Just the facts ma'am......

You see it all the time, an email or flyer claiming special insight into end time events. Most of these focus on the question of who the Antichrist is. Some even claim knowledge of his identity or give “facts” concerning him in an attempt to identify him with a public figure or candidate for office. These lists really get under my skin due to the fact that they are usually either complete fabrications or have just a little bit of the Bible sprinkled into them in order to give them credibility. So, with a zeal burning in my stomach that people should know God’s full counsel on every matter and that the Bible should not be misquoted, here are a few documented facts, from the Bible itself, concerning the person known to us as the Antichrist.

Let’s first look at what the term means, for it is a term of description and not a title. The name Christ is a title. Christ means the anointed one and is used exclusively of the Jewish Messiah, or the Savior sent from God. The name Jesus is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name Joshua, which means Jehovah saves or Jehovah is Salvation. Jehovah being the Hebrew name of the one true God. Mary was told by the angel Gabriel in a vision to name her son Jesus. Gabriel said this was because the child would save His people from the sins. His name and title together mean Jehovah is salvation, the anointed one. The title anti-christ means one who is against, or opposes the anointed one. This is defined for us, by the Apostle John, in the following passages. These are the only four verses in the entire Bible where the term anti-christ is used.

John gives us the term antichrist in 1 John 2:18. He writes: “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know it is the last hour”. Interesting….John tells us that MANY antichrists have appeared. He goes on to say in verse 22 “Who is the liar, but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ. This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. In chapter 4 verse 2 and 3 he tells us: “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of antichrist….”.
The final use of the term antichrist in the Bible comes in 2 John verse 7 where John says: “…..those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and the antichrist.”

Note that John says there are many antichrists and referred to the spirit that prevails in them all. This spirit leads these people to believe that Jesus is not the Christ, that He is not God’s son and that He has not come in the flesh. Those who perpetrate this belief are called antichrists.

Now to the Biblical definition of the one to come, who shares all of these beliefs and this spirit. He is one who will rise to world power and eventually world domination as shown in the passages that I will refer to. To keep it simple I will refer to the passages and hope that you will pick up a copy of the Bible and look up the scripture that I reference.

First let’s look at the clearest and most complete prophecy of the one who is to come. This is found in the book of Revelation, chapter 13 starting in verse 1. It reads “And the dragon (Satan) stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads……And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority…….All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb (Jesus) who has been slain.” This beast is a man whom we commonly call the antichrist. This passage is connected to the book of Daniel, chapter 7 concerning the rule of the world. Revelation 13:11 says: “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth……and he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast….and he causes all….to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark…” This passage shows that their will be another man who will act as a preacher or priest to point everyone to worship the first man as god. This second man will also control the economy of the world and tie it to worshipping the first man. We generally refer to the first man as the beast and the second man as the false prophet. Together they will control the entire world for a seven year period which will take place immediately proceeding Jesus’ return to earth as its rightful ruler. So hint one…..he’s a leader and possibly a man who calls himself spiritual, not religious.

Second, he will be able to bring peace to the Middle East, where everyone else has failed. Daniel 9:24-27 tells us (in relation to the nation of Israel) that “he will make a firm covenant (pact, contract or treaty) with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering”. There are a lot of things that need to be said here to understand what this statement means. But with the need of brevity for those that don’t like to read, I’ll make some statements and ask you to contact me with any questions or concerns you have. 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 tells us, concerning the last days “While they are saying, ‘peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly…”. This leader will establish a peace pact that will give Israel control of their Temple Mount again. They will again begin to offer sacrifices, which they haven’t done since around A.D. 70 when their temple was destroyed by the Roman army. But halfway through a seven year period, represented by the term week, he will make them stop and declare himself to be god and set up a throne for himself to rule the world. This throne will be located in the Jewish temple. This is what Daniel refers to as the one who makes desolate. Desolate means unfit for worship and this speaks of the place where the offerings were taking place, i.e. The Temple in Jerusalem.

Finally, he will somehow be connected to the old Roman empire. This is discovered through a study of the book of Daniel chapters 2,7 9, 11 and 12. Daniel 9 refers to the beast as “the Prince that shall come”. It says that his people will destroy the temple and the sanctuary. Daniel was written between 605 and 510 B.C. The destruction he speaks of happened in A.D. 70 and was perpetrated by the Roman army under General Titus.

Another 50 pages couldn’t give all of the indicators and scriptural backing for this subject, so I’ll stop here and leave it up to you to finish the research. Concerning those who presume to tell you or hint at the identity of the beast; they usually are trying to get you to speak up or vote a certain way in order to prevent their “antichrist” from taking power. This is not possible. The beast and his false prophet are destined by God himself to be in power. They are also destined to be taken and immediately thrown into the lake of fire at Christ’s return. This is necessary in order to bring about the things that are going to happen at the end of this age. It all must happen in order to clear away this present “new” world order and make way for the kingdom of our God and His Christ. As a Christian you should have joy that these things are so close. If you’re are not a follower of Christ, these things should cause fear, but should also give you hope since you are here reading this and have a chance to turn to Jesus Christ as your God, Lord and Savior and begin to follow Him.

Maybe this cleared up any misconception you had about the beast or antichrist. Maybe you knew all of this. Maybe you are more confused. I’ll always answer any question you have about what I write, or at least give the best answer I can. In any case wish all of you the best and thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings.