Index to Articles on The Future

Also See The Lessons of Hitler’s Amazing Rise To Power! (Below)

Universal Expectation of a Saviour
It is easy to see how a charismatic leader who promises (and seems to deliver) Utopia can be accepted by much of the world since the concept of a coming World Teacher who sets up a Golden Age on earth can be found in many world religious systems as well as in the literature of the occult...

The Jews Look For The Coming of The Messiah.

Buddhists Speak of The Maitreya Who is believed to be the 1st and 2nd initiations who "prepares the way" for this "Lord of the World" - "Sanat Kumara", the third initiation

Many Occultists Look For The Ascended Masters. For the past one hundred and twenty years, occult initiates across the globe have been trained up in preparation for two mighty events in world history, the coming of the World Teacher towards the close of this present century, and the founding of the new sixth sub-race in the reconstruction of the present world conditions'

 Some Muslims Look to The Coming of Imam Mahdi or The 12th Imam. According to the Shiite version of Islam the 12th descendant of Mohammed, known as the 12th Imam or the Mahdi, went into hiding in 941, some 1300 years ago. Shiites believe he will reappear when the world has become full of oppression and tyranny.

A great many professing Christians are also expecting Jesus to set up a kingdom of peace and justice on the earth and could very well be fooled by The AntiChrist, "That Man of Sin," "the Son of Perdition," he that opposeth and exalteth himself," "the Wicked One whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth," "he whose coming is after the working of Satan".

It will be both very interesting and horrifying to see how he crosses over the boundaries of race, politics and religion.

Origin and Meaning
The term "antichrist" is widely used today. Contrary to popular misconception and to the surprise of many Christians and non-Christians, the actual words "Antichrist" or "Antichrists" do not appear in the entire text of the Book of Revelation. There are only four verses in the entire Bible which expressly use the word 'antichrist, all four of which are found in the epistles of John. This word is believed to refer to a succession of evil world rulers, one of who will be the final antichrist.

The English word Antichrist is taken from the Greek ἀντίχριστος (antichristos an-tee'-khris-tos), which can mean "against" or "opposed to" in Greek, but it also can mean "instead of (instead of Christ). Thus this man is a clever counterfeit of God's Messiah (Christos means messiah or "anointed one). The antichrist could be another way of saying ‘One who seeks to take 'the place of' Christ’.

Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. (1John 2:22, ESV)

Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. (1John 2:18, ESV)

and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. (1John 4:3, ESV)

Many deceivers have gone out into the world; they do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist (2John 1:7, ESV.)

In these contexts, "Antichrist" seems to describe any false teacher, false prophet or corrupter of the Christian faith, but sometimes also seems to indicate a specific person or single spirit of deception that motivates false teaching and whose presence is a sign of the end times. Both Jesus and Paul spoke of a "man of sin" or a "lawless one" who would dominate much of the world at the close of our present age. 

Let no one deceive you by any means; for that day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is unveiled, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or every object of worship, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? 2Th 2:3-5

In the Old Testament the terms "the little horn" and "worthless shepherd" are used.

"While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth uttering great boasts...²² I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them." Dan.7:8,22,

“Woe to the worthless shepherd who leaves the flock! A sword will be on his arm and on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered, and his right eye will be blind.” Zech. 11:17,

The coming Antichrist is identified with the "man of sin" or "son of perdition" mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2, and with several figures in the Book of Revelation including the Dragon, the Beast, the False Prophet, and the Whore of Babylon. The Antichrist is variously understood to be a group or organization, such as a consummately evil system of government or a false religion, or more commonly as an individual, such as an evil government leader, a religious leader who sets up false worship in place of the worship of Christ, the incarnation of Satan, a son of Satan, or a human being under the dominion of Satan.

The understanding of one person being 'the' Antichrist appears to be combined in 1 John with the idea of a class of persons and a spiritual condition. John speaks of "many antichrists" who typify the "spirit of the antichrist" that was both present in the first century ("is in the world already" 1John 4:3) and continues to exist down to this day. As John wrote, such an antichrist (or opponent of Christ) is anyone who "denies that Jesus is the Christ;" "denies the Father and the Son;" "does not confess Jesus;" and does "not confess the coming of Jesus."

In the spirit of Jewish prophecy John tells us that many people would come along in the spirit of antichrist. But there will come a day when one world leader will rise to power who will be the embodiment of evil, empowered by the devil himself.  John refers to the final and ultimate Antichrist as the Beast in the book of Revelation.
 

Character of The AntiChrist
Many consider an "Antichrist” to be a person who is "against” Christ. If that were the case, it would seem odd that any Christian would be fooled by such a person. However, careful study of the Scriptures reveals that Antichrists are subtle. They actually present a message which appeals to many Christians.
 

Identifying The Anti Christ
“One of the favorite pass-times of date setters is to attempt to identify the Antichrist, a powerful figure who will appear immediately prior to Christ's return. This guessing game has a long tradition, going back to the time right after Jesus' death. The early church fathers Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Cyprian, and Augustine all believed that this person would be present immediately prior to Christ's return. During the Middle Ages, some churchmen identified the Antichrist as a Moslem, such as Saladin, but others pointed to a Jew, and some even pointed to the Pope. During the American Revolution it was popular to cast King George III in the role of Antichrist, but the Earl of Bute and British general John Burgoyne also got nominations.

Other familiar names to be included in this long list of suspected Antichrists are Napoleon, the British Parliament, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Joseph Stalin. Since World War II, the Pope still makes the list as does Jewish leader Moshe Dayan, the assassinated Egyptian leader Anwar el-Sadat, Spain's King Juan Carlos, and Korean cult leader Sun Myung Moon. For some, Mikhail Gorbachev and Saddam Hussein are naturals for the job.... (George Bush is the latest addition to this list)

....The striking number of attempts to identify the Antichrist and the significance of the number 666 should at least give us a sense of caution before adding another name to the list. Perhaps we should follow the example of Irenaus in the second century. Seeing the many efforts to identify the Antichrist in his day, he cautioned against the practice and believed that the name was deliberately concealed until it would be obvious in the day of the antichrist's arrival”. (Don Closson. Millennial Cautions. Probe Ministries.)

The Problem Of The AntiChrist
A reading of the book of Revelation shows that the subject of the antichrist is more complex than the simple appearance at the close of our age of a world-dictator, because during the end-time period spoken of in the Bible there are not one but two major world rulers who seem to fit the description of the man of sin. Various commentators call one or the other of these individuals the antichrist. The Bible describes them both as "wild beasts." John writes in Revelation 13,

Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a Beast coming up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads blasphemous names.  And the Beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. And one of his heads was as if it had been slain to death, and his wound of death was healed. And the whole world marveled after the Beast.  And they worshipped the dragon who gave authority to the Beast; and they worshipped the Beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?"  And a mouth was given to him speaking great things and blasphemy, and authority was given to him to make war for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His dwelling, and those who dwell in heaven. And it was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, people, language, and nation.  And all those who dwell on the earth shall worship him, whose name is not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.  If anyone has an ear, let him hear. Rev 13:1-9

Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast before him, and he causes the earth and those who dwell in it, to worship the first Beast, whose deadly wound was healed.  And he does great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth before men. And he deceives my own people who dwell on the earth by the signs which were given to him to do before the Beast, saying to those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound--and came to life! -from the sword.  And it was granted to him to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, that they should receive marks on their right hand, or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except he that has the mark, the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of man--his number is 666. Rev 13:11-18. See Mark Of The Beast

The Lessons of Hitler’s Amazing Rise To Power!

"Five years prior to Adolf Hitler becoming German Chancellor the National Socialists were considered almost a joke, rejected by 97% of German voters..."

How was it possible for Adolf Hitler to achieve power in Germany so suddenly?

In the 1928 German Election the Nazi Party only achieved 2.6% of the national vote, this means that an amazing 97% of Germans clearly did not want Hitler to be their Chancellor. The Nazis were looked upon as a fringe party and were almost a joke – yet just five years later Hitler was Chancellor of Germany! How could this have happened?

The liberal Weimar government of 1919-1931 were certainly committed to democracy, unfortunately they were also weak, often rudderless and they presided over widespread and unprecedented corruption right across German life. Being a liberal democracy, widespread corruption did not unduly worry the Weimar architects but it worried and upset many German people who longed for a return to a respect for law and order right across the land and right across German life. Of course, as we know, it was a major economic crisis which finally opened the door for Hitler. When Weimar failed, people did not want another liberal democracy which they blamed for the moral confusion and chaos of German life.

Germany had been greatly affected by the repercussions of the 1929 Wall Street Crash. In 1931, five major German banks crashed. From its former position of being a great nation Germany actually became - by far - the weakest nation in Europe and actually weaker than most African countries!! Confusion and chaos was now no longer simply of a moral nature but was of a devastating economic sort which saw thousands of unemployed men forming lines to receive a tiny handout which could never be enough to feed their families. Many committed suicide, others simply abandoned their families. Panic gripped thousands of Germans, and they cried out for a strong leader who could lead them out of this chaos!

Both communists and National Socialists prospered in this climate in which the common people powerfully rejected the whole concept of a liberal democracy.

In the 1932 election campaign Hitler put himself forward as the strong and decisive leader which the Germans had been longing for. As many have commented, all the Nazi Party really offered was order, discipline and authority since they had not drawn up any detailed policies – however, it was indeed the order, discipline and authority which the Germans were longing and craving for! Moreover the Nazis made it clear that, when elected, they would form a dictatorship – not a democracy, but this, again, was exactly what the people wanted!

So it was economic catastrophe which turned the Nazis from a party which 97% of Germans had rejected in 1928 to a major party just 4-5 years later. In 1932 the Nazis had 37% of the vote - the biggest single German party. German leader Hindenburg originally did not want Hitler to be chancellor because he believed that he would bring even more chaos. It was thousands of bankers and businessmen who petitioned for Hitler to become chancellor. They longed for stability, security and a return of confidence to German business life and saw Hitler as the strict no-nonsense disciplinarian who could provide it. The only strong radical alternative to Hitler were the communists who were obviously absolute anathema to bankers and businessmen!

Many more moderate German conservatives thought they would be able to control Hitler when he went into government through the processes of parliament, but what nobody had accounted for was National Socialism's zeal in changing laws and bringing in new laws to suit themselves and to radically change German life. There is no doubt that Hitler did stabilise all of German life and brought new economic confidence to the ravaged land. For this achievement ordinary Germans wholeheartedly threw themselves behind Hitler and the Nazis.

What is the lesson of all this?

Five years prior to Adolf Hitler becoming German Chancellor the National Socialists were considered almost a joke, rejected by 97% of German voters, but when economic disaster struck, the people – in their tens of thousands – simply wanted a strong leader amidst a sea of watery ineffectual liberals! They were prepared to accept some really dangerous and offensive policies just in order to get a strong and dynamic leader elected - We should never think that this could never happen again! It has been said that those who refuse to learn the lessons of history are condemned to repeat them.

Modern Britain, Europe and much of north America is being paralyzed by politically-correct permissive liberals. Concerns about "civil liberties" with its desire to protect criminals and illegal immigrants and the push to eradicate the last vestiges of censorship and national pride are being aggressively pushed forward by people who were encouraged and persuaded to revere arch-atheists Marx, Freud and Nietzsche in the universities of the 1960s-1980s. The trend has been quietly going on and growing for several years and this will surely eventually lead to a powerful right-wing backlash as ordinary people grow increasingly sickened at the moral corruption and erosion of former strongly Christian-influenced standards! The moral weakness of liberal governance means that parents are no longer even allowed to impose their own standards in bringing up their own children. If the West should hit a major economic crisis which should lead to thousands or even possibly millions losing their sources of income, a huge backlash will be certain indeed – at such a time and in such a climate, a powerful right wing leader will be sought. This could be extremely dangerous for the whole world and could even lead to global conflict.......

May I encourage all to stand up against “liberal values” right now.? Don't accept them! They are destroying great nations from within - just as Rome and Greece were eventually destroyed from within. [Also See When Nations Die]

Copyright Robin A. Brace, 2006.  UK Apologetics.   

The Future

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