Antichrists and Armageddon

I. Millennial view of the Antichrist

A. Quotes

B. “The Bible repeatedly predicts, however, that one person will arise as the embodiment of all anti-Christian attitudes, purposes, and motives that Satan has implanted in his emissaries throughout past centuries.” Revelation Unveiled . Tim La Haye. 207.“In all probability the Antichrist will appear to be a Gentile and, like Adolph Hitler, and others who feared to reveal Jewish blood, will keep his Jewish ancestry a secret.” La Haye, 209.

C. The common view of the Antichrist is well described by La Haye (209-213):

D. He will rise to power by deceiving world leaders, achieving domination in a one-world government, possibly the United Nations. He will dominate the world economy, bringing it under one currency and no one can buy or sell unless they show allegiance to him and receive his mark. He will be worshipped as God and dominate the religious world. He will make a covenant with Israel to protect them, but will break the covenant and lead his forces against Israel. He will die, but Satan will inhabit his body so that he will be resurrected; causing more to worship him who died and is now alive. Finally, he will gather all of his armies against God’s people for the great battle of Armageddon but will be defeated. Most of the quotes to describe the Antichrist’s work are taken from Daniel and Revelation.

E. He is here today!

F. Hal Lindsey

G. In The Late Great Planet Earth, called the Antichrist the Future Fuehrer.“As I wrote 10 years ago in The Late Great Planet Earth, I believe this man is alive today—alive and waiting to come forth.” The 1980’s: Countdown to Armageddon, 15. Dave Hunt: “Somewhere, at this very moment, on planet Earth, the Antichrist is almost certainly alive…Already a mature man, he is probably active in politics, perhaps even an admitted world leader whose name is on everyone’s lips.” Global Peace and the Rise of the Anti Christ as quoted in End-Time Visions by Richard Abanes, p.119. Martin of Tours, the Bishop of Gaul, said “There is no doubt that the Antichrist has already been born. Firmly established already in his early years, he will, after reaching maturity, achieve supreme power.” But he lived from 316-397 A.D. Abanes, p.119

H. Those who have been called Antichrist

I. “Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, King Juan Carlos of Spain, Anwar Sadat, Pope John Paul II, Henry Kissinger, Ayatollah Khomeini, Muammar Gadhafi, Saddam Hussein, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev” have been called Antichrist. Abanes, 119. In 1985, a zealous end-time conspiracy believer accused Pat Robertson of being the Antichrist (In 1980, said the Antichrist was approximately 27 years-old..and being groomed to be the Satanic messiah.).” Abanes, 119. Atilla the Hun and numerous popes have been called Antichrists. The most humorous Antichrist was in the book Will Christ Return by 1988? 101 Reasons Why. The author said that a large computer in the Administration Building at the European Common Market Headquarters in Belgium, called The Beast, could assign a number to every person on earth in the form of an invisible laser tattoo that would probably use three six-digital units and be required for buying and selling. What is humorous is that The Beast did not exist but was a quote from a Christian Life article in which the author learned about this computer from an unnamed source. The real source was part of a fiction novel, Behold A Pale Horse by Joe Musser, who was extremely perturbed at his fictional computer being taken for fact.

II. What is Antichrist?

A. Only appears in 1 and 2 John

B. 1 John 2:18-23

C. Most texts omit the so that “you have heard that antichrist is coming.” John says that there are many antichrists and they oppose Christ, hence the name. John also says that they were around in his time teaching false things. Basically, antichrist is one who denies Jesus and the Father.

D. 1 John 4:1-6

E. John said that the spirit of the Antichrist was already in the world and it was manifest in false teaching. This spirit is behind the teaching that Jesus did not come into the world.

F. 2 John 7-8

G. One who denies that Jesus came to earth in the flesh is an antichrist Again, John says that it is a plurality, not one individual.

H. The Antichrist is the personification of all that opposes Jesus Christ, that denies His divinity or His work on earth.

III. What is the beast?

A. Much of the description of the Antichrist is taken from the description of the sea beast in Revelation 13.

B. Millennialists believe that the Antichrist will rule a revived Roman Empire, which will be a world empire, to control the world and eventually fight against God’s people.

C. Why a revived Roman Empire?

D. Daniel 2: Prophecy of the statue in which the kingdom of heaven is established in the 4th empire, the Roman Empire. We can see that during the time of Rome Jesus did establish His kingdom, over which He reigns today. BRIEF chart tying in Rome-Kingdom passages-Son on Throne But since the millennial doctrine hinges on Jesus being unable to establish His kingdom (expecting an earthly kingdom), then Rome, which fell over 1,600 years ago, must be revived to be wiped out (again) by Jesus.

E. Many believe that since the Sea Beast has 10 heads, that the new Roman Empire will be a European Common Market

F. Hal Lindsey: “I, along with many other Bible students, believed that the European Economic Community (EEC or “Common Market”) was the beginning of the revised form of the Roman Empire predicted in the Bible. At that time there were only six nations (France, West Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Italy) in the association…In 1979, Greece was formally accepted as the 10th member of the EEC.” Though more might be admitted, he says, in the final stages the number would be ten. Countdown, 104, 106. It is a stretch to call the ECM an empire, much less a Roman Empire. The anticipation is that the 10-member ECM would control the world currency and eventually assume political power, the vehicle by which the Antichrist would rule the world. By the way, the ECM now has ____ members. As you can see, it takes some stretching to revive the Roman Empire in the future to make Daniel’s prophecy fit this theology:

G. Millennialists believe that the sea beast is this 10 nation confederacy ruled by the Antichrist

H. Some call the Antichrist’s government the New World Order. George Bush Sr. used the term to describe a new time of peace by using the UN for peacekeeping missions. Of course, the millennial world was frenzied by this. Many anti-semitic patriots believed that 2000 would be the time when the NWO would be established leading to the new millennium beginning in 2007. Pat Robertson suggested April 29, 2007 as the time of the fall of the Antichrist’s NWO. We are running 3 years late. Richard Abanes wisely noted: “Although the U.N. is indeed a multinational organization, it is hardly an ultra-efficient, unstoppable, freedom-destroying machine. Its ineptitude has been well-documented. In fact, U.N. operations have consistently been hampered by poor planning, inadequate and incompetent forces, and complex political problems.” Abanes, 128.

I. The sea beast of Revelation 13 is a political enemy that attacks God’s people.

J. It opposes God, desires to be worshiped as God, and has a false prophet to promote its worship. We do not need to look to the future, but to the past to see this fulfilled.

K. In the Roman Empire, the Caesars demanded worship as gods.

L. They did not oppose worship of other gods but they had to be worshipped as well. Abanes quotes Marvin Pate and Calvin Haines in their book Doomsday Delusions: “The reference in Revelation 13:11-15 to the beast of the land securing worship for the beast from the sea reminds one of the local priests of the imperial cult in Asia Minor whose task was to compel the people to offer a sacrifice to Caesar and proclaim him Lord…Nero had coins minted in which he was called ‘almighty God’ and ‘Savior.’ Nero…demanded divine honors while he was still alive. Those who worshiped the emperor received a certificate or mark of approval—charagma, the same word used in Revelation 13:16. Furthermore, in the reign of emperor Decius (A.D. 249-251), those who did not possess the certificate of sacrifice to Caesar could not pursue trades, a prohibition that conceivably goes back to Nero, reminding one of Revelation 13:17.”

M. Eugen Weber, in his book Apocalypses, quotes Richard Emmerson as calling the Antichrist a “diabolical parody of Christ.” 75.

N. He notes the opposition to Christ by those who want to be worshipped being, as John wrote, already in the world. 75. First century Christians had no doubt that Antichrist was in the world. “Caligula, who insisted that he be worshipped as God, was Antichrist; so was Diocletian; but Nero was preferred. Numerology identified him with the number of the beast, 666, the Armenian name of Antichrist became Neren (Nero); and coins bearing the emperor’s effigy (any emperor’s effigy) probably represented that mark of the beast without which (in Revelation 13:17) one could neither buy nor sell.” 75.

IV. Conclusions

A. Since Jesus has already established His kingdom, we do not look for this to be fulfilled in the future but as occurring in the past.

B. Since the book of Revelation was written to the people of the first century who were enduring persecution, we should realize that the book applies primarily to them.

C. The Bible speaks of many antichrists who oppose Christ and who were active during the first century during the time of John.

D. REWORD