THE COMING ANTICHRIST (PART 2)
In Revelation 12-13 there is an unholy trinity:
The dragon from the sky (dragon)
The first beast from the sea.
The second beast from the earth.
The Dragon is revealed as Satan
Rev 12:9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.
The Beast from the sea is the Antichrist, a political figure who gets his power from Satan.
Rev 13:1-2 (NIV) And I saw a beast coming out of the sea…The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
The second beast from the earth is a religious leader and sidekick of the Antichrist, who we call the False Prophet.
Rev 13:11-12 (NIV) Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon.
It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast…
Rev 13:11 (NIV) … It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon.
The lamb is a symbol of innocence and purity, often representing Jesus himself as the “Lamb of God.” The second beast tries to mimic the true Lamb of God, presenting itself as a figure of righteousness and goodness.
However, it speaks “as a dragon” revealing its true nature and intentions.
The dragon is a well-established symbol of Satan in Revelation, so this beast's deceptive appearance is ultimately a facade for its malevolent agenda.
THE FALSE MESSIAH
Many Jews who reject Jesus as Messiah will accept
the Antichrist (or the False Prophet) as the Messiah.
Matt 24:23 (NIV) At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.
In John 5:43 Jesus said to the Jews: “I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him.” (NASB)
Irenaeus – the second generation disciple of John - saw John 5:43 as a reference by Jesus to the Antichrist:
“The Lord also spoke as follows to those who did not believe in Him: I have come in my Father's name, and you have not received Me: when another shall come in his own name, him you will receive, calling Antichrist the other, because he is alienated from the Lord.” (Against Heresies, Bk. 5, Ch. 25:4)
Cyril of Jerusalem (4th cent.) writes that
“by the lying signs and wonders of his magical deceit having beguiled the Jews, as though he were the expected Christ”. *
He “shall falsely style himself Christ; by this name of Christ deceiving the Jews, who are looking for the Anointed, and seducing those of the Gentiles by his magical illusions.” **
* Catechetical Lecture 15, v12 ** Ibid., v11
A FUTURE SUBSTITUTE (FAKE, rival COUNTERFEIT) CHRIST
In the nineties of the 1st century (i.e. 30 years after Nero) John writes, “you have heard that the Antichrist is coming” (1 John 2:18, NKJV).
The prefix “anti” comes from the Greek language and has 2 meanings:
Opposed to (Christ): a false Christ, adversary to Christ, or being in opposition to all that is pertaining to Christ.
In the place of or a substitute for (Christ): the ultimate Antichrist will not only “oppose” Christ but he will do it in a more sinister way - by pretending to be Christ! i.e. a counterfeit or rival Christ.
A PSEUDO-CHRIST
Pseudo [adjective]: not genuine;
spurious or sham.
E.g. pseudoscience: a collection of beliefs or practices mistakenly regarded as being based on scientific method.
Matt 24:23-24 (NIV) At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs [pseudochristos] and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Deceit
Jesus said that before he returned, “many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Messiah,' and will deceive many.” (Matt 24:5)
Daniel says that the Antichrist “will cause deceit to prosper” (8:25) and that “truth was thrown to the ground” (8:12).
Using signs and wonders will, he will
deceive most people.
2 Thess 2:9-11 (NIV) The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness 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 …
A Powerful delusion
The signs are actually performed
by the false prophet who is the religious leader.
Rev 19:20 … 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 …
Rev 13:14 Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth.
The deception is so strong that it could deceive even the elect, short of God’s intervention.
Matt 24:23-26 (NKJV) “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it.
“For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.
“Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.”
Rev 13:13 (NIV) And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people.
BLASPHEMER
He will blaspheme God.
Daniel 11:36 The king … will say
unheard-of things against the
God of gods.
Rev 13:5-6 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.
Daniel makes a statement that has puzzled many, when he writes that the Antichrist will have no regard for “the desire of women”.
Daniel 11:37 (KJV ) Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women…
There are several possible interpretations that have been put forward here:
Some say that he will be
so in love with himself
that he simply won’t have
any time for women.
NO REGARD FOR THE DESIRE OF WOMEN
It could also refer to the Antichrist’s disregard for traditional gender roles - he lacks interest in women because he is a homosexual.
It be that he is simply indifferent to relationships and marriage.
But the grammatical construction disallows making “desire of women” the equivalent of “desire for women.”
What the prophecy is more likely saying then, is that the Antichrist will disregard something that women desire.
Some think that the “desire of women” is children and thus the Antichrist will place restrictions on the birth of children e.g., as was done in China until recently, where limitations were placed on the number of children a woman could have.
Or that he may be pro-abortion.
A more common belief is that this refers to the desire of Jewish women to be the mother of the Messiah - the promised seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15. So “the desire of women” refers to Jesus.
In the context this is more likely as the statement is sandwiched between two other references to deities:
Daniel 11:37 (KJV) Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
Daniel 11:37 (ESV) He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for he shall magnify himself above all.
Thus, a loose paraphrase might be, “He will not be an Orthodox Jew, or a Christian, or follow any other established world religion, but rather he’ll magnify himself as god.”
This is in line with what Paul writes of him when he says, “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped” (2 Thess 2:4).
CLAIMS TO DEITY
The context of the previous verse also indicates that he will exalt himself above God.
Daniel 11:36-37 The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god…
He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place.
He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers … nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all.
2 Thess 2:3-4 … 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.
Even in modern times there have been instances where leaders have encouraged a cult of personality that borders on deification. E.g.
In North Korea, the leaders of the Kim dynasty (Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un) have been revered almost as deities. The state propaganda often portrays them as having superhuman qualities and being infallible.
Before and during World War II, Emperor Hirohito was considered a divine figure by many Japanese people.
While not claiming divinity himself, Haile Selassie of Ethiopia is considered by the Rastafari movement to be the returned messiah of the Bible.
John sees the whore of Babylon sitting on the scarlet beast (Rev 17:3)
This indicates that the Antichrist initially cooperates with the harlot - the apostate religious system.
This is despite the fact that “the beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute.” (Rev 17:16a, NIV)
Rev 17:16b (NIV) They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
Here again we see his treachery. He cooperates with the world religious structures but once established, he turns on them and destroys them.
He treats her just as men use a prostitute – as a means for their own selfish gratification. He subsequently discards her when he has no more use for her.
DEMANDS WORSHIP
The false prophet “made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed.” (Rev 13:12, NIV)
Rev 13:8 (NIV) All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life…
Satan is also worshipped.
Rev 13:3-4 (NIV) One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast …
Daniel 11:30-31 … Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favour to those who forsake the holy covenant.
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.
He will set up his image in the Jerusalem temple.
Dan 9:27 …And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation…
Rev 13:14 He (the false prophet) ordered them to set up an image in honour of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.
Rev 13:15 (NIV) The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast so that the image could speak …
Some contemporary interpretations consider that advanced
technology, including AI, could fit the description:
Global Surveillance and Control: AI technologies could theoretically be used for global surveillance and enforcement, aligning with the idea of causing those who refuse to worship the image to be punished.
Artificial Intelligence and Robotics: Modern AI and robotics have reached a point where machines can simulate speech and interactive behaviours, which could be interpreted as “giving breath” to an image.
Jesus warns the Jews to flee when they see the Abomination.
Matt 24:15-22 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house.
Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak.
How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!
Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.
For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.
Jesus’ instruction to flee is most
likely because the false prophet will “cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.” (Rev 13:15)
Those who do not take the mark or worship his image are beheaded.
Rev 20:4 … And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands.
OPPRESSES THE SAINTS
He opposes the saints for 3½ years.
Dan 7:21-25 As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favour of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom … The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time.
Rev 13:7 He was given power
to make war against the saints and to conquer them.
Dan 8:24… He will destroy the mighty men and the holy people.
Dan 11:32 With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him. Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered.
He kills the two witnesses in Jerusalem
Rev 11:7-8 Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
CHANGING THE TIMES & LAWS
He will “oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws.” (Dan 7:25)
The Antichrist may attempt to alter religious observances, festivals, and commandments, imposing new
practices or abolishing established ones.
He may try to get rid of religious
holy days and laws, such as the Ten Commandments.
Antiochus Epiphanes, the forerunner of the Antichrist tried to impose Greek pagan religion on the Jews.
Remembering that the Tribulation is a period involving Israel and not the raptured church, this could possibly mean that the Antichrist attempts to modify or paganize Judaism by changing Festival dates or the Feasts themselves, both of which are dictated by the Old Covenant Law.
Could it be that he tries to insert himself into the Jewish feasts, just as he puts his image of worship into the Jewish temple?
This could also refer to attempts to change political, social, or legal systems in ways that oppose God's laws and principles. The Antichrist might introduce laws that conflict with biblical teachings.
The prophecy about changing laws and times can symbolize any major shift in cultural or moral standards that opposes traditional or biblical values.
Earlier on in Daniel a similar equivalent Aramaic term, “times and seasons” is used. Daniel 2:21 says the true God “changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others.”
This refers to the fact that only God has sovereign control over the prophetic timescales and the period that earthly governments will maintain power.
When Jesus’ disciples wanted to know when the millennial kingdom would be established on earth. Jesus confirmed that it is God’s prerogative to decide on those matters saying, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.” (Acts 1:7, ESV)
But the Antichrist will (unsuccessfully) attempt to change prophetic timescales in order to avert
his own prophesied destruction.
In fact, the very context of the
passage shows that, despite the fact that he tries to change the times and seasons, that his rule will nevertheless remain 3½ years according to
God’s predetermined timetable.
Daniel 7:25 (NIV) He will … try
to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.
HIS ANCESTRY
A debate exists about the ancestry of the Antichrist.
Daniel 9:26 Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. (NASB)
The people who destroyed the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (temple) after the Anointed One (i.e. Messiah) was cut off, were the Romans (Titus in 70 AD).
THE EU IS THE SUCCESSOR TO THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Thus the “ruler who will come” must have some link to the Roman Empire (modern Europe) or Rome itself (Italy).
On 29th September 2004 the new European Union constitution was
signed in Rome - in the same room where the Treaty of Rome had been signed to establish the EU in 1957.
As head of a united EU, the Antichrist may also head a future united European army, or even control NATO or some larger military alliance.
Heading up the 10 nation confederacy of the revived Roman Empire does not necessarily mean that he will be a Gentile or a European.
The Roman Empire also included the Middle East and North Africa.
US PRESIDENT?
Some are convinced that the Antichrist must be a US president.
The US is the greatest military super-power, besides being the most powerful economic force in the world.
The Beast has absolute power for 42 months and the US president has a standard term of office lasting four years (48 months) which is a similar period.
ROMAN EMPIRE?
The US is clearly not part of the old Roman Empire when one considers its geographic boundaries.
However, one could argue that, because the US was a British colony and US citizens are largely descendants of Europeans, by extension the revived Roman Empire might incorporate the US.
A LITTLE HORN
Daniel refers to the Antichrist as a “little horn” (Daniel 7:8) which some take to mean a young animal. You can get a good idea of an animal’s age by looking at its horns and an animal with a little horn would most likely be a younger animal.
So, if you consider a nation which came out of the revived Roman Empire and is relatively ‘young’ in comparison, in light of this the US does seem like a fairly good fit.
Probably the strongest argument of those holding this viewpoint is the fact that the Antichrist will negotiate a seven-year treaty with Israel.
If this is in fact a peace treaty, which seems highly likely, currently the most likely person to negotiate this would be a US president – from Israel’s vantage point anyway. Israel trusts the US, as it has supported Israel more consistently than any other nation.
JEWISH DESCENT?
Dan 11:37 (KJV) Neither shall he
regard the God of his fathers …
This terminology has a very
Jewish ring to it. It was often
used of Judean kings who forsook God.
2 Kings 21:22 (NIV) (Manasseh) forsook the LORD, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD. [cf. 2 Chron 21:10, 28:24–25]
Many, therefore, believe that he will be a Jew. Some suggest that he may be a European or American Jew who rises to power in the Western world.
In John 5:43 Jesus said to the Jews: “I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him.” (NASB) Irenaeus * and other early Church Fathers saw this Scripture as a reference by Jesus to the Antichrist.
Would the Jews accept someone (as Messiah) who had no Jewish roots?
* Against Heresies, Book 5, Ch. 25:4
A BABY’S CRY OR LIGHTNING?
The real Christ will NOT return as a baby.
It will be a sudden return:
Matt 24:27 (NIV) For as lightning that comes
from the east is visible even in the west,
so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Chris de Burgh in his song “A Spaceman Came
Travelling” (where he implies that the star of
Bethlehem was a spaceship of an alien) sings:
And just before dawn at the paling of the sky,
The stranger returned and said, “now I must fly,
When two thousand years of your time has gone by,
This song will begin once again, to a baby’s cry...”
HIS FINAL DESTINY
Daniel 7:11 (NIV) Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.
Rev 19:20 (NIV) But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet … The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
AUTHOR: Gavin Paynter
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