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Published Monday, November 17, 2008 in Religion

Pastor's Corner: Who is the Antichrist?

By DANIEL AUSBUN

First Baptist Church, Moreland

The Bible speaks about a coming man who will be against Jesus Christ (1 John 2:18).

He will be a man of deception and lead many people away from God. Christians should be aware of this coming man because he will attack the people of God. Just as Jesus was "the Word became flesh" (John 1:14), the antichrist will be Satan appearing as a man or possibly a beast.

TV preachers have made millions guessing and predicting who the antichrist is. Popular suggested antichrists include: the Roman Empire, Martin Luther, Joseph Stalin, Adolph Hitler, Mikhail Gorbachev, John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama. None of these kingdoms or people could be the antichrist because scripture provides us with identifiable signs to help Christians know what to expect. There are five signs to look for when identifying the antichrist.

First, he will come from the Abyss (Revelation 13:1; 17:8). He won't have a mother or father. He won't be born into this world, he will emerge from the sea. This man will appear and immediately go to work -- he will come out of nowhere, no genealogy. His sole purpose is to pull people away from God.

Second, the antichrist will die and come back to life (Revelation 13:3, 12; 17:8). This fatal wound will astonish the world and people will follow him because he died and came back. This is how the antichrist will gather a large following. This sign should be the most obvious for Christians to help identify the antichrist. He will experience death and return.

Third, the antichrist will demand that people worship him (Revelation 13:4, 8, Matthew 24:15). There will be a statue of the antichrist that will speak. If people do not worship the statue of the antichrist, they will be killed (Revelation 13:14-15). All people around the earth will worship the antichrist. He will be a worldwide deceiver who will rule out of fear. He will actually stand in the Jerusalem temple and claim to be God (Daniel 11:31; 2 Thessalonians 2:4).

Fourth, the antichrist will blaspheme God and attack Christians (Revelation 13:5-7). The antichrist might appear as an intelligent military leader, but he is really fighting against God and Christians. His war will not be against other countries, but Christians. This will be a challenging time for Christians, but patient endurance and faithfulness to God is the only hope. The end will soon arrive when the antichrist is on earth.

Fifth, the antichrist will have an accompanying false prophet (Revelation 13:11-12). The false prophet will be the antichrist's spokesman. He will demand people to worship the antichrist and the speaking statue. He will be the one who forces people to receive a mark on their right hand or forehead in order to buy and sell anything. This is an economic boycott against Christians.

They will be forced to grow their own food and find their own water. No electricity, Internet, water, Wal-Mart, gas, public safety, education, employment, phone, voting rights, transportation, credit or health care unless you receive the mark. The mark is the name or the number of the antichrist, 666 (Revelation 13:16-18). This number is a symbol of incompleteness, or the trinity of evil. All people who receive this mark cannot enter heaven.

What will happen to the antichrist?

Satan, the antichrist, and the false prophet -- the trinity of evil-- will all be thrown alive into the lake of burning sulfur (Revelation 19:20; 20:10). People who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior will be thrown into this same lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). The antichrist knows his future and hopes to bring as many people to hell he can.

The only positives about the antichrist is his authority is limited to three and a half years (Revelation 13:5) and Jesus will destroy him "with the breath of his mouth" (II Thessalonians 2:8). God will bring a final end to evil. Christians shouldn't be wondering, "Who is he?" or "Will he come from Romania?" Our responsibility should be preparation for an anti-Christian attack that will result in the testing of our faith. Jesus said "for the sake of the elect" or the saved, He has cut short this period of great distress (Matthew 24:22).

A committed relationship with Christ will always be most important for us - today or during the time of the antichrist.

Daniel Ausbun can be reached at daniel@fbcmoreland.org