By Chris Schang
One of the most fascinating topics in the Bible is the coming one world government leader known in the Bible as the Antichrist. The Antichrist is Satan's opposite of the Lord Jesus Christ. While Jesus Christ is heralded as the Son of God, the Antichrist will be the Son of Satan and a counterfeit to Jesus Christ. The Bible says that the Antichrist will be a man who rises to great power in the world after the rapture of the church. The Antichrist will stand for everything that Jesus does not stand for. While Jesus Christ stands for purity, righteousness, holiness, and many other things of goodness in contrast the Antichrist will stand for wickedness, evil, lies, and everything evil and wicked.
The Bible gives us numerous prophetic titles for the Antichrist. The Antichrist is often referred to as the man of sin, the lawless one, the son of perdition, the beast, the bloody and deceitful man, the wicked one, the adversary, and many other titles that all paint a dark and grim picture on Antichrist prophecy from the scriptures. The Bible offer quite a few prophecies about the future Antichrist, some of which we will list below. This list is not exhaustive, but will help you in understanding the role the Antichrist will play in the end times. Some Antichrist prophecies for the last days are as follows:
1. The antichrist will be a man - Daniel 7:24-25
2. He will rise among 10 kings - Daniel 7:8 - This 10 nation union will be a revived Holy Roman Empire - Daniel 2:44
3. He will uproot 3 kings from the original 10 kings to gain political power - Daniel 7:8
4. He will confirm a covenant for 7 years - Daniel 9:27
5. His 10 nation union will merge into a world government which he will dominate - Revelations 13:1-2
6. The world government over which he rules will be a red (communistic or socialistic) government - Revelations 17:14
7. He will be promoted and exalted by a miracle working religious partner (false prophet) - Revelations 13:11-12
8. He was, and is not, and yet is - Revelations 17:8
9. He will ascend to power on a platform of peace. By peace, he will destroy many - Daniel 8:25
10. The antichrist will be preceded by 7 kings or rulers. He will be the 8th king. He will also be "of" the 7 - Revelations 17:11
11. He will have a mouth speaking great things. Very boastful - Daniel 7:8
12. His look will be more stout than his fellows - Daniel 7:20
13. He will understand puzzling things - Daniel 8:23
14. He will have a fierce countenance - Daniel 8:23
15. He will cause craft to prosper - Daniel 8:25
16. He apparently assumes world dominating power 3 1/2 years after he confirms the covenant. He then will continue to reign for 42 months - Revelations 13:5
17. The Abomination of Desolation is the event that signals the beginning of this final 42 months - Daniel 9:27
18. He will claim to be God (or an incarnation of God) - 2 Thessalonians 2:4
19. He opposes God - 2 Thessalonians 2:4
20. He will speak marvelous things against the God of gods - Daniel 11:36
21. He will exalt himself above all that is called God - 2 Thessalonians 2:4
22. He will sit in the temple of God - 2 Thessalonians 2:4
23. He will plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain - Daniel 11:45
24. He will have power to make war with the saints and to overcome them - Revelations 13:7
25. He will take away the daily sacrifices from the temple - Daniel 11:31
26. He will continue this war with the saints for 3 1/2 years - Daniel 7:21, 25
27. This time of Great Tribulation is launched upon the Earth by the antichrist at the Abomination of Desolation. - Matthew 24:15,21.
28. He will rule a mighty and strong kingdom - Daniel 7:7
29. He was given power over all kindreds, tongues and nations - Revelations 13:7
30. His kingdom will devour the whole earth - Daniel 7:23
31. During this time, the antichrist will scatter the power of the holy people - Daniel 12:7
32. He will try to change times and laws; and they will be given into his power for 3 1/2 years - Daniel 7:25
33. He will give great honor to the God of forces, with gold, silver, jewels, etc - Daniel 11:38
34. He will prosper in everything that he does - Daniel 8:24
35. He will not regard the God of his fathers - Daniel 11:37
36. He will have great military power that will stand behind him, to enforce his laws - Daniel 11:31
37. He will not regard the desire of women - Daniel 11:37
38. All that dwell upon the Earth will worship him, except those who's names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life - Revelations 15:2
39. He will have an image made after him - Revelations 15:2
40. He will fight against Jesus Christ at Armageddon - Revelations 17:14
41. He will stand against the Prince of princes - Daniel 8:25
42. The mark of the beast will be the amount of his name - Revelations 14:11
43. The Lord will consume him with the spirit of his mouth (which is the Word of God) - 2 Thessalonians 2:8
44. The Lord will destroy him with the brightness of his coming (which is his glory) - 2 Thessalonians 2:8
45. He will be cast alive into the lake of fire - Revelations 19:20
46. He will be tormented day and night for ever and ever - Revelations 20:10
47. He will gain his power, authority, and throne from Satan - Revelation 13:1-2
48. He was given power and authority over tribe, tongue, and nation - Revelation 13:7
49. His rigth eye shall be made blind - Zechariah 11:17
50. He will have a mark so that all shall worship him, and those who don't can't buy or sell - Revelation 13:16-17
As we can see from the Antichrist prophecies, the man of sin is destined to be an evil man that will arise as Satan's vehicle to get the world to worship him. Satan will use the man who is to become the Antichrist as a means of getting the world to worship him during the Tribulation period. He will even have a sidekick that helps him accomplish his evil and wicked plans. This man is known in the Bible as the False Prophet. While the Bible doesn't tell us a whole lot about the False Prophet, it does tell us that the False Prophet will lead men in their worship of the Antichrist. The False Prophet will also introuduce the diabolical "mark of the beast" whereby the people of the world will take a mark on their forehead or hand that pledges their allegiance to the Antichrist. If one is caught being forced to choose between this mark of the beast and being martyred for the sake of Jesus Christ, it is strongly recommended that one be martyred as the mark of the beast is a damnable rejection of God and there is only one place assigned for those who take the mark and that is HELL. Do not take the mark of the beast under any circumstance, if you do you have lost forever the chance to be saved.
The mark of the beast will somehow be related to the infamous number 666, as the Bible tells us that the number 666 is somehow the number of the beast. It is suggested that using gematria people left behind during the tribulation period will be able to figure out who the Antichrist will be. Gematria is simply the use of numbers to represent letters in the Hebrew and Greek languages. It is suggested that the Antichrist's name will somehow add up to 666. This is the primary reason that many end times speculators have focused on prominent political leaders of our day in an attempt to try to figure out if any of their names add up to 666. In my humble opinion, this kind of speculating is pretty much a waste of time as the Antichrist will likely not be revealed until after the rapture of the church. Until then, speculating and naming possible Antichrist candidates is simply a good way to ruin the Christian witness we have in the world as there are numerous candidates and they all can't be right. The best thing for us to do is to know what the Bible says about the Antichrist prophecies and to be prepared to warn those who may be left behind.
God bless.
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