WHO IS THE ANTICHRIST?

This is a condensed but yet amazing, eye opening look into the Bible antichrist. There is so much wild speculation out there as to who the antichrist is, without any solid Biblical grounding or any historical evidence. But here you will see from the Bible and history who the real antichrist is. Is the antichrist a single person yet to come in the future, like so many people believe? Or does the Bible teach us that the antichrist is something else? What did the reformers believe? They were adamant that the Pope was the antichrist leader. Were they right? Here you will find the truth.

Before we go on, please make note of the following vital truth about antichrist ..

The word "anti" in antichrist does not mean someone who is going to be openly anti (against) Christ. That word "anti" in the original Bible language can actually mean "IN PLACE OF". So could the bible antichrist be someone who has actually put himself "in place of" Christ? Well, we have further Bible evidence to support this. In 1 John 2:18-19 it says that there were "many antichrists", who "WENT OUT FROM THE CHURCH". In other words, John is pointing to the fact that those "antichrists" were WITHIN THE CHURCH!! Not only that, but Paul in 2 Thess. 2:3-4 calls the man of sin the "son of perdition". Now there is only one other place in the Bible where the name "son of perdition" is used, and that is in John 17:12 talking about JUDAS! And what was Judas? A professing follower of Christ Jesus. Someone who deceived from WITHIN the "church".

"The leader of the Catholic church is defined by the faith as the Vicar of Jesus Christ (and is accepted as such by believers). The Pope is considered the man on earth who TAKES THE PLACE of the Second Person of the omnipotent God of the Trinity." (John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, p. 3, 1994).

"ANTI" - Christ = "IN PLACE OF" Christ!

From the evidence, it is our firm belief that we need to look WITHIN the professing church to find the end time Bible antichrist. And the rest of this study will confirm that even more.

There are so many identifying marks that God has given us in His Word that we can all come to the truth without any doubt as to who is the antichrist today. We would only need a few of these identifying marks to know who the antichrist is, but God has given us many more so that there can be NO DOUBT as to who it is. So here we will not make any wild guesses about the Bible antichrist, instead we will use scripture and history to prove who it is ... 2 Peter 1:20 ...'Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.' ... Pretty clear direction there from God. We are not to make any wild speculations about this important issue, instead we must let scripture interpret scripture and let history prove that scripture.

Please also see 29 CHARACTERISTICS OF ANTICHRIST

The two main books of the Bible that unlock the mystery as to who the antichrist is, are the books of Daniel and Revelation. These two incredible prophecy books give us so much information as to who the antichrist is and once you understand the prophetic symbols of these two prophetic books then all becomes incredibly clear! So let us begin with Daniel to get a background and build up of the antichrist.

In Daniel 2 King Nebuchadnezzar is given a vision of the timeline of earth's history from his own kingdom, Babylon, right to the end of time at the second coming of Jesus, represented by the rock that comes and smashes the image. Now God gave Daniel the meaning of this vision and Daniel was able to relay this interpretation to the king ... Daniel 2:38-44 ...' Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.'

So from what God revealed to Daniel about the image of Nebuchadnezzar and comparing that with history, we are able to come up with the nations shown in the chart. Now if we turn to Daniel 7 we are given 4 beasts which parallel these 4 kingdoms of Nebuchadnezzar's image ... Daniel 7:3-7 ...'And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.'

What God has done here in Daniel 7 is magnify upon the prophecy of Daniel 2 concerning the ruling kingdoms of the world since the time of Babylon.

The Lion, the greatest of beasts representing Babylon as the greatest of nations.

The Bear, with one shoulder raised above the other representing the dual nation of Medo-Persia, and Persia being the dominant kingdom of the two represented by the higher shoulder.

The Leopard, denoting speed representing the speed of conquest by which Greece took control and the four heads representing the four generals who ruled Greece after Alexander's death.

The Terrible Beast, with iron teeth that devoured and conquered representing the iron nation of Rome, and the ten horns representing the ten nations of Europe after Rome fell.

Now how do we know that these beasts represent kingdoms? ... Daniel 7:23 .....'Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth.' ... We can always be sure that scripture will interpret itself. So these four beasts are four kingdoms and the descriptions of them perfectly match the four kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome.

This is the first description we have of the antichrist system. By the way, we are not looking for one man, we are looking for a kingdom, a power or institution that causes people to divert their worship from God to itself. How do we know that? Because the antichrist little horn represents a kingdom, not a man. In the prophecy of Daniel 7 horns represents kingdoms, as in the ten horns representing the ten kingdoms of Europe that Rome split into. So let's take a look at the identifying marks of the little horn power.

Daniel 7:8,21,25 .....'I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.'

Daniel here is thinking about the ten horns of the terrible fourth beast which represents the kingdoms of Europe that Rome split into. Then a "little horn" comes up out of the terrible beast (Rome) among the other ten horns. So what identifying marks tell us who this antichrist little horn is?

1. IT'S A LITTLE HORN - So this kingdom is a little kingdom.

2. IT COMES UP OUT OF THE BEAST - This antichrist power rises out of the Roman Empire.

3. IT RISES AMONG THE TEN HORNS - This kingdom rises amongst the nations of Europe.

4. IT RISES TO POWER AFTER THE OTHER TEN HORNS - This kingdom rises to power after Rome splits into the ten nations of Europe.

5. UPROOTS THREE OF THE OTHER TEN HORNS - This kingdom destroys three of the original ten nations of Europe.

6. IT HAS EYES AND MOUTH OF A MAN - This antichrist kingdom will have a man as it's visible leader.

7. IT PERSECUTES THE SAINTS OF GOD - This kingdom persecutes and kills God's people.

8. IT'S DIVERSE FROM THE OTHER HORNS - This kingdom will be different from the other secular kingdoms.

9. IT WILL SPEAK AGAINST GOD - This kingdom will proclaim things that are blasphemous and put itself in God's place.

10. IT THINKS TO CHANGE GOD'S LAW - This antichrist kingdom will "think" to change certain laws of God.

11. IT WILL REIGN FOR A TIME, TIMES AND HALF TIME - This kingdom will rule for 1260 years (time, times and half time is 1260 prophetic days, see day for a year principle).

Now for any kingdom in history to match just half of these indentifying marks would be incredible, but there is one power from history, which is still with us today, that matches ALL 11 indentifying marks PERFECTLY! And which "little kingdom" is the antichrist little horn? It is none other than the Papal Church of Rome. Commonly known as the Roman Catholic Church! How does it match? 1. The Vatican State is the smallest kingdom in the world. 2. The Papacy rose to power out of the Roman Empire. 3. It rose up among the other nations of Europe. 4. Rome fell in AD476 and split into the ten nations, then the Papacy rose to power in AD 538. 5. The Papacy had three original kingdoms of Europe destroyed, Vandals, Ostrogoths, and Heruli. 6. The pope is the visible leader of the Papacy. 7. The Papacy persecuted and killed tens of millions of Christians during it's reign. 8. The Papacy is different from the other nations because it is a Religious AND Political power. 9. The Papacy speaks against God by proclaiming the pope to be equal with God, and by proclaiming that they are above the Word of God and can change God's Word. 10. The Papacy thinks that it changed the Sabbath day to Sunday. 11. The Papacy reigned for 1260 years from 538 to 1798AD, when the French marched into Rome and put the Papal rule to an end.

"if a man consider the original of this great ecclesiastical dominion, he will easily perceive that the papacy is no other than the ghost of the deceased Roman Empire, sitting crowned upon the grave thereof." (Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, Ch.47, (1651)

So now we come to the antichrist sea beast of Revelation 13. Revelation 13 is one of the central chapters in end times Bible prophecy as it describes the antichrist power causing the whole earth to receive the mark of the beast. So let's look at the identifying marks of this beast of Revelation 13 to find out who it is. Remember, a beast in prophecy as shown in Daniel 7 represents a kingdom.

Revelation 13:1-8 ...'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. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 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. And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.'

1. IT RISES OUT OF THE SEA - Sea in prophecy represents an area of different people, nations and tongues (Rev. 17:15). So this kingdom rises out of an area with many nations, people and languages, Europe!

2. NAME OF BLASPHEMY ON THE HEADS - This kingdom proclaims things that are blasphemous against God.

3. IT RECEIVES A DEADLY WOUND - This antichrist kingdom receives a deadly blow at some point in history, which is then later healed.

4. IT MAKES WAR WITH THE SAINTS OF GOD - This is a persecuting kingdom and kills God's people.

5. IT REIGNS FOR 42 MONTHS - Again, using the day for a year principle, this kingdom rules and persecutes for 1260 years.

Do you see some of the same characteristics as the antichrist little horn power? That is because they are one and the same! This beast itself is the Roman Empire, just as the 'terrible beast' of Daniel 7 was the Pagan Roman Empire, and the 'dragon' of Revelation 12 was the Pagan Roman Empire. But the beast here in Revelation 13 points more specifically to the Roman Empire in it's PAPAL form.

The dragon and beast of Revelation 12, 13 and 17 has '7 heads'. This is a reference to the 7 forms of government of the Roman Empire. We have (1) kingly; (2) consular; (3) decemvirate; (4) dictatorial; (5) triumvirate; (6) imperial; and (7) papal. And it is this 7th head, Papal Rome that receives the 'mortal wound', when the Papacy was removed from power in 1798 by France.

So this beast of Revelation 13 again, points to the Papacy (Roman Catholic Church). How? Let's look at the above identifying marks. 1. The Papacy rose in Europe amongst the many different nations, peoples and tongues. It also has the largest support of any church or religion around the world. 2. The Papacy as already stated proclaims that the pope is equal to God and that they are above the Word of God and have authority to change it, even His laws! 3. In 1798, the French army marched into Rome and put an end to the Papal rule, giving it it's deadly wound. But then in 1929 Mussolini granted state power back to the Vatican and the deadly wound begins to heal. 4. The Papacy, during it's 1260 year rule between 538 - 1798, persecuted and killed tens of millions of Christians. 5. The Papacy ruled for 1260 years (42 prophetic months) between 538 - 1798AD.

Also you will see in Revelation 13 that the number of the beast 666 is the number of A MAN. Take a look at the following quotes ... "The letters inscribed in the pope's miter are these; Vicarius Filii Dei, which is the Latin for 'Vicar of the Son of God.' Catholics hold that the Church, which is a visible society, must have a visible head; Christ, before His ascension into heaven, appointed St. Peter to act as His representative. Hence, to the Bishop of Rome as head of the church, was given the title, 'Vicar of Christ.'" At present the pope's miter does not contain the Latin title, but the words are incorporated into the coronation ceremonies of each newly crowned pope". (Quote from Catholic newspaper, Our Sunday Visitor, of April 1915).

"Question: Vicarius Filii Dei? What does this mean? Is it a phrase referring to the pope or priest? I have heard that it is inscribed on the pope's hat, or something. Just curious to know what is it."

"Answer: (From father Reginald Martin) ... Vicarius Filii Dei means Vicar [or representative] of the Son of God, a term scholars believe first appears in a document known as the Donation of Constantine, dated to the eight or ninth century. This is an apt description of the Pope, who is frequently referred to as the Vicar of Christ, and, at present, probably only the most bitterly anti-Catholic individuals would take offense at the title." (Our Sunday Visitor, The Catholic Answer, 24th Nov. 2011 -
http://www.osv.com/TCANav/TCAQuestionoftheDay/Nov21252011/tabid/8480/Default.aspx)

Now if you convert the letters of the name "Vicarius Filii Dei" into Roman numerals and add them up, you will come to 666. There can be no doubt that the antichrist little horn and the antichrist sea beast of Revelation 13 are the same power, and that power being the Papal Church of Rome.

Finally we come to the whore of Babylon who is revealed in Revelation 17 and 18. In Bible prophecy a woman represents a church (see Isaiah 54:5-6; Jeremiah 6:2; 2 Corinthians 11:2), and whereas the pure woman in Revelation 12 represents God's TRUE church, this whore of Babylon must represent a fallen apostate church. So God through His Word, reveals for us the antichrist as a political, persecuting, blasphemous kingdom, and now He will reveal that the antichrist power is also a CHURCH! And not only that, it is known as the MOTHER CHURCH!! So let's look at the identifying marks of this antichrist church.

Please see WHORE OF BABYLON for amazing evidence of this!

Revelation 17 ...'I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters. With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 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. And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration..... The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.....And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.'

1. THIS CHURCH SITS ON MANY WATERS - As the angel describes, the waters represent peoples, multitudes and nations. So this church is supported by many peoples, nations and tongues.

2. KINGS HAVE COMMITTED FORNICATION WITH HER - So the kings of the earth have given this church support and committed evil things with this church.

3. INHABITANTS OF EARTH MADE DRUNK BY HER WINE - In Bible prophecy, wine is a symbol of doctrines, so the earth have been made drunk with the false doctrines of this church.

4. SHE SITS ON BEAST WITH SEVEN HEADS - The angel says that the heads are seven mountains, so this church is situated in a place with seven mountains.

5. SHE IS ARRAYED IN PURPLE AND SCARLET - This church's main colours are purple and scarlet.

6. DECKED WITH GOLD AND PRECIOUS STONES - It's a wealthy church and displays much gold and precious things in her churches.

7. SHE IS THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS - This church is the "mother" church and she has daughters, ie, other churches were "BORN" from her.

8. DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD OF SAINTS - This church is guilty of killing God's people.

9. JOHN "WONDERED" AT THE VISION OF HER - This is a church that looks very "glorious" on the outside and people wonder in awe of her.

10. SHE IS THE "CITY" THAT REIGNS OVER THE KINGS OF EARTH - This church has power over the kings of the earth, and they seek guidance from her.

God has made no mistake or left any stone unturned in making sure we can identify who is the antichrist. It is so clear when you put all the pieces together. Who is babylon the great? Again it is none other than the Roman Catholic Church. How do we know? Let's look at the identifying marks. 1. The Roman Catholic Church "sits" on many waters, in other words she has support from people all over the world, from many nations, peoples and tongues. She has the largest support over any other church or religion. 2. During the reign of the Roman Catholic Church throughout history, kings have given their allegiance to the Catholic Church and committed great evils with her. 3. Many Billions of people have been made "drunk" and deceived with the false doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. 4. The Roman Catholic Church has it's headquarters at the Vatican in Rome, which has been known as the city of seven hills. 5. The main colours that the bishops and cardinals use is Purple and Scarlet. 6. The Roman Catholic Church is one of the wealthiest institutions in the world and her churches are decked with gold and precious stones. 7. The Roman Catholic Church is known as the "Mother" church and the protestant churches were "born" from her. Many of the protestant churches held onto some of the doctrines of the Roman Church and are therefore regarded as her "harlot" daughters. 8. The Roman Catholic Church is guilty of killing tens of millions of God's people. 9. There is only one church you could look at in all it's splendour and pomp and "wonder" after her, the Roman Catholic Church. 10. The Vatican is "that city" which reigns over the kings of the earth. The Vatican now has relations with over 90% of the world's countries.

Now how can the Roman Catholic Church be the Sea Beast of Revelation 13 AND the Whore of Babylon?

In prophecy, especially Daniel and Revelation, God gives us progessive signs and information to help us understand the subject more fully. In Daniel 2 we have Nebuchadnezzar's image which gives us the four world kingdoms of Babylon, Medo Persia, Greece and Rome, followed by the divided kingdoms of Europe (feet). Then in Daniel 7, we are shown the SAME kingdoms but in a more detailed way, represented as 'beasts'. This gives us surety about the interpretation. The same applies to the Papal Church of Rome in Revelation. In Revelation 13 God simply shows us a beast, which is the Roman Empire in it's Papal form. And then in Revelation 17, God shows us a woman riding the beast, to give us a more fuller picture and understanding that what we are saying is correct, in that it is the Roman Catholic Church, represented by a harlot woman, riding (controlling) a beast, which is the civil state. This starts off as the Roman Empire, which gave the Papacy it's 'seat of authority', but then splits into the kingdoms of Europe, represented by the 'ten horns', of which the Papacy controlled in times past, and by the looks of it, is controlling them again.

"The Catholic Church is the only religious institution that can enter into diplomatic relations and that interests itself in international rights, acting through the Holy See, an international sovereign subject of singular characteristics ... the Holy See cannot simply be identified with the Church, as a community of believers." (Monsignor Pietro Parolin, Undersecretary for Relations with States, http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/holy-see-insists-that-it-has-right-to-speak)

Do you see what the Catholic Undersecretary is saying? He is confirming that the 'Holy See', the Papacy, is the only religious institution that can join with the civil states of the world. And this is the picture that God is giving us in Revelation 13 and 17. But of course, as Revelation 13 confirms, America, which is the second beast, would create an image of the Papacy in the US, through the apostate Evangelical churches uniting with the US government.

Who is the antichrist? The antichrist is the little horn of Daniel 7, the sea beast of Revelation 13 and Babylon the Great. The antichrist isn't one man but is a church/state institution. The antichrist isn't future to us yet to be revealed, the antichrist has already been in the past and is with us now. Who is the antichrist? The Bible antichrist is the Papacy! Known as the Roman Catholic Church. Take another look at all the indentifying marks above and you will not find another system, kingdom, church, religion that fulfills them. It is time to come out of her My people and "keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus Christ".