What is the evil Trinity?

Next you have the beast and the false prophet; both given to us in the thirteenth chapter. I can only say that the beast represents the satanic head of the revived Roman empire. In this third section you have a satanic character to everything. You have the dragon, Satan himself, the Beast energized by Satan, and the false prophet, or Antichrist, who is the administrator of all the power of the Beast. Everything is satanic. You have a sort of trinity there. First of all Satan, the head of all; then the Beast claiming to be divine, and his image set up to be worshiped; and lastly, the Antichrist, that most loathsome and horrible figure of all prophetic history, because he is usurping the place of the most beautiful, blessed, precious Lamb of God. Here he dares to assume the form of a lamb, yet he speaks like a dragon, and all he does smells of the bottomless pit and the lake of fire, where he gets his retribution. That is all that we can say about these personalities, in connection with the persecutions and judgments that take place described under the seven trumpets, and how incomplete the book would be without a description of them.

Satan will have an imitation of the Trinity in the Roman beast, the false prophet, and himself (Rev. 13:4,11; Rev. 20:10).

[1] Sometimes these three characters (Satan and the two beasts) are designated as “trinity of evil” (and we know what is meant by this). However, it is no real trinity as there is no unity of being.

On earth he sees in vision a scene of unparalleled horror. Energized by the three unclean spirits emanating from that unholy trinity of evil—the head of the revived Roman Empire, the antichrist and the devil—he beholds “the kings of the earth and of the whole world gathered to the battle of God Almighty” (Rev. 16:14).

Revelation 16:12-16 tells us of the fearful trinity of evil—the Dragon (Satan), the Beast (the head of the revived Roman Empire), the False Prophet (the Jewish Antichrist)—uniting in gathering the whole world to battle.

The second Beast is called “the false prophet” in Revelation 16 and 19, and Antichrist elsewhere; he is also the wilful king of Daniel 2:36-39. With the dragon (the devil) they will form a trinity of evil in imitation of the Divine Trinity. From this evil trinity there will go out an influence and seducing words that will gather the kings of the earth to Armageddon for “the battle of the great day of Almighty God” (Rev. 16:12-14). It is a striking and melancholy consideration that it is among the most favoured of mankind that these men will exercise their authority—the Beast in Christendom and the false prophet or Antichrist in Judaism. These are they that will make war on the Lamb (Rev. 17:12-14) but He shall overcome them for “He is Lord of lords and King of kings.” When there has been the greatest light there shall be the greatest darkness, and this is the great apostasy.

Many think that when the Antichrist comes he will reign over the whole world, but a more careful study of prophecy will show that this is a mistake. There is a trinity of evil that works together: "the dragon," that is Satan himself, and these two beasts. The first beast is the political head of Rome and the United Kingdoms of Europe, with the Jews also in league with him. The second is the head of the Jews at Jerusalem. He exercises the power of the first beast politically as his delegate, but religiously he seems to exercise a power far beyond the Jews. He works great miracles through the power of Satan by which he deceives the world and imposes the worship of the first beast and his image upon all. That is why he is also called "the false prophet" (Rev. 16:13; 19:20; 20:10; but compare with Acts 7:37 and Deut. 18:15-19). He is Satan's counterfeit prophet as he is also the counterfeit lamb or messiah. "He causes the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he does great wonders, so that he makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceives them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life (breath) unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name" (Rev. 13:12-17).

Not only are natural hindrances and barriers removed, so that the great Asiatic powers might have the way prepared to take their allotted part in the conflict and confederacy of the last days, but Satan himself provides a “universal ministry” to effect the most gigantic combination of opposing forces ever witnessed. The sixth Bowl of wrath is not exhausted in the judgment on the Euphrates. There are “three unclean spirits,” termed the “spirits of demons,” likened to frogs — loathsome, filthy, disgusting, bred out of the mire and pestilential vapours and moral wickedness of the corrupt scene — these are sent out on their terrible mission. They are to influence by word, and sign, and miracle the peoples of the earth; to lure them on to the “war of (that) great day of God Almighty.” God is about to set His King on mount Zion (Ps. 2), so the might of the whole habitable earth is gathered to thwart and defeat the divine purpose. It is a universal gathering of the powers. A trinity of evil — the concentrated malignant influence of Satan — is employed to effect the gathering together of the kings of the earth. These spirits issue out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the Beast, and out of the mouth of the False Prophet. The mouth is regarded as the source and means of destructive agency (Rev. 1:16; Rev. 2:16; Rev. 9:17; Rev. 19:15; see also Isa. 11:4). The dragon not only works actively to effectuate his plans, but his two prime ministers share in the work — the Beast and the False Prophet. The former is the vast apostate civil and political power of Rome; the latter is the second Beast of Revelation 13, here termed for the first time the False Prophet, as by his lies and influence he can the more readily act upon the peoples. We have here a combination of direct satanic power, apostate brute force, and malignant influence, all employed in this hellish work (compare with 1 Kings 22).

Verse 13 shows the trinity of wickedness (the Dragon, the Beast and the False Prophet) in its insolent challenge to the true Trinity, with the outpouring of its cunning evil doctrine likened to the croaking of frogs, creatures accustomed to slime. The Beast, the head of the Roman empire, imitates God the Father; the False Prophet (or Antichrist) takes the place of the true Christ, the Son of God; while Satan, behind the scenes, simulates the Holy Spirit. Their doctrine and their ability to work miracles of deception will have powerful influence in deceiving many national leaders to bring their armies to Israel to “the battle of that great day of God Almighty” (v. 14). This evil trinity will plead the cause of Israel, which has been invaded by the King of the North, to persuade many nations to come to fight in what they claim is a great humanitarian effort to liberate Israel from oppression. But they are fighting against God, for God has sent the King of the North to punish His people Israel because of their idolatry (Isa. 10:5-6).

We must give one other scripture as to this judicial "strong delusion." In Rev. 16 we have, connected with the same crisis to which reference has been already frequently made, the following passage: "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together unto a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." Now here is plainly predicted a dread, and, apparently, almost universal delusion. It issues forth specially from three sources; from the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. What mean these symbols? In Rev. 12 and 20 the "dragon" is expressly said to be "the Devil and Satan." The first delusion therefore is diabolical. The "beast" is the same "fourth beast" that has already been described. The second delusion, then, would appear to be political. The "false prophet" is certainly the second, or two-horned beast of Rev. 13. Compare Rev. 13:14, with Rev. 19:20, and no doubt will remain. Whatever may be denoted by this two-horned beast of Rev. 13 as seen there, it seems clear that, at the time of the crisis and decisive battle, this "false prophet" will be the religious agency of the beast, in its last state. So that the third delusion appertains specially to religion. It is an agency that "causes the world to worship" the beast. (See Rev. 13:12.) Here then is a threefold delusion; diabolical, political, and religious. How much of the spirit of these three delusions may be perceived working around us even in the present day! The prime actors themselves may not as yet have come upon the stage, but how much is there of their nature already in the world! They will surely come, ere long, and gather the deceived, deluded nations together, to the battle of the great day of God Almighty!