The Antichrist

 

This text is prepared in response to a belief which arose in the APOLOGETICS section that the Antichrist was not a real person.  It is the contention of this paper that indeed he is real and he will appear in human history as just that.  This is not a discourse in apologetics, but an interpretation of scripture taken in its literal sense.  It is for information addressed to those who have a desire to know about this person. Its "proof" is in the scripture.

 

 

Introduction

 

The Antichrist is the name of a future personage who will influence the world in an a masterful and pernicious way.  Some have said that the biblical references to him refer to an institution, a spiritual environment, or to a financial system. While the Bible is full of symbols, even a cursory examination of the scriptures applicable to the Antichrist will reveal that he is a man, not a symbol of an evil to come. The Bible gives a clear outline of this inauspicious person - something it would not do if he were anything other than a flesh and blood human being.

 

The Purpose Of The Antichrist

 

Why the Antichrist?  What is his purpose in history? Why does he arrive on the scene at this moment in human history?  The Bible is many things to many people, but one of its purposes is to outline human history. God is not trapped within the realms of time as He has always been the I AM of the Hebrew scriptures - something which we cannot fathom, but must accept if we are to believe He is who He says He is. To discuss why evil exists is outside the scope of this paper, but if we are to read the Bible with any degree of literalism it is obvious evil is a prominent factor in mankind and in the Bible. A great spiritual battle between Satan and God has raged since he fell from Heaven and Earth has been designated as the battleground. We read in Genesis of the beginning encounter in that battle as man moved into the arena, and we see the promise of the coming One who would eventually finish the war with victory (Genesis 3:15) - "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."  The Antichrist is Satan's final attempt to win the war.  He is also used by God as a focal point around whom the evil will rally as the world approaches Armageddon.

 

The Origin Of The Antichrist

 

There has been much speculation regarding the origin of the Antichrist and only a cursory reference will be made here.  Many have felt he will come out of a revived Europe, and with the United States of Europe soon to be a reality, this has strengthened their views. Some have believed he may come from Syria, based on scriptures from Isaiah and Micah. I tend to support the first theory because there is much more scripture sustaining that argument.

 

The World At The Time Of The Antichrist

 

There is a great deal of scripture which gives a good description of world at the time of the Antichrist. He will arrive on the scene at a time when the world will hail him as the answer to the problems of a troubled society. What will make the world so quick to accept a virtual dictator? Many have felt that a war which comes close to reaching global proportions may make mankind realise that a one world government is all that can prevent a global holocaust. Others have thought that when the believers disappear at the time of the rapture, all of the "negative thinkers" will at last be gone and no longer will be in the way of a humanistic utopia and unity will be assured. Whatever the cause, there is some restraining force which must be removed before the Antichrist can come upon the scene. That moment is controlled by God, since He is the author of all events.

 

II Thessalonians 2:2-7 - "Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things. And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time.  For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way."

 

What is this "one who now holds it back" which will need to be taken out of the way?  Many have said that it is the Holy Spirit which will be removed from the earth at the time of the rapture of the church. This would leave evil in the world unopposed by the Spirit of God, so evil would then become rampant and cause the world of lawlessness and rebellion described as the time of the end. Theologically, I question this, although I used to ascribe to that theory.  Rather, I believe the Holy Spirit will still be on earth to guide and comfort the "great multitude" of Revelation 7:14 who will come to salvation out of the great tribulation. Regardless, the time of the Antichrist is controlled by God, and he will not come forth until the stage is ready in God's plan.

 

The Personality Of The Antichrist

 

By searching the scriptures, we can paint a mosaic of the personality of this end time figure.  A troubled society produces the atmosphere for a dictator, and his personality will draw most of the people of the world to him.  We are told in Daniel that he will be a master of intrigue, he will succeed in whatever he does, he will be completely wicked and "stern-faced", and he will destroy many:

 

Daniel 8:23-25 - "In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men and the holy people. He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power."

However, it must be understood that when this man appears, he will not appear "stern-faced" at the beginning.  He will appear the opposite - a man of peace, love, and concern for the world. His emergence will be that of a benevolent dictator, with the unity of mankind most likely being his theme. He will appear as the Saviour who is promised or vaguely imagined in all confessions and traditions, who will judge according to the measure of worldly people. Everything about this great deceiver will be so good, reasonable, and acceptable that one will have to have very good reason and a lot of courage to remain calm and negative about him against all public opinion and against a whirlwind of enthusiasm. He will be the epitome of deception and his machinations will not be realised by the world until his reign is half completed.  It is difficult to not compare him with Hitler, another dictator of our time.  When he first came to power, he so mesmerised the people of his time and country that they literally worshipped him. William Shirer, author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich wrote, "Today, as far as the vast majority of his fellow-countrymen are concerned, he (Hitler) has reached a pinnacle never before achieved by a German ruler. He has become - even before his death - a myth, a legend, almost a god..."

He will acknowledge no god other than the material ones:

Daniel 11:37,38 -  "He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them. Instead of them, he will honour a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his fathers he will honour with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts."  He will be boastful: Daniel 7:8 - "While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully." As Daniel 11:37 states, "He will exalt himself above all other people and values."

 

The Actions Of The Antichrist

 

He will appear during a time of a great falling away from traditional Judaeo-Christian values and religion, a period of rebellion from these beliefs: 

II Thessalonians 2:3 - "Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction."

 

A world-wide religious system, not based on these Judaeo-Christian values, will permeate the entire world during this time, and the Antichrist will initially take advantage of it. Revelation 17 describes this false religious entity. The beginning of the seven year tribulation period spoken of throughout both the Hebrew writings and the New Testament in initiated when the Antichrist makes a covenant or treaty with the nation of Israel: 

Daniel 9:27 - "He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing [of the temple] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.

"The Living Bible states this verse in this manner:  

"This king will make a seven-year treaty with the people, but after half that time, he will break his pledge and stop the Jews from all their sacrifices and their offerings. Then, as a climax to all his terrible deeds, the Enemy shall utterly defile the sanctuary of God."

 

At the midpoint of this time, the Antichrist will reveal his true personality and plans. He will commit the "abomination of desolation" spoken of by Daniel and by Jesus as he sits himself in the Temple in Jerusalem and demands worship as God:

 

Daniel 9:27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing [of the temple] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.

 

Daniel 11:31  "His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.

 

Daniel 12:11  "From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.

 

Matthew 24:15  "So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel - let the reader understand-

 

Mark 13:14  "When you see 'the abomination that causes desolation' standing where it does not belong-let the reader understand-then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

 

At this juncture, the mid-point of the seven-year tribulation, the true tribulation events begin. Until now, the prior three and a half years have been very calm.  Now the final half begins - what is known in the Bible as the "Wrath of God", or the "Day of the Lord". Our God is a merciful, kind God who gives every man every chance to repent and change his heart if it does not conform to the Word of God. However, the Word is full of warnings regarding the consequences of not following God's commandment to do so. God, although He is merciful, will not allow those with sinful hearts to enter into His Kingdom. As a result, there will be a point in time when it will be too late for them:  

II Thessalonians 2:10-12 - "And in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie. And so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness."

 

The Antichrist And The Tribulation

 

At this point in human history, the Tribulation begins – a period so unparalleled in destruction that if Jesus should not return, mankind would cease to exist:  

Matthew 24:21,22 -"For then there will be great distress, unequalled from the beginning of the world until now-and never to be equalled. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.",

 

Jeremiah 30:7 - "How awful that day will be! None will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it.",

 

Daniel 12:1 - "At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people--everyone whose name is found written in the book--will be delivered.",

 

Ezekiel 30:3 - "For the day is near, the day of the LORD is near--a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.",

 

Joel 2:31 - "The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD."

 

The dreadful results of the tribulation are graphically portrayed in the Book of Revelation and will not be described in detail here. There are many good books which can go into detail for those interested, but the end result is the loss of billions of lives through famine, war, and natural disasters. Using the numbers given in Revelation applied to the population of the earth today, this would result in the loss of four billion lives - truly a horrible picture.

The Antichrist will persecute the Jews and the Christians who will turn to Christ during that period. There will be some left at the beginning of the Tribulation who refuse to worship the beast and receive his number.  These were mentioned in the beginning of this discussion. According to Revelation, an untold number will accept Christ during this time and receive persecution from the Antichrist and his followers – persecution even unto death. As the end draws near, Jesus will return as He promised, swiftly taking care of the Antichrist and his cohorts:

Revelation 19:19,20 - "Then I saw the beast (the Antichrist) and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his. But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur."

 

What began before the worlds were formed is finally finished, except for a footnote 1000 years later (Rev 20:7). Human history has ended.  Good has triumphed over evil, in spite of the goals, plans, and conspiracies of men. The other gods of this age and previous ages have fallen, and the true Lord reigns as every knee bows to acknowledge him as the true KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

 

Footnotes And Comments

 

I am aware that there are many different interpretations of end time prophecy, and I do not pretend to have all the correct answers. Even among members of mainline (and not so mainline) Christian denominations, heated discussions and arguments can arise when one discusses his own pet eschatological views. This can be destructive, divisive, and completely unrewarding. This should not occur, since one's own view of end time prophecy will not have an effect on his eternal destiny nor will it effect how he treats his fellow man. We are not called to argue, but to love the Lord with all our soul and to treat our fellow man as we would like to be treated. As noted at the beginning, this is submitted for informational reasons only - if you don't ascribe to this view, that's fine. It's probably not entirely correct, anyway. I hope it will, however, cause interest in the field of eschatology because the signs are very strong that human history may be reaching its zenith and thus its end.  Jesus commanded us to be aware of the signs of His coming.  Those signs are shouting to be heard and understood, beginning with the rebirth of Israel in our generation, continuing with the control of Jerusalem by the Jews in 1967, proceeding with the exodus of Russian Jews to Israel this year, and possibly advancing with the present Iraq conflict regarding end time prophecies about Babylon (see PROPH.NEW in LIB 2 if you're interested in this information).