marveled over the counterfeit signs and wonders of the Antichrist, “worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast”. You need to understand that Satan is powerful and that does not need to be underestimated; our enemy – the devil – is a worthy foe, and he will be through the entire tribulation period.
The Bible tells us in 1 John 5:19 that “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” His main power is the power to deceive. Ever since Satan’s fall, he has been attempting to slander the name of God. Attempting to smear the name of God. Attempting to defame the character of God. We see that in Genesis 3 when Satan tempted Eve, telling her that the only reason God did not want her and Adam to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil is because God did not want them to be like Himself. And he has been pulling these tricks in the history of the world and will continue even-so after the rapture through the Antichrist.
That is what I want you all to understand: Satan is not waiting till after the rapture to do his blasphemous work. The spirit of the Antichrist is in the world now and has already begun this smear campaign against God and the people of God.
Look around you at the world you are living in. We are living in a time where our society honors evil more than it honors God. Today we have whole tv shows dedicated to Lucifer and evil; America loves to be entertained by horror films. We are in a time in our nation where what God has called evil in His word, our society now calls good. A time in our nation where what God calls immoral, our society calls moral. A time in our nation where our society celebrates what God says is sin. A time when there is moral confusion, gender confusion, and sexual confusion.
But don’t just look at the world, look at the church. I truly believe the spirit of the Antichrist is at work in our churches today, mainly through the work of false teachers. If we look at the landscape of the church today, we see that our churches honor what God has called evil. Our churches are calling moral what God calls immoral. Our churches call good what God calls evil. Our churches are celebrating what God calls sin.
We live in a time where churches are denying sound doctrine. A time where churches are accepting a very progressive and liberal gospel, which is no gospel at all. A time where preachers are preaching there is more than one way to have a relationship with God. A time where churches are inviting drag queens to bring messages of God’s acceptance. A time where churches are supporting whole movements that goes against everything God said in His word. A time where the church of Jesus Christ, which is to be a beacon of truth, is seen as bigotted, intolerant, extremist, fanatic, narrow-minded, and more for the truth it upholds.
And who do you think is responsible for this? Can we blame men? Yes. But dig deeper. Who are men being swayed by? Men are being influenced by the spirit of the Antichrist. He is present in the world and he is present in our churches, and has already begun his campaign of slander and blasphemy against God, and even the church of God. And we, the church, need to wake up and see that, because as we draw closer to the event of the rapture, I believe Satan, through the spirit of the Antichrist will ramp up his blasphemy campaign against God and the people of God. So what can we do now? What can we do before the rapture as the spirit of the Antichrist ramps up his blasphemy campaign against God and the church?
Be alert.
The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:3 that “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.” Now what Paul is saying is that no one can genuinely confess that Jesus is Lord and mean it except by the Spirit. But that is the very thing the spirit of the Antichrist wants to prevent you from doing. The Bible tells us in 1 John 2:23, “Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.” And the spirit of the Antichrist will do everything he can in this world to get us to deny that Jesus is Lord. Remember the Holy Spirit’s role in the world is to point us to Jesus, while the spirit of the Antichrist is in the world to compel us away from Jesus.
Know that God has everything under control.
There is a song that Matt Maher sings, it’s called: Lord, I need you. The opening line goes like this: “Lord I come, I confess, bowing here, I find my rest. Without you, I fall apart. You’re the one that guides my heart.” Knowing that God has everything under His control should be the one thing that gives your heart peace and rest in this fallen world.
Recently I read the book of Habakkuk. In the first chapter of the book Habakkuk, the prophet, looked around and saw that the society around him was full of sin, destruction, violence, wrongdoing, and injustice. He even felt like what I am sure we feel like sometimes: that the unrighteous always have their way while the righteous are left defeated. But God told Habakkuk in verse 5, “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would believe if told.”
That’s what I want you to know today. God is not sitting idly by and just watching everything take place. Look around at the world and instead of looking at the word feeling discouraged, look at all that is happening in wonder and amazement. You ask, why should I do that? My answer is because even though the spirit of the Antichrist is at work in the world today and will be even more so after the rapture, he is not in control – God is. And God is working everything out according to His divine will, and His divine purpose, and for the good of those who love Him. Therefore, you have nothing to worry about. Events are unfolding as they need according to the will of God.
Stay ready for the rapture.
In Luke 12:35 Jesus said, “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning.” Stay dressed for what? Ready for what? Ready for the return of Jesus. Jesus said in Luke 12:40, “You also must be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” There is a doctrine called the doctrine of immanence. It teaches that the rapture of the church could happen at any moment. Let me ask you a question: Do you live your life everyday making ready for the rapture? Do you live your life everyday with the thought in your mind that today could be the day Jesus rapture’s his church? If you don’t, you should; because as events worsen in our world it only indicates one thing: the rapture is close at hand and it could happen at any moment.
Lastly, know Jesus if you do not already.
I want you to know that when Jesus raptures his church and you don’t know him, you will be left behind, and the world you know now will be drastically different. It will be chaotic. You will see the hand of God in a way you have never imagined. And there will be an evil prevailing in this world like you’ve never seen before. I don’t want that to happen to you.
Again, in the song by Matt Maher there is a verse that says: “Where sins run deep, your grace is more. Where grace is found, is where You are. And where You are, Lord, I am free. Holiness is Christ in me.” I want you to know that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). I want you to know that “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:18).
I want you to know that you are a sinner in need of a Savior. The Bible says that “all…are under sin” (Romans 3:9). I want you to know that we all have fallen short of the glory of God, because of our sin (Romans 3:23). I want you to know that your good deeds cannot save you and that only faith alone in Christ alone can do that (Romans 3:28). I want you to know that was the ultimate purpose of God sending his Son: Jesus came to save sinners. So, if you don’t know Jesus genuinely, sincerely, and personally, I implore you to repent and put your faith in Jesus Christ.
The Bible tells us that if we believe in Jesus, we will be saved (Acts 16:31). You may ask, what am I supposed to believe about Jesus? The Bible tells us that if we are willing to confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe that Jesus is the Son of God, who was crucified, and died, and was raised to life for the forgiveness of our sins, we shall be saved (Rom. 10:9; 1 Cor. 15:1-4); and that’s a promise