Revelation 13:5; Speaking Great Things and Blasphemies (2)
Revelation 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
Like his master, Satan, Antichrist will be an arrogant blasphemer. Blasphemy will not be incidental but central to his operations. The phrase there was given to him refers to God’s sovereign control of events (6:4, 8; 7:2; 9:5; cf. Dan. 4:17, 25, 32).
Revelation 6:4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
Revelation 6:8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
Revelation 7:2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
Revelation 9:5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment wasas the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
Daniel 4:17 This matter isby the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.
Daniel 4:25 That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
Daniel 4:32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall bewith the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
God will allow Antichrist to blaspheme to give full expression to the satanic wickedness that will cover the earth at that time. He will exhibit a total disregard for the true God by continually speaking arrogant words and blasphemies. Antichrist’s blasphemy will not be subtle, but open, outrageous, and monstrous—even to the point that he “takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God” (2 Thess. 2:4). This is reminiscent of Satan’s original desire when he fell from heaven and holiness. He said in his heart, “I will make myself like the Most High” (Isa. 14:14).
Daniel predicted that Antichrist will be characterized by proud, arrogant, blasphemous words. Daniel 7:8 says that he will have “a mouth uttering great boasts” (cf. v. 20), while verse 11 mentions “the sound of the boastful words which the horn was speaking.” Daniel further notes that Antichrist “will speak out against the Most High … and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods” (7:25; 11:36).
Antichrist’s arrogance will surpass that of anyone else in human history. He will be Satan’s mouthpiece, voicing his master’s frustrated rage against God. He will also be the supreme blasphemer in a world filled with blasphemers. So hardened will sinners’ hearts be at that time that God’s judgments will elicit not repentance, but more blasphemy. In 16:9, John records a vision in which “men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.”
Antichrist’s blasphemies against God will include blasphemy of His name and His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. God’s name represents all that He is; it is the summation of His attributes. So comprehensively evil will Antichrist’s blasphemy be that it will even include God’s tabernacle (heaven; cf. Heb. 9:23–24), and all those who dwell in heaven with Him.
Hebrews 9:23-24 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
Thus, Antichrist will utter blasphemous words aimed directly and specifically at God’s Person, His abode, and His people, both the redeemed saints and the holy angels.
But neither Antichrist’s blasphemies nor his reign of terror will last indefinitely. God will grant Antichrist authority to act for only forty-two months (the last three and a half years or 1,260 days of the Tribulation, the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy; Dan. 9:24). Antichrist and Satan will be allowed to operate only within the time limit set for them by the true Ruler of the universe. But for a few years, they will dominate the world.
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2000). Revelation 12–22 (pp. 47–48). Chicago: Moody Press.