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Posted by Uh oh... on October 9, 2009, 11:49 am
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The Antichrist: 666
by Michael G. Mickey
The one person in prophecy almost everyone seems to have an interest in is the coming Antichrist.
Every student of Bible prophecy dedicates a significant period of time trying to understand the qualities the Antichrist will possess, where he will come from, how to identify him using the number of his name (666), how he will rise to power, how he will unite the global economy under one currency, how anyone could possibly become the leader of the entire world, and how he will deceive the entire world into worshipping him as though he were God.
When will the definitive answers to all these questions be revealed to the world? Only when the Antichrist rises to power!
God has veiled the Antichrist in mystery, much like He has veiled the timing of the return of Christ for His Church, but He has given us enough information in the Bible to allow those living on the earth during the rise and subsequent reign of the Antichrist to be able to identify him. Through the Scriptures, many will identify him in those days by his behaviors, very specific acts he will perform, and certain requirements he will impose on the world's population.
When will the Antichrist rise?
He will arise during a time when Christianity is in a state of decay due to apostasy:
2nd Thessalonians 2:3: Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
He will arise after the Rapture of the Church:
The Antichrist, if he is alive today (and I HIGHLY believe he is), is currently being restrained by the power of the body of Christ, the Church indwelt by the Holy Spirit, as seen in 2nd Thessalonians 2:6-7: And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
In Revelation 4:1 we see the Apostle John called up to Heaven, raptured to God's throne. The Church isn't mentioned again in the Revelation until Revelation 19:7 when the Bride (the Church) attends the Marriage Supper of the Lamb with the Groom, our Lord Jesus. As such, it is clear those who have accepted Jesus Christ prior to the Rapture event will not see one day of the Antichrist's reign of terror.
He will arise as a calming influence when the world is in chaos seeking peace:
This is one of the key indicators of the timing of this coming world leader's rise to global power. He will arrive as a peacemaker during a period of instability and chaos when the world will be clamoring for peace.
Identifying the Antichrist
He will be a leader from the European Union or of Roman descent:
Revelation 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.
When John sees the coming Antichrist as he writes the book of Revelation, he sees him (the beast) rising from the sea. The sea near the Holy Land is the Mediterranean Sea. The sea John was in himself at the time of receiving this prophecy was the Mediterannean Sea as he was on the Isle of Patmos. I believe this tells us the Antichrist will come from a land across water, but I'm not dogmatic in stating that.
He will "confirm" a seven-year peace covenant between Israel and her enemies:
Daniel 9:27: And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week....
It is unknown what office the Antichrist will hold at the time he "confirms" this peace plan, but he will be the driving force behind it, accomplishing peace where no one else has been able to before - the Middle East. He may or may not be the actual author of the plan, but he will be the person who will make the plan work. The world will be amazed at the accomplishments of this man when he does this. He will become the most well-known diplomat ever, almost overnight.
I would almost guarantee this man will be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, although that is speculative, of course. The seven-year peace plan of the Antichrist will run concurrently with the final seven years of mankind's rule of the earth - the Tribulation Period.
The Antichrist's name will somehow equal or he will have a connection to the number 666:
Revelation 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.
He will be slain (assassinated) sometime within the first 3 1/2 years of the seven-year peace plan:
Several passages in the 13th chapter of Revelation detail this event. There are three specific passages that speak of the beast (the Antichrist) receiving a deadly wound. Because the Antichrist will be a man with only one head, some argue the first passage, Revelation 13:3, which mentions "one of his heads" being wounded to death, is a reference to a branch of his government rather than to him personally. I think the event referred to in that passage will be, like all other prophecies in the Revelation, easily identifiable at the time the prophecy is fulfilled. The second two passages which refer to a deadly wound to the beast seem to directly point to the Antichrist personally being wounded.
Revelation 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.
Revelation 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.
Revelation 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.
The Antichrist will somehow be satanically resurrected prior to making a claim to deity:
Two passages of Scripture speak in detail concerning the satanic resurrection of the Antichrist as seen below.
Revelation 17:8: The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Revelation 11:7: ...the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
When I state the Antichrist will be satanically resurrected, I'm referring to a counterfeit resurrection event of some type. At the very least, mankind will be deceived into thinking the Antichrist has miraculously risen from the dead. We're told in Scripture, as shown above, he'll ascend "out of the bottomless pit."
To ascend out of the bottomless pit, it seems logical to me that the Antichrist somehow has to have made his way down to it beforehand. Death is the only way I can see that taking place but I'm not dogmatic concerning my interpretation on this point.
This is one of those prophecies I believe will be best understood at the time of its fulfillment during the Tribulation Period to come.
He will break his peace treaty with Israel 3 1/2 years into the plan, enter a rebuilt Holy Temple of the Jews, and desecrate it by proclaiming himself to be God:
This event is called "the abomination of desolation" and can be found in Daniel 9:27, Revelation 13:6, 2nd Thessalonians 2:4, and Matthew 24:15.
His claim to be God will be supported by many signs:
2nd Thessalonians 2:9: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
He will exercise global control for the final 3 1/2 years politically, religiously, militarily, and economically:
Those who align themselves with the Antichrist and receive the mark of the beast will be spared his wrath, but will be damned in the eyes of God. Those who rebel against him by refusing to worship him or receive his mark will be killed.
He will attempt to kill all Jews and Christians after proclaiming himself to be God:
Although it's speculation on my part, I feel confident the Jewish people, who will have embraced him as a man of peace, will suddenly turn on him in rebellion after his desecration of their Temple. I feel this rebellion will lead him to try and wipe them all out, along with their Christian supporters.
The Antichrist will make Adolf Hitler look like a guy you'd want to have over for dinner by comparison when this happens. As the Jewish people flee for their lives, he will pursue them relentlessly, killing a majority of them. Some of the Jews will make it to a place God has prepared for them in the wilderness where He will feed them and care for them as He did as they sought the Promised Land. Most students of prophecy believe this place is Petra, Jordan.
Revelation 12:17: And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
He will gather the armies of the world to fight against the Lord and will be defeated:
The Antichrist will gather the armies of the world in a futile effort to defeat Christ, but will be devastatingly defeated by the Lord. The Lord will not bring tanks or aircraft to the battlefield but will destroy the armies of the Antichrist by simply speaking them out of existence.
The Bible says there will be some who will know when the end is near. They're called Christians, among whom I am honored to be included.
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