What are the characteristics of the religious organizations that may be involved in the end-times world religion?
The end-times world religion may be headed by one of several large, worldwide religious organizations. Those organizations are marked by tremendous wealth, tremendous political power, and a history of persecuting true believers. The specific group that will lead this system is unknown and remains a matter of speculation.
Les explains that Revelation 17 describes a great religious system that will come on the world, and he says the seeds of it are already visible. He admits he does not know which particular religious system will end up heading it up, and he notes there is a lot of speculation. What he does observe is that many worldwide, huge religious organizations already exist; they possess tremendous wealth and tremendous political power, and for the most part they have been persecutors of true believers. He adds that this pattern has always been that way, and he recalls mentioning it in an earlier program.