Sons Of Perdition In Prophecy

Freedom of Choice: Salvation or Perdition

"Only let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear omen to them of their destruction [KJV perdition], but of your salvation, and that from God." (Philippians 1:27-28 RSV)

"For yet a little while, and the coming one shall come and shall not tarry; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him." But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed [KJV perdition], but of those who have faith and keep their souls." (Hebrews 10:37-39 RSV)

"They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago, and an earth formed out of water and by means of water, through which the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist have been stored up for fire [see Planet On Fire!], being kept until the day of judgment and destruction [KJV perdition] of ungodly men." (2 Peter 3:5-7 RSV)

Sons of Perdition Identified

Although it seems that there are going to be many sons, and daughters, of perdition, three are identified specifically, one from Bible History who has been dead for nearly 2,000 years, and two from Prophecy who are very likely alive in the world today. Jesus Christ referred to Judas Iscariot as a son of perdition, and the apostles Paul and John wrote of two end-time sons of perdition who will be working in union (see Revelation 13), one a great religious leader, the other a great political/military dictator.

Judas Iscariot:

"And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to Thee. Holy Father, keep them in Thy Name, which Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, even as We are one. While I was with them, I kept them in Thy Name, which Thou hast given Me; I have guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled." (John 17:11-12 RSV)

The end-time Beast (a great charismatic political/military dictator, the leader of the last revival of the ancient Roman Empire - see Daniel's Statue i.e. "Der HERR, der Gott der Hebräer, hat mich zu dir gesandt und gesagt: Laß mein Volk ziehen") and the Great False Prophet (a great religious leader, who lives in a "city of seven hills," who will perform Satan-powered miracles) who together will deceive much of the world into fighting the Messiah ("they will make war on the Lamb," see below) at His return:

"Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling to meet him, we beg you, brethren, not to be quickly shaken in mind or excited, either by spirit or by word, or by letter purporting to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God." (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 RSV)

"And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and bedecked with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication; and on her forehead was written a name of mystery: "Babylon the great, mother of harlots and of earth's abominations."

"And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her I marveled greatly."

"But the angel said to me, "Why marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is to ascend from the bottomless pit and go to perdition; and the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will marvel to behold the beast, because it was and is not and is to come."

"This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes he must remain only a little while. As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to perdition."

"And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. These are of one mind and give over their power and authority to the beast [see Birth Of A Superpower]; they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with Him are called and chosen and faithful." (Revelation 17:3-14 RSV)

Fact Finder: What will be the fate of the two prophetic end-time sons of perdition, the Beast and the Great False Prophet?
Revelation 19:20