Who the Antichrist Isn't

by Jack Kinsella

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For some time, I've been a bit hesitant to present all the information that we've covered in the last couple of days regarding the uncanny similarities between Javier Solana's career and the Bible's description of the antichrist.

I've focused a lot of attention on the developing EU, the background power of the WEU, and, in particular, the fact that the WEU remains, despite expansion, essentially a ten-nation confederacy that arose out of the old Roman Empire in this generation, just as the Bible predicted.

But I've avoided spending much time on Solana himself. Why?

After all, there are many, many points of what appear to be common agreement between Solana and the coming prince of evil. Solana's holds concurrent appointments as Secretary-General of both the EU and WEU.

The relevant WEU document to Solana's appointment as Secretary-General to the WEU, for example, is recommendation #666. He holds almost-unchecked power over both organizations.

As the former Secretary-General of NATO, Solana has both intimate knowledge of the European military alliances, and the connections to exploit them.

Solana has made no secret of his exasperation with Israel and his pro-Palestinian, pro-Arab worldview. Solana is also the driving force behind the EU's expansionist empire, which is currently seeking to include most of the Middle East in what it calls the European 'Neighborhood'.

There is, to my mind, no doubt that Daniel's ten kings are the ten full members of the Western European Union and that the WEU/EU together make up the revived Roman Empire foretold by the prophet Daniel.

The problem with identifying Solana with the antichrist, however, is the POSSIBLITY that he isn't.

Assessment:

As I've noted before, I get a lot of email from well-meaning folks criticizing me for teaching 'error' because I teach pretribulationist theology from a Dispensationalist perspective.

Dispensationalism, simply stated, is a systematic overview of theology that says that, during different periods of human history, God dealt in different ways with different people or groups, depending on the historical timeline.

In the case of Adam and Eve, God walked with them 'in the cool of the evening' enjoying personal one-on-one fellowship with the two sinless people created in His Image and in His likeness. This is called the Age of Innocence.

It is followed, after the Fall, by the Age of Conscience that resulted in the Flood.

The Tower of Babel incident marked the start of the Age of Government. God's Covenant with Abraham ushered in the Age of Promise. The reception of the Ten Commandments by Moses introduced the Age of the Law.

The Church Age began at Pentecost is the Age of Grace, and it concludes with the removal of the Holy Spirit's ministry of restraining evil on the earth at the Rapture.

Since Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would indwell the Body of Christ until Jesus returns for His Bride, the Bride can't be here either, without concluding He sent us the Comforter for all time -- except for just at the time we need Him the most.

He can't indwell me during the Tribulation Period WITHOUT restraining evil, unless I am prepared to argue that, apart from His indwelling, I am capable of restraining it in myself.

That would be news to the Apostle Paul:

"For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not." (Romans 7:18)

The removal of the Restrainer sets the stage for the final, unfulfilled 70th 'week' of Daniel, the Tribulation Age.

At His 2nd Coming at the end of the Tribulation Age, Jesus sets up His Millennial Kingdom during the Thousand Year Millennial Age.

There is no doubt in my mind that this current Dispensation, the Age of Grace, is about to draw to a close with the Rapture of the Church, which means the Tribulation Age is just around the corner.

Not because Javier Solana's career bears such an uncanny likeness to the coming antichrist; but because ALL the signs foretold for the last days by Scripture are coming to pass in a single generation.

History is filled with candidates for the role of antichrist. Adolph Hitler seemed an excellent bet. He attempted to revive the old Roman Empire by force of arms, whilst simultaneously unleashing the most prolific one-man effort at exterminating the Jews in world history to that time.

But other historical candidates included the Emperor Charlemagne. Napoleon. The various Popes of the Dark Ages. Various Roman Emperors of antiquity, with the most notable being Nero. All of them seemed, at first glance, to resemble the dark prince foretold by the Prophet Daniel.

But none of them, obviously, were that 'Wicked' that Paul warned of in 2nd Thessalonians.

The promise of His coming is preceded by the signs Jesus gave to His disciples when they asked Him specifically, "What will be the sign of Thy Coming?" in Matthew 24:3. Those signs are coming to pass. That is spectacular enough.

For two thousand years, well-meaning Christians have 'discovered' the antichrist, pronounced the end is near, and then were discredited (together with the Message they tried to carry) when it didn't turn out the way they predicted.

2nd Peter 3:3-4 says, "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation."

It should come as no surprise, therefore, that the world is pretty skeptical when somebody announces (again) that they have identified the antichrist. As a matter of fact, that is just about the surest way I can think of to earn the title of prophecy 'nut'.

We are certain that this IS the generation that will see the return of Christ, not because a new candidate for antichrist is on the scene, or because Europe is in the process of uniting as a single empire in this generation.

As noted, there've been dozens of candidates for antichrist, and dozens of efforts to unify Europe and recreate the old Roman Empire.

We are certain this IS that generation because the Bible says that generation's countdown begins with the restoration of the Jews to the Promised land as a nation called 'Israel' -- an event that can only happen once.

And that ALL of the signs of the times given by Jesus would subsequently unfold during that single generation.

To return to the critics of the pre-Trib Rapture, for a second, the most often-expressed objection is that, if the Tribulation begins and the Church is not Raptured, then those left behind will lose their faith and succumb to the Mark of the Beast.

They argue that the proper perspective is to prepare the Church to go through the Tribulation, instead.

They aren't looking for the Christ, they are looking for the antichrist -- and history shows he can be found all over the place, if somebody looks hard enough.

But the Apostle John warns; "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time." (1 John 2:18)

John defines the spirit of antichrist;

"And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (v 4:3)

So the Bible teaches that the antichrist is both a spirit of unbelief AND a physical person indwelt by Satan in the last generation.

The problem with looking for the antichrist is two-fold. The first problem is similar to that expressed by my critics. They claim I am leading people into error that, being proved to be error during the Tribulation, will cause people to lose their faith.

That 'faith-destroying error' is that Jesus will return before the antichrist makes his appearance on the scene. If one puts his faith in the antichrist, that is a legitimate argument. It is equally true that putting one's faith in the Rapture could set someone up for 'faith destroying error.'

Our faith is in Christ's power and willingness to save those who are lost if they trust Him alone for their salvation -- as it has been for twenty centuries before this one.

The second problem is that looking for the antichrist instead of the Christ is unBiblical. The signs of the coming antichrist weren't given to the Church so that we would know enough not to take the Mark of the Beast.

They were given to the Church in the last generation as evidence of His soon return and the lateness of the hour -- for the purpose of leading the lost to Christ before it is too late.

"And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe." (John 14:29)

Now we return to Javier Solana and those say he IS the antichrist and therefore, we are either in the Tribulation, or about to be. What if he isn't?

Suppose Solana gets run over by a bus? Killed in a plane crash? Especially after he's been pronounced by prophecy teachers as the antichrist?

More scoffers.

What, exactly, is there about the identification of the man of sin that edifies the Church? To what purpose? It isn't like there is a shortage of indicators that we are living in the generation of Whom Jesus spoke when He gave the signs of the times.

But Jesus never spoke of the antichrist from the perspective of the Church Age. When He spoke of the coming persecution of Israel by the antichrist, He was addressing it from the perspective of Israel, not the Church.

"They shall put you out of the SYNAGOGUES: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service." (John 16:2)

I don't know if Javier Solana is the antichrist. He might be. He sure fits the profile. Whether or not Solana turns out NOT to be the antichrist will have no bearing on my faith.

Because my faith isn't in the antichrist and my desire isn't for his appearing.

The signs of the times were given to the Church Age so that we would know when His return was 'near, even at the doors' so that this generation could know that 'this generation shall not pass until all be fulfilled."

Naming the antichrist is of zero importance on this side of the Rapture, if one believes in a pre-Trib Rapture, since we will never know if we are correct.

It will be of little use to the lost who are left behind, since knowing in advance who he might be will do nothing to prevent his reign of terror once it starts.

Paul says that God will send strong delusion to those left behind, so that they will accept him because they preferred him to the Savior in the first place.

"And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." (2 Thessalonians 2:10)

And, since we could be wrong, it is even less than useless, since it will provide the enemy with additional ammunition to discredit Christianity and the Tribulation saints during the Tribulation Period.

The Bible promises a crown of righteousness for those who love His coming.

"Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto ALL THEM ALSO that love His appearing." (2 Timothy 4:8)

Not for watching for His enemy. It is patently obvious that the stage is set for the rise of the antichrist. But the Bible calls the antichrist a 'mystery of iniquity' -- a mystery of sin, not a mystery of righteousness.

Jesus warned that, 'when these things BEGIN to come to pass, our redemption draws near' -- not when 'these things' have come to full fruition during the Tribulation.

My email box today is filled with suggestions that I write a book about Solana, or co-publish one, 'because the Church needs to be informed' -- as one reader suggested.

Another suggests it is up to the Church to warn those left behind of the antichrist's identity.

I respectfully disagree on both points.

First, warning those left behind will be unnecessary. They won't believe it now, and they won't need to be told later -- the antichrist will identify himself by his actions.

And informing the Church of the identity of antichrist is like warning the citizens of Miami to buy parkas because of a coming blizzard in northern Alberta.

They'll only need them if they are planning to BE in northern Alberta.

Javier Solana MIGHT be the antichrist. Or he might be a tool used by the enemy to prepare the way FOR the antichrist. We'll never know, this side of the Rapture, which is true.

We only know -- for sure -- who the antichrist ISN'T. He ISN'T the Christ.

To go further than that is to leave the protective umbrella of the revealed Word of God and start coming up with new 'truths' -- which may or may not be actually true -- all on my own.

God didn't identify the antichrist to the Church, other than to say his arrival on the scene is a continuation of a 'mystery of iniquity that doth already work'.

He said instead to Israel; "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." (Luke 21:28)

If it is near for them, it is even nearer for the Church.

"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you BY THE WORD OF THE LORD, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (or, precede) them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with THESE words." (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18)