The Debate Over Antichrist

[Rev. Gregory Kensbock]

This was sent to me in a E-mail, thought it was worth passing on.

THE DEBATE OVER ANTICHRIST

By Walid Shoebat

Does the beast of Revelation involve Middle Eastern Muslim nations, is it exclusively European, or is it both? Some say the notion that Islam could play a prominent role in the coming revival of the Roman Empire is impossible, unorthodox, untraditional, the work of ‘Lone Ranger’ type interpretation, and even revisionist. . 1

The majority of American evangelicals believe that the Antichrist system must be exclusively European, yet this view is changing after the last few years with the rise of Islam.

So, could Islam play a role in this end-times scenario? You might think to yourself—so what? Why should we care? Well, why then did the Almighty give us Daniel and Revelations? Even better still — why did God give us all the Messianic prophesies regarding Jesus’ first coming? Careless followers that missed these ended up without salvation, regardless of whether they sacrificed lambs in the Temple or obeyed the law—when it comes to the issue of Messiah, they missed the most crucial event in history. All for not paying close attention to Bible Prophecy. And what about the second coming? Are we to be careless with respect to the evidence presented in the Bible? I am not saying that you could lose your salvation, but if you end up on the side of Antichrist, you never had salvation in the first place.

Yet today, the debate is brewing—what about the threat of Islam? Did the Bible warn us about it? Are we supposed to keep our focus exclusively on Europe ?

To shed light on the implications of such detailed evidence (which spawned countless challenges and questions) I decided to write God’s War on Terror regarding Islam’s involvement in end-times. Consequently, I get challenges daily, not only by Muslims that want me dead but also from Christians who are dogmatic about their views. Ironically, we have no record of any Christian minister killed for exposing the E.U. as the work of Satan, yet we have millions who gave their lives for standing up to Islam. So please allow me to alleviate some pressure and present you with only three challenges:

CHALLENGE 1: Did traditional Prophecy scholars teach that Europe is exclusively the Antichrist kingdom?

You might be shocked to know that the highest caliber commentators of old did not believe that Europe was the exclusive player in the End-Times. A revival of a Roman Empire never meant a revival of a European Empire.

Many of our best western scholars on Bible prophecy believed that Islam would be a major player and will revive in the end of days as part of this end-time beast. John Wesley interpreted the Iron in Daniel 2 as Islam (Works, 1841). Hilaire Belloc foresaw Islam‘s rise.2 Gregory Palamus of Thessalonica interpreted the martyrdom of Christians during the Great Tribulation to come from Islam. Josiah Litch interpreted Revelation as the ushering in of Islam.3 He even described the magnitude of Islam’s role being Antichrist to the extent of calling it the “general agreement among Christians, especially protestant commentators.” Cyril of Jerusalem (315-368 A.D) in his Divine Institutes believed that Antichrist proceeds forth from the region of ancient Syria 4, which today extends from Syria well into portions of Asia Minor ( Turkey ). Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem (560-638) and Maximus the Confessor (580-662) identified Islam with Antichrist and lived through Islam’s invasion of Jerusalem .. Maximus was also an important theologian and scholar of the early Church who helped defeat the Monothelite heresy referred to the Muslim invasions as “announcing the advent of the Antichrist.” John of Damascus (676-749) was another very important figure in the early church. In his famous book, Against Heresies, he identified Islam as the forerunner to the Antichrist. Eulogius, Paul Alvarus and the Martyrs of Cordova (9th century) believed Muhammad to be a false prophet and the precursor to the Antichrist. 5 Many are not aware that while Martin Luther, father of the Protestant Reformation, believed that the Papacy played the role of the spiritual harlot, he also believed that the Muslims were the Kingdom of Antichrist . 6

John Calvin interpreted Daniel 2 eastern leg as the Eastern-Roman Islamic Empire and that Daniel 11:37 applied to the Muslims. 7 Even Jonathan Edwards the great American congregational preacher, revivalist, and president of Princeton University , like Luther and Calvin, saw Islam as one of the premiere elements of the Antichrist Kingdom . 8 Calvin even interpreted Islam’s fall at the sound of the great trumpet 9 Islam falling at the sound of the great trumpet even carries Islam into the Great Tribulation and not as many of our contemporary prophecy analysts who allege that Islam must be removed prior to Christ coming.

Even Sir Robert Anderson, perhaps one of the best prophecy experts who unlocked the seventy weeks of Daniel, in his remarkable book The Coming Prince, insists to focus on the Levant (Eastern) parts rather than the Adriatic (West). 10

Countless other Bible commentators warned about Islam being the kingdom of Antichrist—Selnecker, Nigrinus, Chytraeus, Bullinger, Foxe, Napier, Pareus, John Cotton, Thomas Parker, Increase Mather, Cotton Mather, and George Stanley Faber. 11

Also added to the list is Rev. Professor Dr. Francis Nigel Lee who sums up the traditional view in his excellent work Islam in the Bible: “from the seventh century onward – [the two legs] would degenerate respectively into the Papacy (which progressively took over the West) and Islam (which progressively took over the East.” (p. 5)

Making Europe the exclusive body of Antichrist kingdom is not the orthodox or even the traditional view. Some insist that Antichrist is Italian since he comes from the Roman Empire, but Roman does not strictly mean Italian, just as Alexander the Great was Grecian, this does not mean Athenian—he was from Macedonia . Antiochus Epiphanies, another biblical prediction was Syrian not Athenian or Cypriot. Why then, when it comes to Antichrist, insist on an Italian ignoring the whole empire. Even Jesus insisted that Pergamum in Revelation 2:12-13, was the seat of Satan and not the gymnastically altered interpretation for an archeological relic that sits in Berlin .

While contemporary prophesy analysts trumpet the idea that the fourth composite of Daniel 2 iron metal as strictly European, traditionalist views differ. Dr. Matthew Henry comments: "Who is this enemy—whose rise, reign and ruin are here foretold? Interpreters are not in agreement. Some will have the Fourth Kingdom to be that of the Seleucidae and the ‘little horn’ to be Antiochus... . Others will have the Fourth Kingdom to be that of the Romans, and the ‘little horn’ to be Julius Caesar and the succeeding emperors, as Calvin says. The Antichrist, the Papal Kingdom , says Mr. Joseph Mede.

Others make the ‘little horn’ to be the Turkish Empire [Muslim]; so Luther, Vatablus, and others. Now I cannot prove either side to be in the wrong. Therefore, since prophecies sometimes have many fulfillments, we ought to give Scripture its full latitude (in this as in many other controversies)—I am willing to allow that they are both in the right.” 12

NORTH AFRICA

Most students of prophecy that ascribe to a revival of the Roman Empire ignore that North Africa (Phut) encompasses five Muslim nations historically part of the western wing of the Roman Empire, and already mentioned literally in several end-times references. In order for the exclusively European model to fit, the whole of this Muslim region must be irrelevant. So what part of the Roman pie do we slice off and what parts do we include?

CONTEMPORARY VS TRADITIONAL

So what happened? Why do we have such a variation between contemporary versus traditional? The problem began in 1981 when Greece joined as the tenth nation in the European Union and many sounded a false alarm that announced they unlocked the mystery and have the fulfillment of Revelation 17, all with its ten horns, to later be embarrassed when the European Union mushroomed into twenty some nations.

Instead of pulling back their books, these analysts ran back to the drawing board, not to confess their error, but to insist that the E.U. model must shrink to only ten.. They still chose to finagle with the theory. Some, like Arnold Fruchtenbaum, realized that this was wrong: “It has become common today to refer to the ten kingdoms as being in Europe only, especially the Former Common Market, now the European Union. But the text does not allow for this kind of interpretation. At the very best, the European Union might become one of the ten, but it could hardly become all of the ten.'' 13

According to Fruchtenbaum, the European model comprises only one tenth, a mere slice of the whole pie. Jamieson Fausset & Brown insist that, “the ten toes are not upon the one foot (the west), as these interpretations require, but on the two (east and west) together, so that any theory which makes the ten kingdoms belong to the west alone must err..”

CHALLENGE 2: Besides the argument on whether Magog is Russia , can anyone cite any literal reference to a nation that God destroys in the End-Times that is not Muslim?

Only if you ponder this question can you grasp its magnitude. On one occasion during a lecture to a group of prominent Bible prophecy teachers in the Pre-Trib Prophecy Conference in Dallas, I asked this question and no one raised a hand to answer.

In frustration, I pointed to Dr. Randall Price, a known Prophecy teacher and asked him to respond, in which he pointed that when it comes to literal references there are none. Grant Jeffrey, another known author, once attempted to respond with Cush, not realizing that biblical Cush (a reference sometimes translated as Ethiopia) is defined in the Unger Bible Dictionary as a landmass south of Egypt . Today this will be Sudan and Somalia .

Grant Jeffrey chose one of the most fundamentalist Muslim nations as a response to find non-Muslim nations in end-times. David Reagan of the Lion and Lamb Ministries with frustration pointed to Mystery Babylon 14 ignoring that the crucial word in that question is “literal”. If Babylon is a response to cite any literal reference for a non-Muslim nation that God destroys, this would still support my view— Mystery Babylon is an allegoric reference.

CHALLENGE 3: In every portrayal of Christ’s return to the earth, is He not fighting a nation that today is Muslim?

The significance of this question is as follows —scholars are unanimous, that Christ’s second coming must happen after Antichrist appears on the scene. Christ’s mission will be to destroy Antichrist and establish His Millennium kingdom. The European Union model has the Muslim hordes destroyed before the Tribulation period. Yet the text shows that Messiah Himself deals with Muslim nations.

The next prophecy conference you attend ask, “Is Jesus on earth on the Day of the Lord?” Ezekiel tells us of that day, “For the day is near, even the Day of the Lord is near” (Ezekiel 30:3). Yet this is when “ Cush and Phut , Lydia [ Turkey ] and all Arabia, Libya and the people of the covenant land will fall by the sword along with Egypt ” (Ezekiel 30:5). Other prophesies show these nations are cast into Hell, including Asshur – “ Iraq – Syria ”, (Ezekiel 32:22-23) Elam – “ Iran ” (Ezekiel 32:24-25) Meshech & Tubal “Asia minor— Turkey ” (Ezekiel 32:26) – Edom – “ Arabia ” (Ezekiel 32:29). These nations are punished for striking terror against Israel and the believers (Ezekiel 32:22-24 & 27).

Perhaps sharing a few from the volume of hundreds of prophecies of Jesus’ wars during the Great Tribulation can shed more light on the matter: “See Jehovah rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt . The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them” (Isaiah 19). Does this remind you of the song “behold He comes riding on the clouds”? Yet rarely are we told that Jesus here is fighting Egypt —a Muslim nation.

Even in Christ’s judgment of the nations (Joel 3) He is fighting Muslim entities. “Now what have you against me, O Tyre and Sidon [Lebanon] and all you regions of Philistia [Gaza]” (Joel 3:4) It couldn’t be more clear! It was as if Jesus Himself was speaking directly to Hezbollah ( Tyre and Sidon ) and Hamas ( Philistia ), challenging them regarding their bloodlust against the Jewish people. Their fight against Israel is in reality a declaration of war on the King Himself.

In Isaiah 25:9-10 at the time of the Lord’s return, we have Christ fighting Moab “And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation. For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under Him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.” (Isaiah 25:9-10).

Even in Isaiah 63, scholars unanimously agree that He fights Edom ( Arabia )..

Are the Muslim nations in prophecy destroyed prior to the Christ’s coming? Will the Antichrist then establish his European rule? Can anyone find a verse in the Bible in which Christ fights and nations are literally mentioned which are not Muslim?

This is why many who exclusively see Europe as Antichrist insist on removing Islam from the scene prior to the coming of Christ. Since the Muslims still exist on earth upon the Lord’s return fighting against Him, their whole premise of an exclusively European Antichrist falls apart.

Walid Shoebat, God’s War on Terror www.Shoebat. com (720)935-2826

REFERENCES

1 Lamplighter Newsletter, David Reagan, January 2009 edition.

2 The Great Heresies, chapter 4 March, 1936, page 127-128

3 Hosiah Litch, The Three Woe Trumpets, Fall of The Ottoman Empire , August 11, 1840

4 Divine Institutes, 7:17

5 Paul Alvarus, Memoriale sanctorum 2.4

6 Martin Luther, Tischreden, Weimer ed., 1, No. 330

7 Calvin On Islam Revelation Prof. Dr. Francis Nigel Lee, Lamp Trimmers El Paso , 2000

8 Jonathan Edwards, The Fall of Antichrist, Part VII, page 395, New York, Published by S. Converse 1829

9 Jonathan Edwards, The Fall of Antichrist, Part VII, page 399, New York, Published by S. Converse 1829

10 The Coming Prince, Page 273

11 Froom: op. cit., II pp. 323f, 325f, 331, 340f, 412f, 458 & 518f and also III pp. 40f, 74f, 125-31, 149, 183, 240f, &352f.

12 M. Henry: A Commentary on the Holy Bible, with Practical Remarks andObservations, London : Marshall Bros. Ltd., n.d., IV:1270f.

13 Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps of the Messiah, page 36

14 Lamplighter Newsletter, David Reagan, January 2009 edition.

[Reverend Daniel]

If I'm feeling the flow of where this is going, are you suggesting that He may be of both Islamic and of European origins...like say...Obama? I don't know about that, but what with the recent trouble of Israel and the Gaza...it would be in the best interests of Obama to back Israel if he has to, as has all presidents who believe in my faith. If he doesn't, well, then I may have an issue and concern with that.

[shaw-n]

This is the problem which arises everytime someone read the Bible as a literal book as opposed to the allegory which it is.

Anyone can be a christ.

The christ is a metaphor of the state of mind wherein you are united with the higher consciousness, the Source, where you are united inside of yourself and your selfish ego (the anti-christ) is in its proper place.

This quest for the literal person of the anti-christ is such patent nonsense and is extremely harmful to our world.

[RevRainbow]

This is the problem which arises everytime someone read the Bible as a literal book as opposed to the allegory which it is.

Anyone can be a christ.

The christ is a metaphor of the state of mind wherein you are united with the higher consciousness, the Source, where you are united inside of yourself and your selfish ego (the anti-christ) is in its proper place.

This quest for the literal person of the anti-christ is such patent nonsense and is extremely harmful to our world.

Dont forget to add "in your opinion." which is what this is. Welcome to the forum.

[RevRainbow]

While I currently believe that the anti-Christ is a real individual, and Christ will return physically to this earth, I have great trouble of spirit in accepting interpretations of prophecy such as the above, not because it does not merit study, but because I do believe (as Shaw-n points out) that it can be and, in cases is, harmful.

Christians should be looking for the return of Christ, not the coming of the anti-Christ. There are, in prophecy, signs to watch for and then we are told by Jesus, to "...look up for our redemption draws nigh." I take issue with the above interpretations due to a single phrase I have seen and heard misconstrued time and time again, that if such-and-such happens to us, then we "were never saved to begin with." How easily Christians can judge and caste out their own who disagree with their reasoning by a statement such as this. There is far too much spiritual ignorance among humanity.

Over the centuries, prophecy has continually been misunderstood and applied to the age in question. Now, because of the world situation, we are shifting blame to the Muslims. My fear is that many evangelicals as well as other mis-educated Christians, will begin a spiritual hate campaign against the Muslim world just as they have against Catholics, Jews and, lets add homosexuals to the list also. To me this is frightening.

It is the evil WITHIN a system or group or denomination that is suspect, not the individuals. There are evil doers within the Christian world as well as the Muslim, within the Vatican as well as the White House. But not everyone within these places or teachings is evil. Not every Cretan is going into the Lake of Fire.

The vagueness of prophecy allows us to interpret it in relation to our generation, I myself have applied the fall of Babylon to the WTC, noting similarities. It makes for interesting conversation BUT because of the spiritual lack of Divine intelligence, we become self-righteous and apply evil to scapegoats according to our own pleasure. In our spiritual ignorance we then decide to "help" God and hasten his judgments by carrying out our own penalties against the alleged enemies of Christ.

To select, and charge any group with the stigma of being anti-Christ, allows us to transfer the hate we have to that group in all (assumed) godly righteousness. Let us for a moment, substitute the word "Muslim" in the post to "Catholic, Jew or homosexual," -as I pointed out has been done in the past - and I think my point is emphatically made.

If we choose to label our enemies, then are we, as Christians, not to love them also?

IF the Catholic Church is the apostate church (as some believe), it does not mean that ALL Catholics are evil and going to perdition. Group labelling is erroneous and, in itself, evil. We catagorize and, assign traits to an entire group: racially, religiously, politically, and yet we have not learned of the fallacy of doing so. Even the Muslim world has its divisions both culturally and custom wise. Hate directed to, or practiced among, any group is quite easy to accomplish and, as pertains to God, prophecy can be the method used to arm us with the wielded sword of "justice."

There are some, perhaps many in the evangelical circle, and you know I speak truth, gentle reader, that are proclaiming President Obama as the anti-Christ. How dare they! The man has enough hate directed at him because of his ethnicity and skin color. If the man restores this nation and economy, then the credit will be given to Satan and we shall look for the abominations to come! If he becomes a charismatic effective leader, inspiring many and gaining trust of other countries, we will, again, ascribe the success to the concept that he is an instrument of Satan. How pathetic and disturbingly harmful.

And, if the president is praying and seeking God in these matters and is being led by the Spirit, then those who who applied the designation of anti-Christ to Him have blasphemed the Holy Spirit, which, in my understanding is the unforgivable sin (ascribing to Satan the works of God)! So watch out, Christian!

Rumors, especially spiritual ones, are desperately harmful to the soul. If any truth resonates in your being as pertains to 2012, then you should be preparing yourself and checking to see if your lamp is lit in preparation. Taste your own fruit to see if it is bitter or sweet. Judge yourself and, better still, ask God to search your heart and if there be any evil thought or way therein, to deal with it. Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and give no place to those who disrupt the peace of God within your being, sowing fear and discord, apprehension and hate.

As Christians, we must follow Christ's commandment that we love God and love each other, all men, including our enemies.

Prophecy will supply us with signs of Our Lord's return and it will be Him and He alone who will "destroy His enemies." That is not our job. Our job is to be a light unto the nations, proclaiming the truth of the gospel through our deeds and actions - in love. When we use prophecy to judge and condemn whole groups of people we are not shining a light, but throwing a blanket of darkness over the earth, becoming the instruments of Satan ourselves by promoting this hate, blaspheming the Name of God through our self-righteousness and distributing rotten fruit which is borne from a dead tree with roots in Hell.

[Verisoph]

While I currently believe that the anti-Christ is a real individual, and Christ will return physically to this earth, I have great trouble of spirit in accepting interpretations of prophecy such as the above, not because it does not merit study, but because I do believe (as Shaw-n points out) that it can be and, in cases is, harmful.

{remainder removed for the sake of brevity}

I've got to hand it to you, RevRainbow, you post some great stuff. Even though I'm not a Christian, there's still much for me to learn from your words of compassion and wisdom.

Now if you can put it in verse form, maybe make it rhyme, I know this publisher......

Edited February 4, 2009 by Verisoph

[sHOEMAN]

Rev.Rainbow, you're definitely the sort of Christian I like.

Might I add, I always thought the Antichrist was supposed to first gain power as a man advocating peace. I think of (and it's a shame Occultis is now banned), Darth Sidious from Star Wars who gained power because he was charismatic, unassuming, and he preached peaceful and democratic ideals, when really he was manipulating things, making war, and working to give himself more power. Again, maybe not entirely biblically accurate, but I think it's a fair comparison.

So I don't think blatantly war mongering ayatollahs and imams are candidates for being the Antichrist (if such a being ever exists). I do think it would be handy to use the prejudice people have against Muslims to gain power, but that's just what I would do if I was the Antichrist.

[Fawzo]

Just a note about predetermined outcomes from scripture - Everyone thought the Messiah was going to be this or that and was fooled weren't they, or were they?

Edited February 5, 2009 by Fawzo

[RevRainbow]

I've got to hand it to you, RevRainbow, you post some great stuff. Even though I'm not a Christian, there's still much for me to learn from your words of compassion and wisdom.

Thank you, Soph, your comment honors my Heavenly Father. One does not have to be of any religious affiliation to gain from the spiritual experiences of others. I have also gained much insight from the posts of others here on the forum. One thing I have learned about "Truth" is that, as I seek it, I must be willing to put aside childish things. In other words, I must be willing to give up certain beliefs if confronted with "proof" I am wrong, or better, mis-informed. My request of God is that I am not led astray and that He reveal to me that which is of Himself and not just the teachings and babbling of Man. I must also believe that He answers my request and, therefore, I am confident that where I am is where He wants me to be and what I hold dear is His Truth.

There is a vintage comment by G. W. Curtis which lately has stirred my soul and given me a sense of purpose:

"I think that to know one good, old man - one man, who, through the chances and mischances of a long life, has carried his heart in his hand, like a palm branch, waving all discords into peace - helps our faith in God, in ourselves, in in each other more than many sermons."

My goal is that I have become such an old man.

Now if you can put it in verse form, maybe make it rhyme, I know this publisher......

Sorry, I mostly do free-verse. I have self published two books of poetry and am working on the third and last which will be a combination of that which came before and a bunch of new stuff. Mostly poems pertaining to experiences of love and war.

Edited February 5, 2009 by RevRainbow

[RevRainbow]

Rev.Rainbow, you're definitely the sort of Christian I like.

Might I add, I always thought the Antichrist was supposed to first gain power as a man advocating peace. I think of (and it's a shame Occultis is now banned), Darth Sidious from Star Wars who gained power because he was charismatic, unassuming, and he preached peaceful and democratic ideals, when really he was manipulating things, making war, and working to give himself more power. Again, maybe not entirely biblically accurate, but I think it's a fair comparison.

So I don't think blatantly war mongering ayatollahs and imams are candidates for being the Antichrist (if such a being ever exists). I do think it would be handy to use the prejudice people have against Muslims to gain power, but that's just what I would do if I was the Antichrist.

Thank you for the kind comment, sHOE. I agree with the analogy. The anti-Christ, IMO, will be a charismatic deliverer, a messiah from the Dark Side (if you will).

Fawzo: You are correct, most were fooled just as they will be fooled with the anti-Christ. It does say that if, possible, even the "elect" can be fooled. Let me clarify my defenition of "fooled:" it means to allow oneself to be deceived by adhering to false beliefs when confronted by truth.

Edited February 5, 2009 by RevRainbow

[Assassin]

I look at the Bible as a guide on how to live life the way God intended I do believe in Christ but I do not believe in the miracles that took place. I believe them to be medafors on situations that we may come across. I do not think that we are close to the coming of Christ although I would love to see it before I die.

Â

Edited August 26, 2014 by Assassin

[Pete]

Mathmatical Proof that Barney is Satan

Given: Barney is a CUTE PURPLE DINOSAUR
Prove: Barney is Satanic

The Romans had no letter 'U' and used 'V' instead for printing, meaning the Roman representation for Barney would be:

CVTE PVRPLE DINOSAVR

Extracting the Roman numerals, we have:

C V V L D I V

Decimal Equivalents are:

100 5 5 50 500 1 5

Adding those numbers produces: 666

666 is the number of the beast.

Therefore, Barney is Satan.

From:- http://www.pinetree.net/humor/barneyissatan.html

I know this looks like I am poking fun at the topic but what I am trying to say is it seems to me that people can make many people ( and cute friendly dinosuars) appear as if they are the antichrist.

Edited August 26, 2014 by Pete

[grateful]

That's good Pete!

[emalpaiz]

If we go to world history in the last 2,000 years or so, we will find that once and a while someone believed that a particular leader was terrible. It has happened many times and it will happen again and again. I do not believe in prophesy, but I believe in the capacity of human beings to do evil or to do good. Right now the world is going through difficult times. We are facing great moral, spiritual, economical, and political changes. Change is unavoidable, but this time the changes are world wide. Some cultures can adjust easily, but other cultures can not accept those changes, and react violently. Let us be calm. Evil we must resist, but we must never stop doing good. In the twentieth century the world faced Nazism and its culture of genocide, we might have to face something similar again. Let us turn to our inner strength to face this new evil. It is not a question of prophesy.

Hermano Luis

Moriviví Hermitage

[RevDavidOH]

I remember when they said President Reagan was the Anti-Christ because his names each had six letters.

RONALD WILSON REAGAN = 6 6 6

[cuchulain]

the funny thing about prophecy...it can usually be tailored to fit circumstances that come to pass, and so can usually be called true. As obi-wan said, it is the truth, from a certain perspective.

[emalpaiz]

I have a hard time believing in prophetic writings.  It matters not if they are found in Christian books or books of any other religion.  I believe that the Bible, like all the other Sacred Books of mankind, to be an allegorical book written to help humans to develop their spiritual potentials.  So it makes me think that this anti-Christ could be nothing else but mankind itself.  Mankind has the potential of doing great good or great evil.  So this so called Anti-Christ could be nothing else but Mankind being led by its own dark side.  It is prophetic in the sense that it is reminding us that we have a side of goodness and a side of darkness and evil.  That is how I understand the Anti-Christ.

Hermano Luis

[Barry]

It was a good read, thanks for sharing. I still don't believe in the anti-christ though.