Who is the antichrist? Where does he come from? How will we recognize him? These are questions that fascinate Christian and non-Christian alike. Even Hollywood has gotten in on the act. Look at the books on prophecy in your local Christian bookstore or listen to your average sermon on prophecy (if they even talk about the subject) and you will find a lot of conflicting information out there. How do you know who is right? Why are there so many interpretations? If Christians are not clear on these issues, they will be tossed about by every wind of doctrine and possibly led astray.
Most Christians base their interpretation of prophecy on teachings that go back to the beginning of the Twentieth Century or earlier – based on the geo-political situation of the time. A lot of folks find prophecy too hard to understand and too unsettling. They don’t want to study themselves. They want to be spoon fed by the “experts.
It doesn’t matter what we are taught or what the latest book we have read says. We have to be grounded in the Word of God ourselves. That is our ultimate source. We should listen to the Word first and then to others. We should filter everything we hear or read through the Word of God. Does what someone is saying agree with the Word?
A good example was the Y2K scare. Many Christian leaders got caught up in preaching gloom and doom, the failure of our economies and the complete collapse of modern civilization (of course, none were held accountable). One well-known Christian writer, Gene Edwards, predicted we would be back in the horse and buggy days and living off the land (and of course, his Foundation would be glad to sell us supplies to help us get by). All I had to do was read the Bible to know this was ridiculous. The Bible tells us that in the last day’s technology, and knowledge increase until it crashes into the wall at the end. We also know there are certain prophetic events that have to occur signaling the “beginning of the end” and those haven’t occurred yet. A person well grounded in the Word, would have never been caught up in the Y2K hysteria. And these were Christian leaders stirring the frenzy!
There are many conflicting interpretations of prophecy, so we need to be very careful. Some may be true but others may be part of the deception. So, what is being taught about the antichrist? In traditional fundamental Christian circles, there are a number of theories as to his origin: 1) some feel he will rise out of a reborn and powerful European community, 2) others that he will arise out of the United Nations, 3) or from Iraq (where the city of Babylon is), 4) he will come out of Russia, 5) he will be the Pope and others think he will be a Jew. So what the does Bible say? How about America? This is not even a consideration. What a crazy idea!
Most fundamental Christians believe the antichrist will come from somewhere else other than America. They are taught that the U.S. has no role in prophecy because, as far as they are concerned, it is not mentioned in the Bible. It therefore must either go into decline or be destroyed. Now it is interesting to think that, if we are in the “last days”, a nation as big and powerful as the U.S. isn’t mentioned, but is that really true? One thing we do know from Scripture is that there will be a powerful “last days” nation that the antichrist himself will come out of. First, let’s look at verses related to the antichrist.
Here is an excerpt from The Antipas Papers on the characteristics of the antichrist:
The antichrist is clearly the head of a nation, and is called the king of Babylon. The key to finding out the identity of the antichrist is to find out what “last days” country is represented by prophetic “BABYLON”. Again, an excerpt from The Antipas Papers concerning Babylon:
1. “She dwells in the midst of many waters - she is protected by the waters [or oceans] which surround her [literally, she is said to dwell "in the heart of the seas" - Pember, Earth's Earliest Ages, pg. 46). Indeed, Antichrist is pictured by Ezekiel as exulting in the strength of his sea-girt nation, and likening himself, in proud reliance upon his inaccessible dwelling, to the God that sitteth above the heavens [Ezekiel 28:1-2; Jeremiah 51:13). (This could hardly refer to Iraq!)
2. Her People are a mingled people - that is to say, a "melting pot." (Jeremiah 50:37).
3. She evidently has never known the heel of a conqueror and is exceedingly powerful militarily (Revelation 18:4-5 - implied, Jer. 50:23).
4. The nations of the earth are dominated by her (Rev. 18:9); she is an arrogant, proud, and haughty nation (Jer. 50:23).
5. She is the greatest economic power in the world, a power so great that the nations of the earth are able to grow rich if they can trade with her or are allowed access to her domestic markets in which to sell their goods (Revelation 18:3, 11, 12).
6. By means of her economic power [covetousness] she controls the world; gluttony reigns as the people (or the elites which control this nation) live sumptuously [but want more - their appetite never satisfied], while many in the world starve (Jeremiah 50:38; 51:12-13).
7. Her people do not know the bitterness of poverty and live in great wealth (Revelation 18:7).
8. The nations of the earth must trade with her by sea (a confirmation of #1 above - Revelation 18:19, 23).
9. The people of Babylon are exceedingly materialistic and are madly in love with their worldly possessions which have become their idols (Jeremiah 50:38); her tastes are extravagant (Rev. 18:14); she is a nation of great material attainments; and her achievements in the "fine arts" [i.e., music, dance, literature, films, etc.] are renowned throughout the world and copied everywhere (implied - Rev. 18:22; Jer. 51:53).
10. Babylon is described as a vast latter-day nation, not as a single city (Jeremiah 50:51). In fact, she is a nation of MANY influential cities (Rev. 18:18). In this connection, it is necessary to note that we are here talking not of mere city to be rebuilt on the site of Ancient Babylon; such a concept is in conflict with Isa. 13:19-22 - please see the note on page 1347 of the Scofield Reference Bible.
11. Babylon is described as a nation which at one time was a God-fearing nation [a "Golden Cup" in the Lord's hand], but a nation which left God and fell into degradation and then which intoxicated the rest of the world with her iniquity. (Jer. 51:7).
12. Finally, she is a nation that "has reached for the stars [heavens]" - i.e., space (Jer. 51:53).”
According to the Bible, prophetic Babylon is the most powerful economic and military power on earth. But above all it is a “Christian” nation and the antichrist (in Greek this doesn’t mean “against” Christ but a Christ “substitute”) appears to be “Christian”. It is not an association of countries, but a single country that dominates all others. So does this describe Russia? Hardly, because it is neither Christian, nor is it wealthy, nor does it have a modern military. How about Iraq? Nope! Europe? I don’t think so. Europe is post-Christian at best and not stationed between oceans.
The antichrist and Babylon forms an alliance with the Harlot. Revelation 17 describes “religious and political Babylon” and Revelation 18 describes “commercial” Babylon. Chapter 17 describes the beast making a pact with and eventually turning on the harlot, described as the mother of harlots sitting on the seven hills, clearly the Roman Catholic Church. But notice it says the “mother of harlots” which includes the “baby” harlots spawned by her – the churches of the reformation which are also rushing back into “mothers” arms in the new powerful ecumenical movement. Please see Chapter 4 of “Recognizing Deception” at ..\Apostasy\recognizing_deception_and_apostasy_chapter_4.htm.
Clearly, the antichrist comes to power through an alliance with the Christian religious system. How could he deceive Christians if he does not appear to be a “Christian”? Some say he will be the head of the U.N., a clone of Adolf Hitler who is raised in Russia, an Iraqi or a Jew. This is impossible! No, he will appear to be “Christian” and come to power through an alliance between the state and the “church”. The antichrist is not establishing a “New Age” religion. Even Hitler came to power as a “Christian” even though later it came out he was something different. It will be the same with the antichrist. He will be popular; will appear to be a moral, concerned and loving populist leader
I challenge you to do the research. Daniel 7 describes a beast with ten horns and out of the ten comes a “little” horn and that little horn ends up dominating all the others. Out of the “little horn” comes the antichrist, the king of Babylon waging war with all the saints (Daniel 7:20-21). The commonly held belief is that the antichrist comes from a “resurrected” holy, Roman Empire represented by the western European nations. People tend to look at narrow geographic boundaries but God looks at peoples. A Jew is a Jew whether he lives in Israel, Russia, Argentina or the U.S. Folks, we are Western European in language, culture, law, religion, etc. Isn’t it conceivable that the most powerful nation in the world that sprang out of European migration, that dominates not only Europe but the rest of the world, could possibly be the United States of America? We are European, if you will, in language, culture, law and religion! And we just happen to be the only economic and military superpower of the world. If we think in terms of peoples, the Christian Western World includes Europe, North and South America, Australia, New Zealand and possibly a few other nations that are European from a cultural, linguistic or religious point of view. Yes, the antichrist eventually unites the whole western world but from the base of the one nation, the little horn of Daniel 7.
In future writings, we will show just how dominant the U.S. is in military and economic terms. People who think Europe will eclipse the U.S. and leave America in the trash bin of history do not understand history, the extent of U.S. dominance or the concept that God could possibly be describing a nation in prophecy that no one at the time knew existed. Revelation 18 describes a great nation consuming the world’s exports, a nation all the nations of the earth have to trade with across oceans. Does this fit Europe, Russia, or Iraq? I don’t think so.
Let’s dispel a few myths here. The U.S. does not serve the United Nations. The United Nations serves U.S. interests and exists at our behest – not the other way around. The same may be said for the IMF, the World Bank, etc. The UN is nothing more than a forum for client states to vent their anger and frustration. The European economic community is a joke. For all those who predict that the “Euro” will replace the dollar, the mighty dollar continues to beat down the Euro which has lost over a third of it’s value (from 117 to 84 euros to the dollar) over the past year and continues to fall. Europe consists of uncompetitive nations strangled by cumbersome bureaucracies, with different languages and cultures. The Euro is for our convenience – not their’s. They depend on our market for their goods and services. They can scarcely agree on anything. Compared to the U.S., the EEC countries have little or no offensive military capability. The UN has no more military power than what we allow.
And finally, Europe is truly in a “post-Christian” era. There is none of the zeal for Christianity you find in America. We are the only country that has a “manifest destiny” and calling to “Christianize” the world. There is only one nation that unites the Christian Western world. That same nation possesses a zeal to Christianize the world in a way no other nation possesses. How many American Christians today feel that this country was founded on the Bible, and is the only standard bearer left to bring the gospel of the kingdom to the lost world. This is not to denigrate those who sacrificially labored in the mission field over the years.
We are also talking about the crusading spirit that has led us to dominate and subjugate the peoples of the world for our own selfish purposes. It is also true that Christians have wittingly or unwittingly been used by U.S. corporate and political interests to expand our evil empire. I wrote the original USAID (a front for the CIA) grant for World Relief of the National Association of Evangelicals in 1979 to fund development projects around the world. In 1981, I was in charge of a project to resettle Southeast Asian refugees into the jungles of Bolivia for Food for the Hungry, another Christian relief and development agency and had several run-ins with the “political officers” of the CIA.
All of this to say that the antichrist does not come from the United Nations representing all the nations on the earth, or a group of nations (Europe), but a young nation with European roots that in less than 100 years has become the dominant economic force and super power in the world, that also happens to be the seat of evangelical zeal. Put American zeal together with the Roman Catholic Church/state and you have a powerful alliance.
The antichrist is neither Muslim nor Jew, but represents “Apostate Christianity” – a form of Christianity that is hungry for wealth, power and conquest, that seeks to bring the “Kingdom of God” to earth by force, that seeks to counter the holy wars of Islam. You think Islamic fundamentalism is scary, wait until you see what Christian fundamentalism can do! They carry bombs in their shoes and around their bodies. We can deliver them by air. No contest! What Russia couldn’t do in ten years in Afghanistan, we did in less than 100 days! Our war on terrorism will not stop until it becomes an all-consuming culture war – us against them, with Babylon the Great and the antichrist himself leading the charge! The church is already willing being drawn into the fray, waving our flags and our crosses, singing as many patriotic songs as hymns on Sunday morning.
Finally, the antichrist and Babylon, the nation he represents, makes a pact with Israel for seven years (Daniel 9). The U.N. hates Israel, as does Iraq, and a single friend cannot be found for Israel in Europe. Only one modern nation in the world stands out as Israel’s friend and supporter. Only one nation has the military might to enforce such a treaty. Guess who? And the leader of that nation who signs the treaty with Israel is the antichrist!