Typed by: Katherine Sewell ksewell@gate.net
April 1, 1997
This book is in the public domain.
THE ANTICHRIST
Arthur W. Pink
Author of "Gleanings in Genesis", "The
Seven Sayings
of the Saviour on the Cross", "Exposition of
John's Gospel", "Why Four Gospels?",
etc., etc.
I. C. Herendeen,
BIBLE TRUTH DEPOT
SWENGEL, PA.
THE ANTICHRIST
Arthur W. Pink
[Table of Contents] [Chap. 1]
The contents of this book were first given out by the
author at Bible Conferences, and then appeared in their
present form in Studies in the Scriptures.[1] As the subject of them is of
such importance to students of prophecy, and as so little
has been published thereon, we have deemed it advisable to
issue them, complete, in book form. So far as the writer is
aware, only two or three comparatively brief booklets and
essays have appeared on this particular theme, though to
their contents we are indebted for a number of helpful
suggestions.
Our aim has been to present as comprehensive an outline as
our space would allow. Much of what we have advanced will
no doubt be new to the great majority of our readers.
Frequently we have been obliged to deviate from the
interpretations of those who have gone before us.
Nevertheless, we have sought to give clear proof texts for
everything advanced, and we would respectfully urge the
reader to examine them diligently and impartially.
The subject is unspeakably solemn, and before each chapter
was commenced we lifted up our heart to God that we might
write with His fear upon us. To speculate about any of the
truths of Holy Writ is the height of irreverence: better
far to humbly acknowledge our ignorance when God has not
made known His mind to us. Only in His light do we see
light. Secret things belong unto the Lord, but the things
which are revealed (in Scripture) belong unto us and to our
children. Therefore, it is our bounden duty, as well as
holy privilege, to search carefully and prayerfully into
what God has been pleased to tell us upon this, as upon all
other subjects of inspiration.
Fully conscious are we that we have in no wise exhausted
the subject. As the time of the manifestation of the Man of
Sin draws near, God may be pleased to vouchsafe a fuller
and better understanding of those parts of His Word which
make known "the things which must shortly come to
pass". That others may be led to make a more thorough
inquiry for themselves is our earnest hope, and that God
may be pleased to use this work to stimulate to this end is
our prayer. May He deign to use to His glory whatever in
this book is in harmony with His Word, and cause to fall to
the ground whatever in it is displeasing to Him.
Arthur W. Pink,
Swengel, Pa.
October, 1923.
[Forward]
[Table of Contents] [Chap. 2]
Across the varied scenes
depicted by prophecy there falls the shadow of a figure at
once commanding and ominous. Under many different names like
the aliases of a criminal, his character and movements are
set before us. It is our intention to write a series of
papers concerning this one who will be the full embodiment of
human wickedness and the final manifestation of satanic
blasphemy. Many others have made reference to this mysterious
personage in their general expositions of prophecy, but so
far as our examination of the literature on this subject has
carried us (and we have endeavored to make it as thorough as
possible) there seem to have been very few attempts made to
furnish a complete delineation of this Prince of
Darkness. We do not know of any exhaustive treatment of the
subject, and for this reason, and also because there is no
little confusion in the minds of many concerning the
character and career of the coming Man of Sin, these papers
are not submitted to the attention of Bible students.
For upwards of twelve years we
have studied diligently and prayerfully what the Scriptures
teach about the Pseudo-Christ. The deeper we have carried
these studies, the more surprised we are at the prominent
place which is given in the Bible to this Son of Perdition.
There is an amazing wealth of detail which, when carefully
collected and arranged, supplies a vivid biography of the one
who is shortly to appear and take the government of the world
upon his shoulders. The very fact that the Holy Spirit has
caused so much to be written upon the subject at once denotes
its great importance. The prominence of the Antichrist
in the prophetic Scriptures will at once appear by a glance
at the references that follow.
The very first prophecy of the
Bible takes note of him, for in Gen. 3:15 direct reference is
made to the Serpent's "Seed". In exodus a
striking type of him is furnished in Pharaoh, the defier of
God; the one who cruelly treated His people; the one who by
ordering the destruction of all the male children, sought to
cut off Israel from being a nation; the one who met with such
a drastic end at the hands of the Lord. In the prophecy of
Balaam, the Antichrist is referred to under the name of
"Asshur" (Num. 24:22), - in future chapters
evidence will be given to prove that "Asshur" and
the Antichrist are one and the same person. There are many
other remarkable types of the Man of Sin to be found in the
historical books of the Old Testament, but these we pass by
now, as we shall devote a separate chapter to their
consideration.
In the book of Job he is
referred to as "the Crooked Serpent" (Job 26:13):
with this should be compared Isa. 27:1 where, as "the
Crooked Serpent", he is connected with the Dragon,
though distinguished from him. In the Psalms we find quite a
number of references to him; as "the Bloody and
Deceitful Man" (5:6); "the Wicked (One)"
(9:17); "the Man of the Earth" (10:18); the
"Mighty Man" (52:1); "the Adversary"
(74:10); "the Head over many countries" (110:6);
"the Evil Man" and "the Violent Man"
(140:1), etc., etc. Let the student give special attention to
Psalms 10, 52, and 55.
When we turn to the Prophets
there the references to this Monster of Iniquity are so
numerous that were we to cite all of them, even without
comment, it would take us quite beyond the proper bounds of
this introductory chapter. Only a few of the more prominent
ones can, therefore, be noticed.
Isaiah mentions him: first as
the "Assyrian", "the Rod" of God's
anger (10:5); then as "the Wicked" (11:4); then as
"the King of Babylon" (14:11-20 and cf 30:31-33);
and also as the "Spoiler" - Destroyer (16:4).
Jeremiah calls him "the Destroyer of the Gentiles"
(4:7); the "Enemy", the "Cruel One" and
"the Wicked" (30:14 and 23). Ezekiel refers to him
as the "Profane Wicked Prince of Israel" (21:25),
and again under the figure of the "Prince of Tyre"
(28:2-10), and also as "the chief Prince of Meshech and
Tubal" (38:2). Daniel gives a full delineation of his
character and furnished a complete outline of his career.
Hosea speaks of him as "the King of Princes"
(8:10), and as the "Merchant" in whose hand are
"the balances of deceit" and who "loveth to
oppress" (12:7). Joel describes him as the Head of the
Northern Army, who shall be overthrown because he
"magnified himself to do great things" (2:20). Amos
terms him the "Adversary" who shall break
Israel's strength and spoil her palaces (3:11). Micah
makes mention of him in the fifth chapter of his prophecy
(see v. 6). Nahum refers to him under the name of
"Belial (Heb.) and tells of his destruction (1:15).
Habakkuk speaks of him as "the Proud Man" who
"enlarged his desires as hell, and is as death, and
cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and
heapeth unto him all peoples" (2:5). Zechariah describes
him as "the Idol Shepherd" upon whom is pronounced
God's "woe", and upon whom descends His
judgment (11:17).
Nor is it only in the Old
Testament that we meet with this fearful character. Our Lord
Himself spoke of him as the one who should "come in his
own name", and who would be "received" by
Israel (John 5:43). The apostle Paul gives us a full length
picture of him in 2 Thess. 2, where he is denominated
"that Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition", who coming
shall be "after the working of Satan with all power and
signs and lying wonders". The apostle John mentions him
by name, and declares that he will deny both the Father and
the Son (1 John 2:22). While in the Apocalypse, the last book
in the Bible, all these lines of prophecy are found to
converge in "the Beast" who shall ultimately be
cast, together with the False Prophet, into the lake of fire,
there to be joined a thousand years later by the Devil
himself, to suffer for ever and ever in that fire specially
"prepared" by God.
The appearing of the
Antichrist is a most appalling and momentous subject, and in
the past, many well-meaning writers have deprived this
impending event of much of its terror and meaning, by
confusing some of the antichrists that have already appeared
at various intervals on the stage of human history, with that
mysterious being who will tower high above all the sons of
Belial, being no less than Satan's counterfeit and
opposer of the Christ of God, who is infinitely exalted above
all the sons of God. It promotes the interests of Satan to
keep the world in ignorance of the coming Super-man, and
there can be no doubt that he is the one who is responsible
for the general neglect in the study of this subject, and the
author, too, of the conflicting testimony which is being
given out by those who speak and write concerning it.
There have been three
principal schools among the interpreters of the prophecies
pertaining to the Antichrist. The first have applied these
prophecies to persons of the past, to men who have been in
their graves for many centuries. The second have given these
prophecies a present application, finding their fulfillment
in the Papacy which still exists. While the third give them a
future application, and look for their fulfillment in a
terrible being who is yet to be manifested. Now, widely
divergent as are these several views, the writer is assured
there is an element of truth in each of them. Many, if not
the great majority of the prophecies - not only those
pertaining to the Antichrist, but to other prominent objects
of prediction - have at least a twofold, and frequently a
threefold fulfillment. They have a local and immediate
fulfillment: they have a continual and gradual fulfillment:
and they have a final and exhaustive fulfillment.
In the second chapter of his
first epistle the apostle John declares, "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 last time"
(v. 18). In strict harmony with this, the apostle Paul
affirmed that the "mystery of iniquity" was
"already" at work in his day (2 Thess. 2:7).
This need not surprise us, for many centuries before the
apostles, the wise man declared, "The thing that hath
been, is that which shall be; and that which
is done is that which shall be done: and there is
no new thing under the sun" (Ecc. 1:9). History works in
cycles, but as each cycle is completed we are carried nearer
the goal and consummation of history. There have been, then,
and there exist today, many antichrists, but these are only
so many forecasts and foreshadowings of the one who is yet to
appear. But it is of first importance that we should
distinguish clearly between an antichrist and the
Antichrist. As we have said, there have already been many
antichrists, but the appearing of the Antichrist is yet
future.
The first school of
interpreters referred to above, have lighted upon Antiochus
Epiphanes as the one who fulfills the prophecies respecting
the Antichrist. As far back as the days of Josephus (see his
"Antiquities") this view found ardent advocates.
Appeal was made to the title he assumed (Epiphanes
signifying "Illustrious"); to his opposition
against the worship of Jehovah; to his remarkable military
achievements; to his diplomatic intrigues; to his defiling of
the Temple; to his sacrificing of a pig in the holy of
holies; to his setting up of an image; and to his cruel
treatment of the Jews. But there are many conclusive reasons
to prove that Antiochus Epiphanes could not possibly be the
Antichrist, though undoubtedly he was, in several respects, a
striking type of him, inasmuch as he foreshadowed many of the
very things which this coming Monster will do. It is
sufficient to point out that Antiochus Epiphanes had been in
his grave for more than a hundred years when the apostle
wrote 2 Thess. 2.
Another striking character who
has been singled out by those who believe that the Antichrist
has already appeared and finished his course, is Nero. And
here again there are, admittedly, many striking resemblances
between the type and the antitype. In his office of emperor
of the Romans; in his awful impiety; in his consuming
egotism, in his bloodthirsty nature; and in his ferocious and
fiendish persecution of the people of God, we discover some
of the very lineaments which will be characteristic of the
Wicked One. But again it will be found that this man of
infamous memory, Nero, did nothing more than foreshadow that
one who shall far exceed him in satanic malignity. Positive
proof that Nero was not the Antichrist is to be found in the
fact that he was in his grave before John wrote the
thirteenth chapter of the Revelation.
The second school of
interpreters, to whom reference has been made above, apply
the prophecies concerning the Antichrist to the papal system,
and see in the succession of the popes the fac-simile of the
Man of Sin. Attention is called to Rome's hatred of the
Gospel of God' grace; to her mongrel combination of
political and ecclesiastical rule; to her arrogant claims and
tyrannical anathemas upon all who dare to oppose them; to her
subtlety, her intrigues, her broken pledges; and last, but
not least, to her unspeakable martyrdom of those who have
withstood her. The pope, we are reminded, has usurped the
place and prerogatives of the Son of God, and his arrogance,
his impiety, his claims to infallibility, his demand for
personal worship, all tally exactly with what is postulated
of the Son of Perdition. Antichristian, Roman Catholicism
unquestionably is, yet, even this monstrous system of evil
falls short of that which shall yet be headed by the Beast.
We shall devote a separate chapter to a careful comparison of
the papacy with the prophecies which describe the character
and career of the Antichrist.
The third school of
interpreters believe that the prophecies relating to the
Lawless One have not yet received their fulfillment, and
cannot do so until this present Day of Salvation has run its
course. The Holy Spirit of God, whose presence here now
prevents the final outworking of the Mystery of Iniquity,
must be removed from these scenes before Satan can bring
forth his Masterpiece of deception and opposition to God.
Many are the scriptures which teach plainly that the
manifestation of the Antichrist is yet future, and these will
come before us in our future studies. For the moment we must
continue urging upon our readers the importance of this
subject and the timeliness of our present inquiry.
The study of Antichrist is not
merely one of interest to those who love the sensational, but
it is of vital importance to a right understanding of
dispensational truth. A true conception of the predictions
which regard the Man of Sin is imperatively necessary for an
adequate examination of that vast territory of unfulfilled
prophecy. A single passage of scripture will establish this.
If the reader will turn to the beginning of 2 Thess. 2 he
will find that the saints in Thessalonica had been waiting
for the coming of God's Son from heaven, because they had
been taught to expect their gathering together unto Him
before God launches His judgments upon the world, which will
distinguish the "Day of the Lord". But their faith
had been shaken and their hope disturbed. Certain ones had
erroneously informed them that "that day" had
arrived, and therefore, their expectation of being caught up
to meet the Lord in the air had been disappointed. It was to
relieve the distress of these believers, and to repudiate the
errors of those who had disturbed them, that, moved by the
Holy Spirit, the apostle wrote his second epistle to the
Thessalonian church.
"Now we beseech you,
brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our
gathering together unto Him, That ye be not soon shaken in
mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by
letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let
no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come,
except there come a falling away first, and that Man of Sin
be revealed, the Son of Perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth
himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped;
so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing
himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet
with you I told you these things? And now ye know what
withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the
mystery of iniquity doth already work: only He who now
letteth (hindereth) will let, until He be taken our of the
way. And then shall that Wicked One be revealed, whom the
Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall
destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him whose
coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs
and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received
not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for
this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they
might believe a lie: That they all might be damned who
believed not the truth, but had pleasure in
unrighteousness" (2 Thess. 2:1-12).
We have quoted this passage at
length to show that the Day of the Lord cannot come until
after the Rapture (v. 1), after the Apostasy (v. 3), and
after the appearing of the Man of Sin (v. 3), whose character
and career here briefly but graphically sketched. The
Antichrist is to run his career of unparalleled wickedness
after all Christians have been removed from these scenes, for
it it under him, as their leader, that all the hosts of
ungodliness shall muster to meet their doom by the summary
judgment of God. Has then, the Wicked One been revealed? or
must we still say, as the apostle said in his day, that while
the "mystery of iniquity" is even now working,
there is something "withholding" (restraining),
that he should be revealed "in his time"? The vital
importance of the answer which is given to these questions
will further appear when we connect with this description of
the Antichrist given in 2 Thess. 2 the other prophecies which
reveal the exact length of time within which his course must
be accomplished. Our reason for saying this is because the
majority of the prophecies yet unfulfilled are to be
fulfilled during the time that the Antichrist is the central
figure upon earth. Moreover, the destruction of the
Antichrist and his forces will be the grand finale in the
age-long conflict between the Serpent and the woman's
Seed, as He returns to set up His kingdom.
The dominant view which has
been held by Protestants since the time of the Reformation is
that the many predictions relating to the Antichrist
describe, instead, the rise, progress, and doom of the
papacy. This mistake has led to others, and given rise to the
scheme of prophetic interpretation which has prevailed
throughout Christendom. When the predictions concerning the
Man of Sin were allegorized, consistency required that all
associated and collateral predictions should also be
allegorized, and especially those which relate to his doom,
and the kingdom which is to be established on the overthrow
of his power. When the period of his predicted course was
made to measure the whole duration of the papal system, it
naturally followed that the predictions of the associated
events should be applied to the history of Europe from
the time that the Bishop of Rome became recognized as the
head of the Western Churches.
It was, really, this mistake
of Luther and his contemporaries in applying to Rome the
prophecies concerning the Antichrist which is responsible, we
believe, for the whole modern system of post-millennialism.
The Reformers were satisfied that the Papacy had received its
death blow, and though it lingered on, the Protestants of the
sixteenth century were confident it could never recover.
Believing that the doom of the Roman hierarchy was sealed,
that the kingdom of Satan was rocking on its foundations, and
that a brief interval would witness a complete overthrow,
they at once seized upon the prophecies which announced the
setting up of the kingdom of Christ as immediately following
the destruction of the Antichrist, and applied them to
Protestantism. It is true that some of them did not seem to
fit very well, but human ingenuity soon found a way to
overcome these difficulties. The obstacle presented by those
prophecies that announced the immediate setting up of
Christ's kingdom, following the overthrow and destruction
of Satan's, was surmounted by an appeal to the analogy
furnished in the overthrow of Satan's kingdom - if this
was a tedious process, a gradual thing which required time to
complete, why not so with the other? If the rapidly waning
power of the papacy was sufficient to guarantee its ultimate
extermination, why should not the progress of the Reformation
presage the ultimate conquering of the world for Christ!
If, as it seemed clear to the
Reformers, the papacy was the Man of Sin, and St. Peter's
was the "temple" in which he usurped the place and
prerogatives of Christ, then, this premise established, all
the other conclusions connected with their scheme of
prophetic interpretation must logically follow. To establish
the premise was the first thing to be done, and once the
theory became a settled conviction it was no difficult thing
to find scriptures which appeared to confirm their view. The
principal difficulty in the way was to dispose of the
predictions which limited the final stage of Antichrist's
career to forty-two months, or twelve hundred sixty days.
This was accomplished by what is known as the
"year-day" theory, which regards each of the 1260
days as "prophetic days", that is, as 1260 years,
and thus sufficient room was afforded to allow for the
protracted history of Roman Catholicism.
Without entering into further
details, it is evident at once that, if this allegorical
interpretation of the prophecies regarding Antichrist can be
proven erroneous,[2] then the
whole post-millennial and "historical" schemes of
interpretation fall to the ground, and thousands of the
voluminous expositions of prophecy which have been issued
during the past three hundred and fifty years are set aside
as ingenious but baseless speculations. This, of itself, is
sufficient to demonstrate the importance of our present
inquiry.
Not only is the
importance of our subject denoted by the prominent place
given to it in the Word of God, and not only is its value
established by the fact that a correct understanding of the
person of Antichrist is one of the chief keys to the right
interpretation of the many prophecies which yet await their
fulfillment, but the timeliness of this inquiry is discovered
by noting that the Holy Spirit has connected the appearing of
the Antichrist with the Apostasy: "Let no man deceive
you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there
come a falling away (the Apostasy) first, and that Man of Sin
be revealed, the Son of Perdition" (2 Thess. 2:3). These
two things are here joined together, and if it can be shown
that the Apostasy is already far advanced, then we may be
certain that the manifestation of the Man of Sin cannot be
far distant.
There is little need for us to
make a lengthy digression here and give a selection from the
abundance of evidence to hand, which shows that the Apostasy
is already far advanced. The great majority of those whom we
are addressing have already had their eyes opened by God to
discern the Christ-dishonoring conditions which exist on
almost every side. It will be enough to barely mention the
gathering of the "tares" into bundles, which is
taking place before our eyes; the rapid spread of Spiritism,
with its "seducing spirits and doctrines of
demons", and the significant and solemn fact that
thousands of those who are ensnared by it are those who have
departed from the formal profession of the faith (1 Tim.
4:1); the "form of godliness" which still exists,
but which alas! in the vast majority of instances
"denies its power "; the alarming development and
growth of Roman Catholicism in this land, and the lethargic
indifference to this by most of those who bear the name of
Christ; the denial of every cardinal doctrine of the faith
once delivered to the saints, which is now heard in countless
pulpits of every denomination; the "scoffing" which
is invariably met with by those who teach the imminent return
of the Lord Jesus; and the Lacodicean spirit which is now the
very atmosphere of Christendom, and from which few, if any,
of the Lord's own people are entirely free - these, and a
dozen others which might be mentioned, are the proofs which
convince us that the time must be very near at hand when the
Divine Hinderer shall be removed, and when satan shall bring
forth his Son to head the final revolt against God, ere the
Lord Jesus returns to this earth and sets up His kingdom.
This then, shows the need of a prayerful examination of what
God has revealed of those things "which must shortly
come to pass". The very fact that the time when
Satan's Masterpiece shall appear is rapidly drawing
nearer, supplies further evidence of the importance and
timeliness of our present inquiry.
The practical value of these
preliminary considerations should at once be apparent. What
we have written in connection with this incarnation of Satan
who is shortly to appear, is not the product of a disordered
imagination but the subject of Divine revelation. The warning
given that the appearing of the Antichrist cannot be far
distant springs not from the fears of an alarmist, but is
required by the Signs of the Times which, in the light of
Scripture, are fraught with significant meaning to all whose
senses are exercised to discern both good and evil. The many
proofs that the manifestation of the Man of Sin is an event
of the near future are so many calls to God's own
children to be ready for the Return of the Saviour, for
before the Son of Perdition can be revealed the Lord Himself
must first descend into the air and catch away from these
scenes, unto Himself, His own blood-bought people. Therefore,
it behooves each one of us to make "our calling and
election sure", and to heed that urgent admonition of
the Saviour "Let your loins be girded about, and your
lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for
their Lord" (Luke 12:35, 36).
[Chap. 1]
[Table of Contents] [Chap. 3]
"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" (John 5:43).
These words were spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ, and the
occasion on which they were uttered and the connection in
which they are found, invest them with peculiar solemnity.
The chapter opens by depicting the Saviour healing the
impotent man who lay by the pool of Bethesda. This occurred
on the Sabbath day, and the enemies of Christ made it the
occasion for a vicious attack upon Him: "Therefore did
the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay Him, because He
had done these things on the Sabbath day" (v. 16). In
vindicating His performance of this miracle on the Sabbath,
the Lord Jesus began by saying, "My Father worketh
hitherto, and I work" (v. 17). But this only served to
intensify their enmity against Him, for we read,
"Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because
He not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God
was His Father, making Himself equal with God" (v. 18).
In response, Christ then made a detailed declaration of His
divine glories. In conclusion He appealed to the varied
witnesses which bore testimony to His Deity: - the Father
Himself (v. 32); John the Baptist (v. 33); His own works (v.
36); and the Scriptures (v. 39). Then He turned to those who
were opposing Him and said, "And ye will not come to Me,
that ye might have life. But I know you, that ye have not the
love of God in you. 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" (vv. 40, 42, 43). And this was immediately
followed by this searching question - "How can ye
believe which receive honor (glory) one of another, and seek
not the honor (glory) that cometh from God only?" (v.
44).
Here is the key to the solemn
statement which begins this article. These Jews received
glory from one another; they did not seek it from God, for
they had not the love of God in them. Therefore it was that
the One who had come to them in the Father's name, and
who "received not glory from men" (v. 41) was
rejected by them. And just as eve's rejection of the word
of God's truth laid her open to accept the serpent's
lie, so Israel's rejection of the true Messiah, has
prepared them, morally, to receive the false Messiah, for he
will come in his own name, doing his own pleasure, and will
"receive glory from men". Thus will he thoroughly
appeal to the corrupt heart of the natural man.
The future appearing of this
one who shall "come in his own name" was announced,
then, by the Lord Himself. The Antichrist will be
"received", not only by the Jews, but also by the
whole world; received as their acknowledged Head and Ruler;
and all the modern pleas for and movements to bring about a
federation of the churches and a union of Christendom,
together with the present-day efforts to establish a League
of Nations - a great United States of the World - are but
preparing the way for just such a character as is portrayed
both in the Old and New Testaments.
There will be many remarkable
correspondences between the true and the false Christ, but
more numerous and more striking will be the contrasts between
the Son of God and the Son of perdition. The Lord Jesus came
down from Heaven, whereas the Antichrist shall ascent from
the bottomless Pit (Rev. 11:7). The Lord Jesus came in His
Father's name, emptied Himself of His glory, lived in
absolute dependence upon God, and refused to receive honor
from men; but the Man of Sin will come in his own name,
embodying all the pride of the Devil, opposing and exalting
himself not only against the true God, but against everything
that bears His name, and his deepest craving will be to
receive honor and homage from men.
Now since this parallel, with
its pointed contrasts, was drawn by our Lord Himself in John
5:43, how conclusive is the proof which it affords that the
Antichrist will be a single individual being as surely as
Christ was! In further proof of this 1 John 2:18 may be
cited: "Little children, it is the last hour: and as ye
heard that Antichrist cometh, even now hath there arisen many
antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last hour"
(R.V.). Here the Antichrist is plainly distinguished from the
many who prepare his way. The verb "cometh" here is
a remarkable one, for it is the very same that is used of the
Lord Jesus Christ in reference to His first and second
Advents. The Antichrist, therefore, is also "the coming
one", or "he that cometh". This defines his
relation to the world, - which has long been expecting some
Conquering Hero - as "the Coming One" defines the
relation of the Christ of God to His Churches, whose
Divinely-inspired hope is the return of the Lord from
Heaven.
Nor does this by any means
exhaust the proof that the coming Antichrist will be a single
individual being. The expressions used by the apostle Paul in
2 Thess. 2 - "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" - all these point
as distinctly to a single individual as did the Messianic
predictions of the Old Testament point to the person of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, in accordance with these
texts, and many others which might be quoted, we find that
all the Christian writers of the first six centuries (that is
all who make reference to the subject) regarded the
Antichrist as a real person, a specific individual. We might
fill many pages by giving extracts from their works, but
three must suffice. The first is taken from a very ancient
document, entitled "The Teaching of the Apostles",
which probably dates back to the beginning of the second
century: -
"For in the last days the
false prophets and the destroyers shall be multiplied, and
the sheep shall be turned into wolves, and love shall be
turned into hate. For when lawlessness increases, they shall
hate and persecute and deliver up one another; and then shall
appear the world-deceiver as Son of God, who shall do signs
and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his hands,
and he shall do lawless deeds such as have never yet been
done since the beginning of the world. Then shall the race of
men come into the fire of trial, and many shall be offended
and shall perish, but they who have endured in their faith
shall be saved under the very curse itself".
Our second quotation is taken
from the writings of Cyril, who was Bishop of Jerusalem in
the fourth century:
"This aforementioned
Antichrist comes when the times of the sovereignty of the
Romans shall be fulfilled, and the concluding events of the
world draw nigh. Ten kings of the Romans arise at the same
time in different places, perhaps; but reigning at the same
period. But after these, the antichrist is the eleventh,
having, by his magic and evil skill, violently possessed
himself of the Roman power. Three of those who have reigned
before him, he will subdue; the other seven he will hold in
subjection to himself. At first he assumes a character of
gentleness (as if a wise and understanding person),
pretending both to moderation and philanthropy; deceiving,
both by lying miracles and prodigies which come from his
magical deceptions, the Jews, as if he were the expected
Messiah. Afterwards he will addict himself to every kind of
evil, cruelty, and excess, so as to surpass all who have been
unjust and impious before him; having a bloody and relentless
and pitiless mind, and full of wily devices against all, and
especially against believers. But having dared such things
three years and six months, he will be destroyed by the
second glorious coming from heaven of the truly begotten Son
of God, who is our Lord and Saviour, Jesus the true Messiah;
who, having destroyed Antichrist by the Spirit of His mouth,
will deliver him to the fire Gehenna".
Our last quotation is made
from the writings of Gregory of Tours, who wrote at the end
of the sixth century A.D.: -
"Concerning the end of
the world, I believe what I have learnt from those who have
gone before me. Antichrist will assume circumcision,
asserting himself to be the Christ. He will then place a
statue to be worshipped in the Temple at Jerusalem, as we
read that the Lord has said, `Ye shall see the abomination of
desolation standing in the holy place'".
Our purpose in making these
quotations is not because we regard the voice of antiquity as
being in any degree authoritative: far from it; the
only authority for us is "What saith the
Scriptures?". Nor have we presented these views as
curious relics of antiquity - though it is interesting to
discover the thoughts which occupied some of the leading
minds of past ages. No: our purpose has been simply to show
that the early Christian writers uniformly held that the
Antichrist would be a real person, a Jew, one who should both
simulate and oppose the true Christ. Such continued to be the
generally received doctrine until what is known as the Dark
Ages were far advanced.
It is not until we reach the
fourteenth century (so far as the writer is aware) that we
find the first marked deviation from the uniform belief of
the early Christians. It was the Waldenses, - so remarkably
sound in the faith on almost all point of doctrine - who,
thoroughly worn out by centuries of the most relentless and
merciless persecutions, published about the year 1350 a
treatise designed to prove that the system of Popery was the
Antichrist. It should however be said in honor of this
people, whose memory is blessed, that in one of their
earliest books entitled "The Noble Lesson",
published about 1100 A.D., they taught that the Antichrist
was an individual rather than a system.
Following the new view
espoused by the Waldenses it was not long before the
Hussites, the Wycliffites and the Lollards - other companies
of Christians who were fiercely persecuted by Rome - eagerly
caught up the idea, and proclaimed that the Pope was the Man
of Sin and the papacy the Beast. From them it was handed on
to the leaders of the Reformation who soon made an earnest
attempt to systematize this new scheme of eschatology. But
rarely has there been a more forceable example of the
tendency of men's belief to be mouled by the events and
signs of their own lifetime. In order to adapt the prophecies
of the Antichrist to the Papal hierarchy, or the line of the
Popes, they had to be so wrested that scarcely anything was
left of their original meaning.
"The coming Man of Sin
had to be changed into a long succession of men. The time of
his continuance, which God had stated with precision and
clearness as forty-two months (Rev. 13:5), or three years and
a half, being far too short for the line of Popes, had to be
lengthened by an ingenious, but most unwarrantable, process
of first resolving it into days, and then turning these days
into years.
"The fact that, in the
13th chapter of the Apocalypse, the first Beast or secular
power, is supreme while the second Beast or ecclesiastical
power is subordinate, had to be ignored; since such an
arrangement is opposed to all the traditions of the Roman
system. Also the circumstances that the second Beast is a
prophet and not a priest, had to be kept in the background;
for the Roman church exalts the priest, and has little care
for the prophet. Then, again, the awful words pronouncing
sentence of death upon every one who worshipped the Beast and
his image, and receives his mark in his forehead or in his
hand (Rev. 13), seemed - and no wonder - too terrible to be
applied to every Roman Catholic, and, therefore, had to be
explained away or suppressed" (G. H. Pember).
Nevertheless, by common
consent the Reformers applied the prophecies which treat of
the character, career, and doom of the Antichrist, to Popery,
and regarded those of his titles which referred to him as
"that Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition", the
"King of Babylon" and "the Beast", as
only so many names for the head of the Roman hierarchy. But
this view, which was upheld by most of the Puritans too, must
be brought to the test of the one infallible standard of
Truth which our gracious God has placed in our hands. We must
search the Scriptures to see whether these things be so or
not.
Now we shall hold no brief for
the pope, nor have we anything good to say of that pernicious
system of which he is the head. On the contrary, we have no
hesitation in denouncing as rank blasphemy the blatant
assumption of the pope as being the infallible vicar of
Christ. Nor do we hesitate to declare that the Papacy has
been marked, all through its long history, by impious
arrogance, awful idolatry, and unspeakable cruelty. But,
nevertheless, there are many scriptures which prevent us from
believing that the Papacy and the Antichrist are identical.
The Son of Perdition will eclipse any monstrosities that have
sprung from the waves of the Tiber. The Bible plainly teaches
us to look for a more terrible personage than any Hildebrand
or Leo.
Undoubtedly there are many
points of analogy between Antichrist and the popes, and
without doubt the Papal system has foreshadowed to a
remarkable degree the character and career of the coming Man
of Sin. Some of the parallelisms between them were pointed
out by us in the previous chapter, and to these many more
might be added. Not only is it evident that Roman Catholicism
is a most striking type and harbinger of that one yet to
come, but the cause of truth requires us to affirm that the
Papacy is an antichrist, doubtless, the most devilish
of them all. Yet, we say again, that Romanism is not the
Antichrist. As it is likely that many of our readers have
been educated in the belief that the pope and the Antichrist
are identical, we shall proceed to produce some of the
numerous proofs which go to show that such is not the case.
That the Papacy cannot possibly be the Antichrist appears
from the following considerations: =
1. The term
"Antichrist" whether employed in the singular or
the plural, denotes a person or persons, and never a
system. We may speak correctly of an anti-Christ-ian
system, just as we may refer to a Christian organization; but
it is just as inadmissible and erroneous to refer to any
system or organization as "the Antichrist" or
"an antichrist", as it would be to denominate any
Christian system or organization "the Christ", or
"a Christ". Just as truly as the Christ is the
title of a single person the Son of God, so the Antichrist
will be a single person, the son of Satan.
2. The Antichrist will be a
lineal descendant of Abraham, a Jew. We shall not stop to
submit the proof for this, as that will be given in our next
chapter; suffice it now to say that none but a full-blooded
Jew could ever expect to palm himself off on the Jewish
people as their long-expected Messiah. Here is an argument
that has never been met by those who believe that the pope is
the Man of Sin. So far as we are aware no Israelite has ever
occupied the Papal See - certainly none has done so since the
seventh century.
3. In line with the last
argument, we read in Zech. 11:16,17, "For, lo, I will
raise up a Shepherd in the land which shall not visit those
that be cut off, neither shall seek the young ones, nor heal
that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but
he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in
pieces. Woe to the Idol Shepherd that leaveth the flock! The
sword (of Divine judgment) shall be upon his arm (his power),
and upon his right eye (intelligence): his arm shall be clean
dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened".
"The land" here is, of course, Palestine, as is
ever the case in Scripture with this expression. This could
not possibly apply to the line of the Popes.
4. In 2 Thess. 2:4 we learn
that the Man of Sin shall sit "in the Temple of
God", and St. Peter's at Rome cannot possibly be
called that. The "Temple" in which the Antichrist
shall sit will be the rebuilt temple of the Jews, and that
will be located not in Italy but in Jerusalem. In later
chapters it will be shown that he Mosque of Omar shall yet be
replaced by a Jewish Temple before our Lord returns to
earth.
5. The Antichrist will be
received by the Jews. This is clear from the passage
which heads the first paragraph of this chapter. "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"; but the Jews have never yet owned allegiance
to any pope.
6. The Antichrist will make a
Covenant with the Jews. In Dan. 9:27 we read, "And he
shall confirm the covenant with many for a week". The
one referred to here as making this seven-year Covenant is
"the Prince that shall come" of the previous verse,
namely, the Antichrist, who will be the Head of the
ten-kingdomed Empire. The nation with whom the Prince will
make this covenant is the people of Daniel, as is clear from
the context - see v. 24. But we know of no record upon the
scroll of history of any pope having ever made a seven-year
Covenant with the Jews!
7. In Dan. 11:45 we read,
"And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace
between the seas, in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall
come to his end, and none shall help him". The person
referred to here is, again, the Antichrist, as will be seen
by going back to v. 36 where this section of the chapter
begins. There we are told, "The king shall do according
to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself
above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against he
God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be
accomplished; for that that is determined shall be
done". This is more than sufficient to identify with
certainty the one spoken of in the last verse of Dan. 11. The
Antichrist, then, will plant the tabernacles of his palace
"between the seas", that is, between the
Mediterranean and the Red Sea. By no species of ingenuity can
this be made to apply to the pope, for his palace, the
Vatican, is located in the capital city of Italy.
8. The Antichrist cannot be
revealed until the mystic Body of Christ and the Holy Spirit
have been removed from the earth. This is made clear by what
we read in 2 Thess. 2. In verse three of that chapter the
apostle refers to the revelation of the Man of Sin. In verse
four he describes his awful impiety. In verse five he reminds
the Thessalonians how that he had taught them these things by
word of mouth when he was with them. And then, in verse six
he declares "And now ye know what withholdeth that he
might be revealed in his time". And again he said,
"For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only He
who now letteth (hindereth) will let until He be taken out of
the way". There are two agencies,then, which are
hindering, or preventing the manifestation of the Antichrist,
until "his time" shall have come. The former agency
is covered by the pronoun "what", the latter by the
word "He". The former, we are satisfied, is the
mystical Body of Christ; the latter being the Holy Spirit of
God. At the Rapture both shall be "taken out of the
way", and then shall the Man of Sin be revealed. If,
then, the Antichrist cannot appear before the Rapture of the
saints and the taking away of the Holy Spirit, then, here is
proof positive that the Antichrist has not yet
appeared.
9. Closely akin to the last
argument is the fact that quite a number of definite
scriptures place the appearing of the Antichrist at that
season known as the End-Time. Dan. 7 and 8 make it plain that
the Antichrist will run his career at the very end of this
age (we do not say this "dispensation" for that
will end at the Rapture), that is, during the great
Tribulation, the time of "Jacob's trouble".
Dan. 7:21-23 declares, "I beheld, and the same horn made
war with the saints, and prevailed against them; Until the
Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of
the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed
the kingdom". Dan. 8:19 places his course (see 8:23-25)
at "the last end of the indignation", i.e. of
God's wrath against Israel and the Gentiles. Dan. 9 shows
that he will make his seven-years' Covenant with the Jews
at the beginning of the last of the seventy "weeks"
which is to bring in "the end" of Israel's sins
and "finish the transgression" (9: 24). If the time
of the Antichrist's manifestation is yet future then it
necessarily follows that Rome cannot be the Antichrist.
10. The Antichrist will deny
both the Father and the Son: "He is Antichrist, that
denieth the Father and the Son" (1 John 2:22). This
scripture does not speak of virtual, but of actual and formal
denial. But Rome has always maintained in her councils and
creeds, her symbols of faith and worship, that there are
three persons in the Godhead. Numerous and grievous have been
her departures from the teaching of Holy Scripture, yet since
the time of the Council of Trent (1563 A.D.) every Roman
Catholic has had to confess "I believe in God the
Father...and in the Lord Jesus Christ....and in the Holy
Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, which proceedeth from the
Father and the Son".
As a system Romanism is a
go-between. The "priest" stands between the sinner
and God; the `confessional' between him and the throne of
grace; `penance' between him and godly sorrow; the
`mass' between him and Christ; and `purgatory'
between him and Heaven. The pope acknowledges both the Father
and the Son: he confesses himself to be both the servant of
God and His worshipper; he blesses the people not in his own
name, but in that of the Holy Trinity.
11. The Antichrist is
described as the one "who opposeth and exalteth himself
above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that
he as God sitteth in the Temple of God, showing himself that
he is God" (2 Thess. 2:4). This is what the popes have
never done. Not even Leo ventured to deify himself or
supersede God. The popes have made many false and impious
claims for themselves; nevertheless, their decrees have been
sent forth as from the "vice-gerent" of God, the
"vicar" of Christ - thus acknowledging a Divine
power above himself.
12. In Rev. 13:2,4 we read,
"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 they worshipped
the dragon which gave power unto the beast". By
comparing these verses with Rev. 12:9 we learn that the
Dragon is none other than Satan himself. Now by almost common
consent this first beast of Rev. 13 is the Antichrist. If,
then, Romanism be the Antichrist, where, we may ask, shall we
turn to find anything answering to what we read of here in
Rev. 13:4 - "And they worshipped the dragon,
which gave power unto the beast".
13. This same 13th chapter of
Revelation informs us that the Antichrist (the first Beast)
shall be aided by a second Beast who is denominated "the
False Prophet" (Rev. 19:20). The False Prophet, we are
told "exerciseth all the power of the First Beast before
him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to
worship the First Beast" (Rev. 13:12). If the First
Beast be the Papacy, then who is the False Prophet who
"causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to
worship" her?
14. Again; we are told that
this False Prophet shall say to them that dwell on the earth
"that they should make an image to the Beast, which had
the wound by a sword and did live" (Rev. 13:14).
Further, we are told, "And he had power to give life
unto the image of the Beast, that the image of the Beast
should both speak, and cause that as many as would not
worship the image of the Beast should be killed" (Rev
13:15). Where do we find anything in Popery which in anywise
resembles this?
15. In Dan. 9:27 we are told
that the Antichrist "shall cause the sacrifice and the
oblation to cease". And again in 8:11 we read,
"Yea, he magnified himself even against the Prince of
the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken
away". If Romanism is the Antichrist how can these
scriptures be made to square with the oft repeated
"Sacrifice of the Mass"?
16. The dominion of the
Antichrist shall be world-wide. The coming Man of Sin
will assert a supremacy which shall be unchallenged and
universal. "And all the world wondered after the
Beast" (Rev. 13:3). "And power was given him over
all kindreds, and tongues, and nations" (13:7). It
hardly needs to be pointed out that half of Christendom, to
say nothing of Heathendom, is outside the pale of Rome, and
is antagonistic to the claims of the Papacy. Again; in 13:17
we read "No man might buy or sell, save he that had the
mark, or the name of the Beast, or the number of his
name": and when, we ask, has any pope exercised such
commercial supremacy that none could buy or sell without his
permission?
17. The duration of
Antichrist's career, after he comes out in his true
character, will be limited to forty-two months. There are no
less than six scriptures which, with a variety of expression,
affirm this time restriction. In Dan. 7:25 we learn that this
one who shall "think to change times and laws",
will have these "given into his hand until a time, and
times, and the dividing of time": that is, for three
years and a half - cf. Rev. 12:14 with 12:6. And again in
Rev. 13:5 we are told, "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" (Rev.
13:5). Now it is utterly impossible to make this harmonize
with the protracted history of Romanism by any honest method
of computation.
18. In Rev. 13:7,8 we read,
"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 face of 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". Here we are expressly told
that the only ones who will not "worship the
Beast", i.e. the Antichrist, are they whose names are
written in the Lamb's book of life. If then the pope is
the Antichrist, all who do not worship him must have their
names written in the Lamb's book of life - an absurdity
on the face of it, for this world be tantamount to saying
that all the infidels, atheists, and unbelievers of the last
thousand years who were outside of the pale of Roman
Catholicism are saved.
19. In 2 Thess. 2:11,12 we are
told, "For this cause God shall end them strong
delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might
be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in
unrighteousness". The context here shows that
"believing a lie" means accepting the claims of the
Antichrist. Those who believe his claims will "receive
him (John 5:43), and not only so, they will
"worship" him (Rev. 13:8); and 2 Thess. 2:12
declares that all who do this will be damned". If,
then,the pope is the Antichrist, then it necessarily follows
that all who have believed his lying claims, that all who
have received him s the vicar of Christ, that all who have
worshipped him, will be eternally lost. But the writer would
not for a moment make any such sweeping assertion. He,
together with thousands of others, believes firmly that
during the centuries there have been many Roman Catholics
who, despite much ignorance and superstition, have been among
that number that have exercised faith in the blood of Christ,
and that lived and died resting on the finished work of
Christ as the alone ground of their acceptance before God,
and who because of this shall be forever with the Lord.
20. That the Antichrist and
the Papacy are totally distinct is unequivocally established
by the teaching of Rev. 17. Here we learn that there shall be
ten kings who will reign "with the Beast" (v. 12),
and act in concert with him (vv. 13,16). Then we are told
"these shall hate the Whore (the papacy), and shall make
her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her
with fire" (v. 16). Instead of the Antichrist and the
Papacy being identical, the former shall destroy the latter;
whereas, the Antichrist shall be destroyed by Christ Himself,
see 2 Thess. 2:8.
Perhaps a word of explanation
is called for as to why we have entered into such lengthy
details in presenting some of the many proofs that the Papacy
is not the Antichrist. Our chief reason for doing so was
because we expect that many who will read this paper are
among the number who have been brought up in the belief which
was commonly taught by the Reformers and which has prevailed
generally since their day. For those readers who had already
been established on this point, we would ask them to please
bear with us for having sought to help those less fortunate.
Our next chapter will be one of more general interest, for in
it we shall discuss the person of the Antichrist - who he
will be, from whence he will spring, and what marks will
serve to identify him.
[Chap. 2]
[Table of Contents] [Chap. 4]
In our last chapter we pointed
out how that the Antichrist is not a system of evil, nor an
anit-Christian organization, but instead, a single individual
being, a person yet to appear. In support of this we appealed
to the declaration of our Lord recorded in 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". Here the Saviour both compares and contrasts
the Man of Sin with Himself. The point of comparison is that,
like the Saviour, he shall offer himself to Israel; the
contrast is, that unlike Christ who was rejected by the Jews,
the false messiah shall be "received" by them. If,
then, the Antichrist may be compared and contrasted with the
Christ of God, he, too, must be a person, an individual
being.
Again; we called attention to
the expression used by the apostle Paul in 2 Thess. 2: -
"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" - all these point as distinctly to a
single individual as did the Messianic predictions of the Old
Testament point to the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Assured, then, that "the Antichrist" signifies a
specific individual, our next concern is to turn to the
Scriptures and learn what God has been pleased to reveal
concerning this Personification of Evil.
I. THE ANTICHRIST WILL BE A JEW.
The Antichrist will be a Jew,
though his connections, his governmental position, his sphere
of dominion, will by no means confine him to the Israelitish
people. It should, however, be pointed out that there is no
express declaration of Scripture which says in so many words
that this daring Rebel will be "a Jew";
nevertheless, the hints given are so plain, the conclusions
which must be drawn from certain statements of Holy Writ are
so obvious, and the requirements of the case are so
inevitable, that we are forced to believe he must be a Jew.
To these `hints', `conclusions' and
`requirements' we now turn.
1. In Ezek. 21:25-27 we read:
"and thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is
come, when iniquity shall have an end, Thus saith the Lord
God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall
not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is
high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be
no more until he comes whose right it is, and I will give it
him". The dispensational place and scope of this
passage, is not hard to determine. The time-mark is given in
v. 25: it is "when iniquity shall have an end". It
is the End-Time which is in view, then, the End of the Age,
when "the transgressors are come to the full" (Dan.
8:23 and cf. 11:36 - "Till the indignation be
accomplished"). At that time Israel shall have a Prince,
a Prince who is crowned (v. 26), and a Prince whose day is
said to be come when iniquity shall have an end". Now,
as to who this Prince is, there is surely no room for doubt.
The only Prince whom Israel will have in that day, is the Son
of Perdition, here termed their Prince because he will be
masquerading as Messiah the Prince (see Dan. 9:25)! Another
unmistakable mark of identification is here given, in that he
is expressly denominated "thou, profane wicked
Prince" - assuredly, it is the Man of Sin who is here in
view, that impious one who shall "oppose and exalt
himself above all that is called God". But what should
be noted particularly, is, that this profane and wicked
character is here named "Prince of Israel". He
must, therefore, be of the Abrahamic stock, a Jew!
2. In Ezek. 28:2-10 a
remarkable description is given us of the Antichrist under
the figure of "the Prince of Tyrus", just as in
vv.12-19 we have another most striking delineation of Satan
under the figure of "the king of Tyrus". In a later
chapter we hope to show that, beyond a doubt, it is the
Antichrist who is in view in the first section of this
chapter. There is only one thing that we would now point out
from this passage: in v.10 it is said of him "Thou shalt
die the deaths of the uncircumcised", which is a very
strong hint that he ought not to die the deaths of the
"uncircumcised" because he belonged to the
Circumcision! Should it be said that this verse cannot apply
to the Antichrist because he will be destroyed by Christ
Himself at His coming, the objection is very easily disposed
of by a reference to Rev. 13:14, which tells of the
Antichrist being wounded to death by a sword and rising from
the dead - which is prior to his ultimate destruction at the
hands of the Saviour.
3. In Dan. 11:36,37 we are
told, "And the king shall do according to his will; and
he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god,
and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and
shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that
that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the
God of his fathers". This passage, it is evident, refers
to and describes none other than the coming Antichrist. But
what we wish to call special attention to is the last
sentence quoted - "The God of his fathers". What
are we to understand by this expression? Why, surely, that he
is a Jew, an Israelite, and that his fathers after the
flesh were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - for such is the
invariable meaning of "the fathers" throughout the
Old Testament Scriptures.
4. In Matt. 12:43-45 we have
another remarkable scripture which will be considered
briefly, in a later section of this chapter, when we shall
endeavor to show that "The Unclean Spirit" here is
none other than the Son of Perdition, and that the
"house' from which he goes out and into which he
returns, is the Nation of Israel. If this can be established,
then we have another proof that he will be a Jew, for
this "house", which is Israel, is here termed by
Antichrist "my house". Just as Solomon was of
"the House of David", so Antichrist shall be of the
House of Israel.
5. In John 5:43 we have a
further word which helps us to fix the nationality of this
coming One. In speaking of the false messiah, the Lord Jesus
referred to him as follows, "Another shall come
in his own name". In the Greek there are four different
words all translated "Another" in our English
versions. One of them is employed but once, and a second but
five times, so these need not detain us now. The remaining
two are used frequently, and with a clear distinction between
them. The first "allos" signifies
"another" of the same kind or genus - see
Matt. 10:23; 13:24; 26:71, etc. The second,
"heteros", means "another" of a
totally different kind, - see Mark 16:12; Luke 14:31;
Acts 7:18; Rom. 7:23. Now the striking thing is that the word
used by our Lord in John 5:43 is "allos", another
of the same genus, not "heteros", another of a
different order. Christ, the Son of Abraham, the Son of
David, had presented Himself to Israel, and they rejected
Him; but "another" of the same Abrahamic stock
should come to them, and him they would "receive".
If the coming Antichrist were to be a Gentile, the Lord would
have employed the word "heteros"; the fact that He
used "allos" shows that he will be a Jew.
6. The very name
"Antichrist" argues strongly his Jewish
nationality. This title "Antichrist" has a double
significance. It means that he will be one who shall be
"opposed" to Christ, one who will be His
enemy. But it also purports that he will be a mock
Christ, an imitation Christ, a pro-Christ, a
pseudo Christ. It intimates that he will ape Christ.
He will pose as the real Messiah of Israel. In such case he
must be a Jew.
7. This mock Christ will be
"received" by Israel. The Jews will be deceived by
Him. They will believe that he is indeed their long-expected
Messiah. They will accept him as such. Proofs of this will be
furnished in a later chapter. But if this pseudo Christ
succeeds in palming himself off on the Jews as their true
Messiah he must be a Jew, for it is unthinkable that they
would be deceived by any Gentile.
Ere passing to the next point,
we may add, that it was the common belief among Christians
during the first four centuries A.D., that the Antichrist
would come from the tribe of Dan. Whether this will be the
case or no, we do not know. Gen. 49:17,18 may have ultimate
reference to this Son of Perdition. Certainly Dan is the most
mysterious of all the twelve tribes.
II. THE ANTICHRIST WILL BE THE SON OF SATAN.
That Satan will have a son
ought not to surprise us. The Devil is a consummate
imitator and much of his success in deceiving men is due
to his marvelous skill in counterfeiting the things of God.
Below we give a list of some of his imitations: -
Do we read of Christ going
forth to sow the "good seed" (Matt. 13:24), then we
also read of the enemy going forth to sow his
"tares" - an imitation wheat (Matt. 13:25). Do we
read of "the children of God", then we also read of
"the children of the wicked one" (Matt. 13:38). Do
we read of God working in His children "both to
will and to do of His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13), then
we are also told that the Prince of the power of the air is
"the spirit that now woreth in the children of
disobedience" (Eph. 2:2). Do we read of the Gospel of
God, then we also read that Satan has a gospel -
"Another gospel, which is not another" (Gal.
1:6,7). Did Christ appoint "apostles", then Satan
has his apostles too (2 Cor. 11:13). Are we told that
"the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things
of God" (1 Cor. 2:10), then Satan also provides his
"deep things" (see Greek of Rev. 2:24). Are we told
that God, by His angel, will "seal" His servants in
their foreheads (Rev. &;3), so also we read that Satan,
by his angels, will set a mark in the foreheads of his
devotees (Re. 13:16). Does the Father seek
"worshippers" (John 4:23), so also does Satan (Rev.
13:4). Did Christ quote scripture, so also did Satan (Matt.
4:6). Is Christ the Light of the world, then Satan also is
transformed as an "angel of light" (2 Cor. 11:14).
Is Christ denominated "the Lion of the tribe of
Judah" (Rev. 5:5), then the Devil is also referred
to as "a roaring lion" (1 Peter 5:6). Do we read of
Christ and "His angels" (Matt. 24:31), then we also
read of the Devil and "his angels" (Matt. 25:41).
Did Christ work miracles, so also will Satan (2 Thess. 2:9).
Is Christ seated upon a "Throne", so also will
Satan be (Rev. 2:13, Gk.). Has Christ a Church, then Satan
has his "synagogue" (Rev. 2:9). Has Christ a
"bride", then Satan has his "whore" (Rev.
17:16). Has God His "Vine", so has Satan (Rev.
14:19). Does God have a city, the new Jerusalem, then Satan
has a city, Babylon (Rev. 17:5; 18:2). Is there a
"mystery of godliness" (1 Tim 3:16), so also there
is a "mystery of iniquity" (2 Thess. 2:7). Does God
have an only-begotten Son, so we read of "the Son of
Perdition" (2 Thess. 2:3). Is Christ called "the
Seed of the woman", then the Antichrist will be
"the seed of the serpent" (Gen. 3:15). Is the Son
of God also the Son of Man, then the son of Satan will also
be the "Man of Sin" (2 Thess. 2:3).
Is there a Holy Trinity, then
there is also an Evil Trinity (Rev. 20:10). In this Trinity
of Evil Satan himself is supreme, just as in the Blessed
Trinity the Father is (governmentally) supreme: note that
Satan is several times referred to as a father (John
8:44, etc.). Unto his son, the Antichrist, Satan gives his
authority and power to represent and act for him (Rev. 13:4)
just as God the Son received "all power in heaven and
earth" from His Father, and uses it for His glory. The
Dragon (Satan) and the Beast (Antichrist) are accompanied by
a third, the False Prophet, and just as the third person in
the Holy Trinity, the Spirit, bears witness to the person and
work of Christ and glorifies Him, so shall the third person
in the Evil Trinity bear witness to the person and work of
the Antichrist and glorify him (see Rev. 13:11-14).
Now the Antichrist will be a
man, and yet more than man, just as Christ was Man and yet
more than man. The Antichrist will be the `Superman' of
whom the world, even now, is talking, and for whom it is
looking. The Wicked One who is to be revealed shortly, will
be a supernatural character, he will be the Son of Satan. His
twofold nature is plainly declared in 2 Thess. 2:3 -
"That man of Sin, the Son of Perdition". In proof
of these assertions we ask for a careful attention to what
follows.
1. "And I will put enmity
between thee and the woman, and between thy Seed and
her Seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his
heel" (Gen. 3:15). It is to be noted that there is here
a double "enmity" spoken of: God says,
"I will put enmity between thee and the woman",
that is, between Satan and Israel, for Israel was the woman
that bore Christ (Rev. 12); "And between thy seed and
her seed". Observe particularly that two
"seeds" are here spoken of; "Thy seed"
(the antecedent is plainly the Serpent) and "her
seed", the woman's Seed. The woman's Seed was
Christ, the Serpent's seed will be the Antichrist. The
Antichrist then, will be more than a man, he will be the
actual and literal Seed of that old Serpent, the Devil; as
Christ was, according to the flesh, the actual and literal
Seed of the woman. "Thy seed", Satan's seed,
refers to a s specific individual, just as "her
seed" refers to a specific Individual.
2. "In that day the Lord
with His sore and great and strong sword shall punish
Leviathan the piercing Serpent, even Leviathan that crooked
Serpent; and he shall slay the Dragon that is in the sea
(Isa. 27:1). To appreciate the force of this we need to
attend to the context, which is unfortunately broken by the
chapter division. In the closing verses of Isa. 26 we hear
God saying, "Come, My people, enter thou into thy
chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it
were for a little moment, until the indignation be over
past" (26:20). These words are addressed to the elect
remnant of Israel. Their ultimate application will be to
those on earth at the end of this Age, for it is the time of
God's "indignation" (cf. Dan. 8:19 and 11:36).
It is the time when "the Lord cometh out of His place to
punish the inhabitants of the earth, for their iniquity: the
earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover
her slain" (26:21) - notice "iniquity",
singular number, not "iniquities". It is their
worshipping of Satan's Man which is specifically referred
to. Then, immediately following we read, "In that
day the Lord...shall punish Leviathan the piercing
Serpent". The connection, then, makes it plain that it
is just before the Millennium when God shall punish the
Crooked Serpent, the Antichrist. Now the very fact that the
Wicked One is here denominated "the piercing and crooked
Serpent" hints strongly that he will be the son
of "that old Serpent, the Devil".
3. In the first two sections
of Ezek. 28 two remarkable characters are brought before us.
The second who is described in vv. 12-19 has received
considerable attention from Bible students of the last two
generations, and since the late Mr. G. H. Pember pointed out
that what is there said of "the king of Tyrus"
could be true of no earthly king or mere human being, and
must outline a character that none but Satan himself (before
his fall) could fill[3] this
view has been adopted by most of the leading Bible teachers.
But little attention has been paid to the character described
in the first ten verses of this chapter.
Now just as what is said in
Ezek. 28 of "the king of Tyrus" can only apply
fully to Satan himself, so, what is said of "the prince
of Tyrus" manifestly has reference to the Antichrist.
The parallelisms between what is said here and what we find
in other scriptures which describe the Son of Perdition are
so numerous and so evident, that we are obliged to conclude
that it is the same person which is here contemplated. We
cannot now attempt anything like a complete exposition of the
whole passage (though we hope to give one later) but will
just call attention to some of the outstanding marks of
identification:
First, the Lord God says to
this personage, "Because thine heart is lifted up, and
thou hast said I am a god, I sit in the seat of God" -
cf. 2 Thess. 2:4. Second, "Behold thou art wiser than
Daniel" - cf. Dan 8:23, and 7:8, "Behold, in this
horn were eyes like the eyes of men, and a mouth speaking
great things", which intimates that the Antichrist will
be possessed of extraordinary intelligence. Third, it is said
of this character, "With thy wisdom and with thine
understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten
gold and silver into thy treasures" 9v. 4- cf. Psa.
52:7; Dan. 11:38).
Sufficient has been said, we
trust, to show that under the figure of this "prince of
Tyrus" we may discern clearly the unmistakable features
of the coming Antichrist. But the particular point we would
make here, is this, that as Satan is termed "the king of
Tyre", in the second section of this chapter the
Antichrist is referred to as "the prince of Tyre".
Antichrist, then, is related to Satan as "prince"
is to "king", that is, as son is to the father.
4. In Matt. 12:43 the
Antichrist is called "The Unclean Spirit", not
merely an unclean spirit, but "the Unclean
Spirit". We cannot now stop and submit the evidence that
it is the Antichrist who is here in view, for this is another
passage which we will consider carefully in a later chapter.
But in the writer's mind there is no doubt whatever that
none other than the Beast is here in view. If this be the
case, then we have further evidence that the coming One will
be no mere man indwelt by Satan, but a fallen angel, an evil
spirit, the incarnation of the Devil.
5. "Ye are of your father
the Devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a
murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth,
because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he
speaketh of this own; for he is a liar, and the father of
it" (John 8:44). Here is still another proof that the
Antichrist will be superhuman, the offspring of Satan. In the
Greek there is the definite article before the word
"lie" - the lie, "the Lie". There is
another passage in the New Testament where "the
Lie" is mentioned, namely in 2 Thess. 2:11, where again
the definite article is found in the Greek, and there the
reference is unmistakable.
A threefold reason may be
suggested as to why the Antichrist should be termed "the
Lie". First, because his fraudulent claim to be the real
Christ will be the greatest falsehood palmed off upon
humanity. Second, because he is the direct antithesis of the
real Christ, who is "the Truth" (John 14:6). Third,
because he is the son of Satan who is the arch liar. But to
return to John 8:44; "When he (the Devil) speaketh
(concerning) the Lie, he speaketh of his own". His
"own" what? His "own" son - the remainder
of the verse makes this very plain - "for he (the Devil)
is a liar and the father of it", i.e. of "the
Lie". The Lie then, is Satan's Son"!
6. "That day shall not
come, except there come a falling away (the Apostasy) first,
and that Man of Sin be revealed, the Son of
Perdition" (2 Thess. 2:3). Nothing could be plainer
than this. Here the Antichrist is expressly declared to be
superhuman - "the Son of Perdition". Just as the
Christ if the Son of God, so Antichrist will be the son of
Satan. Just as the Christ dwelt all the fulness of the
Godhead bodily, and just as Christ could say "He that
hath seen Me, hath seen the Father", so the Antichrist
will be the full and final embodiment of the Devil. He will
not only be the incarnation of the Devil, but the
consummation of his wickedness and power.
7. In Rev. 13:1 (R. V.) we
read, "And he (the Dragon - see context) stood upon the
sand of the sea" - symbolic of taking possession of the
Nations: "And I saw a Beast coming up out of the sea,
having ten diadems, and upon his heads names of
blasphemy". It is deeply significant to mark how these
things are here linked together as cause and effect.
The coming forth of the Beast (the Antichrist) is immediately
connected with the Dragon! But this is not all. Notice the
description that is here given of him: he has ten horns
(fulness of power) and seven heads (complete wisdom)"
and this is exactly how Satan himself is described in Rev.
12:3 - "And behold, a great red Dragon, having seven
heads and ten horns, and upon his heads names of
blasphemy"! Does not a linking of these scriptures prove
beyond all doubt that the Antichrist will be an exact
replica of Satan himself!
But one other thing, even more
startling, remains to be considered, and that is,
III. THE ANTICHRIST WILL BE JUDAS REINCARNATED.
1. In Psalm 55 much is said of
the Antichrist in his relation to Israel. Among other things
we read there, "The words of his mouth were smoother
than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer
than oil, yet were they drawn swords" (v. 21). The
occasion for this sad plaint is given in the previous verse -
"He had put forth his hands against such as be at peace
with him: he hath broken his covenant". The
reference is to Antichrist breaking his seven-year Covenant
with the Jews (see Dan. 9:27; 11:21-24). Now if the entire
Psalm be read through with these things in mind, it will be
seen that it sets forth the sorrows of Israel and the
sighings of the godly remnant during the End-Time. But the
remarkable thing is that when we come to vv. 11-14 we find
that which has a double application and fulfillment -
"wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile
depart not from her streets. For it was not an enemy that
reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he
that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I
would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine
equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel
together, and walked unto the house of God in company".
These verses describe not only the base treachery of Judas
toward Christ, but they also announce how he shall yet, when
reincarnated in the Antichrist, betray and desert
Israel. The relation of Antichrist to Israel will be
precisely the same as that of Judas to Christ of old. He will
pose as the friend of the Jews, but later he will come out in
his true character. In the Tribulation period, the Nation of
Israel shall taste the bitterness of betrayal and desertion
by one who masqueraded as a "familiar friend".
Hence, we have here the first hint that the Antichrist will
be Judas reincarnated.
2. "And your covenant
with Death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with Hell
shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass
through, then ye shall be trodden down by it" (Isa.
28:18). The "Covenant" referred to is that
seven-year one which is mentioned in Dan. 9:27. But here the
one with whom this Covenant is made is termed "Death and
Hell". This is a title of the Antichrist, as "the
Resurrection and the Life" is of the true Christ. Nor is
this verse in Isa. 28 the only one where the Son of Perdition
is so denominated. In Rev. 6 a four-fold picture of him is
given - the antithesis of the four-fold portrayal of the Lord
Jesus in the Gospels. Here he is seen as the rider on
differently colored horses, which bring before us four stages
in his awful career, and when we come to the last of them the
Holy Spirit exposes his true identity by telling us,
"and his name that sat on him was Death and Hell
followed with him" (Rev. 6:8). Now "Hell" or
"hades" is the place which receives the souls of
the dead, and the fact that this awful name is here applied
to Antichrist intimates that he has come from there.
3. Above, we referred to Matt.
12:41-43 to prove that Antichrist will be a super-human
being, a fallen and unclean spirit; we turn to it again in
order to show that this coming incarnation of Satan has
previously been upon earth. The history of this "Unclean
Spirit" is divided into three stages. First, as having
dwelt in "a man"; second, as having gone out of a
man, and walking through dry places, seeking rest and finding
none - this has reference to his present condition during the
interval between his two appearances on earth. Third, he
says, "I will return to my house". This Unclean
Spirit, then, who has already been here, who is now away in a
place where rest is not to be found, is to come back
again!
4. In John 17:12 we have a
word which, more plainly still, shows that the Antichrist
will be Judas reincarnated, for here he is termed by Christ
"The Son of Perdition". But first, let us consider
the teaching of Scripture concerning Judas Iscariot. Who was
he? He was a "man" (Matt. 26:24). But was he more
than a man? Let Scripture make answer. In John 6:70 we read,
"Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a
Devil?" It is hardly necessary to say that in the Greek
there are two different words for "Devil" and
"demon". There are many demons, but only one Devil.
Further, in no other passage is the word "devil"
applied to any one but to Satan himself. Judas then was the
Devil incarnate, just as the Lord Jesus was God incarnate.
Christ Himself said so, and we dare not doubt His word.
As we have seen, in John 17:12
Christ termed Judas "the Son of Perdition", and 2
Thess. 2:3 we find that the Antichrist is similarly
designated - "That Man of Sin be revealed, the Son of
Perdition". These are the only two places in all the
Bible where his name occurs, and the fact that Judas was
termed by Christ not a "son of perdition", but
"the Son of Perdition", and the fact that
the Man of Sin is so named prove that they are one and the
same person. What other conclusion can a simple and
unprejudiced reader of the Bible come to?
5. In Rev. 11:7 we have the
first reference to "the Beast" in the Apocalypse:
"The Beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless
pit". Here the Antichrist is seen issuing forth from the
Abyss. What is the Abyss? It is the abode of lost spirits,
the place of their incarceration and torment - see Rev.
20:1-3, and Luke 8:31, "deep" is the
"abyss" and cf. Matt. 9:28. The question naturally
arises, How did he get there? and when was he sent there? We
answer, When Judas Iscariot died! The Antichrist will be
Judas Iscariot reincarnated. In proof of this we appeal
to Acts 1:25 where we are told, "that he may take part
of this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by
transgression fell, that he might go to his own place".
Of no one else in all the Bible is it said that at death he
went "to his own place". Put these two scriptures
together: Judas went "to his own place", the Beast
ascends out of the Abyss.
6. In Rev. 17:8 we read,
"The Beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall
ascend out of the Bottomless Pit, and go into
perdition". This verse is generally understood to refer
to the revived Roman Empire,and while allowing that such an
application is warrantable, yet we are persuaded it is a
mistake to limit it to this. In the Apocalypse, the Roman
Empire and its final and satanic Head are very closely
connected, so much so, that at times it is difficult to
distinguish between them. But in Rev. 17 they are
distinguishable.
In v. 8 we are told that the
Beast "shall ascend out of the Bottomless Pit", and
that he shall go into perdition". In v. 11 we are told,
"And the Beast that was, and is not, even he is the
eighth, and is of the seventh, and goeth into
perdition". Now nearly all expositors are agreed that
the Beast of v. 11 - the "eighth" (head, and form
of government of the Roman Empire) - is the Antichrist
himself; then why not admit the same of v.8? In both, the
designation is the same - "the Beast"; and in both,
we are told he "goeth into perdition".
We take it, then, that what is
predicted of "the Beast" in 17:8 is true of both
the Roman Empire and its last head, the Antichrist: of the
former, in the sense that it is infernal in its character.
Viewing it now as a declaration of the Antichrist, what does
it tell us about him? Four things. First, he "was".
Second, he "is not". Third, he shall "ascend
out of the Bottomless Pit". Fourth, he shall "go
into perdition". The various time-marks here concern the
Beast in his relation to the earth. First, he
"was", i.e. on the earth. Second, he "is
not", i.e. now on the earth (cf. Gen. 5:24, "Enoch
was not for God took him"; that is, "was not"
any longer on earth). Third, he shall "ascend out of the
Bottomless Bit", where he is now, which agrees with
11:7. Fourth, he shall "go into perdition". We
learn then from this scripture that at the time the
Apocalypse was written the Beast "was not" then on
the earth, but that he had been on it formerly.
Further, we learn that in John's day the Beast was then
in the Bottomless Pit but should yet ascend out of it. Here
then is further evidence that the Antichrist who is yet to
appear has been on earth before.
7. "And the Beast was
taken, and with him the False Prophet that wrought miracles
before him, with which he deceived them that had received the
mark of the Beast, and them that worshipped his image. These
both were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with
brimstone". (Rev. 19:20). This gives the last word
concerning the Antichrist. It makes known the terrible fate
which awaits him. He, together with his ally, will be cast
alive into the Lake of Fire. This is very striking, and
confirms what has been said above, namely, that the
Antichrist will be one who has already appeared on earth, and
has been in "the Abyss" during the interval which
precedes his return to the earth. And how remarkable Rev.
19:20 corroborates this. The Antichrist will not be cast,
eventually into the Abyss, as Satan will be at the end of the
Millennium (Rev. 20:1-3), but into the Lake of Fire which is
the final abode of the damned. Why is it that he shall not be
cast into the Abyss at the return of Christ? It must be
because he has already been there. Hence, the judgment meted
out to him is final and irrevocable, as will be that of the
Devil a thousand years later, see Rev. 20:10.
Our next chapter will be
devoted to an examination and consideration of the many Names
and Titles which are given to the Antichrist in the Word of
God, and we would urge the student to diligently search the
Scriptures for himself to see how many of these he can find -
there are over twenty.
[Chap. 3]
[Table of Contents] [Chap. 5]
There is a distinct science of
nomenclature, a system of names, in the Word of God. Probably
every name in Scripture has either a historic, a symbolic, or
a spiritual significance. The names are inseparably bound up
with the narrative, and it frequently happens that the
meaning of a proper noun is a key to an important passage.
Names are not employed by the Holy Spirit in a loose and
careless manner - of course not! - but with definite design.
A variety of names for the same individual are not given in
order to prevent monotonous repetition, but because the
significance of each separate appellation is best fitted to
express what is recorded in any given instance.
"Devil" and "Satan" are not synonyms, nor
are they used at haphazard, but with Divine discrimination.
Upon the meaning of names found in Holy Writ rests a whole
scheme of interpretation; even the order in which names occur
is not fortuitous but designed, and constitutes a part of
each lesson taught, or each truth presented.
There is here a wide field
opened for study, a field which few have made serious effort
to explore. It is strange that it has been so neglected, for
again and again the Holy Spirit calls attention to the
importane and meaning of names. In the first book of the
Bible we find that children and places were given meaningful
names, which called to remembrance incidents, experiences,
characteristics of interest and importance. Examples are
given where names changed to harmonize with a change in the
person, place, experience, or situation where it occurred.
Abram and Sarai will at once occur to mind. For a place, take
Luz, which was changed to Bethel! - "House of God"
- because by reason of a vision he received there it became
that to Jacob. Jacob's name is changed to Israel; and in
the New Testament an example is furnished in Simeon being
re-named Peter. In Heb. 7:1,2 the Holy Spirit calls attention
to the significance of the names Melchizedik and Salem
(Jerusalem). These are sufficient to show the importance of
this line of study.
Names are used in Scripture
with marvelous discrimination, and it was this fact which
first demonstrated to the writer, the verbal inspiration of
Scripture. The precision with which names are used in the
Bible is especially noticeable in connection with the Divine
titles. The names Elohim and Jehovah are found on the pages
of the Old Testament several thousand times, but they are
never used loosely or interchangeably. Over three hundred
names and titles are given to the Lord Jesus Christ, and each
has its own distinctive significance and to substitute any
other for the one used would destroy the beauty and
perfections of every passage where they are found.
Names are employed to express
character; titles are used to denote relationships. It is
only as we make a careful study of the various and numerous
names and titles of the Lord Jesus Christ, that we are in a
position to appreciate His infinite excellencies and the
manifold relationships which He sustains. From an opposite
standpoint the same is equally true of the Antichrist. As we
pay careful attention to the different names and titles which
are given to him, we then discover what a marvelously
complete delineation the Holy Spirit has furnished us with of
the person, the character, and career of this monster of
wickedness. It is unfortunate that the great variety of names
bestowed upon him has led some brethren to the conclusion
that they must belong to separate persons, and has caused
them to apportion these out to different individuals; only
confusion can result from this. There is almost as much
ground to make the Devil and Satan different persons, as
there is to regard (as some do) the Beast and the Antichrist
as separate entities. That the Devil and Satan are names
belonging to the same person, and that the Beast and the
Antichrist is the selfsame individual, is proven by the fact
that identically the same characteristics under each is found
belonging to the one as to the other. Instead of apportioning
these names to different persons, we must see that they
denominate the same individual, only in different
relationships, or as giving us various phases of his
character.
An old writer has said the
name Devil is most suggestive of his character. If
"d" is taken away, evil is left. If
"e" is taken away vile is left. If
"v" is taken away ill is left. And if
"i" is taken away and the next letter be aspirated,
it tells of hell. It is equally true of the
Antichrist: his names reveal his character, expose his
vileness, and forecast his career and doom.
The names and titles given to
the Antichrist are far more numerous than is commonly
supposed. We propose to give as complete a list as possible,
and offer a few comments on their significations. We shall
not expatiate on them at equal length, for that is not
necessary; instead, we shall say the most on those cognomens
which are of the greater importance, or, which because of
their ambiguity call for a more detailed elucidation.
1. THE ANTICHRIST
"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). This name introduces to us one of the most solemn
and foreboding subjects in the Word of God. It brings before
us one of the persons in the Trinity of Evil. At every point
he is the antithesis of Christ. The word
"Antichrist" has a double significance. Its primary
meaning is one who is opposed to Christ; but its secondary
meaning is one who is instead of Christ. Let not this
be thought strange, for it accords with the two stages in his
career. At first he will pose as the true Christ,
masquerading in the livery of religion. But, later, he will
throw off his disguise, stand forth in his true character,
and set himself up as one who is against God and His
Christ.
Not only does
anti-christ denote the antagonist of Christ, but it tells
of one who is instead of Christ. The word signifies another
Christ, a pro-Christ, an alter christus, a pretender
to the name of Christ. He will seem to be and will set
himself up as the true Christ. He will be the Devil's
counterfeit. Just as the Devil is an Anti-theos - not
only the adversary of God, but the usurper of the
place and prerogatives of God, demanding worship; so the Son
of Perdition will be anti-christ - not only the
antagonist and opponent of Christ, but His reval: assuming
the very position and prerogatives of Christ; passing himself
off as the rightful claimant to all the rights and honors of
the Son of God.
2. THE MAN OF SIN, THE SON OF PERDITION.
"Let no man deceive you
by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come
a falling away first, and that Man of Sin be revealed,
the Son of Perdition" (2 Thess. 2:3). This double
appellation is probably the most awful, the most important,
and the most revealing title given to the Antichrist in all
the Bible. It diagnoses his personality and exposes his awful
character. It tells us he will be possessed of a twofold
nature: he will be a man, and yet more than a man. He will be
Satan's parody of the God-Man. He will be an incarnation
of the Devil. The world today is talking of and looking for
the Super-man. This is exactly what the Antichrist will be.
He will be the Serpent's masterpiece.
"That Man of Sin".
What a frightful name! The sin of man will culminate in the
Man of Sin. The Christ of God was sinless; the Christ of
Satan will not only be sinful, but the Man of Sin. "Man
of Sin" intimates that he will be the living and active
embodiment of every form and character of evil. "Man of
Sin" signifies that he will be sin itself personified.
"Man of Sin" denotes there will be no lengths of
wickedness to which he will not go, no forms of evil to which
he will be a stranger, no depths of corruption that he will
not bottom.
"The Son of
Perdition". And again we are forced to exclaim, what a
frightful name! Not only a human degenerate, but the
offspring of the Dragon. Not only the worst of human kind,
but the incarnation of the Devil. Not only the most depraved
of all sinners, but an emanation from the Pit itself.
"Son of Perdition" denotes that he will be the
culmination and consummation of satanic craft and power. All
the evil, malignity, cunning, and power of the Serpent will
be embodied in this terrible monster.
3. THE LAWLESS ONE.
"And then shall be
revealed the Lawless One, whom the Lord Jesus shall
slay with the breath of His mouth, and bring to nought by the
manifestation of His coming" (2 Thess. 2:8 R. V.). This
is another name of the Antichrist which makes manifest his
awful character. Each of his names exhibits him as the
antithesis of the true Christ. The Lord Jesus was the
Righteous One; the Man of Sin will be the Lawless One. The
Lord Jesus was "made under the law" (Gal. 4:4); the
Antichrist will oppose all law, being a law unto himself.
When the Saviour entered this world, He came saying, "Lo
I come to do Thy will, O God" (Heb. 10:9); but of the
Antichrist it is written "And the king shall do
according to his will" (Dan. 11:36). The
Antichrist will set himself up in direct opposition to all
authority, both Divine and human.
4. THE BEAST.
"And when they shall have
finished their testimony the Beast that ascendeth out
of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall
overcome them, and kill them" (Rev. 11:7). This is
another name which reveals the terrible nature and character
of the Antichrist and which places him in sharp antithesis
from the true Christ. "The Beast" is the title by
which he is most frequently designated in the Revelation:
there are at least thirty references to him under this name
in the last book of the Bible. The Greek word signifies a
wild beast. This name "the Beast" contrasts the
Antichrist from the true Christ as "the Lamb"; and
it is a significant fact that by far the great majority of
passages where the Lord Jesus is so designated are also found
here in the Apocalypse. The "Lamb" is the Saviour
of sinners; the "Beast" is the persecutor and
slayer of the saints. The "Lamb" calls attention to
the gentleness of Christ; the "Beast" tells of the
ferocity of the Antichrist. The "Lamb" reveals
Christ as the "harmless" One (Heb. 7:26); the
"Beast" manifests the Antichrist as the cruel and
heartless one. Under the Law lambs were ceremonially clean
and used in sacrifice, but beasts were unclean and unfit for
sacrifices.
It is a point of interest to
note that there is one other very striking contrast between
the persons in the Holy Trinity, and the persons in the
trinity of evil. At our Lord's baptism the Holy Spirit
descended upon Him in the form of a dove, and the first
mention of the Holy Spirit in Scripture represents Him as
"brooding" like a dove over the waters which
covered the pre-Adamic earth (Gen. 1:2). How remarkable are
those symbols - a "Lamb" and a "Dove"! A
Dove, not a hawk or an eagle. The gentle, harmless, cooing
"dove". Over against this the Devil is termed
"the Dragon". What a contrast - the Dove and the
Lamb, the Dragon and the Beast!
5. THE BLOODY AND DECEITFUL MAN.
"Thou shalt destroy them
that speak leasing: the Lord will abhor the Bloody and
Deceitful Man" (Psa. 5:6). The Psalm from which this
verse is quoted contains a prayer of the godly Jewish
remnant, offered during the Tribulation period. In proof of
this assertion observe that in v. 2 God is owned and
addressed as "King". In v. 7 intimation is given
that the Temple has been rebuild in Jerusalem, for turning
away from it when it has been defiled by "the
Abomination of Desolation", the remnant say, "But
as for me I will come into Thy house in the multitude
of Thy mercy: and in Thy fear will I worship toward
Thy Holy Temple". While in v. 10 we find them
praying for the destruction of their enemies, which is
parallel with Rev. 6:10. It is during that time the faithful
remnant will exclaim, "Thou shalt destroy them that
speak leasing: the Lord will abhor the Bloody and Deceitful
Man".
The Bloody and Deceitful Man
views the Antichrist in relation to the Jews. In the earlier
stages of his public career he poses as their friend and
benefactor. He recognizes their rights as a separate State
and appears anxious to protect their autonomy. He makes a
formal covenant with them (Dan. 9:27) and their peace and
security seem assured. But a few years later he comes out in
his true character. His fair speeches and professions of
friendship are seen to be false. He breaks his covenant (Psa.
55:20) and turns upon the Jews in fury. Their benefactor is
now their worst enemy. The protector of their interests now
aims to cut them off from being a nation in the earth (Psa.
83:4). Thus is he rightfully denominated by them "the
Bloody and Deceitful Man".
6. THE WICKED ONE.
"The Wicked (One) in his
pride doth persecute the poor: the Wicked (One), through the
pride of his countenance, will not seek after God" (Psa.
10:2,4). This entire Psalm is about the Wicked One. The
opening verse gives the key to its dispensational scope. It
contains the cry of the Jewish remnant during the Tribulation
period, here denominated "Times of Trouble" (cf.
Jer. 30:7). So desperate is the situation of the true Israel,
it seems as though Jehovah must have deserted them -
"Why standeth Thou afar off, O Lord? Why hidest Thou
Thyself in times of trouble? (v. 1). Then follows a
remarkably full description of their arch-enemy, the Wicked
One. His pride (v. 2), his depravity: "He abhorreth the
Lord" (v. 3 margin); his blasphemy: "All his
thoughts are, There is no God" (v. 4 margin); his
grievous ways, (v. 5); his consuming egotism, (v. 6); his
deceitfulness, (v. 7); his treachery, (v. 8); his cruelty,
(vv. 9,10); his complacent pride, (v. 11), is each described.
Then the Remnant cry, "Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up
Thine hand: forget not the humble. Break Thou the arm of the
Wicked and Evil One" (vv. 12 and 15). The whole Psalm
should be carefully studied.
7. THE MAN OF THE EARTH.
"To judge the fatherless
and the oppressed, that the Man of the Earth may no
more oppress" (Psa. 10:18). The "Wicked One"
describes his character; the "Man of the Earth"
defines his position. The one speaks of his awful depths of
depravity; the other of his vast dominions. The sphere of his
operations will be no mere local one, He will become
World-emperor. He will be a king of kings and lord of lords,
(Rev. 13:7). When the true Christ appeared on earth Satan
offered Him "all the kingdoms of the world and the glory
of them" if He would fall down and worship him. When the
false Christ appears, this offer will be repeated, the
conditions will be met, and the tempting gift will be
bestowed (Rev. 13:2). In consequence of this he shall be
"the Man of the Earth"; just as later, Christ shall
be "King over all the earth" (Zech. 14:7).
8. THE MIGHTY MAN.
"Why boasteth thou
thyself in mischief, O Mighty Man" (Psa. 52:1).
This is another Psalm which is devoted to a description of
this fearful character. Here again we have mention of his
boastfulness (v. 1), his deceitfulness (v. 2), his depravity
(v. 3), his egotism (v. 4), his riches (v. 7). His doom is
also announced (v. 5). This title, the Mighty Man, refers to
his immense wealth and possessions, and the power which they
confer upon their possessor. It also points a striking
contrast: Christ was the Lowly Man, not having where to lay
His head; the Antichrist will be the Mighty Man, of whom it
is said, "Lo, this is the man that made not God his
strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and
strengthened himself in his substance" (:sa. 52:7).
9. THE ENEMY.
"Because of the voice of
the Enemy, because of the oppression of the Wicked:
for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate
me" (Psa. 55:3). This is another title used of the
Antichrist in connection with Israel, a title which recurs
several times both in the Psalms and the Prophets. It points
a designed contrast from that Friend that
"sticketh closer than a brother". This Enemy of
Israel oppresses them sorely. His duplicity and treachery are
here referred to. Concerning him Israel shall exclaim,
"The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but
war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet
were they drawn swords" (Psa. 52:21). Let the student be
on the lookout for passages in the Old Testament which make
mention of the Enemy.
10. THE ADVERSARY.
"They said in their
hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all
the synagogues of God in the land. We see not our signs:
there is no more any profit: neither is there any among us
that knoweth how long. O God, how long shall the
Adversary reproach? Shall the Enemy blaspheme Thy name
forever?" (Psa. 74:8-10). This title occurs in several
important passages. In Isa. 59:19 we read, "So shall
they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory
from the rising of the sun. When the Adversary shall come in
like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard
against him". Lam. 4:11,12 is another scripture which
obviously speaks of the End-time. "The Lord hath
accomplished His fury; He hath poured out His fierce anger,
and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the
foundations thereof. The kings of the earth, and all the
inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the
Adversary and the Enemy should have entered into the gates of
Jerusalem". In Amos 3:11 we read, "Therefore thus
saith the Lord God; an Adversary there shall be even round
about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from
thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled". This is a title
which intimates his satanic origin, for the Greek word for
Devil means adversary.
11. THE HEAD OVER MANY COUNTRIES.
"He shall judge among the
heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he
shall wound the Head over many countries" (Psa.
110:6). The context here shows that it must be the Antichrist
which is in view. The Psalm opens by the Father inviting the
Son to sit at His right hand until His enemies shall be made
His footstool. Then follows the affirmation that Jehovah will
display His strength out of Jerusalem, and make His people
Israel willing in the day of His power. Then, following
Jehovah's oath that Christ is a Priest forever after the
order of Melchizedek (wh