The answer is yes. However, the Bible does not use this exact term in reference to this prophetic end-time event but gives us evidence that allows us to draw conclusions about what will happen during the reign of the Antichrist.
In the apocalyptic vision, the apostle John saw a beast rising from the sea with seven heads and ten horns (Rev 13:1-18), comparable to a similar vision in Daniel 2:31-35; Daniel 7:1-24 and Daniel 8:19-27. It is evident that the seven heads of the beast are the forms of the world governance systems inaugurated by Satan as explained in Daniel 8:24 and Revelation 13:2. According to the explanations that the Angel gave to apostle John in Revelation 17:9-14: “Five of them have fallen, one is living, and the other has not yet come.”
At the time of John, the power in place was the Roman Empire, preceded by the Greek Empire, the Medo-Persian Empire, the Babylonian Empire, the Assyrian Empire and the Egyptian Empire. These are the six heads. The seventh head was to be the Roman Empire’s replacement at the head of the whole world, certainly the United Nations. The latter is to reign as a confederacy of ten nations, the ten horns representing ten kings who had not yet received kingdom when John received the vision ( they were to reign with the coming head). This is also seen in the statue of Daniel 2:41-42, where the final world government consists of ten entities represented by the ten toes of the statue.
It is plurally important to note that this final world government is an extension of the Roman Empire. In the Nebuchadnezzar’s statue (Danuel 240-44), we see the Roman Empire represented by legs of iron but at its extremity the power of two feet and ten toes (United Nations) is a mixture of iron and clay. The leadership of the UN can, therefore, be said to consist of the second phase of the Roman Empire. Will there be another phase? Yes, we see in Daniel 7:8 that the ten toes or the ten horns (in the language of John) will give birth to another little horn (Antichrist). The official rule of the Antichrist is, therefore, considered another development of the Roman Empire. But what are the ten nations? In this case, wisdom is needed.
Whatever the ten nations are and however they come to unite, the scriptures make it clear that another small but powerful horn (whom we identify as the Antichrist) will arise to subdue three of the first ten horns (Daniel 7:8), and the rest will obey at his commands. According to Rev. 13:3-4 and Rev 13:7, the Antichrist, with his great authority given to him by Satan (Rev. 13:2), will try to obtain the worship of "everyone" and exercise his authority over every kindred, people, tongue, and nation. This person will truly be the head of a one world government recognized as sovereign over all other governments. Today we see nations willing to give up some of their sovereignty to fight climate change; it is also easy to imagine that the current disasters, diseases and political conflicts would create such a monumental crisis that the nations of the world would accept anything and anyone who promises a solution.
What should we expect? The beast with ten horns on its seventh head is currently enthroned, with a mandate of one hour as we see in Revelation 17:12. The current world governance system should be understood as transitional leadership, preparing the way for the Antichrist who will only rule for one prophetic week, i.e., seven calendar years corresponding to the last week of the seventy weeks prophesied in Daniel 9 :24-27. Faithful Christians should however note that the Antichrist will be entrenched in power after the rapture of the church and therefore be prepared accordingly. There will be no human kingdom thereafter but the Reign of Christ which will last forever. To Christ Jesus alone be the glory forever and ever, Amen.
Related Articles
- Who is the Antichrist: the second person in Satan's unholy trinity of the end times?
- Who is the False Prophet: The Third Person in Satan's Unholy Trinity of the End Times?
- The 1260, 1290, and 1335 days of Daniel and the timeline of end-time events
Further Resources
- Discover online ministry opportunities at Open Christian Ministries
- Online Christian degree from Open Christian University (USA)
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