December 19, 2016
The Antichrist – Part 3: Return of the Beast
KEEP READING. THIS WILL ALL MAKE SENSE (maybe)
In the last post, we continued our look at the fascinating character known as the Antichrist by examining his career from the Jewish perspective, wherein he will be seen as the “Messiah” (until he tries to exterminate them).
In this post, we will look into who (and more importantly WHAT) the Antichrist is as it relates to the Gentiles.
The Secular Messiah
Like the Jews, the secular Gentile world is also looking for messianic figure to fulfill their utopian desires. Specifically, the world is looking for a leader to recreate Eden.
As I wrote in an earlier post, we all have a deep desire to return to Eden. We were created to live in that paradise of perfect leadership, perfect provision, and perfect fellowship. That desire is written on our hearts, and we can’t rest or be fully satisfied until it is fulfilled.
Unfortunately, rebellion is also in the hearts of men. And since the fall and Original Sin, man has been trying to recreate Eden without God.
The first faux Eden
The closest that man ever came to that goal was the kingdom of Babel in the 3rd Dispensation. Babel was the first world empire, led by Nimrod, where men were so united in community and purpose that God said nothing could stop them from succeeding in their endeavor if they continued uninterrupted. What WAS that endeavor? That’s a Good question which we will get to at the end of this post.
God thwarted Babel, and since then man has been consistently trying and failing to make it happen again through human government.
Admittedly, as we move toward the end of this Dispensation, the world has grown considerably closer to a Babel-like condition. With our current state of intertwined economies and politics, the socio-political push toward globalism, as well as the unification of language (via computers and the internet) and religion (with the current Pope leading the ecumenical charge), Babel is closer than ever.
Once the Restrainer is removed, there will be nothing standing in the way of the return to Babel. But there is still one HUGE missing piece…
A return to Babel means the return of Nimrod
Babel’s relative success was not just due to its unity. The key to making it all work was Nimrod.
Nimrod was obviously a significant figure, but there is reason to believe that he was MORE than just a man. The Bible says that Nimrod began to be a “mighty one”. The Hebrew word for that phrase is “gibbowr”. It’s the same word used to describe the Nephilim!
It’s possible that Nimrod was sired by a fallen angel through Semiramis (his wife…and alleged mother (eww!)). But the phrase “he began to be a gibbowr” leads me to believe that he started out as a normal man, but was modified through some occultic means and interaction with fallen angels to BECOME a Nephilim! (Legendary pseudonymous depictions of Nimrod, such as Gilgamesh, describe him as a giant).
At that point, he was no longer a human being in spirit, so when he died, he was punished like the other Nephilim. Since they are human/angel hybrids, they are not eligible for redemption like men. Most of them were relegated to wander the earth as “demons” looking for bodies to inhabit/possess.
But apparently the worst of them were imprisoned in the Abyss or the “Bottomless Pit” (some commentators see the Bottomless Pit as geocentric since the center of the earth is the only place where every direction you can travel is “up”, so it’s technically “bottomless”).
So what does this have to do with the Antichrist?
As we noted in a previous post, the term “Antichrist” is never used in Revelation. Therein, he is called “the Beast” – the Beast from the Bottomless Pit, and the Beast out of the Sea.
We learned earlier that in Revelation, “beast” refers to Nephilim. So that means that the Antichrist will be a Nephilim!!
More accurately, he will (like Nimrod) BECOME a Nephilim.
But not just any ol’ Nephalim. Revelation gives two symbolic descriptions of him. In chapter 13, he has 7 heads and 10 horns, with crowns on his horns. He is described as a composite of a leopard, a bear, and a lion.
This description is rather stark, grotesque and confusing, but we have to remember that chapter 13 is a continuation of the highly symbolic vision in chapter 12. Like the other figures in that chapter, the Beast’s characteristics can be interpreted by looking elsewhere in the Bible.
In fact, a lot of the symbolism is intertwined with the second description of the Beast just a few pages over in chapter 17. In that chapter, an Angel tells the Apostle John that the 7 heads are 7 mountains on which a woman sits (the “woman” represents the mystics and all their false religions beginning with Semiramis. More on that in an upcoming post).
In the context of Biblical prophecy, “Mountains” symbolize governments and empires, and the kings that rule over them. And horns are a symbol of authority. Since “7” is the Biblical number of perfection (or more accurately, “completeness”), the heads of the Beast represent ALL world empires.
The lion, bear, and leopard harken back to Daniel 7, where the prophet has a vision of similar beasts representing the then current empire of Babylon, and looking forward in time to Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. (Rome was the final world empire which declined and fell after the resurrection of Jesus. Since then, I believe the Holy Spirit has used Jesus’ legal claim the earth as precedent to restrain subsequent attempts at world empires. That will obviously change when He is removed).
What are the 7 world empires?
John is told that 5 of the empires have fallen, one is currently in power, and one is yet future. The 5 extinct empires are Babel, Egypt, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. The one in power during John’s time was Rome. The future empire will be “New Babel” under the Antichrist (we are told this empire will be in power at Jesus’ Second Coming.
Now we have to deal with one of the most confusing and challenging passages in the book – Revelation 17 verses 8 and 11:
8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will be amazed… when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is…11 The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth [Empire/King], and is of the seven, and is going to perdition (be destroyed).
What the heck does THAT mean?
These verses has puzzled commentators for centuries and most hesitate to definitively interpret it. But we won’t let that stop us! Let’s break down the content:
There is a beast (Nephilim) who once existed in the world, but was no longer in the world during John’s time, BUT still existed somehow. And in the future he will come out of the Abyss/bottomless pit and back into the world, where he will meet his ultimate destruction.
This Nephilim is an 8th king/empire, who is a part of, or perhaps the SOURCE of the other 7 empires and is currently in the Abyss.
Who fits all these criteria?
NIMROD! He was a Nephilim who is the spiritual father of all world empires. His physical body died at some point after the 3rd Dispensation, but his spirit still “existed” in the Abyss. I believe that Nimrod will be the beast who comes out of the Abyss and leads the return to Babel during the Tribulation
So how does this all fit together?
Knowing everything we now do about the Antichrist, lets put it all together into a composite of his career.
After the Rapture and the removal of the restrainer, the Antichrist will appear on the scene before or during the False Apocalypse. Like all his potential predecessors, from the man Nimrod up to today, he will have been bred and groomed to his position.
In Daniel 7, the Antichrist is initially called a “little horn” (small spiritual authority), in comparison to the other horns on the Beast. The horn is also said to have “eyes like a man”. Eyes are often a symbol of knowledge in the Bible, meaning the Antichrist will have spiritual authority and man’s knowledge.
He will possibly begin his career as a little known or regarded political figure, but will quickly grow in power. Three other horns of spiritual authority are removed from power, and their authority is taken by Antichrist.
As his power grows, he begins to speak great and pompous words extolling himself and denigrating God. In fact, one of the most pervasive descriptions of the Antichrist’s character is his propensity to run his mouth, (so he’s obviously a politician or a lawyer).
He grows tremendously in popularity and leadership; in no small part due to his guidance during the horrors of the False Apocalypse. This will culminate during the 6th seal when fallen angels are forced onto the earth (masquerading as “aliens” or “Ascended Masters” to bewildered mankind – yes, I know that sounds nuts. I covered it in an earlier post). And the Antichrist will lead the charge in blaming Jesus for the calamities engineered by Satan.
He will unite the world in what seems like the dawning of a new age of Humanity, and enforce a 7-year treaty with Israel and what will likely appear to finally be peace in the middle-east…Unfortunately, it will also be the event that commences the Tribulation.
False Ressurection
At some point during the first half of that 7 year period (likely right at the halfway point), the Antichrist will receive a mortal wound (he might even die). But he will seemingly come back from the dead and offer his own twisted version of Christ’s offer of eternal life (more on that in the next post).
However when he “comes back to life”, the Antichrist will be…different. He will be physically indwelt by the Beast from the Abyss (remeber earlier when we saw how demons love nothing more that finding a physical body to possess?).
The Antichrist’s reanimated body will be possessed by Nimrod! (one of the titles of the Antichrist is “the Assyrian”. Assyria was a primary part of the ancient kingdom of Babel).
He will no longer be the “Man of Sin”. He will become the “Son of Perdition”. He will go from “man” to “Beast”. He will have become a gibbowr!
Antichrist 2.0 and the return of Babel
He will be changed dramatically in appearance and demeanor. Gone will be the man of peace who charmed the world with his great words. He will be replaced by the King of Fierce Countenance who will blaspheme the name of God and try to murder all Christians and Jews (starting with God’s two witnesses) during his 3 ½ year reign of terror.
In his new form, he will claim to be the “God” above all gods and demand to be worshiped. He will be the most ruthless dictator ever known, and by force of arms, will, and great spiritual power, he will subjugate the world and force the return of Babel.
Man will be subjected to the rule of a single tyrannical despot, Forced into a draconian monolithic economic system, (more on that in the next post), and coerced into the mandatory theocratic worship of the Beast under penalty of death.
Sounds fun, doesn’t it? Welcome to the “perfect utopian paradise” men have been clamoring for.
Here’s why Satan wants the world to be united
Remember earlier in the post when I said I would reveal the unstoppable feat that the Babel community was trying to achieve? Their goal in building the Tower of Babel wasn’t just a fascination with tall buildings.
“Bab-El” means “Gate to God”. Nimrod’s goal was to open a spiritual gateway to God’s throne so that he could invade Heaven! (There is evidence of such “gateways” in the Bible).
This obviously sounds a bit far out, but the bottom line is that God said they would have succeeded if He hadn’t stopped them! And guess what? Under Nimrod 2.0, they will attempt to do it again!
But God will once more stop them. This time, permanently. That “stoppage” is the event we call Armageddon. MUCH more on that in a later post.
The 7 world empires were man’s attempt to recreated Eden. The 8th will be Satan’s turn to create a “perfect” society in his image – and it will be successful in emulating the spirit of Babel!
What does that “success” look like? We will dive into that subject and wrap up our study of the Antichrist in the next post by examining his most infamous endeavor – The Mark of the Beast!
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