A parallel relationship seems to exist here whereby the Beast is to Satan, what the Lamb is to God the Father: a son. As will also be seen, the False prophet has a somewhat different, but extremely powerful relationship to the Beast and Satan. Though filling the role of the third person of this Satanic Trinity, he will act in a capacity comparable, in some respects, to that of John the Baptist in the ministry of Jesus; though in a very negative sense.
The Beast represents the second person of the Satanic Trinity and is heir apparent to the Throne of Darkness. In the Holy Trinity we find: the "Father of Lights" (Jas. 1:17); the "Son of Man" (Matt. 13:37), and the "Spirit of truth" (John 16:13). In the opposing camp we find, the father of lies (John 8:44); the "son of perdition" (II Thess. 2:3), and the spirit of deception ( Rev.13:11-14).
A prevalent misconception among those who study Biblical Prophecy is that the antichrist will be Satan incarnate (a man who is possessed by the Devil). Scripture however, makes it very clear that Satan, the Antichrist and the False Prophet are three seperate entities, working in concert to seize full control of the earth and thwart God's eternal plan.
Angels, such as Satan, are a type of embodied spirit, and therefore cannot possess the bodies of people. Demonic spirits however, which exist on a different level, do have this capacity. The Book of Revelation will have us to understand that it's the plan of the Satanic Trinity which will end in dismal failure. God will ultimately triumph over all adversaries and His Son, not Satan's, will be glorified.
The starting point for identifying the source from which the Beast and False Prophet arise from goes all the way back to Gen. 3:15:
"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed: and He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."
These words were spoken by God Himself, after the fall of Adam and Eve. Many believe that the "seed" of the serpent (plural), in this passage, represents the wicked of all ages; and the Seed of the woman (singular) represents the Messiah who will triumph over them.
While this is true from one perspective, many passages in Scripture also lead us to understand that there may be a more appropriate interpretation of this verse. The Messiah (the chosen Seed (singular) of the woman) will fight against, and prevail over, the Antichrist and False Prophet (the chosen seed (plural) of the serpent). The Book of Revelation confirms this conflict and its outcome, as well.
Following the latter understanding, brings us to Rev. 13 where we find the seed of the serpent (Antichrist and False Prophet) working together to wage war against the remnant of the woman seed (Abraham's descendants), which were mentioned in 12:17.
What we are witness to here is: Satan (the demonic father) waging war against the children of God: and God (the righteous Father) waging war against the children of Satan. Ultimately however, the two sons of Satan will square off in a "winner take all" contest, against the Son of God which will result in the former suffering a resounding defeat.
With this scenario understood, we can now look into gaining some insights into how the serpent may possibly have come to have these "seed". While the following is only speculation, it is interesting to consider as a possibility.
We may start by saying that, if the Seed of the woman is a certain man (Jesus); then it follows that the seed of the serpent must be certain creatures (the two beasts of Chap. 13).
In Scripture, The term "serpent" is usually applied to Satan in a symbolic sense; except in the Garden of Eden where he manifested himself in this form, and it was applied in the literal sense. Curses were pronounced upon the serpents of the earth by God because of this occurance. The term "beast", as used in the Book of Revelation, is also applied symbolically to the Antichrist, the False Prophet and their kingdom, although there is some evidence which suggests that this too may be used in a quite literal sense.
Jesus is the only-begotten Son of God the Father. Is it not possible that the Antichrist and False Prophet are also begotten sons of Satan?
John the Baptist was the forerunner (prophet) who announced the coming of the Lamb of God (John 1:6-8, 29). In the natural sense, he was the cousin of Jesus, through Elizabeth, the cousin of Mary. Bear in mind how the satanic trinity attempts to copy or emulate the Holy Trinity. There may be a correlation here, in that the False Prophet appears to represent a role comparable to that of John the Baptist. So it doesn't seem unrealistic to consider that there may also be a similiar family connection between the Antichrist and the False Prophet.
With that thought in mind, who would be a better candidate to fulfill the role of Antichrist, than the angel of the Abyss (Rev. 9:11) whose name in Hebrew is, Abaddon, meaning, destruction; and in Greek, Apollyon, the destroyer? Can angelic beings be begotten? Read on!
It is evident from Scripture that Satan regards himself, not as the counterpart of Jesus, but of God the Father (Isa. 14:14). He sits atop the satanic triangle, with the Beast and False Prophet occupying the lower two points.
In Luke 4:5-8, he elevated himself by offering Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, if he would bow down and worship him. Satan wasn't hoping that Jesus would defect and become his son; but that he could bring Him into captivity, and use His immense power to further the agenda of the Satanic Trinity, in its war against God the Father. It is a certainty that the father of lies would not have felt duty bound to keep his promise to Jesus had such an event occurred.
It does appears that in the Kingdom of Darkness, it is the Beast, rather than Satan, who is regarded as the counterpart to the Son of God (the woman's Seed). This is in perfect agreement with the scenario layed out in the Book of Revelation. How then is it possible that the Beast and False Prophet could be the literal begotten sons of Satan?
When God created the animals of the earth (the serpent included). He said,
"Let the earth bring forth the living creatures after his own kind, and the cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind... (Gen.1:24).
We also read Scripture which indicates that after Satan gained dominion in the earth through the fall of Adam; the fallen angels were able to manifest themselves in physical form, and evidently use the same Scriptural authority to produce offspring after their kind, through marriage to the daughters of men. This is attested to in the Books of Genesis and Job:
(Gen. 6:1-4)
"And it came to pass that when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them. That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.....there were giants in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown."
(Job 1:6)
"Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them."
It has been long understood, in the Jewish faith, that these "sons of God" are fallen angels. In fact, the Hebrew word for "giant" in the above verse, is pronounced "nef-eel' ", which means a "bully or tyrant"; and comes from the root word, "naw-fal' ", which can among other things mean, "fallen or cast down". They are commonly referred to by those who study it as, Nephalim, the "fallen ones" or fallen angels. In these verses we see that they were the fathers of hybrid offspring, born of the daughters of men. As it was stated above. "...they took them wives of all which they chose..."
In the Book of Job, when these same sons of God presented themselves before the Lord, Satan was among them. The same serpent which deceived Eve, was found among the progenitors of the illegitimate offspring produced with the daughters of men. As fantastic or unbelievable as it may sound, the possibility of Satan fathering such offspring, during the pre-flood days, becomes a real consideration.
Thus it can be seen how that Satan thru the daughters of men, could produced after his own kind (two beastly beings): Apollyon (the son of perdition); and the one known as the False Prophet. The probable first born, Apollyon (Abaddon), would therefore be heir apparent to the throne of Satan; as indicated in Rev. 13:2. As such, he would also be the chief prince of all the offspring of these Sons of God, which were confined to the bottomless pit with the flood of Noah's day. At the appointed time however, Apollyon, the fallen star and king of the bottomless pit, will lead them out of the abyss, and upon the earth again (Rev. 9:3,11).
While the Book of Daniel does not identify Apollyon specifically by name, it does identify him by his most prominent characteristic: destruction, which, of course is the literal meaning of the word, Abaddon. The verses following (with embedded Old and New Testament references), pointedly summarize his reign:
(Dan. 8:23-25, NIV)
"a stern faced king (see Rev.9:11), a master of intrigue, will arise (see Rev.11:7; 13:1) . He will become very strong but not by his own power (see Rev.13:2). He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men and the holy people (see Rev.13:7). He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior (see II Thess.2:4). When they feel secure (Dan. 9:27 ; Ez. 38:11), he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes (see Gen 3:15; Rev.19:19). Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power." (Dan 7:11; Rev. 19:20).
Destruction is the theme of the above verses. He, who destroys much shall be destroyed by Jesus Christ at His revelation from heaven (II Thes.2:8 ; Rev.19:20). Then will the Seed of the woman will finally triumph over the seed of the serpent (Gen.3:15; Rev. 20:10). He, and the False Prophet, cannot be destroyed by human power because of their dual natures (angelic and human).
We are told that the lake of fire (Gehenna) was prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41); and the first individuals to be cast into it are Satan's top two lieutenants: his sons, the Beast and the False Prophet (Rev.19:20).
The very names, Abaddon and Apollyon, point to his satanic mission: to destroy the Kingdom of God and of his Christ and to enslave the inhabitants of the earth: contrary to the mission of Jesus Christ who is coming to destroy the Kingdom of Darkness and set free the inhabitants of the earth.
We can also see a pattern of similarity between the Holy Spirit and the False Prophet, in that they both testify not of themselves (John 14:26 ; Rev.13:14), but of the respective sons: the Son of God; and the son of perdition (Satan's son).
Invariably, the point will be raised that neither the name Abaddon, nor the name Apollyon, have the numeric value of 666. This is true. However, this is not necessarily a disqualifying point if we come back to the point that the members of the satanic trinity seek to copy the members of the Holy Trinity.
The name he will have containing that numeric value will not be made known until his revelation, at the mid-point of the tribulation period. Try though they may, no one will be able to discover what that name is until it is revealed by the Antichrist at that time. That name may be so amazing unique that its numerical value will equal 666 no matter what alphabet in the world is used to calculate it.
When he is given the throne of his father (Rev.13:2), then he will reveal a new name for himself which shall have the numeric equivalent of 666. An analogy may be applied here, whereby he will possibly assume this new name in the same fashion that Popes assume a new name for themselves, when they become the head of the Roman Catholic Church (i.e. Joseph Ratszinger became Pope Benedict XVI). Again, no one can know this name until he reveals it.
This is the counter to Jesus, who at his revelation, will have a name only He Himself knows (Rev.19:12). That name will be applied to the foreheads of those who love God; as the revealed name of the Antichrist will be applied to the foreheads of those who love Satan. The mirror effect is continuously weaved into the fabric of this story.
Every nation on earth has an angel (Prince) set over the forces of darkness or light within them. The "Prince of Persia" (Dan. 10:13) was a powerful and evil angel of the Principality of Persia, who resisted the angel Gabriel for 21 days. Daniel was also told (12:1) that Michael, the Archangel, was the great Prince who protects your people (Israel).
It appears that all of the angels set over the wicked principalities of the earth, are, or shall be directly under the dominion of the son of perdition when he ascends from the Abyss and receives the earthly throne, power and authority of the Dragon. This occurs after the wound unto death is healed (Rev. 13:2).
In Chapter 13 it can be understood that the throne which he receives shall be upon the earth and not in the heavenly realm, for it was given to him by Satan, who had been cast out of the heavens and confined to the earth prior to this investiture (Rev.12:8-9); thus the next planned step for him is to expand his kingdom by taking the place of Jesus and usurping the title: "...prince of the kings of the earth... (Rev. 1:5).
