The End Times pt. 3 (The Antichrist)

In part one, I discussed my thoughts on why I believe we are in the “end times” predicted thousands of years ago in The Bible. In part two, I offered possibly pathways to explaining away the Rapture and reaching the one-world government, currency, and religion. In this section, I hope to deal with the person known as the “Man of Sin” or Antichrist.

First off, war is brewing. Not local skirmishes like we see happening right now, but a large scale world war. After all, how else can we achieve peace if it is not brought about through chaos? I believe that the broker of that peace will be the Antichrist. There are a number of theories, mine included, of who or what this person will be. Will he be President of the United States, General of the United Nations, a politician, a world leader, or a religious leader? I believe he will become Pope and rule from Rome, but before I get into that, here are some characteristics that we know from the Bible.

His ethnicity:

Daniel 9:26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.

The “prince that shall come” is Antichrist, and the people that destroyed “the city and the sanctuary” in 70AD were the Romans, but the army was comprised largely of Turkish and Syrian soldiers. Therefore, it is believed by many Bible scholars that Antichrist will be Turkish or Syrian; and I agree. Daniel 11:37 says “neither shall he regard the God of his fathers”. This also alludes to Antichrist being at least part Jewish. After all, “his fathers” would have to be Jewish if he is to disregard their God.

Interestingly enough, I recently heard a case being made by Glenn Beck (like him or not, read on because this is an interesting correlation) that ISIS is seeking to control historical Catholic religious centers. There are four in Europe: Rome, Paris, Crimea, and Constantinople/Istanbul. Obviously, ISIS conquering Turkey would play a major role in not only the prophesied battle of Gog and Magog from Ezekiel 38 (Turkey is north of Israel and played a major role in the previously mentioned destruction of Jerusalem), but in Beck’s theory of Muslim expansion in the region.

Physical characteristics:

Zechariah 11:17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! The sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

I believe the “idol shepherd” to be Antichrist. This verse points to him having a lame arm and right eye. Other “types” of Antichrist have had similar ailments. Adolf Hitler had a lame left arm following an assassination attempt, and suffered from temporary blindness and vision problems later in life.

Antichrist, being of Middle-Eastern and Jewish decent, will more than likely have olive colored skin, brown eyes, and dark hair. More importantly, the Jewish people will believe him to be the Messiah (John 5:43 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).

Who he is:

Revelation 17:8 describes “The Beast that thou sawest was, and is not: and shall ascend out of the Bottomless Pit, and go into perdition.” You can easily make the argument that Antichrist was at some point roaming the Earth (was). He currently resides somewhere else (is not), and will return (shall ascend). He used to be alive on Earth, but vanished for a period of time without actually dying. My absolute favorite theory on this was given to me by my father. Antichrist was, is, and will be Judas Iscariot.

Judas obviously “was” around during the period Christ’s first coming. He sold out the savior and committed suicide. Why do I believe him to be Antichrist? John 6:70 says “Then Jesus replied, ‘Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”

John 17:12 “those who thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.” So Christ was referring to the disciples as “those who thou gavest me” and he kept all but one—Judas. So “ the son of perdition” must be Judas, because if not for his betrayal, the scripture would not have been fulfilled.

Judas then committed a pretty violent suicide of hanging himself, falling over, and having his bowels spill out. Therefore, Judas “was” and “is not”. Upon his death, Judas went “to his own place” (Acts 1:25). Not heaven or hell, but his own place (is not). It does not take a major leap to understand Judas’ “own place” is the “Bottomless Pit.”

II Thess. 2:3 says that “That Man of Sin be revealed, the Son of Perdition.” So, the Son of Perdition, formerly referred to as Judas Iscariot, SHALL BE revealed as the Man of Sin. He “shall ascend out of the Bottomless Pit, and go into perdition [there is that word again].”

Yes, Judas Iscariot will be Antichrist.

Antichrist in Other Religions:

While Christians are looking for our Antichrist to rise from a pit and bring about the Tribulation, other religions have similar mythos; however, they see this being as a savior rather than destroyer.

The Muslim Mahdi, or Twelfth Imam, is a redeemer who will bring peace to the world and reign for seven years (the length of The Tribulation). Some Muslims believe that Jesus Christ will assist the Mahdi against Antichrist, others believe that Jesus and the Twelfth Imam will argue about who truly is Mahdi. The Twelfth Imam was born in 889 (he was), but died several years later (he is not). Signs of the Mahdi’s return include never ending wars, intense disputes, and earthquakes. There will be a large war near Mecca in a place called Mina. This battle will signal the return of the Mahdi as he rises (shall ascend) from a well (bottomless pit), defeats his enemies and brokers peace in the world through a universal caliphate.

Sound familiar?

Antichrist is the Pope:

Hindi worship a sun god named Mithra who is believed to have been a large influence in Christianity (more specifically Catholicism, but more on that later). Mithra was born of a virgin (or some believe he sprang forth from a rock) on December 25^th, placed in a manger after birth, was considered a great teacher, had 12 companions, performed miracles, sacrificed himself, ascended to heaven, is omniscient, identified with lions and lamb, held Sundays as sacred, and emphasized baptism. If you say “that sounds like they stole that from Christians!” keep in mind that Mithra mythos existed in 1,500 BC, well before the birth of Jesus. I would argue that some of the mythos can be found in Old Testament scripture that predates it, but the Catholic Church, that has its own roots in mystery religions, brought other factors into Christianity.

That little bit of history was to help explain why I believe the Antichrist will be Pope. The Catholic Church was born of mystery religion, which is my argument that the title of “Mystery, Babylon The Great” in Revelation 17:5 is not a reference to the literal city of Babylon, but of the adopted home of Babylonian religious beliefs; Rome.

Rev 17:3 “I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast.” This is believed to symbolize a church (the woman) in charge of a kingdom (beast). Scarlet is, of course, the color of the Catholic cardinals. Thus, the Catholic Church is riding Rome (or Vatican City to be more specific). This symbolizes the merging of politics (the kingdom, or one-world government) with religion (the Catholic Church, which has adopted the one-world religion of social justice as I wrote about here.)

Rev. 17:4 “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication.” Again, this is pretty strong evidence, for the color of Catholic garments are typically red (cardinals) and purple (bishops) with gold or yellow trim. We also know how extravagant Catholic churches can be, and they are constantly adorned with precious stones and cups for communion (lets not forget about their obsession with the cup of Christ).

Furthermore, verse 6 says “And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.” This is a clear reference to the bloodshed poured out through the inquisition. Martyrdom was a regular occurrence as the Catholic Church attempted to purge “heresy” from their ranks.

Rev. 17:9 speaks of “seven heads” that “are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.” Rome is famously known as the City of Seven Hills. Literal Babylon, however, sits on the Euphrates river. Interestingly, Istanbul, another historical Catholic center is also built on seven hills. However, the rest of the description does not fit Istanbul.

As the Christian Church (the bride) marries Christ (the bridegroom), so must Antichrist (anti-bridegroom, if you will) marry the Catholic Church (the woman riding the beast). Jesus is the head of the Christian Church, and Antichrist is the head of the Catholic Church. Therefore, he is the Pope.

This sums up my three part essay on The End Times. I hope you have enjoyed it. If you want to learn more, check out Clarence Larkin’s Dispensational Truth, and, of course, The Bible. Again, I wish to reiterate that I am not a theologian or biblical scholar. I am a Christian who studies society and the world, and happens to be very interested in biblical end times prophecy. I could be completely wrong about my suppositions, but I still hold that The Bible itself speaks Truth. There will be a Rapture, a Great Tribulation, and Second Coming of Christ. The most important takeaway from my writing is that I am ready and waiting to be taken away from this Earth before God pours out his judgment. Are you?