Satan’s Biggest End Time Deception

Satan will use all sorts of lying signs and wonders to deceive the world during the end times. False prophets and false Christs will deceive many people, but this is not the biggest end time deception that Satan has up his sleeve. I believe Revelation 17:8 reveals what will be Satan’s biggest end time deception which I will describe in this article.

Revelation 17:8 Overview

Revelation 17:8 says the beast (the man who will be the Antichrist) “was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit”.

“The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.” (Revelation 17:8)

In the vision (which is being viewed from the perspective of those living in the future), the beast once lived (was). However, there is a paradox in phrasing because:

  • The beast also “is not”, which indicates that the beast presently does not live.
  • And the beast “yet is”, which indicates that the beast presently does live.

This description is in stark contrast to how Revelation 4:8 describes God who lives forever: (“was, and is, and is to come”):

“And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” (Revelation 4:8)

The beast ascends from the bottomless pit, a place described by the Bible where wicked souls go; his soul leaves the bottomless pit. At first glance, we could compare this event to the resurrection that the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ executed:

“He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.” (Acts 2:31)

The False Resurrection

To compare the resurrection of Christ to the accession of the beast, we need to look at the key verses of Revelation 1:17-18 where He said:

(17) And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: (18) I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

The beast and Christ will have both have faced temporary death because one already rose from it and another is foretold to rise from it. However the beast’s condition when he returns to earth will differ greatly from when Jesus returned.

  • Jesus was (after He rose) the “Living One” and will live forever while the beast “is not” and “yet is”.

The paradox of living for the beast suggests that what the beast will perform is not a real resurrection. Though the beast appears on the earth after rising from the bottomless pit, he cannot do what Jesus did.

A consequence of this false rise is that the beast can only be on Earth for a short time after his return.

  • The beast “is”, but not always will be; the beast “will go to his destruction”.
  • In contrast, Christ taught that those who are truly resurrected will not die again:

“(35) But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: (36) Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.” (Luke 20:35-36)

From this, we can conclude that Satan’s biggest end time deception is that Antichrist will appear as if he’s been raised from the dead. He will not truly be resurrected, but it will look like he is.

Final Thoughts

I am not 100% sure how Satan will stage this end time deception as this is his biggest one. Satan would likely want to keep information regarding this deception a secret because so much is at stake.

Unfortunately for Satan, Revelation 17:8 warns us that Satan will use a false resurrection to deceive many alive at that time. As a result, some people on the earth at that time will not fall for his deception.

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Wayne Croley
Wayne Croley

Hi! I’ve studied and written about Bible prophecy since I was a teenager. My goal is to make Bible prophecy easy for you to understand while avoiding the sensationalism seen elsewhere. I am the author of several end time books, including Prophecy Proof Insights on the End Times, a comprehensive book about the end times. I hold an M.B.A. and degrees in Managerial Economics and Political Science.

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  1. Yeah, great article. I would love to see a follow up pertaining to the Islamic view of end times if you ever get a chance. Or maybe you’ve done something like that and I just haven’t seen it? I also wonder if Judas has some significance in all of this somehow. I get this from the similarities between John 17:12, 2 Thess 2:3, and Rev 17:11, btw.

  2. If the following views are the most popular in all end time prophecy forums, websites, theological seminaries, then it is highly probable that these are one of the deception of satan:
    1. Seven year Tribulation (two 3-1/2 Great Tribulation)
    2. Pre-tribulation Rapture
    3. Peace Treaty between Palestine and Israel
    4. Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls Judgement are in chronological order

    With technology and media he can orchestrate all the above to make it happen using a dummy antichrist (mahdi) and be defeated to make it appear that the real antichrist will be the awaited messiah of the jews and christians.

    • I’m not saying this is the right approach, but I almost feel like it’s dangerous to focus too much on the rapture. I would never be comfortable with the idea of a pre-trib rapture, even if I did believe Scripture explicitly stated it, which I most assuredly do not. There’s just too much in the Bible about the importance of suffering, in my opinion, to ever hitch my wagon to the idea that God’s gonna swoop down and rescue believers before the going gets tough. The whole idea just smells like a trap to me.

  3. The 70 Weeks of Daniel are directly relevant to the Jewish people and Jerusalem.

    Dan 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

    To say that the covenant in Daniel 9:27 does not relate to Israel, Jerusalem, etc is to ignore the context of the 70 Week Prophecy. In addition, the covenant is directly spoken about in Isaiah 28:15-19. The “covenant with death” will give Israeli leaders a false sense of security, but when it’s broken the leaders will terrified of what is going to happen next.

    Isa 28:15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
    Isa 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
    Isa 28:17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
    Isa 28:18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
    Isa 28:19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

    I agree that Ezekiel 37 applies to the Millennial Kingdom. However, I do not believe that Ezekiel 40+ applies to the New Jerusalem after 1000 years because the name of the city is called “The Lord is there” (YHWH shammah) in the final parts of Ezekiel (not “New Jerusalem”).

    Eze 48:35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.

    I feel that Ezekiel 40+ refers to the city of the saints in Millennial Kingdom (mentioned in Revelation 20:9).

    Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

  4. The Gog war is at the end of the Millenium, when the Saints, the Lords bride (resurerction in Ez.37), are living in absoutely peace and safety and without borders under King David in the whole holy land:

    Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
    Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
    Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

    Eze 37:11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
    Eze 37:12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
    Eze 37:23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
    Eze 37:24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them

    If this prophecy (and Ez.38) would be about the Jewish State there would be happening a LOT in the near future… resurrections, David rules, they would conquer the whole Holy Land, they would be sinless.. impossible!
    The first resurrection is at the second coming of Christ, and everything else also.

    Ez.40+, then, talks about the New Jerusalem after the 1000 years.

  5. “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:. . .” (Daniel 9: 27, KJV)

    It doenst say, Israel nor peace treaty.

    According to the Blue Letter Bible concordance, “confirm” here means “to make strong, strengthen.” Notice, it does NOT mean “begin.”

    While “covenant” here can mean “treaty,” it can also mean “pledge” or “alliance.”

  6. Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
    Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
    Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

  7. May I add, that Ezekiel 38 deals with the Saints being attacked at the End of the Millenium, when they are “at peace, rest, sadftey and without borders”(!).. this isnt about the Jewish republic. please consider this brother and pray about it.. thanks. God bless

  8. Very nice article. I haven’t seen this end-time deception put together quite like this…thank you