4. The Beast or the Antichrist

World Scripture

Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship.
The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with all power and with pretended signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false, so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
2 Thessalonians 2.3-12

And when the Word is fulfilled against the unjust, We shall produce from the earth a Beast to face them: he will speak to them, because that mankind did not believe with assurance in Our signs.
Qur’an 27.82

The Dajjal will come forth having with him water and fire, and what mankind see as water will be fire which burns and what they see as fire will be cold, sweet water. Any of you who live till that time must fall into what they see as fire, for it is sweet, fresh water.
Hadith of Bukhari and Muslim (Islam)

And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems upon its horns and a blasphemous name upon its heads. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and great authority. One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth followed the beast with wonder. Men worshipped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”
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. Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and tongue and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it, every one whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain.
Also it caused all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let him who has understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty-six.⁶
Revelation 13.1-18

Children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come; therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out, that it might be plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all know. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and know that no lie is of the truth. 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.
1 John 2.18-22

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

The world wars have resulted from Satan’s last desperate struggle to preserve his sovereignty. Since the fall of the first human ancestors, Satan has been building defective, unprincipled imitations of God’s ideal world.

Aiming to restore the ideal world of His Principle, God has been in pursuit, gradually expanding His dominion by reclaiming it from the unprincipled world under Satan’s bondage.

Accordingly, in the course of the providence of restoration, a false representation of the ideal appears before the emergence of its true manifestation. The biblical prophecy that the antichrist will appear before the return of Christ is an illustration of this truth.
(Exposition of the Divine Principle, Preparation 4.1)

Satan knew God’s plan to unify the world through the one truth and presented a false imitation of the truth in order to unify humanity centering on him. This false truth is dialectical materialism. Dialectical materialism denies the existence of any spiritual reality, setting up an explanation of the universe based on a wholly materialistic logic. In denying the existence of God, it also denies the existence of Satan. Thus, in promoting dialectical materialism, Satan was effectively denying his own reality, even risking his own demise. Satan understood what would unfold at the close of human history and knew well that he would surely perish. Accepting that this was not the time to be worshipped, he rose in a monstrous denial of God, even at the sacrifice of himself. This is the spiritual root of dialectical materialism. As long as the democratic world lacks the truth which can overturn this evil doctrine, it will always be vulnerable and on the defensive. For this reason, someone on God’s side must proclaim the perfect truth.
(Exposition of Divine Principle, Preparation 4.4.1)

Who would have known that the disciples would stand in the position of the antichrist before Jesus? Who would have known that the chosen Israelite people and Judaism would become the antichrist? We must be concerned about this in the Last Days, too. You must reflect on yourself whether you stand in the position of the antichrist. Now is not the time to reproach others or interfere with the affairs of others. The problem lies with you, yourselves. Other denominations that oppose us are not the problem. You must worry about the fact that you might become a satan in the Last Days.⁷ Throughout the course of history, those people who blamed others for their problems have all lost themselves.
(2:277, June 16, 1957)

Father! The Day of Judgment now approaches for this city of death.
Faced with such a period,
struggling in this world of fear,
wandering about without knowing which way to go,
humankind has lost its center.
People do not know what troubles they will face;
they cannot find a place to rest.
Please have compassion for all humankind,
and guide them to return to Thine embrace.
(5:60, December 21, 1958)