The Antichrist’s final battle against “the Woman and her Seed”
The devil’s goal has always been to steal the authority that belongs to God—to rule, to govern, and to reign (Isaiah 14:12–14; Matthew 4:8–9; Luke 4:5–7). This is why the Antichrist will come against Jerusalem and attempt to sit in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God (Daniel 9:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:3–4). Jerusalem is the place the Lord has chosen for Christ Jesus to rule Israel and the nations (Psalm 132:13–14; Zechariah 14:9; Isaiah 2:2–4). Because of this divine decree, Jerusalem has always been—and continues to be—a place of intense spiritual contention (Zechariah 12:2–3; Psalm 48:1–2).
This is also why we see such fierce opposition surrounding the land of Israel today. The ongoing efforts to remove the land from Israel, including movements that seek to delegitimize Israel’s right to exist in that land, are not merely political. They are spiritual (Ephesians 6:12; Daniel 10:13, 20). This land is the land God chose for His Anointed One, Jesus the Messiah, to rule from (Genesis 17:7–8; Ezekiel 37:21–28). That is why Satan continually seeks to contest it.
The Antichrist will also come to make war against the remnant of the Church, because the Church is connected to the seed of the Messiah, as first declared in Genesis 3:15. The seed of the woman is Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:16), but through Him, the Church becomes part of that seed as well (Galatians 3:26–29; Romans 16:20). We are His body (1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 1:22–23). We are His offspring in the sense that we are united to Him and carry His authority in the earth (Luke 10:19; Matthew 28:18–20).
Because Satan understands that the Church must grow into the full stature of Christ in order for Jesus to return, he will aggressively come against the Church (Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:7). Scripture teaches that when the Church enters her fullness—growing in unity, love, maturity, and authority—she becomes a witness to the powers of the air and the principalities (Ephesians 4:11–13; Ephesians 3:10). At that point, the heavens are shaken, and those principalities lose their authority over the nations (Hebrews 12:26–27; Daniel 7:26–27). When this happens, the earth becomes ready for Christ to return and rule (Acts 3:19–21).
As the Church grows into fullness and authority, she will provoke Israel to jealousy, just as Scripture says (Romans 11:11, 14). Through this process, Israel will come to recognize that Jesus is the Messiah of Israel (Romans 11:25–27; Zechariah 12:10). This is why the Antichrist seeks to destroy both the Church and Israel—because together they play a decisive role in the return of Christ (Revelation 12:10–11).
Israel is also a crucial and irreplaceable part of this divine plan. Israel must confess, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord,” for Jesus to return (Matthew 23:39; Psalm 118:26). Because of this, the Antichrist will attempt to annihilate the Jewish people, seeking to prevent the existence of a remnant that will recognize and confess Jesus as the Messiah (Daniel 7:21; Revelation 12:13–17; Zechariah 13:8–9).
This is also why the Antichrist seeks to take control of Jerusalem. The Lord has decreed in Scripture that Jerusalem is the city of His choice and that the Son of David—Jesus the Messiah—must establish His throne there (Jeremiah 3:17; Luke 1:32–33; Zechariah 14:4, 9). Satan understands this, and therefore the Antichrist will fight fiercely to take possession of that city (Daniel 11:45; Revelation 11:2).
In the end, the final battle is not merely about territory or power—it is a battle of authority. Christ regained authority through the cross (Colossians 2:14–15; Hebrews 2:14), and He has given that authority to the Church (Ephesians 2:6; Revelation 5:10). However, the Church must take hold of it as a corporate body (John 17:21–23). When the Church is able to take hold and manifest the fullness of that authority globally and corporately, the powers of the air and the principalities will be shaken (Daniel 7:27; Revelation 12:10). Israel will be provoked to jealousy and will finally confess, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Then Jesus will return to establish His Millennial Reign on the earth (Revelation 19:11–16; Revelation 20:4–6).
The final battle of the antichrist against the church and Israel will be Satan’s last attempt to stop God’s plan from being fulfilled. He will try to usurp Christ’s designated place earthly throne to rule the earth in Jerusalem and he will try to eliminate both the church and the jewish people in order to sabotage God’s plan. However, in his attempt to sabotage God’s plan, he will actually find himself defeated. Through his plan of destruction of God’s people, he will find himslef defeated as he encounters a victorious church that is no longer bound in shame. She will overcome him through the blood of the Lamb, through the word of her testimony and through surrendering her life, just as Christ did for her. He will also find that Israel will indeed confess that Christ is the Lord, because God will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on Jesus, the one whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child. The veil of Israel indeed will once and forever be torn and they will accept Jesus as their Messiah.