PREMILLENNIALISM (4)

The Antichrist

Victor M. Eskew

 

          Premillennialists believe that we are living in the “end times” at this moment in history.  They tell us that the “signs” are coming to pass that reveal the end is near.  They constantly cry out, saying:  “Jesus is coming soon!”  They are bold to announce the very thing Jesus said no man knows (See Matt. 24:36).   

          Before the end comes, however, there is one particular person who must come to the forefront both spiritually and politically according to Premillennial doctrine.  This individual is referred to as “The Antichrist.”  In an article entitled, “Who Is the Antichrist?  Two Theologies, One Question,” the author writes:  “In many Christian traditions, the Antichrist is expected to appear during the end times, triggering a period of tribulation before Christ’s second coming (biblestudytoolbox.com).  In that same article the role of the Antichrist is discussed.  “The Antichrist plays a central role in dispensational end-times events, particularly during the Great Tribulation. He will broker a peace treaty with Israel, only to break it halfway through the seven-year tribulation, leading to the final showdown between good and evil, culminating in Armageddon (Revelation 16:16). At the end of this period, Christ will return to defeat the Antichrist and his forces, throwing him into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20). This victory will usher in the Millennial Kingdom, a 1,000-year reign of peace under Christ’s rule” (Ibid).

          We are told that there some twenty-five different titles given to the Antichrist in Scripture.  The label, Antichrist, is the dominate title because he is said to both oppose the Christ and take on the identity of Christ once he dominates the world scene.  David Jeremiah provides this definition of Antichrist:  “As the word suggests, the Antichrist is a person who is against Christ.  The prefix anti can also means instead of, and both meanings apply to this coming world leader.  He overtly opposes Christ and at the same time passes himself off as Christ” (After the Rapture, David Jeremiah, “Who Is the Antichrist,” pp. 73-74). 

There are some, including Dr. Jeremiah, who believe that the Antichrist is presently in the world.  On page 72 of his book, After the Rapture, he writes:  “But now, the previews are past.  The foreshadows are finished.  The speculation is stopped.  Antichrist is alive and well!  He is here…now!”  If Dr. Jeremiah is correct, then then Second Coming of Christ is definitely going to happen within the next hundred years depending on the present age of the Antichrist.

If he is among us, we should be looking for him to rise on the world stage.  There are a few things that are “known” about the Antichrist according to the Premillennialists.

 

1.    He is a real person.

2.    He is of Gentile descent. 

3.    He has an intimidating presence.

4.    He is an extremely charismatic leader.

5.    He will rise from the old Roman Empire.

6.    He will begin politically inconspicuous.

7.    He will perform miracles.

8.    He will be spiritually blasphemous.

9.    He will oppose all religious and exalt himself.

10. He will perform miracles.

11. He will establish centralized worship and a new religion.

12. He will persecute Christians.

13. He will attempt to change the moral and natural laws of the Universe.

14. He will be killed and will be resurrected by the power of Satan.

15. He will ascend to power and rule over one world government, one world economy, and one world religion.

16. “In a final act of rebellion against God, this vile person sets himself up in Jerusalem and desecrates the rebuilt temple in what is called ‘abomination of desolation,’ that is, an image of himself that everyone will be forced to worship” (After the Rapture, Jeremiah, 90).

17. At the close of his reign, he will bring about the Great Tribulation that will be the beginning of his ultimate end by the forces of Jesus Christ.

 

With this list in hand, the Antichrist should be easy to detect.  There has never been a political or spiritual figure who possesses the list of identifiers that is given above.  The moment a few of the things come to pass, all should be able to say:  “There he is.  There’s the Antichrist.”  However, we are told that he will go undetected by the masses until almost the very end.  That, of itself, is difficult to believe.

          The Bible only uses the term “antichrist” four times.  Is uses the plural, “antichrists,” one time.  Let’s read what the apostle John writes about the antichrist.

 

“Little children, it is the last time:  and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the time” (1 John 2:18).

“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ?  He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22).

“And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God:  and this is the spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now it is in the world” (1 John 4:3).

“For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.  This is a deceiver and an antichrist” (2 John 7).

 

Here we have all the specific references to the antichrist found in the New Testament.  John did not assert that this is a figure who is to come two thousand years from the time of his writing.  He proclaims:  “…even now are there many antichrists.”  And again:  “…and even now it is in the world.”  There is not one antichrist who is to come before the Second Coming of Jesus.   There have been, are, and will always be antichrists in the world.  All who deny that Jesus is the Christ, and all that deny that Jesus is come in the flesh are antichrists. 

          The Antichrist of the premillennialist has been “identified” over and over again throughout history.  Instead of being identified, we should say, he has been misidentified.  David Jeremiah makes this point on page 72 of his book.  “Throughout history many people have been erroneously identified as the Antichrist.  Among the candidates have been Caesars, popes, Napoleon, Mussolini, Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Mikhail Gorvachev, and even some US presidents” (After the Rapture).  Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump have all be identified as the Antichrist.  Vladimir Putin, Elon Musk, and Greta Thunberg have also made the list.

          The reality is that there is no Antichrist who will arise at the end of the world and bring about The Great Tribulation.  As John reveals, antichrists existed in the first century and continue to exist today.  The thought of an Antichrist makes for good storytelling and for exciting movies.  It enables premillennial preachers to be able to put fear into the hearts of their hearers that moves them to “accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.”  All of their proclamations, like those of the past, will never come to pass.  Those who seek to predict him go to the grave being labeled as false teachers.