Who is THE
Anti-christ?
By Mike Taylor
“And I saw, and
behold a white
horse: and he that
sat on him had a
bow; and a crown was
given unto him: and
he went forth
conquering, and to
conquer. Revelation
6:2
Many people are
fixed on the end
time’s prophecies
that we are
observing right now
in our time. With
that focus many are
looking for someone
to rise up and
fulfill the prophecy
of the end time
ruler, called the
Anti-christ.
When I pondered this
question, I
remembered many
emails coming from a
fellow across the
big pond who
thoroughly
disbelieves that
there will be an
actual Anti-christ,
This English fellow
believes that this
is all fictional
nonsense, (as he
calls it) and there
will be no one who
will head the end
time government that
is prophesied to be
in place just before
the return of Jesus
Christ to set up His
kingdom. But is he
right, or is he just
a scoffer? Let’s see
what the bible says
about what and who
is called the “Anti-christ”.
The term
"antichrist" is
found only in I and
II John. Notice
1st John
2:18: "Little
children, it is the
last hour; and as
you have heard that
the Antichrist is
coming, even now
many antichrists
have come, by which
we know that it is
the last hour."
In John’s day, there
were many people who
could be classified
as anti-christ. They
were those that
denied that Jesus
Christ had come in
the flesh and was
from God, and was
God. John went onto
to say in v.
22 “Who is a liar
but he that denieth
that Jesus is the
Christ? He is
antichrist, that
denieth the Father
and the Son.”
So even in John’s
day there were many
people who had the
spirit of
anti-christ, but is
that where it stops?
Daniel speaks of the
king that would
come, in Daniel
chapter 11,
Let’s
look at verse 15 and
start reading.
“So the king of the
north shall come,
and cast up a mount,
and take the most
fenced cities: and
the arms of the
south shall not
withstand, neither
his chosen people,
neither shall there
be any strength to
withstand.” Reading on down we see this verse depicting a
ruler to come of
when Daniel wrote
it. In verse28
“Then shall he
return into his land
with great riches;
and his heart shall
be against the holy
covenant; and he
shall do exploits,
and return to his
own land.” If
you read this
chapter, you will
learn from
historical documents
and your own history
books, of a ruler
from
Syria
called Antiochus
Epiphanes. History
shows us that he
lost a battle to the
king of the south,
Egypt
and as he was making
his way back home,
he came against Jerusalem and defiled the temple in his wrath
and hatred of the
Jews.
From a book of
history we read, “Daniel's
prophecy describes
the reign of one of
the later Syrian
kings, Antiochus IV,
surnamed Epiphanies
("the manifest" or
"the illustrious").
With tragic wit, the
Jews named him
Epimanes, or "the
madman," when it
became apparent that
his policies were
violently
anti-Jewish.
Determined to
"civilize" (i.e.,
Hellenize) the Jews,
this Syrian king
systematically
forbade, under
penalty of death,
circumcision,
Sabbath and holy day
observance, and the
reading or
possession of the
scrolls of the
Torah. He executed
some for refusing to
eat swine's flesh
and butchered others
who would not bow to
a pagan image.
Additionally, he had
a statue of Zeus
erected in the
Temple.
Swine were
sacrificed on God's
altar, and pagan
rites, orgies, and
festivals were
performed in the
Temple
grounds. In his
pride, he decreed
that he should be
worshipped as Zeus;
his coins were
struck with the
inscription theos
epiphanes ("God
manifest"), a
horrible counterfeit
of the true "God
with us."
This man was many
years before the
ministry of Jesus
Christ and was known
to all who were
Jewish by birth at
the time of Jesus
being on earth. His
defiling of the
temple led to the
Maccabean War that
defeated Antiochus
and restored the
Temple
after being cleansed
and they are
observed in the Days
of Hanukkah.
When Jesus was
approached by His
disciples on the Mount of Olives, after His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said
this in Matthew
chapter 24:
v. 15When ye
therefore shall see
the abomination of
desolation, spoken
of by Daniel the
prophet, stand in
the holy place,
(whoso readeth, let
him understand:)
v.16 Then
let them which be in
Judaea
flee into the
mountains:
24:17 Let
him which is on the
housetop not come
down to take any
thing out of his
house:
24:18 Neither
let him which is in
the field return
back to take his
clothes.
24:19 And
woe unto them that
are with child, and
to them that give
suck in those days!
24:20 But
pray ye that your
flight be not in the
winter, neither on
the sabbath day:
24:21 For
then shall be great
tribulation, such as
was not since the
beginning of the
world to this time,
no, nor ever shall
be.
24:22 And
except those days
should be shortened,
there should no
flesh be saved: but
for the elect's sake
those days shall be
shortened.
Bible prophecy has
been shown to have
duality of
fulfillment. Just as
Daniel spoke of the
“abomination that
causeth desolation”
and was fulfilled
years later by
Antiochus Epiphanes,
so too, will it be
fulfilled again in
the last days. Years
after Jesus spoke of
this prophecy, the
temple was destroyed
by Roman legions and
the prophecy was put
on hold, as Jesus
spoke of the end of
days.
Since the temple has
been destroyed and
has never been
rebuilt, YET, then
it would be safe to
say that the
prophecy is yet to
be fulfilled. Many
men who fit the
concept of the
“anti-christ” have
come and gone. Some
of them we know from
our history books,
from ancient times
to our modern era.
Some of the names
you will recognize
such as
Nebuchadnezzar from
the book of Daniel,
Haman from book of
Esther, the Pharaohs
of Egypt, Judas
Iscariot the
disciple of Jesus,
Emperor Nero, and
even into modern
days, such as
Hitler, Pol Pot, and
Jim Jones. But none
of them have stood
in the
Temple in Jerusalem and claimed to be a “god” and defile
the temple. That is
a future event. This
man is called
further “the man of
sin.” I would liken
him more than
Anti-christ, but
“Anti-God”, as Paul
writes of him in II
Thessalonians
starting in chapter
2: verse 6:
And now ye know
what withholdeth
that he might be
revealed in his
time.
2:7 For
the mystery of
iniquity doth
already work: only
he who now letteth
will let, until he
be taken out of the
way.
2:8 And
then shall that
Wicked be revealed,
whom the Lord shall
consume with the
spirit of his mouth,
and shall destroy
with the brightness
of his coming:
2:9 Even
him, whose coming is
after the working of
Satan with all power
and signs and lying
wonders,
So how will we know
when the “man of
sin”, the “lawless
one”, the
Anti-Christ has
taken center stage?
Daniel 9:27,
And he shall confirm
the covenant with
many for one week:
and in the midst of
the week he shall
cause the sacrifice
and the oblation to
cease, and for the
overspreading of
abominations he
shall make it
desolate, even until
the consummation,
and that determined
shall be poured upon
the desolate.
This is the very
first sign and
indication that the
ruler who makes a
peace treaty with
Israel
for a seven years of
“peace”, then this
is the man we have
been watching for.
Daniel says that
this man will allow
sacrifices to
resume, which will
require a
temple…either of
stone, or a pitched
tent, as was in
Shiloh.
During this time, he
will be looked at as
a peace keeper, a
man of peace.
What’s going on
right now in
Israel?
Leaders are trying
to make a peace
treaty between the
Palestinians and Israel
without much
success. This man
will succeed when
all others have
failed. Why? Jesus
said,
John 5:45,
I am come in my
Father's name, and
ye receive me not:
if another shall
come in his own
name, him ye will
receive.”
Some have
postulated that this
man will come in his
own name, and the
Jewish people will
accept him as their
“messiah”, a peace
keeper, a restorer
of
Israel’s
right to exist and a
“friend” of Israel. I have to agree with this
premise.
Then only too
late, Israel
will realize their
mistake that he is
an imposter, when he
defiles the temple
and proclaims
himself to be god,
and does the same
idolatry as
“Antiochus
Ephiphanes’ did
thousands of years
ago. Because of
their rejection of
him, he will turn on
the Jewish people
with untold wrath
and a vengefulness
that will surpass
Antiochus.
We shift to the
prophecy in
Revelation chapter
13. Whole books have
been written about
this prophecy, but
we’ll try and
summarize the gist
of the argument I am
supporting.
13:1 And
I stood upon the
sand of the sea, and
saw a beast rise up
out of the sea,
having seven heads
and ten horns, and
upon his horns ten
crowns, and upon his
heads the name of
blasphemy.
13:2 And
the beast which I
saw was like unto a
leopard, and his
feet were as the
feet of a bear, and
his mouth as the
mouth of a lion: and
the dragon gave him
his power, and his
seat, and great
authority.
13:3 And
I saw one of his
heads as it were
wounded to death;
and his deadly wound
was healed: and all
the world wondered
after the beast.
13:4 And
they worshipped the
dragon which gave
power unto the
beast: and they
worshipped the
beast, saying, Who
is like unto the
beast? who is able
to make war with
him?
13:5 And
there was given unto
him a mouth speaking
great things and
blasphemies; and
power was given unto
him to continue
forty and two
months.
13:6 And
he opened his mouth
in blasphemy against
God, to blaspheme
his name, and his
tabernacle, and them
that dwell in
heaven.
13:7 And
it was given unto
him to make war with
the saints, and to
overcome them: and
power was given him
over all kindreds,
and tongues, and
nations.
13:8 And
all that dwell upon
the earth shall
worship him, whose
names are not
written in the book
of life of the Lamb
slain from the
foundation of the
world.
13:9 If
any man have an ear,
let him hear.
Notice the change in
focus in this
passage? It speaks
of “the beast” as an
organization, or a
political power
machine.
Then makes a
decidedly shift to
speak of “him, his”
which a personal
pronouns denoting an
individual. He will
be Antiochus
Epiphanes arisen in
spirit, empowered by
Satan himself. Also
notice that this
system arises out of
the sea, which in
bible speak is a
sign of the nations,
or Gentiles. Then
notice the next
passages:
13:11 And
I beheld another
beast coming up out
of the earth; and he
had two horns like a
lamb, and he spake
as a dragon.
13:12 And
he exerciseth all
the power of the
first beast before
him, and causeth the
earth and them which
dwell therein to
worship the first
beast, whose deadly
wound was healed.
13:13 And
he doeth great
wonders, so that he
maketh fire come
down from heaven on
the earth in the
sight of men,
13:14 And
deceiveth them that
dwell on the earth
by the means of
those miracles which
he had power to do
in the sight of the
beast; saying to
them that dwell on
the earth, that they
should make an image
to the beast, which
had the wound by a
sword, and did live.
13:15 And
he had power to give
life unto the image
of the beast, that
the image of the
beast should both
speak, and cause
that as many as
would not worship
the image of the
beast should be
killed.
13:16 And
he causeth all, both
small and great,
rich and poor, free
and bond, to receive
a mark in their
right hand, or in
their foreheads:
13:17 And
that no man might
buy or sell, save he
that had the mark,
or the name of the
beast, or the number
of his name.
13:18 Here
is wisdom. Let him
that hath
understanding count
the number of the
beast: for it is the
number of a man; and
his number is
Six hundred
threescore and six.
(666).
This speaks
of the “false
prophet” who
supports the beast
and rises out of the
“earth”, which is
bible speak for a
member of the nation
of Israel. Will this false prophet be
Jewish? Appears that
it could be, but
only time will tell.
To the present day
Christian, those
called by the Holy
Spirit to repentance
and acceptance of
our Lord Jesus
Christ, as their
personal savior,
this should bring no
fear to you, or to
me. Why? If you look
up in the middle of
the message is a
verse that gives me
great comfort.
II
Thessalonians
chapter 2:
And now ye know
what withholdeth
that he might be
revealed in his
time.
2:7 For the
mystery of iniquity
doth already work:
only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of
the way.
2:8 And
then
shall that Wicked be
revealed, whom the
Lord shall consume
with the spirit of
his mouth, and shall
destroy with the
brightness of his
coming:
Strongs Concordance
reveals the meaning
of the word “Wicked”
in the previous
verse as: #459
anomos, lawless, not
subject to the
Jewish law, (by
implication, a
Gentile) without
law, lawless,
transgressor,
unlawful, wicked”
There is only one
thing that is
holding back the
revealing of the
Anti-christ , this
lawless one in our
present time. Who is
“he who now
letteth”…I believe
along with many
others, that the
Holy Spirit is
holding back all the
evil power and
Satanic forces that
wish to destroy
human kind. This
passage says that
“he” will be taken
out of the way. I
firmly believe this
is the Holy Spirit
who called each of
us to repentance and
provided the
Salvation of God to
each of us upon our
acceptance of the
sacrifice of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Know this my reader,
if the Holy Spirit
is making a
departure, so are
we. It makes no
sense that God would
leave us alone and
powerless and make
His Word a lie.
Something He will
not do. He gave us
His promise never to
leave us alone, and
God cannot lie. Only
then will the
Anti-Christ be
firmly revealed
according to
scripture.
We may see the run
up to this
Anti-christ being
revealed. There will
be hints and we
might even have a
pretty good idea of
who that person will
be, because of his
position and the
politics of its
formation, but I
believe we will not
see its fulfillment,
as we are not
present on earth.
God has removed His
church out of the
way, as He has done
many times before
when God’s people
are in direct line
of the horrors of an
evil world.
And horrors they
will be. All who do
not take the mark of
the beast, or his
name will be marked
for martyrdom. And
all who take the
mark will be doomed
for all of eternity.
Remember Revelation
chapter 13?
And he had power to
give life unto the
image of the beast,
that the image of
the beast should
both speak, and
cause that as many
as would not worship
the image of the
beast should be
killed.
13:16 And he
causeth all, both
small and great,
rich and poor, free
and bond, to receive
a mark in their
right hand, or in
their foreheads:
13:17 And that
no man might buy or
sell, save he that
had the mark, or the
name of the beast,
or the number of his
name.
During Roman times,
each citizen had to
take an oath of
allegiance to the
emperor and burn
incense before his
statue and profess
these words “Caesar
is god”. Then they
were free to be a
part of this
economic system for
another year.
I say this
because all who
knowingly take this
mark of the beast
will know exactly
what they are doing.
It will be a
conscious decision
to follow the way of
this world, to
partake of the
forced economic
system imposed by
the beast power, and
its leader, the
Anti-Christ, the
Prince to come. It
will not be a
decision of
confusion over it’s
meaning.
And what will be the
punishment from God
for all who take
allegiance to the
“god of this world”?
God warned all who
take the mark of the
beast of this
result. Revelation
chapter 14
14:9 And
the third angel
followed them,
saying with a loud
voice, If any man
worship the beast
and his image, and
receive his mark in
his forehead, or in
his hand,
14:10 The
same shall drink of
the wine of the
wrath of God, which
is poured out
without mixture into
the cup of his
indignation; and he
shall be tormented
with fire and
brimstone in the
presence of the holy
angels, and in the
presence of the
Lamb:
14:11 And
the smoke of their
torment ascendeth up
for ever and ever:
and they have no
rest day nor night,
who worship the
beast and his image,
and whosoever
receiveth the mark
of his name.
There you have it,
my reader. You have
two choices at that
time. You can either
fight and resist the
beast power and it’s
leader and be a
martyr, as many
will….OR, you can
take the mark of the
beast and live
another day and be
doomed for all
eternity per God’s
warning noted above.
But wait, you have
another choice
today, right now.
Roman 10:9-13,
10:9 That
if thou shalt
confess with thy
mouth the Lord
Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine
heart that God hath
raised him from the
dead, thou shalt be
saved.
10:10 For
with the heart man
believeth unto
righteousness; and
with the mouth
confession is made
unto salvation.
10:11 For
the scripture saith,
Whosoever believeth
on him shall not be
ashamed.
10:12 For
there is no
difference between
the Jew and the
Greek: for the same
Lord over all is
rich unto all that
call upon him.
10:13 For
whosoever shall call
upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved.
Then you can look
forward to Paul when
he writes:
4:15 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 them which
are asleep.
4:16 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:
4:17 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.
4:18 Wherefore
comfort one another
with these words.
Taking into
consideration all
the scripture that
points to a coming
Tribulation and a
Prince to come
spoken by Daniel and
more so, in
Revelation, and the
surrounding
historical context
of his reappearing
is a most dangerous
position to not
believe in.
The idea of
there not being a
literal man of sin,
the son of
perdition, “the
ANTICHRIST” is to
deny the Words of
the book, your
bible. Scoff if you
will, but the word
of God makes a most
concrete argument to
that error. Don’t
waste another day as
the Lord could come
back any time in the
future. There is
nothing in prophecy
that must be
fulfilled before He
breaks through the
clouds with a loud
trumpet sound and
call His saints
home. Do it today,
while there is still
time.
And what of my
friend across the
Atlantic?
Even though he is a
scoffer at the idea
of a anti-christ or
even Jesus coming
for His church, will
he be taken as well?
Yes, if he be found
in Jesus Christ,
then he will, along
with the rest of us,
rise to meet the
Lord in the air. I
can only imagine the
grin on his face and
the look of complete
joy at
being.......wrong!!
This is Mike Taylor,
wish you well. If
there be anything I
can pray with you
about, or help you
with, give me an
email to
realteam1999@sbcglobal.net,
or visit me online
at my website at
www.churchofgod-usa.org.
Till we meet at
Jesus Feet. God
Bless you.
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