4.2 --- The Antichrist

Throughout the Bible there are many references to the antichrist.

One of them is in the New Testament, in 2 Thessalonians 2 verses 3 and 4: “Do not let anyone deceive you in any way. For the Day will not come until the final Rebellion takes place and the Wicked One appears who is destined to hell.   He will oppose every so-called god or object of worship and will put himself above them all. He will even go in and sit down in God's Temple and claim to be God”. "The day" refers to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being united with him. "The wicked one" is the antichrist. Here it is explained already what will be his mission: "To oppose every so-called god or object of worship and will put himself above them all”.

As already described in Chapter 3 of this blog, major world wars will break out soon after the Tribulation begins.  (The Tribulation encompasses a future seven year period when God will complete his final judgment upon the unbelieving citizens of the world).

The first war of the tribulation is described in Revelation 6.

Although the Antichrist will rise to world power through cunning, deception, and intrigue (Daniel 8:23), he will have to resort to military power to conquer the world. We are told in Revelation 13:7 that the Antichrist will ultimately achieve "authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation." This authority will be achieved through war. Revelation 6 records the outbreak of one these world wars. It results in the death of one-fourth of humanity, or 1.7 billion in today's terms (Revelation 6:8).

Some more references to the antichrist are: Daniel 7: 8, “While I was staring at the horns, I saw a little horn coming up among the others. It tore out three of the horns that were already there. This horn had human eyes and a mouth that was boasting proudly”.  Daniel 9:27, “That ruler will have a firm agreement with many people for one week (other translations say: seven years), and when half this time is past, he will put an end to sacrifices and offerings. The Awful Horror will be placed on the highest point of the Temple and will remain there until the one who put it there meets the end which God has prepared for him”. … Also in Revelations 13: 5 and 6, “The beast was allowed to make proud claims which were insulting to God and it was permitted to have authority for forty-two months. It began to curse God, his name, the place where he lives, and all those who live in heaven”.

..... There are many more references to the antichrist.

It is important to note that the last two references have been chosen because in there, are mentioned two events: a) "... he will have a firm agreement ....… when half this time is past and b) "for forty-two months." I advance here that in the book of Daniel it says that the ruler will have a firm agreement for one week. This one week of 7 days indicates seven years. Half of 7 years are 42 months, the same timespan as is indicated in Revelation 13, as the time allowed for the antichrist to have authority............ I will come back to this issue in the next chapter.

One more reference to the antichrist we read in Daniel 12: 6 and 7 –“One of them asked the angel who was standing further upstream, “How long will it be until these amazing events come to an end?”  The angel raised both hands toward the sky and made a solemn promise in the name of the Eternal God. I heard him say, “It will be three and a half years. When the persecution of God's people ends, all these things will have happened.”  Again we see here the 42 months or three and a half years.