It was given power to wage war against God's holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. Revelation 13:7
And he had power to give life 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. Revelation 13:15
Christ's return will bring their defeat ... it's going to get very, very ugly before that
Both and here is why:
I see the Gospel of Jesus spreading further before the end.
Also even during the worst of the worse, look for more people to come to faith in Christ, even when things get very, very ugly before that.