This Week's Question

 

 

Question

 

 I have heard many projections that the Antichrist could be the Pope, or the President, or some other prominent person. Will we know ahead of time who the Antichrist will be?

 Answer

Many have tried to assign numbers to the names of various individuals, such as a pope, a president, a leader of a country; or, some prominent individual, in their attempt to identify the Antichrist. God is the only One who knows the identity of the man who will become the Antichrist. One has to remember in Job 1:8a, that God, knowing what Satan was thinking, was the one who suggested Job to him. “And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job,... ?”

The answer to this question is found in our book, I Know Who Holds Tomorrow: A Book About Bible Prophecy, Pages 215-221.

I. THE ANTICHRIST IS ONLY A MAN; BUT, ONE PERSONALLY INDWELT BY SATAN, HIMSELF.

A. How He Operates (2 Corinthians 11:4).

Before we go into the particularities of the Antichrist’s activities during the Tribulation Period; it is important to know just who we are talking about. Antichrist and Satan are not the same person, NOW! But WHEN the Tribulation Period begins, the Antichrist will be a man Satan indwells. At that time, Satan becomes the Antichrist.

The one now called "Satan" (Adversary) is the "Lucifer" spoken of in Isaiah 14:12-18 and the "Anointed Cherub and the "King of Tyrus" in Ezekiel 28:12-19. We know him as the Devil.

Many picture him as a comical red figure, carrying a pitchfork, with the body of a man, horns like a goat, and a long tail. This is a totally inaccurate portrayal of Satan and just what he would like us to believe. His favorite role is to masquerade as an "Angel of Light." (2 Corinthians 11:14)

"And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an ANGEL OF LIGHT."  (2 Corinthians 11:14)

Or, “a minister of righteousness.” (2 Corinthians 11:15)

“Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the MINISTERS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS; whose end shall be according to their works. “ (2 Corinthians 11:15)

He is a created "Son of God, and the most powerful angel in God's creation; however, "greater is he than he that is in you, than he that is in theworld." (1 John 4:4) Satan's powers are limited by God. (Job, Chapters 1 and 2). None the less, he is so powerful that in Jude 9, when Satan tried to retrieve the body of Moses so the Jews would give it the worship due to God, the Archangel Michael dared not bring “a railing accusation against him.”

"Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee." (Jude 9)

The Devil indwells the Antichrist and he will be the source of all the Antichrist’s evil intelligence. He will take him over completely as shown by 2 Thessalonians 2:9.

“Even him, whose coming is after the WORKING of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,”

When the Antichrist appears out of the First Seal at the very beginning of the Tribulation Period as the Rider of the White Horse, he is indwelt by Satan. From that point, until the Antichrist (also known as the “Beast out of the Sea, Revelation 13:1), is cast bodily into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 19:20), Satan and the Antichrist are one.

B. The Antichrist, In His Flesh, Is Only a Man.

1. Revelation 13:18.

God reinforces the fact that the Antichrist is only a man in Revelation 13:18,

"Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number i Six hundred threescore and six."

God is saying three times, "He is a man, he is a man, he is only a man!" Numbers in the Bible most always have significance. "Six" is the number of man. Man was created on the Sixth Day of the Re-Creation. We find in 1 Chronicles 20:5-6, 8, that the descendants of Goliath had six toes and six fingers on their hands, showing imperfection.

"And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver's beam. (V.5) And yet again there was war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot: and he also was the son of the giant. (V.6) These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants." (V.8)

2. “666” Only Adds Up to “He Is a Man!”

Many have tried to assign numbers to the names of various individuals, such as a pope, a president, a leader of a country; or, some prominent individual, in their attempt to identify the Antichrist. God is the only One who knows the identity of the man who will become the Antichrist. One has to remember in Job 1:8a, that God, knowing what Satan was thinking, was the one who suggested Job to him.

“And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job,... ?”

3. In His Flesh, He will be a Jewish Descendant of Abraham.

a. We know the Nation of Israel would make a treaty with ANYONE, they thought could guarantee them peace, even this Jewish Antichrist. We have to take our Savior's word for the Antichrist’s nationality, as written by the inspired pen of the Beloved Apostle in John 5:43,

“I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if ANOTHER ( allos) shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.”

Please notice the word “another” in the above verse. It is the Greek word “allos” and means "another of the same kind.” It is the same Greek word translated “another” in John 14:16 when the promise of the Holy Spirit’s coming was given,

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another (Greek “allos) Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;”

God, the Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity. The Trinity is made up of God, the Father; God, the Son; and God, the Holy Spirit.

b. The Prophet Daniel gives added illumination as to the human ancestry of the Antichrist in Daniel 11:37 when he tells us he will not honor the “god of his fathers.” That would be the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and would make him acceptable to the Jewish nation as a “Messiah.” That is who he is imitating.

c. Ezekiel 21:25-27: After he is indwelt by Satan, and becomes the Antichrist, he is called the “Profane Prince of Israel.”

“And thou, PROFANE WICKED prince of Israel, whose day is come when iniquity shall have an end, (V.25) Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, AND TAKE OFF THE CROWN: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. (V.26) I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, UNTIL HE COME WHOSE RIGHT IT IS (CHRIST); AND I WILL GIVE IT HIM.”

(1) Verse 25. “Profane” is the Hebrew word, “halal,” meaning "to pollute, defile, profane, begin.” This is a perfect description of the one who goes into the Jewish Temple, desecrates it, sets up a throne, and declares himself to be God. (2 Thessalonians 2:4).

(2). Verse 25. “Wicked,” is the Hebrew word, “rasha,” and means “so guilty he deserves death.” In this case, spiritual death in the Lake of Fire is his future. (Revelation 19:20)

(3). Verse 26. The “crown,” does not really belong to him, as the Lord God declares in Verse 26,

“Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and TAKE OFF THE CROWN:...”

(4). 2 Thessalonians 2:4. The “Profane Wicked Prince” is actually the Antichrist, indwelt by Satan.

“Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is wor-shipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God..”

(5). Verse 27 reveals that the “crown” is going to be given to the One who has the right to wear it, King Jesus, when he comes to set up His Kingdom.

(6). When? Verse 25 gives the answer “...When iniquity shall have an end.” The Beast and the False Prophet go bodily into the Lake of Fire at the end of the Tribulation Period! We find the end of his career in Revelation 19:20.

“And the beast (Antichrist) was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.”

(7). God simply casts Satan out of the Antichrist like any other demon is removed, and chains him in the Bottomless Pit for a 1,000 years. (Revelation 20:1-3)

4. The Antichrist Is NOT Judas Reincarnated, As Some Have Stated.

This is actually heresy. There is no reincarnation. Man has to make his decisions before he dies; as there are no second chances after death! This the Apostle Paul clearly reveals, speaking by inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Hebrews 9:27,

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:"

II. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ANTICHRIST AND FALSE PROPHET, THE COMING ONE-WORLD RULER

1. He will brainwash people. “Wear out is the Hebrew “bela” and means to wear out in a mental sense only.	“And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High,... (Daniel 7:25a)
2. He will change times and laws.	“...and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” (Daniel 7:25b)
3. He will make you obey, or be killed. These are killed in the first 3 ½ years because they are Christians, the “Trouble-Makers.” Just like those who disappeared at the Rapture.	“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:4)
4. He speaks great things against God, to brainwash the people.	“I considered the horns (men in power), and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn (the Antichrist) were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.”- Daniel 7:8
5. He will be a peacemaker.	“And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. (Daniel 11:21)
6. He will be an intellectual genius, “understanding dark sentences.”	“And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the trans-gressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and UNDERSTANDING DARK SENTENCES, shall stand up. (“Daniel 8:23)
7. He will be a miracle worker.	Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all POWER AND SIGNS AND LYING WONDERS,” (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 8-9)
8. Doing miracles.	“For they are the spirits of devils, WORKING MIRACLES, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” (Revelation 16:14)
9. He is a murderer and a liar.	“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44)
10. He will be a Jew.	“I (Christ) am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if ANOTHER ( allos) shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.” (John 5:43) (“Allos” means "another of the same kind.”)
11. He will not be married.	“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)
The Antichrist Will Be a Single, Jewish Man (Daniel 11:37b). He will remain single for the same reason the 144,000 Jewish Witness of Revelation, Chapters 7 and 14 are single. The 144,000 are single as they want to completely devote their time to “follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.” (Rev. 14:4) The Antichrist remains single as he knows he has but a short time, and it will be devoted to the modus operandi revealed in 2 Thessalonians 2:4, “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”
12. He will be part of the Unholy Trinity.The Dragon is Satan; the Beast is the Antichrist; the False Prophet is the Unholy Spirit.	“And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. (V.13) For they are the spirits of devils (Greek – “demons”), WORKING MIRACLES, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” (Revelation 16:13-14)
13. He will use flatteries and be an oratorical genius.	“...but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.” (Daniel 11:21)
14. He will be a military genius.	“And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he WENT FORTH CONQUERING, AND TO CONQUER.” (Revelation 6:2)
15. He will be a religious genius.	“Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that HE AS GOD SITTETH IN THE TEMPLE OF GOD, SHEWING HIMSELF THAT HE IS GOD.” (2 Thessalonians 2:4)
16. He is of fierce countenance.	“And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a KING OF FIERCE COUNTENANCE, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. (V.23) And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and SHALL DESTROY THE MIGHTY AND THE HOLY PEOPLE.” (Daniel 8:23-24)
17. He will be a commercial genius.	“And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” (Revelation 13:17)