The Shadow of Coming Events
All of us are curious about the future. There is something in human nature that wants to know what is going to happen in the days ahead. God speaks to that need in our lives by revealing the future before it happens. Bible prophecies give us a glimpse of things to come. We aren’t given all the details, but there is enough information for us to get a general idea of what to expect.
The long, dark shadow of biblical prophecies about the Antichrist fall across the pages of human history. They remind us that one day there will come a world leader of such irresistible magnitude that the world will be swept off its feet. He will charm the public, deceive the nations, and control the planet.
Since Satan himself does not know the exact time of Christ’s return, he must have a potential candidate for the Antichrist ready at all times. How can we know who he is? What will happen when he rises to power? When will he come on the scene? The biblical record provides us with numerous clues to the identity of the Antichrist. My purpose is to examine those clues and shed light on the identity of this shadowy figure who is destined to control the world through the social, political, and religious structures of the last days.
There are more than 100 passages of Scripture that describe the Antichrist’s origin, nationality, character, career, and global conquest. My goal is to explain, define, and refine the prophetic materials about the Antichrist. I have gone out of the way to avoid ridiculous and unnecessary speculation.
The term Antichrist may be applied both to an individual and the system he represents. Since he will control these structures to his advantage, it is also vital that we renew our commitment to serve the cause of Christ in this world until the Savior calls us home. We have no mandate to surrender this world to Satan. On the contrary, we are called to transform society by the power of the gospel until our work here is done.
Someone ominous is looming on the horizon of human existence. He may still be in the shadows for the moment, but he could suddenly burst forth on the world scene at any time. In the meantime, let us proclaim the truth of the One who is the Light of the world. Keep looking up!
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Chapter 1
The Coming World Ruler
Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?–Revelation 13:4
Biblical prophecies clearly predict the rise of the Antichrist in the end times. Many people believe the great millennial end-game has already begun. As civilization speeds toward its final destiny, the appearance of a powerful world ruler is inevitable. The ultimate question facing our generation is whether he is already alive and well and moving into power. This book is an attempt to answer the questions most frequently asked about the Antichrist. How can we know who he is? What clues are there to his identity? When will he make his move to control the global economy and world politics?
The Bible predicts that worldwide chaos, instability, and disorder will increase as we approach the end of the age. Jesus predicted there would be "wars and rumors of wars . . . [and] famines and earthquakes in various places" (Matthew 24:6,7). Dr. Ed Dobson observes, "The Bible also predicts that this chaos will pave the way for the rise of a new world leader who will be able to negotiate world peace and deliver on the promise of security and harmony. This world leader is a person whom most Bible students call the Antichrist."
Ironically, the term Antichrist appears only in 1 John 2:18-22 and 4:3. The apostle John uses it both in the singular ("the antichrist") and in the plural ("many antichrists"). John indicates that his readers have already heard that the Antichrist is coming in the future. Then he surprises them by announcing that many antichrists have already come. He defines these lesser antichrists as liars who deny that Jesus is the Christ (2:22). In this sense, an antichrist is any false teacher who denies the person and work of Jesus Christ. Such teachers are truly anti ("against") Christ.
In 1 John 4:1-3, John warns us to test the spirits to make sure they are from God. Again, he warns that many false prophets (Greek, pseudoprophetes) are "gone out into the world." These are the people who don’t acknowledge that Jesus is from God. In this sense, John announces that the "spirit of the antichrist . . . is already in the world."
Spirit of the Antichrist
In the broadest use of the concept of the "spirit of the Antichrist," we can say with certainty that it is already at work. It is this anti-Christian spirit that does everything it can to undermine, deny, and reject the truth about Jesus Christ. That spirit has been here since the first century, actively opposing the work of Christ on earth.
Dr. Gregory Boyd points out that spiritual conflict is the reality of our universe. In his powerful book God at War, Boyd writes, "One is hard pressed to find any culture, prior to or contemporary with our own, that does not assume something like this perspective. . . . From a cross-cultural perspective, the insight that the cosmos is teeming with spiritual beings . . . is simply common sense. It is we modern Westerners who are the oddballs for thinking that we are the only agents who influence other people."
There can be no doubt that the biblical writers believed the spirit of the Antichrist was alive and well in the first century A.D. Therefore, they were not surprised by opposition, persecution, and even martyrdom. They were convinced that the spiritual war between Christ and Antichrist had already begun.
Grant Jeffrey provides numerous examples of early Christian references to the Antichrist in the Apocalypse of Peter, the Didache, the Ascension of Isaiah, and the Pseudo-Titus Epistle, as well as various church fathers such as Irenaeus, Jerome, and Hippolytus. Irenaeus, who studied under Polycarp, who in turn was discipled by the apostle John, said the Antichrist shall come as "an apostate," the very embodiment of "satanic apostasy."
From the very beginning of the Christian era, believers were convinced that a world ruler would eventually come on the scene who was the embodiment of Satan. The book of Revelation (chapters 12—13) presents an "unholy trinity" that aligns Satan (vs. Father), Antichrist (vs. Son), and False Prophet (vs. Holy Spirit). Thus, the real power behind the Antichrist is Satan. The "father of lies" is the perpetrator of the human manifestation of the world’s greatest liar and the source of the lie that will condemn multitudes under divine judgment (2 Thessalonians 2:11).
Titles of the Antichrist
The person we commonly refer to as the Antichrist is actually known by several names and titles throughout the Bible. Each of these provides a glimpse of the many facets of his diabolical character and nature and presents a portrait of the Antichrist in a series of word pictures that leave little to the imagination.
The Beast
"I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name" (Revelation 13:1).
The Man of Destruction
"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" (2 Thessalonians 2:3).
The Lawless One
"And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming" (2 Thessalonians 2:8).
The Abomination
"So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel . . ." (Matthew 24:15).
The Little Horn
"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" (Daniel 7:8).
The Insolent King
"In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise" (Daniel 8:23).
The Ruler Who Is to Come
"After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary" (Daniel 9:26).
The Despicable Person
"He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue" (Daniel 11:21).
The Strong-Willed King
"The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place" (Daniel 11:36).
The Worthless Shepherd
"For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hoofs. Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock!" (Zechariah 11:16,17).
The Antichrist
"Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. . . . Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist" (1 John 2:18,22).
A great deal has been written about the prefix anti in connection with the Antichrist. It can mean either "against" (in opposition to) or "instead of" (in place of). The issue comes down to whether he is the great enemy of Christ or whether he is a false Christ. If he is the enemy of Christ and the head of a Gentile world government, then he is most likely to be a Gentile himself. If he is a false messiah who is accepted by the Jews, then it would stand to reason that he would be Jewish.
Richard Trench writes, "The distinction, then, is plain . . . antichristos (antichrist) denies that there is a Christ; pseudochristos (false Christ) affirms himself to be Christ." The biblical picture is that he is both. Initially, he presents himself as the "savior" of Israel by making a covenant to protect her (Daniel 9:27). In this manner, he appears to be her long-awaited Messiah. But in reality, he is against all that the messianic prophecies foretell about the true Messiah.
His Nationality
Whether the Antichrist is a Jew or a Gentile is not clearly answered in the New Testament. Most prophetic scholars believe he will be a Gentile because:
1. he leads the European Union of Gentile nations (Daniel 7:8-24).
2. his covenant with Israel promises Gentile protection for Israel (Daniel 9:27).
3. his rule is part of the "times of the Gentiles" and their domination over Israel (Luke 21:24).
These passages make it clear that the Antichrist will lead the Western powers, but they do not specifically designate him as a Gentile. It is entirely possible that he could be of Jewish origin or nationality and still be a European or American Jew who leads the final form of the world government. The fact that the verse that says he will not regard the "God of his fathers" (kjv) can also be translated "gods of his fathers" (niv). This makes his background inconclusive. However the typical exegesis of Daniel 11:37 has focused on his atheistic beliefs, regardless of whether he is a Jew or Gentile.
Stephen Miller writes, "This verse states that Antichrist will reject whatever religion is practiced by his ancestors." Charles Feinberg, on the other hand, prefers the reading "God of his fathers" (kjv), noting that this is the usual expression in the Old Testament for the "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." Feinberg adds, "This is the name of God that is used in the prayer book of the Jews to this very day." Either way, the Antichrist is clearly said to be an unbeliever.
Both the books of Daniel and Revelation associate the Antichrist with a confederation of ten European nations that correspond in some way to the old Roman Empire. Daniel 2:31-45 symbolizes this by the ten toes of the great statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Daniel 7:19-28 and Revelation 13:1-9 symbolize this by the ten horns on the beast.
In Daniel’s prophecies, the Antichrist is always associated with the final phase of the Roman Empire (fourth kingdom). In Revelation 17:9, he is identified with a city that sits on "seven hills" (Rome). While John uses the symbolic term Mystery Babylon to describe this city, he clearly indicates that he is talking about Rome.
Arno Froese points out that the entire social-political-legal structure of the Western world is essentially European. He writes, "The populations of the USA, Canada and South America are made up mainly of European descendants. Our governments are based on Roman principles. . . . We do well to remember that America, North and South, most of Africa, and Australia are a political reality due to . . . the greatest power structure ever, Europe."
It is not difficult, given our current international structure and the need for a human leader to guarantee peaceful coexistence, to imagine a powerful world ruler coming on the scene in the immediate future. The same spirit of Antichrist is at work today, attempting to lure this world into the lap of Satan. Harvard theologian Harvey Cox has warned, "The greatest seducers of history all had one thing in common: they could use the natural needs and instincts of another person for their own selfish ends." He argued that seduction is the most callous form of exploitation because "it tricks the victim into becoming an unwitting accomplice in his own seduction."
His Genius and Power
The Antichrist will be the most incredible leader the world has ever known. On the surface he will appear to be the epitome of human genius and power. Arthur W. Pink writes, "Satan has had full opportunity afforded him to study fallen human nature. . . . The devil knows full well how to dazzle people by the attraction of power. . . . He knows how to gratify the craving for knowledge. . . . He can delight the ear with music and the eye with entrancing beauty. . . . He knows how to exalt people to dizzy heights of worldly greatness and fame, and how to control that greatness so that it may be employed against God and His people."
Pink provides the following list of the characteristics of the Antichrist:
1. Intellectual genius (Daniel 7:20).
2. Oratorical genius (Daniel 7:20).
3. Political genius (Daniel 11:21).
4. Commercial genius (Daniel 8:25).
5. Military genius (Daniel 8:24).
6. Administrative genius (Revelation 13:1-2).
7. Religious genius (2 Thessalonians 2:4).
Perhaps the most telling of his characteristics is depicted in Daniel 11:21, which tells us that he will come to power and "seize it through intrigue" ("flatteries," kjv). Here is a master of deception, empowered by the "father of lies." Many believe he will be Satan incarnate–thus his miraculous recovery in Revelation 13:3.
A simple survey of the characteristics of the Antichrist confirms the idea that he is both a false Christ (pseudochristos) and against Christ (antichristos). He masquerades as an angel of light only to plunge the world into spiritual darkness. Like Satan, he is a destroyer, not a builder. Promising peace, he pushes the world into war. In every conceivable way, he is just like Satan who indwells and empowers him.
Is He Alive Today?
The spirit of Antichrist is alive and well! It is the Satan-inspired expression of lawlessness and rebellion against God, the things of God, and the people of God. It has been alive since Satan slithered his way around the Garden of Eden. It has been the driving force behind the whole terrible history of the human race–wars, murders, thefts, and rapes. It is the ugly expression of the destructive nature of the great deceiver himself.
The New Testament authors assure us that the spirit of Antichrist was active in their day over 20 centuries ago. It has remained active throughout the whole of church history, expressing itself in persecutions, heresies, spiritual deceptions, false prophets, and false religions. Satan has battled the church at every turn throughout its long history, waiting for the right moment to indwell the right person–the Antichrist–as his final masterpiece.
The Restless Search
Any apparent delay is not due to God’s indecision, but to the fact that He has not let us in on the secret. Nor has He revealed this to Satan, who is a limited, finite being. Satan himself is left guessing when the rapture might occur. This means he must have a man in mind to indwell as the Antichrist in every generation. In other words, any one of a number of people could have been the Antichrist, but only one will be. Satan too must keep selecting candidates and waiting for God’s timing.
The apostle Paul comments on this in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, when he tells us that the "coming of our Lord Jesus" will not happen until the "rebellion occurs" and the "man of lawlessness is revealed" (verse 3). Next, he tells us that "you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time" (verse 6). Only after the rapture of the church will the identity of the Antichrist be revealed. In other words, you don’t want to know who he is. If you ever do figure out who he is, you have been left behind!
Since Satan must prepare a man to be his crowning achievement in every generation, it should not surprise us that several candidates appear on the horizon of human history only to vanish away. Satan must wait on God’s timing, so he is defeated before he ever begins his final assault on God. He can’t make his move until God releases the restraining power of the Holy Spirit indwelling the church. Therefore, the Spirit is the agent and the church is the means by which God restrains Satan’s diabolical plan until the Father calls us home to heaven.
Satan’s doom is already assured, but the battle is far from being over. He still "prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). He has fallen from heaven (Isaiah 14:12). He was condemned in Eden (Genesis 3:14). He accuses the believers (Revelation 12:10). Eventually he will be cast out of heaven permanently and will expend his wrath on the earth (Revelation 12:7-12). Ultimately he will be defeated at Armageddon and cast into the abyss (Revelation 19:11—20:3). Finally he will be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10).
In the meantime, Satan waits for his opportunity to destroy the whole world and the ultimate plan of God. He may be a defeated foe, but he has every intention of keeping up the fight to the very end. Even now he is moving about restlessly, searching for the right man to be the Antichrist.
Ten Keys to His Identity
The Bible gives us at least ten keys to identifying the Antichrist when he does come to power. They provide enough details to give a general idea of who he will be when Satan inspires him to make his move onto the world scene. These clues also make it clear that only one person in history will fit this description. There have been many prototypes, but there will only be one Antichrist.
