Jesus The Conqueror

British novelist H. G. Wells, author of the science fiction classic The War of the Worlds, was a pacifist. When World War I enflamed the British resolve, he concluded that Germany and its military-industrial complex needed to be defeated and decimated, rendering the war necessary and justified. It was the only way to secure world peace, he argued. In a series of articles that were later collected in a book, Wells wrote, “This is… a war for peace. This, the greatest of all wars, is not just another war—it is the last war!” He titled his book The War That Will End War, providing the slogan for that war: “The war to end all wars.”

Not surprisingly, the First World War did not “end all wars.” Twenty years later, with the invasion of Poland, Adolph Hitler’s Nazi Germany lit the fuse for World War II, resulting in the deaths and wounding of an estimated 85 million people. Since that time, the world has witnessed major conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, and the Middle East—to say nothing of atrocities perpetrated by despots and dictators, between warring political factions in Central America, among tribal leaders in Africa, and terrorists the world over. The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the war that followed, followed by the horrific October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the resulting war with Hamas, are once again reminding the world of the awful cost of combat. 

Yet the world always seems to be surprised when a new conflict flares up somewhere across the globe. No matter how horrifying the last war was or how often we tell ourselves, “Never again,” we somehow forget this simple truth: “Only the dead have seen the end of war.”

However, on this side of heaven, there will be a war that ends all war—for the living and the dead. It is the final conflict known as the Battle of Armageddon. On that day, Jesus will return to earth as Conqueror. But before He returns in glory and power, a pseudo-conqueror will emerge, intending to usurp Jesus Christ the Conqueror.

1. The Emergence of the Pseudo-Conqueror (2 Corinthians 4:4, 1 John 5:19, John 8:44, 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 8, Revelation 6)

We’ve been warned that Satan is “the god of this world”, that “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one”, and that “he [has been] a murderer from the beginning”, which is why the armed conflict continues to this day, and won’t cease until Jesus the Conqueror returns to earth. But, as I said, until that day comes, Satan will continue to ravage the world with wars, culminating in the appearance of his pseudo-conqueror: the Antichrist. There are many things the Bible tells us about this future world leader and his diabolical sidekick, the False Prophet.

•  He Is Against Christ (Daniel 8:24-25, Revelation 13:5-6, Daniel 7:25)

Perhaps the first thing we should understand about the Antichrist is how the prefix anti– is used in the Greek language. The most common usage means “opposite” or “opposed to.” In this case, the Antichrist is “against Christ”—and against Christ’s chosen people, the Jews, and His adopted children, Christians. He is certainly the opposite of Jesus the Messiah (or Christ) in every possible way.

• He Seeks to Imitate or Replace Christ (Revelation 13:4, John 8:44)

But the prefix anti– can also indicate the idea of “in place of.” In this sense, the Antichrist seeks to imitate or replace Jesus Christ, setting himself up as a different messiah worthy of worship. For a time, the Antichrist will appear “Christlike,” speaking of peace, justice, unity, and order, making him a magnetic figure. As a friend has written, “He will possess the eloquence of Abraham Lincoln, the charm of John F. Kennedy, the wit of Winston Churchill, the military genius of Napoleon, the vision of Martin Luther King Jr., and the intelligence of Albert Einstein.” But in the end, he’ll be found out as the son of Satan—a liar and murderer.

• He Is Empowered Directly by Satan (Revelation 13:1-2, Isaiah 17:12-13; Revelation 17:15)

The Antichrist will be an extraordinary figure. So extraordinary, in fact, that no human leader in the history of humanity is comparable to him. None can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him. The Antichrist will be empowered directly by Satan, whom John called “the dragon.”

• He Rules Over a Confederation of Ten Nations (Revelation 13:1, Daniel 7:8, Revelation 13:2, 17:10, 13:3-8, 13:11, 16:13, 13:12-18)

I believe the Antichrist will be European and will rule over a confederation of ten nations, represented by the ten horns and ten crowns John saw on his head. 

One of the curious things about the Antichrist in John’s vision is that he’s depicted with seven heads, representing, from John’s perspective, all the world’s known empires. Five had already passed: Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Medo-Persian, and Greek. One existed during John’s time: Roman. And one is still yet to come: the ten-nation confederation.

This future confederation will become a one-world government under the satanic authority of the Antichrist, who will rule like a fierce animal—with the swiftness and ferocity of a leopard, the power and brutality of a bear, and the terror and majesty of a lion.

And yet, for all his power, it will appear that the Antichrist will mysteriously die (perhaps from an assassination attempt), only to be raised from the dead in a counterfeit resurrection, mimicking the actual resurrection of Christ.

This pseudo-resurrection will persuade the entire unbelieving world to follow and worship him and, in the process, mock God as being too weak to contend with “the dragon” and “the beast.” And then, in the last half of the tribulation, the Antichrist will institute a campaign of blasphemy against God, persecution against God’s people, and deception against those whose names are not recorded in the Lamb’s “book of life” so that they worship him instead of the Lamb.

The Antichrist won’t be alone in this worldwide campaign. Besides Satan, the Antichrist will also have the help of another beast, one “coming up out of the earth” with two horns. This is the false prophet, who will appear as a lamb but speak as a dragon—that is, he will speak for Satan himself. The false prophet will persuade unbelievers to follow and worship the Antichrist, perform miraculous signs to deceive them, and prevent believers who refuse the mark of the beast from engaging in commerce.

• He Defiles the Temple  (Daniel 9:27, Revelation 13:15, Daniel 11:31; 12:11, Matthew 24:15)

In the middle of the tribulation, the Antichrist will break that agreement by entering the newly rebuilt temple in Jerusalem and setting up in the Holy of Holies an image of himself—a humanoid lookalike that speaks blasphemies and orders the murder of those who refuse to worship the Antichrist—thus defiling the temple of God. This is what Daniel and Jesus called the “abomination of desolation.” With the Antichrist already established as the world’s political leader, his act of desecrating the temple will also establish the Antichrist as the world’s religious leader—one to be followed and worshiped as a god. But not even these will satiate his demonic appetite for world domination. He will also present himself as the world’s military conqueror, making war on Christ Himself.

2. The Campaign of Armageddon (Revelation 16:12-16)

Next to the rapture of the church, the most well-known event during the end times is the battle of Armageddon, which will end with the second coming of Christ—the Conqueror. 

Armageddon is more of a campaign—a war strategy—than a single battle. The campaign will involve an extended, escalating conflict, leading to a catastrophic end for the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and their allies. As we’re going to see, this campaign unfolds in eight phases, culminating in the glorious appearance of Jesus the Conqueror.

1. Phase 1: The Armies of the Antichrist Assemble (Revelation 16:14, 16, Isaiah 11:15, Revelation 16:12)
2. Phase 2: Babylon Is Destroyed (Revelation 17-18, Daniel 11:40, Jeremiah 50:9, 41-42)
3. Phase 3: Jerusalem Is Attacked and Falls (Daniel 11:40-41, Zechariah 12:1-3; 14:2)
4. Phase 4: The Antichrist Marches South (Matthew 24:15-31, Revelation 12:6, 14, Daniel 11:41-44, Matthew 24:16)
5. Phase 5: The Antichrist Reestablishes His Capital in Jerusalem (Daniel 11:44-45, Jeremiah 43:51, 31-32)
6. Phase 6: Israel Calls on the Messiah—the Conqueror (Romans 11:25, Hosea 6:1-3, Daniel 12:1)
7. Phase 7: The Conqueror Returns in Glory and Defeats the Antichrist  (Matthew 24:29-31, Revelation 19:11-16, 2 Thessalonians 2:8, Revelation 19:21, Habakkuk 3:13, Zechariah 14:12-15, Habakkuk 3:17-18, 21, Revelation 14:20, Jude 14-15)
8. Phase 8: The Conqueror Divides the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:3-4, Revelation 16:17-20, Ezekiel 20:33-38, Matthew 25:31-46, Revelation 20:11-15)

3. The Conqueror’s Promise (Psalm 91:1-8, 14-16)

It’s easy to fall for the falsehood that the future hinges on the decisions we make today, whether as nations or individuals. Such a perception is deceptive and dangerous because it removes God from the equation. When we do that, we tend to think Satan is winning the battle between good and evil. And if we think that, we lose hope. But Satan isn’t winning the battle. In fact, Satan, the Antichrist, the false prophet, and all their minions have already lost the war to end all wars—even before it’s fought. 

It’s true that the days in which we live, these last days, are filled with evil. We feel the oppression of evil in every part of our lives. We know that Christ has already destroyed the power of death over us, but we still long for that day when we are once and for all delivered from the pain of sin around us and within us. Don’t lose heart. Jesus the Conqueror is on the way.