Aticles 5/4/06

Since then, determining the identity of the antichrist has become something of a cottage industry, particularly on the Internet. There are a number of Christian prophecy-oriented websites whose singular mission is to present evidence that they have figured out who the antichrist is.

One such theory is presented in "The Antichrist and a Cup of Tea" in which Charles, Prince of Wales, is the antichrist. Consider the following offerings concerning Prince Charles:

His name calculates to 666 in both English and Hebrew; the symbols in his heraldic achievement or coat of arms are identical to those of the "first beast" of Revelation 13.

He claims descent from David, Jesus, and Mohammed, he wants to be the King of Europe; he heads the United World Colleges; he steers the environmental ethics and business agendas of over 100 of the world's largest multinational corporations; he is credited for the success of the Rio Earth Summit and thus the Kyoto Protocols, etc.

The late Charles Taylor proposed King Juan Carlos of Spain as an ideal candidate. King Juan Carlos has versions of his name in 10 languages, each using the same numbering system (except for Latin, which uses the Roman numeral system), which each add to 666.

King Juan Carlos is hereditary heir to the title, "King of Jerusalem". King Juan Carlos has a sailboat named "The Dragon." Spain is heavily involved in the Middle East peace process; (The Madrid Accords) and Javier Solana, a Spaniard, headed NATO.

Javier Solana is now de-facto head of state for both the European Union and the Western European Union. This co-mingling of authority was accomplished pursuant to WEU Agreement 666.

Both the EU and WEU arose out of the old Roman Empire as a consequence of the 1957 Treaty of Rome. For these reasons and others, there are entire Christian prophecy sites dedicating themselves to the proposition that Javier Solana is the antichrist.

Scripture paints a detailed portrait of the man Daniel said would be a prince of the people who would destroy the city [Jerusalem] and the sanctuary [the Temple]. Both were accomplished at the hand of future Emperor Titus of Rome in AD 70.

We know he comes from among ten 'kings' in a restored Roman Empire. (Daniel 7:7 7:24, Revelation 13:2) The Western European Union, interestingly enough, restricts its FULL member roster to ten nations. All other member-states are either 'associate members', 'affiliates' or 'permanent observers.

"The 115 representatives (and an equal number of substitutes) from the ten signatory states of the modified Brussels Treaty have full rights," says the WEU's website. In the WEU document, the phrase, "ten signatory states of the modified Brussels Treaty" is offset in bold-face type to make sure nobody misses it. (http://www.assemblee-ueo.org/en/presentation/composition.html)

Daniel 7:8, 24 says that the antichrist will be among these European 'kings' but that he will be different. He will rise from obscurity, but with a 'mouth speaking great things'. He will blaspheme God [Daniel 7:25; 11:36; Revelation 13:5] slandering His Name, dwelling place, and departed Christians and Old Testament saints [Revelation 13:6]

He will confirm a covenant between Israel and the 'many'. [Daniel 9:27] This covenant will likely involve the establishment of a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. [see Dan 9:27; Matt 24:15]

He will put an end to Jewish sacrifice and offerings after 3 ½ years and will set up an abomination to God in the Temple [Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15]. His power will be as absolute as any 'king' of the ancient Babylonians, Persians, and Greeks. [Revelation 13:2] He will not answer to a higher earthly authority; “He will do as he pleases.” [Daniel 11:36]

Daniel 11:37 says he will pay lip service to the religion of his ancestors, but will give honor to the 'god of [military] forces. His whole focus and attention will be on his military. He will conquer lands and distribute them [Daniel 11:39-44]

He will claim that Jesus did not come in the flesh, or that Jesus did not rise bodily from the grave. [2 John 7]. He will deny that Jesus is the Messiah [I John 2:22]

He will be worshipped by many people [Rev. 13:8] He will hate a nation that initially will have some control over his kingdom, but he will destroy this nation [Rev 17:16-18] In some fashion, his name will be related to the number six hundred and sixty six— but not necessarily in an obvious fashion. [Rev 13:17-18]

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, he will be indwelt and empowered by Satan himself. [Revelation 13:2]

Assessment:

I don't believe it is important for the Church to be able to identify the antichrist. I believe the Scriptures teach it is the duty of the Church to be watching for the coming of Christ for His Church, not the coming of His enemy.

I don't believe the Church will still be here when the antichrist comes to power, so his identity is largely irrelevant. 'Largely' irrelevant. Not completely.

The Bible goes into great detail concerning the antichrist, listing at least twenty-seven separate prophecies regarding the man of sin -- of which we've touched on just a handful.

No Scripture is without relevance to the Church, including those concerning the antichrist. What is important is viewing those Scriptures from the right perspective.

In addition to the prophecies regarding the antichrist, the Bible gives dozens of other prophecies to the Church, most of which will not be fulfilled until after the Church has been Raptured.

That begs the question; "if we aren't going to be here when it happens, why devote so much time to the details?"

In His Olivet Discourse, Jesus outlined events from the perspective of Israel at the time of the end. He described the Tribulation Period from two entirely different perspectives.

Matthew 24:4-14 describe the events now ongoing as the Church Age comes to a conclusion. Jesus speaks of global wars, rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, etc., saying "all these are the BEGINNINGS of sorrows." Jesus promises that, "he that shall endure to the end shall be saved." (24:13) That He is referring to those Christians that are alive at His coming at the end of the Church Age is confirmed by the next verse:

"And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and THEN SHALL THE END COME." (Matthew 24:14)

Immediately after THAT 'end has come', there is a shift in focus from global events to localized events from Israel's perspective, all of which are framed within the context of Jewish Law.

Jesus alludes to the 'abomination of desolation' (of the as-yet non-existent Temple.) (24:15) He addresses those specifically living in Judea (the modern West Bank). He makes reference to the Jewish Sabbath travel restrictions (not imposed on the Church).

THEN, Jesus says, "Behold, I have told you before." For the Church, it is a warning that our time is drawing to an end, that the fields are white with the harvest, and that the harvest season is quickly drawing to a close. For the Jews, it is evidence that this same Jesus Who forecast the Tribulation will also return at its conclusion.

When He returns visibly at the conclusion of the Tribulation, Zechariah says that "they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him," [Zechariah 12:10] ultimately resulting in Israel's national conversion and salvation in accordance with God's purpose for the 'Time of Jacob's Trouble.'

The details about the coming antichrist are useful to the Church because they impart a sense of urgency to fulfill the mission of preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom into the whole world BEFORE the end comes. As the saying goes, "if the calendar says Thanksgiving, then you know Christmas is right around the corner."

If the symbols, heads, horns and beasts of Daniel and Revelation are beginning to make sense, then you know that this is the generation to whom they were addressed. Daniel didn't understand all that he was seeing in his vision, and he asked for an explanation.

Instead, the revealing angel told Daniel, "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." [Daniel 12:4]

Over the next few reports, we'll look more deeply at what the Bible says about the coming antichrist and his system and see where it leaves us on the Bible's timeline.

Not because I am particularly interested in his identification. I don't think we can identify him personally, anyway. How does one pick out a person who is ABOUT to be indwelt by Satan?

Rather, we need to take a closer look because the clearer the picture gets, the closer we are on the timeline to MISSING his unveiling. . . and the Rapture of the Church.

And THAT's useful information to have handy.